Matsudo

Dearest Family, Friends and Missionaries,

Konbanwa from Japan!

For those of you who did not know (or did not realize by the absence of an email last Thursday), my visa came girigiri right on time for me to leave with the rest of the Tokyo missionaries on Monday! Yatta! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who is aware of me and of my desires.

As a quick side note, I had been temporarily (for like three hours) assigned to serve in the Illinois Chicago mission until my visa came! Maybe I would have seen Sheely Shimai? That would have been cool. Except that I didn't pack any winter coats.

We spent the first night in the honbu (mission home) and then went to a mission conference the next morning (Wednesday). The main speakers were Elder Russell M. Nelson and Elder David F. Evans (I think). I got to shake an apostle's hand on the first full day in the mission field! Yes! They spoke to us about the use of media and devices on a mission. One thing that really stood out to me is that we have iPads not for missionary work but to train us how to be agents unto ourselves, to not be acted upon by the iPad. The use of an iPad on a mission is how Christ reaches out to us and develops a stronger relationship with us. We are meant to learn how to be masters of devices and social media so as to strengthen our future families. Really interesting stuff. Elder Evans spoke a lot about pornography. He said that most of us will be hurt by pornography somehow, and we need to be mature enough to talk about it. What stood out to me the most was he said that pornography is NOT an addiction. We ALWAYS have our agency to stop. Are we agents unto ourselves, or do we let pornography act on us? Really good stuff.

My new companion is Teruya Shimai, a Nihonjin (native Japanese) from Okinawa. Originally, I did not want a native companion. Communicating with Yoshimura Shimai in the MTC was extremely hard. I wanted to get a better grasp on the language before I had a native companion. When Teruya Shimai's trainee was going to be announced, I suddenly knew that it would be me. I was really nervous, but I know that I am supposed to be with her. Teruya Shimai's English is extremely good, so communication is no problem. I feel that with her my Japanese will be able to improve a lot more than with a gaijin (foreigner) companion. I love her so much, and I am so grateful to have such a wonderful companion!

Our area is Matsudo. The Matsudo ward is the largest ward in Japan, and the church building is the largest in Asia (5 floors!). It's probably even bigger than most churches in Utah! The ward members seem to be very involved, which is great. I really look forward to working with them, and hopefully I can learn all of their names quickly...

I love Japan. The roofs are so cool! Our apartment is simple, but has a traditional tatami room with sliding doors and futons! It's so exciting! I spent a bunch of money and bought a bike on Friday. Riding on the left side of the road is really weird, but I'm sure I'll get used to it before long. Hearing a different language all the time seems normal to me, thanks to my time with the Nihonjin district in the MTC. Seeing Japanese everywhere doesn't seem strange. I thought I'd have more culture shock, but I really haven't. Besides cars on the wrong side of the street, but whatever.

We have several investigators, but only one with a baptismal date. There was a baptism recently, and we're going to meet with her this week and film her conversion story. I'm excited for that. The language is hard, but I know that as I push myself, I will become better. All of the members are surprised that this is my first transfer, and people I talk to on the phone all think that I'm native... but I still feel like I can barely say anything in Japanese. I'll keep striving to get better so that I can better share the thoughts of my heart.

On Friday, we visited a member for dinner. Wakana Shimai is mostly deaf. Her son was there, and he is not a member. We had sushi for dinner, and amazingly I was able to eat an entire roll! Maybe there is hope for me after all! Someday, I will love seafood! Teruya Shimai and I wrote our testimonies down for Wakana Shimai. I wrote mine on the back of a picture of the Timpanogos Temple, and when Wakana Shimai saw it, she freaked out. Apparently she had been there before. It was a really cool experience!

A lot of people here don't have a belief in Christ. But, I know that through Him, we can be strengthened. Though storms may come, though the adversary may attack, when we are built on the foundation of Christ, we can endure. (Helaman 5:12) I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:12, I think)

I ran in to Sister Roth!

I love you all! Keep working hard!

Love, Crandall Shimai

PS: feel free to send me mail! <3