Thank You--ありがとうございます

One of the many rice paddy fields I pass every day.

Birthday surprises from my wonderful companion!

The ward "heart attacked" me for my birthday!

Birthday lunch from a kind member!

Dearest Family,

It was a wonderful week to be a missionary! 

Shaking Elder Christoffersons hand and listening to him speak was definitely a highlight of the week, perhaps even a highlight of my mission. I was impressed with the power that was in the room as he spoke. I was also impressed that every question I had prepared before the meeting was answered during the meeting. It was a wonderful experience. He began by talking about his role as an apostle. He shared the commission that the Lord gave to His apostles in Matthew, and then shared the same commission that was given to the apostles in the Latter Days in Doctrine and Covenants. He talked about his responsibility as an apostle to take the gospel to the world, and how because 15 men alone cannot do that, they have called us to help. He talked about how we are the apostles/prophets companions, and how just like companions, we pray for them and they pray for us, and we think they are honorable men and they hope we will be honorable companions. He said if there is one thing we should remember from the whole meeting, it is that the prophets and apostles say *Thank You.* It is wonderful to be a missionary. After that, he opened it up to a question/answer session, and the Spirit was very close as he talked about relying on the Savior and having an eye single to the glory of God. It was wonderful! It was also great to have the entire mission together. That was the first time for me! There was so much power in the room.

We spent a big portion of our week traveling. The devotional was in Osaka, which is about 5 or 6 hours away from me. We also went on exchanges with the sisters in the area next to us, and it was about a 2 hour travel to get there! I live in the country side, and we drove past rows and rows and rows and rows of rice fields with little Japanese people hunched over working in them. It was an amazing view! 

It was my first exchange as a Sister Training Leader this week! It was amazing! The Spirit was working through us so much. We arrived at around 5:00, and they had a lesson scheduled for 5:30. Womack shimai and I looked over the lesson plan, mogi-ed it, and then the investigator arrived. We taught her a powerful lesson. Even though I had never met her before, I felt like I was able to connect with her and teach to her understanding and desires. That was definitely the Spirit.  And at the end of the lesson, she asked us when she can get baptized! 

I also had been praying and studying quite a bit to know how I could best help Womack shimai. I really did not know Womack shimai very well at all, and I did not understand her goals very well either. However, I put a lot of thought into how to help her, and then the Spirit helped to meet her needs during the koukan. We were sitting and talking during lunch, and I did not really know what I was saying, but she started crying. She said she NEVER cries, so it was very rare, and she said thank you for what I shared with her. To be honest, I do not know what I said. That was the Lord helping, again.

We have enjoyed doing missionary work here in Yonago as well. We have been working to meet the less active members, and we have met some great people! On Monday, we met Masuda kyoudai. We met him in his shop, which is a Beatles shop. I think you would all be blown out of your minds. He has rows and rows with thousands and thousands of Beatles records, CDs, posters, DVDs, recordings, pictures, etc. All of the Beatles. He is a cool guy. He was baptized more than 30 years ago and stopped going to church right after that. However, he still has a ctr ring that he keeps on his front desk to remind him to keep trying every day. And he told us how strongly he believes in Joseph Smith. That was amazing to me, because he has not been to church for SUCH a long time! We are excited to work with him. 

We also met with Eiko shimai on Tuesday. I do not know if I told you about her. She is a real hoot. She took out the sliding doors in her apartment and bolted up a hammock and a wooden swing. If you knew Japanese houses, you would know that is impossible because the houses here are tiny. But she had a solution for that. She made her kitchen table, and she put wheels on it so she can wheel it out of the way for the swing and the hammock. She speaks English almost fluently, and she learned it all from watching TV, so it is really dramatic and not normal English. It is so fun to be with her. She was also baptized more than 30 years ago and has not come since, so we are starting over with teacher her about who God is. It is a great experience. 

Last week, I noticed the hand of the Lord in so many little things. No huge miracles or anything happened (except that Ayako chan set a goal to be baptized and came to church!!), but in the little things every day, I was able to see the hand of the Lord. I know this is the Lords work. I know the church is the kingdom of God on the earth. I know God loves each one of you!!

AND I LOVE YOU TOO!!! Thank you for being such a wonderful family. I am grateful every single day for your example and prayers and testimony and love and support. Thank you thank you! 

Have a fantastic week!

Love,

Crofts shimai

p.s. If you are wondering, I am no longer a teenager. I know, that is sad. Birthdays are not really a huge deal in Japan, except for when a girl turns 20. She has a huge celebration and wears her kimono and takes *I am 20 years old* photos and things. It is a big day for me too…Tojo shimai surprised me with a nice card and earrings this morning and the ward surprised me by heart-attacking our apartment door! And more than anything, I get to be a missionary today! That makes it the happiest birthday ever. 

Boldness--大胆

Dear Family,

BECCA HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I was thinking about you this week and how you must be one happy mom. This has got to be the best birthday ever right?? I love you!!

It is fun to hear about everything going on at home with a full house. Thank you for all of the emails! I hope you know that you are the best family ever. During weekly planning session last week, we were doing companionship inventory, and Tojo shimai was telling me the reasons why she likes me. She said the biggest thing is that she loves my family! I was surprised because I did not say that much about you ( I can only say so much about non-gospel related things in Japanese.) But she said when I first told her about you, she could tell that you are really special. And then when she saw pictures of you, she said she LOVED you. And then she could tell by the way I talked to you all on the phone that you are a very very good family, and because of that, she really likes me. So thank you very much!

Speaking of Tojo shimai, I absolutely love her. She is the happiest, most faithful, most loving, and FUN missionary. She actually reminds me a lot of Grandma Vance. I am not sure why, because she is a tiny little Japanese girl, but I just love her. One thing about her is that she is very bold. When we go to doors in Japan, people barely open them just a crack for us. Usually I can hardly see who I am talking to and they slowly close the door as we talk to them. However, Tojo shimai just grabs the door and opens it, and as they try to close the door, she pulls it the other way. It is hilarious because Japanese people are NOT like that. They are the opposite of bold! So I love her because she is not like the Japanese people, but I also love her because she is very Japanese. For example, her morning exercise is some form of yoga in which she lies in her futon, and after about five minutes she switches positions. You would think that she is just sleeping in, but I know she is not because she is obedient. That really is just her form of exercise. Another thing about Japanese people is that they are hoarders. Their houses are tiny, but they have more STUFF inside of them than any house I ever saw in America. She has different kinds of tapes and glues for different purposes, different pens for different purposes, soaps, foods, clothes, paper, binders, bags, etc etc. I have my one pen and my one bag and I am good haha. Also, her basic food groups are noodles and rice. I have eaten a lot of noodles and rice in the last week. We tried some Thai shrimp flavored ramen, and I thought of you, mom. Do you still go to Thai kitchen? Anyway, I just love doing missionary work with Tojo shimai!

We are still trying to pick up the pace here in Yonago. Since we have gotten here, we have only been in contact with 2 of the previous investigators. One of them has a mental handicap and she dropped us last week. However, the other one, (15 year old Ayako chan) is awesome. She met with us 3 times last week!　The great thing about being with a Japanese missionary is that it does not take very much time to plan lessons. She texted us on Monday during preparation and said she wanted to meet that night at 6. Then again on Tuesday she texted us at 5:45 and said she would be at the church at 6 for a lesson! We met with her AGAIN on Saturday too. She is beautiful. I do not understand most of what she says because it is slurred/slang/teenage language, but she says it all with a smile so I enjoy it.

I am also learning more of the members names. The kids are SO fun. One cute little 5 year old girl named Ami chan was sitting with us during sacrament meeting. She kept looking into my eyes and asking why they look like the Earth. Haha!

We had our last zone conference with President Zinke last week. It is sad that it was the last one. If you knew how wonderful and inspired he is, you would feel sad for me. However, it was a good conference to end on. He taught us how to teach from the Book of Mormon by doing it for us. We went through 2 Ne 31 and read it together and he showed us how we can use that chapter better as we teach investigators so that they understand the importance of baptism/desire to follow Christ. It was a powerful instruction. He also talked about spiritual stamina and spiritual tenacity and the importance of improving our relationship with Christ every day. It was a powerful conference and it got me even more excited/determined about missionary work!

The biggest thing I have learned this week is about relying on the Lord. I was pretty confident in my abilities in Katsura, but when I came to Yonago and worked with Tojo shimai who is able to do everything to do with missionary work so well, I kind of shrunk. I did not understand my purpose in being here. On Wednesday night, all of the sisters in our zone slept together in Okayama before the conference the next day. Somehow I ended up without a futon or blanket, so I was sitting up in the middle of 7 sisters in the middle of the night thinking about what my purpose was. I realized that every sister in the zone except one is older than I am (in missionary age, they are all older than me in real age) and they all have a lot of experience on me. Yet I have been assigned as their leader. I could not figure out why. So in the middle of the night I was up pondering and praying, and I realized more than ever how much my abilities are nothing compared to what the Lord has. And as I strive to use my abilities to the best that I can, the Lord will magnify and strengthen and provide so that I can bless others the way the Lord needs me to. I have seen this happen over and over in my life and especially in my mission, and I am grateful that the Lord is continuing to bless me in this way. I know He is blessing you as well, and I love hearing about the successes/happiness that you are experiencing way over there in Idaho!

More than anything, I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. He is the Redeemer of the World, and the Great Almighty. I know He lives. I know He loves each one of you with the deepest love. What a joy to be a part of His gospel!

Thank you for your support and love. It really helps a lot! I love you!!

Crofts shimai

(I have included a picture of the beloved Morii family--Chiaki san and Chisa chan)

Yonago--米子

Family! It has been a long time since we have spoken, huh?? 

Thanks for all of your questions and jokes and things...I loved to hear all of your voices! 

Just to clear things up, I am in Yonago now. I transferred from Kyoto. Now I am far away from Kyoto. But I have a Japanese companion now! Her name is Tojo shimai, and she is an AMAZING missionary. While transferring, everytime somebody asked me who my new companion would be and I told them Tojo shimai, they oooed and awed and said how lucky I am to be with her. She is the best of the best apparently. I love her to death! She is so happy and cute and sweet and faithful and she expects miracles and then works for them. It will be a good transfer. Also, I love Yonago! The ward--there are 50 primary children! I love it! 

Of course transferring and leaving an area with investigators and ward members who I LOVED was hard, but Yonago feels good. When we first got to Yonago, Tojo shimai and I went to the church. We sat down in the chapel and said a prayer together, and we both felt something very good about this transfer. We believe in the power of the atonement, and we know with Jesus Christ, we can perform miracles this transfer. We are excited! 

And again, I love Tojo shimai already. We have been able to plan and teach two lessons together, and both were wonderful learning experiences for me. First of all, having a companion who understands perfectly what is being said and can say whatever she wants back is nice, but I think more than that, having a companion who is close to the Spirit loves those she teaches is wonderful! For a big portion of the lessons, I just sat back in awe as she talked with the investigators, got to know them, and connected gospel doctrine to their specific needs. I learned so much from watching her say exactly what the investigator needed to hear at the right time. 

Yesterday we taught Ayako chan, who is a 15 year old girl. She is SO cute!! She has a nice big smile that she has on display often...I love it. We read some notes about her that the previous sister missionaries left for us. They said she is very shy and does not talk during the lessons and she would not pray out loud. However, she opened up in our lesson and shared her thoughts and feelings, and she even prayed out loud for us.  

It was really really sad leaving Chiaki san and Chisa chan.  We were able to prepare a lesson on the Atonement for Chiaki san,(Chisa chan was still at school) and it was powerful. At the end of the lesson, we invited her to be baptized. She said she can not because her parents are against it, but her list of reasons why she wanted to be baptized was amazing. She loves Jesus Christ and wants to follow Him, she believes this gospel is the way for her daughter to have the most happiness, she feels something special when she prays and reads the Book of Mormon and it makes her want to follow the steps in the gospel, she believes what we tell her and believes that baptism is the only way to receive all of the blessings of Christs atonement, and more than anything, she wants eternal life. At least that is what she told us. She said in English, *give it to me! I want that eternal life! Give it to me!* Haha it was funny to see her getting so intense about eternal life, and at the same time, it was so assuring and wonderful to see how the Spirit had impacted her desires!  She did not accept a specific baptismal date, but when she found out I was leaving, she was very very sad because she said she wanted me to be there for her baptism and her daughters too! She was in tears for a while, but I promised her that we would meet again (I said hopefully soon, but if not, in the celestial kingdom--so please get baptized!). She finally regained her composure, and then Chisa chan came home from school, and when Chisa chan found out I was leaving, she broke into tears too! It was so sad. I was hugging Chisa chan while she and her mom and Hunt shimai were all standing there crying. So sad. But I know the Lord knows what He is doing, and I was excited to come to Yonago. I cannot say enough how much I love being a missionary. It is the best blessing I could imagine.

Also I cannot say it enough, but this church is true! Jesus Christ lives, He loves us, and He can do all things for us. His restored gospel is on the Earth today, and we are SO blessed to have it in our lives, because it is the way to true TRUE happiness, and to eternal life as families! This is wonderful. I love you all so much. 

Thanks for the phone call. Happy Mothers Day!

Love,

Crofts shimai

Mothers Day!! -- 母の日

McDonalds!

Dear Family,

MOM!! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!! I love you So So SO much! Shout out to being the most wise and wonderful mother, teacher, example, friend, worker, inspirer, and incredible woman in the whole world! I love you and can not wait to talk to you! (p.s. did you get the information for that?)

I am astonished at all the Lord does. He blesses us so so much, even when we do not deserve it at all. And He loves His children! It is wonderful to be a part of His work in gathering them back to Him! 

Meeting with Morii family is always such a joy. I LOVED our lesson with them last week. We are doing the family English program, so we teach English for the first half hour and then do our lesson for the next half hour. However, last week during the English section, everything we talked about seemed to lead right to our lesson! We planned on teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ (eternal life, our obstacles, the solution (Jesus Christ) and how to receive His help).  We asked during English if they had any questions for us, and the question was as church members, what is our main goal? Hunt Shimai and I of course said something to do with eternal life! We asked her if she has any goals, and she said her goal is to read the entire Book of Mormon! Then, she began talking about death and the suffering and unfair things in this life, and she asked where we go for a solution to those. Fortunately, the answer to that question is also in the gospel of Jesus Christ! We decided to just end our English lesson and begin teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ! She seemed to be prepared for everything that was said, and the Spirit helped it to be a powerful lesson. I love walking out of those spiritual oasis lessons. I also love the Morii kazoku so much. There were a few days when we were not going to be able to meet with them because they were busy, but Chisa chan (the ten year old daughter) said she really really wanted to see us, so we were able to go and teach them! I just love her! 

We also were able to meet with Sugawa san a few times. She is the lady who I met with Allred shimai who came to church last week. She talks over and over about how she just wants a refresh or a restart, and she wants to feel clean again. Also when we talked about baptism in our lesson, her eyes sparked up, exactly as Yamaguchi shimais did the first time she heard baptism. I am so grateful the Lord led her to this gospel. I love her so much. 

Hunt shimai and I have continued to be blessed by being led to those who are ready for this gospel. I love doing missionary work with her. She is a great missionary! 

Fortunately or Unfortunately, however you choose to look at it, I am being transferred from Kyoto! I absolutely love it here...the people, the culture, the ward, the zone, my investigators and my companion...it is amazing here! BUT I am excited to be shipped off to the Northwest part of this mission, meet my JAPANESE companion, and serve in Yonago! Missionary work is just the best. Also, this church is true. 

 I will be speaking with you all soon, so TTFN! 

I love you!!!

Crofts shimai