Another great week here in Yamagata!
CHANGE IS SAD. CHANGE IS GOOD.
We got transfer calls this week and I'm staying in Yamagata!
However, Sister Bean is leaving and I'm so sad! After finding out she was
leaving, I bawled sad tears for the first time since hitting the mission field.
When you're with someone 24/7 for two and a half months straight you kind of
become friends. But in all seriousness, I'm so grateful for all the skills she
taught me, all the exeriences we went through, and all the miracles we
witnessed together!
 |
|
: Farewell to Sister Bean. Thank you for changing my life
for the better.
|
THE PITY COMPLIMENT
Walking around the streets of Japan I fit in pretty well as
far as appearance goes. But Bean Shimai, being a blonde gaijin (foreigner),
definitely stands out. She always gets compliments like, "Wow are you a
movie star!?" or "KAWAII!" (cute). We housed into an older lady
on Monday, who upon seeing Bean Shimai said, "Wow you are so
beautiful!" She then looked at me and said, "You're pretty too but I
see people like you all the time." But hey, I'll take it!
 |
| Yamagata Shrine entrance |
WOULD YOU HAND OUT A PASS-ALONG CARD IF IT HAD YOUR FACE ON
IT?
Well, everyone in the Japan Sendai mission is doing just
that. We had a mission wide photo-shoot last Wednesday in Sendai! Scenic
backdrop, professional photographer, plenty of Book of Mormons. The whole
package. It was probably one of the funnest experiences on the mission so far,
mainly because I got to meet everyone! Also, I got to play tennis.
 |
|
Off to the mission wide photo shoot!
|
 |
| Elder Larrabee and I are the only ones in our doki (came to the mission field at the same time). Since we couldn't take a photo of just us two, we had President and Sister Sekiguchi join in! |
MIRACLE OF THE WEEK
Miracles become quite common as a missionary. For the past
couple months, Sister Bean and I have been visiting a less active sister named
Jun. She lives about a 40-minute bike ride away, but we always made time in our
schedule to visit her. Anyways, this last Sunday, she came to church for the
first time in 10 years! The ward members welcomed her with loving arms and she
ended up staying for all three hours. We were all so happy to see here! Being a
missonary, I've come to learn that our purpose is not just finding and teaching
new investigators, but also bringing back those who had faith at one point in
their lives.
Look around, fellowship those who have fallen away, serve
them, love them. The Lord will never give up on them so why should we?
My prayers are with you always.
Church is true.
Love,
Matsuura Shimai
D&C 31:11
 |
| Sendai is a place |
 |
| Yo sushi girl |
RIP SISTER BEAN
ReplyDeleteOh Meg!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your mission!
What a wonderful week you had! Super busy!
I am so sad Sister Bean was transferred. Who is your new companion?