Well we had an eventful week!
let's see...I suppose we can start with last pday which was the BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!! oh goodness. Best pday activity ever that is. We went to go PET MONKEYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a biopark, about an hour away, and the animals are just there. You can pet them feed them hold them, whatever you want. It was incredible. Monkeys were by far my favorite part. Oh my GOODNESS I fell in love with them. But im not the one that got pooped on. That was Bush shimai. Tip for the future: when going to make friends with monkeys, keep all the shiny things on your fingers and wrists. Not in your hair. :) While she was getting pooped on, I had a couple aggressive monkeys clawing, and one super cute monkey obsessed with my ring (thanks Cook shimai :)) He would just not let me go. Had to break his heart and move on to the kangaroos though. Anywho.
Have I mentioned how much I love Nagasaki? It is big enough that everywhere you go- you will see people on the streets, tons of houses...and yet still small enough that we see people we know everyday. I LOVE it. Every morning we have been doing Radio Taiso---look it up. It is the cutest thing in the world. A whole bunch of old people and little kids gather at 6*30am and go do this adorable little exercise program. SO.CUTE. and now we are friends with all the old people in our neighborhood. They love us. Dream come true.
Gave a talk in church on Sunday! Went pretty darn well. For me at least. Didnt get too red, bail out laughing, or get distracted...so all in all I would say it went well. Talked about mama, Jesus, and missionary work. :)
We had an incredible experience on sunday in class- I cant say names or too many details I suppose but we were sitting there in the young womens class (there are three young women that come occasionally, so we help with young womens) and one of the sisters in the branch came in and was talking to us. She and her family have been out of town for a month, and when she sat down she told us she was seriously considering just not coming to church again. She said she doesn't know why she comes anymore- she doesn't get anything out of it, she thinks that people in other churches are just as happy, and she doesn't see why or how in the world people in our church can say that they "KNOW" this church is true. ---in the past when things like this happened, it always shook me a little bit. Made me really sad, and I felt in my heart that these things were true but I had no idea how to share that- articulate that, or what to focus on, etc. But when she told us all of this, I got excited. Because I KNOW she can know for herself, and she is in a perfect place. She is wondering! and wanting to know. Either this church is true, or its not. It is as plain as that. Being about to bear my honest testimony, and helping her through it--talk it out, was a really incredible experience. We challenged her to search- she knows this is up to her- but she says she will search. After we talked to her I was thinking a lot about it, and I was thinking about all the millions of things that have helped shape my own personal testimony. What helped me find answers to the questions and concerns I had. And I got way excited. Im going to make it a little side project to collect things that have really helped me resolve my concerns, find answers, etc. and put them all in one place. It just got me excited. But I love how in this church, we encourage people to find out the truth for themselves. No one can do it for them. it is definitely a personal journey. You, God, Christ, and the Spirit.
It also made me think of you Mom and Dad- your testimonies, examples, everything. And I was thinking about what got you started Dad----and from you sharing bits and parts of your conversion story it is obvious that you were being prepared long before you met anyone from the church. But. the big turning point was when you saw a member of the church, living a clean life, and you desired to know more. Thinking about that made a scripture come to mind--John 10:27 (my sheep know me) and D&C 29:7. It is the same way! When people are being prepared- they will be able to recognize the truth when they come across it. Whether it is through the example of a member, a book, the scriptures, a conference talk, a boss, etc.
Hey-supa cool scripture I found this week---Zech 13:7---Smite the shepherd and the sheep will scatter...Bam.
Hey I am really sorry I have been so bad with happy birthdays! I love you all!!! It is September now...but happy birthday to all the August birthdays!!!!
Hey everyone should buy, read, study, and memorize the "Power of an Everyday Missionary" book. It is incredible. Life changer!
I love Nagasaki. I think I might say that every week. but it is true. I come to church and it feels like I family. I love these people and this town SO much. Next week is transfer week- emailing on Tuesday (Monday for you). I actually kinda feel like I am going to stay for another transfer or two. Maybe its wishful thinking....I don't know if it would be blasphemous to ask you to pray for me to stay in Nagasaki...maybe.
Anyways. I love this mission! I love my companions! I love the members, and nonmembers we get to work with, I love Japan, I love Japanese, I love you!!!!!!
Have a great week! ps look it up and see if there is anywhere in the US you can just pet monkeys and let them crawl all over you. Sorry mom, I totally harassed you with a million pictures this week---but at least now no matter what happens to my SD card they are still going to live!!
I looooooove you!!!
-----sincerely.
Lane Shimaiyo.
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