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