Week 2 in the MTC

Week 2
This week has pretty much flown by. I finally adapted to the sleep schedule so I can fall asleep quickly and get up at 6:30 am no problem--though I'm still tired for a bit. I'm just really getting used to the routine of things around here. Things in a threesome are a little trickier cuz you all have to go to the bathroom, and do your hair, and shower, and even not forget things the same or else you're running all over trying to let each sister get them all done. Which is a pain with stairs. We live on the 3rd floor and our class is on the 5th floor of another building. One of my companions (Sister Wells) calculated that we go up and down an average of 720 stairs a day. Another Elder in our district calculated by the feet we climb that we'll have gone up and down the height of Mt. Fuji in six weeks so basically I'll have climbed it twice before I even go to Japan. ;)

The food is ok here. It's not amazing but there are a lot of choices so I end up eating a lot. I've put back on the weight I was missing and hopefully now I'll control myself a little more and keep it at my usual average. But thank goodness it's a workout here anyway! A mental, spiritual, and physical workout! I really feel the spirit of the Lord supporting us here to do the things we need to. Studying for 6 hours a day in class and 3 hours on our own is pretty intense but we're learning SO much!

For our big devotional on Tuesday night Elder Ballard came and spoke! It was awesome! And then I also got to see John Hilton on that Sunday, in the cafeteria of all randomness, but he said hi. And a bunch of other people have asked me about the "LeFevres" here and there if I'm related to them. One was even a cashier for the cafeteria and HER last name was LeFevre and she said her Grandpa was from southern Utah. I think we should make a Facebook group that says something like "I'm a LeFevre, how 'bout you?" lol.

This week has just been great though. We really focused on working on our teaching skills, which is just practice, practice, practice. I think we're really getting better. My threesome companionship is amazing how we each have something unique to bring to the table and really when we teach we can have the Spirit and it all just flows and we're able to say what we want very simply. It does take work though.

And I've also been hit with how much the gospel is centered around families!! It's such a blessing for a family to come close to each other by all coming close to the Lord. That's something found in no other church. I challenge you all to tell your friends about how much the gospel blesses our family. And testify! It's so easy to say you know something, but how often do we just pass the opportunity by?? Shame on us, let's stand up for what we believe.

Ok, well I love you all! TAKE CARE and give Jazz and Smokey a hug for me!

LOVE,
LeFevre Shimai

First week In the MTC

[Hi, Dave here, Katie's dad. Now that she's in the MTC, it falls to me to keep this up to date. I'll use her letters and such and do my best to represent her.]

Week 1
Hello, everyone. I'm fine and alive. :) In fact, I'm great! things are going awesome here, there's so much to do, so much to learn and I am loving it.

My cold is officially over, though I still have to cough it out a little more, otherwise my energy is back and I feel like jumping around all the time.

My first companion was Sister Budge who lived in Tokyo for the last eight years but went to an English-speaking school, so her Japanese is good. I loved that and was so excited to just keep up with her but she was talking about going early to Japan. I still don't feel like I'm supposed to go early, since I got here and realized how much more Japanese I have to learn! But she actually was assessed by the teachers, and they bumped her up to the "Senpai" group or the senior comp. sisters and she is going in four weeks! Holy cow, that's fast. So now I'm in a threesome with the two other sisters going to Tokyo, Sisters Acerson and Wells.

The language is going well. We're already praying and bearing very simple testimonies in Japanese. All the shimai (the sisters) have a lot of fun together and all the Japanese-speaking missionaries eat together in the cafeteria Our little Tokyo/Nagoiya district has 11 people, so four other comps of elders (chorro), and they are all very great. We've started playing more games the end of this week (to practice our vocab) and it's fun to see people's personalities come through. We've been practicing teaching the lessons. Each Thursday we have a chance to teach people in the "TRC" or the teaching referral center, where we teach a pretend (or sometimes real) investigator one of the lessons, a little in Japanese but the main lesson part in English. This is really great practice and we work up to it all week. This week is, of course, lesson one, and we're to do a 10-15 min intro/conversation in Japanese.

Right now we have to go to choir practice to sing at the devotional tonight, so I'll end here! I just want to say as a last note, that the spirit IS really strong here. Because you're testifying and talking about Christ and this wonderful Gospel all day, it's with you all day! And it really covers any stress and fear of the giant task we're facing because we know that the Lord is in it and that He can and will support us! I know so much that this is the true church, I see it in the way the spirit comes on the hearts of all us missionaries-to-be here and the way I can feel it in MY heart. Miracles do happen, even to the least of us, and God can give you peace no matter what situation you're in!

Love,
LeFevre Shimai (Katie)

P.S. I got the Valentines notes. Tell the ward thanks for me so much!!!!

A word from our sponsor:

Konnichiwa!
If you're looking for Katie LeFevre's Missionary Blog, you got the right spot!

This is probably one of the only postings I'll actually do myself since missionaries usually only have time for limited computer use. My family will instead post selections from my weekly emails or letters home, hopefully with pictures too. And I'll be sure to have them always post my current mailing address for anyone who wishes to grace my mailbox with letters :D always appreciated!
*Just a note: mail is delivered on motorcycles in Tokyo, so any packages larger than a small box are not encouraged (as I'd have to carry it home myself on the train..)

Well, I'm sooo excited to learn more about Japan, to teach the people in Tokyo about our savior Jesus Christ and God's plan for our eternal salvation, and especially... to tackle all that delicious sushi ;)

Domo Arigato! And I hope YOU enjoy hearing about my missionary experience in Tokyo, Japan!

Sister Katie Darla LeFevre
MTC (Missionary Training Center) entry Date: Feb 11, 2009
Est. arrival in Japan: April 29, 2009
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints