September 8, 2014

WELL....we had transfer calls and guess what... MY　LAST　TRANSFER (6 weeks)。。。。 I am staying in YOKKAICHI!! Moore Shimai is transferring to Nagano. I will be training another new sister training leader... ODA SHIMAI!!! She is in our zone and I actually had an exchange with her last week. She goes home in December. To say that I am stoked to be her companion is the understatement of the century. It will be fun.  I love her and we were actually talking about how we wanted to be comps. What do you know! It will be an awesome last transfer. We are going to work so hard. 

Well, the biggest and most wonderful news I have to share is just how amazing Kobayashi san is doing. We met with him 3 times last week. During one of our lessons, he talked about how he has realized that this isn`t scary, it is a good thing. One of the members told him that we are volunteers and don`t get paid to be missionaries. He came to the next lesson and just started weeping about how grateful he is. He said thank you, thank you, thank you for sacrificing everything for me. He couldn`t even speak and we all were just crying. We watched “Finding Faith in Christ” with him and he was just speechless after it. All he could say was, I want to meet Him. We invited him to be baptized and at first he said he didn`t want to give a light answer because he knows that this is such a big decision. We talked about how it is still okay to do things with the Buddhist culture, it is just a matter of where your heart is. So we invited him again to be baptized September 28 when he receives a confirmation that these things are true. He just smiled and gave a thumbs up and said "okay!" ahhaha. So he called me this morning and I asked him how church was yesterday and he said it was amazing. He said "CROFTS SAN. I just wanted to call and tell you that I read that pamphlet about baptism! It was completely awesome. とても最高でした。I now understand why it is so important and what happens after we were baptized." He was soooo excited. Ahhhhh I loveeeee himmmmm.... He is a miracle and it is amazing to see how much he has changed since we met him. 

We rode our bikes way far out to this place called Kuwana again. It just requires every ounce of physical strength we can muster. We are always exhausted for like 4 days after. hahaha but I love going out there, we always just push through. We decided to go and visit Minori chan who just found out she is pregnant. When we knocked on her door she was so surprised and she just told us how she had got in a fight with her mom and sister yesterday and was just crying to God because she felt so upset and then the very next day we show up at her door. She said that she couldn`t believe it and knows that God answers her prayers. While we were in Kuwana we visited several members who haven`t gone to church in 40 years that went to the branch there when it was opened. They had no interest in the church, but they were really nice. One lady didn`t have any interest in the church, but her whole family came out and was telling us every detail about the missionaries that used to come. I asked if we could say a prayer together before we leave and that I would say it. She said yeah you can pray by yourself right there, and then just walked out of the room. Me and Moore Shimai just looked at each other and busted out laughing. Hahaha seriously? I have never had that happen in my entire mission. 

We taught Hasegawa san and her daughter Rei about Jesus Christ. Rei hasn`t ever learned about the church or anything, but Hasegawa san said you said that this church helped you when you were growing up and going to school and stuff, share it with Rei chan! So we shared a video about Jesus Christ and then bore our testimonies and the Spirit was so strong. She was listening so earnestly, she is so pure, she is only 16 years old and it was the very first time she heard anything. It made me really grateful for what I know. I hope we can teach her again! 

Our mission is trying to use more media, we get iPads in December! Of course, after I leave. We shared a video with Chizu san and she loved it. She really wanted to know who our Savior is and what He did for us. She has been slowly and slowly reading the Book of Mormon and she called me to ask what the "promised land" is and she said there are lots of good things written in Nephi aren`t there? So cute. 

We have had an awesome week, but we have really been struggling to find new people who will listen. Maybe it is God`s way of saying, you can do more, you can give more. We are talking to everyone we see all day every day. We even stop people riding their bikes to try and tell them about the gospel. I find myself even running after people to try and talk to them. hahaha no shame, these people need the gospel. I think the whole "you are awkward" thing doesn`t really phase me anymore. I love it so much. I will tell you straight up, I am exhausted in every way possible, but I am so happy. The Celiac diet is coming... We are trying to let the members know that I can`t eat gluten/wheat. They don`t really understand sometimes though and so it makes me sick ofttimes. I need to give a training or something to them about what is not okay. The thing that always throws them off is that I can`t eat soy sauce, that is like their staple. Sometimes I just get used to having incredible stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea, I am doing the best I can at this. If I do have it, it will be a lot easier to control what I eat at home I think. 

たくさん愛、

クロフツしまい

Kobayashi San & the Itakuras

Sister Crofts new comp Oda Shimai.  It was pouring rain.  It has rained everyday for the past month.  The weather will be beautiful and then out of nowhere it starts pouring rain.

We combined districts.  These are the only districts with 4 sister missionaries in each of the areas

Mika

Fujita Bishop & his wife

Yuki Shimai with Sister Moore & Crofts

The Tsujiaka couple

Hasegawa San & Rei Chan

Hasegawa Shimai & Minori Chan

Papenfuss Shimai is transferring from our zone.  I am so sad and will miss her.

September 1, 2014

皆さんおはようございます

It has been a good week and I love Yokkaichi 四日市 and Moore姉妹 so much! I have been feeling a lot better and it has been great to just be able to push through and work. 

Monday our appointments cancelled and so we went housing and mainly did some streeting. As we were trying to talk to everyone on the street I was honestly just blown away by how rude everyone was to us. It was unbelievable how many people we tried to talk to and then how many of the people didn`t even LOOK at us or respond to us. One lady rolled her eyes at me as I tried to talk to her. Hahaha they all must be grumpy from the rain or something?? 

There was an 18 year old girl that we met by the church who we met with on Tuesday and we were so surprised that she came. We gave her a tour of the church and when she saw the baptismal font she said that it was like a dream she had and that she wants to draw it. She also talked about how much she wanted the things we were talking about; to become a new person and be totally clean and at peace. We taught her lesson one and she absolutely loved it. She said that she has prayed to God so many times and she thinks that there is a God in each of us because she feels it. When we talked about the Spirit and that is what she feels and we can feel the love of God through it she said  "oh my... yeah!!!" She was so excited to learn about Christianity and stuff and then she said she couldn`t ever go to church and that she wouldn`t be able to meet until MARCH... Me and moore shimai were like noooo wayyyy. Japanese students are busy like nobody I have ever seen. She lives really far from us, but if we ride our bikes out there I think we can meet. She is so awesome and just needs to be able to come to church!!! 

We went and visited someone who hasn`t been coming to church. It has been like 3 months since we have met and before that I met her every single week. She has gotten busy with her job and since then she married/divorced a man from India.  She really loves the Sikh religion and teachings. I think she likes it because of the way it is similar to Mormonism in the Christ like attributes and stuff. She talked about how she has felt dark since we haven`t been meeting and through meeting with us she is able to feel light in her heart again. She is so cute and she KNOWS how important the gospel is and through living it we can be happy. She just works on Sundays and so it is so hard that she can`t come to church. 

The school, the work field and the word "busy" is basically Satan`s way of keeping everyone away from meeting with us. He sure knows what he is doing. I pray so much that people can understand how important this message is and that when they hear it, they can feel something. I know how much it can bless them and how much happier it can make them. I am trying with everything I can to give everything, to be consecrated and to be diligent until the end. I know that Satan doesn`t want me to finish strong and I have really felt how real he is working on me.  It gives me such a strong desire to just work. Also, can I just tell you how grateful I am for the priesthood? It truly is one of the most precious gifts and powers we have. I received a priesthood blessing last week, and wow... it talked about how as God looks down on me every day and sees my faith and works, He smiles. It said that my mission has blessed the lives of thousands of people. I was so touched and just weaped as I heard that. I can honestly say, I am giving everything to God, but it isn`t anything in comparison to what God has given me. I love this gospel. 

Crofts Shimai 

Kokan with Samowitz Shimai. We had so much fun. I love her.

Our district plus the assistants

Isn't Japan beautiful

Subarukan has been obsessed with flags lately and he used the Portuguese BOM.  Ha ha so funny and he was so proud.  His Dad is studying to help translate for the Brazilians & Peruvians in the ward. 

August 25, 2014

皆さんこんにちは!お元気ですか?

I am feeling lots better this week and have been doing my best to eat no gluten!! Thank you so much for the gluten free food Dad, and thanks to everyone for all the love/support/letters. Kartchner Shimai looked at the mail box and she said "Holy cow Sister Crofts, you are loved."  I can’t tell you how much it helps me. The gluten free diet is still a work in progress.  It is hard when people make things specifically for you and then have it sitting on a tray when you show up at their house... I feel so bad.

It has been unusually rainy lately. It wasn’t rainy at all during rainy season so I was thinking that maybe God knew I wasn`t a fan of working in the rain so He said "Crofts Shimai, I will cut you a break this year." But of course, God chastens who He loves, so we are having lots of rain. I was thinking I was a genius for just spending one dollar on a raincoat, because I didn’t really use it, but I guess you could say I am having regrets. (The one I brought with me soaks up everything.)  

We had a lesson with Kobayashi san that was SO GOOD. He is slowly understanding more and more. He talked about how he can’t do the pressure, but how he thinks that it was God`s divine guidance that led us to meet him. Whenever he talks about us he calls us "his angels." He said he thinks that we are on a different level than him. But then when we told him that we have bad/negative thoughts too and that we are imperfect.  He was completely shocked and he felt 110 percent happiness. Hahaha I love him so much. He came to church to hear the member we teach him withs lesson and he is learning so much. 

Well, we had a lesson with Mika and the Warners last week and it was really awesome! Mika just talked about how she knows that this church is 110 percent true and that she has changed so much. We have asked her to be baptized so often, but she always makes different excuses. She doesn`t read the Book of Mormon because it is too hard to understand.  So we are trying to start studying it with her almost every day so that she can understand it and have the faith to act!

While we were riding the train to Nagoya for a companion exchange there was a lady I sat by on the train who I started talking to. When I started talking about our message about God and Jesus Christ, she was so moved and said that she had been to a Christian church once, read the bible and that it was the most beautiful thing she had ever read. She didn’t go after, but she said she wanted to know more! As I was telling her about eternal families and Jesus Christ I just felt the Spirit burn in my heart. It turns out she lives really far away in Okinawa but she said she wants to go to our church and wants to learn more. I loveeee how much I feel the Spirit testify through me. That is probably one of my favorite feelings. 

I went to Gokiso and I couldn’t eat the yummy sauces so I ended up eating just boiled meat in water at the restaurant. One day I will find a way to eat delicious shabu shabu. megumi shimai fed us SO MUCH IT WAS DEATH. After, we went to this thing called niko niko eikaiwa. These girls are orphaned and live together in a house. They go and teach them English almost every week. It was one of the funnest things ever just talking to them. All they say is how cute we are. It was so much fun to go to Gokiso, it is a huge city. Furlong Shimai and I talked to several hundred people as we were trying to go to this member’s house. There was a woman we stopped who said "ARE YOU MORMON MISSIONARIES?!?"  We said yeah! She talked about how she has only seen the elders and has been searching for us for years because she wanted to talk to us. She is from some other Christian church, but she just said how much she respects us and admires us. She said "I want you to know that I am a believer too!!!! ganbatte!!! (Work hard) “It was so awesome to have someone so excited to talk to us, because everyone else had straight up rejected us the moment we said "Jesus Christ."

We went to a 祭り(festival) with Marina Chan!!! It was soooo crazy fun. There were fireworks, and lots of food stands. It was so awesome to just have the chance to get to know her! We talked a lot about the temple. When she saw the picture of the San Diego Temple she nearly died because she wanted to go there so bad. She loved the idea of eternal families, but when she heard you have to be baptized she seemed a little bit sad.  She loves what we teach her so much, but I think the fact that her mom is against the church is a huge barrier in her progressing.. ahhh どうしよう? She is studying to be a midwife so she is really busy, but we can usually meet with her at least every other week. 

My very very very favorite thing is to teach about Jesus Christ. Every single time I tell someone about the atonement I just feel so much love for our Savior and for that person I am talking to!  I love our Savior so much. Being a missionary is the best/hardest/most wonderful thing ever. Have a great week! 頑張りましょうね

愛

クロフツ姉妹

Thank you so much for the package.  It really made me feel so much love.  So far everything has been really yummy.

Companion exchanges in Gokiso

Niko Niko Eikaiwa with the orphan girls

Companion exchange with Furlong Shimai

Festival with Marina Chan

It has rained a lot this summer

Fun night with Sister Moore & Marina Chan