Nov. 26, 2015
Happy Thanksgiving to all on this email list that I love! There is
lots going on today, so this will be short.
I'm still loving my time here, and I'm honestly a little terrified to
go to Japan. I know I'll be so lost with the language. I feel like my
mission will feel real at that point and not like I'm just at a two
month long EFY an hour away from people I know. I'll be in Japan in a
little over two weeks and that is crazy!

This week during my scripture study, the story of Abinidi really made
an impact on me. This is what stuck out to me. Have faith like abinidi
in that we do everything in our power to defend Gods name and do his
will. Then, if we do these things, we will be able to say to God
"receive my soul". Had Abinidi not declared Gods word to wicked King
Lamoni, alma would not have heard it and been converted, and in turn
many of Gods other children would not have heard the gospel. This
gospel is a chain reaction! Our actions and decisions do not just
affect us, they affect our posterity for generations to come!
We will not always be delivered from danger, but We will always
receive Gods perfect will. I am so thankful for Abinidi's example of
defending this gospel!

This week in choir we sang "precious savior, dear redeemer" and it was
amazing! At the point when it says "curb the winds and calm the
billows, bid the angry tempest cease" there was so much power and the
spirit was so calming. I encourage you to read and ponder the lyrics
of the song.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day full of thanks and love. Family- I
miss you all and I'm thankful for the eternity we have together. You
are all my greatest blessing and I love you more and more each day!

All my love, Sundell Shimai

Here's a lot of people from my zone this morning doing laundry (notice
pashy in the back flirting)

Morgan and pashy let me fill in their eyebrows.

Nov. 19, 2015
Time is flying by here, my companion is still wonderful, Japanese is
still hard, the food is still wretched (pb and honey sandwiches are my
best friend) and the gospel is still miraculous!
The food here has no fiber, so last week I asked mom to send me some
fiber supplement and she sent me a little bag of fiber. Then, on
Monday I got a package from dad. If you have been in our home more
than about two times, theres a good chance my dad has talked to you
about his love of fiber. He's slightly obsessed with it, and the whole
family likes to give him a hard time about how much he loves his
fiber. So, when he heard I asked for fiber, he went to work. On Monday
I got a package of fiber, cups, spoons, electric hand mixers, and "the
fiber challenge." He challenged the whole district to start drinking
fiber after each meal. He was sure to mention that fiber is not for
old people and is not a laxative. My district was a little wary but
all agreed to do it and we've been having fiber parties two times a
day since! There's an elder in the district, who shall remain
nameless, that has horrible gas all the time so we are all praying the
fiber helps him. This is a weird topic to put in the email I guess but
there it is!
Thanksgiving is Thursday, aka pday, so next week we don't get a pday
which is a bummer. I think we will have a little time to email and do
laundry on different days next week, so I'm not sure when the next
group email will come. Also, on the thanksgiving day schedule it says
we will be eating "sack dinners in your classroom." Your prayers are
much appreciated. I've heard that thanksgiving here is amazing, so the
spirit must be pretty incredible to make up for the fact that all our
meals are in a brown paper bag that day. I'm a little skeptic, but
I'll keep an open mind about it.
The mtc is difficult sometimes. And I'm sure the field is going to be
more difficult. However, the love that I feel so often here completely
overshadows the difficulties. This gospel is so incredible! Its so
rich and abundant, yet so simple. There have been many times where I'm
overwhelmed by all that I want to improve about myself, but these
times are always followed by beautiful spiritual experiences that
remind me of my potential and of God's help and love.
On Tuesday we had a devotional by Kim Clark, and he told a few
miraculous mission stories from around the world about being guided by
the spirit. The more mission experiences I hear, the more my testimony
of God's guidance is strengthened. This is His work, and we are truly
being led by His hand. We are all brothers and sisters, and we are all
God's children. It's so amazing to have the opportunity to serve my
spirit brothers and sisters in Japan! I'm so excited to get there! And
also terrified to leave the mtc because I don't know Japanese. So that
should be interesting.
Mckenzie shimai and I went to the temple this morning and did
initiatories and a session and it was so wonderful! I love the temple
with all my heart. If you're reading this right now and haven't been
to the temple in the last two weeks, GO! And if you don't have a
recommend, do whatever you need to do to get one. The blessings of the
temple are limitless and the love and peace there is incredible. It
really is the place where we can be the closest to God.
The mtc is really so amazing. It's hard sometimes being so
disconnected from the world, but it's also a blessing. We're not
distracted by any technology, news, current events, etc. so it really
makes an environment that is perfect to learn in. There are no
distractions- just us and the Lord. And Japanese.
My teachers (3) are so wonderful. Every day we have 3-6 hours of
instruction time by them, and it's so helpful. They care so much and
are really inspired in how to help us improve.
I love this gospel with all my soul and I know it is true! Our Savior
loves us, and is always there for us. Christ's way truly is "the path
that leads to happiness in this life, and eternal life in the world to
come."

Love, Sundell Shimai

Also, read The Living Christ!

Turns out the mtc walls are the perfect width to balance between! (We've got a lot of time on our hands)

I still struggle staying awake (I'm waking up in this one, I don't sleep with my eyes half open) (mom dad, I"m working hard when I'm awake, promise)

First fiber party.

Nov. 12, 2015
The spirit here in the mtc is incredible! We had the most wonderful
devotional on Tuesday and the spirit was so powerful. The mtc choir
director here is one of the biggest blessings in this experience. He
shares inspiring stories that relate to the songs we are singing, and
it always brings such a strong spirit. This week we sang nearer my god
to thee, which is already my favorite church song, so I knew it would
be good. He shared the story of Jacob fleeing into the wilderness that
the song was based off of. The song climaxed with "so by my woes to
be, nearer my God to thee" and the power that was there was unearthly
(I'm convinced Angels were singing with us) and I just started crying!
I was so overwhelmed by the power of the spirit testifying of the
truth and majesty of this gospel. I hope to always remember that
moment.
I also love those lyrics! It really is through our woes, sorrows, and
distress that we become nearer to God. If we turn to Him in those
times, our relationship with Him is developed and strengthened.

The days and weeks here all kind of just mesh together, so I'm not
really sure what all happened since the last email. Our district had a
limbo competition one night that ended rather badly. The comp was down
to me and Rodrigues choro (he's oddly flexible, kind of creepy
actually) and we were all getting into it. Keep in mind we are doing
this in our tiny little classroom. Rodriguez went again and lost his
balance once he was under the board, fell to his knees, fell forward,
and banged his mouth on the edge of one of the desks and it
immediately started bleeding. He ended up with a swollen, split lip,
bit into his lip a little, had a swollen gum, and left teeth marks in
the desk. Yeah the competition ended after that. He's all good now
though and has even agreed to a rematch in a larger room! I'll keep
you all posted as to who wins.

It snowed here this weekend and it was gorgeous! We were all in the
classroom talking about the snow then somehow started talking about
the pioneers. Sherrill choro (the recent convert) then started talking
about "snowflake corner" and we all just gave him a really confused
look, then realized he was referring to "winter quarters." We all had
a good laugh.
I have a new nickname thanks to Morgan choro, Sunny-D.
Everything is going well and I'm happy! I'm being pushed and stretched
and pulled and twisted in many ways but I know it's all helping me to
grow!

D&C 16:6

Subete watashi no ai, Sundell Shimai

Look who joined me at the MTC!

Mckensie Shimai giving herself a hair cut.

NOVEMBER 12, 1015

The spirit here in the mtc is incredible! We had the most wonderful
devotional on Tuesday and the spirit was so powerful. The mtc choir
director here is one of the biggest blessings in this experience. He
shares inspiring stories that relate to the songs we are singing, and
it always brings such a strong spirit. This week we sang nearer my god
to thee, which is already my favorite church song, so I knew it would
be good. He shared the story of Jacob fleeing into the wilderness that
the song was based off of. The song climaxed with "so by my woes to
be, nearer my God to thee" and the power that was there was unearthly
(I'm convinced Angels were singing with us) and I just started crying!
I was so overwhelmed by the power of the spirit testifying of the
truth and majesty of this gospel. I hope to always remember that
moment.
I also love those lyrics! It really is through our woes, sorrows, and
distress that we become nearer to God. If we turn to Him in those
times, our relationship with Him is developed and strengthened.

The days and weeks here all kind of just mesh together, so I'm not
really sure what all happened since the last email. Our district had a
limbo competition one night that ended rather badly. The comp was down
to me and Rodrigues choro (he's oddly flexible, kind of creepy
actually) and we were all getting into it. Keep in mind we are doing
this in our tiny little classroom. Rodriguez went again and lost his
balance once he was under the board, fell to his knees, fell forward,
and banged his mouth on the edge of one of the desks and it
immediately started bleeding. He ended up with a swollen, split lip,
bit into his lip a little, had a swollen gum, and left teeth marks in
the desk. Yeah the competition ended after that. He's all good now
though and has even agreed to a rematch in a larger room! I'll keep
you all posted as to who wins.

It snowed here this weekend and it was gorgeous! We were all in the
classroom talking about the snow then somehow started talking about
the pioneers. Sherrill choro (the recent convert) then started talking
about "snowflake corner" and we all just gave him a really confused
look, then realized he was referring to "winter quarters." We all had
a good laugh.
I have a new nickname thanks to Morgan choro, Sunny-D.
Everything is going well and I'm happy! I'm being pushed and stretched
and pulled and twisted in many ways but I know it's all helping me to
grow!

D&C 16:6

Subete watashi no ai, Sundell Shimai

Last time seeing Elder Jorgensen, he's in the field now!

Pics for week of Nov 5, 2015

Isn't McKenzie shimai the cutest? We loooove temple walk Sundays. This is her first time experiencing fall!

The district got super festive for Halloween (Thank you Sister Jorgensen for the mustaches!)

There are Christmas lights up already and it makes nights so beautiful!

Nov 5, 2015
The time is going by so quickly! We got new Japanese missionaries this
week so we aren't the youngest anymore, which is exciting. Monday was
pretty eventful (well as eventful as the mtc gets) The chorotachi and
my companion and I went on a nature walk (walk around mtc campus) in
the afternoon and Morgan choro decided to do a handstand on this big
upturned u shape air vent. He got upright then kept ongoing, fell off
the pipe, and landed in a crumpled ball on his head in the bushes. We
all collapsed to the floor laughing. It was definitely the highlight
of the week. He's the life of our district and always keeps us
laughing. THEN, a few hours later we were cleaning the classroom and
Morgan choro vacuumed up an iPad charging cord and ripped it to
shreds. It made the most awful noise and I swear it started smoking.
Monday just wasn't his day, but he sure kept us entertained!

On Sunday, Mckenzie Shimai and I were made sister training leaders! We
already love serving the women in our zone and have had many
opportunities to serve them. A lot of the sisters have been sick this
week, so it's our job to bring them meals and check up on them. We are
excited to get to know all the sisters better and help them with
anything they need. The calling really helps us not focus on ourselves
and make others the top priority, which is amazing!

The thing I've learned this week is the importance of living in such a
way that the spirit can constantly be with us. In the mtc we teach
"investigators" every day or every other day. The lessons are
completely in Japanese and we can't just read out of preach my gospel
or a teaching manual we have. Our investigators are actually our
Japanese teachers, and they are acting like real investigators they
taught while they served In Japan. We find out the investigators
backstory and in the lessons they respond as the actual person did
when they taught them.  Written out like that, it sounds pretty weird
that we are teaching our teachers while they are acting like a
different person, but that's how it is. This week Mckenzie shimai and
I had an AMAZING lesson. It was on God's love and prayer. We were able
to communicate with our "investigator" and she completely opened up to
us. The spirit was so strong and it testified of the things we were
teaching. The lesson was not successful because we spoke Japanese
wonderfully and knew all the words we needed to say, rather it was
successful because the spirit was there. We said a sincere prayers
before going into the lesson that the spirit would be there and help
Nozomi understand the principles we taught.

*moral of the story, the spirit is the most important thing in my life
right now and with it, I can transcend the MASSIVE japanese language barrier. I believe
that these lessons we are teaching are not to teach us how to preach
in Japanese, but to learn how to teach by the spirit. The Japanese
people won't be converted by our Japanese abilities, they will be
converted by the spirit. And that is the most comforting truth! The
Lord is on our side, and with Him, we cannot fail.

I love this gospel and Know it is true!

My sweet mom is keeping all my emails and pictures on a mission blog,
so if you would like to see my first few emails, check it out!
sistersundell.blogspot.com

Love, Sundell Shimai