Week 10: First Week in Japan

First pic with my new companion, Brown Shimai

December 19, 2016

First week in Japan! I am in Shimizu, Kumamoto, and my companion is Sister Lauren Brown. Wow! I thought I was a pro at traveling, because I've been around the block with my family a few times. But here's the freight train of reality that hit me: without them, I got nothing. I'm the WORST (as my long lost doryo, Askew Shimai always said). Just the worst at traveling. Don't believe me? Ask the dishes.

-left my passport on desks two times
-last one on the bus
-last one ready to board at SLC airport
-almost got bags confiscated at Portland airport because they were left unattended (they assume you have bombs in them)
-had a year's supply of shampoo and conditioner in my carry-on (I guess go big or go home)
-lost my shoe on the plane and with the help of 4 other people located it 3 aisles up
-took pictures when we were in line to go through security (apparently they can confiscate your camera if you do this)

All I have to show for my 12 hour flight is the Delta pin-lol

So, let it be said, I'm grateful to have arrived in Japan in one piece. God is watching out for me. And the people of Japan are going to watch out for me cause I'm going to just melt their hearts with the scriptures if the lava doesn't get them first. xP Sorry lol.

It's been a crazy week!! A few days ago I told someone "Iesu Kirisuto o toshite watashitachi wa watashitachi no machigai o suiho suru koto ga dekimasu. " which is, "through Jesus Christ, we can DRUNKEN STAGGER from our mistakes." She giggled and accepted our English class flyer. Yay.

The day before I left for Japan, I played "Christmas Medley" by Jon Schimdt in sacrament meeting. It wasn't a great performance, but as long as someone could enjoy it, it's ok. Next Sunday at church, Brown Shimai and I will be singing together, "How Great Thou Art." Literally any other one of the shimai from my MTC district would be a good fit for this. Whhhhhy?

I finished Jesus the Christ and New Testament amidst all the traveling. When I got to Revelations, I was squished in the middle seat between two elders (one of whom was sick) on the 12 hour flight
to Tokyo (no sleep), so I was getting real spaced out and probably the most I got out of that was that there are an abundance of sevens in that book. I'm really glad I read those two books though, because now I feel like I can fully contribute to our NT discussions every morning with the other two shimai in our apartment. I pull out my Jesus the Christ all the time! It's awesome.

Some things about Japan:
-Vending machines everywhere... with heated hot chocolate cans!! Get it together America.
-There are ridged yellow pathways everywhere for the blind people. We're off to see the wizard.
-People here love white people. At a crosswalk, I got half a bus full of people waving at me.
-Everyone is just really stylish. At English class, Sister Brown says when you ask people their hobbies, shopping is a common answer.
-There's no other way to describe the amazing bread here except that it's like the bread on Alice in Wonderland (Disney animated). So much good food here.

So far, we've had two sit-down appointments and both times they have been so hospitable. The first appointment, the four people there gave us eclairs and towels and sang Christmas songs in English with us. The second appointment, the woman gave us this creme cheese pastry and moogicha (tastes like burnt water). I love it here. Honestly, it feels like a dream sometimes. A few nights ago, I remember I was praying that I would find God's prepared children, and I heard someone say my name. I looked up and my companion was still praying. Then in my head I heard, "You haven't found me yet." I know we had friends in the pre-mortal existence that are depending on us in this life to share the gospel with them. I will find you my friend! (weekly emails every two weeks from now
on. :))

Reporting to you live from Japan,

Rogers Shimai

Word of the week: beanchan
New missionaries are called this. My companion has said she's committed not to call me that, and I tried to bribe her to call me that with a yen I found in the airport, but no luck yet.

How I felt about leaving the MTC and saying goodbye to my friends.

The reason why we were put together as companions is probably
because of this. ha ha

Sincerely, the meme queen

Last temple pics

 

First picture in Japan!

"So good, you'll want to gulp it down." English is used on products for fanciness, but then this happens. 😂

This cartoon bear is everywhere in Kumamoto because kuma means bear.

People want to take pictures with the strange looking foreigners. ^_^

Awkwardly eating the renowned Black Thunder candy bar.

The view from our apartment

Week 9: Arrival in Fukuoka

Brenna emailed us on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, to let us know she made it to Japan! Then on Friday, Sister Egan sent us this wonderful email and picture of Rogers Shimai with President and Sister Egan:

"Dear Sister Rogers' Family,

I wanted you to have this picture so you could see for yourself she arrived safely! We are so excited to serve with your beautiful daughter!  She will be a great blessing to the people of Japan and her companions. She has already blessed us!

If you ever have any questions or concerns, you now have my email address. Contact me anytime. I will reply as quickly as I can.

I pray you have a very Merry Christmas and that the peace and joy of this wonderful season will be with you and all you love!

Sincerely,
Sister Egan
Japan Fukuoka Mission"
​

Week 8: Goodbyes and a Love-Sick Shimai

This statue is only up for Christmas!

Flight plans are in woohoooo!!

I'm so busy packing, I would accept the help of a cat. That's a Japanese saying (nekonotemokaritai). ^___^  Before I came to the MTC, I was trying to say goodbye to my cat Scooter by holding him in my arms, but he scratched me (drew blood) and ran away to go eat some food. Yeah, love you too!
Next Monday, we have to be on the departing bus at 4:50 am. Salt Lake -> Portland -> Tokyo -> Fukuoka. The main flight from Portland to Tokyo will be 9-12 hours long, depending on weather conditions.

Even though I'm really excited, sometimes I do get homesick. When that happens, I look on google maps at all the wonderful places I have traveled to and that gives me the traveling spirit. My sensei tachi tell us about their experiences teaching people in Japan, and I feel the Spirit so strongly!

Here are some cultural things I've learned about Japan, because I want all of you that read these emails to fall in love with Japan as much as possible:

--At church, when "Amen" is uttered at the end of the prayer, everyone keeps their eyes closed just a little longer to reach out for the divine light, for personal revelation. Shouldn't we all try to tarry in the spirit of prayer just a little longer?

--Early morning in Japan (6 am), the parks are alive with crowds of grandmas doing their morning exercises together. "Itchi, ni, san!" So cute! I hope you dream about a bunch of obaachan doing squats tonight. Haha.

--Sushi conveyor belt restaurants. Just let that soak in....Yes it really is a thing. How they charge you at the end of the meal is counting the number of plates you have.

--The crime rate is so low, that neighborhoods will have stories like, "Remember that one time a few years ago Tateishi-san got robbed?" Policemen don't carry guns, and my teacher said in the year and a half she was there, she never saw someone get pulled over.

--They love white people. All the Nihongian choros here want to marry American girls. In Japan, they love to dress you up like a life-size doll. Something about seeing a white girl in a kimono makes them giddy.

Can't wait to be talking about their culture first-hand!

As I look back on my MTC experience, I ask myself the question, "If the MTC is what you make of it, how did I make this a positive experience?" My MTC experience being so positive overall, I attribute it to the testimony I have that God guides our lives. Every night, I feel an assurance that even the bad moments are towards a higher purpose. When I consider the trials of my past, I can sometimes dimly recognize how they have helped me take this current experience in stride so that I would have an increased appreciation for it. Sometimes I think all the preparation in the world could not have made me ready for the friendships I have formed with people here, because these people are so unlike people I have ever met before. These are friendships I will cherish. I have been exposed to mindsets, viewpoints, and opinions that have altered me toward greater openness and love.

Our sister training leader said my doryo and I have a "dream companionship." Well, it's really not so perfect but I will miss Askew Shimai soooo much as well as many other people in my zone. Here, I'll be talking with someone and have this weird moment of, "Wait, I've never told this to someone before." That has happened again and again with various people.

My doryo and I

Now we Skype real Nihongian every week for our lessons!

Even as I am writing about what the MTC experience has given me, I find that saying goodbye won't be so heart-wrenching after all is said and done. Why? I trust God more than I ever have in my life. I trust that many small, but mighty, miracles await each of us in our lives. Isn't the sunrise a symbol of renewal, of fresh starts? Going to the Land of the Rising Sun is my new beginning, and I look forward to that.

I got two fortune cookies recently and doesn't this seem rather coincidental....

"You will move to a wonderful new home within the year."
"Traveling this year will bring your life into greater perspective."

One of the best moments this week was when President Daniels said I had a good hatsuon after I said the prayer. Good accent?? No way.

Some of the goals I set in the MTC were to read the New Testament and Jesus the Christ before the plane ride. I will talk more about this next week (and I will also be in Japan!)

Much love,

Rogers Shimai

Word of the week:
Kimokawaii
being both repellant and attractive at the same time, being both cute and disgusting
Troll word lol

#dandruff

Shimai tachi in our zone (sister missionaries)

Where's Waldo?

Creating memes is my part-time job in the MTC. One time I created a meme joking that a shimai was obviously thinking about a certain elder. But then I found out I was dead-on. Oops. 🙊

"Look at the mountain for a picture."

Like a painting

Week 7: Tell Me All Your Secrets

Yorkie + Poodle = Cuteness

 November 30, 2016

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This week I have been extra grateful that God is watching out for me. On Saturday, I injured my knee, and because of all the surgeries I've had, I was worried there might be complications. But, as of yesterday, my knee is giving me no pain. Must have just pulled a muscle. I'm so relieved!

For Thanksgiving, the whole MTC put together this service project where we packaged 300,000 meals to feed children around the world, and I discovered I have an aptitude for scooping rice. With our hairnets on, it reminded me of that chocolate scene from "I Love Lucy." I love that the church is so involved in serving people.

Santa's Helpers

Red hairnets are all the rage.

I don't really talk about language study much, buuuut let's just say my vocab flashcards have become an extension of self. Yesterday, I learned how to say, "Her cheeks are like apples." It's, "Kanojo no hopeto wa ringo no yona hopeto desu." But my favorite thing to say is, "Kare no ha wa hitsuji no yona ha desu." Which is, "His teeth are like sheep." I say that to all the choro tachi... Hey, it's from the scriptures (barely)!
Song of Solomon 4:2,
"Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them."
You're welcome.

When our teacher was pretending to be a Japanese investigator, we asked her about her week, and what I could gather was, "flower, gardening, I ate..." Naturally, I asked her, "You ate the flowers?" That made her laugh. She explained again that she also gardened vegetables, so as you can probably tell, I'm really blossoming in the language. :P

Favorite thing about the MTC: Singing in choir and teaching our teachers ;)
Favorite meal in the MTC: Bagels with strawberry cream cheese and grapefruit for breakfast
Favorite Christmas hymn: "Angels We Have Heard On High"
Favorite moment of the week: We got to cuddle a puppy!!!
Favorite compliment (sort of?): "Rogers Shimai is just the type of girl you tell all your deepest, darkest secrets to." (A strange extension of the therapist comments ha ha)

Miller Shimai with the puppy

Have you ever heard someone tell you, "Smile at someone! You might make their day!" Well, I never truly believed that, until it happened to me a few days ago. I was walking back to the Resident Housing, feeling kind of down, and someone in passing said "ROGERS SHIMAI!" with this huge smile on his face. I felt a lot better. So go out and smile at someone! Spread some positivity! I'm a firm believer in stretching your facial muscles. 💪

Word of the week: Shitsudeshimasu - I'm about to be rude!
Mainly, people use this word for when they are pushing through a crowd, but I like to picture someone saying that right before they pack a punch. That's just me though.

I've been thinking a lot of about what kind of questions a real investigators might have. "Why are we here?" "Where are we going?" "Is there a god?" So many people instinctively search for a sense of a higher power. If it weren't important, if it weren't necessary to life in some way, I don't think it would be as universal as it is. It is in our divine DNA as children of God to seek Him whom created us. I know there is a God, because I feel there is something of God in each person--something sacred and infinite. One day, we too can become like God. Through the layers of dimensions that separate Him from us, we can feel His love, because love isn't confined to any single dimension. It breaks all barriers. God's glory is beyond comprehension, but His love is so simple in its perfected state that it manifests in even the smallest of children, especially in children actually. There is so much more to life than meets the eye. "It is only with the heart that one sees clearly. All that is essential is invisible to the eye." - The Little Prince. Life would lose its savor if I thought there were no God.  Believe and be filled with Christ's light. Believe and be saved.

Have a fantastic week everyone!

Rogers Shimai

My companion, Askew Shimai, about to get run over.

Tall hugs awww.

Happy thanksgiving 😜

"What a bunch of Mormons!!"

Some of our zone

Separation from companion is against the rules!

 

Skipping back from the temple

We are cold!

 I marvel at how cold it is.

Gone from our district but not forgotten.

Week 6: Nobody's Going Home

My mom sent a cute project for our district--Happy Thanksgiving!

こにちわ!

How many sister missionaries does it take to change a light bulb?
None, because they shine all on their own. 😄

Miller Shimai and Brown Shimai

So, I have to start off with some sad news. We have lost 2 choros (elders) in our district. The two that are in the picture below have been moved to different districts...it's kind of a long story. Needless to say, I had no idea the administrators could be so accommodating. They are doing all they can just to ensure that nobody goes home. And I can really see a change in the choro that was the root of this whole thing. His whole persona has changed. He's more grounded, humbled. Maybe it surprised him that after all those talks with the MTC and zone president about being sent home (because there
have been problems since we got here), they are giving him another chance. Now, this choro is in a district where everyone is native to Japan and speaks the language a whole lot better than him. He was so restless being with a bunch of beginners, teaching the other students, but now he's having to work hard to keep up with his classmates. Yesterday, I went up to this choro with some pumpkin spice hot cocoa mix that smelled like his cologne and said, "Here, I cremated your ego." Our district feels small now, but it's for the best.

 This moment was a highlight of my week. 😂

In a talk called, "Missions are Forever," by Elder Holland, the question was poised, "why is missionary work so hard?" Elder Holland is a very passionate speaker. He was asking why we don't have people just waiting outside our missionary apartments, dressed in white, and lined up to be baptized. Why is it hard to convert people if it's the truth? Why is it hard if this is God's work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man? Elder Holland's answer was that it's not easy because salvation is no cheap experience. Why should it be easy for us? It certainly wasn't easy for Jesus who suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane for all the sins of the world. He bled from every pore.  He paid the ultimate price. So missionary work is meant to push us to our limits. It's meant to push our investigators to their limits. I think all missionaries learn that very quickly. When we are pushed to our limits and still hold onto faith, that is where the miracles happen.
But geez this week has felt like it's just flown by! We get flight plans in just TWO short weeks. I'm playing therapist for two of my roommates, but I'm going crazy just thinking about leaving for Japan.
It can be terrifying to think, "I'm going to a foreign country where I don't know anyone, and I'm going to be teaching strangers about a god they have never heard of in a language I hardly know. Also I miss Apostate music!!!" I watch the "I'm Elaine Bradley and I'm a Mormon" video just for the music. Haha! Even though going to Japan can seem scary I have to keep this scripture in mind:

2 Timothy 1:7
"God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Word/Phrase of the week:
Ah! Shimatta.
means Dang It!

Love,

Rogers Shimai

It finally snowed!

Best photo bomb

Some of the departing missionaries, some of the newbies, and my
companion and I.

 Old picture from last week of our zone before half the people left. :,(

Askew Shimai has gained a food baby in the MTC, and here's the
lovely illustration of that.

Week 5: I Hate Goodbyes!

My favorite picture of Jesus

こにちわ!

People that I have come to know and call my friends in these past few weeks just left for Japan on Monday. On Sunday, the departing missionaries sang that "stupid, beautiful song" that all departing missionaries sing in our zone. In church sacrament meeting, I told myself, "I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry." But like the sun rising in the morning, it was inevitable.

Lyrics-
"There was this place called the preexistence where we lived with our friends so dear. A council was called and plans were made. Free agency is why we're here. Our Savior said 'Please find my lost sheep, And teach them and bring them home.' I promised my Savior I'd find them, And teach them the way to go. I'll go and find you my friend, I'll help you. Our Savior's plan is the way. Please accept me when I find you, And we'll be back with Him someday. Remember the worth of souls is great in the light and sight of God. Look and search and teach His sheep to find the Iron Rod. I'll find you there, my friend."

So I put this name tag on every day that means I am a representative of Jesus Christ and His church. Sometimes, I put about as much thought into placing that name tag on my shirt as I do brushing my hair in the morning. What does it mean to be a missionary for Christ? For one, we are united in a single purpose:

From Preach My Gospel:
"Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end."

But the question all missionaries must then ask themselves is, "How can I--with all my strengths and weaknesses--be successful in fulfilling that purpose?"

"If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, you will always be disappointed" (Einstein).  Richard I. Heaton from the Sunday devotional gave some amazing insight. He told us about when he was a missionary in Japan, he and his companion got completely lost. They're on top of this mountain, and they pray to God to give them some direction. After the prayer, one turns to the other and says, "Well, want to try that way?" As a missionary, I always want to have the Holy Ghost guiding me. I get stressed if I don't feel like my choices are direct promptings from the Holy Ghost. When these two lost missionaries knocked at the first door to ask for directions, a man answered the door and said, "I've been waiting for you. Please come in." In missionary tracting, that is so incredibly rare. It seemed as if the decision they made was initially rather uninspired, but Heaton asked us, "Was it really?"

My takeaway is to remember that this is God's work. He will ensure that I accomplish what needs to be accomplished. If I have faith, I don't need to worry. Even in ways I can't see, He is guiding my path. Seemingly coincidental occurrences can be by the hand of God and seemingly random decisions can be inspired by the Holy Ghost. If I have the right intentions, I can go forth in confidence knowing that God is on my side.

2 Nephi 7:7
"For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed."

Word of the week:
Ganbaranba means "please try your best!" in the Okinawa Island "dialect." In actuality, the "dialect" is like a language of its own and though people on the island understand Japanese, many elders don't speak anything but the Okinawa Island "dialect." Ahhhhh, why did I just find this out???

Reporting to you live from the MTC,

Rogers Shimai

Food packages are like manna from heaven.

The elders discover climbing a tree is difficult.

My mom sent Tic Tacs to everyone, and so Miller Shimai pelts them at me with overflowing gratitude.

The MTC can be scenic.

I caught him trying to sleep.

My companion is da cutest.

 Yeah, o.k., don't trust google translate. 😂