So my district situation is really different. I'm in a companionship of three, and our companionship also is our district as well. Sister Graviet and Sister Chidester are both half Japanese, both of their parents meeting on their missions, and therefore have more advanced Japanese skills. We're what's considered the intermediate district. To confuse us even more, when we first got there, we were told that we would be there for nine weeks, then I would be leaving in three weeks, then we ALL would be leaving in three weeks, then I would be leaving in three weeks again, and now we're ALL staying for nine weeks, and the people in charge aren't completely sure even then. So who knows how long I'll be here for.
It's honestly so weird to be in the intermediate district, and what a huge responsibility it is to be an example to all the other beginner districts. We got asked to translate for the Nihonjin (Japanese) the other day, and people ask for help all the time. It's honestly been humbling and a blessing.
There are four Nihonjin in our zone altogether, and I love them to pieces and am so grateful that we have them. I've had the sisters help edit a Japanese talk we have to prepare each week, and I learn so much from talking and conversing with them. They are the best.
I was rather surprised how tired I was all around every day. We have class for 6-9 hours, and study for another 4 hours most days. If I don't learn how to work hard in the field, I don't know what will help me learn.
I have been blessed so much with my amazing companions. Both Sister Graviet and Sister Chidester have so much motivation to work hard and do their best, and they are so serious about learning and growing on their missions. They are so patient with me and my shortcomings, and they are so supportive. The other night I woke up at three, and thought it was 6:30. I started to get ready, and then woke up my companions because they weren't getting up, only to discover that it was not, in fact, 6:30. This happened two days in a row, and since they haven't killed me yet, I think I might just keep them.
While the MTC is a lot of hard work, there's a lot about it that I love. Our teachers, Hoggan and Braithwaite Shimai (who happened to have served with Moulton Chouro and Mikkola Chouro) are amazing. I think I've learned more Japanese in the week that I've been here than the past four years. Tuesday and Sunday we have devotionals, and having the opportunity to sing in the choir and hear great speakers is a blessing as well. Yesterday we had Bishop Waddell talk to us about the difference of going on a mission vs. serving a mission. Our senpai ( our upperclassmen), are the greatest, and I'm so sad they're all leaving in three weeks! It's also snowing buckets here and I love it. We have the opportunity to walk to the temple every Sunday, and all the snow covered mountains and trees make me more grateful and blessed for God's creations.
The food here isn't terrible, but I miss being able to cook my own food. My companions and I were talking about how we missed In-N-Out and Cafe Rio the other day. I can't wait to get to Japan and have omurice and legitimately cooked rice and curry and ramen. And they charge us like three bucks for one laundry load's worth of soap.
The second day, we taught our first lesson to a man named Azumi, which was more or less a train wreck. Our Japanese was pretty awful, and we're still trying to figure out how to missionary still. Thankfully we have practice while we're in the MTC to figure out how the heck lessons work. Azumi is making progress though, and tonight, in our fourth lesson, we're going to ask him to be baptized. Once we get more into the swing of things, we'll get more investigators and more opportunities to teach.
This past week has drove me to my knees more than most weeks I've had recently, and I've felt God's love for me so many times, as the spirit here is so strong. After discussing the devotional last night as a district, the branch president's wife told us a story about an elder who's motto was, "Love is action,". After teaching a couple of lessons and feeling God's love for me countless times, I've realized a valuable lesson that we taught to our own investigator. If you love Christ, none of that matters if you don't do anything about it. You have to take that love and use it as a driving force to work hard at everything you do. You need to use that love and show it to other people. That's one of the main reasons why missionaries do what they do, and why other people take that and turn it into action as well.
Sorry this email was kinda long, I'm still trying to figure out how to organize my thoughts and expect further experimentation in the future.
We have this Japanese phrase we say a lot in our branch, which is totally not a Japanese thing at all, but we say it anyways. We say, " 愛してます," (aishitemasu), which basically means, "I love you,".
愛してます！
Dimito Shimai
1. My name tag!
2. Choir practice
3. Cute companions
4. First selfish!
5. Sister Chidester studying
6. Nihongo no kurasu! (My Japanese Class)
