Serving in Kobe: I love fried tofu, kinpo and the Lord!

We saw SOOO many miracles in Tokushima this week.

Something that I have really learned on my mission is that half of the work is about faith and expectations. We have to believe that we will see success - we have to BELIEVE that the Lord really wants us to do His work and bring His children back to Him. We have to believe that through us, He will perform His work. This is especially true in Japan.

We saw the Lord work through us so much this week. We taught some of the most powerful lessons together that I have taught in my entire mission, and we have only been companions for a week. As we have become united we have seen the work in Tokushima CHANGE. In just one week. We have so much fun while truly devoting EVERYTHING to the Lord. I don't even know how to explain how productive I feel....

We are just going so hard all the time and I love it. We mogi on our bikes, we talk about what we are learning about Christ, about the gospel and about our gospel in Japanese..when we aren't moging on our bikes. We efficiently figure out how to eat healthy and quickly so that we can maximize all of our time! We both like running, so we exercise a lot! We are even trying to learn French in the mornings sometimes for our French investigator! My companion is basically just awesome and full of all sorts of crazy good ideas for how to teach the Japanese people. We talk to tons of people on the streets....so we always make it home later than we plan....because we just receive prompting after prompting to talk to people...and we receive those promptings, because we followed the one before it. (And through this, I think we have found several new investigators for the Elders...because everyone seems to have male friends that they want to refer to us hahahah). The Less Actives hearts are being softened. Our investigators hearts are being softened. They are meeting with us more. They are choosing to follow the commandments before we even teach them to them. They are desiring to come unto Christ and be baptized. The members are helping more than ever before. I am seeing the work pick up around me like I have never seen before...and I know that this is only the beginning of it! The Lord is blessing us SO much and there is just no doubt in my mind that all of this comes from the Lord....because I just couldn't be making this happen by myself. My study feels more focused...it is just...EVERYTHING is improving around me and I think it largely just comes from focusing on the Savior more and the work and really working hard at our companionship unity. It is so crazy.

In other news, we got to do this cool thing called Kinpo. It is like Karate. Mostly we just watched...but we met this guy through an investigator who took us and the Elders to watch it and then talk to all of the young Japanese students and the Japanese Kinpo sensei about English classes. So that was like the coolest thing ever.

Making Enormous Cabbage Egg Pancakes

Kinpo

Also we hiked a mountain this morning and met some men who want to come to church and Eikaiwa (English class) and want to take us on another hike next Monday where we can see monkeys in the mountains. So we are stoked, and we invited the Elders today and we are really hoping that we can go hahhaha. All of this crazy cool stuff is happening.

Morning Hike

One of our transfer goals is to ask our self at the end of each and every day: "Can we stand still?"

This refers to the scripture: "Stand still and watch as my hand is extended..." I forget the reference, but that is the general idea. Each night we ask ourselves if at the end of the day, we can truly stand still in all that we have done and say that we can watch as the Lord's Hand extends upon His work. The miracles that have come because of this - as I try every day to give my all...because a year and a half is just way to short...have been amazing to watch.

The Lord Lives.

I have seen His hand extend upon Japan!

I have faith that He wants this work to move forward.

I know that my investigators are coming to Him with increased faith!

Continue to show faith - in everything! And the Lord will provide a way to move His work forward as He sees fit!

Much love,
Grundvig Shimai