A new mission companion

Palmer Shimai is off and in my old zone <3 I will forever love the Osaka zone as I spent....a third of my misson there! But, she is doing great and performing all sorts of miracles like she did in Tokushima...and my new companion is named Payne Shimai! She is also an East Coaster! Whoo! She is my first companion that has not been from Utah...or California....(besides Daniels Shimai) But basically, all of my companions have been from the West Coast and so that is cool. We have a ton of stuff in common and we get along really well. Basically, I am pretty sure that our companionship will legitimately be unstoppable because she is amazing and I am getting to that point where I am becoming an older missionary and I have learned so much...and so Satan is trying way hard to stop us from being good missionaries right now...but we got over that hurdle...so the next hurdle is astonishing ourselves, and Tokushima, and Shikoku and Japan and then the entire world. So I am excited for that and it will be just way amazing. Payne Shimai has served in the Inaka (way country) area for her entire mission. And so to her Tokushima is big city....which is like the craziest thing in my mind because...this is nothing like Osaka. Nothing like real city hahahah. But, I guess I haven't even seen real Inaka yet.

We had a lot of planning this week and catching her up on the area. Payne Shimai brought lots of new ideas to Tokushima and so that was exciting. We have lots of great ideas for how to work with the ward better, how to help our investigators, and how to improve as missionaries...and just everything! I love it. That is something about new companions, there is always a lot to learn. I'm not gonna lie though, it was way weird to only have Palmer Shimai for one transfer...so that takes some getting used to. But, change is always exciting!

This weekend there was this broadcast for all of Japan and Elder Chrisofferson spoke (and he talked a little bit about when he came to visit our mission!) and it was just so good!! I loved it!  Plus, one of our investigators (the French speaking one) came all the way to Takamatsu for the conference (a two hour drive) with some of the members, and then was able to hear it in French because there is a French speaking member in Marugame. And I am pretty sure that they were best friends in the pre-earth life because they got along so well. Basically...it was a really amazing weekend of church and stuff.

And then this morning we went on a VERY long run! So, Payne Shimai and I decided to be adventurous and explore the area when we went out to run at 6:30....and we got dreadfully lost in a neighborhood. We ended up running for an hour and had to stop and ask for lots of directions, and we worked together and figured out where we were on the phone map and where our apartment was and we eventually made it back successfully...it just took us an hour of running...and so we were really tired, but we got good exercise in and we had a lot of fun with it!

So....the Lord lives. We can get through anything if we rely on Him. I have learned that more than anything on my mission. Where there is faith, fear will not come.

Much love,
Grundvig Shimai