Week 7!!

New name tag!

 

Snow!

Konnichiwa Kazoku!

Less than a week and a half and I will be in Japan!! I am so excited! We get our flight plans tomorrow and I can't wait! Thank you for all of the emails! I'm glad you are all doing great! Say hello to Umi for me! I wish I could meet her. Did you all watch the video "Choose this Day?" If not you really should! Another good one is "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father."

This week was full of ups and downs! I was feeling kind of down for a little while and on Friday I broke. Throughout last week I was being hard on myself like I wasn't a good missionary and that I needed to be better but I wasn't accomplishing that. Well, during our evening class we were separated into pairs and had to switch off being the

missionary and the investigator. I was paired with Junot Shimai and she was the missionary first. She told me an experience she had and that she had been feeling hard on herself but then in the temple Kirkham Shimai shared a scripture with her and it helped her realize she was doing her best and she should be proud of herself. She shared
it with me and I can't even remember what it said but it helped me so much. I couldn't even get through my lesson to her because I started crying. She told me that before she taught me she prayed to know which experience to choose to share because it was between two and that is the one she chose. I know she was inspired to share that one because I needed to hear it and I needed to know I wasn't alone. 

The next day we did the same sort of activity. Since there is an uneven number in our district, I as with Olson Kyoudai. We had to teach whatever the spirit prompted us to teach. I was so nervous because I had no idea
what to teach! I know he's about to get married but I don't know too much about him but then the thought came to me, "how do you feel when you pray?" So I decided to ask him and then he said how he was embarrassed to say but he hadn't been praying as diligently as he should. Earlier that morning I decided to read my scriptures during
gym time while I was on the bike. While I was talking with Olson Kyoudai I remembered a scripture that I read in the morning about the importance of prayer. Wow! Isn't that awesome?! I committed him to pray more diligently and he told me to follow up with him. When it was his turn to teach me he asked me what I think my spiritual gifts are.
I told him some and then he asked me how I think I could develop more or increase those gifts. I told him some of my concerns and struggles and how I wish I was more confident and not fearful. He told me that I was a great missionary and he doesn't think there was a time where he didn't see me smiling. He then told me something that I really needed to hear. He said, "Lacey Shimai, stop thinking of what you can't do and start thinking of what you can." And he said, "people need your light and you need to share it." He shared a quote from someone about how we are all children of God and we need to always remember who we are and be confident about it.

Fast Sunday was really good. Earlier in the week Cook Kyoudai challenged me to bare my testimony in Japanese and so I did! I shared an experience in English but then I bore my testimony in Japanese! I felt like it flowed really well and it came so easily to me! I was so happy! Afterwards President Butler said he was really impressed. This language is so hard and I wish I could be fluent already but I know that the gift of tongues comes in the Lords time and I just need to remember that I have only been studying this language for just under two months and I can already do so much! For choir we sang one of my all time favorites, "Be Still My Soul." It was amazing! 

In our devotional we were talking about how we need to be united in our companionship and Elder Evans shared a story that was about couples but could relate to companionships but I feel like challenging you guys. To make a long story short, he said that couples should wake up and have breakfast together no matter what time and where one person is going. So I encourage you all (Mom and Dad, Clay and Krystin) To have breakfast as a couple every morning! Dekimasu! You can do it! 

Well, I am so grateful for this gospel. I am so honored to be a missionary and to dedicate a year and a half to serving the Lord.  This gospel is so true.  This week I truly realized that "Satan is a real being set on destroying [us]." (Elder Holland) He knows our weaknesses and try's to drag us down. But, the Holy Ghost and the Lord have way more power than him. We need to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost because we never know when the smallest and most simple thing can help someone. I love you all so much. Thank your for everything you do! Aishiteimasu!

Love Lacey Shimai