Monday, August 19, 2013

Oh, how I am feeling the love!!! Sarah is seriously the best for making cardboard-Shakira. I am tremendously thankful for that and for her wanting to make sure I was included in their wedding day. She is the best sister I could ever ask for!
It looks like it was a beautiful day full of joy! With the time difference, the sealing started at midnight my time, Saturday night. So needless to say, I didn't sleep. At all. Church yesterday was rough. But as I was laying on my thin, thin futon, I tried my best to teleport my spirit to the temple. I pictured in my mind the sealing room and all our precious family gathered around a little Sarah and Iver. My mind raced back to when the four of us were sealed for time and all eternity in that same temple. I still remember kneeling across the altar as a four-year-old and seeing the joy and the light in the faces of you and Dad. That was the same light and joy that I pictured to be in the faces of Iver and Sarah. It was so nice, even though I was tired. :) I am so happy that Iver and Sarah are married. What joy that brings to my heart! We have the best family! Someday, I will add to it, too!

Thank you for sending me pictures. They are so beautiful and I can't wait to see more! Can I be honest? I'm really glad the wedding is over. Now, I have absolutely nothing tying me to home. I no longer have a reason to be sad. I no longer have a desire to run away and get on a jetplane to come home! This is a great blessing. Now, I can move on. I can forget myself and finally GO TO WORK! I am grateful.

You think Denver is hot? Try being in 109 degree weather with 100 percent humidity, and then bike up mountains! Then tell me you're hot. I seriously can't believe summer here. I have never sweat so much in my life, but it's okay because EVERYONE is sweaty. All the time. I stick out because I turn red when I sweat, but that's okay. People understand.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for the birthday love!!! It was a really great day! I woke up and opened the package from you and Dad and Iver and Sarah, and I love everything you sent me! Thank you! After that, I had a lot of people show me a lot of love. We had district meeting, and our zone leaders were there for training, and after the meeting, they rolled back the curtain of the stage in the church and there was a huge white board with birthday love on it, and then they all decorated me with a lei and a tiara and a plastic sword, and then they showered me with gifts and cards and they sang to me! It was the best!! After that, President Rasmussen and Sister Rasmussen called me and sang happy birthday to me. Then, we went on splits with our new sister training leader, who is this cute Japanese girl. Her companions are two of my best friends from the MTC!!! So I got to spend my birthday with Gass Shimai and Johnson Shimai. That was wonderful. Later in the evening, the APs called and sang to me! They are two fantastic elders named Uchida Choro and Takase Choro. They are so fun and they are great friends of mine. Both of them think I'll be the first sister AP, haha. That would be cool. ;) But after that, my companions presented me with a homemade ice cream cake and homemade pizza and all this other wonderful food! Overall, it was a good day and I'm so grateful for the love that I felt from so many people. I definitely needed it. Also, please tell everyone thank you for me for all the birthday love I got in the mail! It was a good week for mail.

This week, we were able to participate in SMYC. I'm not sure what that stands for, but basically, it's EFY (Especially For Youth) for Nihonjin youth! President Rasmussen gave a big presentation, and about 50 of us missionaries got to go and work with the youth and teach them about the Book of Mormon. It was awesome; there were about 600 youth there, I'd say! So many Japanese Mormons! The conference was about three hours south of here, so I got to see a little more of Japan too, which was great. Lots of mountains and forest and rice. Lots and lots of rice. It was a good day.

This week, we were able to teach two lessons to our investigator, Kawamura San! It was good! We taught the plan of Salvation and we talked a lot about the Book of Mormon and how it could bless his life if he applies the principles that are within the Book of Mormon. After the lesson, Kubota Shimai asked him if he had any friends that would be interested in the Gospel, and Kawamura San said, ``Yeah, my friend Hayashi Koji San!`` So funny story. About seven weeks ago, we were standing on a street corner handing out flyers for Eikaiwa, and I met someone with a guitar and he was really cool! He said that he wanted to come to church because he wants to find the truth. Guess what his name was? Hayashi Koji San!!!!!!!!!! I was so surprised when Kawamura San said that!! It was so awesome! I knew there was a reason Koji San was in my thoughts, even though we were never able to contact him! So, Kawamura San is going to bring him to his next lesson, I think. Japan is a crazy-small world! It was a great experience!

My tongue is being whipped into shape! I have taken on the role of translator for the gaijin missionaries in my ward, and wow! My Japanese is skyrocketing! It's good. Bits and pieces of dreaming (when I actually sleep, that is. Insomnia sucks. It's never been this bad before) in Japanese now! So that's good. In my setting-apart blessing, I am blessed to come to know the beautiful language of the people. That is the poetry. I will learn soon.

So yesterday, we taught Gospel Doctrine, and we taught about temple baptisms. Did you know that Joseph Smith revealed to the saints that ordinance on my birthday in 1840? I didn't until last week. Super cool. But, it was a really great lesson. We read a lot from Doctrine and Covenants 128, and I read it in English to the class, and verse 22, I shouted! I yelled with joy! To match the words in the verse! The spirit was so strong in the class, and even though they couldn't understand the words I was saying, the Japanese members were all smiling because they could feel the joy, too. It was a great connecting moment for me and the ward members. I was grateful for it.

Yesterday, after church, I got to see my first baptism in Japanese!!! An 8-year-old boy in our ward got baptized by his Dad, and it was a great service! The baptismal and confirming ordinances in Japanese are so cool! I have never felt the Spirit in the way that I did yesterday before. It was a way cool experience, and I can't wait until that will be Kawamura San standing in the font! What a great day that will be. Hopefully I'll be here still.

Well, that's about it, I think. I hope you know how much I love you and miss you. I hope that I will get to hear from you in the mail soon!

I love you!
-Johnson Shimai

August 12, 2013

Thank you for the birthday love! I received the birthday package last Tuesday, the 6th! And the post man said that it was a day late! Five days!!!!! WOW! It was crazy fast! But, I haven't opened it yet, because I am waiting to have something fun to do on my birthday! I can't wait, even though I know what's inside it because of the customs form.

This week was eventful! Merkley Choro and Nishida Choro both went home, which was very, very sad for me. They have become some of my greatest friends! And I miss them a lot. But we got two new elders and they are great! One is named Ida Choro, he's from Tokyo and is in his fourth transfer. And the other Choro is a green-bean fresh from the MTC!!! His name is Malmrose Choro. I have taken on the role of translator because Merkley Choro went home, and yesterday in church, Heavenly Father blessed me with a miracle! It was another Gift-of-Tongues moment! I was able to understand about 92 percent of the Japanese that was being said and I was able to translate it for Malmrose Choro. I could definitely feel my Heavenly Father working through me as I was speaking. It was a wonderful experience.

I also had another fantastic experience this last week! I was able to invite someone to be baptized!!! Our street contact from two weeks ago ended up coming to church, and we were able to make an appointment to teach him. His name is Kawamura San. On Wednesday evening, we taught him about the Restoration of the Church through Joseph Smith. The lesson was definitely guided by the Spirit, and I was so thankful for that. My Japanese was far from perfect, but the Spirit was whispering to me that I needed to invite Kawamura San to be baptized, so in very broken Japanese, I did just that! And what was his response? ``If I find out that this is true, then yes!`` In that moment, I was filled with such joy and it was such a wonderful experience! Kawamura San needs to stop drinking coffee and smoking before he can get baptized, but we followed up with him, and his Book of Mormon reading is going very well! It was great, and I am excited to meet with him again soon. It was definitely a blessing that I needed.

So, Momma, I want to tell you about a really cool thing that I was able to do this week. The American family in my ward, the Brownes, are having lots of hardships right now. Brother Browne is having major kidney failure and has been in the hospital for over a week, so Jaelyn (14) and Jacob (16) have had to stay at home by themselves so Sister Browne could be at the hospital. We went to visit Jaelyn and Jacob and we were able to talk to them and talk about Christ. At the beginning, we were just standing in the genkan, and I asked if I might offer a prayer. In my prayer, I used these words: ``As an authorized representative of Jesus Christ, and with the authority of my calling, I ask thee, Heavenly Father, to place a special blessing on this house and on this family of peace, comfort, love, and safety.`` I proceeded to give a blessing through prayer on the Browne family. The spirit was tangible, Mom. It was absolutely incredible. I was filled with so much love for the Browne family, and I could feel the authority moving through my body. I cannot describe it adequately in words. There are no words to describe it. But it was incredible. I have power and authority, and I can use it to bless the lives of those around me. That power is given to me by Jesus Christ. I am His authorized representative. I really, truly believe that.

I am so blessed to have you as my momma. I hope you know how much I love you. I am very sad to be missing this week. You might understand how sad I am... but it's a lot. And I'm having a hard time, but I hope that once Saturday is here, I will stop having thoughts of ``I can still get on a plane and make it home in time for the wedding...`` I will try my hardest to stay busy these next few days.

I love you SO MUCH!

Shakira

August 5, 2013

Two weeks worth this time! Sorry about that!

On Monday, August 5 Sister Johnson wrote:

So yeah, size 6 earthquake! I am totally fine, so don't worry about that. But wow, that was so crazy!! We were sitting in Relief Society talking about how to prepare things like food storage and emergency water for an earthquake, and the timing was impeccable. Right as we were talking, the whole building started shaking. My chair was lifted off the ground because it was shaking like crazy! The walls started to sway, and everyone started screaming. I don't think I've ever felt my heart beat so fast! But it stopped after about 12 seconds, and then there were a few after-shocks, but everyone was fine, and we all were kept nice and safe. Those 12 seconds were so intense for me. I was so caught up in my own head, that I didn't even think about what to do, but as I looked around, it was absolutely incredible and beautiful to watch the sisters in Relief Society rush to the aide of the older women and help them make it safely out from under the air conditioner and other big things. Everyone was so concerned about the welfare of others, and it really made me think about the Japanese people and how outward-thinking they are. I was amazed by the love and concern that I felt in that room. Yes, it was one of the most terrifying things I've ever experienced in my life, but I learned so much from it. Wow! The Izumi ward members are great! Elvis's song has a whole new meaning now! Haha. ;) You would not believe how scary it is to watch a building sway from side to side. I understand more the parts of 3 Nephi that talk about the earth trembling, and how terrifying that is. It makes that part even more real than it was already! But, we are all fine, and life continues on as normal.

This week was so weird! We had another earthquake earlier this week, but it was very small, and I hardly felt it. But that same day, it was Wednesday, we were able to have some great appointments with a member in our ward named Kikkawa Shimai. We went with her to the grocery store where we, with her, started talking to this woman about the Gospel. It was so wonderful to do missionary work with a member standing right there beside us! The woman gave us her address, and we intend to go follow-up with her this week. After that, we went to Kikkawa Shimai's house and did a mogi lesson with her and her daughter, Minori. She is 15, and it was way good! We talked about the Plan of Salvation, and the Spirit was definitely there. After that, Kikkawa Shimai gave us huge amounts of food, and then drove us back to the Church, but on the way there, we rescued a cat. It was a little bitty kitten that looked like Luna, and he had been hit by a car. So we picked him up and took him to the animal hospital. Needless to say, that was a very eventful day! But it was good.

Yesterday, we had two non-members at Church! One was our investigator, Tomomi San, and the other was an 18 year old guy we met on the street the day before. We talked with him at a stop light for about 20 minutes, and prayed with him, and invited him to come to church and he actually did! His name is Hawamura San, and we have an appointment with him this Wednesday evening.

So this week, the rain FINALLY stopped!!! We finally saw the sun after 17 days of pouring rain! What a great blessing that was! Wow. I am so grateful. But now, it is HOT HOT HOT! Woo! But, it is good.

This week, I have gotten a LOT of birthday love! Grandma and Grandpa O sent me a really pretty watch and some chocolate, and I've gotten a lot of cards from people, including the Goulds. That was absolutely wonderful! I think mail only takes 8 days to get here... So, yeah! Happy birthday to me for two weeks! Haha. :) Thank you to everyone.

Thanks for the love. I need it. Sending prayers and sunshine your way. Miss you all.


And last week, on Monday, July 29 Sister Johnson wrote:

I am so relieved to hear that you got my letter!!! Yay! I was hoping and wishing and praying that it would get there okay! That makes my day. I've gotten some mail, but my companions get mail everyday! I just get advertisements...haha. But it's okay.

So, I had a great week! Wow! It was absolutely incredible to see the Lord's hand in my life this week! We FINALLY had our first lesson, and we now have TWO investigators! Our first is named Takahashi Tomomi San, and she is interesting. She has been investigating the Church for over seven years. Our lesson with her was unproductive, and I really don't see us going anywhere with her, so after our lesson with her this next week, we will decide if we are going to continue teaching her. She is really sweet, and so SO cute, but she doesn't have a real desire to meet with us, so we'll see what happens. Our other lesson this week was with a woman named Miyata Kazuko San. She is the mother of one of the brothers in our ward, Miyata Kyodai. It was a good lesson! We taught about Heavenly Father and about His love for us. We also talked about the prophet Joseph Smith, and the Restoration of the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and about how the Book of Mormon is the word of God. It was really great, and we don't have a set appointment with her yet, but we will see her again soon. That was a weird day for me, Saturday. That was the first day I had to eat seafood! We had that absolutely gross cabbage pancake thing again, but this time, it had white fish paste (in the shape of tentacles...) on top, with nori and dried fish skin. Yeah....I died. I just about threw up on the Miyata family's table, and I felt so bad. I just couldn't do it. So Kubota Shimai ate the rest for me. It was awful, and I've felt gross ever since. But, it was funny.

Also this week, we were able to meet with several less-active members. Those are my favorite lessons to teach. This week, we met with Ueno Junko Shimai, with the Relief Society president, Kanazawa Shimai. That was a great lesson! Ueno Shimai has had a lot of trials lately, and so we decided to talk about the Atonement of Christ and about how we can overcome our hardships with the help of the Savior. I don't remember what was said, really, but I can remember the incredible love and Spirit that filled the room as we testified of Jesus Christ. I love having the privilege of being able to do that on a daily basis. We also taught Nishimura Yoko Shimai the same lesson, but it was much different! It was joyful and so loving, and I am grateful for the guidance of the Spirit.

This week, I had a really hilariously awesome finding experience. The three of us, and two of the Elders were biking super fast to a lunch appointment with a member, and we zoomed past this woman. I was in the back of the group, so I heard the woman yell something at me in Japanese. I translated it to say ``HEY!!! Are you all volunteer Eikaiwa teachers???`` So I slammed on my brakes and yelled GOMENASAI! And ran back to her! Then, the miracle happened. She started speaking to me in very fast Japanese and asking me all kinds of questions, and I was able to not only understand what she said, but I was able to reply and answer all of her questions!! Wow, Gift of Tongues! It was only for two minutes, but it was incredible! The woman's name was Harada-San, and she ended up coming to Eikaiwa this week! It was so wonderful, and so humbling. When I tell myself that I can't speak Japanese, I am absolutely right, but I can do all things through Christ. He is the only way. His blessings are how I am able to communicate, and for that, I am thankful.

The Lord has also blessed me with more love and patience this week. I finally am feeling like I am having fun and being a successful missionary. We are busy and working hard, and I have more patience with my companions. The Lord is shaping me into the missionary He wants me to become.

This week, we had ward Family Home Evening and it was SO MUCH FUN! We had missionary music night! I got to play a cello! YAY! It was so fun! And I got to sing with Merkley Choro, and I also go to learn and play a traditional Japanese instrument called Shamisen, which is like the Japanese equivalent of a banjo! It was so cool, and I want to buy one SO BAD! Probably during my last transfer.

Lean on the Savior. He is so full of love, and is mighty to save. You should read John 15 and 16. It's all about abiding in the love of Christ. Some very much-needed light for me this week. Jesus is my sunshine. Let Him be yours, too.

I love you!

Happy-Fire-Johnson-Shimai

July 22, 2013

On July 22, 2013 Sister Johnson wrote:

Hello my friends and family! Thanks for the love!

So...J-Pop is hilariously weird. One of the most hilarious things ever is seeing a Japanese gangster in a low-rider Prius blasting Japanese gangster rap and eating a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. HAHA! Seriously, I almost fell off my bike, I was laughing so hard.

This week, I ate my first disgusting thing! It's called Okonomiaki. It's a cabbage pancake, smothered in mayo and the Japanese equivalent of BBQ sauce. Absolutely gross. First, my companion made it at home, and then we went out to eat on Saturday night, and I had to eat it again. And my companions eat theirs with octopus. Gross! But, it was fun. There are pictures of that. So, I think you would be thoroughly impressed with my chopstick skills! I am getting so good, and members are always surprised when we go to their houses for dinner. They always offer me a fork, to which I politely decline, and then amaze them! Haha.

This week, we also had our first earthquake! Wow! It was super small, I just noticed my desk move a little bit, but it was way cool! Fun times. The rain is still here. We had two days with sun last week, which was very nice. But, this week, only Wednesday. I am so grateful for the sunshine. I also have a pretty funny watch tan-line, which has never happened before. I think I'm finally used to the humidity though! I don't even notice it anymore, unless it gets really really hot, which hasn't happened in a while.

Something that's weird about Japan is riding the bus! It is CRAZY expensive! To ride the bus for 20 minutes costs about five dollars. WOW. I was blown away. So that day, I spent ten dollars on bus money. Crazy. But it was good, because we were about to talk to a really sweet girl and get all her contact information. Hopefully her mom will agree to let her meet with us. Her name was Keina-Chan.

Yesterday, we had someone at Church! YAY! Her name was Ui-Chan, we met her on the street. She said that she only came because she had a homework assignment, but it still was so great! The young women were incredible too, and they loved her immediately! It was a wonderful experience. Hopefully, she will agree to meet with us so we can talk more. She's way cute.

My ward is pretty wonderful. There are more members here than the Capitol Hill ward! It's unbelievable. You would not believe the amount of youth we have here. There are like twenty young women and ten young men. It's so awesome, and they are all so fun. We go to seminary with them once a week, which is hard and early, but it's fun to bond with the youth.

I love my district! They are great. The Elders are so much fun and they are such good examples of hard workers! I hope that my companionship will become more like them soon. Tui Shimai and her companions are also in my district. They are serving in Tagajo, but they are with us. So that's fun! I get to see her once a week. Tonight we have our first real teaching appointment! WOOHOO! Finally! We are teaching a man named Akazawa-San. We stopped him on the street two weeks ago, and we were finally able to set an appointment with him. YAY! Happy. I am not teaching as much as I would like... Hopefully that will change soon. I am constantly praying for someone to teach.
My testimony of Jesus Christ has been tested, that's for sure, but all is well. I am trying to access the deepest most abiding powers of the Atonement to find strength , and it's amazing the tender mercies I have found in the scriptures and all throughout the day. The Lord is well aware of me, and so are my Parents. They look after me. I am finding great strength in my temple covenants, especially when I have to bike up a big mountain. Strength in my sinews.

I have started the Book of Mormon over again! This time, I am marking anytime the Savior is mentioned, if He speaks, and His attributes. It's absolutely INCREDIBLE how many times He is mentioned, and I am not even done with first Nephi yet! Wow! I love the Book of Mormon. I hope that you will pick it up and find some much needed light within it's pages. I know you will, just as I do.

I love you all so much! I hope you know. I also want you to know that I am doing well and I am happy. :) I am grateful for a great mission president.
I finally got some stamps, so expect some mail soon.

Love:
Shak Shimai

July 15, 2013

On July 15, 2013 Sister Johnson wrote:

You would not believe the rain here today, wow. So this morning, at 7:00, we had to do this thing called the 171 call. Basically it's just a fast easy way for Rasmussen Kaicho to find out we are safe in case of a natural disaster, like an earthquake or tsunami. So this morning was a practice one! We left our apartment to TORRENTS of rain. It was falling in sheets and was crazy! I have never seen rain like that, except last summer when there was that flash flood in Denver. So we were on our bikes, and I have never been so soaked in my life. The rain went down the top of my rain jacket, and I don't have rain pants, so my skirt was all the way soaked through, and my shoes were so sloshy. I also learned that my Chrome bag is not as waterproof as they say they are... Luckily, I wasn't carrying my scriptures or anything really valuable, but my planner is now soup. Haha. But, we made it to the emergency safe house (a local junior high school), and made the call. Kubota Shimai's tube popped while we were riding back, so we had to walk most of the way. Again, so wet. It was nuts. But, the work must go one, so rain or shine, we are at it. It's good. Hopefully the next time we go housing and it rains, people will have sympathy on us and invite us in. That has yet to happen.

Great news, guess what? I FINALLY got mail this week!!! :D I got Iver and Sarah's announcement. SO CUTE. I loved the heart shirts; that was so cool and so very them. I loved it. But, it did make me trunky. Oh well. I also got mail from Brian Bergholm and the kids, Chelsee, Grayson, Olive, and Sabrina! It was wonderful! The letter from Chels was postmarked for the 2nd of July and I got all my mail on the 9th or 10th! So the mail gets here in about 10 days! Awesome! It was so great to get some love in the mail. :)

This week in Relief Society, it was one of the Lorenzo Snow lessons, and it was the one about pure charity and true religion. It could have been a beautiful lesson, but they made us break into groups and talk about how we support the priesthood, and it made me very, very sad inside. I didn't say anything the entire lesson. I hope that someday, women across the world will realize their worth. All I can do now is testify of the Savior.

This week, I had a great experience visiting a less-active member named Itabashi Shimai. She was so humble and so sweet, and I love her. She has such strong faith in the Savior and wants to follow him, but her husband is not a member, from what it looks like. She served a mission in Fukuoka, and she loves the Lord. And she's a drummer! It was so wonderful to talk to her about the Book of Mormon and to share our testimonies with her. Then, yesterday, she came to Church! It was so great to see her there, and to see the members loving her. That was on Friday, and that was the first time my whole mission I felt like a real missionary. :)

I love you all!

Johnson Shimai

Monday, July 8, 2013

On Monday, July 8, 2013 Sister Johnson wrote:

Hi!! This last Saturday, we had a barbecue with the zone and all the YSA (young, single adults)in the zone, and I swear, it was 110% humidity and the sun was shining so it was like 116 degrees. I got so burned and I have never been so sweaty in my life! Hopefully my body will adjust more to Japan as the weeks go on. I got to have real Japanese food! We had Japanese BBQ, which was amazing. Yakitori. Oishiiiiiii. :) Guess what I ate and loved? Cow tongue! It was delicious right off the grill! So good. So at the BBQ, I got to hang out with one of my friends, Elder Nation! He's from Texas, but his friend Stephanie went to CSU and actually, with the help of Olive and I, joined the church about two years ago now! Elder Nation came to see her in Fort Collins for her baptism, and I totally forgot he was serving in this mission until I got here! And we are in the same zone! How cool is that?! It was so much fun to talk to him and get to know him more. He goes home in February, I think. It was great to see him.

We eat so much rice here, every meal! Haha. And my two Japanese companions eat way more than I do at every meal, it's nuts. This week, the ward members brought us a TON of food! I don't think we have to go grocery shopping for at least two more weeks. They gave us 8 boxes of curry, about 25 tomatoes, about 16 curi (cucumbers), and then a million boxes of pasta and sauce and Oreos and all sorts of other things. Then yesterday, the Akatsuka family fed all seven of us and they taught me how to make giyoza from scratch! I have a lot of time to practice and perfect my stills, so look forward to deliciousness when I come home.

We have one American family in our ward! They are the Browne family. Browne Kyodai is in the military, and they are stationed here right now, but I like them a lot. They speak English with me at Church, which is a nice refresher. This Saturday night, they took us out to an American burger joint, which was pretty good. It feels like I haven't eaten anything besides American food here, which is disappointing. But, I still have 11 and a half transfers to try all the food I want! This week, my companions were eating Nato. Disgusting.

It seems like June really kicked my family's butts, and it's really incredible how much our faith has been tried. I'll be honest, this last week was really hard for me. I got sick first of all, which wasn't fun, and I was just feeling really discouraged because opening an area is really hard, and I was so upset that we couldn't find anyone to teach. I kept questioning myself and saying things like ``why the heck am I here? I can't speak Japanese and no one wants to listen to us. Why bother?`` Yesterday was fast Sunday, and boy am I thankful for the Savior and His atonement. I earnestly fasted and poured my heart out in prayer to Heavenly Father that we might find someone to teach this week, and that I would have the courage to open my mouth and that I would be blessed with the Gift of Tongues. I was sitting during the Sacrament reading Be Still My Soul, because I know it's my dad's favorite hymn, and I read the words ``leave to thy God to order and provide.`` So I said ``Okay, Heavenly Father. I believe. Help Thou mine unbelief.`` To which He responded, very clearly, ``Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Be it unto you as thy faith increases.`` I was overcome by the Spirit, and I felt a little bit of peace. Later in the afternoon, we were waiting outside of KFC (yes, the American KFC) to meet Akatsuka Shimai for dinner and we stopped a man and ended up talking to him for half an hour and he gave us his phone number and wants to meet with us!!!!!! Wow. What an incredible blessing and tender mercy of the Lord. He really is aware of me. For a little bit there, I wasn't sure. But, I know He is. I just have to remind myself. I am so grateful for the Spirit and for the enabling power of the Atonement. I am grateful that I know Jesus Christ and that as I learn more to trust in Him and in my Heavenly Parents, that I will be blessed. They are aware of me, no matter how alone I feel. Life is really hard. It really is. But, with the Savior, all things are possible. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.

So, on a more upbeat note, guess what? I'm am English teacher here! Our weekly service is called Eikaiwa and it's a free English class open to the public! I teach a beginners class, and a beginners women's class! It is so much fun, and I have had to learn how to speak very simply. It's been great; we have some wonderful non-member students that come, some of which have expressed interested in the Church, so that's always wonderful.

I love my family and friends. I think about you and pray for you constantly!

Sister Johnson

July 1, 2013

On July 1, 2013 Sister Johnson wrote:

I am so sorry that is it so late! I wanted to email earlier in the day but we had a nightmare trying to figure out our SUPER high-tech washing/drying machine! Yes, it does both. It`s way cool.

Anyways! I HAVE A TON TO TELL YOU! Haha. Yes, Monday is P-Day! So, you will be hearing from me sometime late Sunday night, Denver time. I`m sorry no one notified you that we arrived safely in Japan; that makes me sad. The flight was crazy long! 34 hours of travel time! AH! We got lost in the Narita airport when we landed in Tokyo, so we almost missed our flight to Sendai, but we made it with about ten minutes to spare. So, I had to use the restroom really bad in Tokyo, so Tui Shimai and I went to the bathroom and, OF COURSE, I picked the ONLY stall with a squatter toilet! Haha, it was hilarious. I walked out feeling super uncomfortable, laughing, and said, ``Well, that was an interesting experience...`` Haha. Luckily, every toilet I've used sense then has been a super fancy one, either with a bide (be-day), or with a heated seat. Those ones are super weird, haha.

Mom, you would not believe how humid it is here. Seriously, 100 percent humidity. I am having great hair. I wake up every morning with an afro, but as soon as I get it tamed, it looks awesome. I am serving in Izumi, which is a ``suburb`` of Sendai! It's about 15 minutes on the subway away from the main church building in Sendai. The Izumi ward is absolutely FANTASTIC! There's me and my two companions (I'll tell you about them in a minute), and two sets of elders, all in the same ward!! It's so much fun to have seven of us! My trainer is Kubota Shimai. She is 23, and is from Nagoya, Japan. She has been serving for 13 months, so she is very experienced in this whole mission thing. She is a pianist, and is very full of love. She speaks very good english, which is a little bit frustrating when you're trying to learn nihongo! But I love her. My other companion is Takata Shimai, from Osaka and Hokkaido, and she is brand new, just like me! In fact, we flew here together. It is crazy having two native companions! I have been immersed in the language. Every Nihonjin that I meet and talk to tells me that my Japanese is really, really good. I don't know if I believe them... haha, I still have so much to learn. The people here are so kind, it:s really incredible. We talk to everyone on the street and they all bow to me, and always ask me why I'm in Nihon. Most of the time, I can reply a little bit, but sometimes people look at me like I have four heads because what I say makes absolutely no sense. But, it's been good. All of the little kids stare at me as we bike by, and I made a baby cry at Church yesterday because my hair is so scary. Haha. My ward is amazing. We have a fantastic bishop who reminds me a lot of Dad and probably the best ward mission leader I've ever met, besides Dad. He is SO involved with the work, and his dendo fire (mission fire, as we all call it), is absolutely amazing. His name is Kajihara Kyodai, and he is so kind. My main goal these next couple of Sundays is to learn all of the member's names. Japanese names are so hard to remember! But, I am asking for divine assistance. The three of us Shimai had to speak in Sacrament meeting yesterday. That was interesting, but I just bore my testimony of the Savior, and the Spirit was definitely there, and I am grateful. The elders we are serving with are fantastic. Two are native, Ito and Nishida Choro, and they are great. So kind and humble. Nishida Choro is our district leader and he is so funny. This is his last transfer! :( The other two Chorotachi are gaijin like me. Dowdy Choro is from Australia and was actually in the MTC the same time as me, but this is his second transfer now. He's funny; all the ward members tell me that my Nihongo is better than his, but that is not true at all. The other Choro is Merkley Choro, and he is so awesome. He's from Mesa! And he plays the cello also! And he's only ten days older than me! The sad part is that this is also his last transfer and so he goes home in August. He's really a great missionary, and he helps me out a lot.

Sorry this email is so scatter-brained! I have a lot to tell you!

Surprisingly, I haven't had any real Japanese food yet! Well kind of. I had a bento box the first day we were here, but the rest has just been food in our apartment, which mainly consists of pasta (so american) and white bread and toast and LOTS of onions. We eat onions with every meal, even breakfast. They're good though, we cook them with soy sauce. The other night at FHE (it was on Saturday with the whole ward. FUN!) we had curry, and it was marvelous. I love curry, and Japanese curry is good. I haven't had to eat any seafood yet. It really isn't as prevalent as I had thought it would be, so I guess that's good. Nori is more prevalent, which is gross, but it's okay.

My mission president is so great, I love him and Sister Rasmussen so much. Rasmussen Kaicho is very funny and genki, and has a great vision for the mission. He loves the Japanese people and is very trusting in his missionaries. In my first interview with him, he asked me to pray in Nihongo, and afterwards, he was like ``Sister Johnson, where did you study Nihongo before you came on your mission?`` when I told him just the MTC, he was like, ``it's not good to lie to your mission president in the very first interview, Sister Johnson!`` haha, and I just laughed and assured him I wasn't lying, and he said ``well, you are definitely being blessed with the gift of tongues then!`` I was so, SO grateful to hear that! It's definitely true, the Lord has blessed me so, SO much with the language, and I am so grateful. Then, President Rasmussen said ``Sister Johnson, you have a beautiful smile. You are so full of light, and I am so grateful to have you here in this mission. Your presence will bless the work here. I am so grateful.`` It was a wonderful interview, and I am so excited to be working with him and Sister Rasmussen. She is such a sweet woman, and she reminds me so much of Gramma O. I already love her.

I am not having as much culture shock as I thought I would have. The only thing is that you bow to everyone you see, it's extremely important to address someone by their correct title, and every person in Japan is so, SO humble. My companions never let me do anything. They never let me cook or carry anything, or clean, it's kind of annoying. I have to be insistent if I want to do anything to help. But, I love them so much, and I am looking for ways to better serve both of them. Another thing that's weird about Japan are the traffic laws. I have never been so scared to ride a bike in my life, haha! It's insane how skinny the streets are here, and they drive on the wrong side of the road, and we're supposed to ride against traffic on the very narrow shoulder. I love being on a bike though, it's seriously the best! I am riding a Renault girl bike, with six gears. It's weird being on a gear shifty again, but it's definitely nice for the hills. We ride our bikes everywhere, and it is so fun. The landscape here is gorgeous. I have never been somewhere so green in my life! It's because it's so wet here. Seriously, my books are curling because it:s so humid. But, it isn't hot! In fact, it's quite the opposite! The rainy season here is cold because the sun is nonexistent. There's only been one day so far with (just a little bit) of sunshine. I am so grateful to have my sunlamp. Please tell Brian thank you so much and that he is my life saver. That's the only thing I would change about Japan, is the lack of sunshine. But other than that, it's beautiful. Oh yeah, my apartment. I sleep on the floor on a futon, and futons are much thinner here than in America. That's exciting.

The work here is...interesting, to say the least. There haven't been sisters in Izumi, ever I think, and so we came in to this ward completely empty handed. With that being the case, we tried a lot of door knocking and street contacting last week, but all to no avail. Since then, we as a district have decided that our focus is going to be completely on the members and how we can better strengthen our ward. There are about 70 people in the ward, and we want to work with the members to really gain their trust so that we can ask them for referrals eventually. So the next while is going to be less finding I think, and more teaching members and less-actives, which I am very excited about. The ward members are so great, and I'm excited to work with them. This is also my commission from President Rasmussen. He wants me to learn all the members names and use them and work with them all the time. I am excited to do that. My success will be measured by the relationships I can build in the ward. I am so excited to be here, finally. Yeah, it's really hard, but I love it so much. I hope that I will continue to grow to love it here, and that my Nihongo skills will grow.

That hour went by fast! I love you!
Johnson Shimai