Hello!

She got drenched during a typhoon

Kids English Class

Fancy Japanese Restaurant

Hello everyone! 

So fun news! My Facebook is almost up and running! It's a slow process making it fit for the guidelines but I'm almost done! I'm not allowed to message people I knew before the mission but you all can still see what I'm doing! 

So this week we saw a lot of miracles! Monday night we decided to go housing which is probably our least favorite thing because we haven't had any luck at all but we found kinjin! (Golden people) We met this cool Chinese guy and referred him to the elders and then we met this lady who is way cool and said we could come back whenever! We are so excited to see her again. A little funny story, so the last floor we were housing there were these two guys just chilling in the door way and one of them came out and started talking to us. We were a little scared at first because he is way bigger than normal Japanese men and he looked pretty old and turns out he's only 20. We weren't sure if he was actually interested in our message or he just liked sister Sticht. Well, we referred him to the elders and they went to visit him and they said he's seems really interested and he took a Book of Mormon! So cool! 

The next day we went on a district blitz where we all went to an area and housed or street contacted or passed out eikaiwa fliers. Sister Sticht and I decided to do some street contacting. Apparently there was a typhoon coming too. We didn't get any warning text so we just kept going in the wind. The whole time we were walking and talking with people no one seemed interested. People usually talk to us but once they find out who we are they get all scared and run away. We weren't discouraged though and just had a fun time. Then, the very last person we talked to was awesome! She is 18 and has lived in New York for 3 years. She said she always wondered about religion but was too afraid to talk to friends about it. We have an appointment with her on Tuesday! At eikaiwa we met another 18 year old Yuna who went to eikaiwa around the Sapporo area but was always afraid to go to church. She's going to be out of town for the next few days but I can't wait to see her again! We just clicked! She has been pretty home sick and she's been in Urawa for 2 months just like me! I love her already! She also speaks pretty good English so that helps a little too! Also, our Chinese friend Sen who I mention awhile back is basically my Japanese tutor. Whenever he sees me he teaches me two new grammar patterns and then he quizzes me on them. It's so helpful! 

A couple weeks ago we met a Filipino lady named Jean while passing out eikaiwa fliers. She met with us this week and she has so much interest in religion! Everything we said she was like, "Really?! Tell me more!" That was seriously music to my ears because I don't think I've had such a positive reaction so far! We are having dinner this week with her to talk more and I can't wait! We also had zone meeting this week and I was asked to give a short training on staying focused on our missionary purpose. Elder Nabrostzky said he chose me because I'm always so focused and trying so hard... I think that's a lie but I did it anyways! It was fun and people said I did a good job so hopefully I helped someone! We had dinner at the Hashimoto family Sunday night with Angel and we had a great time! Oh, and I ate squid! It was like a quesadilla looking thing with chunks of squid. It wasn't bad! I am loving Japan so much! My love for the people grows each day. The language is coming slowly but surely but it's coming! I love you all so much! This week I also noticed how amazing it is when the spirit takes over in the lesson. I am so blessed to be able to be a missionary! I love you you all! Have a great week! Aishiteimasu!

Love,

Sister Lacey

It was too good to be true...

Sunset in Japan

Family!!! 

I was so glad to Skype you all! I've missed you! You all look great! Thank you for everything!

So as you know from last week, we had a baptismal date with Sayuri and we were all so excited and I love her so much! On Tuesday Sister Sticht and Sister Gates had a training at the mission home so Sister Kirkham and I went on splits. She's from my MTC district and we had such a great time! It was so much fun to dendo with her. We had lunch with Liu Fang and we had a great lesson with her and shared the Because of Him video and the Spirit was so strong. We set a baptismal date as a goal for the end of June. She was still a little hesitant about baptism but she agreed to the goal. We were so happy and excited for her. 

We have been really wanting to focus on finding and I think we were being tested because we had a rough day and no luck. We decided we need to not be so stressed about finding and to have fun. We had a lesson at Fangs house and talked about the plan of Salvation. It was a good lesson but I think it scared her a little bit because she was realizing how real this was all becoming. Later in the week we got a text from her saying she's not ready for baptism... That was a little sad to here but we just need to take things slower. On another down note Sayuri also cancelled her baptism date... Sister Sticht and I just decided to laugh about this week. We made two baptismal dates and lost them both within a week... I still have hope for them but on the bright side, Chen seems to be progressing well. She loves meeting and talking with us. I also  love the Dorffs.  President Dorff is awesome and his daughter Marina who recently got back from her mission in San Francisco is a bomb member missionary! She helps us so much! 

This week was definitely a humbling experience but we have learned to just have fun and to not get upset about things. I love our mission scripture and it has really helped me this week. D&C 128:22 "Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage...and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad." 

I love you all so much! Thank you for everything! Aishiteimasu yo!

Love Sister Lacey

We had a great week!

Trio!

Saying goodbye to District Leader Elder Maki

Enjoying a Spring day before it ends

With Liu Fang

Clam soup!

Children at English Class

Ohayo gozaimasu Kazoku! 

Time definitely does not exist anymore! I've almost been in Japan for two months already! Crazy! The heat has arrived, but it's only just beginning. I've been hearing horror stories about the summers in Japan. Wish me luck!

This week has been awesome! One of the blocks that we are over in the ward was having a party and wanted to go to the zoo. We weren't going to go but then Liu Fang said she wanted to go with us so we went. We had so much fun and let me say I think giraffes are my favorite animal now. While we were eating, we had really good discussions with her about God and how the reason we keep telling her to pray is because we can't give her all the answers and we don't know everything.  She said she is starting to feel God more and then we were walking towards the giraffes and she said, "oh I'm so excited!" We thought she meant to see the giraffes but then she said, "no, to feel Gods love more in my life." It was so funny and then she got the chills and it was so awesome! We almost set a baptismal date with her but she said she isn't ready to pick a day yet and she isn't quite sure of the importance of baptism. So now we know we need to talk more about Jesus Christ and why we need baptism. But we were so close! 

On Thursday we met with Chen to have dinner at the church and she made us Chinese food and uh.. I had clam soup. It was definitely a new experience.  On Friday we met with a girl who we met on the train last week. She is half Filipino and half Chinese  and speaks amazing English. She's also practically a model! Oh! She knows about Mormons because she watches this YouTube Mormon guy's videos. I'm not sure who he is but she loves how he always talks about families and she said she wants a family like his. I wish I could tell him thanks for his videos because they are helping people from across the world!  Her step dad recently died from cancer so next time we meet with her we want to talk more about the plan of salvation. She is so cool though and she wants to meet with us more! She also took a Tagalog and English Book of Mormon and is excited about it!

If there's one thing I've learned this week is that fasting is so important! Almost everything I fasted for happened right away! Liu Fang, Sayuri, and Mari chan all came to church and stayed the whole time! After Fang left Sticht Shimai seemed to be having a deep conversation with Sayuri and a member and we were supposed to have a lesson with Mari with Aoki Shimai but I didn't want to interrupt the lesson. I decided to get to know Mari a little bit more and turns out she knows more English than we thought and she also likes drawing like me! I decided just to have a lesson with her and Aoki Shimai and her son. We taught her about the plan of salvation and it went really well! Afterwards Sticht Shimai told me that she set a baptismal date with Sayuri! Miracles were happening! For dinner the Yamanita family invited us over and they had a big family dinner. It was so awesome! I felt right at home! Yuki served her mission in Salt Lake and she was talking to me for awhile and she just comforted me so much. I love her and her family! Oh, I also bore my testimony for the first time in sacrament. Last fast Sunday there was never a lull, so it just didn't happen, but I worked up the nerve this time and it was great because way more members talked to me afterwards. 

I am loving my mission so much! I wish I could stay in Urawa the whole time but I know that won't happen. I am learning so much and I am growing closer to my Savior. I love helping people learn more about God and Jesus Christ. This gospel is for everyone and the Book of Mormon is so true and powerful! I love you all so much! Thank you for everything you do! I'll see you soon for Skype! AHHH! Aishiteimasu!

Love Lacey Shimai