Friday, October 17, 2014

shays lasts...my lasts

SO WEIRD that shay comes home right as I'm leaving. ahh i'm going to be thinking about you all over the weekend..it's going to be a crazy weekend for sure. lots and lots of emotions. lots of sad, lots of glad. I'm just grateful that I'm here serving and knowing that the Lord is on my side makes it a little easier. I can't wait to talk to you all on Monday! Let me know what time works for you. My flight leaves at 7:30am so if you don't tell me otherwise, I'll probs call around 6am. Make sure the boys are awake. :) If its easier, I can probs call when we land in Michigan 3:30 (michigan time whenever that is..) Let me know.

Dad- I LOVED hearing about your mish. You never told me that! Crazy! That's like The Other Side Of Heaven material right there! Ah hearing your stories gets me stoooked.
So cool story- at the beginning of the week I got really sick, I couldn't go to class. I felt awful. I did NOT want to be sick while traveling/first few days in Japan! I pleaded with Heavenly Father to heal me and I got a blessing from the choro tachi.The blessing was so powerful and THE NEXT DAY I felt 90% better. It was seriously a miracle, I counted my blessings that day for sure. I have a testimony that God is mindful of each of us!
Hey, I want to share real quick something that means a lot to me. I wrote this to my branch prez, but it is such a testimony to me that God speaks to us.

I've shared with you what I've learned about prayer. I love to pray. It is amazing that there are no barriers between us and God. I can so simply talk to my Father in Heaven whenever I want to or need to. He wants me to cast all my burdens on Him. I should not worry so much while on a mission! I should love to work and work to love the Nihonjin. All I can do is invite. That is so simple! I can do that!

Before the mission, my mom always said, "You can do hard things." That was my motivation for the first few weeks. I can do hard things! But after a while, I changed that motto to "WE can do hard things." The Savior and I. A mission cannot be done alone. I must rely on the Savior to guide me everyday. He is preparing people to hear the gospel, and how can I find those souls who need Christ if I, myself, am not close to Christ? I know with Christ on our side, we can do anything.

I have found out why I have been called on a mission. I know I will plant many seeds in Japan and touch the hearts of many. I know my efforts in Japan will not be wasted. But I am doing this mission for my future children. As I've listened to devotional talks, read my patriarchal blessing, and pleaded to my Father for an answer, He has impressed upon me that I am doing this for my eternal family. From all that I am learning now in these short 18 months, I will be a better mother and a better wife. The adversary will grow stronger and stronger and my children will need a mother whose feet are planted in the soil of truth. My testimony cannot and will not be shaken! I want to lead my family in righteousness and bring up a generation like Helaman's Army!

My life has already changed in countless ways. I will always cherish this MTC experience. This gospel brings true joy. I can never deny the spirit I've felt and the truths I've learned. I'm so grateful for my Savior.

Mom- I read this quote from Pres. Hinckley all the time and i think it relates perfectly for and I.
"Many young women are serving missions. Many are preparing to serve, not because they aren't married or have nothing else to do, but because they have a desire to serve and are therefore being called to the work. The reason so many are going is because in the next generation Heavenly Father will be sending his Priesthood army to earth. He wants to send them to mothers who have been properly trained and taught in the Gospel, and what better training can a young woman have than that of serving a mission?"

I really can't express enough how happy I am to be serving a mission. I thought I had a testimony before, but wow. I can't wait to see how much I will learn in the next very short 16 months. Your friend Mills Kyodai gave a departing devotional to us yesterday. We left the meeting bawling because we were so happy! My heart was beating so fast and I just wanted to jump on a plane and get to Japan that very second. He talked about expectations. A lot of people have the expectation that they won't baptize anyone or hardly anyone will accept the message....sadly I think i did too. But I have been praying and have changed that expectation! The answer will always be no if I never ask! I hope I can find out why Father in Heaven sent me to Japan. I hope I can live up to HIS expectation and work as hard as i can. I hope I can KILL IT in Japan. :) Hey do me a favor--read Teachings of the Presidents of the Church by Heber J. Grant and read the Japan section. and let me know what it says. :)

Sorry for the long email, I've just had so many special experiences!! While we are living in this wicked world, I often get discouraged and feel as if Satan is winning this war. It is so sad! But remember- we outnumber the enemy! The number is STILL 2/3. There are legions of angels fighting with us. I know it. I KNOW if our spiritual eyes could be opened, we would find that we are NEVER alone. I have thought a lot about Bishop Draper and his wife. I've thought a lot about Papa, and all my great grandparents. I have thought about all our unborn children. We are never alone.

Anyway, parks and jare i'm stoked for you to serve your missions. you're gonna love it. shay--how cool that you served a full-time mission. I'm so proud of you. I always want to be like you. i miss you. Gma and gpa wilcox- thank you so much for your letter. i LOVED it. you make me feel loved and special. gma and gpa wadd- i miss you and think of you all the time! hope all is well. I love you!
can't believe BECCA D is already home! ahh so excited for her. becs i love you.

ILOVE YOU ALL. can't wait to get to japan. yep...TOTALLY freaking out but trying not to be afraid. oh heck yesterday in a lesson I said, "Shinko wa Satan kara kimasu."..(Faith comes from Satan). It was during Skype with a nihonjin. i felt SO dumb hahahah. He was like "WHAT???" hahahah. Oh hey he took a pic and told us he'd put it on fb haha so mom check for a guy named Yasuyoshi Miura. :) Also, I'm pretty sure the MTC warmed up raspberry jam and put it on chicken..but it was really good. try it sometime.

ok sorry i have to tell you this funny story- We were trying to SYL (speak your language) like crazy this week. so one day in class we were talking about dogs and in english i was like, "whats that dogs name that starts with shi..??" and Kittaka Shimai says, "OH shinjitsu's!" (means believe/true) and we were crying laughing so hard. we almost had to leave class we were laughing so hard. i know that doesn't sound funny,...i promise it was. haha

I LOVE YOU. next letter will be from NIHON!!!!!!

あいしています!

love, wilcox shimai

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