Week 17 in Nagamine

Hey hey,

Oh my goodness. This week was crazy. It all started Tuesday. So we've had a little mold problem in our apartment for a while. (Our apartment has been rumored to be the sisters apartment for over 15-20 years??) so it's a crazy old apartment, and with Shimai coming in and out every couple of transfers it just isn't taken very good care of. So on Tuesday we got to go apartment hunting! Which was really fun. We went with this agent person who took us to different apartments and we got to choose which one we liked. It was way fun. After as she was dropping us off I look over to where my bike is (and pause for a second, back story. We have gotten into a game of messing with the elders bikes just like moving the seat, putting it backwards and they do it to us. It's like an on going prank.) and I look over to my bike and see this: 

 My bike was hanging from the ceiling by my bike lock! I started freaking out a little and then the lady who came with us to apartment hunting started laughing and taking pictures of me with the bike

It was way funny, but it's okay cuz I got them back. Anyway, after that happened we got all the Nagamine and Kumamoto missionaries together and put together a dance for our talent show in eikaiwa which was really fun. I love the missionaries I get to be around. They are all so much fun and so amazing. Then Wednesday we had the talent show and Sister Willson from my doki came down from Beppu and got to stay with us that night because we had a taikai (conference) with Elder Yamashita of the area 70. The conference was good. The Nagamine missionaries sang at it (me and my companion and the elders) which was fine, but then after they asked us to do a role play in front of everyone (like 70-80 missionaries) which ended up being a complete disaster because I forgot the first vision in Japanese! Oh man. It was so bad. But it's okay, because now I'll never forget it again! Anyway. It has been a way fun week even though we were so crazy busy with everyone we didn't have a ton of time to do lessons. 

Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been sharing a lot of spiritual experiences lately!! This week I was studying the talk "Stay by the Tree" by Kevin W. Pearson in last April conference. Oh my goodness it is such a good talk. This is one of my favorite parts

Lehis message is to stay by the tree. We stay because we are converted unto the Lord. Alma taught, Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. As we yield our hearts to God, the Holy Ghost changes our very natures, we become deeply converted unto the Lord, and we no longer seek the spacious building. If we stop doing those things that bring about deepening conversion, we regress spiritually. Apostasy is the reverse of conversion. 

It's the small and simple things that completely changes us. But we need to do things that will allow him into lives. I know Heavenly Father can help us become the person we want to become. We had to remember Him and put our faith in Him and any and all things are possible!! 

Have a great week!

Love

White Shimai

P.S. If my English is weird, I am stuck half way between Japanese and English right now and I can't tell if some of the sentences make sense. I hope they do! 

Week 16 in Nagamine

Hi Everyone!

Haha I never know what to write. Okay I will start off by saying that
one of our investigators who didn't believe in God a couple of weeks
ago said last lesson that he now fully believes in God and has felt
Gods love!!! Oh man, we were so excited when he said that! He has been
reading the Book of Mormon and praying every day. We have been meeting
with him for almost 3 months and he has always said he just didn't
know if God was there. It's such a cool thing to witness! Things don't
happen right at once, it's over time through hard work that we can see
the result of our faith. He wouldn't have believed in God unless he
acted on faith and prayed and read scriptures even though it was
probably a very weird concept for him to do. So good :)
Other then that our week was way good but pretty normal missionary
stuff :) it's so much fun being here! We always find random Buddhist
temple things as we bike around. Here is one

And here is a picture with me in it. It was raining all day!
We also found a fun park when we were with the elders going to visit someone so here are these pictures..

Annnnd #japanesemissionarylife

At least they wrote it in English right? Haha this didn't happen to me, but one of the elders in our area. They went back to a return appointment and found this on the porch.
Anyway that's all for now :) happy Valentine's Day!!
White Shimai

Week 15 in Nagamine

Hello :)
This week was so great! Me and sister Parmley have just been running
back in forth to lessons all week which is basically the dream mission
life. It's been so good. This next week we have so many lessons
planned we barely have any time to actually go out and talk to people
but we are going to try our best to make time. It's really been so
awesome. Our 3 main investigators are all progressing really well.
They all have their own concerns but they really are doing so well.
It's been slow, but still very good. I'm so excited to see them every
time we have lessons with them. Yesterday as we were out talking to
people, we knocked on this door, and I start hearing Ariana Grande in
the background and so when the girl answered the door I got really
excited and asked her if this was Ariana Grande and then she got
really excited because we are Americans and so we started talking
about music and how she loves one direction and Justin Beiber even
though she doesn't understand the lyrics. It was so fun! She is 22
with 2 kids!! Which is sooo rare in Japan. Her and her husband are so
cute though. Anyway, she invited us in and read out of the Book of
Mormon and loved it! So we gave her one and talked about eternal
families and we are going back to visit her on Tuesday. I'm really
excited about her! Her name is Yuuki which means courage :) Anyway, I
am way excited about this next week to see how all of our lessons go.
I don't know how we are going to fit everything in but I'm so excited!
Oh also, one of our amazing members that comes to lessons a lot
invited us over for dinner tonight. I seriously love our members so
much. It's going to be so hard to ever leave Nagamine. We have been
doing lessons with members a lot so we have gotten really close to
them. Yesterday a member pulled us aside and asked if she could just
talk with us for a few minutes because she felt like she hadn't talked
to us for a while (and because she wanted advice how to share the
gospel with her other Christian friends...what!!?) I just love it
here.
Anyway, love you guys!! I hope you have a great week!
Love,
White Shimai

Week 14 in Nagamine

こんにちわ皆さん
So transfers were this week which means we spent a lot of time with
Wilkinson Shimai who transferred up to Fukuoka. I am staying with
Parmley in Nagamine which I'm super excited about :) I love her so
much. We taught lessons, talked to people did fun stuff. Basically a
normal missionary week. We did do service at a retirement home where
we basically just sang hymns to the sweetest old people ever. They
were so cute! I have pictures, and the people do not look happy in
them haha but they are really old....and I promise they were smiling
for at least part of the time we were there haha. Anyway, this week
went by like crazy fast and I can't believe it is p day already. So
crazy! Anyway here are some pictures from eikaiwa and at the
retirement home. I hope everyone is having a wonderful last day of
January, first day of February! (Shoutout to Jamie whose birthday is
today!!🍾)
Talk to you next week!
White Shimai