April 6th

Hello there 皆さん！お元気でしょうか？

I miss y'all. Hope you're all happy these days!

Today we got transfer calls. I'm on my eleventh transfer now. Crazy. I
used to make fun of transfer 11 sisters cause they were soooo OLD and
they knew everything. Wow. I do NOT know everything. Haha. Anyway, I'm
staying in Hachioji and my new companion is Sister Wilson. But...
There are two sisters Wilsons in the mission so I'm not sure which one
it is.... Haha but both are way cool so I'm excited! Hotu shimai is
leaving to be my New Zealand Brown Shimai's companion!

 
Easter themed Kid's Eikaiwa 

 I feel like there's so much that happened this week! So here it goes:

Monday:
We had a lesson with Rie San and Asuka Shimai. For the English lesson
we talked about our best friends. It was a fun way to get to know each
other better(: For the gospel portion we sang I am a Child of God and
started a discussion about God. She let us know that there is a huge
barrier for her to overcome before she will pray. Her mother converted
to a particular sect of Buddhism and is a very devout follower. Rie
San isn't sure if she believes it but wants to respect her mother and
practice what she has been taught. Asuka shimai shared her experience
of growing up in the church and learning the truth of the gospel and
deciding to follow it for herself. After hearing her testimony, Rie
said she became more interested! We testified of how we came to know
its truth and helped her understand that we value the agency of others
but came to share something with her that will be a blessing to her
life. We asked her if she would experiment on the word and try prayer
and scripture reading and she said she couldn't answer that question.
It's one thing for her to learn but it would be another for her to try
it out. That's exactly right! Spiritual truth cannot be learned
without prayer and following the commandments of the one who is the
source of all truth. Rie San is way cute and has a desire to know
things. We are excited to share the story of Joseph Smith who also had
a desire to know! Pray for Rie and pray for our lesson to go well:)

 
BUNNIES with Sister Yamaguchi 

Tuesday:
Exchange with Wilde shimai. She and I are the same missionary age so
it was fun to work with her for the day and share all our stories
about investigators from previous areas and share miracles and things
we have learned. She has a really great attitude and focus on things
that really matter. We decided to do "Sakura dendo" and go out and
enjoy the cherry blossoms and talk to all the other happy people! They
only bloom for a week so it's really special! And Japanese people love
talking to foreigners about things that are unique to Japan and they
get so happy when we say we love it here! In the evening we went to
visit Kimura San. Do you remember her? She is a super classy lady. We
have already decided that she will be the relief society president one
day after she is baptized. Anyway, we visited and taught a bit about
the pre earth life and our identity and potential. She admitted that a
belief in God would change her life. She said she knows where the
church is and knows it's there when she needs it. We taught that a
belief in God gives us hope that there is a better world. A hope to
live with God again. We suggested she read Alma 32 to learn about why
we need God every day even when things are going well and about how we
can develop a faith in God. She asked how we knew? We said it was
simple. We read the book and lived its teachings. And we felt in our
heart that it was right. She agreed to read and said if she had read
she would be able to converse better with us about these things. We
asked her if she remembered how to pray. We explained the method again
and she prayed right then and there without us even asking her to! It
was one of the best prayers I've heard! And her first prayer! She
prayed to know if God was there and to know if he was there when she
needs him and even when she doesn't know that she needs him. She
agreed to try praying every day because she loves how she feels when
she does. New investigator!

Ako chan :) (Bishop's daughter)

  Wednesday:
Miracle lesson with Shimizu shimai! We had decided to teach about
Jesus Christ and discipleship to help her feel the Spirit and find an
answer to her question about if Christ was really there. It was
amazing! We studied from scriptures and words of modern prophets, sang
hymns and discussed what the atonement means to each one of us. We
talked about how we can gain a testimony and what it means to have
taken upon ourselves the name of Christ. We taught her that she was
chosen and prepared. She is in the world but not of the world. She may
suffer a little as a disciple of Christ because she is different and
may have to stand alone but he is always there. And he suffered even
greater things for us. She teared up and explained that she had never
had such a defining moment feeling the spirit. She said she was so
astonished. She said it was like Lehi's experience:
"And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar
of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much;
and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and
tremble exceedingly.
And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem;
and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and
the things which he had seen."
1 Nephi 1:6-7
She had another concern that she hadn't even told us but through the
words we shared with her her concern was answered. She had found
anti-Mormon things online and read bad things and was worried! She
felt alone and unsure. But in the lesson the Spirit taught each of us
and she knew that we were really God's messengers because we didn't
even know her concern.
She is amazing. She wants to be a light for her family and she has
already informed her coworkers that she doesn't drink or smoke so she
is all set for her work trip to Guam!
I don't know what concerns the people I teach have or the things they
are feeling but God does. I know that the words we speak by the Holy
Ghost are his words. When we teach it's as if God is teaching if we
will look to heaven and say the words He puts into our mouths. I KNOW
this is true.

o-hana-mi at fujimori park with sister hama 

 Our Easter themed kids English class was awesome! The kids were so
cute in their bunny ears and it was fun because primary children and
their moms joined us for the activity. We worked way hard planning for
it and it was a hit! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for all your help!!

Thursday:
I got to attend MLC, and Asuka shimai (the sister who returned from
temple square) came with! She is so awesome. It was a really wonderful
meeting. The items that were covered and taught were exactly the
things i had been thinking about and studying and trying to improve
recently! Sister Wada taught us about our personal liahonas, our
patriarchal blessings. They are personal scripture and must be studied
as often as scripture. We also learned about the gift of the Holy
Ghost and how to explain why we must receive it and how it is
different from just feeling the Spirit. I am so grateful for the gift
of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit guides me to choose the right path,
teaches me truth, testifies of Christ, comforts me, and purifies and
cleanses me. From the Holy Ghost I have received personal revelation
in times of need and sure confirmation of gospel truths. The gift of
the Holy Ghost is the best blessing! A promise that the third member
of the Godhead can be with us always if we will obey. The Holy Ghost
will never lead us astray. It provides protection in a world of
confusion and sorrow. This is why we want our investigators to receive
baptism and this is why we must receive it. A sister in our stake just
received the gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday. She said afterwards
that when she received the gift of the Holy Ghost, she felt a fire
burning within her. That same fire burns within me. Obedience is
always worth it.

Friday:
We had a lesson with Kojima shimai. We helped her arrange for her
5 month old baby girl to be blessed in sacrament meeting. The whole
family came to church and her husband was able to participate in the
blessing. She wants so badly to be a light to her family. She says
it's hard to be a mother and it's hard to teach her family the gospel.
But she knows as she puts God first, he will help her. Her testimony
of the atonement is strong. She says she has seen it change people and
change lives and she believes it can change her and change her family.
Did any of y'all see the general women's meeting? This was my favorite
part:
"Strong eternal families and Spirit-filled homes do not just happen.
They take great effort, they take time, and they take each member of
the family doing his or her part. Every home is different, but every
home where even one individual seeks for truth can make a difference."
Filling Our Homes with Light and Truth- Sister Esplin
Be the light in your home because even one small candle will make a difference!

Zone Meeting from Transfer 10 

 We went to the park in the afternoon with Hama shimai and looked at
the cherry blossoms and ate Japanese "fair food". Yummmm. All the
best! We took pictures and had a picnic and studied scriptures
together. She is the coolest. When we met her at the station to walk
to the park she was leaning against a wall reading her scriptures.
Then when we were at the park, she helped us share the gospel with a
lady who was working at one of the booths!

This week we have been sharing the message of Christ and his
resurrection with every single person we meet! It's been incredible to
teach and testify of Christ and invite them to come unto him! Have you
seen the new Because He Lives video? Check out HeLives.mormon.org to
watch it! We love it! We watched it with a cute old lady with green
hair on the street today. He is her Savior, too! I know he lives!

Saturday:
We attended the general women's conference with Hama shimai and our
crazy friend Hitomi San. It was wonderful! A spirit filled meeting
with messages everyone needs to hear! If you didn't see it... Go read
it! :)
Since the travel to and from the stake center takes quite some time I
had lots of time to talk with Hitomi. It has been a really good
opportunity for me to know her and work with her. She sometimes wears
really immodest clothing to church and says the weirdest things but I
decided that no matter what the members thought, I would be proud of
my friends who come to church. I realized on Saturday that I love her.
We learned a lot together as we talked. She says she always tells her
friends about our church. She says it's really fun because we sing
hymns and take the bread and water. She loves hymns because there's
lots of music but hymns are special. They are songs that God gave to
us. She says it feels sacred like a prayer. We read some scriptures in
the car and talked about prayer. She will be going to China for 6
months so we won't be able to meet again but I'm grateful for her!

When we got back we went with Rie San and her boyfriend to look at the
cherry blossoms at a national park. It was a bamboo forest and super
pretty. There was almost no one there so it was really quiet and
peaceful. We enjoyed the blossoms and took lots of pictures. We taught
them about easter and some of the traditions we have and invited them
to join us for church on Easter Sunday.

Sunday:
Sooooo many people at church. So packed. During sacrament meeting
there were people who couldn't find a chair to sit in! Recently there
have been around 160 people attending Hachioji Ward. So cool, huh?
We were walking down the hill by our apartment when we met these two
cute sisters holding bunnies. We thought it was fate that we met them
on Easter Sunday. We taught them about the meaning of Easter and
invited them to hear our message and join us at church. Yay!
Then we broke our fast at the Kitahara family home. They do a huge
meal for the missionaries and our friends each month. We always eat
tons of food and sing hymns and play games and have a spiritual
thought. It's kind of like FHE. This time we took turns choosing
people to perform a hymn of choice. Hotu shimai and I were chosen and
we sang a duet.. I Know that My Redeemer Lives. I'm grateful for
hymns. Hitomi is right. It's the music that God gave to us. I'm
grateful to my mom who taught me to sing and taught me to sing primary
songs and hymns. Through these sacred songs, I learned important
gospel principles and because I know the words by heart, they are
scripture I can lean on in times of need.

I know that my Redeemer lives! Happy Easter!

Love,
Me! (Reeves Shimai)