Week 34: Time flies when you are having fun.

こんいちは！

It's crazy to　think that this week I hit my 8 month that mark. Before I know it, I will be halfway done with my mission! Crazy!

This week has been wonderful. The idea of getting a new companion is always a little bit scary at first, especially since most of the time you don't know them. After you get to know them though, it is always the best. I love working with Larkin Shimai. This is her last transfer, so I will be sending her home too. The elders like to call me the black widow. Haha. I am grateful that I have had so many older (missionary wise) companions. I have been able to learn so much from each of them. :)

Welcome to Kyoto

Cheese nan!! The best food in the world!!

Larkin Shimami and I

One of my favorite things about being a missionary, is seeing when something you have taught your investigators finally clicks. We had one of those moments this week when we were teaching A San. We were teaching her about judgement day, and about repentance. She had a lot of good questions about prayer, and about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ from her reading assignment in the Book of Mormon. She wondered how God could really love us if he gets mad at us when we don't do what he asks, and why when Jesus Christ is teaching about Baptism he gets so bold. She is a mother of a two year old, and is expecting a new baby. We were able to explain using an example that she would understand. We explained that if G were to run into the road, she would probably get upset, and if he didn't listen to her, she would probably not like that very much. But she would still love him, right? She said of course. We asked why she would get upset though? And she responded with, because running into the middle of the road is dangerous. We were able to help her understand more of her relationship with God, and why he gives us commandments. It is to help protect us from things that we may not know or understand right now. But because He loves us, and because He is all knowing, He gives us commandments and prophets and the scriptures to bless us and to protect us. I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father, and for all that he blesses me with.

(​​From left to right that is our ward mission leader, Ellsworth Choro, the District leader, and the stake president! We shared "I am Special" with them at dinner last night, and gave them stars to remember how we are all special in God's eyes, and to remember to serve others this week. Then they decided to stick the stars on each other... It was so funny. :)

I love you all so much. I'm sorry this weeks email is so short, but I hope that you all know how much I love you and that I am praying for you. You are amazing!

Robertson 姉妹

(A Trip to the Kyoto Aquarium)

(well, Hello there!)

Just Keep Swimming...

Nemo

(Here we have "A" kind of Jelly Fish!  Not any particular kind, Just, "A" kind.)

Jelly Man

 A Randomom Giant Shrine on the way home 

No bicycles... Or Handcarts?       (perhaps they wouldn't welcome the pioneers? :)

Week 33: Katsura - right in the center of Kyoto

Closing an area is the hardest thing I have ever done. Last week we found out that our darling precious Tsuyama was closing to sister missionaries. That means that we had to pack up all of our stuff, and all of the things in the apartment. We had to give all of the left over food and supplies to the Elders, and say good bye to everyone. Leaving your first area is hard, and it is even harder when you know that no more sisters are coming... There were lots of tears this last week, and lots of  wondering why. And most importantly, there was a lot of praying. Praying for understanding, praying to know that somehow, everything would be alright. And although my heart breaks for all of my loved ones in Tsuyama, I know that everything will be alright, because it is all in the Lord's hands. On Tuesday we were able to see T Shimai and A Chan one last time. Seeing them really helped to reassure me that everything would be okay. T Shimai and her sweet family will be just fine. I was also able to see H one last time. Saying goodbye to everyone was the hardest. I think that is the worst part, knowing that some of these people I may never see again. I am so grateful for technology. Knowing that I will be able to hear from them, and see how they are all doing helped to calm my heart. Man oh man how I am going to miss my darling precious Tsuyama.

With all of that said, I truly do love it here in Katsura. 

Larkin Shimai is amazing, and I am enjoying working with her. She keeps me busy. :) The ward is amazing, very small for a ward (only about 40 active members), but amazing none-the-less. I know I am going to love it here. It is a little weird seeing so many people, and buildings everywhere, especially since I have gotten so used to all of the rice fields, and hills. So that has been quite the change. Our investigators here are great, and I am excited to meet all of them. There are also a lot of young moms here with little kids... I am in heaven. I really have missed seeing all of the families and babies. Our ward doesn't have a primary right now, but we have three different investigators with children ages 1-8, so we are hoping that there will lots of kids and noise soon. :) Since I have been here, we have taught 3 lessons, and gone streeting (one time we ending up biking right into this big snow storm), and housing. I really love being out and about serving the Lord. Being a missionary is the best, and even better when you get to focus on the needs of those around you rather than on yourself. It's the best. 

This week, I have been studying in the Book of Mormon. I am in 3 Nephi right now, and have been reading about right before Christ comes to the Americas. Something that I have thought about recently is what an amazing teacher Christ is. He is so wonderful at teaching with parables, and stories, and analogies. Something that Larkin Shimai and I were talking about yesterday was about how Christ teaches us in analogies so that we can understand things better. It is like if you were trying to teach a deep sea fish about flying a kite. You couldn't explain to him about air, and about this string that flies in the sky... Instead you would have to teach him in a way that he could better relate and understand. You would have to use currents, and fishing lines instead. Something that I want to learn to be better at this year, is teaching like the Savior. 

I love you all, and I am grateful each and everyone of you. You are always in my thoughts and in my prayers!

Love,

Robertson Shimai

Ps. Everyone in my new area still gets a kick out of my name. Robotosan San/Shimai. Sometimes they just call me Roboto San/Shimai, or I even heard Robo Shimai, because that was easier. :) Haha. It's the best.

When you give talks the members give you notes. :) So sweet!

Buildings, for days...

"Today I just want to talk about one very special person we have had the privilege of working with. Her name is U shimai and she is Less Active. We visited her and invited her back. That was all she needed. She now rides a train and walks 30 minutes with her 2 year old son to get to church every Sunday. She has come 2 Sundays in a row now. Yesterday we found her standing outside the Bishops office with an envelope in her hand. She told us that she was there to pay her tithing but she didnt know how. This a single mom that doesnt have a job an hasnt been to church in 20 years. She also informed us that she has stopped drinking tea again.  Some people are just ready. They are so amazing and God works in people`s hearts in the most wonderful ways!!"

Me and Larkin Shimai :)

Ward Nabe Party :)

Goodbye, My Darling Precious Tsuyama!!

Closing an area to sisters...

Cleaning out the apartment/empty desks

(Trying to do silly/sad faces?)

Last Good Bye's...

Good bye Howden Shimai!  Safe travels back home!

Week 32: Well, I guess with the new year come lots of big changes...

I am transferring to Katsura (somewhere near Kyoto), and my near companion is going to be Larkin Shimai. I'm excited for what Heavenly Father has in store for me, but my heart breaks inside to be leaving my darling precious Tsuyama. 

Sister Howden and I

So many wonderful amazing things have happened in the 5 1/2 months that I have been here. I have seen the branch members grow so much. 

The youth are so much stronger now, and people are finally smiling again. We aren't sure what Heavenly Father has planned for Tsuyama, but I trust that it is all in His hands, and He knows what is best. 

Some of my Favorite People!!!

Not a whole lot has happened this week, just housing an funny experiences. We met this one man who was best friends with a member who passed away 20 years ago. He was fun to talk to though, and perhaps we will see him at Eikaiwa (english class) on Tuesday. Besides that, we met a lot of young moms with babies that we know would really help bring some life into our little branch. 

On Friday we had Zone Training Meeting where we talked about the Book of Mormon. I feel like I tell you how much I love the Book of Mormon every week, but I really do! Right now I am in 3 Nephi, and reading about the years before Christ comes to the Americas. It is amazing just how much Heavenly Father loves His children. Something we talked about during ZTM is what we can learn from all of the war chapters in the Book of Mormon, One Sister mentioned that it is really good to apply those battle strategies in our own spiritual battles that we face every day. Ways that we can win our war against Satan. While I was reading in Alma a couple of weeks ago, it talks about how the Nephites fortify all the the cities, to help make them stronger. They knew their weak points and did all they could to strengthen them so that the Lamanites could not come and take over. We can apply this into our own lives by thinking about our weak links. Where is our testimony shakey? Where do I need to be stronger? How can I become more like Christ? When we do these things, we are better able to resist the constant temptations of the adversary (Satan), and our testimonies in return are then strengthened. So, this week, take the time to reflect on your life, and see where your armor is weak. Are you doing all the things you can to protect yourself? Are you reading the scriptures daily? Are you praying daily? Are you doing everything that Heavenly Father has asked us to do? I know that if you do these things, you will be blessed. I know that you will find more happiness in your life. Your life will have more meaning and more purpose. You will be better able to face the challenges, and trials, and afflictions that life brings. I know that Heavenly Father loves each and every one of you, and I promise that as you follow Him, you will be happier than you ever have been before. I can promise that, because I know for myself. As I have taken the time to put the things of the Lord first in my life, I have felt more happiness than I can even express. I have never been happier than I am right now. 

I love you all so much, and I hope you are having a wonderful new year!

Love, 

Robertson Shimai

Howden Shimai and I at one of the Young Men's archery tournament

archery tournament

K Chan, our sweet 15 year old investigator.

  T Shimai

 A Chan, and T Kyoudai (T Shimai's husband and daughter)

Me and A Chan 2 weeks ago

あけましておめでとございます！

First Sunrise of the New Year!

We went up to the top of a mountain with one of our Eikaiwa students on New Years day to see the sunrise. It is a tradition here in Japan. :) This is a bonfire at the top waiting for the sun to rise

Snow outside our apartments (this is just a little bit. On Friday 

On Friday morning we had to bike through 2-4 inches of snow and ice to get to the train station for district meeting. :) So much snow!)

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a wonderful new year! What a crazy and wonderful year it has been. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful things that have happened this past year, and I can't believe that I have been on my mission already for 7 months! It is going by SO fast!

This past week was good. H and M weren't able to get baptized because M was sick and in the hospital, but we know that it will all work out according to God's plans, so we are just continuing to work hard, and to exercise our faith. 

We don't have a lot of time to email this week, so I don't have time to tell you everything, but I wanted to share with all of you a really cool lesson we learned yesterday. We were invited over to the H Kazoku (family) house for dinner. Both us and the Elders were invited. Since they shared a message last time, it was our turn. As we sat down to plan a lesson, we read through some articles in the Liahona, and one of them stuck out. It was about enduring our trials, and learning from them. We figured out what we wanted to share, and then were trying to come up with a commitment to leave them with. Well, Howden Shimai suggested something, and it didn't feel right, so I told her I wasn't so happy with it, but didn't have anything better to suggest... I think that a similar thing happened the last time we prepared a message for this family. So, we sat there, Howden Shimai a little frustrated, and me frustrated and feeling bad because I didn't really even have a reason besides I don't really like that commitment, and I didn't even have anything better to offer... So, we sat, and both prayed. After a long while of silence, I still had nothing... I just felt like what we had wasn't right. Howden Shimai then shared a talk that had come to mind, called "Lord, I Believe." It was a talk given by Elder Holland in the October 2013 General Conference. As we were talking, we both felt much better about this talk, and we were both prompted that maybe we should all share our testimonies about the things that we do know, and the things we do believe. We were grateful to have the right lesson planned.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe?lang=eng 

 After dinner, we sat down to share our message. We started out by talking about hope last year was really hard for their family, and for a lot of the members in our branch. And with the new year, there is a lot of hope. Hope that this year will be better. We then read a little part from Elder Holland's talk, about how we need to remember the things that we do know, and we do believe, even when things get hard. After that, we had a little testimony meeting, I shared my testimony about prayer, Chatwin Choro shared his testimony about revelation, and Bate Choro shared his testimony about Priesthood blessings, H Shimai, and Kyoudai both shared their testimonies as well. Then Howden Shimai shared her testimony. After our message, Howden Shimai asked if there was anything that we could do for them. And instead of the usual, "no, we're okay," H Kyoudai said that he actually would like a Priesthood blessing, and that he hadn't realized he wanted one until Bate Choro shared his testimony. The Elders were able to give H Kyoudai a priesthood blessing, and it was amazing just how strong the spirit was even though it was in Japanese. On the way home, H Kyoudai asked us how we decided to share that particular message with them. After we explained that we had actually planned something else, and then we were prompted to share this instead, that it really was through revelation from Heavenly Father. H Kyoudai then explained how he knew that it was meant specifically for him. He has read that talk hundreds of times, it is one of his favorites. That night though, he felt Heavenly Father's love as we were inspired to share that message with he and his family.

 What an amazing thing it is to know that you are in tune with the spirit, and you are helping to bring others unto Christ. We could have decided to just stick with what we had planned, because then we would have had more time to go finding, or to do something else, but instead we listened to those feelings, and prayed for guidance, and Heavenly Father was able to work through us. Moments like these remind me of why I am here on a mission. I am here to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. It is through these things, through teaching and inviting and helping that I feel the most joy. It is through helping to uplift and strengthen others that I know Heavenly Father loves each and every one of His children. 

I am so grateful for this gospel, and for the opportunity that I have to spend this next year sharing the joy that it brings me to Heavenly Father's children here in Japan. What an amazing experience and blessing. 

I love you all!

あいしています！

Robertson Shimai 

ロボトサンしまい

Making Cookies

We heart attacked H and M's door, and brought them some cookies for New Years. :)