Week 8- Return of the Tree

こにちわ! 

12 days! We get our flight plans FRIDAYYY!!!! So pumped. Chotto terrified because my Nihongo is gomi. Luckily my District President just got back from Sapporo and the stories he was telling me got me so excited that I don't even care that my Nihongo is gomi because I'm going to Japan and how cool beans is that!!! It's gonna be such a great adventure :) 

This week I learned some very important words for my mission: 

Tōshi- to freeze to death
Yuki- Snow
Tōshō- frostbite

Stay tuned because in a few months I'll be in for the biggest shock of my life. I've heard so many horror stories about winters in Sapporo the past few weeks. Challenge accepted. Gotta love being a frozen chosen :)

This week we had a district of all elders come in that are all going to Sapporo!! Yay! We took them to the cream soda tree their first day and they all thought we were crazy. Until they smelled it :)

I was reading an article about the Sapporo Temple this week and I loved this part, Yukonobu Sato said "Members in the temple district have strong faith and commitment. The size of the temple district is small, especially compared with the size of the temple. I have thought about why. This is God’s investment. He knows the growth that is possible.”

I feel so blessed that God chose me to be apart of that growth!! The people of Hokkaido are being prepared to receive the gospel and I get to be the one to bring it to them! How cool. God is good! 

あいしてます!

Rigby しまい

"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm" Ralph Waldo Emerson

The End is Near

こにちわ かぞく と ともだち！

Another week down. We had another group leave for Japan this week which means the next group to leave is mine!! Whaaaaaaat!!! September 12 is the day! 

The amount of Japanese I know and the amount of time til I leave is pretty scary. #pray. We asked our teacher how hard we're going to be hit by the language truck when we get to Japan and he said "just make sure you're studying in the short amount of time between when the truck first hits you and before it backs up over you again"😂

This week the Japan Sapporo temple was dedicated! MY TEMPLE!! Woohooooo!!!  So pumped that the people of Hokkaido can enjoy the blessings of the temple:) Eternal Families for the win. 

One day we we're trying to decide what to teach a less active member to get him excited about the gospel. Lafaele Shimai asked me what excites me the most about the gospel. Easy. Eternal families. How cool beans that I get to spend forever with the coolest people I know?Can't wait to tell everyone in Hokkaido that they can be with their families forever. 

Being a missionary is the best!! 

あいしています!

Rigby しまい

"Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel." Alma 26:16

よよよ

こたちわ かぞ! Ohayou gozaimasu!!

It's been another great week here in the MTC!! The weeks keep flying by. I don't know why people complain about the MTC so much. Some days I do feel like one of those dolphins that die when they're put in captivity but I'm still having sooo much fun. The gospel is fun!!! 

So many random things happened this week so here's a quick run down of the best:

- Spent a week memorizing what I thought was the First Vision in Japanese but was actually just a random paragraph in PMG. Typical. 

- Had Elder Towns teach me how to say "I like your tie" in Spanish. Went around telling people "me gust su cuerpo" which, come to find out, actually means I like your body.... so embarrassing. Thank you Elder Towns.

- Found out Christian McCafrey is on Elder Bradys email list !!!!!!!! (Not a joke they trained together through high school)

- Converted the whole MTC to dōterra. Literally. I have never handed out so much onguard in my life. 

- Went to temple square Friday!! Yay!!! The real world! Real people! I'm so glad I got to go to my favorite place one last time before I leave for Japan.

Anyway, life is great and God is good! 

Last night Bonnie L Oscarson came and spoke to us. She's so great. We watched the Mormon Message called "The Will of God" (go watch it right now) After an Elder got up and talked about how he felt really cut down because he was trying to learn Japanese and didn't feel like he could express everything he wanted to while teaching investigators. (which is how I feel 24/7) She responded and said God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what were capable of and called us to the best mission for us. Even if it's Japan. 

3 1/2 weeks until I'm in the field!! Sooo excited!

あいしています!

Rigby しまい

“… And now, almost 50 years later, I look up to God and say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.’" (Go watch the mormon message)

The Black Plaque

こたちわ かぞく! Hola amigos! This week marks one month!!

This week our zone was hit hard with the black plague. Everyoneeee was sick including my companions & I. Saturday we were confined to the residence hall and I've never been so bored. About the time I knew everyone was getting out of class, I sat down by the big window with a sign that said "Help Me"...the looks I got were priceless (hahahaha) everyone was dying. 

There is a special tree here in our compound that if you put your nose right up to it, it smells like cream soda. I kid you not. It's hilarious watching groups of missionaries go up and smell it for the first time. The things we do for fun here....

Lafaele Shimai and I have way too much fun. I'm going to leave here with brain damage from the amount of times I've hit my head on something while laughing. 

Our best friends are the Elders going to Argentina. ai shite imasu them so much. With the amount of Spanish I've learned from them I'm going to be leaving here trilingual. 

I'm trying to find the words for what happened last night but I'm not sure if there are any. We had a devotional and the rumor was that someone important was coming. We were singing hymns when the doors opened and Elder Neil L Anderson walked in. It's amazing what happens when an Apostle enters the room. I didn't see who it was at first but the way the spirit filled my heart, I knew it was an Apostle. Without thinking all 3000 of us were on our feet. He gave an amazing talk and a few times he looked me right in the eyes. What really hit me was the very end when he was testifying of our Savior Jesus Christ. Suddenly his whole countenance changed. He stood a little taller and his voice got stronger as he repeatedly  said "I know Jesus Christ lives. I am a witness of Him." There's not a person in that room that would ever deny that Elder Anderson knows our Savior. 

This church is true and you all NEED it in your lives. I can't stress it enough. 

Watashi wa Iesu Kirisuto ga Sukuinushi da to shitte imasu. 

あいしています!

Rigby Shimai

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." 3 Nephi 5:13

1/3 Of The Way To Japan!

Dear Family,

こたちわ かぞく!!

3 weeks down 6 to go here in the MTC! 

This week our daisenpai, Nihongins and Elder Free left for Japan :( I didn't think it would be hard to say bye to people I've only known for 3 weeks but it most definitely was. When you literally spend 24/7 with the same people they quickly become your family. Japan is getting some really amazing missionaries this week!

One morning at breakfast I was sitting across from an Elder going to Argentina. He was reading a letter about all the awful things going on in the real world. He read about a stabbing in Japan and then looked up and saw my badge and the look on my face and felt so bad. He apologized 100 times and then said "This is why were here. The world needs the peace and joy and hope that only comes from this gospel." Amen. That Elder is now one of my best friends!

Last night at the devotional our choir sang Lead, Kindly Light. My favorite line is "The night is dark and I am far from home; lead thou me on! Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene, one step enough for me." I don't need to know what the next 18 months hold for me but I have faith and trust that God knows what He is doing and He won't let me fail. One step at a time!

Yesterday we taught one of our investigators, Shimobayashi San. She hasn't been willing to pray which is a challenge. We went in and testified like crazy and sang I Am a Child of God. (keep in mind all of this is happening in Japanese) The spirit was SOOOO strong. She prayed right then and there! It was awesome. I could've sat in that room in silence the whole day. Im so lucky I get to feel that all the time for the next 18 months. This church is true! 

I could write 5 pages of all the awesome and hilarious things that happen here but I wont do that to you :) just know I'm happy and love being a representative of my Savior Jesus Christ!

あいしています!

Rigby Shimai

"As certainly as there is a God in heaven, this gospel will go forth unto the ends of the earth." Gordon B. Hinckley

Investateacher- What's So Fun About Being Normal?

Konnichiwa Kazoku to Tomodachi!

Life is peachy here at the MTC. The days feel like weeks but the weeks go pretty fast. Some days are harder than others but the Japanese is coming and it's pretty exciting!

Remember our golden investigator Ōta San?? Well. Turns out he's not really Ōta San or an investigator. He speaks perfect English and just got home from serving a mission in Japan. He's now our SENSEI!!!!!! Hahaha tricky tricky MTC. His name is Strauss Kyōdai (Brother Strauss). He's such a great teacher so we forgive him for lying to us. One day he told us we were going to have class outside so we walked outside and he just starts sprinting and yelling at us to follow. We sprinted around the whole MTC. In skirts. It was so great-hahaha. 

Sunday night we had a devotional by the Nashville Tribute Band. They started singing songs from their Joseph: A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet album and it instantly took me back to when I was young and couldn't fall asleep unless I was listening to that album. I bawled the whole devotional. It reminded me of the testimony I have of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know he saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I know he was called of God to restore the true gospel to the Earth. "I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it" JSH 1:25. There is no one that could ever get me to deny that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God. 

Monday was the hardest day so far. All I wanted to do was be with my family picking up my brother. I was really frustrated with everything and just wanted to go home. I knew I could be with my family, I could be with my friends and I could be a normal teenager. But what's so fun about being normal :) I know I'm doing a much more important work. Plus for 30 minutes I got to be with my brother while we were both still missionaries and that's something I'll never forget!

I'm so grateful for all the love and support! I love reading your letters and emails! Thank you, thank you!!

ai shite masu!

Rigby Shimai

Favorite quote of the week: "If you want to know if Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, just pray and ask Heavenly Father. He was there." 😂

Spiritual Bootcamp Week One!

Konnichiwa!!! O-genki desu ka?! Genki desu! Subarashii!!

MTC life is great! We are in class by 7:00 am and don't get back to our room till 9:30pm. It's hard work but it will be so worth it when I get to Japan! Japanese is hard. You basically take everything you learned in English and do the exact opposite. Everyone in my district took Japanese in high school so I'm pretty far behind. It was pretty discouraging the first few days but I had to remind myself they've taken Japanese for years and I've been taking it for 3 days. If God believes I can learn Japanese than I know I will. I'll get back to you in 9 weeks :)

I'm in a trio with Watabe Shimai from Ohio and Lafaele Shimai from New Zealand! We get along great! We are the only Shimai (sisters) in our district with 5 Chorōs (elders) from Virginia, Massachusetts, Iowa, Idaho and Utah. I love them already. There are 6 of us are going to Sapporo and the other two are going to Tokyo. Ōtamugi to Hoshikusa is our catchphrase. It's amazing the things that become fun when you're a missionary.

Our second day here we taught our first lesson to our investigator, Ōta San. I didn't understand a word but I love Ōta San!! We taught him about God's love for him and how to pray. We've taught him 3 more lessons since then and I'm starting to be able to understand some words! Teaching him is the best part of the day! I love, love, love Ōta San. We spend a lot of time with the native Japanese missionaries and my love has grown sooooo much for the Japanese people just in the last week! They are the BEST.

Sunday night we had a devotional where they played "The Character of Christ", by Elder Bednard. When it was over Elder Bednar himself walked in IN REAL LIFE and we had an hour long Q&A with an Apostle of the Lord. No big deal. Just another day in the MTC. SO COOL!!!!! If you get a chance watch "The Character of Christ" because it's amazing. It's all about learning to turn outwards with charity, like Christ, rather than inward with selfishness like we all want to do when things don't go our way.

I love being a missionary and I can't wait to invite the people of Japan to come unto Christ and help them receive the joy of the restored gospel! (Hopefully in Japanese)

Ai shite masu! (shite is pronounced stay, be careful with that)

Rigby Shimai

"The Lord never asks the impossible. Often the difficult, but never the impossible." -David B Haight

OTA SAN

My dirstrict aka the people I spent 15 hours a day with.

Japanese Zone Selfie courtesy of Womack Shimai

My district

Out for a walk.

The Cafeteria

My badge

I had a native write "Rigby" in Kanji.  It means "prettier than the shining blue"

All the fish in the sea in Kanji

I get to see Warner!