Week 28

Hello everyone,

We had transfers this week, and I am staying in Abeno, yay! I feel like I have just been called to serve here and will stay here forever, haha which is okay because Abeno is the best!
 
I do have a new companion though! Her name is Griswold Shimai, she is from Idaho and she's super cute. We get along super well, I have just always been blessed with amazing companions. ;) 

This week was just kind of weird with transfers and everything, but I wanted to share some great experiences from this week! 

We were teaching one of our investigators today about the Restoration, we explained dispensations and Joseph Smith and all of these great things. She seemed to understand everything which was great, we asked her if she had any questions. And she was saying how everything makes sense, but when it comes to Joseph Smith, its hard to believe that he actually had those experiences (coming from someone who has no Christian background, it's understandable) So we decided to read the last two paragraphs of the Book of Mormon Introduction together, which basically summarizes Moroni's promise and how through the BOM we can know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. We read it together, and right after we finished, she just got this look on her face. She told us that while we were reading she had this peaceful and good feeling that she could know for herself that this was true. We literally witnessed the spirit working within her, it was so cool. We explained to her that that was the spirit and that's how God answers our prayers. She thought that was the coolest thing (probably because it is haha). As a missionary I've just learned how important the power of the spirit really is, without it, our message would just be a nice thing to live by, not counsel and guidance from God! 

That's about it for this week, love you all! 

Favorite scripture of the week, 
 2 Nephi 27: 23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.

GOD IS GOOD, MIRACLES ARE REAL, and I LOVE JAPAN!

Love, クリステンセン姉妹

Us with Noe and Kana - a drawing we drew of the four of us

My District- Fonnesbeck 長老, Baldridge 長老, Emerson 長老, Glather 長老, McCuen 姉妹, Me, Grover姉妹, Johnson 姉妹

Tenpura and Soba

Our companion theme was "God is Good" we would always sing the Nashville Tribute Band song

One of our English Class Students

Week 27

HELLOOO EVERYONE! 

Lots of amazing experiences this week, I wish I was a good writer so I could explain how great the mission is! 

This week I went on a companion exchange with 坂本姉妹 (Sakamoto) as you can probably tell she is Japanese, and it was soooo much fun. Can I just say the gift on tongues is real my friends. We had the opportunity to go visit a member's (Kishi Shimai) Mom in a rest home where she was staying. She has really bad dementia, I believe? I am not exactly sure but she has a really bad memory, and we had the same conversations a couple of times. But she was the cutest person ever. Whenever she saw me she was just so taken back and would either say, "Ahhh a pretty American" or  "Ehhh you're not Japanese". haha, She was just so astounded that I was sitting in front of her, and could understand what she was saying. It was pretty funny.  Later on, we somehow got into the subject of her husband (the member's father) who passed away a couple years ago. She just kept asking where he was, and what happened to him, it absolutely broke my heart. But I was so astounded by what the Member said to her mother. After every time she informed her mom that her husband had entered into heaven she said something like, "But its okay, because of Jesus Christ", " Because of Jesus Christ we can have 安心 (relief, peace of mind)", "Because of Jesus Christ we will all see him again someday". The spirit was so strong in the room.  Like I mentioned she would forget what we were talking about, so we had the same conversation multiple times. But the member would always trace back to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Which I loved so much!  I know without a doubt that the Plan of Salvation is real, we will see our families again, we can be happy and receive peace in this life and the next, and that is because of Jesus Christ!  The spirit just testified to what she was saying was true, and we all shed some tears together. Afterward, the member explained to us that she was baptized when she was 27, and her parents we against the church and anything to do with Jesus Christ, to the extent that she wasn't allowed to talk about what she believed. She told us that that experience was one of the first times she was able to truly testify to her mother, of Jesus Christ. That she knew that her father was there as well and that she could truthfully tell her mom that her father's temple work was done, and she would one day see him because of Jesus Christ. I am not sure if her mom will remember that experience, but I am so grateful I was able to share that moment with her. I can't begin to explain how lucky we are to have this knowledge! 

Saturday was probably one of the weirdest days ever. On Sunday night we had a family home evening with this really cute couple and the elders volunteered us to make dinner for everyone (thanks elders). We had no idea what to make because it was so far away, we don't know how to cook, and as a missionary, you are not exactly rolling in cash. So we ended up making a whole thing of curry in this giant pot. We had a couple of appointments before the FHE and there wasn't any way we could cook it later. So we ended up having to carry a giant backpack full of curry for the entire day, while we were finding, visiting less actives, and biking, I wish I could express how ridiculous this was haha. But after a long day, we and the curry survived and all was well. We had a really fun family home evening, we talked about how God is literally in every detail of our lives, and he designed little experiences of put things in our life just to make us happy. Even things like having music to listen to when your day is hard, having pretty sunsets, or ice cream which makes everyone happy right? He loves us so much, and the more we recognize all that he has given us, the more happiness we will feel! Seriously sooo blessseeeddd. After the FHE we had a solid 37 minutes to get home, and it was definitely over an hour bike ride. I just let Jesus take the wheel on that one because my body was so exhausted, which he totally did because we got home in 34 minutes!! Can I just say, God is so good everyone.

Quotes of the week:

" Please bless that we can travel safe with the curry"

" With God, all things are impossible" - wise words from my companion, she obviously got the wording wrong haha 

That's about it for this week, Thank you for all the prayers and support, you are all amazing, Love you all so much! 

Love, クリステンセン姉妹

Us at our favorite sushi and ramen places! 

I got my hair cut and they curled my hair, first time ever. 

Us in our カッパ (raincoat) from the ward

Me and the giant bag of curry

me and the ramen

Us and some Japanese lol 

One of our cute English Class Students

Post from Sister Smoot on the Japan Kobe Mission FB Page

More pictures of your amazing missionaries!💕 They bring joy and great faith to our mission!

Week 26

Hello everyone! 

Wow, what a crazy and exhausting week, it has been awesome!

I just wanted to say thank you for everyone's prayers and support, we seriously have felt it, even all the way out here in Japan! 

This week was full of so many miracles, we had an appointment every single day, we were so blessed! Even though Japan doesn't have the highest baptismal rate or whatever, the work is seriously growing out here and it is so fun to be a part of! I shouldn't brag, but Japan is just the best.

There were a couple things in my personal study that I loved, (also can we just say that the new Come Follow Me program is so inspired, like WOW).  Anyway I was reading in 2nd Nephi 2 where it talks about how there is opposition in all things, which I have read and heard many times, but it was just the greatest reminder to me. Sometimes when I hear that I just think of opposition like Good against evil, and how the world is full of scary things we can't control. But then I took a step back and thought about how there is opposition in my life. And how we can be so much happier when we realize that we need the opposition in our life. We need hard experiences just as much as we need the joyous ones. "He shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain" v.2. There was one time this week where I was just riding my bike, the sun was shining, no one was telling us to go away, people thought I was pro at Japanese just because I said Good afternoon, life was just great. And I just thought to myself, why can't a mission just be like this? or why can't life just be like this? Where things were going smoothly, and life was just great. But I realized that I wouldn't learn anything if that is what my mission just was, I wouldn't draw closer to my Savior, I wouldn't grow in ways that I didn't know were possible, and I would take for granted how amazing life really can be. I am not saying I want hard days all the time, but I do know that there is a reason that we have them and I am so grateful we have a Heavenly Father who knows what's best for us. "All things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things" v.24. I know that during the trial, it's really hard and discouraging, but I challenge everyone to just keep trusting in the Lord because I promise he doesn't want us to feel miserable, hopeless, or sad. Embrace the opposition! He really will give you the strength to endure, and one day we will all look back and realize how that experience has blessed us.

Love and miss you all. Have a great week! 

Here are some great quotes of the week, 

”you're married to an idiot"- words from my lovely companion, who thought I was her spouse for some reason haha 

"I have a sudden urge to meet with you immediately"- wise words from a classic Japanese English shirt, where they just buy it because it has English words but it makes no sense haha 

Love, Christensen Shimai 

Ellie on an elephant

Origami 

Grover Shimai had some neck problems so a member who is some sort of Japanese Chiropractor gave both of us a session for free (don't worry we got permission from our Mission President) but we couldn't help but laugh at the weird techniques. 

He just had like a rubber mallet and block and went crazy haha, it was kinda cool.

Week 25

Sorry, I don't have a group email this week, I don't really know what to talk about. I told you guys everything that I loved, but idk if other people will really care...and I try to keep things about my investigators confidential, because it's personal to them, everything that goes on, and I personally wouldn't want a bunch of random people reading about me and what is going on in my life if that makes sense, so yeah sorry. So maybe just the pictures and tell everyone I love them

My mom added this to the letter: I got her permission to add that they have two teenage girls that committed to baptism!!! She is super excited but their parents don't approve so Ellie said "please keep them in your prayers, we just hope that everything continues to work out, the most important thing for someone to receive baptism though is to have that desire, and they have it!!! Seriously so amazing. "

The pictures are of the tallest building in Japan, it looks over her area.  She has also taken up watercolor painting. That's the Kobe Kanji symbol - not sure what that means. So, it looks like her growth is carrying over to other areas of her life :) 

 Grover Shimai

 Photos taken from the 60th floor of the tallest building in Japan, Harukas

  Watercolor of the Kobe Kanji symbol

Cute picture a member drew, Grover Shimai on the left, me the right

 Christmas PJ's

I love a good corndog