I'm Living in Japan!

June 19, 2017

I'm Living in Japan!

Long time no email! I have officially survived one week in Japan. Lots to talk about today and not a lot of time, so without further ado, here's what you need to know.

First: My first area is....*cue drumroll* TOYOHASHI! It's in the Okazaki Zone and is quite large. It's a nice mix of rural and city, and has tons of rivers running through it. There's also LOTS of car dealerships because we are close to Toyota. We serve in the Toyohashi Ward and they are great. It's a nice mix of the older generation and young families. The kids are all adorable, but kinda hyper, haha. It's been great getting to know them all over the past week. There's also a ton of Brazilians in this area, and one of the elders we serve with is actually from Brazil and called to speak Portuguese here. It's been really cool seeing how the ward works. Every meeting is translated into both Japanese and Portuguese so that everyone can understand. And then there's me, not understanding either, haha. But it's fun and I'm excited to continue learning Japanese--and maybe some Portuguese as well.

Second: My second companion (and trainer) is....*cue another drumroll* Sister Jones from St. George, Utah! Haha, she went to Pine View, so we didn't know each other before the mission, but it was a fun coincidence. She's half-American, half-Taiwanese, and full on hilarious. It's been super fun spending the last week with her and I look forward to spending the next 5 (at least) with her. She's on her second to last transfer, so the odds of us staying together until she goes home are very high. She's great at the language and has a great work ethic. When we came into the area, we were kind of "white-washing" it. [White washing is when brand new missionaries come into an area, so there's no appointments set up or investigators or anything like that] Because of that, we haven't really taught very much this past week. But we're both determined to change that and have our schedules filled with lessons. I'm excited for more chances to teach.

As I mentioned, we didn't really teach much this past week. In fact, we only taught one lesson yesterday. It was to a family called the Ina's and they are super cute. They have 3 little boys and are all trying to learn English. So, for a half-hour we taught them English and then for a half-hour we taught them about the Plan of Salvation. They seemed interested, but I'm not sure how interested they are in changing their lives for the church. We'll have to see how they progress. On the plus side, I taught part of the lesson in Japanese and didn't totally mess up! It was really simple and Sister Jones had to add a lot to it, but it was a great experience. I look forward to teaching more and learning more Japanese.

What's really interesting is just how much English we've been speaking. Every week we teach English classes on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Then we also do some private teaching. As well as just talking to some random English speakers on the street. It's been kinda weird and sometimes makes it hard to practice my Japanese. But we're working hard to find more opportunities for me to use it. And sometimes it is nice to speak so much English ;) The Japanese people really do love English, so they become just a bit more interested in our message if we talk about English as well. We're hoping that the more we teach English, the more we can teach about the gospel as well.

A note on the weather here. It's hot. It's humid. It's rainy. Rainy season has started which has just increased the humidity and trapped the heat. Whoooot...we seriously have to shower whenever we have time and it's still not enough. I'm just slowly embracing the heat. And the sweat. Which is in abundance because of how much we bike. I was able to get my bike on Wednesday and we've been riding all over the place ever since. Just the other day we did 15 miles in one day (which may not seem like a lot to some of you, but as someone who really does not enjoy biking, it was A LOT). And we do that every day, in 80-90 degree weather, with 80-90 percent humidity. Party times.

Another fun thing: sleeping on a futon. It's actually not near as bad as I thought it would be. However, that could be because I'm still super jet lagged, so I could probably sleep anywhere, haha. But our apartment has multiple cushions and so sleeping on them is actually quite nice. As of right now I don't have any complaints about them, but we'll see how that goes as I adjust to the timezone.

[Sorry if this email is kinda jumping all over the place, I just have a list of things I want to write about and am making sure I hit all the points]

So, the third day I was here we went to something called the "international club" which is a group of older ladies who all get together and do fun activities. They're from all around the world, so it makes for some really interesting stories and interactions. This week we did traditional flower arranging. It was great because they told us to just do whatever we want, but then would constantly come and tell us what to change, haha. Eventually I just sat back and let one of them do it. But it turned out well and that's what matters. I'll attach some photos, it was really fun. I look forward to the next activity as well.

On the mission we have this thing called "OYM: Open Your Mouth" which is essentially that we need to talk to everyone we see. We try to do this as much as possible and have actually been getting a lot of phone numbers from it, which has been great. We're really hoping to get some investigators from it, but we know that we're at least spreading the word of the Lord in some small capacity everyday. Also, the Japanese are all (generally) so nice! So, even if they're not interested, they still are polite. We've only had a couple instances of people getting excited that we're foreigners, but they're always fun. Some girls just took a selfie with us one day and then we exchanged numbers. I'm hoping we can meet up again and talk more about the gospel. If not, well, at least they know who we are, haha.

There's one girl in our ward from Tonga who speaks English and is actually moving today. We're really sad to see her go because she's so amazing and it's been so fun to get to know her. She fell away from the church at one point, but then she came back and it's been so great to benefit from her testimony. She's hilarious, too, and has been really fun to be around. We actually taught her a temple prep class yesterday as church and we are so excited for her to be making steps to enter the Lord's house. It truly is the ultimate goal.

Another random fun thing: I am SO TALL. Haha, I can't imagine being any taller and living in Japan, because even at my height (5'8") I feel like a giant. People are frequently commenting on it, and it's quite amusing. But it can also come in handy! Yesterday when we were riding home we passed a lady doing yard work. We asked her if she needed help (like we always do, but people generally say no) and she actually accepted! She said "I am short and you are tall. Can you cut the top of that tree?" I happily did so and she was so grateful that I could. I was just glad my height actually came in handy, haha. She also agreed to meet with us again! Whooooot! I'm super excited to see how it pans out.

Also, did you know that there are battery powered stoves? Because we sure didn't. When our stove stopped working we were so confused until we found a panel that had two batteries. After being super confused, we ran to the store, bought new ones, and tried again. And the stove worked! It was so random, but we were just relieved that it wasn't more extreme, haha.

Last night we had ward FHE and it was super fun. Not a lot of people showed up, but the ones who did were great. We played lots of games and ate snacks and shared a message and it was great. I hope that we can get more people next week and make it a more popular event!

By the way, the rumor that missionaries are all super broke is true. Especially cause bikes are so pricey and upkeep is pricey as well. So yay for living on cheap food!

Speaking of food, we actually have not eaten all that much Japanese food. Which is a bit of a bummer, but hopefully we can eat more over the next few weeks. But yesterday after church the Bishop made us sushi and pineapple and it was delicious. He's an amazing cook and it was so great ^^

Random side note: yesterday my companion said I reminded her of a "majestic wolf". It was super random and hilarious, so clearly needed to be noted in this email, haha.

Second to last thing: So, my name in Japanese is アルマー (which translates to Arumaa) and is super hard for the Japanese people to figure out and say, haha. But the Book of Mormon prophet "Alma" is アルマ (aruma). So literally all the members are like "Wait...like the prophet?" And then I get to explain that it's different, haha. But on the bright side, it makes for great conversation topic!

Last thing: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

As always, thanks for all the emails!

Love you all!

--Armour Shimai

My mailing address (if you're feeling rich and want to send me mail, haha):

1-304 Itakadai, Meito-ku

Nagoya-shi, Aichi 465-0028

Japan