Week 13 Zone Taikai, Kobe, and exhausted!

みなさんこんにちは！
Minasan konnichiwa,

I can't believe I've been in Japan for a whole month! Where did the
time go? I felt like I just got here, but I have been here for a full
4 weeks! It has been nothing, but crazy adventures! Japan always seems
to amaze me with all the weird and amazing things they have!

This week has been a really tiring week. I don't think I have been
this tired except the week I got here. But, man I had my first zone
conference and I learned so much from that meeting. We talked a lot
about repentance and faith. We also got the challenge of reading the
Book of Mormon and looking for faith and repentance. So I'm really
excited to start that. We got some really great counsel from our
president and I learned so much. That night we left to Kobe and spent
the night in Kobe. I got to see my old companion Epling Shimai, and I
got to see my old Senpai Conejo Shimai! The next day we went to TTT
(trainer, trainee, training) it was amazing. I met up with all my old
Senpai. We were just missing Goto Shimai she was sick so I was a
little sad not to see her. But, we had fun anyways. I got so much good
insight and some helpful tips! We then left and headed home back to
和歌山 (Wakayama)!
  The next day we went to a zone meeting and got some more helpful
advice, I just have received so much revelation these past few days! I
am so grateful for all the training and effort our leaders have put
into teaching us.
  Saturday was a really fun day, we had to leave early, because we
had to make a long trek over to this restaurant. One of the brothers
in our ward invited the Elders and us to this lunch. It was a all you
can eat restaurant with this grill like place where you could get a
bunch of raw meat and cook it on this grill in the middle of your
table. It was genius!!! I was overwhelmed with home much meat and food
there was it was amazing!
  After we headed back to our apartment, but we did a little bit of
finding. We ended up at these pretty poor apartments, that were sad to
see, but we ended up meeting this old obacha (grandma) who was really
nice and she talked to us about the church.. she was really nice! She
also gave us these hackysack things they are so cute. She really had
nothing but gave us something she really is Christ like and I love her
so much. We hope one day she will come to church!

I have really felt the saviors love for me and for his children
everyday. The Japanese is really hard, but I can feel myself learn
more and more and grow even more. I have such a love for the
scriptures and I keep learning more and more.
One of my favorite scriptures right now is
Alma 60:23-
23 Do ye suppose that God will look upon you as guiltless while ye sit
still and behold these things? Behold I say unto you, Nay. Now I would
that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall
be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also.
I read this scripture and thought about having faith and taking
action, that it all starts with cleansing the inward vessel of having
a desire, that when you then take action and clean the outer vessel
and share the gospel.

Love you all! あいしています！

Love ロケット姉妹

Sent from my iPad

Pictures

Kawamura Shimai

Okonimioki

Gusman Shimai and I

Week 12 Gelato in December

Konnichiwa!

WOW... what a week, I felt that this week just flew by! I cant believe I have been in Japan for 3 whole weeks! This week has been nothing, but fun, miracles, and Service!

This week was really interesting....well on Tuesday we were biking on our way to go around the Eki ( train station) to find people, we were saying hello to everyone we saw and to this girl across the street that was going the other way, but then yelledーOboeru (remember) and kept riding. We were so confused and turned around to talk to her, she was going fast so we tried to keep up, but as we were riding a young guy was about to cross the street, but then decided not to, backed up into the path where I was at, luckly he was wearing a backpack because I decked that backpack, lost my balance and my bike ran into a fence. My goal for the day was not to be awkward, because for some odd reason either Gusman Shimai and I are awkward or Japanese people are, so I just asked if he was okay and then went on my way. Luckly the only damage was to the fence and that wasnt even bad. my bike was fine and I and the guy were stunned. Sad to say, we never did find that girl that said she remembered, but we were happy that she did. 

  Later that evening we were at a Covenie (Covenient store) and were walking out, two young guys (looked like they were in high school) were walking into the parking lot and we said hello. Whenever we see younger people we say hello in english. Just because. They were really excited we said hello. We then said How are you? One of them said Im fine thank you, which is what you will get from anyone in Japan. We then asked if they like English, we went on to talking and learned that one of them met two young elders two years ago on a rainy day, and he really like them. We invited them to Eikaiwa (English Class). Another sad to say we never did see him again this week and he didn:t come to english class, but we were really excited that he remembered the missionaries on that rainy day two years ago. 

We left on Wednesday to Kowachiagano which is an area in our zone for a kokan(companion exchanges) with our STLs ( Sister Training Leaders). And that was so fun.On the way over we were riding a train, and these two girls that were sitting next to my companion and I would just fall asleep on our shoulders, it was the cutest thing ever... they were just so tired.

 I was paired up with Kawamura Shimai, she is from Tokyo and she is really nice and it was kinda hard sometimes to communicate, because she doesnt speak a ton of English. But, I learned so much from her. I learned to open my mouth, be confident in myself, and to always testify about Jesus Christ. One of the things that was really difficult in Kawachiagano is the HILLS! My goodness, I thought that the one hill in Wakayama was hard to go up, these hills are like monsters! No joke! They were really hard to go up. But, I tried riding a mamachadi again( the crazy bike that everyone in Japan swears by is the best bike, but for me is the hardest bike). HAHA... I tried hopping on it and immediately fell over hahaha. But, Kawamura shimai took it and let me borrow hers, which was really nice of her, except the part that she is really short and I felt like a kid riding hers, it was so low to the ground. HAHA! But, I didnt complain, I just rode that crazy bike up those huge hills. 

We left on Thursday, exhausted we slept all the way back to Wakayama. Oh and Thursday was the first of December, I hope all of you have been watching those christmas videos they have for LDS.org. My companion and I were so excited because they have the new #LIGHTTHEWORLD video out and 25 ways to be like Jesus calender, I hope everyone has one, I think you can get one from church. They are like a scatch calender, my family better have one! My companion and I will scatch it off and watch the video! Its one of the highlights of our days. So anyways Thursday was World Wide Service day, and my companion and I decided to pick up trash and make cookies for people. It was so fun! That was also the day I found bamboo! While picking up trash, we were to a forest like area and found wild bamboo growing. 

Friday was district meeting so that was really fun, after the meeting we went to a Okononiyaki house and had really good food. On our way back we were riding our bikes and this old grandma saw us and we said Konnichiwa and she said something like wow so many foreigners, when their was only Gusman Shimai and I haha. But, we were about to turn the corner, and my companion was about to say something to her, but instead the grandma starts yelling BYE BYE BYEBYE!!! We then left and laughed all the way home! We were pretty sure she was crazy.

Later that night we were riding back to the church and my companion stopped and started talking to a little girl about Christmas and Eikaiwa. When all of a sudden this other grandma stopped her bike, I was pretty sure at this point from all the grandmas I have seen lately she was crazy too. But, needless to say she was really nice and asked a bunch of questions and I do not know a lot of things to say yet, so that was hard. But, I told her who I was, where I was from, and a little bit about church. She asked I think where and when church was. I tried my best and told her. She then asked another question that I could not understand, so I grabbed my companion, she came over and started talking to her, she then thanked us and went on her way. I later had found out that her son had found the missionaries in Osaka and made cake or something? She did ask when church was and where. She also asked how long I had been in Japan... she was really sweet and I hope and pray she will come to church some day. 

 My Eikaiwa class on Friday was bigger from last weeks, there are three classes and I am one of the teachers. Last week I only had Ari San but this week I had 4 people! We talked about answering the phone in English, I made up a game to go with it and everyone had a blast. I was really excited that two new people that I had not come into contact with before came, and one was in my class. Ari San volunteered twice to say the prayer ( remember he is not a member) and after I gave him a pamphlet, and in two weeks we have an appointment with him. So, I:m really excited.

Saturday was really excited, we were on our way to go heart attack someone in our ward, and we were riding past these young girls, we said hello and kept going, we were stopped at a stop light, and were waiting when one of the girls got the courage and yelled hello! We then turned around and came and talked to them. They all started giggling and laughing. We then talked to them for a little bit, and talked about Christmas and Eikaiwa, who we are. We asked if any of them would be interested to talk with us again and one of the girls raised her hand and we got her contact information and got a picture with them and left! We then met a cute young couple that had twins, they were so nice and we invited them to go to church sometime. We also got to stop and have gelato 🍧 at this cool gelato and crepes shop I had mango and apple it was so good, I just sat there laughing because in Idaho we would never have gelato or ice cream in December, sometimes it just gets so warm I wonder if it's even December!

Okay, yesterday was a crazy day. Yesterday was fast sunday so we had to fast which I love doing for other people, and if I have a reason, it really not that hard for me, we also were invited over for dinner at a members house. So, after meeting with a less active we started our journey over there. It was raining really hard when we left, and I was already drenched, but we headed to their house. On the way their we were biking fast trying to make good timing, we were going over the meadle grate type of thing, when my bike lost its balance and my bike slipped and I fell with my bike. Luckly I landed with my hands, but hit the pavement hard, I scraped up my knees, and my hands now have bruises, my seat on my bike has a tare which I was so sad about, but I called Sister Welch and everything is just fine. We got to their house in record time and we had one of my favorite meals in Japan Mamadofu and Gioza (pop stickers) hand made and they were delicious! This morning was a little hard to get up, I have a nice bruise on both the palms of my hands, some bruising on my knees, but other than that Im doing just fine! I am very grateful for my Heavenly Father for watching out for me and keeping me ready and able to share this wonderful message with His children in Japan! 

I love you all and Im praying for you daily!

I hope all of you, share a little bit of Christs light and #LIGHTTHEWORLD!

Talk to all in a week!

あいしています！

Sent from my iPad

Week 11 Newly weds and Natto

みなさんこんにちは!!!!!
(Minasan konnichiwa)

I still cannot believe I have been in Japan now for 2 weeks! Oh before
I forget Happy late Thanksgiving! What I have notice while being here
is that some of the people hear aren't as friendly as I thought they
would be. But, it's alright.
Well this week has been nothing, but finding, finding, and finding so more.
When I first arrived in Wakayama there wasn't any investigators that
we were teaching. Not even one. We had a few potential investigators,
but we were starting from scratch. In a way, I was excited, but after
these first two weeks, I kinda kept wondering why?
Wakayama is a crazy city! The language in this part of Japan, like
Osaka is very slang. So, when trying to listen to someone it's really
hard. But, little by little I'm catching on. Wakayama is know for this
mikans(which is little mandarins oranges) and umeboshi (pickled
plums). Okay I probably should start from the beginning.

Tuesday- we went across town and went to a lesson, with a sister who
was very nice, she read some of he Book of Mormon, after we went to
the bishops, and had dinner at their home. It was really good, my
companion and I got to help the the bishops wife her name is V Shimai,
she is really nice she is from the Philippines, and loves talking
English with us. After the meal, we taught a quick lesson and left.

Wednesday- we did our normal studies and then headed out to a less
active members house. This sister was so nice, I had not met her
before, but she was so cute, she is this cute little old lady, who
made us, I thought Moogi cha, but turned out the tea was black bean
tea... haha it wasn't the best. But, I still drank it anyway. After we
headed around and went finding.we really didn't have any luck, and I
mean we went to a apartment complex that had 20 doors and not one
opened. Okay, I probably should explain about housing. In Japan,
people don't normally answer their door, they talk through this little
speaker phone that everyone has. You press the button, and that is
when you know if they might be interested, if you press the doorbell,
and you tell them who you are and they say I'm not interested, or they
might come to the door, or you have to have a conversation on the
speaker. Very weird, but okay! But, we were riding our bikes, and all
of a sudden I saw his old lady working on her garden. I told my
companion I wanted to stop, when we got over there, I used what little
Japanese I had and asked her if she has heard about God. She then
started talking fast, and my companion translated, but she said she is
Buddhist and believes in recarnation and she believes that she will be
able to come back as another person, and she said when she comes back
she would like to be in the Olympics hahah. But, we gave her a plan of
salvation pamphlet!

Thursday-yah Thursday was Thanksgiving! Yah, it was weird not being
around the table with a big turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing...
but I still had fun. So first off post office people here need to
figure out their addresses right, second off did you know that Gusman
Shimai is getting married? Hahah I didn't either, Just Kidding! Gusman
Shimai and I were just getting ready to go when the doorbell rang!
Gusman Shimai got up and ran to the door. When the mailman handed her
a package and shouted "Omedito" which means congratulations and left!
We brought the package upstairs, and were about to open it, when
Gusman Shimai said wait... is this for the right house? Confused she
looked for our address, and low and behold it wasn't. She then looked
at the senders name it said "bridal"!!!! Laughing our heads off, I
turned to her and said "wow, Gusman Shimai I didn't know you were
getting married.." it was so funny. "I thought he was just excited to
give us a package, not that I was getting married)!haha!
After we hopped on a train towards a family in our wards house. One
thing about Wakayama is that we have the coolest trains ever! We have
one that is called the umeboshi dencha (pickled plum) train, the
Ichigo dencha (strawberry train) , and Tama dencha (Cat train). But,
we didn't get any of those haha... but we headed over and had a
thanksgiving dinner with a family and the chōro Tachi, I did get
really full though, so that was good. We thanked them, and then headed
home. When we got home, we worked on planning for the next week. Then
headed our to another dinner appointment with a family in our ward the
Oumis'. When we got there we sat down and had dinner, the talked and I
just sat their listening, then for some odd reason, I don't know how
they got on this topic, but they were talking about Natto. If you
don't know what Natto is I would highly recommend looking it up
online, but I would not eat it. They were talking about it, and then
they asked if we wanted to try it? I said sure, that was a big
mistake. My companion and I got some put in a bowl for us. And it did
not look good. Natto looks like snot, it is so gross. We then on the
count of three, put it into our mouths and my word man that was so
gross.

Friday- was my first district meeting, I got to meet Carr chōrō and
Meckam chōrō they are super nice. After the meeting we went this this
sushi restaurant that is so good! It's like fast food sushi, but I
didn't care, it was so good. Basically you just either order on this
screen what type of sushi you want our you take the ones that go on
this conveyor belt, and it just comes out on the conveyor belt. I
tried many different types, but my favorite was shrimp with onions,
mayo, and avocado! I also tried, salmon, salmon with cheese, and 🐙
octopus, octopus is a little chewy though. That night we taught
Eikaiwa, that we do every week.it was really fun, there was only a few
people this week, so I only had one person in my class, and his name
is Ari San, and he told me at the beginning "may we just have a
conversation in English the whole time" I said "you bet"! During the
lesson we talked a bunch about America and my life actually, he asked
a lot about my mission, how much, and then he asked about coffee. Do I
drink it? I said not, and he was surprised. After we were done, about
to end I asked if he would say the prayer. He said sure. The funny
thing is after the class, I was talking to my companion, and she asked
about Ari she asked "did you have him pray?" And I said "yah" she then
goes on to telling me that Ari san is not a member. I was beyond
surprised. Haha yah, so I got a nonmember to say a prayer, I also
taught him a lesson without knowing it haha? And at the end he asked
if we could come over. What? So apparently he was taught before by my
companion, so now we can count him as a investigator! Wow!

Saturday- that was really fun day, we went to the BEACH! We biked far
to get there! Probably a good 12-15 miles. Don't quote me though. When
we got there we talked a little bit, and then started talking to other
people that we saw. We met this really nice lady who had a bull dog
that was beyond cute! We then talked a little bit about God but she
wasn't that interested, after we started our long bike ride back home.

Sunday- we went to church, oh the little primary children in our ward
did a cute program. It's funny because my companion had to translate
for them as well. Haha.. after we did a lot of housing. Oh and it was
raining hard, but we got to sing a Christmas song for this cute
family. After, we headed to this cute old investigators house, we got
to introduce ourselves. But, she was busy, so she said we could come
back. As we were walking back to our bikes in the rain she yelled to
us and gave us an umbrella. In that split second I could see the love
I had for her, and what joy and hope I had for her!

One of the things that I have realized from being on a mission is the
power of the Book of Mormon! There's a quote that  President Benson
further taught: "The Book of Mormon teaches us truth [and] bears
testimony of Christ. … But there is something more. There is a power
in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you
begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to
resist temptation. … You will find the power to stay on the strait and
narrow path." And I know that to be true. I have found so much desire
to ready from studying the Book of Mormon and I love it! I hope each
of you try to read this wonderful book! I have felt the love of my
savior as I have read it! Also the new #lighttheworld video on
Mormon.org is up go watch it!

Love you all
Love ロケット姉妹

Week 10- JAPAN!

みなさんこんにちは!!!!!
(Minasan konnichiwa)

I still cannot believe I have been in Japan now for 2 weeks! Oh before
I forget Happy late Thanksgiving! What I have notice while being here
is that some of the people hear aren't as friendly as I thought they
would be. But, it's alright.
Well this week has been nothing, but finding, finding, and finding so more.
When I first arrived in Wakayama there wasn't any investigators that
we were teaching. Not even one. We had a few potential investigators,
but we were starting from scratch. In a way, I was excited, but after
these first two weeks, I kinda kept wondering why?
Wakayama is a crazy city! The language in this part of Japan, like
Osaka is very slang. So, when trying to listen to someone it's really
hard. But, little by little I'm catching on. Wakayama is know for this
mikans(which is little mandarins oranges) and umeboshi (pickled
plums). Okay I probably should start from the beginning.

Tuesday- we went across town and went to a lesson, with a sister who
was very nice, she read some of he Book of Mormon, after we went to
the bishops, and had dinner at their home. It was really good, my
companion and I got to help the the bishops wife her name is V Shimai,
she is really nice she is from the Philippines, and loves talking
English with us. After the meal, we taught a quick lesson and left.

Wednesday- we did our normal studies and then headed out to a less
active members house. This sister was so nice, I had not met her
before, but she was so cute, she is this cute little old lady, who
made us, I thought Moogi cha, but turned out the tea was black bean
tea... haha it wasn't the best. But, I still drank it anyway. After we
headed around and went finding.we really didn't have any luck, and I
mean we went to a apartment complex that had 20 doors and not one
opened. Okay, I probably should explain about housing. In Japan,
people don't normally answer their door, they talk through this little
speaker phone that everyone has. You press the button, and that is
when you know if they might be interested, if you press the doorbell,
and you tell them who you are and they say I'm not interested, or they
might come to the door, or you have to have a conversation on the
speaker. Very weird, but okay! But, we were riding our bikes, and all
of a sudden I saw his old lady working on her garden. I told my
companion I wanted to stop, when we got over there, I used what little
Japanese I had and asked her if she has heard about God. She then
started talking fast, and my companion translated, but she said she is
Buddhist and believes in recarnation and she believes that she will be
able to come back as another person, and she said when she comes back
she would like to be in the Olympics hahah. But, we gave her a plan of
salvation pamphlet!

Thursday-yah Thursday was Thanksgiving! Yah, it was weird not being
around the table with a big turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing...
but I still had fun. So first off post office people here need to
figure out their addresses right, second off did you know that Gusman
Shimai is getting married? Hahah I didn't either, Just Kidding! Gusman
Shimai and I were just getting ready to go when the doorbell rang!
Gusman Shimai got up and ran to the door. When the mailman handed her
a package and shouted "Omedito" which means congratulations and left!
We brought the package upstairs, and were about to open it, when
Gusman Shimai said wait... is this for the right house? Confused she
looked for our address, and low and behold it wasn't. She then looked
at the senders name it said "bridal"!!!! Laughing our heads off, I
turned to her and said "wow, Gusman Shimai I didn't know you were
getting married.." it was so funny. "I thought he was just excited to
give us a package, not that I was getting married)!haha!
After we hopped on a train towards a family in our wards house. One
thing about Wakayama is that we have the coolest trains ever! We have
one that is called the umeboshi dencha (pickled plum) train, the
Ichigo dencha (strawberry train) , and Tama dencha (Cat train). But,
we didn't get any of those haha... but we headed over and had a
thanksgiving dinner with a family and the chōro Tachi, I did get
really full though, so that was good. We thanked them, and then headed
home. When we got home, we worked on planning for the next week. Then
headed our to another dinner appointment with a family in our ward the
Oumis'. When we got there we sat down and had dinner, the talked and I
just sat their listening, then for some odd reason, I don't know how
they got on this topic, but they were talking about Natto. If you
don't know what Natto is I would highly recommend looking it up
online, but I would not eat it. They were talking about it, and then
they asked if we wanted to try it? I said sure, that was a big
mistake. My companion and I got some put in a bowl for us. And it did
not look good. Natto looks like snot, it is so gross. We then on the
count of three, put it into our mouths and my word man that was so
gross.

Friday- was my first district meeting, I got to meet Carr chōrō and
Meckam chōrō they are super nice. After the meeting we went this this
sushi restaurant that is so good! It's like fast food sushi, but I
didn't care, it was so good. Basically you just either order on this
screen what type of sushi you want our you take the ones that go on
this conveyor belt, and it just comes out on the conveyor belt. I
tried many different types, but my favorite was shrimp with onions,
mayo, and avocado! I also tried, salmon, salmon with cheese, and 🐙
octopus, octopus is a little chewy though. That night we taught
Eikaiwa, that we do every week.it was really fun, there was only a few
people this week, so I only had one person in my class, and his name
is Ari San, and he told me at the beginning "may we just have a
conversation in English the whole time" I said "you bet"! During the
lesson we talked a bunch about America and my life actually, he asked
a lot about my mission, how much, and then he asked about coffee. Do I
drink it? I said not, and he was surprised. After we were done, about
to end I asked if he would say the prayer. He said sure. The funny
thing is after the class, I was talking to my companion, and she asked
about Ari she asked "did you have him pray?" And I said "yah" she then
goes on to telling me that Ari san is not a member. I was beyond
surprised. Haha yah, so I got a nonmember to say a prayer, I also
taught him a lesson without knowing it haha? And at the end he asked
if we could come over. What? So apparently he was taught before by my
companion, so now we can count him as a investigator! Wow!

Saturday- that was really fun day, we went to the BEACH! We biked far
to get there! Probably a good 12-15 miles. Don't quote me though. When
we got there we talked a little bit, and then started talking to other
people that we saw. We met this really nice lady who had a bull dog
that was beyond cute! We then talked a little bit about God but she
wasn't that interested, after we started our long bike ride back home.

Sunday- we went to church, oh the little primary children in our ward
did a cute program. It's funny because my companion had to translate
for them as well. Haha.. after we did a lot of housing. Oh and it was
raining hard, but we got to sing a Christmas song for this cute
family. After, we headed to this cute old investigators house, we got
to introduce ourselves. But, she was busy, so she said we could come
back. As we were walking back to our bikes in the rain she yelled to
us and gave us an umbrella. In that split second I could see the love
I had for her, and what joy and hope I had for her!

One of the things that I have realized from being on a mission is the
power of the Book of Mormon! There's a quote that  President Benson
further taught: “The Book of Mormon teaches us truth [and] bears
testimony of Christ. … But there is something more. There is a power
in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you
begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to
resist temptation. … You will find the power to stay on the strait and
narrow path.” And I know that to be true. I have found so much desire
to ready from studying the Book of Mormon and I love it! I hope each
of you try to read this wonderful book! I have felt the love of my
savior as I have read it! Also the new #lighttheworld video on
Mormon.org is up go watch it!

Love you all
Love ロケット姉妹

Week 9- My journey to Japan

Gusman Shimai caught her chopsticks on fire








Minasan Konnichiwa,

Holy cow, what a week.
I'll start from the beginning

Monday:
2:30 am I was loaded onto a bus, and headed toward the Salt Lake City
airport. At about 4 in the morning I was able to call my beautiful
family and tell them how much I love them! It was great to hear them
for the first time in like 9 weeks. After we got on a plane and flew
to LA, I then hopped on a 12 hr flight to Tokyo, Japan. On the way
over I sat next to a lady, that was actually very nice to talk to. Me
being a missionary and all, decided that this would be a really good
opportunity to share the gospel. I tried using as much Japanese as I
could and talked to her. She was very interested to know how I knew
Japanese I told her I was a missionary. She wasn't that interested in
the fact that I was a missionary, but was really interested in the
fact that I knew Japanese. I later found out that she was Buddhist and
her kids were Christian. We talked for a little bit, and then she
decided to watch a movie. I tried all I could to drop so many hints to
this lady about the church. I thought I was pretty sneaky too. I
pulled out a Book of Mormon, got some pictures out of Joseph smith
casually... haha it was hilarious. But, she didn't look at any of it.
Oh well.

Tuesday:
Before I landed in Tokyo I looked out my window to see Mount Fuji and
that was a really cool site to see. When we landed we headed through
immigration services which was fun I got this cool card saying hat I
am now living in Japan. After we waited for our luggage and then I
realized that they had bidet, that was really cool to see. It had cool
water sounds, haha. After we hopped on a bus and went to another
building where we would get on our next plane to Osaka. When we got to
this building we got some good tasty salmon rice triangle wrapped with
seaweed called "onigiri" and this coconut milk drink thing. We then
went through security and waited for our plane, while waiting I could
not but just stare for a sec at a tv and all the people watching it,
it was sumo wrestling. Haha... oh geez, both young and old were
fascinated with this tv. We then hopped on another plane that was only
about a hour to Osaka. When we got off we waited for our luggage, and
then went through the doors to the amazing welcoming of the Welchs
(president and his wife) as well as some other missionaries. We hopped
in a car and drove to Kobe. One of the craziest things that I did not
know about Japan is that they drive like in London, on the left side
of the road. When we got the mission home we went right to bed, I was
so exhausted.

Wednesday:
Man, 6:00 came around fast, at the mission home we had to be ready in
the church parking lot ready to go work out. We then ran to a park,
where the elders played football, and the sisters played frisbee, and
ran around the track, later we did this thing with some old people
called radio taiso where old people stretch in parks all around Japan,
and work out every single day. It was awesome! We then went back, had
breakfast and started training. After training, the sisters and I
decided we wanted to try and do some street contacting, it was a
little discouraging, I tried talking to some ladies, and the said
something that I couldn't understand, and then she said "no" . But, I
tried so. After we were about to go inside, I saw this old man,
probably the oldest man alive, and I said konnichiwa to him, but he
kept walking, about to go inside, Easton Shimai and Epling Shimai ran
after him and came back saying he wasn't hard of hearing he was
ignoring us haha. Our president also told us his two rules in the
mission. 1. Laugh at yourself and 2. Get lost!

Thursday:
Thursday was a big day. We got up ready to Go and we started running
up this really big hill, I had to start walking with this sister it
was straight uphill almost. When we got to the top we had to go up
this really steep stairs to this look out point where you could see
all of Kobe, it was a sight to see. The also had radio taiso, people
right and left started popping out of the woods around it. We then
came back had breakfast and then had a little bit more training. After
we then met our new companions. My new companion/trainers name is
Sister Gusman she is from Hawaii and has been out for about 6
transfers which is about 36 weeks. She is really nice and we get along
so so well. Oh, and I saw Elder Winegar, he was a trainer for one of
the Elders that came with us. After we met each other we got some
pictures taken and ate some food, and that was when everybody started
leaving. We then hopped on a train to my new area which is called
Wakayama! I'm in the Sekai zone you might have to look up Wakayama on
a map! But, yah we hopped on a train and headed out! We talked to a
lady on the train and told her about our church, well my trainer did I
just listened... haha. We went through some crazy big cities, and then
we finally arrived to Wakayama my new home! We walked to the church,
and grabbed me a bike that they had that I could use, and man that
bike was crazy. It's called a mamachati? But, it's like a Japanese
beach bike, needless to say, that thing is crazy, and super hard to
ride. We then stopped at a recent converts home, he was happy to see
us, but was having a hard time reading the Book of Mormon. He couldn't
understand it very well. My companion talked to him, and then turned
to me and said would you like to say some things about what you feel
when you read e Book of Mormon, me being all dazed from the long trip
we made said alright and tried to the best of my ability to say what I
could say. He said something's and then waved goodbye. She then
explained that what I had said really helped he felt that what I feel
when reading the Book of Mormon, he feels peace and the spirit, and
cooled down. We then mad it to our apartment, talked for a little bit,
planned and then passed out.

Friday:
We got up, worked out, and then did some studies and then headed out
to get me a good bike. We got there and waited, we did some
companionship studies, and then found me a beautiful blue and white
bike. We then headed back to the apartment and got ready to go to a
members house. My trainer and I had just finished our lunch and were
talking, when all of a sudden, the table started moving, and I could
feel the house to start to shake. I didn't register until it happened
again. It was an EARTHQUAKE !!!! I'm from Idaho so I mean we have
them, but I have never felt one until that day, and that was crazy! I
could feel my heart racing afterwards, it was incredible, but so
terrifying.
We then headed out, on our way we passed by a Japanese castle. It was
beyond beautiful! When we got to her house, we had some really good
wheat/barley tea mogicha, a lot of foreigners don't like it, but I
really do. We sat at one of those tables close to the floor and had
this like heater thing on us, it was really cool. We shared a
scripture. And talked for a little, then headed out. We tried stopping
by and talk to a less active member, but she wasn't feeling good so we
headed back, but stopped to see the less active members mom who was in
a hospital. I thought that I have see scary hospitals, but when we
stepped foot into that hospital, I was scared. It was like in a movie,
really old, many people in one room. Oh man at hospital was a little
frightening. She was asleep so we left. Later that night we went to
the church, and I taught my first Eikaiwa (English class). It was a
little different, but I really enjoyed teaching.

Saturday:
Wow, Saturday was probably one of my favorite days.
That day we saw so many miracles. We did all of our studies and then
went to the church where we made these cute little origami santas with
the relief society. It was awesome, after we went to go try to find a
less active members house, couldn't find it, we literally were lost.
Well we listened to Our President really well. We then decided to do
some housing. Honestly I didn't know what to thing with housing, but I
did it anyways. One of the things that is weird about Japan houses is
that they have a place for you to press the doorbell and then they
have a camera that you look at and they talk to you through that and
if hey want to talk to you they will come to the door. So a lot of the
time we had a lot of people answer their call, and say no. But, about
4 houses someone actually came and listened so that was great. The
second to last house a young man answered and let us share a video. He
said we could come back. The last house we stopped at, we ran the
doorbell and a little boy answered the phone, we were very confused my
companion asked if we could talk to his mom. He came to the door and
opened it, we looked at him, and then his mother came, she looked like
she had just gotten up from a nap, and was rubbing her eyes. We asked
if we could share a quick message with her, she sat down and listened.
I could tell by the way she was listening, she was intrigued, my
companion then went on talking about eternal families, she said we
could come back. After we couldn't believe what had just happened, and
started hugging.

Sunday:
That was a hard day, we went to a meeting for the sisters and elders
where we talked with the bishop and counsel and talked about who we
were focusing on. That meeting was hard,I didn't not understand what
anyone was saying. After my companion explained. We then had relief
society, Sunday school, and then sacrament. I had to go up and
introduce myself which was a little hard, but I did it. After we had
this soup, that had many different variety of foods in it. It was
yummy though. We then met with some less actives and went housing. No
one would really listen to us, but we kept going.

Monday/today: we did some studies, and headed out and went shopping.
We went to a grocery store that had some really interesting foods that
I had never seen or heard of. We also stopped at a bakery and I
smelled some food that I had never smelled before, but it smelled
delicious.

Wow.. my area is incredible, it is very big, but it is a little but
more in the country in some area. I love it though and I'm so excited
to see what happens, love you all!

あいしています！
Love ロケット 姉妹

Fwd: Week 8- I have lost my English

Sisters in my Zone

Epling Shimai and I

Idaho Spuds! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma Lockett!

The Daisenpai ( All leaving to Japan) with the Robinsons

His socks though


  Konnichiwa Minasan,

Wow... I can't believe that 8 weeks has flown by this fast and I will be
leaving the MTC in T-5 days and on my way to JAPAN!!!!!

 I got my flight plans on Friday, and I will be leaving the MTC on Monday at
 5 am to the Salt Lake City Airport. I will be flying to LAX then to TOKYO
 then to OSAKA where I will be greeted by my Mission President and his wife!
 I never thought this day would come and that I would get to this point, but I stuck through and I'm almost out! A lot has happened this week. We got
 our flight plans, we had our last lesson with one of our "less active
 members" on Friday. Saturday was probably one of the most scariest things I  have ever witnessed. There is this Elder who just has had the worst time
 here, or at least the worst week, he's been having a lot of problems with
 his back and joints, and on Thursday he was playing soccer and got a ball
 kicked somewhere it shouldn't be, and on top of that, he was playing
 frisbee with some of us, and he was trying to catch a frisbee and landed
 wrong and all I could hear because you have to realize this is like across
 the field where I was, and all I could hear was yelling and screaming and I
 ran over to find that he was not able to move his arm, I thought it was a
 joke. I felt really bad I was like is this a joke? But, then I suddenly
 realized that he could not move his arm, his body was, but not his arm. All
 I could do is tell him to take deep breaths, and to not move, and to not
 panic. It took a few times for him to actually concentrate on me and to
 stop moving. We thought that maybe he just dislocated his shoulder. We
 found out later that night that he had tore all ligaments that were
 connecting his muscles. Which was devistating for all of us, because one he
 only had a week left and two because we didn't know if he would be able to
 go to Japan with us. We then were informed on Monday that he had to choices
he had to make. 1. He could go to Japan with us, but his shoulder would be
 messed up for the rest of his life 2. He could get surgery on his shoulder,  go home for 6 or so weeks and come back and do the MTC all over again.
 So... at that point we didn't know what to think. We then were informed
 that he was going to fly out with us. That Elder has so much love for his
 Savior, I just hope he does okay.

 Wow... what else to talk about?
 On Sunday night we had a special devotional, Jenny Oaks Baker was the
 speaker, and if you don't know who that is.. look her up, she is Elder
 Oaks' daughter and a famous violinist. She played some songs for us and man
 it was so amazing! Those were really the only highlights of this week, but
other than that it has been a really awesome week. I don't know what to
 say. I'm a little bit freaking out because I'm on a plain in 5 days and i'm
 stepping foot in 6 days. My time here in the MTC has been nothing but
 growing closer to my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ.

 Oh I heard about Trump, that is a scary thought, but you know I will be out
 of the States for a year and a half. But, yah.... so sorry for anyone that
 wanted Clinton and sorry for all those that wanted Trump, I'm not supposed
 to talk about politics , so anyways good luck America!

 All we have been doing for the past week is study and study and study some
 more! I don't think I have ever studying so much in my life before. You
 literally sit in a class room for 9 hours! How crazy is that! I don't know
 how I have kept my cool for this long, but I may not know that language
 that well, but it will come, and I know that to be true! I am really
 excited for that day. But, I am just so excited to go and share this
 glorious gospel with everyone I see!
 Oh.. yesterday I received a package from my family, I wanted to say thank
 you to everything that you send me, and also thank you to my Grandpa and
 Grandma Lockett, the Idaho Spuds were a hit! I was so grateful for a little
 piece of home! I am also grateful and so thank you for my sister that got
 me a chocolate frog from Harry Potter World, it ment the world to me. I
 hope you had fun! Also I just want all of you to know that I love you all,
 I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve my Savior. It never ceases
 to amaze me of how true this gospel is and how amazing it is. I want you
 all to know you all have a message, the best message in the world ! You
 have the message to tell everyone that they are a son and daughter of God!
 That is what is keeping me going, I want to share this with everyone I see!
 SO just SMILE!!!!!!! Then everyone will be asking why, and there is your
 opportunity to change their life!

I can't wait to start the rest of my mission in Japan!

 Next week I will be emailing everyone from Japan! Wish me good luck!
 See you on the other side of the world!

 Love Lockett Shimai
Love ロケット姉妹

Week 7- Lights, Camera, 12 days!

Konnichiwa Minasan,

Wow... I can't believe that 8 weeks has flown by this fast and I will be leaving the MTC in T-5 days and on my way to JAPAN!!!!! 

I got my flight plans on Friday, and I will be leaving the MTC on Monday at 5 am to the Salt Lake City Airport. I will be flying to LAX then to TOKYO then to OSAKA where I will be greeted by my Mission President and his wife! I never thought this day would come and that I would get to this point, but I stuck through and I'm almost out! A lot has happened this week. We got our flight plans, we had our last lesson with one of our "less active members" on Friday. Saturday was probably one of the most scariest things I have ever witnessed. There is this Elder who just has had the worst time here, or at least the worst week, he's been having a lot of problems with his back and joints, and on Thursday he was playing soccer and got a ball kicked somewhere it shouldn't be, and on top of that, he was playing frisbee with some of us, and he was trying to catch a frisbee and landed wrong and all I could hear because you have to realize this is like across the field where I was, and all I could hear was yelling and screaming and I ran over to find that he was not able to move his arm, I thought it was a joke. I felt really bad I was like is this a joke? But, then I suddenly realized that he could not move his arm, his body was, but not his arm. All I could do is tell him to take deep breaths, and to not move, and to not panic. It took a few times for him to actually concentrate on me and to stop moving. We thought that maybe he just dislocated his shoulder. We found out later that night that he had tore all ligaments that were connecting his muscles. Which was devistating for all of us, because one he only had a week left and two because we didn't know if he would be able to go to Japan with us. We then were informed on Monday that he had to choices he had to make. 1. He could go to Japan with us, but his shoulder would be messed up for the rest of his life 2. He could get surgery on his shoulder, go home for 6 or so weeks and come back and do the MTC all over again. So... at that point we didn't know what to think. We then were informed that he was going to fly out with us. That Elder has so much love for his Savior, I just hope he does okay. 

Wow... what else to talk about?

On Sunday night we had a special devotional, Jenny Oaks Baker was the speaker, and if you don't know who that is.. look her up, she is Elder Oaks' daughter and a famous violinist. She played some songs for us and man it was so amazing! Those were really the only highlights of this week, but other than that it has been a really awesome week. I don't know what to say. I'm a little bit freaking out because I'm on a plain in 5 days and i'm stepping foot in 6 days. My time here in the MTC has been nothing but growing closer to my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. 

Oh I heard about Trump, that is a scary thought, but you know I will be out of the States for a year and a half. But, yah.... so sorry for anyone that wanted Clinton and sorry for all those that wanted Trump, I'm not supposed to talk about politics , so anyways good luck America! 

All we have been doing for the past week is study and study and study some more! I don't think I have ever studying so much in my life before. You literally sit in a class room for 9 hours! How crazy is that! I don't know how I have kept my cool for this long, but I may not know that language that well, but it will come, and I know that to be true! I am really excited for that day. But, I am just so excited to go and share this glorious gospel with everyone I see!

Oh.. yesterday I received a package from my family, I wanted to say thank you to everything that you send me, and also thank you to my Grandpa and Grandma Lockett, the Idaho Spuds were a hit! I was so grateful for a little piece of home! I am also grateful and so thank you for my sister that got me a chocolate frog from Harry Potter World, it ment the world to me. I hope you had fun! Also I just want all of you to know that I love you all, I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve my Savior. It never ceases to amaze me of how true this gospel is and how amazing it is. I want you all to know you all have a message, the best message in the world ! You have the message to tell everyone that they are a son and daughter of God! That is what is keeping me going, I want to share this with everyone I see! SO just SMILE!!!!!!! Then everyone will be asking why, and there is your opportunity to change their life!

I can't wait to start the rest of my mission in Japan! 

Next week I will be emailing everyone from Japan! Wish me good luck! 

See you on the other side of the world!

Love Lockett Shimai 

Week 6- Almost there!

What a week! It has been nothing, but benkiyo, benkiyo, and more benkiyo (studying) as wells as some miracles!!!

So much can happen in a week. 

First of all, we are now Disenpai which means we are now the top dog! I know that's so scary to think about! Second of all, I got a new calling in our zone! I am now a Sister Training Leader which is crazy because I feel like I just got here, but My two Dōryōs and I are now in charge of all the sisters in our zone! There is quite a bit of responsibility with this calling. We are in charge of picking up the new sisters that come from Japan which was last night and they are fantastic! We are just missing one other sister and Elder. But they come in today. Oh... we get a phone, which I actually don't like having, because it is a hassle to lug around. Demo (but), if any of the sisters need to get a hold of us for any reason they can either, Go to the front desk, or call from the phone in the residence, and they will get a hold of us. So, that's really cool. Also my Dōryōs did not want to have anything to do with it, so I'm in charge of the phone. Also we are in charge of doing interviews every week with the sisters. We also go to meeting every Sunday with the branch president, and we help get translation for the Japanese sisters for devotionals if they need it and the sisters that we have so far need it, they don't know really any English. We also do orientation with all the new missionaries tonight. So we will introduce ourselves, and get to know them. We have a group of missionaries coming in today from the states. Also tonight we start skype TRC, which is basically you skype with someone from Japan and do visiting teaching with them for 20-30 minutes. 

   Oooo..... for my family or anyone that might now them, but guess who I saw at the MTC? I saw THE LATHENS!!!!! The ones that used to live like 5 minutes away. Well, apparently they are going on a mission, and they we called to Shirlonka! Yah, try finding that. I also asked who was watching their house, and apparently they just like sold it, they sold everything (cars, house, furniture) so they could go on a mission. Wow... what amazing people. They we really excited to see me, it felt like home for a split second. They leave this Friday! 

So... well we are past the half way point and now have less than 3 weeks... I am so excited! But, I also can't believe how fast time flies. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be here, I have learned so much, yesterday we had an amazing devotional, Elder Nattress from the seventy came and talked to us about missionary work. He had a quote that said "be not afraid only believe" and that was just such a testimony builder to me how great and amazing my Savior is. Of how much I just need to believe in myself and believe in him.

  One of the things that opened my eyes is in 19years I have never thought about how the bread and water represent Christ, okay let me rephrase that. I knew that they represented that, but when I was told that when you look at the bread and water under the sheet it's like Christ laying under there. And when they break the bread it is a symbol of him being broke up for each and everyone of us and we get a piece of him!!!! What? That opened a whole new world for me! And like after we have partaken of the bread and water, he is now gone and the sheet is folded up as was it in the tomb.. "kaboom" yah that just changed your life! 

My Dōryō Epling Shimai and I were studying and preparing for a lesson and for so odd reason we started talking about this amazing scripture story that is found in Numbers 22 it is the story of the talking donkey in the scriptures if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It's about a story of this man who would not listen to God and when God said do not go here, he did anyways so God placed an angle in his way, but only his donkey could see this angle with a sword, well that donkey was not going to go this way and kept turning around, well this man kept hitting his donkey and after 3 times God opened the mouth of this donkey and he asked the man "why are you hitting me" and the man didn't even hesitate and kept talking with the donkey like it talked on a daily. Well the story ends with God opening the eyes of the man to see the angle. Moral of the story: Listen to your donkey. 

Well.. crazy things are going to happen in the next 2 1/2 weeks. This week we should be getting our name tags in Katakana which is awesome! Mine will look something like this "ロケット姉妹" , next week we should be getting our flight plans and the week after is our orientation to the field I believe. Oh and I figured out I want to be for Halloween! I want to be a senkyōshi (missionary) yahhh! 

  Oh and on Sunday we had the great opportunity to here from Sister Ann M. Dibb (President Monson's daughter). She was amazing and she talked about her dad it was a very sweet talk. So, being here in the MTC I have heard from some of the most amazing speakers and I heard from someone would might be hearing from Elder Holland soon! But, I'm not positive so don't hold me to that! 

Well hope you all have a great week, and enjoy all the many blessings you have. I also wish you all a very Happy Halloween! I would mind if you send me a picture of your costume!

I love you all and I'm so very grateful for what wonder examples you and dad have been mom! Umm.. for dad I need you to send me a carry on bag ASAP!!!! Tell all the kids I love them and that I pray for each and everyone of you each day! Keep sending me things, maybe if you can print out some pictures of our family so I will have a picture! I love you all! Keep updating my blog and thank you for all you do!

あいしています!!!!

Ai shite imasu!

I love you!

XOXO 

ロケット姉妹

Pictures

Eaton Shimai and I

Sisters in zone

Shimai tachi

Elder Smith

love these two!

the zone!

Week 4- It's not Thursday?

Dear family and friends,

I cannot believe I have been in the MTC for a month! Holy cow time
flies fast when your having fun!

What to say, this week is another week of amazing miracles!

I feel that it was just yesterday that I had P-day. As a missionary in
the MTC and getting dropped off on a Wednesday you start losing track
of time of what day it is. I don't know how many times I have asked
someone what day it was and how many times I thought it was a Monday
when in reality it was actually Friday or Saturday.

Okay wow so much to talk about!!!
First off this is for my family and friends that may know my cousin
Eric... there is a chōrō in my district Cuff Chōrō who reminds me so
much of him. He talks, walks, and looks a little bit like Eric! And if
you know my cousin Eric you would be laughing.

On our Sunday night <x-apple-data-detectors://5> devotional we were talking
about repentance and
also about losing yourself in the work of the Lord. I have found
myself multiple times starting to forget about myself and focusing on
the work. That is one of the most amazing feelings. That's when you
know you are starting to become a missionary. I can feel it. Yesterday
I taught my first lesson without a script and anything really to go
off of, that was one of the scariest, but yet so amazing experience I
have ever had. I could feel that this Japanese is not that good, but I
could tell I have learned so much. I started to form sentences (may
have been choppy) but they knew the main idea of what I was focusing
on.

This Saturday is my half way point and I am so excited for Japan! To
answer my moms question, no I am not counting the days surprisingly. I
can tell you how many weeks, but when I think about all e days I have
left it feels like forever.

Last week we got 2 nihongene(Japanese speakers) Shimai tachi and 1
Korean Shimai and they are the life of the party. Oh my word I love
them all!!!! I have learned so much from all of them:) There is Morita
Shimai, she is from Nagoya, Japan, there's Furitani Shimai who is from
the Fukuoka, Japan area. Then there is Park Shimai and she is from
Seoul, Korea she actually knows Japanese too so that's really awesome!
The Japanese sisters know so little English, but Park Shimai does so
she does a lot of translating.
The other day Morita and Furitani Shimai said "we think, that you are
going to be popular in Japan" , when they said that I was so
overjoyed! I was so excited, I said "naze(why)" and they said "because
you are so cute, so funny, and so crazy". I just laughed and laughed.

I also wanted to thank the Thomsen family for the care package and for
the cute letter! I was so excited! Thank you!
Oh... I also forgot to say on my last email that I have seen and sat
and talked with Elder Bailey Smith, and I can't tell you how much I
have wanted to hug that Elder. He is the closest person to home that I
have. Funny story, the first time I saw him was the day he came in,
actually that night. He walked into this building I was in and we saw
each other and he came over and was about to hug me and I said "Elder
Smith" and stretched out my hand, haha it's really funny how when you
first get here how you want to hug people but you can't unless their
the same gender. Oh and then he said walking away "see yah Jordan" and
I turned to him and said "Elder Smith, the name is Sister Lockett" and
walked away laughing.

Oh..... okay so crazy thing happened yesterday. So, yes everyone I
have joined the MTC choir, I know I don't sing, but I do now, I have
been in the choir since I got here, but I didn't make it into the
choir to go to conference sadly, but anyways our director Brother
Egget kept saying that the song we were going to sing yesterday was
going to be really special and the devo we were going to be at we
would never forget. I can tell you right now I will never forget that
conference. Last night, I was privileged to be at the MTC devotional
that was broadcasted to all the MTCs in the world. We were prevailed
to hear and see Elder David A. Bednar!!!!!!!!!! What??? I know, it was
incredible, and I could tell when he walked through the doors, you
could feel the room just light up! It was amazing he talked about
digging deep into conference talks and wow just wow! it was amazing!

The Japanese is really hard I'm not going to lie. It is not even close
to Spanish, and sometimes I ask myself am I ever going to learn this
language, and then like in my lesson yesterday I could feel that I
could remember things better. I maybe a little girl from Star, Idaho
but I have a testimony of my savior and I know that what I will be
preaching to others in Japan is true. So, I have nothing to loose!

I love you (ai shite imasu) !!!!!
Kamisama wa watashitachi o ai shite imasu. (God loves all of us)
Iesu Kirisuto wa watashitachi no sukunishi desu. (Jesus Christ is our
Savior)

I pray for all of you daily. Especially my family I want them to know
that I pray for you each individually! Please all stay safe, and pray!
If you ever feel down or you feel alone, pray for help, for guidance,
and above else yourself!

XOXO
Lockett Shimai
ロケット 姉妹

​
​Week 3- Conference and Goodbyes


Dear Family and Friends,

Another week has gone and I have seen nothing but miracles in my life this
week.

This week has been emotional and so heart warming.
This weekend was Conference weekend. I hope each and everyone of you got a
chance to watch, because it was literally one of the most amazing
conferences I have ever watched. Not just saying that because I was in the
MTC for it, but because it literally was amazing. I thought it was amazing,
if you watched it, how on the Saturday Afternoon conference the MTC Choir
sang, and I can tell you that my heart soared! The talks that were given we
outstanding. I didn't have a favorite talk they were all so good, but I
definitely did love the talks about the Japanese missions, I hope everyone
got to hear those. I also really enjoyed the talk given by Elder or Brother
Kazuhiko Yamashita, he had a quote that was "Boys be Ambitious", and "be
ambitious in Christ". Think about it... ambitious... that is a big word,
what does it mean to be ambitious? This talk really made me think of my
dad. My dad always says about people or books, he says " These people are
ambitious, they wanted to get things done". I think about that a lot, I
want to be the most ambitious missionary there is, so that I don't miss any
opportunity to talk to one of God's Children. I invite all of you to be
ambitious in all that you do. Don't say, I'm tired, or I don't have time.
Hey... I could say on my mission I am tired or I don't want to do this, but
I wan't to be ambitious in Christ! So get up and enjoy life!
I also really like the talk by Elder Russell M. Nelson on JOY!!!! Have joy
in everything you do! I have found so much joy and love from coming on my
mission! I can feel the joy each time that I speak in Nihongo. But, I can
also feel the love already and the joy for the people that I will be
serving.

Oh also on Sunday evening... we had a special devotional, and if any of you
are from Provo or know anyone that is in Provo or just know anything about
Provo, you might want to here this. We had 8 young men come and sing to us.
It was Vocal Point! Now, if any of you don't know who that is, that's okay,
because I didn't either, but look them up. They are a all men's accappella
group from BYU Provo and they sounded amazing! WOW!!!! Look them up!

Okay.. what else happened this week?
OH.... Mom and Dad I am now in a trio! I have two companions now. One of
the sisters in our zone went home this past week. So that sister was left
alone in her district. Her name is Eaton Shimai she is so great! She is
full of spunk and always laughing and smiling. We were asked by the
President if we could be her companions, she said she felt most comfortable
with us, so we are now a trio. She still stays in her district with all of
the choro tachi, but she comes with us back to the residence and any where
else. Epling Shimai and I had to move into her room too. But, man she is
just the life of the party!

Also this week was an emotional week... on Monday morning all of us sisters
got up and helped all of the leaving sisters get their bags and take them
to the traveling office and wished them goodbye. I didn't think I would be
that emotional, but I was really upset to see all of them leave. They had
taught me so much these last 3 weeks, and I still needed to learn more!
But, it was a good goodbye because I know that we would be seeing them
soon, maybe not on the mission, but definitely some time in the future! It
was hard saying goodbye to Goto Shimai she is the one who is from Nihon
already... but she is going to Kobe so I hope we will become companions
sometime, if not she invited me to her wedding when she gets married
someday so. But, man that was a big day.. a lot of them left at like 3:50
am, that is really really early! Lets just say about everyone was falling
asleep in classes.

Last night was so great! We had our Tuesday Night Devotional. We heard from
Sister Linda K Burton, and yes the one who is the General President of the
Relief Society! She was amazing! I loved listening and being guided by her
and her counsels. I also loved the talk that her husband gave before her.
He said: before you are set apart as a missionary you are so so very
confused and kinda unsure of life at the moment, and I could remember when
I was set apart that was how I felt. After you are set apart, he goes on,
you feel like this big coat is put on over you, that it doesn't fit right,
and that is called the "mantle" he put it, the mantle of a missionary, you
do not see yet how much more you can be. And all the things of the world
just melt away. Once you start working and preaching and when you can no
longer see yourself as Jordan but now as Sister Lockett or Lockett Shimai,
that is when you have really started to become a missionary and that is
when the mantle or the suit coat fits. I thought that was so amazing!
Also last night we got 2 new sisters, one is from Nagoya Japan and the
other is from Souel Korea. The one from Japan, knows only a little amount
of English and the one from Korea knows English and Japanese, so that helps
out a lot. But, they are so sweet! I just have so  much love for them, I
know that when I get to Japan I will have so much love for everyone there.
One thing I thought was really interesting that the sister from Japan
talked about is that, in Japan 95% of the people will not listen to our
messages, and the 5% will.. I hope as a missionary I will be able to talk
to all of the 100% of the people. It gave me determination! You know the
scripture "and not one soul shall be lost"? That is my end goal to not lose
a single soul!

We are not Senpai! The way it works at the MTC is that there are 3 groups,
there are the DiSenpai which are the ones who have been here for about 7
weeks, the ones who will be leaving really soon, then there are Senpai who
have been here for more than 3 weeks, and then there is the Kohai who
literally just arrived and are in their first few weeks of the MTC. So we
are going to be having a bunch of new districts come in next week.. so they
are our Kohai! Also I was given the calling last night with my doryos to be
the new Online Coordinators of our zone, who go and talk to the new
missionaries about how to email their parents and write letters to the
mission president and so forth.

Wow.. it feels like yesterday my parents dropped me off, but I guess time
flies when you are serving the Lord! I am so grateful for all of you! Ai
shiteimasu! I want all of you to know how much of an example each and
everyone of you are to me! Keep of the good work and have JOY in life! Be
ambitious and look to the Lord!

​
Love you all!

XOXO
Lockett Shimai​