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