Come Follow Me: (General Conference) FINALLY

October 12, 2015

愛してます皆さん‼︎ (I LOVE YOU ALL!)
Hello Family and Friends,
Another week come and gone here in Takamatsu. Oh how I'm loving this amazing place. It sounds like all is well back at home. Babies doing well, kids dominating in sports, the U representing well (and Bry is a fan), mom trying to learn Spanish, and just a busy life back in the USA. But I'm glad all is well. Thank you for the emails, love, support, and spiritual upliftment. I'm so blessed with AMAZING people in my life Fun Fact of the week: My companion SLEEP TALKS! In Japanese and English! It's the weirdest thing ever! hahaha but it's fun to hear at night. Plus, she will roll over right before we go to bed she steam rolls me! Hahaha oh I futons are interesting.. Haha First off, Kana San! She is one funny, food loving, English learning, stubborn girl ha But I love her! Well our lesson with her, again we taught her English first, it's actually really improving! We followed up on prayer and Book of Mormon. She doesn't pray very often cause she forgets but she said she believes prayer helps her so we committed her to keep praying. Then we planned to teach her more about the plan of
salvation for this lesson. We talked about how our purpose in life is to obtain happiness and build our relationship with our Father in Heaven. We showed her the video "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father", that video brought the spirit so strong. She seemed to enjoy what we taught and she is coming to General Conference Saturday evening session for her lesson. SO WE WERE SO VERY EXCITED! And yes, she did come to the afternoon session, she didn't seem very interested in listening which was heart breaking but she came and that's always a step. We asked her about it and she just kind of replied like "it's good." So I don't know if it touched her or not but we at least had that small desire to come. So I think I told you about the American girl we met on the street like a week or so ago. She teaches english here and loves Japan! Well we finally had our dinner appointment with her. It went really well, we mostly just strived to strengthen our trust and relationship with her but we did talk about eternal families a little with her and she said she wants to meet again so we are excited to do that and maybe plan more of a lesson and try to teach her more than just build relationship. I told you about Ueta Shimai last week, a less active we visit. She is my favorite person ever!! She just always has a smile on her face and is so sweet, plus she just loves us hahaha I'll get a pic with her soon. I love her oh so much! She was offended way back when and just struggles to come back... So we visit her often. We just keep visiting her and sharing messages/testimonies with her to strive to have her get over her grudge of being offended and come back. Her faith is still so strong and she knows it's true, she just needs to forgive others and herself. But she is the greatest ever. She always says how pretty and skinny us Americans are ha it's so funny So Friday we had ZTM in matsuyama and we had to get up at 6 to get ready and leave by like 6:55 to go get on a train well as we are getting ready, we get a call from the STL's informing us that we are going on a kokkan or exchange after zone meeting haha so I was the one leaving our area and going to Nihouma with Hatch Shimai so I had to speed pack before we left to ZTM. So quick things about ZTM, we have the smallest zone in the whole mission. There are 8 missionaries in our zone, all are being trained but the ZL's... Yup what a zone so our main focus this transfer is HOPE. And one of the Elders made a comment about Peter and walking on water. We have to be like Peter, have hope and faith that we can take those scary steps but as we take those steps, we must focus straight on who we are walking too, Our Savior. If we focus on the wind, waves, or any other distraction then we will sink. I testify that if we all look to Our Savior Jesus Christ and have hope we can take scary steps and walk on water that he will help you and comfort you through the scary steps. We all have them but we can all overcome them. I challenge you all to study hope and really strengthen your hope in the Savior. He loves you and wants to help you but we must do our part and have hope and take that big scary step towards Him. I know he will not let you sink. So the kokkan, it was great! Hatch Shimai is from American Fork and went to Utah State for two years before the mission. She's been over a year now so she's on the count down. Once we got to their BEAUTIFUL country side area we went right to work and visited their shigansha or investigator with baptismal date. We testified about prophets and general conference and she is coming. She is 19, her family doesn't like our church but she is so strong and works her hardest to grow closer to Christ. She is just so dang cute, so as we were getting a address for a former investigator this 35-40 old man came up to us and was asking where we were from and what we were doing here etc. then he looked at me and he was like you are just so pretty and beautiful. So we just said thank you and tried to ignore him and move on well.. He saw my CTR ring so he asked if I was married or had a boyfriend.. WHAT THE?! so Hatch Shimai goes, "You should go home now." And then he tried to shake our hands and stuff and just like sat there. So we said k we are busy thanks and he finally left... WOAH! I was scared and so creeped out but we all good lastly we visited a former investigator who is like 85, can't hear, and never stops talking. So we get there and she is eating but she tells us to come in anyway. So as we talk to her well listen she eats/talks and rice is just spitting at us right and left from her mouth! We were both trying so hard not to laugh haha it was so nasty but she is the sweetest lady. So just a fun random story for everyone! Now the best part of the week, CONFERENCE! I am so happy we got to watch conference finally! So Saturday the first session we watched in English but the second session Kana came so we had to watch it in Japanese... Yup, I know but luckily the written out talks were already on the gospel library so I just read as they talked.. Wasn't my first choice but still felt the spirit, plus our investigator came so how could you not be happy?! Then Sunday we invited her to come again but she didn't so we got to watch all the sessions in English. Which there is nothing like it! So favorite moments in conference... Saturday: my favorite was Oaks talk on the Atonement. It was SO amazing. I think sometimes we forget that the atonement isn't just for repenting of our sins. It is for EVERY pain we have ever felt whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual. And it just really hit me that he all that suffering so he can succor us and know exactly how we feel because sometimes no one else does so he is there and ALWAYS does. How lucky are we?! Jesus Christ knows how we feel whether it be learning a language, deathly sick, physically exhausted, confident less, etc. so please turn to Him when you feel no one understands because He always does and will always help if we just ask with real intent and act. Sunday: I would have to say our beloved Prophet Thomas S. Monson. He just had the spirit so strong with him and towards the end when he was struggling to just speak, I just felt the love he has for this gospel and thus church because he continued to go and share what he knew. Now there is a man who literally gives his life to the Lord and thus gospel. The thing that I got from his talk is to just have that light with you. "What will we do about the light in their eyes" I challenge you to be THAT person. The one that always has that light no matter what. I know even that simple light can change someone's entire life. So please strive to always have that. It will change lives and yes, even your own. But it was yet another good week here! I love Japan and the people here.. It's still hard and I'm learning but I love it the gospel is true no matter where you are. I know that for a fact. The book if Mormon is true, it can answer any question or bring you so much peace and comfort. I challenge you all to share your testimony this week with someone. Not just a family member, pray to know who would need it and share it. I'll follow up next week k? I would love to hear about it keep being like Christ and serve others all you can. I love you all and pray for you daily! #RELY-Smith Shimai