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​