Koho san is now Koho shimai! It was such a wonderful day! Probably the
best day of my mission so far! Sadly she is back in China though, and
will be until March. We are planning on writing letters back and forth
while she is over there, it's important that we keep in contact with
her, even though she isn't here. We might even be able to Skype her at
some point at a member's house.
I still have a hard time believing that I already had a baptism, it
just sort of came out of nowhere! I am very, very blessed.
Kimura san had a great week too. We challenged her to pray about a
baptism date for before the year ends, she agreed, and we will get her
answer about whether or not she will get dunked tomorrow. :) The
lesson we had with her last time was so good, the spirit was there so
strongly, that she at one point stopped talking and started crying. I
was touched, the power of the Holy Ghost is real, and it can penetrate
hearts!
We also did some service for a member, we cleaned the outside of her
house and then she made us lunch. I was able to reach some high places
that she had been unable to for awhile, good thing I'm tall! :)
It's been a great week overall, and now that it's finished we are at
transfer week! It is very possible that I will get another companion,
if not a new area! I am nervous!
I love this gospel, and I love you all. Thanks for all you do for me. :)
Love,
Megan
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Week 11. Baptism! (December 1, 2013)
We are having a baptism tonight! :)
For Koho san! After our second lesson with her she told us that she
wanted to get baptized! Before she goes back to China in seven days!
We were so shocked, and so pleased, but a little unsure if it would
actually work out.
But Heavenly Father works in ways we just don't understand!
She met all of the requirements, and after a very long interview, she
came out with a pass! Needless to say, she has taken up most of our
time this week, but it has been the best one of my mission. She is
such a rare find too, every question we would ask her she would
respond to with a better answer than we probably could have come up
with. A truely golden investigator. So we celebrated by having a
Thanksgiving Eikaiwa, which only a handful of people came to, but it
was still fun. :)
We also had Zone Training this week, it went great. The workshops were
all really good. The best part was doing the interview with President
Evans. Even though it was short, he was able to help me sort through a
few things that had been heavy on my mind for a few weeks. He is such
a great president!
Kimura san also came to church this week! There hasn't been a lot of
progress with her lately, but after this baptism we are going to be
all fired up.
Koho san and her baptism are a miracle, there is nothing much else to
say about it. I am so excited for her and for the step she is taking
in her life. I honestly can't say that we can take much credit for it.
We were just there so the Spirit could work through us, and confirm
these truths to her. I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of
this. Missions are the best.
Love you all, so glad you had a great Thanksgiving!
Love,
Megan
For Koho san! After our second lesson with her she told us that she
wanted to get baptized! Before she goes back to China in seven days!
We were so shocked, and so pleased, but a little unsure if it would
actually work out.
But Heavenly Father works in ways we just don't understand!
She met all of the requirements, and after a very long interview, she
came out with a pass! Needless to say, she has taken up most of our
time this week, but it has been the best one of my mission. She is
such a rare find too, every question we would ask her she would
respond to with a better answer than we probably could have come up
with. A truely golden investigator. So we celebrated by having a
Thanksgiving Eikaiwa, which only a handful of people came to, but it
was still fun. :)
We also had Zone Training this week, it went great. The workshops were
all really good. The best part was doing the interview with President
Evans. Even though it was short, he was able to help me sort through a
few things that had been heavy on my mind for a few weeks. He is such
a great president!
Kimura san also came to church this week! There hasn't been a lot of
progress with her lately, but after this baptism we are going to be
all fired up.
Koho san and her baptism are a miracle, there is nothing much else to
say about it. I am so excited for her and for the step she is taking
in her life. I honestly can't say that we can take much credit for it.
We were just there so the Spirit could work through us, and confirm
these truths to her. I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of
this. Missions are the best.
Love you all, so glad you had a great Thanksgiving!
Love,
Megan
Week 10 and a Golden Investigator? (November 24, 2013)
What a week!
First of all, we finally found an investigator! She is a member's
friend from China! And, she speaks English!
We taught her last Thursday for the first time, the lesson was so
great.:) The spirit was so strong as we were teaching, and it felt so
good to be able to contribute a full 50%. She asks the best questions
too, they always would lead into the next subject we were going to
talk about. When we asked her if she would read the Book of Mormon,
she looked down for a minute and then told us that she would, and that
in fact, she would read it every night before she went to sleep! She's
golden!
Our next lesson with her is later today, we're doing a team up with
her friend that referred her to us. There is a dowside though, she is
going back to China in December, we're not sure what day, but probably
before we would be able to get her baptized. But it's okay! She'll
probably come back to new missionaries and get baptized then. I am
just so excited to be a part of her conversion now. Can't wait to meet
with her today. :)
Kimura san, hm. Sadly, I dont have any new news on her. We had a great
lesson where the Elders teamed up with us, and we were able to answer
her questions, but we left with nothing too different. She just is
happy not progressing. :( We are going to keep at it though. I think
she is just afraid to recognize her answer and make this life
changing step.
This next week is Zone Training, should be great. And after that we
are sort of out of time with this transfer, time just keeps flying.
Also, it is getting cold!
Love you all, have a great week,
Love,
Megan
First of all, we finally found an investigator! She is a member's
friend from China! And, she speaks English!
We taught her last Thursday for the first time, the lesson was so
great.:) The spirit was so strong as we were teaching, and it felt so
good to be able to contribute a full 50%. She asks the best questions
too, they always would lead into the next subject we were going to
talk about. When we asked her if she would read the Book of Mormon,
she looked down for a minute and then told us that she would, and that
in fact, she would read it every night before she went to sleep! She's
golden!
Our next lesson with her is later today, we're doing a team up with
her friend that referred her to us. There is a dowside though, she is
going back to China in December, we're not sure what day, but probably
before we would be able to get her baptized. But it's okay! She'll
probably come back to new missionaries and get baptized then. I am
just so excited to be a part of her conversion now. Can't wait to meet
with her today. :)
Kimura san, hm. Sadly, I dont have any new news on her. We had a great
lesson where the Elders teamed up with us, and we were able to answer
her questions, but we left with nothing too different. She just is
happy not progressing. :( We are going to keep at it though. I think
she is just afraid to recognize her answer and make this life
changing step.
This next week is Zone Training, should be great. And after that we
are sort of out of time with this transfer, time just keeps flying.
Also, it is getting cold!
Love you all, have a great week,
Love,
Megan
Week Nine, New Investigator! (November 17, 2013)
Hello Family,
I hit my fourth month mark! It came so quick!
This last week was very uneventful. Smith Shimai got sick so we spent
THREE days inside. It was so, so long. I keep myself busy by
organizing the area books and my desk, and I ended up doing a bit of
drawing when I got really desperate. It was so hard staying in and not
doing any real work. Hopefully we can both stay healthy from now on!
It might be a trick though, the entire ward is sick.
We met with Kimura san again this week. The lesson was tough. No
members came with us this time, and its been weeks since shes been
able to come to church, and you can really tell. We also ended up
staying way too long, and I just felt weird about it most of the time
we were there. At the end of the lesson, I shared my testimony about
the Savior, and suddenly everything was so much better. It was
incredible how quickly the spirit was there! I am hopeful that she was
able to feel it too, and that maybe she can keep progressing.
Yesterday at church we had a member bring a friend, she's a student at
Hokkaido University from China. We're really excited to meet with her
next Thursday. During church she asked so many good questions, and
seemed really interested. She is pretty great. Also, she speaks
English! Score! :)
Honestly, thats pretty much all for this week. Love you all! Thanks
for all you do! Take care.
Love,
Megan
I hit my fourth month mark! It came so quick!
This last week was very uneventful. Smith Shimai got sick so we spent
THREE days inside. It was so, so long. I keep myself busy by
organizing the area books and my desk, and I ended up doing a bit of
drawing when I got really desperate. It was so hard staying in and not
doing any real work. Hopefully we can both stay healthy from now on!
It might be a trick though, the entire ward is sick.
We met with Kimura san again this week. The lesson was tough. No
members came with us this time, and its been weeks since shes been
able to come to church, and you can really tell. We also ended up
staying way too long, and I just felt weird about it most of the time
we were there. At the end of the lesson, I shared my testimony about
the Savior, and suddenly everything was so much better. It was
incredible how quickly the spirit was there! I am hopeful that she was
able to feel it too, and that maybe she can keep progressing.
Yesterday at church we had a member bring a friend, she's a student at
Hokkaido University from China. We're really excited to meet with her
next Thursday. During church she asked so many good questions, and
seemed really interested. She is pretty great. Also, she speaks
English! Score! :)
Honestly, thats pretty much all for this week. Love you all! Thanks
for all you do! Take care.
Love,
Megan
Monday, December 2, 2013
Some Japanese Writing and a Hike
Some pictures of our cute little missionary for your viewing pleasure!
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Week Eight, Boom (November 10, 2013)
This week was pretty busy again, not a huge shocker though, is that? On Monday we went to FHE at the Honbu, we took Sho Shimai, a recent
convert. She is so sweet! At FHE we played some minute to win it games
and listened to a little spiritual message. It is a really
non-threatening environment for investigators and new members. She had
a lot of fun and we were able to schedule a time to meet with her next
week, hopefully we can do one of her after baptism lessons. She's been
putting them off, and lately hasn't been coming to church.
We also did a mogi this week with a member, it went pretty well! I was
able to pretty much say all of the things I had been practicing
before, which is always a win. :)
On Friday, we did splits. I was with a sister named Murray Shimai. She's
on her fourth transfer, and it was really good for me to see her work.
Even though her Japanese isn't perfect she still makes a huge effort
to say as much as she can to people. I need to be more bold! This
gospel is something that can change lives, and I need to make sure I
give everyone I talk to a chance to listen.
I had a few really good talks with Smith Shimai this week, we are
going to work a lot harder on not letting anyone walk past us from now
on.
Kimura san! We still don't have that date yet, she is telling us that
she is having a hard time feeling anything when we're not with her.
She has also not been coming to church because her sons have been
visiting. We haven't quite figured out what to say and do to help her,
besides just getting baptized! Having the Gift of the Holy Ghost is
what she needs, honestly. We are going to meet with her again
tomorrow. We have a few scriptures and ideas to share with her,
hopefully we are able to get that date set. She is so, so close. As
always.
I love Japan. I love the great people here. I love you all. And I
really love Sophie.
Love,
Megan
convert. She is so sweet! At FHE we played some minute to win it games
and listened to a little spiritual message. It is a really
non-threatening environment for investigators and new members. She had
a lot of fun and we were able to schedule a time to meet with her next
week, hopefully we can do one of her after baptism lessons. She's been
putting them off, and lately hasn't been coming to church.
We also did a mogi this week with a member, it went pretty well! I was
able to pretty much say all of the things I had been practicing
before, which is always a win. :)
On Friday, we did splits. I was with a sister named Murray Shimai. She's
on her fourth transfer, and it was really good for me to see her work.
Even though her Japanese isn't perfect she still makes a huge effort
to say as much as she can to people. I need to be more bold! This
gospel is something that can change lives, and I need to make sure I
give everyone I talk to a chance to listen.
I had a few really good talks with Smith Shimai this week, we are
going to work a lot harder on not letting anyone walk past us from now
on.
Kimura san! We still don't have that date yet, she is telling us that
she is having a hard time feeling anything when we're not with her.
She has also not been coming to church because her sons have been
visiting. We haven't quite figured out what to say and do to help her,
besides just getting baptized! Having the Gift of the Holy Ghost is
what she needs, honestly. We are going to meet with her again
tomorrow. We have a few scriptures and ideas to share with her,
hopefully we are able to get that date set. She is so, so close. As
always.
I love Japan. I love the great people here. I love you all. And I
really love Sophie.
Love,
Megan
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Week Seven... (November 3, 2013)
Hello!
So last pday we went and hiked a mountain! It was super pretty! Will
try to stick some pictures in here for you all to see. When we got to
the top you could see the entire city, it was such a sight. I wanted
to stay for awhile, but Smith Shimai was eager to go back down. We
spent the rest of the day at Sapporo Station shopping, it was very
nice. Sapporo Station is super neat!
Transfer calls came as well, but as expected, nothing changed for us.
I wasn't shocked, but so relieved to know what was going on. Its nice
being able to stay in the same place for six more weeks at least.
Our Halloween party was great! A lot of people went and had a lot of
fun, but I wasn't one of them, ha ha. The APs called and asked us to
come to a baptism that night instead, so we did. The man getting
baptized might come to our ward, so it was important that we go and
meet him. The meeting was so great, it's awesome to see someone get
baptized. It was funny because I started the transfer with a baptism,
and ended it with one as well. (none of them being my own, but still
really good) :)
Speaking of baptisms, Kimura san is so close! There are only two
questions left that she isn:t sure about for the interview. Pray for
her, please. We might see her baptized this transfer. :)
Thats really all for this week, I'm loving Japan. The leaves are all
on fire now, Im glad that we got to have a great fall before the snow
comes.. which could be any time! Love you all, have a fantastic week.
Love,
Megan
So last pday we went and hiked a mountain! It was super pretty! Will
try to stick some pictures in here for you all to see. When we got to
the top you could see the entire city, it was such a sight. I wanted
to stay for awhile, but Smith Shimai was eager to go back down. We
spent the rest of the day at Sapporo Station shopping, it was very
nice. Sapporo Station is super neat!
Transfer calls came as well, but as expected, nothing changed for us.
I wasn't shocked, but so relieved to know what was going on. Its nice
being able to stay in the same place for six more weeks at least.
Our Halloween party was great! A lot of people went and had a lot of
fun, but I wasn't one of them, ha ha. The APs called and asked us to
come to a baptism that night instead, so we did. The man getting
baptized might come to our ward, so it was important that we go and
meet him. The meeting was so great, it's awesome to see someone get
baptized. It was funny because I started the transfer with a baptism,
and ended it with one as well. (none of them being my own, but still
really good) :)
Speaking of baptisms, Kimura san is so close! There are only two
questions left that she isn:t sure about for the interview. Pray for
her, please. We might see her baptized this transfer. :)
Thats really all for this week, I'm loving Japan. The leaves are all
on fire now, Im glad that we got to have a great fall before the snow
comes.. which could be any time! Love you all, have a fantastic week.
Love,
Megan
The Big Guy (October 27, 2013)
Hello, hello!
My first transfer is over! (mostly) We are getting transfer calls
tomorrow, everthing should stay the same, but its possible that it
could all change. Stay tuned for next time. :) This last week has been
pretty good!
We had a great lesson with Kimura san, no baptism date yet, but we
were able to understand her a lot more than we did before. I feel like
she is getting closer and closer everytime we meet. Sometimes the pace
is a little frustrating for me, but I realize that its not about me at
all, but her and our Father in Heaven. I need to be so patient, ha.
Since transfers are coming, I've been feeling a little more anxious
than usual, Sister Smith has been really good to work through
little things with me that really shouldn't be such a big deal, but
seem it to me. I am super grateful for her. :)
We got dropped a few days ago by one of our investigators, she had
cancelled and rescheduled our lesson three times, and than an hour
before we were going to leave for her house she called and told us
that she was good, she didn't want to have us come anymore. I was so
sad! We are going to drop by and see her one more time next week, but
I think she really is done with us. :( The life of a missionary, I
suppose.
Last night we went to a member's house for dinner, sushi! It was
awesome. But before we did that we did a mogi, and I was sooo nervous.
We decided to do the baptismal invite, and once I started talking I
was able to get through everything we had prepared. I was really
thankful that it went so well, afterwards, Iwayama Shimai told me that
she thinks my Japanese has improved since just last week! Its possible
she was just being nice, but I'll take it anyway!
As always, I love this work, my 100th day as missionary has passed me
by, and I can hardly believe that its been so long.
Hope you all are well, love you all. And if you haven't ever read
Jesus the Christ, I strongly suggest you do so right now! I'm reading
it right now during personal study, and I am surprised at how long its
taking me to get through. You know me, I fly through books, but while
I'm reading this I take like a half hour on three pages, ha. This just
shows how deep this book is, it is incredible.
Okay, that's really it. :)
Love you,
Megan
My first transfer is over! (mostly) We are getting transfer calls
tomorrow, everthing should stay the same, but its possible that it
could all change. Stay tuned for next time. :) This last week has been
pretty good!
We had a great lesson with Kimura san, no baptism date yet, but we
were able to understand her a lot more than we did before. I feel like
she is getting closer and closer everytime we meet. Sometimes the pace
is a little frustrating for me, but I realize that its not about me at
all, but her and our Father in Heaven. I need to be so patient, ha.
Since transfers are coming, I've been feeling a little more anxious
than usual, Sister Smith has been really good to work through
little things with me that really shouldn't be such a big deal, but
seem it to me. I am super grateful for her. :)
We got dropped a few days ago by one of our investigators, she had
cancelled and rescheduled our lesson three times, and than an hour
before we were going to leave for her house she called and told us
that she was good, she didn't want to have us come anymore. I was so
sad! We are going to drop by and see her one more time next week, but
I think she really is done with us. :( The life of a missionary, I
suppose.
Last night we went to a member's house for dinner, sushi! It was
awesome. But before we did that we did a mogi, and I was sooo nervous.
We decided to do the baptismal invite, and once I started talking I
was able to get through everything we had prepared. I was really
thankful that it went so well, afterwards, Iwayama Shimai told me that
she thinks my Japanese has improved since just last week! Its possible
she was just being nice, but I'll take it anyway!
As always, I love this work, my 100th day as missionary has passed me
by, and I can hardly believe that its been so long.
Hope you all are well, love you all. And if you haven't ever read
Jesus the Christ, I strongly suggest you do so right now! I'm reading
it right now during personal study, and I am surprised at how long its
taking me to get through. You know me, I fly through books, but while
I'm reading this I take like a half hour on three pages, ha. This just
shows how deep this book is, it is incredible.
Okay, that's really it. :)
Love you,
Megan
Week Six, Mee (October 21, 2013)
It's me again! Another week down here in Japan, they keep flying. This last week has been really good too, everything just gets more comfortable everyday. Even the language! I really have been starting to understand a lot more than at first, my speaking is about at the same level. I'll get it though, don't any of you worry. :) (I sure try not to!) I am jealous you all got to watch conference already, I have to wait until this weekend! I am so excited to get to watch it though. Love those men. :)
The biggest thing here is our investigator Kimura San finishing the lessons. Next Thursday we are going to go over the baptismal questions, and hopefully set a date for this month. She is coming to church every week and really enjoying the ward members, she is great. She is also going to come to watch conference with us at the church on Sunday too. :)
We also went to our first member dinner last week. It was really good! We just had our own plates of meat (raw fish) and a big plater of seaweed squares and rice and we made our own little rolls of sushi-like things. It was very Japanese, and very good. The ward members are great. Every week they bring food for us, so we hardly ever have to go shopping. We are blessed. :)
My favorite way to dendo is definitely housing. Talking to people on the street is just plain scary! We do a good mixture of both, but I feel like people are more willing to listen when we come to them at their houses. Most of the houses have little boxes with cameras in them and a speaker, so we talk to them mostly through that, which is the biggest pain because sometimes they just look at us and don't give us a chance to talk. When they do though, it is my favorite.
This last week we went on splits, I went with one of the STLs, it was pretty nerve racking! Her dendo style is pretty intense too, super different from Smith Shimai. It was good to see how another missionary does it though, she is a great missionary. I am glad to have had the trainer that I got though, we pretty much agree with everything. She's super great, I was glad to have her back.
That is it for me, love you all so much. Have a great week!
Week Five! (October 20, 2013)
Hello all!
How is everyone? This next week is my last full one before the
transfer ends, I think I will most likely be staying, but you never
know. Sister Smith might be leaving me, I hope not, I am just getting
comfortable with everything, and I would be really sad to see her go.
Everything is going well here, the people can be hard to interact with
(not just the language thing, ha) but I do love them. Our ward is so
great, they've been making such an effort to help us, and make sure
that they are doing what they can do to help missionary work.
This last week we had zone conference, it mostly was full of workshops
and role play. The best thing happened though, Miller Shimai was
there! They combined our zones! There was much joy all around, ha. It
was really great to see all of the other missionaries, sometimes I
forget that there are quite a few other people doing the same work I am-
pretty close by.
Our investigator is having a bit of a hard time, this week we are
going to really try and figure out what it is that she needs from us.
Oh yes, just so you all know, there is another Johnson Shimai in my
mission. So if you write to me, (and please do!) make sure you stick
my first name in there too. I hope the extra work doesn't prevent any
future letters. :)
Sure love you all! Thanks for all of the love and prayers for me. I
know they've been coming.
Love,
Megan
How is everyone? This next week is my last full one before the
transfer ends, I think I will most likely be staying, but you never
know. Sister Smith might be leaving me, I hope not, I am just getting
comfortable with everything, and I would be really sad to see her go.
Everything is going well here, the people can be hard to interact with
(not just the language thing, ha) but I do love them. Our ward is so
great, they've been making such an effort to help us, and make sure
that they are doing what they can do to help missionary work.
This last week we had zone conference, it mostly was full of workshops
and role play. The best thing happened though, Miller Shimai was
there! They combined our zones! There was much joy all around, ha. It
was really great to see all of the other missionaries, sometimes I
forget that there are quite a few other people doing the same work I am-
pretty close by.
Our investigator is having a bit of a hard time, this week we are
going to really try and figure out what it is that she needs from us.
Oh yes, just so you all know, there is another Johnson Shimai in my
mission. So if you write to me, (and please do!) make sure you stick
my first name in there too. I hope the extra work doesn't prevent any
future letters. :)
Sure love you all! Thanks for all of the love and prayers for me. I
know they've been coming.
Love,
Megan
Week Four, October 13, 2014
Johnson Shimai spent so much time looking at attached pictures of our fall break in SLC, and emailing with Mom and Marissa that she didn't have time to do a "big one"...rest assured, she's doing great.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Week Three in Japan- October 6, 2013. Sushi is involved- it's all good!
It's me again! Another week down here in Japan, they keep flying. This last week has been really good too, everything just gets more comfortable every day. Even the language! I really have been starting to understand a lot more than at first, my speaking is about at the same level. I'll get it though, don't any of you worry. :) (I sure try not to!) I am jealous you all got to watch conference already, I have to wait until this weekend! I am so excited to get to watch it though. Love those men. :)
The biggest thing here is our investigator Kimura San finishing the lessons. Next Thursday we are going to go over the baptismal questions, and hopefully set a date for this month. She is coming to church every week and really enjoying the ward members, she is great. She is also going to come to watch conference with us at the church on Sunday too. :)
We also went to our first member dinner last week. It was really good! We just had our own plates of meat (raw fish) and a big plater of seaweed squares and rice and we made our own little rolls of sushi-like things. It was very Japanese, and very good. The ward members are great. Every week they bring food for us, so we hardly ever have to go shopping. We are blessed. :)
My favorite way to dendo is definitely housing. Talking to people on the street is just plain scary! We do a good mixture of both, but I feel like people are more willing to listen when we come to them at their houses. Most of the houses have little boxes with cameras in them and a speaker, so we talk to them mostly through that, which is the biggest pain because sometimes they just look at us and don't give us a chance to talk. When they do though, it is my favorite.
This last week we went on splits, I went with one of the STLs, it was pretty nerve racking! Her dendo style is pretty intense too, super different from Smith Shimai. It was good to see how another missionary does it though, she is a great missionary. I am glad to have had the trainer that I have though, we pretty much agree on everything. She's super great, I was glad to have her back.
That is it for me, love you all so much. Have a great week!
Week Two in Japan- September 30, 2013
Hey all!
Just another week here in Japan, ha. It is still pretty weird to wake
up and realize where I am, but I'm starting to get used to it now.
Although sometimes I catch myself just sort of standing with my mouth
open and staring. I'm working on it. :) I have five minutes to write
this week. I have too many little emails to send and not enough time!
Next week I'll do this first.
I guess I'll just say, that I love the
people already, the ward members are really great. We have a neat
investigator, Kimura San, that might get baptized this transfer. Being
on a mission is pretty neat though. I will tell more about it next
week though, got to be a rule abiding missionary.
Love you all, thanks
for all the love and prayers. Hope you have a good week!
Megan
I love Sophie
Just another week here in Japan, ha. It is still pretty weird to wake
up and realize where I am, but I'm starting to get used to it now.
Although sometimes I catch myself just sort of standing with my mouth
open and staring. I'm working on it. :) I have five minutes to write
this week. I have too many little emails to send and not enough time!
Next week I'll do this first.
I guess I'll just say, that I love the
people already, the ward members are really great. We have a neat
investigator, Kimura San, that might get baptized this transfer. Being
on a mission is pretty neat though. I will tell more about it next
week though, got to be a rule abiding missionary.
Love you all, thanks
for all the love and prayers. Hope you have a good week!
Megan
I love Sophie
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Week One in Japan- September 23, 2013
I'm in Japan! This is real! There is so much going on right now, my
thoughts are all over the place. I guess first of all I'm doing well,
I haven't crashed on my bike or anything yet. My companion is a great
missionary, we don't know each other super well, but we're making
progress. I don't have any idea what anyone is saying ever, it's so
crazy.
The people, especially the ward members are really kind and sweet. They are
so, so patient with me. I met everyone at the baptism the
elders had at church right after. I went up during sacrament and
talked for a minute, mostly told them I was brand new so they would
understand I wasn't going to understand much of anything they say and
share my testimony. It was a reallly good thing for me, but pretty
scary. :) We have a cool progressing investigator who is almost done
with the lessons and might be getting bapitized soon, I'm excited to
get to know her better. We also have visited a recent convert a few
times, Sho Shimai, she's really awesome.
Japan in general is just so different than America though, I know that
sounds silly, but it is so true. I need a little bit more time to
adjust, but I know that I'm going to love it. I do miss my MTC
district though, it is so weird not seeing them everyday all day
anymore, but I am confident that they're well. and I know I will be
good too! I've gotten to know my Savior more in this last week than I
have in my entire life, he is the only one who knows how I feel and it
he is the ultimate comfort to me! Missions are pretty cool. Love you
all, be safe and don't forget to write me.
Love,
Megan
thoughts are all over the place. I guess first of all I'm doing well,
I haven't crashed on my bike or anything yet. My companion is a great
missionary, we don't know each other super well, but we're making
progress. I don't have any idea what anyone is saying ever, it's so
crazy.
The people, especially the ward members are really kind and sweet. They are
so, so patient with me. I met everyone at the baptism the
elders had at church right after. I went up during sacrament and
talked for a minute, mostly told them I was brand new so they would
understand I wasn't going to understand much of anything they say and
share my testimony. It was a reallly good thing for me, but pretty
scary. :) We have a cool progressing investigator who is almost done
with the lessons and might be getting bapitized soon, I'm excited to
get to know her better. We also have visited a recent convert a few
times, Sho Shimai, she's really awesome.
Japan in general is just so different than America though, I know that
sounds silly, but it is so true. I need a little bit more time to
adjust, but I know that I'm going to love it. I do miss my MTC
district though, it is so weird not seeing them everyday all day
anymore, but I am confident that they're well. and I know I will be
good too! I've gotten to know my Savior more in this last week than I
have in my entire life, he is the only one who knows how I feel and it
he is the ultimate comfort to me! Missions are pretty cool. Love you
all, be safe and don't forget to write me.
Love,
Megan
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Arriving Miss. Safe Arrival. (Letter from mission president)
19 September 2013
Johnson, Blake Eugene| Johnson, Carrie Memmott
1213 N. Firefly Dr.
Spanish Fork, UT 84660
USA
I am happy to inform you that Sister Johnson arrived safely in Sapporo, Japan and is beginning her work as a representative of Jesus Christ in sharing the message of the restored gospel to the people living in Japan. I was pleased to welcome her to the best mission in the world.
After interviewing Sister Johnson and getting to know her a little better, she has been assigned a great training missionary companion. Sister Johnson will be well trained and cared for and will learn the daily blessings associated with proselyting here on the island of Hokkaido.
You can expect to hear from her weekly. This is one of our mission rules. The mail service in Japan is very dependable. You may write to her or send packages to the Mission Office and they will be forwarded to her. Please use this address: Japan Sapporo Mission, Kita 2 Jo Nishi 24, Chome 1-25 Chuo-Ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido, 064-0822, JAPAN. If you have any questions now or in the future, please contact me directly at eevans@ldschurch.org or on my cell phone at 011-8190-2876-1861.
Our interaction over the next months with Sister Johnson will be frequent and rewarding for both of us. I look forward to serving with her and seeing her develop into a disciple of Christ as she spreads glad tidings among the wonderful people of Japan.
May the Lord bless you and your family for the service of your missionary.
Very truly yours,
President Eric C. Evans
Japan Sapporo Mission
Johnson, Blake Eugene| Johnson, Carrie Memmott
1213 N. Firefly Dr.
Spanish Fork, UT 84660
USA
I am happy to inform you that Sister Johnson arrived safely in Sapporo, Japan and is beginning her work as a representative of Jesus Christ in sharing the message of the restored gospel to the people living in Japan. I was pleased to welcome her to the best mission in the world.
After interviewing Sister Johnson and getting to know her a little better, she has been assigned a great training missionary companion. Sister Johnson will be well trained and cared for and will learn the daily blessings associated with proselyting here on the island of Hokkaido.
You can expect to hear from her weekly. This is one of our mission rules. The mail service in Japan is very dependable. You may write to her or send packages to the Mission Office and they will be forwarded to her. Please use this address: Japan Sapporo Mission, Kita 2 Jo Nishi 24, Chome 1-25 Chuo-Ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido, 064-0822, JAPAN. If you have any questions now or in the future, please contact me directly at eevans@ldschurch.org or on my cell phone at 011-8190-2876-1861.
Our interaction over the next months with Sister Johnson will be frequent and rewarding for both of us. I look forward to serving with her and seeing her develop into a disciple of Christ as she spreads glad tidings among the wonderful people of Japan.
May the Lord bless you and your family for the service of your missionary.
Very truly yours,
President Eric C. Evans
Japan Sapporo Mission
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Week Eight, MTC 9/10/13
Hello again,
I spent too long looking at all the pictures and emails so I'm short on time. Rib Fest 2013 looked amazing though, miss you all! Can't wait until I get to be there again. :) Thank you for all the letters and the packages as well, you're all so good to me.
Everything is pretty good here, just on the final countdown. This time next week I'll be in Japan! We're going to fly to Seattle and then Osaka! My entire district is not flying together, and we're all pretty sad about it. It's okay though, they're going to be great in Sendai. We're going to get up to see them off about an hour before we go, there will probably be tears involved, and you know I'm not a big cryer. For us Sapporo Senkyoshi we're going to have a 5 hour layover in Osaka, not sure how I feel about that, ha. Miller Shimai is my travel companion which is awesome.. although, if we get lost we'll just be super lost, ha ha. It'll be an adventure. :) Hopefully I can find a cinnabon before we leave the US. I'm so excited to be able to call home too, good stuff. Sophie better be up to talk to me, but don't let her hang up before my time is up, ha.
This last week has been pretty good. I now know how to read Katakana pretty well, thanks to the help of one of the Choro, Temanaha Moo. It's nice to not have to worry about that anymore. Now I just need to learn Kanji, ha! The language is going good though, I mean, I can't say much besides a simple testimony. I mostly understand what my teachers say to us now, listening is a lot easier than actually speaking! I know this language will come, and my progress should pick up in speed once I'm actually in Japan. Our lessons with our investigators are going well too, I've felt comfortable in them lately, with the language as well as the doctrine. A few of our lessons have been really blessed with the spirit. :)
Howden Shimai left at 3am on Monday, she only had five hours of notice! We got her all packed up and she's in Kobe now. She was so excited to finally leave the MTC, and I'm sure she's doing great. With her leaving we're now back to a trio, it honestly feels like we never really switched in the first place. On a scary note, Miller Shimai choked on some candy and we had to ride an ambulance down to the ER. It was pretty awful, but everything is fine now. She's a tough little cookie! I'm going to probably have someone chew all of her food for her now, ha. Oh, speaking of food, I'm so excited to not eat at here anymore. It's just too much!
We did see that rainstorm, it was awesome! The outside stairway was like a waterfall! Someone came on the intercom and told all the missionaries to go back in, it was kind of sad but funny. Watashitachi wa kodomotachi desu. (We are all children) :)
Later today I'm going to the temple again today, last time for 16 months. I really hope you've taken the chance to go recently. The temple is my favorite place, you all need to try and go this week if you haven't for awhile. My time is up! As always thanks for the love and support, I know you'll all keep me in your prayers during this upcoming week. I can't believe my time has come! Sometimes I don't think there is anyway that I could even be ready for it, so I guess I'll just jump in, ha ha. Oh yes, I'm not sure when my Pday is going to be, so my next email could come at any time. That's all I've got, hopefully I wasn't jumping around too much. I start not making sense when I think about what's about go down shortly.
Japan, we're almost on our way...
Love you all,
Megan
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Week Seven, MTC 9/03/13
Hey Family,
How is everyone? I'm doing great here, as usual, but getting nervous to leave! Only two weeks left.. We all got our katakana name tags this week, I'll write what mine looks like in the one I send home, it's pretty cool. We also get our travel plans this week. Things are getting pretty official. I'm getting so excited to leave, but sometimes it seems like I've just been called to serve here, ha. The first morning I wake up in Japan I will probably not believe I'm actually there.
We got our new teachers this week, they're really great. I miss our old ones a lot, but the sting isn't so bad since the new ones, Hugo Sensei and Oshima Sensei, are wonderful. We don't have very much time to get them progressing, but it's okay. Our lessons with them are going so much better than before too. We've gotten a lot better at teaching, but there is still a lot of work to do. I feel for my first trainer in Japan. It's also been a whole week of just being two with Soderquist Shimai, and it's been good. I miss Miller Shimai, but her new companion, Howden Shimai, is just lovely. She's super funny and witty and always has great comments in class. She's a great addition to our district. She's going to Kobe though, so we won't see her after she leaves, which might actually be this week, we'll see. We might become three again if she leaves before us.
Our Nihonjin that leave with us also came, I haven't met any of the sisters yet, but a couple of the choro came to our class last night and they're going to Sapporo too. They were both really sweet, meeting missionaries from Japan makes me so excited to go! Tonight we're going to all meet each other and try to use our Japanese skills to communicate.
I'm running out of time quick, so I'll wrap this up so I can respond to the others I got. Sorry for the short one, I'm honestly having a hard time remembering what was this week and what was the ones before. Thanks to everyone for the love and prayers. I just love being a missionary, and I can't wait to get to Japan. I hope you all have a happy and safe week. Sophie looks so dang cute without her tooth! I'm sure she's getting plenty of love, so I won't insist that you hug her for me, but it would never be a bad idea to do it anyway. Love you all, see you soon.
Love,
Megan
PS, first picture is of Miller Shimai and I, then we have one with just Howden Shimai, a spontaneous district shot and the last one is just the Sapporo missionaries that were at the temple that day. I sure love these people.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
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