Hi Family!
Im glad to hear everyone is doing well. So dad, you should be proud. This week was my first experience with seafood. It wasn't ..horrible. The worst part is the seaweed. It is nasty. It taints the taste of everything. Maybe one day Ill get up to Erin's level and use it like salt. So on Saturday a ward member made us spaghetti with oysters and shrimp. It was hard at first to put it in my mouth, but the sauce did a good job of covering up the taste. Then last night we went over to another members house and she made us sushi...real sushi. I tried crab, raw tuna, and raw salmon. Not a fan of the salmon but the tuna wasn't bad. The seaweed is seriously the worst part so after two rolls, I started making mine wrapped in lettuce. Little by little- although I don't know if Ill ever truly love seaweed.
But this week had a turn of events. Since last transfer this area was white washed by the sisters, many of our investigators are guys from the area book. Three of them have asked my companion out on dates...so now we have to refer them over to the elders. We have been teaching this one investigator who has a TON of problems. We felt like he was getting no where but wanted to so badly to help him. Then during one of our lessons with him, a member told him that if he wasn't going to keep the law of chastity or word of wisdom to stop wasting the missionaries time. So basically this member dropped him for us. It made us really sad. It also made us even more sad because the members reasoning was because the investigator took too many pills and he wouldn't be allowed to be baptized. It makes me so sad that people don't see everyone as children of God. This ward is known for having a lot of cliques so we are trying to work on that and strengthen the ward. We wont see any baptisms if the ward isn't welcoming to the new investigators.
Also guess who we taught this week and he came to church? An ex member of the yakuza (Japanese mafia). He has two of his fingertips cut off. He says he isnt too interested, but still wants to learn more.
So here are some things I learned about Japan and its heat. In the summer is when most people get sick because they get so hot and the dont use the air con. In fact, some people refuse to turn on the air con and they end up dying in their home because of the heat and humidity. And yes Kim, now I understand why you always wore a ponytail. Seriously, showering is pointless here.
This week Ive been struggling with the language..well I always do, but it has really gotten to me. I feel like I want to say so much, but I cant. I get so frustrated, adn it gets hard because my companion often expects me to know how to already say a lot of things. Also streeting is hard for me. Im not like dad who can go up to any random stranger and talk to them, especially in a different language where I can even more easily make a fool of myself. So I start to question why Im even out here; Im not helping or contributing at all. So I decided to just always listen to the Spirit. That could be my contribution. I was working really hard to figure out how the Spirit talks to me. Ive heard that it is usually just thoughts in your head. So I went off that. Every thought in my head I would follow. If I didnt, like I felt I should stop while biking and didnt, I would continue riding and say a little prayer and repent. I needed the Lord to trust that I would listen to the Spirit. So last Monday night we went housing. We were having no luck and had no idea where to go. I kept wanting to go to this one place, but it is full of drunks at night. We wanted to go home because we had 20 minutes left but we decided to go to the bridge by our house and street. I still wanted to go to the 7/11 where all the drunks are. But then I thought, hey, there is a 7/11 by the bridge. We should just stop by there. So I told my companions and when we got there, they were just like, okay-now what? I want to talk to this girl, but I couldnt muster up the courage and by the time I did, she had left. So we stood on the sidewalk by the 7/11 trying to track people down. I felt so stupid. I just kept thinking, `awesome, I guess I dont know how the Holy Ghost speaks to me. Fantastic.` But then just as our time was up and we were about to go home, we stopped a girl and she actually said it would be okay to meet with her- no one ever does that. It was so cool and made me so happy. Then when I was teaching a lesson about the Holy Ghost it all hit me. Sometimes as we become more like Christ, the Holy Ghost is harder to recognize. Why? Because our thoughts become one with the Lords so it makes it harder to differentiate. So now, every good thought I have or any idea or feeling, I always try to listen to it. Especailly right now because that is all I can contribute to this companionship.
Anyway, thats all for this week. Laura and Derek I am so excited for you! That will be a fun adventure. I hope everything runs smoothly. And thanks for the bing-a-la-ding-dong email derek. I had a nice laugh. Its a pillow. Its a pet. Its a pillow pet. Oh and Stephen- CONGRATULATIONS! Youll have to email me with pictures of the ring and what not. Tell Allison I am so excited to have her as a sister. Anyway, I hope all is well. Thank you everyone for writing me. Your letters and support really help me get through the week^especially these beginning weeks. Sometimes they can be rough. Man sometimes I wish I went English speaking. Anyway, I love you all! Sorry, no pictures this week. Siteseeing was cancelled due to rain so we are going today. So look forward to seeing some Buddhist temples in the next email.
Love,
Ellsworth Shimai
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