YASSAI MOSSAI

皆さん、こんばんは！元気ですか？

私は元気です。今週は本当に忙しかったです！たくさん写真を取りましたけれども、全部送ることが出来ません。すみませんね！

We had a very eventful week (although we only taught about half as many lessons as we usually do...). It started with Francis. She welcomed us home one night. She is a lot more active than her husband, Frank, and we're hoping she's not too unhappy about what happened to him... I'll try to get a good picture of her.

We got five referrals last week, which is more than I've ever seen before. We rode a train two stops over to Aohori to visit a potential (she wasn't home) and then we walked a half hour to the referrals' home. We ended up walking up this mountain, which was pretty fun, but then the referral said that she (and her family) had no interest in the church. We horsed around there for a bit, and then decided to head back to the station. Then it rained. A lot. We stood under a tree so that we wouldn't get soaked, and then I realized that the lady across the street was waiting at a bus stop! And it just so happened that the bus went to the Kimitsu eki! That bus saved us a lot of time and spared us from getting soaked. It was a cool miracle.

A previously visited referral, Takagi san, came to the church for a tour, and her husband came, too! We were pretty excited about it. At the end, we gave her a Book of Mormon. We got out another one and asked her husband if he wanted his own, and he said yes! I think that the Takagis have a lot of potential! We are visiting with them on Thursday again, so I guess we'll find out.

August 15th is one of my new favorite holidays - Obon! Everyone celebrates their ancestors. People seem a lot happier to talk about religion and their families, and we saw a lot of miracles. We've somehow been finding a lot of potential investigators, which is something that Chapman Shimai and I have always struggled with. Anyway, the whole month is like family history month. Woohoo! On Friday, we had the opportunity to participate in the Kisarazu Yassai Mossai dance! There were 89 groups (at least 20 people per group, many had a lot more than that) competing. We all did the same dance for the first two rounds, and then the last two rounds each group did their own dance. They would play the Yassai Mossai song for twenty minutes and we would all dance in a train down the street in one big loop. I loved seeing everyone doing the same dance. I felt like there was a lot of unity among everyone there. We missionaries dance with a group called KIFA (if you look them up, you may find pictures or videos...). Apparently our group did well - we got second place! My feet were really sore afterwards, but it was an amazing experience.

On Saturday, we and some investigators watched the fireworks together! The firework show was an hour long, and it was amazing! I think that Japanese firework shows are a lot prettier than American ones... But that's just me. At the finale, they used really pretty fireworks rather than just doing a bunch at once. I really enjoyed it. I would love to come to Kisarazu for Obon again sometime!

On Sunday, Chapman Shimai and I both spoke in church. We speak about once a month. We were asked to share about courage, so I shared a bunch of stories about my ancestors and how they showed courage. Afterwards, we taught the Sunday School lesson about service and. We talked about how 愛は決して無駄にならない。No love is ever wasted! Always remember that! Let people serve you, and search for opportunities to serve others. As we 愛によって分かち合うdivide by love, the love in the world will increase.

On Monday, it rained a lot. And we confirmed that Eiko has been avoiding us... Kindof a bummer. We set up a lesson with her on Thursday, though, so we'll see how that goes. Today we went to the temple! It was nice to do an English session again, and I feel really edified. Afterwards, we went to the Scramble in Shibuya and did some finding with the Shibuya sisters and their giant Book of Mormon door. I learned that I am very bad at city dendou. We also went to the Meiji shrine and walked around. It was like all the other shrines I've visited, but bigger and a bit more plain. I loved the trees surrounding it. You couldn't hear Tokyo around it. It was really pleasant and shady. We also saw Takeshita street. It was super crowded, and we were happy to just take pictures from across the street.

One thing I noticed while I was in Tokyo today was that there were so many people, but no one seemed happy. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to share about God's Plan of Happiness. I know that He loves each of us and wants us to be happy. He has prepared a way for us to be eternally happy. Lasting happiness comes from keeping His commandments and following His Son, Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the happiness that the gospel has given me.

Love, Crandall Shimai