Staying Put! 10-26-14

Halloween party.  My new companion Sister Gazdik--Poor girl

Fall in Japan

Samurai Elders?

Konnichiwa kazoku!

Well, since I'm sure you are dying to know if I got transferred or not I will tell you all about it. I get to finish my mission in the best area ever!!! BUT I do have a new companion. Sou shimai transferred to Iwakuni, which is the military branch (all the americans -  alllll English. she'll be great. she was pretty scared but she'll be a champ). And Burgon shimai went home this transfer... so I became companions with Gazdik shimai, whom I have been living with for the past two transfers! One thing that is a little sad is that Saijou went down to 2 man for sisters - so me and Gazdik combined our areas and investigators. It has been a little bit hectic figuring out things with our apartment and all of our investigators but it is already a lot of fun. It's funny though - I haven't lived in a 2 man apartment since I was a bean, so that has been a fun adjustment as well. It is a little more quiet, but it's good. One thing that was a little sad was that we had to say goodbye to two missionaries but didn't get to welcome any more in. We had been sleeping with our futons right next to our desks (aka NO space) since I came to Saijou (there are just the two rooms, so each companionship had a room) but we have a little more room now so we were able to convert one into our study and one into the bedroom. That has been way nice.

Anyway, I'll stop boring you with the details like that - but on to everything going no! Thanks for telling me about your week - it sure does sound like a party! Mom, I am convinced that you guys have made it to every vocal point concert since Devin joined the group. haha. One day I will go too! But really, I am so glad you were all able to go up and see them it sounds like you had a lot of fun!

I am glad your concerts and auditions went well. What musical are you doing this year? Also thanks for the football update. It's always appreciated:)

Yes, last week was so wonderful with the baptismal service and everything that went on with that. This week was good - we taught a TON of lessons. There were a lot of lessons before Thursday with me and sou, and gazdik and burgon, then gazdik and I really buckled down and got a lot of things done that we needed to get done this weekend. We are really similar, and are planning on making every last minute count this transfer. She has a lot of enthusiasm, which is fun. Oh a bit about her - so Burgon was her trainer, I get the honors of breaking her - she is starting her 3rd transfer right now. She is from California and is 1/4 Japanese (her grandpa is Japanese) which is pretty fun. Small world fun fact is that I was in a few classes with her older sister at college (same program with Rec therapy). Yep. We are just workin as hard as we can!

I feel like I have too many things to say - I guess I will suffice with some simple basics. Takeda shimai is doing great. We officially started the AB lessons and she is doing really well and continuing to come closer to Christ every day. Her testimony is awesome - I know she is a wonderful addition to our Saijou group!

We have a new investigator, Hasuike that I might have told you about last week - she is a referral from one of our eikaiwa students. She has a lot of interest in learning more about God. Can't wait to keep teaching her!

Yotsujisan - we made a baptismal date/goal with her a few weeks ago but she is really busy right now with work and family things so we are trying to work out the specifics with her right now. She still wants to get baptized but is kind of wavering on setting a date.

Fujimoto san is so cute - she reminds me of a Japanese version of Grandma Moody. True story. She has the same mannerisms and is just great. She is one of Gazdik's (now mine, too) investigators that we were able to teach last night. She has been struggling with receiving/recognizing answers to her prayers. We just taught her in her genkan, a pretty small place but the spirit was so strong I felt like I could feel it with my hand. We felt prompted to promise her some pretty specific blessings that she could receive if she was more specific and diligent in her prayers. It is an incredible feeling to walk out of a lesson and feel like we did everything we could and the Lord was directing his work! I have learned a lot of things on my mission - but one huge thing is just that it is not about us. We are not the ones doing things here - it is always the Lord and we need to do everything we can to turn to Him and trust that he will use us as tools in His hands if we do all we can. I love being here and honestly don't want to ever leave. I am so grateful for all of the things I have learned on my mission and really cannot imagine what my life would have been like had I not come. Well sorry for the rambling but I love you all so much - thank you for all of your support and prayers - we definitely feel them here!

愛しています！

フレーク姉妹　　より                          Love you!!! - Sister Flake

PS--I am sorry I feel like I always forget to answer your questions - -

Our group has about 13 members now. 10 of which have been baptized since last December :) So we are not officially a branch yet - there are certain requirements, like 4 melchizedek priesthood holders and ten people or something like that. we met the requirements a few months ago and sent in the paperwork to SLC to become a branch but it is still getting figured out and the OK has not been given yet. It is a bit of a bummer, because since we are not a branch yet there are a bunch of things we have to deal with with being in the same ward as the Hiroshima members, things we can't do here because we're not independent and stuff. I'll fill you in on the details one day but we are working are hardest on getting everything set up here! we normall have 30 ish at church between members, investigators, and missionaries which is way cool. our room maximum is 41 (fire code regulations). We just have 2 rented rooms on the second floor in a huge office building/apartment building. the bummer is that since we're not an official branch we are not registered on line, so people searching for where the church is here can't find it. but that is where the lord steps in and miraculously leads us to them or them to us!

also we have met some Christians from mianmar and Cambodia that came to church yesterday! we've only taught them once, but goodness gracious I don't know how missionaries teach Christians. it's the hardest thing of my life. I prefer Buddhists. yep. more on that later.

And one more thing - we had the best Halloween party EVER last week. it was so fun. I was a mad scientist - you're gonna love the pictures. maybe I am a little crazy.  It was so much fun and we saw crazy miracles with ward members becoming better friends. loads of fun!!

Baptism!! 10-20-14

With Takedasan

Konnichiwa, kazoku!

As fate would have it the week I have the most to tell you is the week I am typing my letter on a tiny touchscreen keyboard tablet thanks to technical difficulties with the normal computers we use. Bear with me, please:-) 

Well... The big news of the week is that Takedasan got baptized this past Saturday!!! It was such a wonderful service. I just couldn't stop smiling the whole time. Of course there were a few funny quirks that went on but all in all it turned out great. I'll give you a quick rundown. We rode the train in to Hiroshima with her and went to eat Chinese food before the baptism. Sou shimai had a great chat with our waitress for awhile and invited her to church (I think). We headed on over to the church and got pictures and made sure everything was all set up. The zone leaders had taken care of filling the font for us which really helped us out a lot. The service started smoothly - I gave takeda's as introduction, sou shimai gave a talk, a ward member  gave a talk, and us saijo sisters sang a song, after which we headed to the font. We helped her get to the edge of the water, and she stepped in and then jumped right out, saying It's too hot! So I stuck my hand in and sure enough it was pretty toasty in there. She was not about to get in and I don't blame her one bit - I would have done the same! We pulled the plug and started pouring in the cold water , and eventually plugged it back up and the water evened out. It got to an acceptable temperature and we were able to move on with the baptism. The rest went really well, and when she bore her testimony the spirit was so strong. I know that God really does prepare  his children and cares about every one of them. This has become one of the happiest memories I have.

She is doing great!

We were also able to meet with Tanaka San this week - she is 21 and has  a really cute little baby. We met her on the street a few weeks ago and as luck would have it we liveinthe same apt building. We had a few lessons with her and they went really well. We are excited to keep working with her.

Another miracle - we got a referral from one of our eikaiwa students. Her friend wanted to know about God so she introduced her to us, and we had a solid lesson. I have countless things to tell you but notenough time or ability today. Sorry! 

Things are going well here. We are slightly anxious as we are waiting for the APs to call but I know whatever happens is what needs to happen!

Thanks for letting me know about your week - it sounded like a lot of fun! I can't believe there are two new Arizona temples. I am excited to see them eventually. Have a great week - I will let you know about transfers next week! I love you!!!!

Ai shite imasu!

Flake shimai.

Typhoons and Takedasan 10-13-14

Konnichiwa, kazoku! 

So many things to say ---- but the most important is Takedasan passed her baptismal interview, which means she is getting baptized thiscoming Saturday!!!!!! Just a bit about that day, then I will back up. So, while elder Wood, our district leader, was in a room interviewing her I was just pacing. I felt way good about everything, but was just nervous for her because she was so scared for the interview. After half an hour or so, he came out but closed the door behind him, and beckoned me over. He said (with a serious face) "Hey Flake shimai, I just have one question. Did you guys go over..." then he smiled and said "just kidding - she passed!" I slugged him in the arm. Hard. I felt a little bad, because I have been so good at not punching anybody for a year and a half but he scared me so bad! Anyway it was awesome talking to Takedasan afterwards by herself. She told us she had been so nervous when it started but as the interview went along she was able to open up and felt a lot of comfort and peace. Thank you so much for your prayers - we really felt them!

Okay - I will now try to give a bit more about the week. So when wonderful things are happening, Satan always tries to get us down a bit, right? But we just can't let him get us! There were a few hard things going on in the earlier part of this week, and it wasn't anything big but let's just say I was sure looking forward to being able to listen to general conference this weekend.  This has been one of the hardest but best transfers of my mission. Both extremes. Crazy how that happens :) but it sure does! Anyway, it became alright. We had companion exchanges on Friday and it was such a party. My current STLS are Babcock and Kuchar - I absolutely LOVE these sisters. They were in neighboring areas when I was serving in Fukuoka, and we probably almost saw each other once every 1 or 2 weeks for 6 months, so we are pretty great friends. They've been up here in Hiroshima (Yasufuruichi) for a while too, so it's been great being around them. Anyway I got to go on exchanges with Babcock and it was great. It was a bit of a release being able to just talk in English for  a bit to someone. Funny how that can relax you, but it sure does! We taught Yotsujisan, our really nice but super quiet investigator on Friday. We taught lesson 3, and it was solid. The spirit was so strong, and she really started opening up to us. We had invited her to be baptized the previous time we had met with her, but at that time she had not been super interested in setting a date so we were not planning on asking her again this time. But, after teaching the doctrine of Christ and feeling the spirit so strong I had the strongest feeling to invite her again. At first I didn't want to, logically telling myself we had done it last time and she hadn't been interested, but it persisted so I invited her to be baptized on November 29th and she accepted! I don't know who was more surprised, me, Yotsujisan, or Babcock shimai, but we all agreed to work on getting her baptized that day! I learned a lot from that experience. I am trying to  work a lot more on following all the promptings of the Spirit - not just when it's convenient. I think I will really be able to grow and be a better missionary as I do this. That same day, the other sisters were able to teach Tanakasn, a potential investigator that lives in the same apartment building as us and it went really well - we're actually meeting with her again in a couple of hours. Yay for junkai (exchanges?) miracles!

Kishita shimai, one of the recent converts we are working with has been preparing to receive her patriarchal blessing. She was able to receive it after general conference on Sunday, and it was a really good experience for her. I am so glad.

General Conference!!!!!! I think I could talk forever about how much I love general conference, but I will leave it at that for now. I feel like every time, the talks get more direct and I absolutely love it. We can learn so much from our church leaders. God really does answer our personal questions through them. I really was able to feel the peace I was needing this weekend. 

Also I was so surprised when they got to speak in their native language! I am excited to see how this will be in the future, too.

Speaking of - DEVIN. How incredible is that? I was so blown away to hear about that awesome experience you all had as vocal point got to sing at that big conference! I really am so happy for you!

Saturday night after conference we went and stayed the night with the hikari sisters (Lane and Nigh) and of course that was a party. They are so much fun. 

2 more things, then I will end this novel. :D One  huge miracle. This weekend, saturday and sunday was the Saijo annual sake matsuri (alcohol festival). Saijo is really famous for it's alcohol - there is a huge factory just a few blocks away from our apartment. Every fall they do a huge festival - lots of booths and things going on all over town but the biggest part is you can enter this one area, and pay some entrance fee then have free beer from all over Japan. There are hundreds of kinds of beer. Tons. Aka, everyone that goes just gets wasted. Here's the miracle - it was the exact same times as general conference, therefore we did not have to dendo (do our normal missionary work) when all that craziness was going on. When we got back Sunday night, the festival was just ending. When we stepped off the train from hiroshima in to Saijou, the smell of alcohol just slammed into us like a wall - it was SO strong. I have never been more glad in my life that I don't drink. As we walked from the station to our apartment, it really was the most sobering sight (but not sober sight - hehe) we just passed crowd after crowd of people that couldn't even walk straight, were sitting with vomit all over their shoes, or were just passed out on the ground. Also groups of people singing and yelling and talking really loud. Might not sound that crazy to you, but let me tell you this - it was NOT normal Japan. Japanese people are super quiet and respectful and don't bring attention to themselves, so seeing that was pretty weird. 

OH and before the saturday morning session of conference (sorry quick rewind) the elder's investigator, Yamashita san was baptized! IT was one of the best services. The spirit was so strong!

Last thing. Yesterday was quite the day. We were all put on lockdown for the first time on my mission. None of the missionaries on the islands of honshu (us hiroshima kids) and kyushu were allowed to leave their apartments all day, but we were to still have a normal missionary ywork kind of day. So, we ended up calling every single potential investigator and investigator we have, as well as updating records, searching through the whole area book, etc.. as well as extra study. It was kind of fun, because the weather was so crazy but it was the best thing ever to wake up the next morning and go running for exercise. It literally rained all day (which is slightly normal) but the winds were also really really strong. Don't you fret - we  are all fine! But that is why pday is today.

Whew, sorry for that excessive amount of information, but it was quite the week! I love you all and have a great week! 

Ai shite imasu!

Flake Shimai

Go Carps!! 10-5-14

Base ball Japanese Style.  Is that a sushi Roll?

Cheering on the Hiroshima Carps

Sou Shimai and myself at the game

On the train

Konnichiwa, kazoku! 

Thank you so much for the letter - I hope you start feeling a bit better, mom! I'll start off by answering a few of your questions.

Our special training with the Gustafsons and the APs was wonderful - we learned a lot. It was really cool - a lot about using more media, DVDs, movie clips and QR codes and those kinds of things in our every day missionary work.  I think our mission will be getting ipads about a month or so after I leave, which I am perfectly okay with. I love trainings. We always learn so much but most importantly feel so much love from the Gustafsons. They care about each of us so much, even though there are 259 missionaries here. I talked to him about BYU admission stuff and I have permission to figure it out on pdays, but honestly right now that is about all I know. Mom, if you or Devin or Heather could maybe talk to the admissions office for me this week that would be great, and we can both work on this stuff. It would really help if you could get a few things moving and then let me know what I need to do, and I can plan on sitting down and figuring it out next pday. 

Also... I am SO excited to hear that they beat Blue Ridge! That's the best news of the day! Go team!

And with conference - we will be watching it this coming weekend because it gets translated then shown a week later - so we will go to our stake center in Takasu (about 1 hr 20 min ish away) with the whole stake, but while all the members go watch it in the chapel in Japanese, we go to basically the American missionary room and watch it in English. I can't wait!

And more happy news - I got to see the Women's broadcast for the first time since being on my mission- huzzah!

Thank you for keeping Takedasan in your prayers - I really appreciate it! She is doing really well. We had a practice baptismal interview with her this week, and it went really well but she was SO nervous. She is excited to be baptized, but really nervous and scared as well so if you could keep praying for her to feel comfort that would be great!

Lots of stories to tell - ganbarimasu! Okay, so last pday while we were food shopping I smiled and said hello to this random lady in the store, and she looked at me, looked around, then started talking to me in a whisper really fast about how she had a lot of problems in her life. She was recently divorced, and had a stalker, and some really hard things in her life. We talked to her for a bit, and told her how we turn to God when we have things like this and asked if we could meet again to talk about these things. She agreed, and we set up an appointment to meet later in the week at the church. The meeting we had was one of the hardest things of my mission. At that next appointment, we learned a lot more about her situation. She has had a really hard life, and has lots of crazy things going on. We tried to explain to her that through God and Jesus Christ she would be able to feel more peace, and would be strengthened to be able to bear the things she was going through. The moment we started talking about religion, she stiffened up and said no - there is nothing that can help me in this situation. We felt prompted to make some pretty bold promises to her about how her situation could change if she would turn to God, but she refused to even consider it, and just kept telling us it was impossible for her situation to change. As she left the room that day, I just felt so sad that she couldn't see that help or even consider that we have such a loving Heavenly Father. I know that this gospel could have helped her. Maybe one day she will remember. That's what I am hoping for, anyway. I am so grateful that we have the knowledge of this gospel. 

On a different subject - Tuesday was quite the day. We went in to Hiroshima early Tuesday morning for our special training and we were there most of the day. Right after training finished, we walked to Costco and got huge hotdogs (first time I've eaten a hotdog in 17 months) and met up with our investigator, Ayako san to go to the Hiroshima Carps baseball game! It was SO much fun. We went with Ayako san and the other sisters were there with their investigator Naokosan. Funniest thing happened with that. Ayakosan was going to get all 6 tickets and have us pay her back, and we were planning on the cheapest tickets. She ended up entering an auction, and got 6 tickets that were origina\lly more exp;ensive  but at the auction price were pretty cheap. I was blown away when we walked in to go to our seats and just kept walking down the stairs. Our seats were right next to the infield (by first base) on the seventh row. We could hear the players talking we were so close! I'll try to send a few pics - it was so fun. We didn't get to stay for a super long time - we had to leave in the middle of the 4th inning in order to get back to Saijo by 9:00 but it was so worth it. We were there for almost 2 hours though, which was great. AND apparently we were on TV - some members called us and told us. Too good.

We also were finally able to meet with Barbara san, our favorite Phillipino! She brought her roommate Rubi to our lesson, who was really interested and came to church the next day! It is so interesting serving here and having the opportunity to teach such a wide variety of people. Our investigators include older Japanese women that are very Buddhist, phillipinos that are devout Catholics, Brazillians that believe in God and Christ but don't go to church except on Christmas and Easter, and younger Japanese women that don't know quite what to believe - whether to follow their family's buddhist beliefs or find their own. Yay for missions and learning experiences!

I taught Sunday school again yesterday and it was pretty fun. We had a good turn out and everyone was really involved in the lesson, which always makes class a little more fun. :D

We got to see the women's broadcast here at the Lamb couple's apartment with us sister missionaries and a few members. It was so good. I loved President Uchtdorf's talk. So uplifting.

Eikaiwa is fun as always - I'll tell you more stories about that one day too.

I love you all - sorry ythat's all I have time for this week but keep up the great work and have  agreat  week! 

Ai shite imasu!

Flake Shimai