Week Four

 Dearest Family,

Last week was week 4 of the transfer. I could probably just leave it at that, but I guess I should go a little more in depth.

Almost every single appointment fell through last week, so we got a total of three lessons taught. Really quite the bummer. Not only that, but our only progressing investigator texted us and told us that she can't do religion right now and is going to quit taking the lessons for a while. That brings us down to zero investigators, so we'll need to focus a lot more on finding right now.

It was a typical week 4, I guess. 4 really is an unlucky number. :P

We had stake conference on Sunday, which was great. President Dorff spoke in English about Elder Scott's talk from October 2014. I loved that talk so much! It was a really good talk. He was really bold in telling all of the members of the stake that they needed to be going to the temple more. The Spirit was way strong.

Speaking of the temple, we were able to go today! It was an English session, which was great! I haven't done an English session in a long time. I loved sitting in the Celestial Room and looking at the large picture of Christ. It is always such special time. I look forward to when I can go more regularly.

I know the church is true! I know He lives! I know He loves each of us individually!

Have a great week!

Love, Crandall Shimai

地震 (for lack of a better title)

Dearest Family and Friends,

All those affected by the earthquakes in Kumamoto and Ecuador are in my prayers.  I pray for their safety.

This last week was another really busy week.  We had exchanges with the Kasukabe Sisters.  I always love working with Sister Nicholes.  She and I have been in the same zone since she came to the mission last Fall.  She is so wonderful.  I hope someday my Japanese is as good as hers.

On Wednesday, we visited the Bishop's wife and weeded her yard.  We didn't get to all of it, but we did one part.  I guess we'll let the elders do the rest... It was so nice to do some real service, and I even perfected the Asian squat!  (Which really helped when cleaning the shower drain today!)

On Thursday we had interviews with President and Sister Nagano.  I am so blessed to have the cutest, sweetest, mission president and wife in the world.  I am so grateful for their love and kindness, and also for their willingness to hold the bar high for the missionaries in the Japan Tokyo Mission.  I know that because of their faith and vision, I can become an even great missionary.  As I align my vision with theirs and with the Lord's, I can truly reach my potential.

On Friday, we had Zone Meeting, and we decided to close with a testimony meeting this time.  It was so powerful, and I was so grateful we did.  We are excited to be starting Eiken Test Prep in May (in addition to our Eikaiwa classes).

On Saturday, we ate lunch with one of my favorite people – Kawaguchi Shimai!  I forgot to take a picture... but she made us tacos!  Or maybe they were burritos... anyway, we don't usually get that kind of food in Japan.  She shared with us her testimony.  She is in love with conference, and she watched Elder Holland's talk five times that morning because she thought it was so good.  She shared with us experiences from when she went to Utah a few years ago, and I am so excited to see her there this October!

I know this church is true!  Every day I am so grateful for the truth that God loves us!  I know that He is my Father, and I know that He cares about me.  He is aware of my needs, my desires, my thoughts, and my feelings.  I know that He knows best how I can be happy.  I want so badly to just give Him my heart and my will and strive for better consecration.  I know that doing so will draw me closer to Him and bring me more happiness.

I love you all!  Please be safe!  Remember, if you choose Christ, then you have made the correct decision!

Love, Crandall Shimai

Short Email

Dearest Loved Ones,

Sorry, I'm a little short on time, so just a short email this week.

This week was really busy.  We tried to visit with a lot of people, but our two progressing investigators both cancelled with us.  We met with a few less actives, including Sano Shimai who fed us Taiwanshoku. We found a nice lady on the street who said we could come back again, so we'll see her again tomorrow!  We saw a lot of beautiful Sakura, and now they are all falling down.  But, soon more flowers will be blooming.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be in Japan right now!  I love being a missionary, and I know that the message I bear will bring people real happiness.  I know that as we focus our lives on Christ, we will find lasting peace and joy.

I love you all!

Love, Crandall Shimai

SAKURA!

Dearest Family and Friends,

This week went by so quickly, yet things that happened just a day or two ago seem like forever ago...

On Tuesday, we visited with Sano Shimai!  I love her!  She gave me a cute kaki keychain (we set up this appointment because we thought I was leaving, but then I didn't transfer away).  We also visited with Wendy and Imanari Yuka, our two progressing investigators.  we also had time to go streeting for two hours straight.  How was there so much time in one day?

We spent Wednesday in Kasukabe with Sister Nicholes as we waited for Gushiken Shimai to arrive from Niigata.  We visited with Kanno Shimai, the lady who handed out 16 Books of Mormon in the hospital in Koshigaya area.  She is a dendou fireball.  We also found some beautiful pink trees and snapped a few pictures...

And yes, the sakura are blooming!  They are so beautiful!  This is probably the time of year that I take the most pictures!  The rivers are lined with sakura, and there are pink flowers everywhere!  I definitely want to plant sakura in my yard in the future.

On Friday we got a phone call from someone we didn't know... She was a dropped investigator from two years ago, and she wanted to meet!  It was a crazy miracle!  She came to kodomo eikaiwa and we got to talk with her about...

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Stop!  I forgot that at this time of year all of the people running for office drive around in these cars with megaphones and tell you to vote for them!  One just drove by, and it was way natsukashii.

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...her problems and her interests.  We should be meeting regularly from now on, which is way exciting.

Sunday was CONFERENCE!  I LOVE CONFERENCE!  SO MUCH!  We watched the Priesthood session live, and then we watched the Saturday sessions after that.  It was all really good.  I loved the music and the talks... the Spirit was so strong, and I felt so grateful for continuing revelation through living prophets.

Lastly, Sunday night we visited a referral from the elders named Kudo, and she was home!  She had been dropped a long time ago, and she said that it would be okay for us to come back next week and share a message with her family!  It was a really sweet tender mercy of the Lord!

I love you all!  Have a great week!

Love, Crandall Shimai