イルミネーション

Dear all,

Yes, the email you've all been waiting for! What did Crandall Shimai do at the Pokemon Center? And what are these illuminations I've been hearing of?

Let's start with Pokemon. I love Pokemon. We had branch conference yesterday, and one of the stake leaders said to me, "Oh, you like Pokemon?" I had forgotten that I had written that on my bio for e branch, which is posted on the bulletin board. I guess the whole world knows now that I love Pokemon. Anyway, we went to the Pokemon Center in Ikebukuro last week! It was amazing. There were giant Pokemon statues that you could take pictures with. There was Pokemon music playing the entire time. There were a billion Pokemon statues. The Pokemon cards were endless. Did I mention the music? Oh yeah, I did. I learned that there is a new Pokemon series called 'Pocket Monsters XY and Z', which makes me wonder if a Z version game will be released. I bought a lot of cute Pokemon stuff... And restrained myself from buying a lot more. I will send pictures.

Now, the illuminations! Yes, the illuminations are basically just Christmas lights, but I think they last for all of Winter. We went to two different illuminations. The first was in Mother Bokujou. It was very simple and small, but I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere was so magical. I really liked the blues and greens of the lights together. We went with an investigator and her family. She seemed a little disappointed, so she invited us to go see the illumination at the Doitsu Mura (German Village) with her the next week. That illumination was a lot brighter and a lot bigger. I really enjoyed the Christmas music. They had a little square for dancing, and every few minutes there would be loud music and flashing lights, and giant machines would blow out these really cool bubbles that would turn to fog when popped. We really enjoyed spending time with this investigator.

 We had the opportunity to go to the temple this last week, which was amazing. We decided to take a bus this time which drove us on the Aqualine, or the road that goes through the middle of the bay. The road actually goes under the water! Although since it's made of cement you cannot see into the water. It was still way nicer, and even a bit cheaper, than taking a train. As always, the feelings from the temple were glorious. I always love the peace and quiet, the safety that I can feel there.

 We decided to drop one of our investigators awhile back, but every time we met with her we kept thinking, 'well, once she understands the atonement, we'll drop her,' and 'once we see if she's willing to work towards keeping the word of wisdom, we'll maybe drop her.' Well, today we met with her, and as we were discussing the Book of Mormon a little bit, I paused and asked her, "what do you know about Joseph Smith?" She said, "Nothing." We decided that we just need to start from the very beginning with her. We shared the first vision, and we asked her to pray about the Book of Mormon. She said she would. She said that she wants answers. I'm really hoping that I can stay and teach her more, but having already been in Kisarazu for four transfers it's not very likely. I worry that the next sister that comes won't be able to speak Japanese, and then we'll lose all progress.

With transfers coming up next week, I feel a lot of gratitude. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to serve in Kisarazu. I would love to stay longer, but I will not complain if I am asked to transfer. I cannot complain. I am so grateful for the message I have and for the miracles I've seen.

I love you all! Please be safe!

Love, Crandall Shimai