Oh Family!
It would be a lie to say I’m not a little envious right now of all you who were able to get together and enjoy the holiday. The night of July 3rd I realized that the next day was Independence Day and started humming the National Anthem. Then I didn’t even have time to take note of the occasion until about 9pm on July 4th. I’m glad I didn’t have any time to think about it and all the things that would be happening that day. I sure do love America.
Maren - thanks for the note! I think about the hike sometimes right before I fall asleep because here we only sleep on futons... I guess I find it entertaining that I’m in one of the most populous, technologically advanced places, and I’m sleeping on the floor. I don’t know what I’ll ever use a bed for from now on : )
Sadie- Good to hear from you! I am 21, but in less than a month I’ll be 22... whaoh. Mom’s favorite year! And next time I see you I’ll be 23! Wow. And then the next year I’ll probably be so old I’ll die! Ha.
Mom, thanks for all the letters you send me from Cam. I love them. Really though, you don’t need to worry about "catching up"! Mom, I’ve been thinking about you lately when we go to visit the houses of less active members. Sometimes, as we are on our way I think about how great it would be if they could just have you as a visiting teacher. That’s pretty much just what we do - go visiting teaching once every couple weeks. Actually I heard a quote about how missionary work is just visiting teaching to our non-member friends, and visiting teaching is just being a missionary to our member friends. Anyway, I think about you a lot when we are trying to figure out how to help people get to church.
Investigators: Last Saturday we met a lady from Mongolia named Saraa. She had heard of our church in Mongolia and we talked a little bit about it and got her number. Then last night she came to FHE. I found out that she had actually been thinking of joining our church while in Mongolia, but her friend who is a member told her that Mormon men can marry two wives. So she got scared and lost interest. I think she’s our most promising candidate for baptism right now, even though she hasn’t even had a lesson yet from us. She’s the sort of person that you just look at and know they are good and honest. Her full name in Mongolian means moon-flower. She’s here in Japan getting her Masters so she can teach English at a university. We have a lesson on Saturday.
I’ve decided that the #1 saddest thing to see as a missionary is people who are inactive. People who have tasted the gospel, enjoyed its fruits (sometimes for their whole life) and then decide they don’t need it any more. We talked to a lady like that last week. She served a mission in Washington DC, got married in the temple, has 5 kids, and was released as Relief Society President this January. Then in March the earthquake happened. All the missionaries were evacuated. People just left to go to other places and a lot of things just shut down, yet the day after the earthquake her son still had seminary. That was just too much for her. She lost faith in the way the church was run and the things it asks of its members, and her family hasn’t been to church since. She was flat out honest with us. She said she’s just plain tired and worn out from being a member of this church. I have to say, more of me than I’d like to admit empathized with her. The church does ask a lot of its members. And it seems to ask more and more, the more you give to it. It was weird to talk to her - she looked and reminded me a lot of Aunt Megan, oddly enough. And I could tell she had not too long ago been a real strength to the ward. One of the "truly faithful". I wondered how a woman like her, after all these years, would let an earthquake shake her faith. She wasn’t at all angry, or mad. Just tired. I realized how important enduring to the end is. She’s come so far, and I’d like to hope that she’ll come back, but in all honesty I don’t see that happening. She knows the church is true. She knows the gospel. And in the back of her mind I think she believes that "someday" she’ll come back to church, but for now she’s just taking a "break". She will probably procrastinate like that for the rest of her life. It reminds me of Alma 24:30. It’s true that we are never safe until we are dead. We have to work out our salvation for our whole entire life. Ok, I’ll stop ranting now or whoever is reading this will fall asleep thinking about all the work they have left to do. But, I guess I just realized the importance of choosing NOW to always do what the Lord asks.
Dad- thanks a bajillion for the DEs. Best luck in preparing for all the summer festivities.
Favorite scripture of the week: Ether 3:5. Yonde Kudasai! (Please read it!)
In a letter I got from Cam he said he always gets so confused between Spanish and English. Well, Japanese is coming pretty slowly, but at least I NEVER have that problem! Japanese and English are so completely different that there’s not really a way you could confuse the two. I feel like I’ve spent my whole life using my English brain and now I’m trying to create a brand new Japanese brain...
But the two are so different that I never mistake one for the other.
Pictures: The first - "Missionary parking". Our district all went and got lunch one day.
The second is us and the Yamanita couple at church the day they gave their farewell talks. They are going on a mission in northern Japan. Some of the BEST people I have ever met. We went to their house my first or second day here and Brother Yamanita had some questions for me to answer about some scriptures in English... he is reading the English Book of Mormon! Great people.
Ok. Gotta go. SO Sorry I can’t write more often to you all. This hour for e-mail is the only writing time we ever get. I love you and miss you!!!
-Waite Shimai
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