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| Sister Harris from BYU and the MTC |
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| Hunt shimai |
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| Heimuli shimai |
Big news from last week: I slept in a bed. For the first time since the MTC! The Welchs invited us into their home the night before MLC, so Heimuli shimai and DeKlerk shimai and her companion and I all got to spend the evening talking with President and SIster Welch, eating AMERICAN food that they offered us, and then sleeping like queens in AMERICAN like rooms. Sometimes I do not realized how different Japan is until I get into those American settings.
My companion: Wonderful! Her name is Sister (Hevynn) Heimuli. She is part Hawaiian, Tongan, Japanese, Maori, and some other things. Her dad, who came from Samoa, was an NFL player. Her uncle too, you probably heard their names a lot if you were into football about 25 years ago. She is also a professional. She has lived in New Zealand for her dance career, Osaka for her singing career, and Chicago for her broadway career. She also graduated high school when she was 16 so she could get college done faster and begin law school. She will do that after her mission...and she is only 20!! So yes, she is wonderful. But more than all of that, she is a happy, pure, diligent missionary, so I feel joy working with her!
My new area: Niihama. It is also wonderful! Because the branch is so small, I have been able to pray for each member by name daily, and in just 10 days, I have grown to love them! A big portion of the people attending church right now are fairly recent converts, so we are doing a lot of strengthening work. A member from one of the quorums of seventy, Elder Aoba, is also in our branch. And we have a senior missionary couple in our branch. They are SO sweet and cute!!
Other big news from last week: there was a baptism! It was a young 19 year old man who the elders have been working with. He was brought into the church through a member friend. His testimony after the baptism was amazing! He talked about the influence the members had on him and how his life changed in ways he never imagined and he was SO grateful for the members who were willing to talk about the church and invite him. He also expressed deep gratitude for the elder who has taught him from the beginning. It was incredible to see the influence members and missionaries had on his life, and it encouraged me to keep being the best missionary I can be forever!
We had a great lesson with an investigator last week. She asked the missionaries to teach her the word of wisdom, so we did. But because her testimony has not seemed very strong in the past, we tried to talk with her about it in a way that she could understand and apply it. She took it in very well. She did not even question whether or not she should obey it. She already knew she should and she wanted to! She is addicted to her coffee though, so she will need help, but it was great to feel the Spirit getting the message across to her.
Yesterday was district conference, so we met together in Matsuyama with all of the members, missionaries, and President and Sister Welch. We heard great talks about family history. I have always wanted to focus on family history here, especially because the Buddhist culture places so much emphasis on ancestors. The talks gave us more direction on how we can do that, so it was great! And we were able to watch the general womens conference. I just love conference! I am looking forward to next week!
I feel like we have been receiving a lot of powerful training lately! We had Elder Ringwood come, Saturday and Sunday were full of meetings, and we had a fabulous MLC last week! We talked as leaders about the atonement. Of course, there is a lot to talk about that. But what was said had a great impact on me. We talked about how Christ is with us. He will not leave us and as we live the gospel and obey our covenants, we will be carried and our light will be magnified. It was powerful, and we were able to decide on the new mission theme: *Walk with Me.* I love this theme. It comes from Moses 6. In that chapter, Enoch explains how he came from a land of righteousness (which I feel like I do too) and how he was called to preach the gospel. Enoch also had the promise with him from the Lord that the Lord would abide in him, and he could abide in the Lord, and the Lord extended the invitation *walk with me.* I have felt that promise on my own mission as well. I feel like I am constantly being led to unknown places but there finding opportunities to bless others. Over and over I have had confusions and concerns, and then through the Lords mercy they have been answered. I experience the Lords tender mercies every day and I have had times when I can tangibly feel the Lord walking with me. I know because of the atonement, the Lord can walk with each one of us. As we live His teachings, He will guide us down paths with unimaginable blessings and opportunities. It is exciting to experience that in my own life, but more than that, to help and witness that in the lives of the people here in Niihama. This gospel is true!!
I love you all! Study up general conference well!!
Love,
Kurofusu shimai
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