Last Zone Conference

Back in the days of the threesome

Happy late Father's Day!

Because I forgot my planner last week emailing I didn't tell you about
one of the most awesome parts of our week! We ended up running into
this couple from Nepal (the husband was actually Japanese but lived in
Nepal forever) and they eneded up being Jehovas Witness missionaries!
I was suuuuuper excited because I have been DYING my whole mission to
listen to what their lessons are. We always see them tracting and I'm
pretty sure my companion and I were potential investigators for them
when I was in Naha and Fukuoka because they always came knocking on
our door....but we just never seemed to have time to really talk to
them (...or more like my companion wouldn't allow it, haha).

In front of the church with some of the little girls we're teaching!

Anyway, I have been so incredibly curious about what their beliefs are, and how
their teaching styles are diff/the same as ours. We stood there and
talked for about an hour with them and got to hear all about what they
believe about the afterlife, etc. It was SO interesting. Pretty
similar to what we know but it actually really strengthened my
testimony of living prophets and the Book of Mormon. We had the
opportunity to share with them about Joseph Smith and the Restoration
of the gospel of Jesus Christ and they listened very nicely and
intently. We exchanged cars and whatnot. It was such an awesome
experience!

The sisters and Sis. Margetts at Shimai taikai
Watanabe family's house

This week I had my LAST ZONE CONFERENCE as a full-time missionary! It
hadn't really hit me yet during the conference, or even when I got up
to bear my testimony like everyone always does during their last
transfer. It felt like just a normal ZC. However, what did feel weird
was that it was also President and Sister Margett's last conference,
too! Their mission is also ending and they are heading home to Utah in
just a couple of weeks! The most exciting part of the day was getting
a forbidden hug with President Margetts! I feel so incredibly blessed
that I had President Margetts as my mission president. I couldn't have
asked for a better Mission President or Mission Mom! They were so
amazing and we all learned a lot from them.

During the conference we had a lot of interesting new
announcements/changes that will happen in the near future in the
mission. One of them being that all missionaries are required to
create a profile on Mormon.org, with a picture from everyday life, not
wearing our nametags! Isn't that awesome! We're also supposed to use
the site regularly in proselying by referring people to look at our
profiles as well as use videos to teach important principles. They
also talked about us encouraging members to use facebook to spread the
gospel, etc. Everyting is going online! Its crazy! I feel like such an
oldie.  Needleess to say, Sister Takabori's mission is going to be a
lot different than mine, haha.

Battling Sister Takabori in Tango Bang bang at Eikaiwa

OK, so you know how I said earlier that it hadn't really hit me during
zone conference that I was going home soon? Well yesterday we were
teaching this new friend we have named Murakami san. She has two super
adorable, roudy kids so while Takabori Shimai was teaching her about
the Restoration (the lesson she has been so diligently practicing all
week! She's so awesome!) I was trying to keep her kids busy with
stickers and anything I could find in my bag. I stood back up after a
while and Sister Takabori whispered to me, "lets ask her to get
baptized!...you do it!" Haha. So I asked her, "when you find out for
herself that everything Takabori told you today is true, will you be
baptized in August?" She said yes!! I was super happy, and then I felt
this ultra shockwave go through my body when I realized, "Hey, wait a
minute...I'm not even going to be here in August!...Nooooooo!" I can't
believe it.

Anyway, enough of that. This week we got screamed at by a really mean
old man, which costed us a contact when the lady we were talking to
ran away from us because of him. However, that was probably the 2nd or
3rd unpleasant encounter I've had in the past year and a half. Not bad
eh? Also found out that this Chinese lady named Horibe san who I
taught in Fukuoka was baptized last Sunday! And also that this
suuuuper sketchy lady Sister Uchida and I found housing way back in
October in Fukuoka is actually a legitimate investigator right now!
Hip hip, Hooray! Every effort counts! We've also been finding a lot of
 new, interested people from Eikaiwa lately and have a lot of
appointments lined up in the next couple of weeks.

We're always working!

Tsuyu or Rainy season has officially started and there is supposed to
be a typhoo coming in this week, but Sister Takabori and I both love
working in the rain so I'm sure we'll be out and about. Can't wait!

with our friend Kuroki san

Love you so much! Have a great week!

Love, Tingey Shimai

Pics: Last night we were out all day riding around in the rain, we
didn't get a chance to eat dinner in between appointments and as we
were parking our bikes at 9PM I said to Takabori Shimai, "Wouldn't it
just be the best thing ever if someone made a delicious dinner for us
and delivered it to our door?" And then...wouldn't you know it, there
it was!!! Not even making that one up! A member who lives a couple of
apartment complexes down from us received revelation and brought it to
us! Love her!

Today during district meeting we had this object lesson where two
Elders had to draw a super hard kanji ten times in one minute while
all of us hit them with toys and stuff. I don't remember what the
object lesson was but it was really funny! Haha