True Discipleship

This week was kind of a sad, happy...just mostly bitter-sweet week. First of all, IT RAINED A TON. IT RAINED SO MUCH. It rained every single day except for Sunday I think, but it was actually really nice because it cooled down a lot...even though I had to wear my rain suit quite a bit. We also had a week of finding! Last week was a week of crazy busy teaching, and so it was definitely a pace change...but it showed me a lot how the Lord is really the one in charge of this work...because we really can't do anything...like ANYTHING without him. And that really includes getting yakusoku with our investigators.

So - finding when we are working with the Less Actives consists of lots and lots of biking to homes all over Tokushima where the Less Actives live. Which we did. And it was really exhausting and a lot of fun! And my watch tan has turned into something crazy.

Sometimes we ride our bikes for three hours up a mountain....and visit less actives...and sometimes the less actives

 aren't there....so we ride our bikes for three hours back down the mountain, hahaha

One miracle this week was when we decided to go visit a less active lady who we taught a lesson to about a month ago. She has been incredibly busy (she is a nurse) and is never really home, but we decided to go visit her anyway. We biked the hour to her house and her car was home! Which was a surprise because usually she is not home on Saturday nights! We were able to meet with her and we told her that we would love to come back with a lady from the ward that she knew before she stopped coming to church. She got really excited about seeing this lady again, and we were able to set up an appointment with her for this week. This was partially amazing because it really goes to show how important it is to work with members. Working with members is just WAY HARD in Japan. I can't speak to them super well, and calling them is scary. And they all have like 600 callings and lots of children and work is busy and Japan is busy and school is busy and so I just never really want to onegai them for anything because they are just so hardworking and BUSY as it is! And they speak Japanese! But, when I just...do it...the Lord blesses us, and blesses the members who have the opportunity to participate in missionary work. (Although, my favorite thing ever is when members come over and ask us if there is anything they can do to help).

Sometimes we have to carry crazy things on our bike!
(Palmer Shimai with Microwave)

We also had a lesson with our 81 year old adorable investigator. She is super crazy and way genki and I love her a lot. She always tells me that I am really tall and that my feet are huge. She came to church on Sunday and the Zinkes were there for our Branch Conference and she was like "HE HAS NO HAIR." And she is just not very sensitive, because she is 81 years old and very genki and crazy, hahaha. She got really cold after sacrament meeting, and because she was cold she was determined that she couldn't stay for the rest of the meeting...so this genki 81 year old obachan just walked home...by herself...so that was little terrifying, but she is pretty fit and active...so we are pretty sure she made it home alright. She also wore a skirt we gave her because she had been all worried about coming to church because she didn't have a skirt. This week we watched finding faith in Christ with her, which worked miracles on her attention span...and really strengthened her understanding of her Savior. So.....I am planning on teaching with lots more visuals and videos with her from now on.... I really wish I could put into this how hilarious she is, but she is really just a lot funnier in Japanese. "KUTSU WA OKIIIIII NE!"

Grundvig Shimai with Zinke Kaicho and
 Zinke Shimai

Also, this week we had ZTM, the Bye Bye Taikai and Shibu Taikai.

All three of which changed my mission and my life in one fail swoop. Those sort of experiences seem to be happening a lot recently. With the Zinke's (Mission President and his wife) going home....I have had a lot of time to reflect on the things that I have learned. And I have also come to the realization that I am very close to half way through my mission. I think I hit the halfway point at some time during this month? And I have been able to think a lot about what I am going to be applying from my mission into my life. There are just so many things.

The mission pillars - the mission theme- of true discipleship has change me so much. My goals in life are just different because I always want to be a true disciple. When our Zone said goodbye to Zinke Kaicho, we got to hear him pray. I had never heard him pray before, but I know I was in tears. Our Zone Leaders were in tears. It was a really powerful experience for all of us. Elder Christofferson said that part of the reason we are sent to certain missions is because of the mission president that we are supposed to have. Zinke Kaicho has changed my life. When he prayed for all of us to all be able to raise "Little true disciples" I kind of had to hold back some laughter, but I also cried a little bit. I think that is what my mission has changed most about me - my understanding of what it is to be a true disciple. I have learned how to really pray, rely on the Lord...petition the Lord....and serve the Lord. Also I will forever be grateful for the Japan Kobe Mission encyclopedia of dendo.

It was a great week! We traveled a lot (to Takamatsu...in the rain...and home for Eikaiwa) but I learned a lot.

Love you all!

Grundvig Shimai

True Disciple - One and All

真の弟子一人と皆

Week 3 Rice Field

Week 4 Rice Field