Update on our investigator situation: So our investigator ended up committing to being baptized! And he also ended up being one of our teachers...I can't say I didn't see it coming, but since we already had three teachers, I guess you can say I let my guard down. Honestly one of the most embarrassing things ever. But he is the sweetest teacher ever and we love him. We have a new investigator now. A 17 year old girl whose parents are divorced. Her mother is a member, but her dad is Buddhist and really against the church, and as you can imagine, she's struggling a lot. Teaching her was very difficult because she doesn't express her feelings well, and she was very guarded our first lesson. Hopefully we can get through to her eventually.
Something I've come to learn in my short period of time as a missionary is that Sundays in the MTC are the best. After working really hard all week, being able to relax a little bit and focus on the Spirit is a true blessing. We have choir and a devotional, both of which are fantastic. The Sabbath truly is a day of rest and spiritual rejuvenation.
Something else I used to take for granted a lot that I miss now is music. We aren't allowed to play music at all here, even on P-Days. Any music at all is earnestly sought for and desired. Also because of our busy schedule, I hardly get to play the piano anymore. I received the great blessing of being asked to accompany for a musical number during sacrament meeting, which was a huge tender mercy for me, and which brought the Spirit so strongly. I'm also working on a musical number with one of my companions and two elders, which I'm super excited for.
I caught a cold this week, which I'm slowly recovering from, and let me tell you when you're feeling sick and miserable, the last thing you want to do is be a missionary. However, I'm still pressing forward!
There are a lot of international missionaries here at the MTC, and we have like a gajillion interpreters. So during devos the international missionaries will wear headphones to listen to in the interpreters. Last Sunday my companions and I were sitting in front of a couple of Chinese missionaries. One of the missionaries companions, who was American, was falling asleep. So his companion next to him took off his headphones and put them onto this sleeping missionary, which of course quickly changed to an awake missionary. My companions and I about died. This guy won the official Best Way to Wake Up Your Companion Award.
Something that I wanted to share with y'all that I totally forgot to mention last week that I thought was super cool. In the MTC, English is the most common mission language. Second is Spanish, and third is, guess what? Japanese! My mind exploded when I heard that! There are three temples in Japan, and seven missions! The work is progressing so much in Japan and it's so exciting!
So in our Japan mission MTC culture, we have names for all of our textbooks that have been passed down from district to district. We have a red basic grammar book that's called Miyagi-san, because it will teach you everything. We have a little red book containing a bunch of useful missionary words and phrases, called the Ninja, because it's sneaky fast. And the best one is a thick yellow grammar book called the Pikachu, because you should always keep it by your side. There's a gajillion other names for our other books. Basically our senpais are nerds.
This is the last week for our Nihonjin district. We've gotten so close with all of them and we're going to miss them so much! Thankfully both of the sisters are going to Fukuoka! We had an opportunity to teach them in a lesson that focused on finding others needs, and they in turn taught us. It was such a neat experience. The Spirit really transpires all language barriers, and as long as you love them, it doesn't matter how difficult it is to communicate with them.
I'm really grateful for the chance I get to serve such wonderful and loving people. The gospel is something that can bring them so much joy and knowledge and I'm even more grateful for it everyday. Our zone went to the temple this morning, and the peace I felt there is something that everyone needs. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to serve, love, continually repent, and grow closer to Christ everyday.
愛しています！
Dimmitt Shimai
1. Sister Graviet solution to a cold classroom
2. 4 great Nihonjin, one America Jin, and one...Canada Jin?
3. My Shimaitachi!
4. I can't get enough pictures with the Nihonjin
5. The field is white ready to harvest: missionaries only
I love all the photos (with explanations)! Thanks Emma!
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