Come Follow Me: Only one more week?! Woah...

September 10, 2015

Hello Everyone!!

Wow, P-day already? The time here is just flying by now! I only have one more p-day left here at the MTC! Can you believe that? I've been gone 2 months already... Time is way way to short. But oh do I have so many amazing things that I can not wait to share this week:) But first off, sounds like everyone is doing well. Thank you for the e-mails/dear elders always. They really just make my day so much better. Sounds like Demi's blessing went great and Austin did an amazing job! Way to go:) Thank you so much for being a worthy preisthood holder and being intuned with the spirit to give your sweet little girl a blessing. She is SO GORGEOUS:) I can't believe how big she is already. Loved the pictures of her and Brooke your kids as well. Everyone already looks bigger and different.. Not good. STOP GROWING UP;) haha jodan! (jokes) But I am glad everyone is doing well. Shout out to Chad, way to be a missionary. That story is so awesome, shows the Lord knows his children and knows exactly what they need. So thank you for that example:) Glad all is well. I hope everyone is well for those I didn't get to hear from.

Okay well let's start off with the investigators. Yonaha and Aoyagi San. Well we didn't get to teach Aoyagi for about a week because he had been out of town but we FINALLY got to teach him this week and wow it was such an amazing lesson. We had planned to teach him about tithing and how it can bless him and you know the basics but we got there and we were asking him about Word of Wisdom and all these things that we have committed him to do and he said he had been struggling and that his health had been bad lately... He was discouraged because he said when he started talking to us he was happy at first and his health improved A TON but lately it has been bad again and he just wasn't sure if God loved him. Well the spirit prompted me to share a scripture in Alma about patience through afflictions and as I shared that with him I could just see in his face that he knew what he needed to do. So we taught that whole lesson on patience and trusting in God because he gives us hard times so we can become stronger. And the spirit was just so strong and I was so thankful for the spirit bringing to me the scripture which was PERFECT for his situation. Oh how I love the spirit:) So at the end of the lesson he understood and just was so much happier again:) Then with Yonaha San we had been struggling with the Word of Wisdom, she smokes at least 4 times a day and said she can't stop because it makes her have panic attacks. Well my comp and I were so stumped and didn't know what to do after that lesson. Well we decided to just talk more about the word of wisdom and wanted to show her that we were there for her and we love her and will help her. That lesson was THE most amazing lesson thus far. The spirit was so strong and I just knew what we were saying was helping her. After that lesson, our teacher (Yonaha San aka) haha pulled us out of class and just said she was so impressed with our lesson and the way we didn't give up on her and truly made her feel loved. She said it was one of the best lessons she has heard since teaching here. I was SO happy and just knew the spirit directed us the right way:) So they are both improving so much!! Love helping others SO much:)

Well during class this week our teacher Maynze Shimai was sharing her spiritual thought of the day and this one was just AMAZING! So we were reading in the BOM about the Lamanites who buried their weapons and over came their weakness and sacraficed their lives for being like Christ. And she related it to us and challenged us to bury our weakness and whatever was holding us back. And it was just what I needed, we need to forgot those weakness and let the Lord help us overcome them and they will become strong. I challenge you all to pick just ONE thing you want to change this week, one thing you need to be better at and pray to your Father in Heaven that you are willing to bury that and change it if he will help you. I promise you that he will help you. It will be hard and will take time but you will see the change. I know it to be true because I have seen it since I have been trying to do that this week. He helps us in ALL we do.

Well devotional this were both great! We had the provo temple president and his wife and they both gave amazing talks. His wife said something that hit me. "It doesn't matter how many time you have read the BOM, prayed, attended church or temple, watched conference etc., YOU MUST KEEP DOING THOSE THINGS TO COME CONVERTED!" I just loved that.. People think if you have read the BOM 100x and someone else has only ready it once that they know more or are better etc. but no, as long as you are becoming converted and doing what you need too then who cares. Just do your part and what you need to do to continue to be converted unto the gospel of Jesus Christ. And this Tuesday devotional was Bishop Causse and he was amazing. He said, "Why am I doing all this? Why am I leaving my family, friends, school, careers etc. to serve? Well yes it's hard saying bye to all those things cause you love them but you love your Savior more and that is why you are here and why you are making that sacrafice." How great is that? I LOVE YOU ALL TO PIECES and I hope you know that, but I left you all for 18 months because I LOVE MY SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST! He died for each of us and because of him I am happy and can overcome anything. So I am here because of him:) Just a thought, if you ever wonder why all these things, just remember, "Because of Him."

This week we had the opportunity to Host. Which means we were the missionaries who grab the new missionaries from their families and take their luggage and help them get to where they needed to be. Wow, is that so sad to watch haha I just feel so sad watching them cry and leave but also it's so great making them feel loved and cared for right after:) It was so much fun to meet so many people and just help those Sisters out. Met so many great people serving in so many great places around the world:) I'll send some pics of my Host sticker;) pretty official haha it was so much fun!

Random not so much fun story, we had to move this week!! It was the worst.. haha we lived on the 4th floor but they want to re-do the roof so they had to move us down a floor so today we have been moving all our stuff down and trying to re organize so that was a joy to experience today;) haha but yeah fun random fact! Sorry no funny Elder stories this week.. FINALLY;) haha

We also got to Skype TRC again this week and it was yet another great time:) We skyped an 18 year old girl who lived in Tokyo and she is preparing for a mission. She was so sweet and happy and wanted to serve in Japan haha we shared with her a message about service and loving others and the spirit was great and it is such a great experience to talk to real people from Japan and helps improve the language a lot:) It is coming a long slowly but better than it used to be:)

Last thing of the week, all the Shimaitachi in our Branch sang "Savior, Reedeemer" in church and the spirit was SO strong during it. That song has such amazing words.. Please please go look it up and just focus on what is being said please:) It is just a heart touching song and I am so glad we had that opportunity:)

Well.. That was my week haha I don't know what else to say.. But oh GUESS WHAT?! We get our flight plans to Japan tomorrow so next/my last p-day here, I will let you know all about our travel plans:) HOW EXCITING IS THAT PEOPLE?! I can't believe the time is finally coming haha no more MTC food;) haha jokes.. but it is kind of bad;) But I am so excited to just do the real work:) I want to touch the lives of the people of Japan! It is so great being a missionary. I LOVE IT:) Jesus Christ is our Savior. He LOVES ALL OF US:) And he knows our needs, wants, and desires. If you pray to him and truly turn to him, he will help you. I know that for a fact, he has helped me more than I deserve here in the mission. I know the BOM can answer any questions we need no matter where we are reading. It is the truest book on the earth and I LOVE IT:) Always read it, keep reading it, and truly study it and get to know it:) I know it will bless your life. I love this gospel and being a missionary for my Savior. I can't believe the time has come to go to Japan but oh I am so excited:) Have a great week and serve others and love EVERYONE no matter what:) Love you all and I miss you! I pray for you everyday atleast twice a day.. So be safe, CTR, and have a wonderful week:)

-Smith Shimai #TRUST