Matsudo is on Fire!

Mother's Day 2015

Dearest Family, Friends, and Missionaries,

I had the opportunity to Skype with my family this morning, and it was glorious! I just about started crying when my mom bore her testimony to me. I am so blessed to have a mother who knows! I mentioned that Matsudo is on fire, and my family thought I meant it was literally on fire. I meant that the missionary work was going really well, but little did I know that it was literally on fire! Okay, it was only one building, but there was a lot of smoke and it was a little creepy. The authorities put it out really fast, so not too much damage, I hope...

This last week we had a lot of finding time... A lot of our investigators were not responding to our texts or calls, so we weren't able to set up very many appointments. We decided to surprise visit a lady that came to church. Her name is Hana. She said she worked from home and that we could stop by anytime, so on Tuesday we hopped on our bikes and found our way there. We rang the doorbell twice, and no one came. We were pretty bummed, and as we turned to leave, Hana's four year old daughter opened the door... And she was completely naked! She kept gesturing for us to come in, and we were thinking to ourselves, "We can't be alone with a child, especially not one that is naked!" She kept pointing up, trying to tell us that her mom was upstairs. We tried asking her to go get her mom for us, but it was no use as she doesn't speak any Japanese or English... We finally just called out to Hana (so awkward) and we were able to have a lesson with her. Hana said that we could visit her every day, so we told her we would come back regularly every week. We look forward to teaching her more in the future! And it's way nice to have someone that we can meet with regularly.

Our investigator Miki was supposed to be baptized yesterday, but three weeks ago she became super busy and could never meet with us. It is really hard to see someone so close to making those covenants with their Heavenly Father, and then choose other priorities over Him. I'm hoping that we can keep teaching her, but as of right now I don't know. If she chooses to make time for us, I believe that she will progress so much!

We met with Hibiki chan earlier today and finished the lessons with her! We just need to review everything with her and then she will be ready for baptism on the 24th. She is so kin! We have been trying to get her mom to come to church to see what she is learning about, just so that she doesn't feel like her daughter is being baptized into some secret combination or something. We also need her permission for Hibiki to be baptized. I hope that she will come to the baptism, just to support her daughter.

The Chouroutachi have been teaching a kinjin named Ning san, and he is going to be baptized on the 24th as well. Ning san told the elders that he wants his wife to start taking the lessons as well, so they set up a lesson for us on Saturday! We were able to meet Mei and go over our expectations and what our purpose is. We talked briefly about the Book of Mormon, and Ning and our douseki bore their testimonies as well. Mei cried the entire time, and she even tried praying at the end! It was such a powerful lesson. The Spirit was so strong! Mei is so ready for this gospel! She has seen how it has changed her husband. I believe that it will change her, too.

I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve here in Matsudo right now. I am seeing so many miracles. These people have been so prepared by God. People are just walking into the church and saying "I want to learn more!" The ward members are astonished at everything that is happening. There will be three convert baptisms in the next two weeks! Matsudo really is on fire, and I think that things will just keep going faster and faster.

I am so grateful to have such a wonderful family! Their testimonies and their examples are so strengthening to me. My heart is so full of love for them! I issued a challenge to my family today, and it stems from Sister Oscarson's talk from the Women's Conference. She asked us all to be defenders of the Family Proclamation. My question is: how can you defend the Family Proclamation if you don't know it? So, I challenge all who read these emails to join me in memorizing 'The Family: A Proclamation to the World' by Christmas. I know that as you do this, your own testimony of the importance of family will be strengthened. I know that your family relationships will also be strengthened as you rely more on the Lord.

I love you all!

Love,  Crandall Shimai