あけましておめでとう！

皆さん、あけましておめでとうございます！

New Years is probably one of the biggest holidays in Japan. It is such an important holiday that we spent the 31st cleaning and the 1st reading the Book of Mormon. We weren't allowed to go outside and dendou, but I really enjoyed the time I had to study. One thing that Japanese people do for New Years is write up and send nengajou, postcards that basically say "Happy New Year! Let's be friends again this year." As this year is the year of the Monkey, most of the nengajou you can buy have monkeys on them.

In other news, this last week one of our sisters went home early (for school), so we got to spend the week with Sister Nicholes! We slept over in Kasukabe the last few nights and spent almost all day on the 31st organizing the apartment. Sister Horito left a BUNCH of junk, and we're going to have a member take it to the recycle shop for us next week. We went through the food storage and almost everything was expired, so we threw away most of that as well. We went to church here in Kasukabe, and it was interesting to be in a new ward and not feel obligated to memorize everyone's names.

I think my favorite day this last week was Friday when we got to read the Book of Mormon for 10 hours. I read all of the war chapters in Alma. Reading them all in one day really helped me to have a better perspective on what happened. It was really interesting, and I got a lot of insights. I love the Book of Mormon so much. Every time I read it I feel so much peace. I know that the Book of Mormon truly is God's word. We can draw closer to Him by reading it. It is one of the greatest sources of revelation.

Lastly, we had transfer calls today! Sister Gottfredson and I will both be staying in Koshigaya, and Sister Nicholes will be training in Kasukabe! I am so excited for her. She is going to be a wonderful trainer!

I love you all! I hope you have all set some good goals for this new year. I know that as you set goals with God, you will receive divine assistance to help you reach them. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. He will strengthen us to do the things we need to. Through Him we can do the things that will strengthen us.

Happy New Year!  Love, Crandall Shimai