Kushiro is the BEST!

At the ocean with Johnson shimai!!

I love Kushiro! 

Hey everyone so this past week was packed with miracles. We met with a lot of really awesome people. We met with the grandma and little girl we're doing the family english program with. That was fun of course. Then we went to try and find an Old Investigator and we finally found her apartment and she wasn't home. But while we were standing at her door one of her sons came home and he talked with us and said his mom would be home soon. So we told him we'd come back another day because we had to go some other places too but as we were starting to walk down the stairwell she came up! And she was so excited to see us! So we walked back with her to her door and we talked with her for a little bit and she was so friendly and said her and her daughter had been wondering why the missionaries weren't coming to visit them anymore :( It was so sad. She has 6 kids! And only one of them is a girl and she's our age! She wasn't home when we visited but the mom gave us her phone number and asked us to come back again! So that was really a tender mercy and a miracle from God. So cool. 

That same day we also found another Old Investigator who was also really nice and said she had stopped meeting with the missionaries because she was really busy but that she loved when they visited and talked. So we told her we would come back and she said ok.

On Thursday it was Johnson Shimai's birthday! We had lunch at a members house and then we did some of weekly planning and then we met all the Elders at Coco's for dinner. The ZL's and the Nemuro Elders were also there so that was fun! Then we went to Eikaiwa! There were 10 missionaries there! It was so much fun. 

On friday we visited Yoneshiro san. She's the mom that we visited with Aoyagi shimai and Evans shimai. That was fun. She is so funny and so willing to listen to our message! She was a little busy so we didn't get to teach much but she said come back soon! And she gave us peanuts and vegetable juice. Haha. For some reason everyone is worried that we don't feed ourselves very well haha. 

Oh and also on friday we were riding around trying to find someone's house and these two middle school girls walked by so we said Hi to them and invited them to Eikaiwa. Then we went on our way and did some other stuff and several hours later we were in a different area riding and we saw the same girls! This time they talked with us some more and they gave us their phone number! They're super cute and like sports so we're going to organize a sports night at church and invite them! 

Saturday we met a lady at Mister Donuts. She's a lady that the sisters met on the street last transfer I think and she actually lives in Shibetsu a tiny town 2 hours away from Kushiro and she's an english teacher! She comes to Kushiro every month or so to help take care of her parents. So she calls us when she's coming to Kushiro so we can meet and talk in English. We talked about so much stuff. We talked about church, temples, scriptures like all over the place. We invited her to church and she asked if it was in English, and we're like no, it's in Japanese and she said she just wants to practice english. So that was a bummer but she's really awesome and someday maybe she'll go to church. 

On Sunday we went to the ocean! It's so beautiful! We had to pass it to get to an area we were trying to find some people in. We ended up not finding any of the less active members houses which was a bummer but on our way home we were crossing the big bridge and there were a ton of people out on the bridge watching the sunset. So we stopped riding and wanted to try and talk to some of the people and there was a mom with her son standing there and we started talking to her. She was probably the nicest person I've ever talked to on my mission (and that's saying a lot!). She was so excited to talk to us and so interested in what we were doing. We got to talk with her for a while. She actually doesn't live in Kushiro but we gave her a pamphlet and told her about mormon.org and she said she would look at it. It was just a really feel good moment. She asked if she could take a picture of us haha. As she was walking away she kept turning around and waving to us. I really believe we were meant to talk to her. She's from a small town between Kitami and Abashiri which are small themselves so I doubt she would have an opportunity to meet the missionaries there. It was a really special and warm experience. We are so lucky to get to meet so many amazing people! Johnson shimai and I have been so blessed since this transfer started. We are seeing so many miracles! God is Good!

I love being a missionary!

Love,

Murray shimai

Coco's!!

Hiraiwa shimai, kyodai from the Teine ward visited Kushiro on Sunday!! They lived in Kushiro like 20 years ago but hadn't visited since then and they had a break day because of Golden week and they said they heard I came to Kushiro so they decided to visit haha. 

Okay, remember how I said Kushiro is famous for sunsets? Ya we get to live here and have this for our scenery as we`re biking home! How cool is this?

Kushiro is AWESOME

Aoyagi shimai

Okay, let me just start by saying that I know in many past emails I`ve said this week was the greatest, but seriously this past week was THE greatest! First, Aoyagi choro who is a counselor in the Asia Area Presidency and his wife came and visited our mission! So we went into Sapporo for a big zone conference! It was so incredible! I have never left a training meeting with more desire to go out and work like crazy! So that was awesome to be taught by a general authority! And before he became a general authority he was a mission president of the Japan Sendai mission so they are just really awesome, smart spiritual people! Such a special opportunity! But it gets better. So we found out that after the zone conferences Aoyagi choro, shimai and Evans kaicho, shimai were going to Kushiro for the weekend! They were doing a training meeting on Saturday for all the far out areas of Hokkaido haha. So I actually got to see a bunch of members from Kitami! That was awesome. But anyways so Aoyagi shimai and Evans shimai didn't need to go to the training meeting so they asked to dendo with us! Whoa. Working with a general authority's wife and Evans shimai at the SAME TIME. Talk about your power house! It was the most amazing experience I have had. We visited a potential investigator with them and it was incredible. And the cool thing was that the PI was the mom but her husband actually happened to be home too which apparently is rare because of work. So we got to visit with both of them and they are a member couple. It was so cool. So we talked for a while and then Johnson Shimai and Evans shimai played the violin, they played `How Great Thou Art` which was beautiful and the spirit was there and then we basically had a testimony meeting and the four of us all bore our testimony about the gospel and the Savior and it was something. The spirit was so strong and the husband and wife really listened, like really listened the whole time and afterwards the wife said that she could tell from our eyes that we really meant what we were saying. When we were leaving Aoyagi shimai asked her what she thought and she said she wants to listen to our message! It was so incredible! And on the way home Johnson shimai and I had a really special experience in the car. Aoyagi shimai basically gave us a private workshop. It was amazing! It will take me forever to write it all down but just rest assured that it was a once in a lifetime experience! 

So ya I had a pretty good weekend. Oh and here's some fun news. On Friday after zone conference was over we had to go catch the train to get home but you know when all the missionaries gather everyone is going to talk to each other and whatnot and long story short the whole obihiro zone missed the train haha. And the next train wasn't until 7:45 I think. But the AP's had us all take that one so we got to Obihiro at like 10:30 and spent the night there and then came back to Kushiro Saturday morning and then went out and worked with Evans shimai and Aoyagi shimai. So it was a way full spiritually overflowing weekend! Nothing like it. And on Sunday we were asked to talk about families in primary and about Joseph Smith's first vision in Young Women's which are at the same time and they both kept getting us from the class to go to the other one and so we were running back and forth but we ended up being able to do both and it was a really awesome experience! Something Aoyagi shimai told us in the car was that since Johnson shimai and I have become the missionaries, we've reached the level where people will ask us to do things. Investigators will come to us. And that was really special and we're starting to really see that happen and I'm just so excited for this transfer and all the miracles we are going to see!

Love you all!

Murray shimai

We got sung to for birthdays happening in the next few months. (I love TimTams!!)

Transfers!!

Last English class in Teine! We had a Takoyaki and okonmiyaki party!

Another transfer has begun! My 8th transfer! This week I hit my year mark from when I entered the MTC! I can`t believe how fast the time has gone! But anyways I`ll tell you all what happened with transfers! So for the past 4 transfers I've been in an area called Teine which is on the edge of Sapporo. I really loved it there and had such a great relationship with the members and with our investigators and it was really hard to leave. But I`m also really excited for this next transfer and I know it was my time to move on. So I got transferred out to an area called Kushiro! And by out I mean out! We took about a 4 hour train ride to get out here. And apparently if you go by car from Sapporo it takes about 7 hours! So it`s a little ways out here. And I've also heard that the sunsets here are in the top 5 in the world! How about that? AND, haha, it has the best sushi in Hokkaido! I've already eaten some, trust me, it`s good. The branch here is about 30 active members I think and they are some awesome people let me tell you! I am so excited to work with them. This transfer there are 4 elders here and then us two sisters so there`s really some missionary power going on here. Oh and my companion, you`ll never guess, Johnson shimai...the 2nd haha! So great. And we were in the same district for three transfers before so we`re already really good friends and we always joked about becoming companions but then it really happened! That was exciting ;D 

So I got here on Thursday and we are already seeing miracles! Yesterday we were planning on taking a bus at 2:55 after church to go to a farther area to work but we ended up having to take a later one at 4:15. So we took that bus and we got to the area and we were walking on the street and saw a lady coming towards us (happy day, there are NO people on the streets here) and so we said hello to her and introduced ourselves. Then she started speaking to us in really good english and Johnson shimai and I were just like, wo, what the? haha so we were able to speak with her in english for a while and then she gave us her phone number and we gave her ours and so we'll probably see her again and speak in english and have a great time! So awesome! Let me tell you there are no mistakes in missionary work. EVERYTHING happens for a reason. God's hand is always guiding us. 

I love being a missionary! Love you all and hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Murray Shimai

Ono Bishop

Roomies! (please ignore the awful frizzy hair resulting from waking up at 5 a.m. two days in a row to pack)

New doryo

Hokkaido scenery from the train...

Last DTM with these guys! We had a party!

Again Spring is back for real!

We went to a Mexican restaurant last Monday. It definitely was Japanified, but not bad.

Today is so warm it's wonderful! We're going to be riding our bikes probably this week. I have to get my bike tire fixed today but I'm excited to stop riding the bus all the time! Anyways this last weekend we got to watch General Conference! It was soooooooooo good!! And we got to watch Women's Conference! That was incredible! So much goodness. I loved President Monson's talk about love and showing love towards ALL people. As a missionary I believe God gives us an enhanced ability to love people but sometimes it is hard. People aren't always all nice and polite but that doesn't mean that we don't need to be. I've found that as I've tried to have an attitude of love for all the people that I cross paths with it makes my desire to share the gospel stronger. Love is so powerful and it's something that we can all have, if we choose to. 

I also loved Elder Zivic I think and his talk about asking other people what they're thinking and having  "no corrupt communication". Countless times we jump to conclusions about things or get angry with people because they don't do what we expect them to do or act the same way we do. Especially as a missionary having the same person with you 24/7 I've learned it's really important to talk about things and that it can prevent some small misunderstanding from becoming a huge problem. 

I loved all of conference but those were the two that came to mind just now and I left my notes at home. But it was so good and I can't wait to read all of them again!

Life is going pretty great. The sun is out and we're having a single adult activity tonight which is basically a making food and eating it party haha but that'll be fun. Tomorrow we get transfer calls so that's exciting! 

Nothing else much exciting or new happened last week so this is going to be a short one. But I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Murray Shimai

Spring is back!

Konnichi wa!

So Spring decided to return today! Last week we had several snow blizzards and extremely windy days so that was fun. Apparently the weather isn't really being normal this year so yay for us! haha. But it was a really great week regardless of winter returning. We had lunch with our grandpa friend and ate really yummy pizza. We also had a crazy awesome miracle happen! So we have this investigator who we mostly keep in contact with over the phone because she's sick a lot and the last time we talked with her on the phone we talked about going to a members cafe together when she was feeling better. So that was on Thursday of the week before last and so we had planned to call her on last Thursday to see how she was doing and we were going to call her in the evening. On Thursday we were out knocking on doors and we met this lady that said she was looking for truth and had a lot of questions and was studying the bible and we were so excited and like, "we have the truth!" We talked with her a little bit but then she started saying that she thinks we are wrong and maybe don't know what we're talking about and it just got really uncomfortable and the spirit was not there at all. It was really a terrible feeling and so we left and felt really bummed and kind of discourage about it. After that we went to the members cafe for dinner before we went home and when we walked in our investigator was there! As soon as we walked in she walked over to me and gave me a big hug! It was the best feeling ever and especially after what we had just experienced. So we were able to stay there and talk with her for a long time and we talked about God and the Book of Mormon and it was just a really nice time. The whole time I just felt so much love for her! It's so amazing how different things are when the spirit is there and when it's not. That was really a tender mercy from Heavenly Father. He always blesses us if we put forth our best effort and persevere through the hard and discouraging times. When you have those experiences that just bring you down and life just feels rough, just go a little bit farther and that's when you'll find those tender mercies. God doesn't want us to fail but he also gave people agency and so sometimes there isn't anything He can do if the people don't let him. But as long as we're doing all we can He will always bless us for those efforts. I have experienced that time and time again in my daily missionary work. It's so incredible to see everyday how the Lord blesses us.

I hope you all have a fabulous week!

Love,

Murray shimai

Spring!!

We got to wear spring clothes to church yesterday! Big day!!

Spring has finally come! This past week I didn't wear my down coat! Happy day. I felt so light and free. The wind is pretty strong but it's warm so it's okay. I have never appreciated the coming of a new season as much as I have spring in Hokkaido. I love winter but when you are outside in it all day everyday for 5 months you know, spring is a pretty welcome sight. Also the people on the streets and just in general are happier. So it's all around great!

This past week we did a lot of finding. We called all our investigators and we made an appointment with our grandpa friend. We're going to lunch haha. He's so funny. I'm excited and we're going to try and teach more this appointment so I'm really excited for that. Everyone else was busy or sick so that was a bummer. But we visited this older lady that the elders had found housing. She was super friendly and she told us she's not really interested in the gospel but she loves talking so she invited us inside and we talked with her for like 2 hours. For not being interested she asked us lots of questions and we were able to teach her about prayer and some other gospel principles through answering her questions. She asked us what is the greatest thing we have learned from coming on our mission and so that was a really awesome opportunity to bear our testimonies. She told us how she and her daughter went to England and they saw Paul McCartney play in this big street area and it was a surprise performance so they got really close to him and it was so fun haha. And then she told us that while they were there they saw Wicked, Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, on stage! We were like oh we love those! And then she's like oh well here I have the dvd of les miserables in right now lets watch it! And she played it and me and Johnson Shimai are like, wait, we can't watch it! haha. It was a close call. Then she asked us if we wanted to make tea and we didn't know what kind it was that she said and she poured the powder into a container and it was bright green. We were like, uh...sorry we can't drink that...haha.. But she was super nice about it and was just like, well, okay I'll drink it by myself. And she makes pottery. Ya. She gave us some cup things she made. Super awesome. It was a fun couple of hours.

There was a relief society activity on Saturday night. It was for the anniversary of relief society I think. They had a couple groups and each group reenacted some of the events from the beginnings of the relief society and the first relief society sisters and they sang some hymns with it. It was really cool. And we brought a less active sister with us and she had a great time! It was so neat. I'd never imagined Japanese ladies wearing bonnets before. But they did and it was great. So much fun. It was a pretty great week.

Hope you all enjoy spring break!

Love,

Murray Shimai

Here's the Haystack Rock of Hokkaido. I see it every week when I go to Otaru :)

Just out doing some housing and this is our scenery. It's pretty good.

Big Fish!

Today was an awesome p-day! We went to the Aquarium in Otaru! And it was sweet! Like not just looking at fish behind glass but we saw shows. Ya it was the coolest thing ever. And the aquarium is on the coast line and it was a beautiful warm day today so it was great! I'm sending some pictures. But last week was really great. We were able to meet with this young mom that we found several weeks ago and she told us that when travel gets a little easier and there's less ice on the roads she wants to go to church! That was the best thing to hear. We were able to just talk with her for a while because her son was taking a nap and she told us how she wants to have another baby and she loves children and she's just the neatest mom. We were able to teach her a short lesson about the restoration and about church and it was just fun because she actually wants to go to church and find out more. Those moments make every other disappointing, rough day not matter.

Then the other day we had another crazy miracle happen. So on Wednesday night we made our plan for Thursday right? And we didn't have a lot of free dendo time so we decided on one small section of

houses to go to. So the next day we get to the area close to where we planned but we couldn't find the actual area so we just did some other houses and after that we had just enough time for a few more houses and I looked down the street and saw the main road and asked Johnson shimai if she wanted to go cross the main road and work over there and she agreed so we went over there. Then we found the area we had originally planned to go! And so we started housing and the 4th or 5th door we knock on a little girl opens it and after a second I realized it was the daughter of the lady who came to church a couple sundays ago! And then the mom came to the door and we were all just like, uh...haha. I couldn't believe it! So we talked with her for a while and then left and went on our way. But that was crazy. I don't know what purpose it served or what will happen but I don't believe that was coincidence. God is so good.

I hope you all have a fabulous week! Enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for videos in several months haha.

Love,

Murray Shimai