December 28th

KONNICHIWA!!!

hello again from the MTC! Miss you and love you.... 

I've had another good week! I'm just loving the MTC and all that we are learning. Christmas was great! It was a long day, but it was such an amazing experience to celebrate Christmas in an environment of religious learning and among about 2000 others who desire to serve the Lord and invite others to come unto Christ.

 Foutz Shimai and me being Asian in class

 Foutz Shimai and me at the temple on Sunday

cupcakes from Danielle!!!!!!

Our Christmas Eve was spent studying as usual, but we were also privileged to hear from Elder David Evans and I was able to sing in the choir! We sang Far, Far Away on Judea's Plain. I think I have sung that hymn at least a thousand times here at the MTC. After the devotional, we watched the Nativity and Mr. Krueger's Christmas. I got a little sad for a bit, thinking of Christmas Eve's at home with the family... watching Mr. Krueger's Christmas every year! But... it made me think of you and remember all of our happy traditions and celebrations. I'm excited to learn some new traditions while I'm on my mission that I can start with my own family in the future! 

Christmas day was full of celebrations and concerts... we attended a Christmas Celebration, Devotional, Program, and Concert... so much CHRISTMAS! haha The celebration was a talent show and there really are such talented missionaries here! It was awesome. We were visited by Elder BEDNAR! It was so amazing. His talk was in more of a question and answer format and the meeting was broadcast to all the other MTCs across the world. So there were thousands of missionaries in attendance. There were 200 cell phones passed out among the 2000 of us in Provo and more cell phones passed out at the other MTCs and we were able to text our questions to his ipad and then he would share the answers with us. Some of the most important things I learned: Someone asked, "Why do I feel so inadequate?" His answer was so interesting. We feel inadequate because we have an idea of what we are called to do. We are the Lord's servants on the Lord's errand, doing His work in His way. We are imperfect and we can't do the work without Him. We should feel inadequate and we are going to feel inadequate, but with the Lord's help, we can do it! The overall theme of his message was using the strengthening power of the Savior's atonement to give us comfort and assurance that we can do the work that we are called to do. He explained that as we align our will with the Lord's, we act on faith and with those righteous actions... we have less of a disposition to do evil. We put off our natural desires and our worldly pursuits. As we continue to do good... we become cleansed until eventually we are changed. It's like a jar of black sand... with a hole in the top and bottom just big enough for one grain to pass through. As we put a grain of white sand in the top, a grain of black sand comes out the bottom... "though our sins be as scarlet..." we can become like the jar of white sand... clean and pure through the atonement of the Lord and Savior. So... after the meeting.. I was lucky enough to walk out the right door and I got to meet Elder Bednar and shake his hand. It was too exciting so I can't remember what he said to me, but it was such a neat experience!! I'm so happy to be serving a mission. Many programs and celebrations later... my butt hurt so much from sitting. We got to have an extra hour of personal time at the end of the day which was nice and much needed after an exhausting day of doing nothing but sitting! haha But it was great and I still can't stop singing Christmas songs. 

 shimaitachi and the MTC Christmas lights

 foutz shimai and i breaking the rules

maloy shimai and i on christmas eve with bows from our presents in our hair

Thank you so much for sending me the sweetest packages and notes for Christmas. My companion watched as I opened the gifts and she was amazed and excited as I was to see how cheesy and adorable everything was. Her words were, "Your family is made out of sugar. They're giving me diabetes." Hahaha thanks for being the SWEETEST family ever. I love your sappy, cheesy-ness. Y'all are the greatest and I love you so much. I felt so loved and supported on Christmas. I missed y'all lots. 

 christmas jammies (banister shot)

 christmas day with maloy shimai

Every Sunday we have to have a talk prepared for Sacrament meeting... just in case we get called on by the Branch President to speak. And it has to be in Japanese. It's sort of scary, but they never call on newbies (kohai). But... as of this Wednesday... I will no longer be a kohai because a new "shipment" of Japanese learning missionaries will be coming in and on Monday our senpai (upperclassmen) will be leaving for Japan and then I will become a senpai and probably have to speak in Nihongo at church. Ahhh, but sort of exciting. Reading the scriptures in Japanese is really hard. 

do you want to learn japanese?!

I've also already had some opportunities to play the piano here! Those in my branch who play the piano are leaving for Japan, so I will probably be playing for church a lot and I'm also practicing for a musical number with a sister who plays the flute. We will probably audition this Thursday. 

It's really fun to see friends here at the MTC. I've seen some friends from summer who work here at the MTC or are here as missionaries and I also got to see Elder Rippstein finally!! We got a picture with our companions!

Here is a little lesson about Japanese culture: In Japan they don't say "you're welcome" because it's rude to acknowledge that you did something good for someone else... it's sort of egotistical. Instead they say no problem or "nan de mo nai". So for my parents who have tried to teach me to say "you're welcome" because I need to be nice... I'm really glad I didn't learn it because it's actually mean and all along I've been preparing for Japan without even knowing it :)

 

maloy shimai and me with wakazono shimai. she is from japan going to hawaii visitor's center

I also wanted to thank ALL of you who wrote me sweet letters and notes for the missionary book that my sisters made for me. I teared up as I got on the plane to come to the MTC. I feel so loved by all of you and so grateful to have such great friends and influences in my life. Thank you for your love and for all you have taught me. 

Ai shite imasu, 

Sister Reeves

Christmas Email!!!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS, my beautiful family!!!

Thank you so much for making me feel SO loved even while I'm not with you this Christmas. You are the BEST family anyone could ever have.

Today we are going to hear from a special speaker.... and it's still a surprise. No idea yet who it will be, but we've all made our guesses!!

Last night we heard from Elder David F. Evans of the first quorum of the seventy and also, his wife. He served his mission in Japan... so it was awesome to hear his stories. He reminded us that charity will cast off all fear and we WILL be able to learn Japanese.

This morning I did a quick scripture study. I read 3 Nephi 11 from the Book of Mormon. I thought that even though this wasn't the Christmas story, it was a perfect story about Christ to study and celebrate his birth and life and sacrifice. Jesus came into the world to fulfill his Father's will from the beginning. Verse 10-11 "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world." "And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." In this chapter, we also read about how Jesus showed himself to the people of the Americas, taught his gospel, and invited the people to declare his words. I am excited to be able to prepare here in the MTC to declare his words and invite people to accept his gospel and his sacrifice. Our Savior loves us more than we can comprehend. I am so grateful to know Him and to know what His atonement can do for me.

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful Christmas. Thanks for everything you have done for me.

Merry Kurisumasu!! Ai shite imasu!!

Reeves Shimai

December 21st

dear family,

i love and miss you all! thanks for being such a support to me as i serve the Lord. Being a missionary is such a wonderful experience. I am growing spiritually as I study scriptures and learn to look for God's hand in my life. It's great to be around so many missionaries. We all have the same purpose (to invite others to come unto Christ) and learn so much from each other. 

the typical schedule is: rise and shine at 6:30, breakfast at 6:45, personal scripture study for about an hour, class for like 3 hours, lunch at 11:10, learning on the computer lab or study the preach my gospel manual, more class for 3 hours, teaching a progressing investigator (every day- we get two new ones next week! they are pretend but it feels real as we really learn to care about them as individuals). it's wonderful practice to try speaking the feelings of our hearts in Japanese and teach about Jesus. It's amazing how I am constantly thinking about these people that we teach and thinking about what they need to hear as i study. we have dinner at 4:10... super early. and more class and language study. devotionals, gym time, companion study... just a lot of class and study. we are so ready to sleep by the end of the day!! but i love the sisters i room with and i love all the elders and sisters in my district. it's so great! 

we got to walk to the temple on sunday and take pictures on the temple grounds. it's so beautiful and snowy here. and it was nice to leave campus for a bit. 

i am learning so much japanese. not as fast as i want to, but it's coming and it will come as i try to continue to be diligent. the Lord's work will go forth. God wants his children to hear the word. I have to remind myself of this as I feel discouraged in my studying. I have a desire to share this glad message... this great news... that Jesus paid the price for our sins and we can repent and return to live with God. God knows Japanese and he will teach his children by the Spirit in the way that they need to learn... and he will have to speak through my poor Japanese, but miracles will happen as we have faith! I'm so excited to meet friends in Japan and share the happiness that I feel because I know that Jesus lives. 

This week the BYU men's chorus came a performed their Christmas concert for us. We also got to hear from Elder Rasband and his wife this week. He spoke a lot about spiritual gifts and had us think about the gifts that we have and the gifts that we want to develop. I feel like I have recently been blessed with the gift of faith. I have been able to gain my own testimony of the truth by acting on principles that I have learned. Principles of obedience... as i obey the commandments, i am so happy. the Spirit testifies to me that this feeling of happiness is evidence of the truth of Christ's gospel. He is my Savior and Redeemer. He loves all of us and will forgive us as we come to him. I want to develop the gift of Humility. As I pray in faith and gratitude and ask for this gift, continually remember the Savior and His sacrifice, acknowledging that I need him, and looking for his hand in my life, I will be blessed with more humility. Christmas is the time for lots of love and gifts and family... What gift do you want to receive as a follower of Christ, as you strive to follow his example and become more like him? 

I love you all and think about  and pray for you often. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. We haven't heard about our Christmas schedule yet, but I imagine it will be just awesome! We should be hearing from apostles (leaders of the church) and having opportunities to study and write our families. 

Oh and... I can't call home on Christmas, but,... I can buy a phone card to call the family before heading to the airport and JAPAN. So... be thinking about what number I should call... So that I don't have to spend all the money on the card just connecting!! Can't wait to talk to you in FEBRUARY. 

Be happy and safe this Christmas and remember our Savior and His love. 

~Sister McKenzie Reeves


*YAAAAY! Pictures!!!!!*

 Kami, Mary, and Brooke 

Before going to the MTC

 Hailey & Danielle

 Me and Sis Maloy (companion)

 nametag

 Me & Sis Maloy at the Temple

 Me & Sis Foutz at the Temple

district at the temple

i found yurika (piano teacher) in the japanese pamphlets!! 

rusty tubular outfit. i look like ketchup

Sis Maloy, Me, and our fake investigator

me and elder strain. he doesn't like pictures. and he looks like the guy on despicable me (Gru)
 
Sister Maloy, Sister Foutz, (Elder Lobacarro in the back), ME, Elder Bynum

 me and elder tipene from new zealand with GRU before we walked to the temple and escaped the gates of the MTC

First Fam Email

Hey Y'all.

Hello from the MTC. Today is my first "preparation" day so I have some time to e-mail! These computers literally have nothing on them and so much is blocked so... I have a couple pictures but I am not sure how to send them to you... or even upload them to the computer. Just know that my outfits are cutely frumpy. Haha. I miss you all, but I am enjoying my time here so far. 

Updates: 

I arrived with 143 other missionaries (an unusually small group). We all met with the mission president and sang "Called to Serve" and it was awesome. There won't be any missionaries coming or going on Christmas, so just language missionaries came on the 11th. You hear different languages being spoken EVERYWHERE. 

When we first arrived, we went to our classroom. There are 12 senkyoshi (missionaries) in my district. 8 chorotachi (elders) and 4 shimaitachi (sisters). They are all so great and we have a lot of fun learning together. A few have taken Japanese before so they are really atama ii desu (intelligent). All of them seem to like pokemon and anime and stuff... Haha. I have that to learn, too, I guess. Our sensei (teacher), Brother Ekins, only speaks to us in Nihongo (Japanese). It's crazy, but really tanoshii (fun). We are learning a lot really quickly. We can pray, bear testimony, ask for commitments and promise blessings. I have learned how to read and write in hiragana. Really helpful for reading scriptures or anything really... and singing hymns! 

We taught our first lesson last night to our kyudosha (investigator), Yanagihara Shin san. He is an MTC employee, but very good at acting. It was hard to communicate with him because watashi wa nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu, demo mada jozu ja arimasen. (I understand a little Japanese, but I'm not very good yet.) Demo, he is nice and smiles. We taught him that God is our Heavenly Father and we are his children. Jesus is his son and he loves us. We taught him that we can speak to God through prayer and gave him a pamphlet on prayer. He didn't accept the commitment to begin praying to God every day, but he wants to be our tomodachi (friend) and agreed to let us visit again, of course... We have SO much to learn, but it will be great to learn for 9 weeks here in the MTC.

My doryo (companion) is Maloy Shimai, from Missouri. She lived in Japan for four years as a child so she has a pretty good background for learning Japanese. That will be a good help for me! For the first 4 1/2 weeks, she is the senior companion and in charge of making sure we have companionship inventory and pray daily as companions. We are pretty different from each other. When she pointed that out, I said, "Opposites attract!" She responded with, "No. Opposites are thrown together by the Lord." Haha but it's great that the Lord knows what relationships will benefit us and benefit his work because we are all different and have different personalities and talents to offer. 

The MTC is also a wonderful time to study the scriptures and be spiritually uplifted. Our branch president taught us that if we are able to feel the Spirit here, then we have been forgiven and we are sanctified. I have felt the Spirit strongly and know that I am supposed to be here and God has work for me to do. In our branch we always say to each other: shinpai shinaide (don't worry) and aishite imasu (i love you). It's great being a missionary! 

Well... Aishite imasu. 

Ribusu Shimai (Sister Reeves)

I just have to say, isn't she the cutest!?!!! I'm so proud of her, she knows that this is where she should be and what she should be doing!

Farewellish Talk

I know that the church doesn't technically do "Farewell" talks anymore, but most wards typically do ask a missionary to speak before they leave. Because I'm a million miles away, I couldn't go, but Kinz graciously sent me her talk. She inspires me to be better, she is such a wonderful example to me, and when I grow up, I want to be exactly like her! Here's her talk:

During the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ, he said to two of his disciples, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” That invitation applies to all of us. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to do His work. He invites us to follow His example and to become like Him.

Jesus is the most perfect man who has ever lived on this earth. He was humble and submissive to the Father as he allowed his will to be swallowed up in God’s will. He was perfectly obedient and kind and loving. He was meek, patient, diligent, hopeful, virtuous, and full of knowledge and faith.

We are commanded to become more like Christ and become perfect through his atoning blood, but we can’t develop Christlike qualities without help from the Lord. We must pray to God, with a desire to please him, recognizing our imperfections and showing a willingness to improve.

Elder Soares taught in his general conference address in October, “Meekness is the quality of those who are “Godfearing, righteous, humble, teachable, and patient under suffering.” As we take Christ’s name upon us, it is expected that we strive to emulate His attributes and change our character to become more like Him each day.”

I want to talk about a couple of the attributes of Christ that will help us as we strive to do His work among the children of God. Humility and Charity.

Humility is submission to the will of God. As we strive to become more humble, we show gratitude to God and we acknowledge our constant need for Him. We trust in the Lord and his power. We have hope for his mercy and we understand that his commandments are for our good, as we allow him to direct our paths.

Another example of humility we can learn from is that of Ammon in the Book of Mormon. Ammon was a missionary for about 14 years among the Lamanite people between 90 and 77 BC. He was able to convert many souls unto Christ and teach them to have faith that Jesus would come and be the Savior of mankind. Ammon knew that all power comes from God and that He was only an instrument in His hands. We can read Ammon’s words recorded in Alma 26:12,

“Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.”

I have a testimony that as we rely on the Lord for help in this life, we will feel a greater measure of peace and happiness and have more hope for our future. As I have endured trials and opposition, I have been grateful for the power of prayer as a means for me to communicate with God. I know that God answers prayers and I have learned to be faithful in how he answers them, because our loving Heavenly Father truly knows what’s best! He will give us the strength and the patience to endure and overcome any affliction or temptation that meets us in this life. These experiences are humbling and are a beautiful opportunity for us to learn and grow and become more Christlike and be more prepared to meet God one day and live with Him in Heaven.

Jesus Christ is also, the perfect example of love. We learn in Moroni 7:45 in the Book of Mormon that “charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 also teaches us that “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemingly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.” Charity is the eternal love that God has for all His children. Christ’s supreme act of charity to suffer for the sins of this world and die for all men, allows us to repent and be forgiven to become cleansed, purified, and worthy to live in God’s presence.

As we are obedient to God’s commandments and as we seek opportunities to serve our fellow men, we can be filled with this pure love. Our love for all people will increase as we live the gospel and follow the example of Jesus who was a friend to those who were less fortunate, a friend also to publicans and sinners. So, Christ is a friend to all of us, as we are all imperfect and all sin. One of my favorite scripture verses is John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” I love thinking of the Savior as my friend. He is the perfect friend. He loves us more than we can comprehend and we are eternally indebted to him for his sacrifice that makes it possible to return to our Heavenly home.

As I have chosen to live the gospel, I have felt a greater love for all of God’s children. As we continue to develop charity through service, we will feel concern for other’s welfare and happiness. We will be slower to judge and be able to see others as children of God, with the potential to become like our Father in Heaven.

In his general conference talk entitled “Sharing the Gospel” in October 2001, Elder Oaks said, “From our testimony of the truth and importance of the restored gospel, we understand the value of what we have been given. From our love of God and our fellowmen, we acquire our desire to share that great gift with everyone. The intensity of our desire to share the gospel is a great indicator of the extent of our personal conversion.”

We read about an example of this type of love and desire to share that comes from true conversion in the Book of Mormon. The Sons of Mosiah had been the vilest of sinners. They were called to repentance as they experienced anguish and suffering for their iniquities. Through the process of repentance and forgiveness, they experienced a change of heart as they were converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Mosiah 28:3 we read, “Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.” These sons became God-fearing and God-loving people. Their love and concern for the welfare of other’s lead them to spend years of their lives sharing the gospel. Ammon was among these righteous and humble missionaries.

We have received a wonderful knowledge as members of Christ’s church. We know that following the Savior and being obedient brings happiness to our lives. Everyone we meet is our brother or sister and all have chosen this earthly test. How can we not share the joy we’ve found in the gospel and help each other make it to our heavenly home?

The book of Mark records the words of the Savior in Mark 16:15: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

I have the wonderful opportunity of being called to share some great news with my brothers and sisters in Japan. We have a loving Father in Heaven. He wants us to be happy and be able to learn and grow in this life and be able to live with Him again forever. He has a plan for us to be able to repent of our sins and be purified through the love and sacrifice of His Son, our brother, Jesus Christ.

            My decision to serve a mission came as I recognized my many blessings and felt so grateful to know of God’s love for me. I feel so lucky to have an understanding of Christ’s gospel and know why I am here on earth and know God’s plan. Love is a motivating factor for me as I understand that we are all children of God and the gospel message is for everyone! The gospel has blessed my family and has blessed me personally. As I have committed to follow Christ and keep his commandments, I have felt peace and happiness and found a direction and purpose in my life. The gospel truth brings me so much joy and I want others to feel the same way. Obedience to the gospel really does bring happiness. In Mosiah 2:41 we read, “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with god in a state of never-ending happiness, o remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.” I am so excited to serve a mission and share my testimony of Christ. I find these eternal truths to be so important that I am willing to put off my schooling and my other interests for a year and a half to serve full-time. It will be hard to leave my family and friends, but the joy I will feel in service will make it all worth it. Serving a full-time mission isn’t the only way to be a missionary and share the gospel. We can all be missionaries in our every day lives, but I am so grateful to have this opportunity while I am young to take time off from my educational and career pursuits and be a friend in Japan.

            Our wonderful prophet, President Monson declared in the Saturday morning session of the October general conference, “Now is the time for members and mis­sionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vine­yard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work.”

            I have a testimony that this Church is true. Many truths were lost or changed after Christ’s death, but through modern day prophets, Christ’s church has been established again and the missing truths and authority have been restored. I know that the nature of God is eternal. He is merciful, all-knowing, and all-powerful. He continues to reveal His truth to us through words of ancient scripture, answers to prayer, and through righteous prophets in these days. I am grateful for the agency he has given us and for the sacrifice of his son that makes repentance possible. I have hope in God’s mercy and strive to remember his goodness and love and show my love for him through faith and obedience. I testify of these things in name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

 

Mission Pictures

Thanks to Nichelle Renee Photography for the pictures! Check out more of her photos on Facebook!

 https://www.facebook.com/NichelleReneePhotography

Called to Serve Our King

July 30, 2013

Dear Sister Reeves:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Japan Tokyo South Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months. 

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, December 11, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Japanese language.... 

click here to watch the video!