First week in Japan 7-21-13

Konnichiwa, kazoku!

Wow. Looking back on this week, its crazy to think of all the things that have happened. Where to begin?!? Last Sunday, the sisters in our district sang in Sacrament Meeting and that was really nice, a great experience for our last day together. The plane ride was very long, but it was fun at the same time. There were 29 missionaries going from the MTC to Fukuoka, so it was a good time. When we were at the Tokyo airport, we had to go through customs, recheck our luggage, switch terminals all the way across the airport, go through security again, get on a different shuttle to go to our plane, and a few more crazy adventures but luckily we made it to our last flight. The flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka was my favorite part of the trip. It was so beautiful. I had a window seat and essentially just looked out in awe for the whole 2 hours. When we landed in Fukuoka, it was about 7 00 Tuesday night. The mission president and his wife were there with the APs to greet us and help us get everything together. They are awesome. I love them so much already; I can't wait to get to know them better over the next year and a half. We went back to the mission home, where we proceeded to sign a bunch of papers, figure out all of the paperwork and such then we went to bed.  Oh and another fun fact - I didn't really sleep on the plane because I couldn't. I think my body was just weirded out by the time zone difference or something so I had jetlag for several days. Tons of fun. On Wednesday, we had an orientation, went streeting with some of the Fukuoka missionaries, and that night went and helped with Eikaiwa, English class. Afterwords is when we found out our new areas and companions. Well as I'm sure you were able to gather from the ward member's email, I am currently serving in Miyazaki, and my companion is Suzuki Shimai. She is awesome. Super nice. She is full Japanese, but grew up in Hong Kong going to all English schools and an English ward and such so she is completely fluent in Japanese and English. She was serving in another area, so we met up in Fukuoka and took the 4 hour train ride here and got to know each other really well. When we got off the bus, there were a few members and the ward mission leader and the set of Miyazaki elders here to greet us. They gave us candy leis and a huge welcome card - it was so nice! They also set up appointments with us for the next day, introduced us to members, brought us food, and essentially save us every time we have a question. They are way nice. Its interesting because the last time there were sister missionaries in this area was about a year ago, so the ward is thrilled to have us here. At least that's what I think. I essentially just spend a lot of time smiling at people while my companion talks to them. Then I attempt a sentence in broken Japanese and they usually understand part of it. It is really interesting being in the minority. I definitely look very American here, but it's a great experience. I love Japan. I seriously can't even really begin to explain how nice and respectful everyone is to each other. The food is different, but really good. Also I have one minor accomplishment to share - when I got here, I couldn't eat with chopsticks at all. However, now I can do it well enough to get by. Huzzah! 

Oh our apartment! It is super nice. Way nice. Cute, clean, and really open - with only one minor problem. The a/c is broken. As in it doesn't work. As in our apartment is often more humid and hot than outside. But it\s okay, That first night was the hardest to adjust to, but the elders saved us once again the next day by bringing by 2 more fans. We have a great system now for when we're home - we just make sure to put all the fans in the room we're spending time in. No big deal. I think the a/c will be getting fixed in another week or so so it's all good.

Seriously though, I can't even begin to describe how incredible the members here are. They are incredible! They love the fact that there are sisters in the ward again and they have helped us with so much already and are continuously helping us out. 

Yesterday, we had branch conference so President and Sister Gustafson were here and it was great to see them again. After church there was a big potluck dinner and the food was awesome. It was great to be able to go around and meet more people and learn more about this place. Oh and there are about 60 people in the branch here, and there's just the one branch in Miyazaki.

Last random fact on this note - one of the ward members here got back from his mission last December and he served with one of my MTC senseis. Small world!

In response to a few of your queries, the funny thing is I feel like I learned alot in the MTC but promptly forgot every single thing the moment I stepped off the plane. I'm serious. I can bear a simple testimony and pray *which are things I learned how to do about my first week of the mtc* but the problem is I feel like my Japanese is worse than it was there. Which isn't exactly how I should be feeling. It is hard, REALLY hard to not get discouraged about the language. Especially when the little kids know as much or more English than I know Japanese. I have learned so much the importance of relying on Heavenly Father and the Spirit. It is hard, but we can do this! I am so blessed to have Suzuki Shimai here. She is so nice and understanding. But, things will work out. I know this is the case. Japan really is incredible! I can't wait to continue learning more and more every day.

Thanks for everything, I love you all so much! Good luck with everything this next week. You\re the best!

Ai shitte imasu,

Flake Shimai

PS THAT IS SO AWESOME THAT CASEY AND ANGELA WILL BE MOVING HERE. WOOO-HOOOOO

(Alyssa's first cousin-Angela (Moody) Bond and her husband are moving to Miyazaki next month to teach at a school there for a year so they will be in her branch.  We are very excited to get some firsthand accounts from them on how she is doing.)

Pictures:--from her companion

Sister Flake is so cute ;)

Sister Flake & me with the ADORABLE Hayashi family children ;D

6-19-13 update from Japanese member

 We got an unexpected surprise today, receiving an email from a member in Alyssa's new area with some pictures of her with her new companion and some members.  She looks excited and a liitle lost but I know she will do great.  She has a Japanese companion, sister Suzuki, and is serving in Myazaki.  Here's the email we received.

Hello!!  My name is Yuiko Matsuo and I'm a member of LDS in Miyazaki JAPAN.

So, Your daughter's Sister Flake is very fine!!

She seemed to have some jet lag yesterday.

However, she seemed to be all right today(7/19).

Her testament is so good!!   today,they had many apointment.

I went to joint it. She doesn't yet understand much Japanese.

But,Her testament gave an impression to us very much.

Missionary work is Spirit.  She is so good missionary!!

Today,We ate dinner at my parents' house.  It was so fun time!!

Thank you Sister Flake's Father,Mother,4Brothers!!


P.S.    My younger brother is Scottsdale mission now!  We love Scottsdale mission!!
P.S.2  So sorry,I can't speak English...  You need patience...sorry...


Love  Yuiko matsuo & Kawano family

OK! I attach a photographs.

1. Welcome to Miyazaki~~!! Sister Suzuki & Sister Flake☆
2.Present of the candy necklace
3.Miyazaki missionaries!!!
4.The entrance of the parents' house.(me→Sister Flake→Sister Suzuki→My Mom→My Sister)
 

Just wanted to let all of you know that we were able to talk to Alyssa briefly yesterday morning (July 15). We were expecting an early morning 4am call from Salt Lake, but we never heard from her.  She actually called from Dallas on her layover, we talked for about 15 minutes.  To say she was excited is an understatement!  She loved the MTC, but is very ready to be Japan preaching the gospel. We're assuming her P-day will be on Mondays, but won't know for sure until we hear from her.

Watch out Japan, here she comes--7-13-13

Konnichiwa, kazoku!!!

Hello hello! As always it has been an awesome week. I seriously can't believe how fast the time has gone. I feel like I've been here for awhile, and like I've known my district and senseis for such a long time, but at the same time it feels like just yesterday that I got here. Essentially the concept of how time passes here still blows my mind so I'm just not going to think about it right now. I'm so glad your week was so productive! And mom - thanks for telling me all about that story of the piano miracle that happened this week. I am so happy for you and glad everything was able to work out. I can't believe it's already time for you to start getting things ready for school again. Crazy how time flies. But it's all good. :)

This week was quite eventful, as we had a ton of last minute things to do in addition to our normal class and study time schedule. The super exciting news is Talia-Uli Shimai got her official clearance from the doctor as well as her travel plans so she is for sure coming to Japan on Monday. Woo-hoo! We're all so excited for her. I guess the craziest day this week that I'll tell you about wasWednesday. Our companionship was asked to be a set of missionaries that demonstrated some how to begin teaching principles to the new missionaries that came in on Wednesday, so that morning we had to miss some of class in order to be trained in preparation for that. Right after, we were also asked to host new missionaries coming in that afternoon, which was way fun. I basically talked the poor girls I helped to death because I love it here and was going on and on and on but they didn't seem to mind too much. It was a blast. After that, we taught Watabesan a tiny lesson then ran to do our teaching demonstration for the new missionaries, then went back to class. So probably one of the weirdest things about the demonstration was that it was in English. At first, it seemed like that would be awesome because we'd be able to say anything that came to mind! Crazy thing is, when we went to do it it was so hard to not say the Japanese conversation starters and such. Oh and another funny story with that - so in Japanese, yes is "hai" (pronounced hi, as in hello). It is totally second nature now, so in our lesson the investigator asked a question and Talia-Uli Shimai enthusiastically responded "Hai!" The investigator kind of gave us a funny look, and said "Um, hello?" Too good, but I guess it's a good thing that we're thinking like that.  Crazy day - running all over the MTC but it was great.Thursday was full of lasts - last day of service, last day of class with Taylor Sensei, last day of TALL, last day of a normal schedule - pretty weird! Friday was in-field orientation. We basically sat in a huge meeting all day for all of the departing missionaries (and we didn't have any normal class) but it was really entertaining. Everyone that works here has such a love for the work. I love the Spirit that I can always feel here. Ah - the MTC has been so good. I am so glad for all the things I have learned here, and the ways in which I have been able to grow. Okay random new subject but another favorite thing of the week has been PMG study. We've been focusing on working on studying a different Christ-like attribute for part of our study each time we have PMG study time and it is incredible. I love the new things I'm able to learn every day. It is so exciting!

Okay, sorry but I really could go on about those forever so I'll switch gears a little now. More information with the call -- I have sad news for you. Happy news for me, because I'll be wide awake. But essentially where I'm going with this is that I'm going to have to call pretty early in the morning, from the SLC Airport. This is because our layover in Texas is not very long - we're essentially just running from one plane to the next. So don't be surprised if you get a call at 4 ish in the morning! I guess this will just measure whether you value your favorite daughter or your sleep more. Take your pick. :) hehehe. But it's true, just so you know. :)

And it's all good with the watch - if you send it to me for Christmas or something that would be golden. Not a big deal. OH another awesome thing about Thursday - Heaton Shimai's dad came in and spoke to our class for about an hour with awesome Japan advice. It was great. He's speaking on Sunday, so for our last devotional we will probably get wonderful seats. Oh yeah!

Sorry mom - I can't think right now of any of my friends that you know to compare Heaton Shimai to, but I'll ponder that and let you know. Just know that having her as a companion is the greatest. She's hilarious. So we meet at the travel office 2:30 a.m. Mondaymorning to head out - less than 48 hours! I will miss alot of things here, but  I CAN'T WAIT to go to Japan. Don't get me wrong, it's scary. But mostly just exciting. AAAAAAAAAAA I can not wait. :) I know that I have more that I'll remember I was wanting to tell you as soon as I leave the computer lab but I guess I can sum it all up by saying thank you once again for everything, I love you all so much, and I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to share this wonderful message we have with the people of Japan!

Ai shite imasu!!!                     I got my Japanese name tag!!

Flake Shimai

7-6-13

Konnichiwa, Kazoku!!!

This week has been crazy but awesome. As always. :) I got the package on Monday (it came on Saturday but by the time I got the package slip the post office was closed) so I picked it up Monday - thank you so much! It was exactly what I wanted. Right on down to that pair of moose socks. Oh yeah. And that missionary newsletter from our stake made my day - thank you thank you thank you. It is awesome reading how everyone is doing on their missions! The cookies you sent were still ultra soft and delicious. Oh and I loved and appreciated the jerky - but I think the elders in my district may have loved it even more than I did. It definitely made them happy campers. OH and the pictures were awesome. They make me so happy. I showed everyone in my district because I was so excited. :)

That's so fun that the boys are at EFY this week - they'll have such a good experience with that. Super exciting! And mom - I'm glad you got to sing with Angie, Wendy and Laura, I'm sure that was awesome. I'm praying for Dottie; and I know that whatever happens is what needs to happen right now. The Lord's timing is so important. He knows exactly what needs to happen at every moment of our lives because He can see the big picture. When we have the faith that this is the case, it is incredible to see what He has in store for us. I was just reading about that this morning, in fact in Ether 12. The Lord gives us different trials and challenges but when we keep going forward with faith in Him we can overcome the struggles and learn  tons along the way. SO GOOD. Wow. This gospel really is amazing!!!

In answer to some of your queries:

It was AWESOME seeing Devin last Tuesday! Holy cow that was a surprise. I ran up and gave him a huge hug. So good to see him. One thing that was a bit of a bummer though was that he didn't get to meet my normal companions - although Davidson and Willis Shimai, whom I was on splits with, are awesome as well. Heaton Shimai and Talia-Uli Shimai were at an appointment/test at the hospital that morning. Good news - the test told the doctors what was wrong with Talia-Uli Shimai (and it's not as big of a deal as they thought it could be) so she will hopefully get cleared to go to Japan the same time we do! We're crossing our fingers for her. She is the best. Adjusting to having 3 people after only having 2 for 6 weeks has been a bit of a challenge but things are going great. I absolutely love both  Heaton Shimai and Talia-Uli Shimai. I've already told you lots about Heaton Shimai and how much I adore her. Talia-Uli Shimai is hilarious. Seriously, she is. She is Tongan, and her English is awesome (and she has a way cool accent). Mostly she's a huge joker so it keeps us all laughing every day. She has the best attitude, even though she's been here a lot longer than all of us. Always super happy and cheerful - I love it!

On Wednesday, one thing that was different was that for TRC we got to skype with members in Japan. So what that entailed was the three of us skyping with Brother Ishii, a member (volunteer) currently living in Japan. We taught him as himself, teaching the importance of prayer and the blessings it brings. It was awesome, and even though it was over the internet we could definitely feel the Spirit. We were all a little sad when it was time to end the call. Dad, to answer your questions a little - Progressing Investigator lessons are our teachers being the investigators ( we have that every day for the first hour of class) and they pretend to be one of the people they knew from their mission. So our current investigators are Kuahara Kyodai (Anderson Sensei) and Watabe Kyodai (Taylor Sensei). Basically a couple of companionships sign up to teach each day, and it's in a different room (not our classroom). We go in and teach them for about 20 minutes or so, commit them to things, teach lessons they're confused about, and so on. It's amazing. I love it and the things I've learned as we've done this. TRC is a program that anybody really can volunteer to come to. I think 95% of the time it's members, but our first time we happened to get a nonmember. It kind of depends because it's different every week. This week and next week, however, we're doing skype instead.

4th of July: I think this is definitely the greatest holiday to spend in the MTC (okay, so maybe I'm a bit biased). It was AWESOME. Normal day of class and such, but then at 7:30 we all went to a devotional in 19M. We sang a lot of patriotic songs, there was an awesome flute/piano duet, and a speaker gave about a five minute talk. After the closing song President Nally announced that we'd be watching 17 Miracles, then getting ice cream and watching the fireworks. And that is exactly what we did. I had never seen that movie before, but let me tell you, it is a winner. I almost cried (and I would have too if I could cry in movies. But unfortunately I cannot). It was incredible! The pioneers went through so much for this wonderful gospel that we know to be true. It was very inspiring. The movie finished a little after ten, then we got ice cream and watched the fireworks till just before 11. Yep, that's right - we got to stay up late! It was crazy, but loads of fun. I love America!

Another thing we do every day is TALL (Technology Assisted Language Learning, or something like that), a computer program to help us learn more vocabulary and grammar principles, and it is really helpful. Anywho so yesterday when we were in the computer lab, President Mills walked by and said hello. And took a picture - I'm presuming he sent it to you. I run into him all over around this place! It's great.

Oh my  goodness. I also got Aunt Diana's package yesterday - tell them thank you! It was awesome. I loved all the pictures and notes from the cousins, as well as the cookies and cookie dough. Supreme. It was super nice, and greatly appreciated. :)

Yesterday we got our travel plans! I'm sorry I don't have my paper with the specifics with me right now, all I can remember is that we have to meet at the travel office 2:30 a.m. on July 15. I think we're going to Salt Lake, then Dallas, then Tokyo, then  Fukuoka. So next week I'll send you specific info on when I can call and such. Thanks for everything with that! I am excited to tell you a bit more in person. Just know that it will be sometime Monday morning. What number do you want me to call?

Oh and last thing - if possible, is there any possible way you could send me my gray watch? It's in the grey storage bin (and yes, I don't know whether to spell it as grey or gray, which is precisely why I put both). If not it's not a problem, but if that would be possible that would be lovely. Anyway I want you all to know that I love you! The Lord loves each of us so much, and is SO involved in the details of our lives. And I'm serious about going back and reading Ether 12. It is the best. Well that's all for this week, kazoku, but good luck with all your adventures this week!

Ai shiteimasu!!!!

-Flake Shimai

 

P.S. Elder Beatty just walked by in the computer lab I'm currently sitting in. He said to tell you all hi. :)

6-29-13--It's a trio!!

Konnichiwa, kazoku!!!

This has been quite an eventful week, to be sure. Thank you so much for your letter! I love hearing how the fam is doing. Please don't be offended if I don't reply to everything, time is short and this week has been insane so I want to share!! I'm so glad you had an awesome cruise - and don't worry about the fact that you may have gained weight - if you're ever feeling bad about that, rest assured that I have probably gained 3 or 4 times as much in my time here. Oh well, I'm pretty over it. That's awesome that the boys are going to EFY this week, I'm glad they get to do that! Oh and also thanks for keeping me updated with the Dottie situation. I'm praying for all of you!!

This week, my biggest news is that I am now in a trio companionship. I'm still with Heaton Shimai, but another has been added to our ranks - Talia-Uli Shimai. She is from Tonga, and just about the most loving, cheerful person I've ever met. She was in the district that was a bit older than us, but she had to stay at the MTC because of health concerns. So the doctors are still running tests and such, but her attitude is fantastic. I am learning so much from her every day. And as always, Heaton Shimai is rock solid. She's the best. Always.

The broadcast last week was SO COOL. We got to sing in the choir, and I'm on the screen for a few seconds but the only reason I could see myself was because I was wearing a bright pink shirt and was in an aisle seat. But it's all good, I've had my moments of fame before :) hahaha joking! But anywho, on a more serious note - it was incredible sitting twenty feet away from so many of the apostles. I feel so lucky and blessed that I have had that experience twice in the last few months. It was such a wonderful experience to be in that meeting. Yes, I saw Cameron Byrd and almost started laughing because I was just chillin and watching the video clip then said "Wait a second, I know him!!" Took me by surprise, but was way cool. The MTC choir is a blast to be in. There's more elders than sisters, but not by much! I love singing in the devotionals and such. Great experience.

The mission president seminar was this week so we had strict orders to not even go near building 1M because of all the important trainings going on, and people that would be there. Crazy story of the week though - we got special permission to go to the front desk so Talia-uli shimai could get some things worked out with moving rooms and such, and when we went to go we were about twenty feet from the door when a security guard came booking it toward us. He said "Sisters, I'm going to need you to wait here for a few  minutes." Right then, important people started coming out of the building. We were standing right next to the curb. A car drove by, and I looked up to see Elder Cook waving at us. The next car that drove by slowed down as it passed and the occupant was Elder Nelson waving at us. The last car that drove by (and slowed down near us) was Elder Holland and his wife, waving at us. HOLY COW. 1/4 of the quorum of the twelve just waved at me. How cool is that?

Another fun change with the seminar was that we had a makeshift cafeteria in the gym all week. Therefore, not as many options, sometimes the food was good, sometimes it wasn't, but we were happy. It was a fun change of scenery. I love our district and the other district of dai senpai. We have good times. Oh and I should probably explain this naming system of ours a little bit better: A new group of Japanese missionaries comes in every three weeks. The group that is in their first three weeks is the kohai group, the ones that have been in 3-6 weeks are sen pai. and the 6-9 weekers are called dai senpai. It's a convenient way to tell who's been here for how long real fast. There are over 200 missionaries in here going to Japan right now. Last october or november there was a time where there was only 7. How awesome is that? The work really is hastening. The MTC is bursting at the seams, and will continue to for the next few weeks. These are such exciting times. I know that the Lord needs each of these missionaries exactly where they have been assigned.

I know I mention it all the time - and I'm not super awesome at explaining it but our progressing investigator lessons really are my favorite. They are an incredible experience. Watabe Kyodai is getting baptized next Friday, which is awesome but also means we have a lot to teach him still!
Unfortunately I haven't hosted yet and I'm not sure if I will. Most of our district did last week. The thing is it's smack dab in the middle of additional study time, which is precious indeed. I think hosting would be a blast but I don't know if I'm willing to give up any of my study time. I have to learn Japanese! There is always so much more to learn than the amount of study time we have. But we will keep pluggin through! (yeah, don't mind that that phrase makes no sense. My brain is fried).

And lastly, technically going all day without speaking english is what we're supposed to do every day. but that doesn't happen as much as it needs to. Our goal is to SYL (speak your language) as much as possible for the next two weeks, especially because that's all we'll be doing for the next year and a half! Yeah essentially it means if we know the word in Japanese, we're not allowed to say it in English. Or if we need to say a phrase we don't know, we have to ask permission to say it in English (Eigo de hanashitte mo ii desu ka?) Another awesome thing is we've been trying to be better at conquering the Book of Mormon in Japanese every day. Sometimes it's pretty slow going, but it is so exciting and rewarding. Essentially, like I say every week, I LOVE JAPANESE. It is beautiful. But hard. But I love it. Anywho, my time is running short - just know that I love you and am grateful for your example and support!

Ai shite imasu!

-Flake Shimai