One month in Japan!!

Her first Japanese Triple Combination

Italian restaurant in Japan

Tokyo Temple

Tokyo Temple

Public transportation

Their yard at their apartment

Famous Shibuya Crossing (The Scramble)

Famous Shibuya Crossing (The Scramble)

Famous Shibuya Crossing (The Scramble)

Ohayo Gozaimasu!

Hey Family! Genki?? I'm glad you're all doing well! I love reading your emails! I can't believe there's only one week left of this transfer! I'm getting pretty nervous for transfer calls but in my interview with President Budge on Tuesday he made it seem like I was going to be in Urawa for awhile, so lets hope he's not playing games with me! So we had temple P-day on Tuesday. I LOVE the Tokyo temple! We are about 50 mins away and we had to take a couple different trains to get there and we were running a little late so as soon as we got off the train we started running and we turned a corner and I got a quick glimpse of the temple. But afterwards i was able to take pictures. It's so beautiful! After the temple, we finished up new missionary training and I was able to see everyone from the MTC. It was so cool, but also weird seeing everyone with different companions. We had a good training with President Budge. He is so awesome and I'm going to miss him when he leaves but I'm excited to see what the new president will be like. During part of the training I went on temporary splits with Sister Worth and we placed a Book of Mormon! It was so cool! After the temple and training we stopped in Shibuya and went to the scramble. It was crazy! It was also pouring and we didn't have any umbrellas so we stuck out even more. I think it's so weird to see foreigners now and I forget that I'm one! I always make awkward eye contact when I see someone who's not Japanese, its really strange. 

On a down note we got dropped by two people in one week. We went to go visit Eri who used to have a baptismal date and then got sick and stopped contacting us. We had a start over lesson with her but we went to go visit her again but she didn't answer (we knew she was home). On our way back home, she called us and said she wasn't interested anymore and wanted to focus on finishing her last six months of schooling. It was pretty rough but I was actually grateful because now we know that she isn't ready and we can focus on other people. 

Just about an hour after that I called Liu Fang and asked if she had tried praying and she said she did! She said she had a big day at work the next day and was really nervous but after she prayed she wasn't! When one door closes another one opens! I think she is progressing well but it will take some time for her to understand and comprehend everything because she gets overwhelmed a lot but she keeps asking questions so that's awesome! I love her so much!

There's a little 13 year old Mari Chan who loves going to church! She's super shy to us but likes going to hangout with friends and she likes learning about the Atonement! Her mom is less active and she's not a member yet but we are trying to work with the ward to set up lessons with her so she will feel more comfortable.

So Steve, one of a recent converts from China, is probably the smartest and most faithful human being I've ever met. I seriously think he's going to be the first bishop in china or an apostle or something. He has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and finds answers to really deep questions. He's such an example to me! 

At Kodomo Eikaiwa only Uri Chan and her grandma came. Afterwards she invited us over to her son's restaurant. (Before hand we had just ate a huge lunch) They have this cute little Italian restaurant and they kept feeding us! I had pasta and shrimp pizza (crazy right?) bamboo (it had clams on it or something), fries, bread and orange juice. Whenever my plate was empty they would put more on! They are such a cute family though and we want to go back and try to teach them. I think I may have had more Italian food than Japanese food since I've been here! 

This week I've realized my brain is starting to block out Japanese... I'll try to explain. I'm trying not to let things bother me but I realized by doing that I'm not trying as hard as I should but now when I do try I feel like whenever I hear Japanese my mind blocks it. It's like I'm in a sound proof box and I'm trying to break out. I get some wonderful headaches haha. I feel like I can understand words but I can't translate it into English in order for my mind to understand and be able to respond. It's the strangest thing... 

That's basically the sum of the week! Oh, I also realized why I'm in Japan. I was reading my patriarchal blessing the other day and then in zone meeting the zone leaders told us to think about why we came on a mission and then everything clicked! It was the coolest thing. During the meeting I also realized I need to be more grateful. Not just grateful but sincerely grateful. I need to recognize the Lord's hand in my life on a day to day basis and show my gratitude. I love this gospel so much! Being a missionary is definitely hard work but that's why they call it 'WORK' - quote from president Budge - I love you all so much! Have a great week! Aishitemasu yo!

Love Lacey Shimai