The Joys of being a Bean

1.Me, Sister Kaneko and Takabori with our special Gokuri drinks we
bought for zone pday at the beach

Hello everyone,

Yet another week has passed and again I'm going to write you an email,
like I do every week, about how incredibly awesome life is!

Well this week was uhhhhmazing, mostly due to our super baby bean,
Takabori Shimai, who arrived last Wednesday. She is full Japanese but
moved to New Jersey at age 2 and graduated from BYU so she is
American. She understands most Japanese because her parents always
spoke in in their home but she always answered them in English so
she's just getting her language ability back. When I first met her I
was SHOCKED because she is basically a twin of my trainer, Sister
McIntyre, in looks and her mannerisms and whatnot! It was actually
really weird for the first couple of days but now I don't really
notice anymore. It has been SO incredibly fun though because she has
definitely brought that new missionary/MTC fire with her to the field
and we have been just tearing it up here in Fujisaki this week. I
literally feel like I've traveled right back in time to my bean
transfer, tromping around in a threesome just like when I was with my
trainer and those two Sisters (Hooker and Lynch) who came down from
Tokyo due to the earthquake. It has been amazing. Sister Kaneko and I
are both Dendo Grandmas by now so putting a new missionary in this
companionship has done wonders. Looks like I am going to be her
trainer, too so I became a proud parent this week! I couldn't have
asked for a better bean.

District meeting

So...I decided when she came that it would be best to keep everything
Japanese so that she could pick up the language better right from the
beginning, atleast until Kaneko Shimai leaves. I remember as a bean
wanting to learn Japanese SO BADLY but all of my companions were
American and that was way frustrating for me. It went well for a
couple of days but things have been getting more and more English-y
everyday, haha. HOWEVER, for the first time in almost a year (after
having had all Japanese companions for the last 11 months) I have been
feeling the joys of speaking my native language!!! And not only
speaking around the houst and whatnot, but sharing the gospel!
Yesterday while leaving the beach after Zone Pday we ran into this
Korean girl who is attending the international high school. At first
we were speaking with her in Japanese but as soon as we figured out
she was fluent in English we switched languages and I'm pretty sure it
was the first time I have ever shared about the Restoration of the
gospel in English while finding, with a companion next to me also
supporting my testimony. It was so weird and so amazing being able to
say so many more things, and express myself more freely. I even cried
afterward because I was so happy to be sharing the gospel in English.

nin douryou is the best!

It has been especially fun re-experiencing all of the 'mission firsts'
with Sister Takabori. She has cuts and bruises all over her legs from
crashing into things and falling off her bike, which is hilarious and
adorable, and it was so fun to see her give out her first Book of
Mormon! She was so excited and cute! Unfortunately, that same girl who
she gave it to came back a couple of minutes later and gave it back,
saying her parents would get mad if she took it home with her. When I
saw the devastation and disbelief on Takabori Shimai's face I
remembered back to similar experiences I had as a bean, when I was
devastated by every little rejection and was in disbelief that such a
thing could happen after being so sheltered in the MTC where everyone
accepts your message and takes what you give them. It was also fun to
see this week when she had her first experience finding a new
investigator named the Sakuma family. She could not stop talking about
them after we got home and I know they will have a special place in
her heart for her whole mission, just like my first investigator,
Linseika (from Taiwan) has in mine!

To say the least, since Takabori Shimai has arrived I've just thanked
Heavenly Father everyday for sending us such an amazing bean who loves
the gospel, has a sincere desire to find and teach people, and wants
to work hard every second of the day. It has really amped me up and
even though I've been on my mission for 16 months I feel like a fiery
new missionary all over again!! What an incredible blessing!

I love Jesus Christ and everything he has done for me. I feel the
atonement in my life daily as we, as a companionship, strive to be
humble and follow the spirit. Being on a mission is such a huge
blessing and I have not regretted one second of it! I refuse to waste
a minute so...I'm gonna log off now so we can get back to work! I love
you all!

Love, Tingey Shimai

P.S. One fun story from this week is that yesterday during Pday we
took a minute to stop and talk to this lady at a stoplight. She was
carrying a bunch of bags and on her way to the thrift store to sell
her clothes. We told her we were missionaries teaching about Jesus
Christ but she said she wasn't interested and walked away, but then a
few minutes later I saw her running back down the street toward us
with her giant fake blonde hair and huge sunglasses, carrying all her
bags. She said ' Umm when I was talking to you before I was carrying
another bag and now I can't find it...did you take it?' We were
like..uhhh no..haha. But she insisted on searching all of our bags and
bike baskets to make sure we didnt rob her. Isn't that hilarious?
Definitely the first time I've been accused of robbing someone on my
mission. Anyway, we were almost able to give her a Book of Mormon but
she said it was too heavy. Hope she finds her missing bag :/