Japan Fukuoka: 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