Japan!
Waking up to pouring rain.
My first day with Sister Moffat.
KONNICHIWA!!!!! You're all probably wondering if I am alive....and YES I AM!!! And happier than ever!!!!!! Honestly. I have never been so happy in my life!! :)
I'm serving in the Senzokuike area of Tokyo. We are missionaries in 1 Nihonjin ward, and 1 Gygene ward. (So we teach people in Japanese and English!)
FLIGHT TO JAPAN
We had a 11 hour flight to Japan! And I used to say that "yeah I'm so cool! I can sleep anytime...anywhere!" WELL...psych. I didn't sleep at all on the plane ahha. And the food they fed us was toxic probably haha
When we landed and went to get our gygene cards...they wouldn't let me through the gate!!! And they were speaking japanese so fast, I didn't know what was going on....I was also hecka jetlagged. I was basically a potato angel because I was laughing over things that weren't funny and...just I was just ready to collapse on the ground. Anyway, they wouldn't let me through the gate and they told me to follow this guy! I was by myself and all 0f the other sisters went through...and so as I was walking with this random guy, I look to the elders and say, " well....I didnt pass that language test..."
But it was freaky because I was alone!!!!! With a 50 year old Japanese dude!! I had this crazy weird separation anxiety thing going on! And obviously thought of all the worst things possible that could happen. Haha
I was there for 2 hours. It was a joy :)
MISSION HOME
My mission president is SO COOL!!!!! I love him and his wife to death!! They are so nice and funny!! And they fed us real food!! IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I'VE HAD REAL FOOD I HAD IN DECADES!!! It was so good :) imagine 30 zombie looking missionaries...who has never seen the sun before....and was basically starved to death for 10 years....and that was us :)
TRAINER
My new companion is Sister Moffat!! We have so many mutual friends, it's crazy!! She went to Skyline, and I went to Dixie with her cousin!! Small world for sure! She is basically the perfect missionary. She is so kind, wise and gentle! And then there's me.....I'm so loud, obnoxious, and crazy! But hey, we balance each
other out so well!! I absolutely adore her!! She supports me and she makes me feel like I'm the best missionary ever :) (which I'm not....she's just so nice)
DENDO FIRE
If anyone loves talking to random people...who happen to be Asian..IT'S ME!!!! Oh man the love I have for these people....it's unreal. I think I scare about 99.99% of the people I talk to because I'm so happy to see them. Haha
Also, one of my biggest pet peeves is when people ignore me. (And they know I'm talking to them)....WELL. that happens ALL THE TIME HERE. People will just flash their hand up real fast. Kinda like *I'm busy...I don't want to talk to you....you're a crazy American..* type of thing. But they don't say a word. Ahha
I've had probably 1000 people look up at me and put their head down, and start running away! Which is actually pretty funny....but also frustrating because I know that we have the best message in the world. And they won't even give us the time of day to share it!! It kinda breaks my heart a little bit.
I had this hilarious moment where we were talking to a lady eating ice cream. We go up and we said hi to her. We introduced ourselves and she starts to run away and says, "Oh sorry! My ice cream is melting!" (In nihongo obviously) I turn to my companion and say, "Your soul is melting."
Some people's kids.
BUGS
After our lesson on friday night, we were walking home. And for all you who know me...I laugh alot and I breathe in when I do. Long story short, I Inhaled a crazy huge bug and I thought my life was over. I swear it got stuck in my lung. I also, almost threw up after I did so haha. I think it's dead? Idk!
MIRACLES
Since I have been here, we have exceeded the zone goals immensely!!! It's so awesome!!! We talked to 200 in 2 days! (We're only allowed to talk to females) and we also have 3 baptismal dates!! One of them...,her name is Ellie :) She is from China and she is basically my best friend. She speaks perfect english!! Her baptismal date is the 15th of October. So please pray for her!!
The Lord's hand is in every detail of our lives! I have really seen that since I've been in japan. I'm in a place that is so different. Culture...people...customs...language..everything! I know that I couldn't do this alone. I have really felt the Lord's love for me as a try to share this message with people. Good thing my Japanese isn't what converts people...or we all would be in big trouble haha
KODOMOTACHI'S (kids)
Well.. I am obsessed with Japanese babies. Before I go back to america, I'm going to take one home with me! You see them, and you just wanna cry cause they're so cute. I'm proudly going to say that my first photo I took in Japan was actually a billboard picture of an Asian baby. Ahhaha
Anyway, we teach English to people every week. And the Sister Missionaries teach English to little kids! Oh my gosh. blessings.
I'm running out of time. But you'll see the pictures of them all below!
I LOVE YOU ALL!!! Thank you for all the prayers! I have really felt them :)
あいしています！！！！
-Phelps shimai
