Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I am so thankful for my family and all my friends! 

I am so thankful to be a missionary!

I am so thankful for this Gospel and this Church!

I am so thankful for Japan and the Japanese people! 

I am so thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ! 

 

So there are TONS more things that I am super grateful for, but I just wanted to name a few. I had a super awesome Thanksgiving this year! The Petersen Family invited us over to their house for Thanksgiving dinner. First of all, they are the BEST!!! I seriously love their family so much. They are just great people. They also had delicious food! They had...get this...a turkey!!! Whaa?! They bought the turkey at Costco and then like sent it out somewhere to be cooked (no big ovens in Japan). But we had American food for Thanksgiving. There was turkey, mashed potatoes, chips and salsa, rolls, bread, and APPLE PIE!!! And it was all homemade and wonderful. It felt like a big family. SO much fun! I am so grateful for them!

 

Well, this week was way good! We weren't able to meet with any of our investigators though. :( All of our appointments fell through. We had 2 appointments with Kai san and he didn't show up to either of them. He also isn't responding to our emails. I don't know what's up, but it was way sad. He said he was going to come to church this week, but he didn't show for the lesson or church. So that was a huge bummer :(

But Maiko came to church again on Sunday. Super awesome. She seems way cool. She only stayed for sacrament meeting, but she said she was planning on coming next week too. She is way busy, but I really want to start having actual lessons with her. 

 

We also had lunch with the Shigenaga Fufu. They are so cool. Shigenaga Shimai is a boss. She is super awesome. I sure love her. Shigenaga Kyoudai got called as the new dendou shunin so that's way cool. He's a character for sure! 

 

Then Sunday we had dinner at the Yamamoto Family's. I LOVE them!!! They are the coolest ever! They are SO funny! They seriously crack me up. I am always laughing when I'm with their family. Yamamoto Shimai served a mission, then her older daughter, Hisae, did too. And Hanae is going to Hawaii on her mission in February. Yamamoto Kyoudai is a convert and way awesome! I just can't believe how awesome they are!!! They asked me to say the closing prayer when we left, and I started praying, and then I started crying. I finally got through the prayer, and I looked up and the oldest daughter is crying and the rest of them are tearing up. So then I start crying more. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!! I don't want to leave them. 

 

Yesterday we accidentally ran into a kind of investigator. It was totally a miracle. We haven't really been able to meet with her, but she emailed and she is going to lunch with us today! Crazy awesome right?!

 

But this is my last email as a full-time missionary. I just want to say thank you all for all your love and support. It means so much to me. If you're thinking about going on a mission...go! If you're not thinking about a mission...go! Missions are the BEST EVER!!!

 

This has been the best 18 months of my life! It has been harder than I ever expected, and different than I ever expected, but I have loved it!!! My mission has changed my life, but more importantly my mission has changed me! I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve the Lord. This Church is true! Jesus is the Christ! 

 

"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which [I] give of him: That he lives!"

 

Babcock Shimai

FANTASTIC WEEK!

This week was kinda crazy, but super awesome!!!

We didn't have District Meeting because we had Zone Taikai this week! Yay!! It was so much fun! 

 

But Wednesday was way good too. It was Elder Stump's birthday. So we made this brownie cake dealio, and it was pretty good actually. Oh but it had to be gluten free because Stump has an allergy. I was pretty impressed with our skills actually. But then Eikaiwa (English class) was a blast. I wasn't so sure about teaching kids' eikaiwa at first, but now I love it! Those kids are stinkin adorable! I sure love them! We're all friends now too. So cute! 

 

So then Friday was Taikai. It was in Kagoshima again. It was a LONG day, but it was pretty much the best day ever. Kinda. But we got up at like 4:20 and got to the train station. Then it's like a 2 hour and 15 minute train ride into Kagoshima. Then we walk up the giant hill to the church. We got there pretty early, so we just got to hang out and talk to the other missionaries! Naze (the island) missionaries came in! (They did Skype for ZTM) So I got to see Elder Willis (from her MTC district)!!! I also got to see Elders Malen and Bailey and just everyone! Kuroki Shimai was there too. I love seeing the other missionaries and hearing their stories. Kagoshima is seeing TONS of miracles right now. It's super crazy. Everyone just has all these crazy stories about the miracles they're seeing in their areas! 

 

Then the training was way good, like always! Kaicho (President), Shimai (his wife), and the AP's (Assistants to the President) talked about all kinds of stuff to help our dendo and help us as missionaries too. Shimai talked about part of our motto, "Love is the Motive". Her training is always so uplifting. I always feel super motivated to be better after Shimai talks to us! Kaicho talked about the importance of the sacrament. It was SO good! It really helped me to understand more of the importance of the sacrament. EldersChung and Bloomfield talked about making Baptismal Calendars to help our investigators progress towards baptism. I think it's an awesome idea, and it sounds like it's been way good for lots of people already. 

 

Then we had a testimony meeting afterwards. We have the most amazing people here in Fukuoka Japan. I'm serious. I am amazed at how strong, and just amazing these missionaries here are! I got up and bore my testimony too at the end. My mission has turned me into such a baby. I just cried through the whole thing. I used to never cry! But I cried...a lot...
 

We had to stay after taikai for a little while though because Kuroki Shimai, Higashi Shimai, and I had to get our departure interviews. Waaaa!!! There are too many people going home, so Kaicho won't have time to do all the interviews on Thursday when we go to the Honbu. So he did ours after taikai. More tears. I bawled through that whole thing too. Literally I was crying as soon as Kaicho said "have a seat" and then proceeded to cry through the rest of the interview. It wasn't fun. But I adore Kaicho! He is seriously the best! 

 

Then we had to say goodbye to everyone. That was hard too. But luckily I held in the tears for that. It took some effort, but I think maybe I was mostly cried out by that time. We headed back on the train, and got home at about 8:45 that night. So long day, but a super awesome day! 

 

Then we had normal dendo (work) Saturday and Sunday, but we saw some sweet miracles! Kaicho taught a while ago that we should pray at decision points. Times when we aren't really sure what to do. So we had a couple of those this week. And we prayed at those points, and we saw awesome miracles both times! We were able to find a guy housing that wasn't normally home at that time, but was that day. Then we gave him a Book of Mormon, and I think he'll become a new investigator! The other time, we met tons of cool people, and gave out another Book of Mormon. We also ran into a member who just moved to Miyazaki a few weeks ago, and she needs a little strengthening. Super awesome! 

 

We also had another lesson with Kai san. He is progressing slowly, but he's definitely moving the right direction! Yay! Miracles everywhere! There was a couple from South Africa that came to church yesterday too! A member invited them to come, so they came and checked it out. They only stayed for sacrament, but they liked it I think. 

Stump's B-day (our cake is the far right...blue frosting)

 

Me and Kakishita at Miyazaki Eki

 

Me, Bailey, Malen, and Willis at Taikai

The Tokutome Fufu

 

Missions are the best! The Church is true! Love you all!

Babcock Shimai 

 

Short and Sweet

Sorry no time this week. We had a computer problem.

 

But we saw tons of miracles! Seriously the Lord has been blessing us with so many miracles lately! We found another new investigator! Her name is Maiko and she came to church on Sunday! Way crazy. She pretty much invited herself. She sounds like she's going to come again next week too, so I am so excited about that! 

 

I got to dendou with Akuta Shimai this week. She's in Miyakonojo. It was way fun! She is hilarious! 

We also were able to meet with those two girls we met last week again. They are way cool. Yuu and Ryou. They are both like 20 years old, and just super awesome. We were able to teach part of the first lesson and give both of them a copy of the Book of Mormon! They are so cool! They are way busy, but we're hoping to be able to meet with them again next week. They seriously remind me of Mako and Akiho from Naha! So I already love them tons! We're basically best friends already. :) 

We also helped a member move so that was good. 

 

We were also given free bagels by this lady who owns a bagel shop. Crazy! There are like no bagels in Japan, but we found the shop, and she gave us free bagels. 

 

Unfortunately we haven't been able to get in contact with Hidaka san. The lady we were teaching before. Super sad. But we're going to keep praying and trying. 

 

Also we had a SUPER awesome lesson with our investigator Kai san. We mostly just asked him questions, but we were able to find out where he's at spiritually and what he needs. So that was a huge miracle and blessing. Our next lesson we'll be able to focus better on his needs because we asked good questions. The Spirit was definitely helping us out! 

 

I'm super excited for another awesome week here in Miyazaki! It started cooling down. I had to finally pull out my coat. 

Love you all! Have a great week!

Babcock Shimai

 

 

The free bagels!

Happy Pocky Day!!! 11/11 ya!

Conquered a giant squirrel...no big deal...

Miracles!!

What's up! So this week has been full of miracles!! The Lord has really been pouring out blessings on us lately!

So last Monday, we had a super fun P-day with a member. Then after P-day was over, we went out and dendo-ed. We met this crazy awesome lady though! She had a ton of questions about different religions and stuff. She said she had seen our church and the missionaries, but she didn't know what we believed. So we told her we would love to tell her! We set up an appointment for Wednesday. And she came! We had a lesson at the church and taught most of the first lesson! She had some really good questions. She doesn't know a lot about religion, so she wants to know. But we had another lesson with her on Friday too! We watched the Restoration video. It was super good. I think she wants to know in her head, but not her heart yet. But it's ok! It's a start! We invited her to come to church, but she didn't come. Which was a huge bummer, but hopefully we will be able to meet with her again this week. 

I also spoke in church this week. It went pretty good I think. It's over, so that's nice :) 

We also had a lesson with another investigator, unfortunately she's not interested, so we had to drop her. But we had a member present lesson with a different investigator, and the joints did a way awesome job. 

District meeting was way fun. Kakishita is a way good district leader! The ZL's were at our district meeting, and it was super good. We not only have to have faith in the Lord, but we also have to have faith in ourselves. Good stuff! 

Then yesterday, we were streeting, and we talked to these two girls. They are like college age. But they were super awesome! They remind me of Mako and Akiho from Naha! So I liked them right away. We have another appointment with them next Sunday. They were way cute, so I hope they come!

Other than that, it's been lots of finding. But the people here are SO nice! Seriously! I can't believe how nice everyone is here. This really is a great place. Oh! I also got a call last night from Cascardi Choro, a ZL in Fukuoka. He served here in Miyazaki and he had a referral for us! Yay! I am way excited to go visit her. We have to figure some stuff out before we can go, so we'll probably go next week. But her son got baptized in Fukuoka maybe like a year ago, and her sister is in the Miyazaki branch, so she knows a little about the church. I am WAY excited! 

But things are going way good! We have Zone Taikai on the 21st, so I am super pumped for that! I'm excited for another awesome week this week! Love you all lots! Missions are the BEST!!! The church is true!

 

At the Beach...Sister Babcock's tag!

Flowers

Food...Yum!



The beach!

Miyazaki Palm trees

Going native!

Sakurajima...the volcano in Kagoshima

Miyazaki

Miyazaki

Hey hey hey!!!

So Miyazaki is great! Happy November by the way! I cannot believe it's November already! Time is FLYING!!! We had a super fun Halloween party this week. It was a great turnout! There were tons of people who came. So we helped a lot with that this week. It was really good though, because I had the chance to get to know some of the members a little better. They are the best! Let me just tell you, I have only been here for like a week, but I already feel like I'm a part of their family. They are so nice! I sure love them all!

 

Last week we went to the beach. So fun! It's still way warm here! I can't believe we're in November and I'm not wearing tights or a sweater! Crazy! 

 

We also had ZTM in Kagoshima. Super super fun, but it was a long day! It's like a 2 or 2.5 hour train ride into Kagoshima. So we had to get up at like 4:30 am to get to the train to get to Kagoshima on time. Then we didn't get back until about 6:30 pm. Then we went and helped clean up the Halloween Party stuff. So it was a long day. But I got to see some friends which is super good! Elder Bailey (I haven't seen him since the MTC) is the new Zone Leader. So it was a ton of fun catching up with him. Willis is in Naze, so I got to talk to him for a few minutes on Skype. He'll get to come in for Zone Taikai though, so I'll get to see him again!  

 

Stevenson Shimai is great! She is from American Fork. She is a super hard worker. We're just working super hard, but it's been really fun! 

 

Our investigator Satou san came to the Halloween party, so that was really cool. I really really want to meet with her. She hasn't actually been listening to the lessons for a really long time, but I think we can start teaching her again. She is super great! I sure love her already too! 

 

We also have a few other "investigators" that aren't very solid. So hopefully we can get some people progressing a little bit. We've been out doing lots of finding trying to find the Lord's elect! 

 

Sorry this is so short! Not lots of time, but I love you all! This Church is true!!! Being a missionary is the BEST!!!! :D

 

Babcock Shimai

宮崎

Hey hey hey!

Shoutout from Hawaii...I mean Miyazaki! :) Seriously, I feel like I am either in Hawaii or Florida. It's SO cool here! There are palm trees everywhere, it's still nice and warm and sunny, there's just this tropical vibe here. Today we're heading over to hang out at the beach. Sweet right?! It's like being in Okinawa again! Funny how that works right? First and last transfers in a tropical paradise! 

 

So this week was lots of changes! It was SO sad to leave Yasufuruichi! Way super sad! Let's be honest, as much as I hate crying there were LOTS of tears. Saying goodbye was so hard! I can't even believe how hard it was. I am pretty sure I left a part of me in Yasufuruichi. I got all my stuff packed up (that was a miracle in itself! I can't believe it all fit in my suitcases! Tender mercies of the Lord for sure!) Then on Wednesday I had to say goodbye to everyone. So sad! I miss them all so much! We took lots and lots of pictures! 

 

Then on Thursday, Yoshimi, Okanoue Shimai, and Yagai Shimai went with me to the eki to say goodbye. We left at about 8:30 am. We went to the station and met up with all the other people transferring. So it's a way long story, but I didn't get to say goodbye to Kuchar. I was TICKED. It was ridiculous. Ridiculous. I won't get into it, but basically it was really dumb, and so we didn't get to say goodbye. Long story short, lots more tears. So I used Otani's phone to call her and talk to her before I left. Then we got on the bus, so I had to say goodbye to Otani. More tears! I love that kid! Him and Kuchar are family now! He gave me the best present ever! It's all these pictures of him with lots of people and he framed it. Way awesome! 

 

So I took the bus from Hiroshima to Fukuoka with 4 elders. I know Malen Chorou, so I talked to him on the bus. It was pretty fun. That's like a 4.5 hour bus ride. Then I waited at Fukuoka for a little bit. I got to see Merrill Chorou!!! Yay! It was so good to see him! I also saw some other people. I met Cascardi Chorou (another Brazilian!) and he served in Miyazaki, so he was telling me about it a little. He's way cool! Then they got me on my bus, and I rode all the way from Fukuoka to Miyazaki by myself. SO WEIRD!!! I was without a companion for 5 hours. Crazy right?! It was way weird. It was a pretty boring trip. I couldn't sleep, so I just sat there. The scenery was super pretty though. I drove all the way through Kyushu. I finally got into Miyazaki at around 8:30 PM. So it was a long day. 

 

Then we dendou-ed. My new comp Stevenson Shimai is way cool! She is from American Fork. Her mom is English (like from England) and her dad is Samoan. Cool right? She is way fun. 

 

We saw a couple way cool miracles already! We met this lady on the street, and at first she said she didn't believe in God. She said she couldn't see him, so she didn't believe. But we talked to her for a little bit. We talked about the wind. You can't see the wind, but you can feel it and it's there, right? So we compared that to God. She totally understood it, and said it was way easy to understand. She wanted to know more! So we got her number and tried to make a new appointment. She lives in Miyakanojo though :(  But we got it all  set up so the Miyakanojo sisters can meet with her. Way cool right?! 

 

The other miracle is there is an investigator here named Satou san. She is super awesome. She came to church yesterday! She sometimes comes for sacrament meeting, but today she stayed for the whole 3 hour block and the shokujikai afterwards!!! She is way solid, but they haven't really been teaching her lately, but we're going to start again, and get her baptized! 

 

The branch here is super awesome! I love them already! They are so nice, and they made me feel at home right away. I already have friends and feel like I fit in. We're having a super awesome Halloween Party on Wednesday! And then Thursday is ZTM. It's gonna be a crazy awesome week!

 

The Church is true! :) Love you all lots!

Babcock Shimai

 

Saying good-bye to Yasufuruichi!

 

Kuchar Shimai & Babcock Shimai

Transfer 11 宮崎 Miyazaki

Well we got our transfer calls...I am going to Miyazaki. I knew I was transferring, but today I found out where. Kuchar is training! She is going to be the best trainer ever!! I am way excited for her! I am going to get a 5th transfer missionary. Crazy stuff. I hear Miyazaki is super awesome, but I am SO SAD to be leaving Yasufuruichi. This branch is the best! They are so awesome. It's gonna be so hard to leave Ling, the Nishiyama's, the Okanoue's, everyone! It's going to be way sad!

 

But I'm sure Miyazaki will also be super awesome! I hear it's way great! Plus Kakishita Chourou will be there!! Yay! I love that kid! He was up here for a while. He's way fun. He's my DL I think, so that'll be way good. It'll be a new adventure! 

 

This week was super awesome though! We got to see Takanishi Shimai and Aya chan this week. Way cool stuff. We haven't seen them in forever! We also went over to Ling's apartment and she made us delicious Chinese food! SO good!!! 

 

We met a way awesome lady on the street too! She was way into it. We talked to her for a long time. She was way nice! We gave her a Book of Mormon, and talked about all kinds of stuff. She was like we should meet again! And then she asked if we could exchange numbers or emails. Crazy right! It was way way awesome! We made an appointment, but it didn't work out, but she wants to meet a different time, so hopefully Kuchar will be able to teach her!!!
 

Yesterday I went with Lane Shimai and Nigh Shimai to dendou in Hikari because Kuchar went to Fukuoka to go to trainers' training. So she was gone all day. It was way fun! But I missed Kuchar. I am going to miss her tons! It's been way too much fun here with her for 4 transfers. I'm going to miss Otani and Alger too! This branch and these missionaries have been my family, and I'm way sad to leave! :( But I'm excited for the opportunity to serve in Miyazaki! There tons of people there just waiting to hear the Gospel! :)

 

So next week I'll tell you about Miyazaki! Love you all lots!

 

Babcock Shimai