Konnichiwa Kazoku!
To
answer your questions, Lowe Shimai is from Chicago. She knows Sam and Kazia from their home
stakes in Illinois.
Sunday. Our zone before our Sempai left (the "Elders" who left for Japan Monday).
Let
me explain service. So every Tuesday we are assigned to help take down
chairs and put away the bleachers after the Devotional. That is one of
our service projects. Every Wednesday morning, we get to clean
buildings. Our assignment is to clean a building that is fairly new, but
they have to remodel the bathrooms so we have been cleaning it. It is a
residence hall, I suppose I should clarify. We have wiped out window
seals, and have cleaned bed frames. We have cleaned out drawers and we
have swept and dusted stair cases. Yesterday however, it was our lucky
pleasure to clean out the lights. Let me explain in detail.
We (Lowe
Shimai and I) were given a ladder and rags. I climbed precariously up to
the top of the ladder, knowing that the last job in the world that I
want is to be on the top of a ladder. We carefully unlatched the hooks
that keep the lights covered, and then the cover swings down and we were
told to just wipe out the covering. To my displeasure, there were bugs.
Real live dead bugs waiting to torment me as I swung the pane down.
Yes. I didn't like it. So, if you ever look up at lights in a building,
and see dark spots, those are bugs. And some poor person, maybe even a
missionary, has the misfortune to clean them out. HOWEVER, it was
actually kinda fun, and we got a lot of work done in the hour and a half
we were assigned. Also it gave my legs a nice work out. So, service
depends on what they want us to do. It is basically just missionaries
taking care of the buildings and stuff. So, yep.
Some of the girls in our Zone.
On Thursday night, I forced my companion up to the main
lobby and we went to see if Rachel was there, and she was! It was really
good to see her. And then to my surprise, President Briscoe came walking
by, and I told him I wasn't able to send any pictures earlier that day
and it was such a miracle! It was a tender mercy!
Me and Rachel!
Earlier
this week we learned a new principle about Japanese grammar. We were
introduced to the concept of conjugating adjectives. Umm. Okay. I'm all
for conjugating and, you know, learning a language, but that was just
way hard to wrap my head around. We were being taught about the word "to
want." In Japanese they use it as an adjective not a verb. Its so
weird. Also, to make it less of a forward statement they will add, "I
think" at the end of the sentence. For example:
I think I want to eat.
Watashi wa tabe tai to omoimasu. (I think that's correct. Just don't look it up and pretend it is.)
Our
sensei was telling us that she would talk to people on their intercom's
and they would say "I think I want you to hang up" all of the time.
hahah it was funny.
We had a chips and salsa night real quick before bed.
Well, what else can I tell
you. Oh, so we were teaching our "investigator" yesterday and we had
prepared a pretty good lesson, all in Japanese with out any help from
our grammar books. We got into the lesson, and it was my turn to bear
testimony of what we had taught and I got really frustrated in my head
because all I knew how to say was
"Iesu
Kirisuto wa taisetsu desu. Josefu Sumisu wa taisetsu desu. Seirei ga
taisetsu kanijiru masu." (Christ is important. Joseph Smith is
important. It's important for us to feel the spirit.) I wasn't even sure
if I had said any of that right or if I had even made sense of the
conjugations or if I had even put the words in the right order. I didn't
really know what to do with myself when the lesson was over. I felt
like I had so much more to say about our lesson and about what I knew to
be true, and I felt really inadequate.
However, on Tuesday, Gerald
Causse and his wife from the Presiding Bishopric came and taught the
devotional, and he had talked about how sometimes it is important for us
to feel inadequate. He said that because we are young and because we
aren't sure what exactly we are doing we are more pliable and more
willing to get on our knees and ask the Lord for help. I was comforted
by the remembrance of those words. I felt dumb for thinking what I had
said wasn't adequate, because it's not me who teaches, it is the spirit,
and as long as what I say is what I know to be true, and I mean it
sincerely, the Spirit will continue to guide and comfort and testify to
the investigator of the truths that I was able to state.
Lowe
Shimai and I had the opportunity to teach on Sunday. We had to teach a
lesson to our district. The topic was on the Holy Ghost. We studied
chapter 4 in Preach My Gospel and gave our lesson. It was really
successful. I felt like we had great team work and that we had good
class participation, and had a good discussion. We showed the videos
from Elder Bednar "Patterns of Light." Look them up and watch them some
time! They are really deep and powerful and yet easy to understand.
I
was looking in the mirror the other day, I just had to use the
bathroom, but I was thinking "I really love my family." And I was
looking, and I could see parts of myself that looked like parts of all
of you. Maybe that sounds weird, but I was comforted knowing that our
time apart really isn't very significant in the grand scheme of things.
Cute hearts you sent I hung up in my room!
Nothing
has changed. I'm definitely used to the MTC. It's funny when people
come in, and they are like "Oh I got here a week ago, and I'll be here
for 5 more weeks." I'm thinking.... you got here after me, and are
leaving before me!! hAhahAhAhhAhAHh JODAN! (joke!) OH I have to tell you
something Margaret. The other day we were saying "Jinsei wa muzukashii
desu." Which means, "life is hard" because we were all really tired and
had just finished our first 3 hour lesson block. And our teacher was
like, "Ieh! Jinsei wa tanoshii desu!" Which means, "No! Life is fun!"
and then to my utter astonishment he did something so similar to the
"jelly fish" that I just laughed so hard. Part of it was "MTC madness"
the other part was that it just reminded me of you and your silliness!
Last week on P-Day having lunch.
I
have received all of your letters and packages and I LOVED them all!
Mom, thanks for keeping me sane. I loved the cookies and the chips and
stuff, and all of the history you were able to send to me. Mom, that
skirt looks awesome! I can't wait for it to come.
I
am sorry I don't have more to say, I love you all and hope you are all
happy. I'm praying for you all to get better, and for you to have what
you need. Scotty, Happy Birthday, and I hope you were able to get an
Amp!
I LOVE YOU
Ai shite imasu!
Raines Shimai
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