August 1

Another week in humid, sweaty, missionary Japanese paradise!  It seems most of the investigators we have been working with the past couple months are all just slipping away. The most devastating was getting friend zoned by one of them. We hadn't been able to meet with her for a while and decided to visit her. We talked with her for a minute and it ended with her saying, "I want to be just friends, okay?" I was just kind of quiet and she goes "do you know what I mean?'"And I just nodded again and that was that. Yeah getting friend zoned is the WORST, never expected it to come from one of our investigators youth. I'm planning on just writing out my testimony and a little letter and hope it'll soften her heart. It's so heart breaking seeing so many miracles with her, growing to love her so deeply and build a friendship with her, see her faith and testing grow, then have it end. Now I just pray she will be more open to it in the future. 

With most of our investigators vanishing, we didn't have a lot going on this week besides dendo, but we had a crazy huge miracle with one of our Eikaiwa moms that has now had two lessons and come to church two times! You know how people talk about people they know they were meant to meet on their missions? Mayumi San is that person for me. She has truly brought herself to the gospel. She has the purest, most humble heart and I just see the desire she has for the truth of this gospel. There are so many incredible things ahead for her! Funny moment with her: in our lesson we were talking about baptism, and she said she didn't think she would accept it soon, but that maybe in the future sometime. We said that was alright and that she can learn at her own pace! Then she asked if she got baptized wile I was here if I would get a bonus or extra points. I was so confused. Finally I figured out that she thought we get some kind of reward or level up or bonus (on our $0 a day colter salary) if we had someone baptized. She was basically saying if that were the case she would get baptized while I was here because she really wants that for me but that she would really rather wait and go a little slower. It was so cute and sweet of her, and I'm not sure if that explanation made sense, but basically I just really love her and know we were meant to find each other. 

We had zone conference this week and talked a lot about charity and love. What I got out of it was this: 

To develop charity and love, we must serve others. As we serve others, God blesses us with a love for them that we cannot gain any other way. I've learned that time and again with companions. Service precedes love.

 I've also always been amazed at the love that we feel for these people that we have never met or barely know. This week it clicked for me that the reason we can so easily feel that love is because we are serving people nearly every second of the day as missionaries! God rewards that service by allowing us to feel the love He has for each of His children here on this earth. 

I love this gospel, I love this country, and I love this time in my life.

Go out of your way and serve someone this week and you'll be blessed with a little extra loooove. 

All my love, Sundell Shimai 

Sometimes when we aren't getting any love from people we talk to, we have to revert to holding stray cats, but then they don't love us either.

s

Am I a REAL missionary yet? Farmers sunburn, watch and ring tan!

Hoff house madness as always.

Ran out of Japanese boms so here's an English version this week!