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

今週は最高だった！ AND 総大会と台風 General Conference and Typhoon!

FIRST OFF...this is Lacee's mom.  I have to apologize for being a slacker and not getting Lacee's blog updated for a few weeks!  We have been travelling and the wifi and connections to get this done just were not cooperating with me from most of the places we have been!!!  So, I'm sorry. But here are the last two weeks' emails!


Oct. 5, 2014
(For those who can read the Japanese characters - good on ya!  For those of us who can't, we just have to use our best guess or our imagination since Lacee didn't send me a translation!  :) )

This week was awesome! It was a way good week! We had our Special Training on Tuesday. Way cool stuff! They gave us some DVDs with Mormon videos and stuff on them. We talked about how we can use them with our investigators. They are starting to talk about how to use technology in our dendou (work) lately...I'm thinking it won't be too long until we get iPads here. Probably December or January. But the training was super good. Alma 22 is pretty much the coolest chapter ever! It is PMG (Preach My Gospel...the missionary handbook) chapter 10 used perfectly! Aaron is the man! It was way good to see everyone. We were combined...both Hiroshima Zones, so that was way fun stuff. We watched a video where Elder Nelson was talking. He said something I really liked. I didn't catch it exactly, but it was something along the lines of: perfection comes not in this life but the world to come. Something like that. You get the point. It was super awesome though!

Then we had another AB (after baptism) lesson with Ling on Wednesday. Airi and Chie chan did most of it. They are doing a really good job. They taught Ling and Ryoma.

 

Friday we went on Junkai (Working with the other sisters) in Hatsukaichi. It was way good! 

 

Saturday we went to go do Helping Hands up at the cemetery again. We were digging out haka and moving bags of dirt and stuff again. Then we went and dendo-ed. Super fun. It was just a great day of dendou (work). Then we went and visited Hasegawa Shimai. She is the nicest lady! I sure love her! We were almost late (sometimes it's hard to get out of there :) ) but we rode home SO fast, and made it at 8:59! Yay! 

 

Yesterday was way good! We had normal church and stuff. Ling is still coming every week! :) We had dinner at the Nishiyama's again. Super fun! This time Yoshimi went too, so Nishiyama Kaicho gave us a ride. That was nice. It was delicious and super fun. Kuchar and I had planned this awesome message to share (Mom- the one about fortifying families you sent...we translated it!) but we ran out of time, so we couldn't do it. :( Next time! But Nishiyama Kaicho drove us back home. He had to drop us off with Yoshimi at her house because we couldn't be in the car with just him. So we were walking to the church to get our bikes and go home. It was a little after 8:30, but we live super close so we had time. 

 

There was only one girl we saw on the way home. It was right after we started walking. It was late and raining, but I stopped her and started talking to her. She was super awesome! She is actually a new investigator now! She liked the message we shared and said she would be interested in hearing the lessons! We have another appointment with her tomorrow! She was super cool! Her name is Miyo! I am super excited about her! Pray that we can meet with her again and start teaching the lessons! It was definitely a miracle! 

 

This week is going to be crazy! We will be on junkai in Saijo on Thursday and Friday. Then General Conference is Saturday and Sunday in Takasu. All the missionaries from both Hiroshima Zones will be there. It's going to be crazy! But it's going to be an awesome week! 

The Church is true! Missions are the best!

 

Love you all!

Babcock Shimai

 

October 13, 2014

(This email came a day late because of the typhoon.  We received an email from the mission office notifying us that the missionaries would be staying in their apartments for safety during the typhoon.  They also told us that all the missionaries had a 72-hour kit in case of an emergency and that we would be contacted AFTER the typhoon had passed and the missionaries were safe.)

 

So this week was pretty busy!

It was pretty normal until Wednesday. We had normal District Meeting and stuff. P-Day was good. Wednesday we packed our stuff and left straight from Eikaiwa (English class) to go junkai (work/split/meet with the other sisters) in Saijo.  The junkai was way good. I got to dendo (work) with Burgon and Flake Shimai. They are super awesome. The Saijo missionaries are a blast! We were actually there at the same time that the ZL's (Zone Leaders) went on junkai with the elders, so for 2 days there were 14 missionaries (counting the Lamb couple) in Saijo. Isn't that crazy! We had a cereal breakfast with the 12 of us Thursday morning. It was way fun. 

 

We saw some crazy cool miracles! Last time we were on junkai in Saijo I went with Flake Shimai to teach the first lesson to this lady. This time we went and she was having her Baptismal Interview!!! Whaa! So awesome! She remembered me which was super awesome! She is so cool and is getting baptized this Saturday! Super cool miracle. I feel so blessed to have met her twice now on junkai. She is definitely one of the Lord's prepared people!

 

It is 酒まつり in Saijo right now. The Alcohol Festival! Exciting stuff. It was getting all set up and stuff. Saijo is super famous for it's alcohol. Apparently the water is really good or something. But there was a ton of stuff everywhere. They were going all out!  So Saijo was super great. There are a bunch of awesome missionaries in Saijo right now. Fun stuff!

 

Then Saturday and Sunday we had General Conference!!! Woohoo! It was SO GOOD!!! I LOVE Conference!!! All the missionaries from Hiroshima were in the one little English room. So much fun. It was way good to see everyone. Then the talks were amazing, like always! I learned so much, and have so much that I want to apply and work on now. I loved Elder Jorg Klebingat's talk! So good! He just threw down a little bit, but it was so good! 

 

Oh random fun fact, Elder Hamula that spoke, I knew his daughter in the MTC. She is in the Tokyo South Mission right now. Cool stuff! Oh an then we have the best branch ever! Kuchar Shimai and I were in  a hurry to make the train, so we forgot lunch on Sunday. We were sad because we couldn't even go buy food because it was Sunday. So we were just going to be hungry. We get there, and during the break between sessions, Kunichika Shimai, and Nishiyama Shimai both brought us food! It was way delicious, and the nicest thing ever! How awesome are they! I feel so blessed to be serving in such a great place. We have the best branch in the entire world!!!

 

Then yesterday we couldn't leave the apartment because of the big typhoon. It was rainy and pretty windy, but we didn't get anything too bad. The wind was the worst. So we were cooped up inside all day. We got our Area Book super duper updated and called all the people in it. No luck. We also super cleaned our apartment and did LOTS of studying. It was boring, but we did get some good stuff done. So P-Day was moved to today. We're going to hang out with the Hikari missionaries today in Hiroshima. Should be some pretty fun stuff! 

 

Next week is transfers! I can't believe it! This transfer has FLOWN by!!! P-Day is Tuesday again next week. Love you all lots!

 

Babcock Shimai



Junkai (working with other sisters) in Hatsukaicho....Miyajima is the island on the right in the background.

The Lambs were SO KIND!  They got oatmeal, tortillas and cheese for us from Costco!

 

Rees Choro, me, and Kuchar Shimai at Conference

The Sake Matsuri signs

Me drinking the famous Saijo water

It's a major Typhoon...take 2! (first one was in Naha over a year ago!)
 

Fun week,

So this week was pretty awesome...I washed my clothes with actual laundry soap for the first time in who knows how long, so that was a good start to the week! :)

We went to Miyajima again last P-Day. It was SO fun!!! We went with the Hikari sisters and the ZL's. Our ZL's couldn't come so that was a bummer. But Kuchar Shimai and I were getting on the train in Yokogawa and we stepped on and Ioka and Bullock Choro were standing there. It was super weird. We were just going to all meet at Miyajima, but we got on the same train car. Weird coincidence! It was way fun. Ioka kills me. He is the funniest guy ever. We went and ate the oysters and some oyster curry bread. It was pretty good actually. I was surprised! We also at the little leaf shaped things...I forget their name, but they are delicious! Kuchar bought some swords, and it was just a super fun day all around.

Then Tuesday we got stood up for an appointment. She didn't show. So we went housing by where we were supposed to meet. We ended up housing into this lady. She took us to the next apartment over. She said her daughter lived there and she spoke English. So we talked to the daughter. She lived in Washington D.C. for like 15 years or something like that. She was married to a black guy, and then her daughter came out. She was this half black girl. She was super cool. We couldn't get a return appointment, but it was still pretty cool!

We went and did Helping Hands again. This time we were cleaning up dirt and mud from a huge cemetery. It was totally destroyed. The graves are really like sacred here though, so we had to be really careful to not touch them or step on anything. It was super sad to see it all destroyed though. That is something that is so important to the Japanese people. So it was sad. But good to be able to go help. We got quite a bit done, so that was good! 

We found another new investigator! She's a young mom. She has a Christian friend. Not our church, but still. We're going back again this week, so hopefully she has lots of interest!

Then right after that, we went and had a basketball activity! It was super fun! The Nishiyama girls came. Then we played with these two guys. The elders got their contact information, so hopefully they will become new investigators. I am terrible at basketball these days!!! It's been way too long apparently! 

Then right after basketball, we went to the お疲れ様 Party. It was like a talent show and there was food and stuff, but it was SO FUN!!! Our branch is the best ever! For real though! I have a bunch of videos. I wish I could email them! There is lots of musical talent in this branch. It was really fun though. There were also 6 non-members there! How cool is that?! So it was super good!

Yesterday an Australian family came to church here. They were so cute! The mom and the dad both served missions in the Hiroshima Mission like 13 years ago. The dad served here in Yasufuruichi. They had 6 super adorable kids. So they asked Kuchar and I to go help in Primary. It was just those kids. So we translated for the kids. It was so much fun! They were super cute kids.

Then last night, we were out housing, and we saw a cool miracle. We housed into these two kind of young-ish guys. Probably 20's. But they both kind of had a Christian view of God. They knew a little bit about Jesus Christ too! It was awesome! They just moved here a month ago from Tokyo, but they said they would like to hear our message!! They are super busy right now because they are working 2 jobs, but they said they wanted to hear the lessons and they want to come to Eikaiwa! Cool right?! It was super awesome! I want to teach them so much! They seemed really cool! 

The other girl we met also called and cancelled on us. She was supposed to come to church this week, but called on Saturday night. She said she couldn't come and she's busy now, so she can't meet. We're sad! But we have her number, so hopefully we will be able to get in contact with her again!

We have a special training tomorrow. It's like a combined Zone Taikai. We're going to be with the other Hiroshima Zone. It should be super good!

Oh also, I almost forgot! I got to talk to Merrill Chourou for just a few minutes the other day. I called to see how Baba san is doing. And guess what?! Merrill said that she is doing really really good right now! I have gotten a couple letters from her, but that seriously made me so happy. It was such a relief to hear that! I almost cried...I was just so happy!!!

But anyways! I love you all tons! Missions are the best! Japan is the best!

Babcock Shimai

Crazy week,

Hey!!! What's up! 

So I want to start out this week with a funny (and embarrassing!) story! So Kuchar and I have been using the same laundry soap for the last transfer and a half probably...maybe longer. But we just grabbed the cheapest (life of a missionary...always the cheapest!) soap we could find. Then we've been just getting the same refill for it. So one day I was looking at it, and realized that it wasn't laundry soap...or at least I didn't think it was. So I start trying to read it, but it's all in kanji, so I whip out my electronic dictionary, and I'm looking stuff up. I couldn't see anything that looked like soap. Then at the very very bottom of the bottle...in English!...it says "Fabric Softener". OH NO!!!! hahahahaha We've been "washing" our clothes with fabric softener! Embarrassing! Haha so our clothes smell really good, but they aren't actually clean. Gross. But it's cool, we got some real soap, and we've been washing with that now :)

Kuchar and I had 2 ZTMs this week. It was pretty crazy. We did one for each of the Hiroshima Zones. I think it went pretty well. I had to translate for the other Zone's ZTM. The poor elder! He doesn't speak any English, but I don't speak Japanese. I doubt he understood any of it. That was the first time I have ever really translated. It was HARD!!! I failed miserably, but it was a valiant effort. The ZL's made us do it. Oh well. It was interesting. It was kind of fun, kind of...

We got to go play basketball this week too! Nakabe Choro, the new DL, likes basketball, so he's trying to set up a basketball activity thing. But we went to the Sports Center and played with some middle school kids. So much fun! Their parents were there too though, so we gave them a flyer and invited them to our ward activity this Saturday. They might come! The mom seemed kind of interested! So that's pretty awesome! 

We also found 2 new investigators this week! They are both 18, just starting college. The one was pretty cool how we found her though. We had planned to go to this place and house. We got up there, but we felt like we should do something different. So we stopped and prayed. We both felt like we should just street back the way we had just come. We decided to do that. On the way we found one of our new investigators! Cool right?! This really is the Lord's Work!

We also did Helping Hands again this week. Between that and basketball I am pretty sore! I'm such a wimp these days. I'm just used to riding my bike and that's it! But it's good to do something different. 

I LOVE my mission! Can I just say that? It's the best thing in the whole world. The best. I'm doing great! Love you all! Have a great week!

Babcock Shimai

Just Another Week in The BEST Mission in the World!

So this was another great week in the best mission in the entire world! :)

Transfers were good. We were sad to see Correa go. He was the first to leave of the Fantastic Four (me, Kuchar, Otani, and Correa). We all came and white washed in. But now we're down to three. But he's going to do great in Oroku! We went to Hikari to be comps with Nigh Shimai until her new companion (Lane Shimai) came. We were also there to help the ZL's get everyone on buses and pick other people up and stuff for transfers. It was a long, kind of crazy day, but it was fun. We got to see Walton and Rees, Kuroki, and Correa before they left. It was pretty fun. We saw a ton of people. 

 

Correa and Jameson both left, so we have two new elders in our area now. Nakabe and Alger Choro. Nakabe is the new DL and Alger is the new ZL. They are both cool. I think we're gonna like them. Nakabe is from Tokyo and Alger is from Oregon. They seem pretty chill and fun, so it should be good!

 

It was also the Schroeder's last Cooking Eikaiwa this week, so the Branch made nabe for them. It was pretty fun. I'm going to miss them!!! They are super great! Sister Schroeder is so nice! She brought us a HUGE Costco sized Peanut Butter!!! And chocolate. Bless her heart! 

 

We got to go do Helping Hands again for the first time in a couple of weeks. There was a problem with insurance and stuff, so the missionaries weren't allowed to go. But the Stake got everyone covered by the volunteer insurance or something, I don't really know. But it means that we can go help again! It's looking way better up there! There have been tons and tons of people going up to volunteer. People from all over the place. It was great to be back helping though! My arms are kind of sore though :)
 

Then yesterday we had dinner at the Nishiyama's. It was so much fun! There were a bunch of people there. I wish I could send videos over email. Ayumi chan was singing and playing the guitar, and then the Ai Girls (Ayumi, Chie, Yuri, and Airi) did a little performance. They are so good!!! Ayumi played the guitar, Airi was playing this little piano, Chie played the flute, and Yuri had the tambourine and they were singing songs and stuff. SO cool! They are so talented! They are a great bunch of girls! We ate delicious food, and it was just a super fun night. 

 

But they live up in A-City, so sometimes getting home is an adventure. We left a little late, but we had to get on the 8:29 monorail or we wouldn't get home on time. We left their house at like 8:12, but the station is at the bottom of the hill, so we had to run...again. Haha it was flashbacks of me and Kuchar running home a few transfers ago. But this time we had to run even further! So Otani starts running, so we start running after him so we can make the train. But we're in skirts and dumb shoes, so it was hard. It's easier and faster to take our shoes off, so we did. But it HURT!!! But we literally made it just in time for the train, so we made it home on time. We were all dying. Not to brag, but I'm going to...I out ran 3 of the elders in no shoes and my skirt. :) Us and the ZL's made it, but the other elders didn't make it on time. I have a HUGE blister on my heel though. And Kuchar had a blood blister. But we were on time! We'll be blessed for our obedience! :) It was a fun adventure though! 

This week we are helping do the training at the Hiroshima 1 and 2 ZTMs, so we're going to be busy, but it's going to be fun! 

Have a great week! Love you all!

 

Babcock Shimai

 

Our doki (district) at the bus station

The Elders after our run!  :)

My big blister



Talented young ladies!

More of the talented young ladies!

Even more of these talented young ladies!

 

Transfer 10 - Going Nowhere!!!

Hey hey!

 

So this week was way good! First of all, the weather is getting better! We've gone 3 days without rain I think. That's been the longest since August started I think! Plus it's cooling down. Hallelujah! I'm so ready for not hot anymore! But lately the weather has been good. So that's a blessing. 

 

We also had the STL meeting this past week. Last Tuesday. It was SO much fun!!! It was great! I was a little bummed because we aren't going to MLC next week, but it was still good. We got to hang out with Kaicho (President) and Shimai (Sister-mission mom) in the Honbu (Mission office)! Plus, Wells, Nagamine, and Nelson Shimai were all there! It was almost a MTC (Mission Training Center - Provo) district reunion. We just needed Bush Shimai! I wish Bush Shimai would've been there. Then it would've been perfect! But it was fun. We learned a lot and talked about our responsibilities as STL's (sister training leaders) and stuff. It was super awesome and great to see everyone! Kuchar and I got on the Shink (bullet train) to go to Fukuoka, and we were just sitting there, when a girl walked past. I did a double-take and it was Kuroki Shimai! Haha I died. She didn't see us and didn't know we would be on that Shink. I was so surprised to see her! Turns out she's been called out of retirement, and she's an STL again! So that was super fun! The meeting was way good. Kaicho and Shimai are the best ever! We learned a ton and got some questions cleared up and stuff. Haha... then the AP's (assistants to the president) told us we had to take the bus back...bummer! It was good though. Kuroki, Kuchar, and I were all on the same bus, so it was a party! It was a 4 hour bus ride though, so we didn't get back until about 9:15. We woke up at 5:30 am so it was a long day, but a great day!

Also, we (all the missionaries in the mission) had 208 investigators at church last Sunday!!! That's a record for our mission. For the past few months we've been really preparing for it. We all fasted to have 200 people at church, and they told us Sunday night that 208 people came! Isn't that awesome?!?!

 

Last week Kuchar and I went and played basketball. So fun! The elders were supposed to come too, but they all wimped out because it was raining. It's an indoor court at the Sports Center. Wimps. :)  But we'll probably go with everyone sometime this transfer. So that should be fun. Today we went with the Hikari District to the zoo in our area. So much fun! I love the missionaries that I get to serve with. Some of the best missionaries in the world are in the Japan Fukuoka Mission!!! The zoo was a bunch of fun.

 

I am SO excited for this new transfer! Kuchar and I want to see another baptism together here in Yasufuruichi. We are looking for people, and the Lord is going to put people in our path, so we're excited. 

 

There are also STL's in Yamaguchi now, so we don't have 18 sisters anymore. Only 10. That's going to be really nice! Lots less stress and pressure. Also now none of the areas are too far away. So that makes our lives a bunch easier!

The elders also had a baptism last Saturday! Ryoma kun got baptized! Exciting stuff. Two baptisms in 3 weeks!! Go Yasufuruichi!!! The last baptism here was over a year ago, so the branch is super excited about it! 

 

Oh we got our transfer calls!!!! Kuchar and I are going to be together here for our 4th transfer!!!!!!!!!!!! :D YAY!!! I am so happy! I was hoping they would leave us for another one! Otani Choro is staying, but Correa Choro is going to Okinawa, so we'll have a new ZL (zone leader). But Ioka and Bullock Choro are both staying in Hikari, so we still have great ZL's that we're working with. The new guy will be cool too I'm sure, so it's going to be a blast!

Sister Training Leaders with Gustafson Kaicho at the Fukuoka Temple

Missionaries at the zoo

Hoppin' on the Hippo!

Ridin' the Rhino!

 

Love you all!!! Talk to you next week! 

Babcock Shimai

TRANSFER WEEK

Hey everyone!

This is Lacee's mom....this is transfer week, so check back on Tuesday to get the latest update from Lacee.  She doesn't usually get her call until late on her P-day which is Tuesday of transfer week...so I don't expect to hear from her until late Monday here!

Busy!

This week was good. Lots of stuff.

We had two junkais (splits for training) this week. We went to Hikari and Hatsukaichi. Back to back. We were tired. I got to see Kuroki Shimai though. I sure love her! We walked in their apartment, and she said we just looked tired...haha...punk. The junkais were good. They're tiring though. 

 

We also went on Wednesday and did Helping Hands. It was good. Lots of people have been going to help. We were going to go on Saturday too, but we can't go anymore :( The church is making us have the government's volunteer insurance if we go. But the rules and stuff are really strict so we can't go with the other people and do Helping Hands anymore. We're so sad!!! We just wanted to help, but it looks like the missionaries are done helping :( But I got to meet Tashiro Choro! He is in the Area Presidency  (I'm pretty sure). He is the nicest man in the whole world. His son was my Ward Mission Leader in Fujisaki. But he is so nice! He came to help. He did Helping Hands with the people from our Stake. 

 

Tuesday we had mensetsu (interview) with Kaicho (President)! It was so good! I love him so much! He is seriously the very best mission president anyone could ever have. He is amazing. The AP (Assistants to the President) training was super good too. The interview went really well. He's the best! He was excited about Ling! :)

 

Hopefully I get to go play basketball today. It's been forever! But we're doing good! 

Love ya lots!

Babcock Shimai

Helping Hands and a Baptism!!!

So this week was a little crazy. It started out pretty normal, but then got a little crazy. We were out housing on Tuesday night and it started POURING rain. I have never seen it rain so hard in my entire life. And then there was lots of lightning and thunder. It was close too. So we rode home in the crazy rain and we were just drenched. We were watching the storm at our apartment. Our power was bumping a little, but we didn't think it was a huge deal. All night though there was thunder and lightning. And then sirens. Lots of sirens. I couldn't really sleep. We got an email from Nishiyama Kaicho at like 4:30 AM. He was talking about the storm and stuff. Then at like 6:20 we got a call from Otani Choro. He wanted to make sure we were ok and that our power and water were working. We told him yes. Then he told us that there was flooding and stuff. Later we got another email from Nishiyama Kaicho. There were fires and landslides and flooding and stuff. We had no idea that it was so bad. We got a call from Okanoue Shimai too. She wanted to make sure we were ok. Our apartment and everything around it was fine. It just looked like it had rained a lot.

Anyways, we heard that lots of people were killed and that it was really bad. We ended going up there to Midorii to do Helping Hands. We went on Thursday and Saturday. It was SO sad! You can't see the roads. There were cars that were almost completely buried in mud. There was probably 4 feet of mud everywhere. Roads had been wiped out and were just rivers. The mud completely wiped houses away. It was so sad. But people were in pretty good spirits. These people are amazing. They were just grateful for what they had. They were happy their families were ok and that, even though their house was surrounded by mud, their house was still there. I am so impressed by how well they responded. Amazing. But it was so good that we got to go help. We were digging houses and cars out of the mud and filling bags with it. Then we hauled the bags to sandbag so it wouldn't all flood again. It's still been raining a little bit, but not near as bad, so that is definitely a blessing. 

 

But in happier news, Ling got baptized on Saturday!!! We spent the whole morning shoveling mud, then we went home and got ready, and went to Ling's baptism. It was SO good. She asked Kuchar Shimai and I to talk at it, so that was super scary, but it was also cool that she asked us. It was at the church in Hikari. The Hikari elders were there too. Apparently someone  told the branch the missionaries were going to do a special number. But we didn't know! So we just grabbed all the missionaries, including the Hikari elders, and sang a hymn. It wasn't so great, but it's ok! It all really went so well! She is amazing! SO amazing! She was a little nervous to get baptized, but afterwards she was so happy! She said she just had felt such a good feeling. Then she even bore her testimony! It was so cool. She even ended her testimony "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." One of the ZL's (zone leaders) said that was the first time his whole mission he had heard a Recent Convert end their testimony like that right after their baptism. It's because she is Golden! She said that people could call her Ling Shimai now too. It was so cute! Then her confirmation on Sunday was great too. She is the best ever! She is going to do so great! 

 

So that was this week. Sorry I didn't write more. I don't have a lot of time, but everything is going super great! I love this work! Please keep the people that were affected by the big storm in your prayers!!! 

 

Love you all!

Babcock Shimai

 

 

Very full river

Land slide

Kuchar Shimai, Ling Shimai, & Lacee (Babcock Shimai)



The three Shimaitachi & Correa Choro (Elder Correa)

 

Fun Week

So this week was kind of crazy, but a ton of fun!

We had a lesson with Ling at the Takasu church (in Hiroshima). We don't have a baptismal font here in Yasufuruichi because it's not actually a church building. So we took her to the church where she's going to get baptized. We couldn't show her the actual baptismal font (long story) but she really liked the church. Then we did a lesson with her while we were there. It was so good! She is so amazing! I can't even believe how prepared she is. I know I say that like every single week, but it's true! So we have one more lesson and then the baptismal interview before her baptism on Saturday. We're super excited! We went over the interview questions with her! She is doing so good! She was able to come to church for 30 minutes yesterday, even though she had work. But she came so she can be baptized! So we're super excited for her! And she's way excited to get baptized. She really wants to. So that's neat.

 

We also had 2 days of junkai (meeting & working with other sisters & training) in Iwakuni on Friday and Saturday. It was really good. The sisters there are great! We got to go to a birthday party on the military base! It was super fun! There are a bunch of LDS families that live on base there in Iwakuni, so we had a little kid birthday party with them. What a bunch of adorable little families! They were the cutest! And we ate American food! That was fun! It's been a long time! It was good though. Iwakuni is a great place! Those sisters are great too.

 

Other than that, we're just trying to work really hard. It's kinda tough to keep your area up when you're gone a lot, but we're doing it! Definitely a blessing from the Lord! 

It's been rainy still lately. Lots of typhoons I guess! But it's nice that it's not quite so hot! 

We're doing great! I LOVE Kuchar Shimai! We're having a blast. She's the best. Really. It's fun being able to be out here doing all this with one of my favorite people. So many blessings! 

 

Missions are the best!!! I'm loving every minute! 

 

Have a great week!

Babcock Shimai