Another crazy week in Nakano!

Helloo my dear family and friends!

I have had such a fun week--it just always feels fun here in Nakano with Shipp shimai! But first off--I forgot to say last time that I'm not quite by the Temple.. that's another area called Shibuya. This is about a twenty-thirty min train ride away close by Ikebukuro. The Hombu is here but not the church headquarters--that's by the temple. Our ward doesn't have any English speakers. There are a lot of Phillipino families though (well, three) and of course the office couple, so they have an English sunday school class and someone who translates Sacrament Meeting into English. They are great members!!

Ok--so this week. We had a lesson actually with our ten-year old's mother, who is a recent convert. Agnus. She is phillipino so we talked in English but her Japanese is pretty good, too. We found out she was baptized just before she had surgery for cancer, and in her mind it was "in case something happened". But she doesn't really have a strong testimony and stuggles with many commandments. But I guess she talked before to Jehovah witnesses and was saying how she was really sad they didn't celebrate Christmas. In their house they have a little Christmas tree up on their TV.. all year round... so, she was so cute, she said "I'd rather die than not celebrate Christmas!" But anyway, we're hoping to meet with her more to teach her as well as her daughter.

Then we had Zone Conference this week too. It was great, and President Albrect gave a GREAT presentation on working to find people, building relationships with members, acquaintences, and with strangers. And the president of the Tokyo stake spoke to us on bearing down in pure testimony, especially about Joseph Smith's first vision, since it is a foundation of our whole church. He said we should reconfirm our testimony of it to investigators every lesson, at least 7-10 times. Until they either know because they feel it burning in their hearts too, or want to know so bad they search with real intent. It really goes to show the power of example and the power of the spirit!

Then we met a very interesting girl Yumie-san when we were going up to visit a less-active member. I got a really weird feeling as we were going and felt like we shouldn't go that night to the LA. I couldn't tell if it was just my stomach acting up but Shipp shimai said we should better be safe than sorry. So...we turned around and as we were going back down we stopped and talked to Yumie-san, who said she'd lived in California before and her other family had also lived in America. She said they had gone to church there and that she'd like to meet with us all together! She then took out her phone and called her sister right there, to see if she had time to meet, and had Shipp shimai talk to her sister on the phone! Anyway, it ends up we didn't get to make an appointment for this week but she seems very nice so soon I hope. Just more little miracles God grants us! Finding the few that will actually listen to our message in this huge city of Tokyo really is a daily miracle and I thank God I was called to serve here!!

Well say hi to everyone for me, and if there's anyone the Forsyths want me to say hello to just let me know!! Love you all tons and miss you lots! Hope you are taking care of yourselves and of each other!

Love,
LeFevre shimai

Hellooo family, this is just a quick note, we're in here printing out Sister Shipp's application to law school so she can start working on it and get a rough draft to her parents by the end of our P-day time (6pm) so it's 9am here on Tuesday... I think it's either four or six on Monday night there so hopefully you're all getting ready to have FHE night (家庭の夕べ/ かてい??の??ゆうべ/katei no yuube/ "kah-tay no yoo-beh"--how many ways can we write this? ;) oh Japanese..) but well if you want to say anything else I'll be back on here at around 4:30 so in another 7 hours. Write me if you can! Love you all!

LeFevre Shimai
(And yeah isn't that crazy?! Last month right before my B-day was six months/ 1/3rd marker! Sheesh time flies. Now it's been another month later and give it a couple more and I'll be halfway! It's so crazy how fast it goes though..I feel like I'm still a bean-chan....)

Another week in the best place in the mission

Konnichiwa Everyone!

Wow, this week feels like it's been a whirlwind and much longer than a week! Thank you Mark Chiba, Uncle Cory, Harrison, Vik, Mom, and Dad for your great e-mails! I loved reading all of them!

Put simply, this week we were pretty much ignored by our investigators, who we kept calling but didn't hear any word and were getting worried, but did a lot of biking to deliver happy birthday messages to less actives. We also got to eat dinner with our one kinda-progressing investigator Meiho-san, so we went to eat at a member's Indo-Curry restarurant. Somehow Japanese really really love Indo-Curry, which is basically really thick, rich curry with lots of different flavors. You eat it with Nan--a huge face-size, flat baked-like-a-scone bread. It's very delicious! These members are from Nepal and have their own family (small) restaraunt. It was amazing how fast he could whip out these delicious entrees, and they were very very good. The funny part is though, we actually forgot we were coming there the very next day to kubari (pass out) flyers for their restaraunt as a district for service. Then of course they fed us again. So we ate a lot of curry. Yum! I feel bad for sister Shipp though, since she just has to eat it with rice since she can't eat nan... I think the nan might be just as good as the curry!

Then we biked to Ikebukuro (that really big busy part of town) and did a little dendo there. We actually ended up talking to a lady from France who's been living here a few years. She said she was Catholic but hadn't been going for a while, so we invited her to come check ours out. Then the next day while biking we also ran into a young college girl from Germany (Julia) that was really sweet. Then, most surprising of all, was when we stopped a high school girl on the streets later and started to share with her 2 Nephi 2:25 to say that the purpose of our lives is to find joy. She had gone to a Christian Jr. High and so started asking more about the Fall. The more we explained it, and how we can learn from what we do and how God really does want us to be happy--that that is his greatest focus, she started to cry! I was kind of caught off guard..but I guess she's had some hard experiences lately, so we did our best to invite her to come and see and gave her a pamphlet to read. She was still wary and wouldn't give us her phone number but promised she's try to come. We realized after we talked that we had actually been lost and going the wrong direction, but if we'd been going on our planned route we wouldn't have even met her!
So I guess the point is we haven't been seeing the harvest this week, but I just really feel like we've been lead in our actions and really meeting great people. And just yesterday we finally got ahold of our investigator Miho-san who we were really worried because she wasn't answering us or calling back this whole week. She's fine I guess just still really ill, but we are meeting with her on Thursday.

We also had a big Matsuri this weekend (festival) and they did the traditional parade/march of the Shinto shrines. It was interesting cuz we were biking to an appointment so went past four or five different marches. They all shout and carry the thing on their shoulders and it's just soooo interesting how symbollic it could all be and how much it makes me think of ancient Israel! There was even one this time (daytime) that had someone carrying a huge stick with white streamers hanging off and I thought of the Lord's cloud that guided Moses and the people by day. ... So interesting!

Well, life is never dull here in Nakano... Sister Shipp sliced her finger cooking dinner, and had a taxi back into her... but I've been fine so I guess your prayers are working.. :D Thanks so much!! I really do feel like the Lord is leading and protecting us.

May He do the same for each of you! Have an amazing week!!

Love,
LeFevre Shimai

Week 2 in Nakano!

Hellooo Minnasan (everybody)!

So, it is week two of my fourth transfer in Japan. Nakano is amazing! There are ALWAYS people on the streets--we're pretty much in the idealic part of town. It's pretty much what you think of when you think 'Tokyo' and we even have Ikebukuro in our area, a city area which has possibly the busiest intersection in Japan. We don't really go there much because it's almost more hassel than a help. But the normal streets are just fine, there's enough people to have effective streeting but it's not usually so crowed that it's abunai (dangerous). But there's always people to talk to and it makes me sooo happy! I think I got a little starved for doing streeting in Maebashi where NO one was out walking, they were all driving. Which is pretty funny, though, because I thought at first in Kofu that talking to new people all the time was maybe the hardest thing, but after Maebashi I realized that it's harder without it! So now I love it, and I'm just so excited to talk to everyone! I think my views on Dendo (missionary work) are changing a little... maybe the hardest thing is becoming seeing investigators that are so close and want to believe but just can't seem to find their own faith.

We have some great investigators here. There's Meiho-san, who has a baptismal date but is very hesitant about it. But she's very sweet and continues to study the Book of Mormon. Then there's Miho-san (they are similar names!), who has some kind of nerve(?) sickness so she's always trembling and has a hard time doing anything that requires mobility, writing, walking... she reminds me to be grateful for the little things like being able to turn pages of the scriptures without trouble. But despite her great trial she is pressing on and is up to chapter 12 in the Book of Mormon and comes to church as much as she can.

Then there's 10-year old Yumi who's mom is a recent convert and she LOVES the missionaries. Yumi told us she wants to be a missionary. We laughed and told her she needs to be baptized first. Well, for sure she'll be baptized she just thinks she's embarrased to, so they're waiting until her younger brother turns 8 in November and they'll have the baptism service together. :)

Lastly this week we met with Aya-san who came to Eikaiwa first, and doesn't really know much about church or God but likes the feeling at church and so comes once in a while and meets with us. She's only had a couple lessons so far but is really sweet and is super pera-pera (fluent) in English even though she's never even travelled!

So those are our really progressing investigators but it's just so busy here and Sister Shipp is SO nice. I think we've already learned a lot about each other and made a lot of connections. I can't believe it's only been a week!

A little about her, she's from Salt Lake, majoring in English so likes to write and read (reads very fast-I'm jealous), and had a wheat allergy so don't send us any cookies! ;) We're doing just fine though since there's plenty of rice. But I'm learning a lot of new things about food--like that normal soy sauce and bullion cubes have wheat in them! And that you can stir-fry cucumbers pretty much like zucchini (which for some reason they don't have here). And they eat a lot of pumpkin here in Japan... like in stir fries or just on the side of things.

Let's see... a few very Japanese things that have stopped surprising me:

• Taking off your shoes backwards (you face the door, slip them off in the genkan/entryway--which is lower than the rest of the house-- and then you can bend down and pick them up to move them away from the middle,etc.) apparently it's very rude to touch things or push things around with your feet--which bad habit of mine I'll have to break.


• The toilets all have faucets on top that the new water pours through and you can rinse your hands off if you want. Or there are squatter toilets, which are really not a problem now. Almost comfortable.. but still seem more unsanitary to me... even though Japanese think they are more sanitary since you don't have to sit where someone's sat I guess.


• Mugi-cha (wheat tea). The first time I drank it I thought it tasted like it had been accidently burnt but now it's actually quite delicious. I think I'll have to search it out for the rest of my life. I think it's healthy at least.


• Seeing street signs and everything in Kanji. It almost surprises me more now when I see something in English and can read the whole thing! ;)

Ok well that's all I can think of for now. I have to say though, that this week we also had dinner with the Hombu staff, which included President and Sister Albrect, Brother and Sister Shaw (the secretary) and the Hombu Elders. We went out to eat at a restaurant and it was very delicious but I just kept laughing to myself at the interesting conversations that were going on around the table. It's funny to remember that no matter what role we have in terms of responsibilities, leadership, etc... we're all still very very human and don't always know what to do with ourselves :) Everyone has flaws, that's the whole point of life. Zehi, please, this week if you're feeling weighed down because you think you can't do everything, I want you to realize something--that's right! You can't do everything. You'd have to be perfect already, and none of us are perfect. There was a quote from someone at the MTC that they said "As soon as you think you can do something on your own, the Lord will let you. And you'll fail misserably." And it is soo true. Please, look to the Lord for your strength and know that he's waiting there to hold us up and show us how to succeed. He is our way and our light. And he loves you all soo soo much, whether your Japanese, or American, or from anywhere else. Black and white, bond and free, male and female, he invited all to come and partake of his goodness (2 Nephi 26:33). I hope you all have an amazing week and read your scriptures! :) Thanks for your support and letters! Feel free to keep sending them my way! :D

Lots of Love,
LeFevre Shimai

P.S. Tell Steph Happy BIRTHDAY for me and A HUGE Hug and good luck as she heads to the MTC! Does she go this week? And tell Uncle Cory I do get his e-mails so the address is right! :)