Old things are done away- all things become new

Well, here we are.
This last week was the opposite of boring. I told my companion,"You
know, I think my last week will be a little bit quieter than usual."
...
SO, this week was awesome. After climbing the hill to her house
several times, our friend Miho finally finished her lessons to
prepare for baptism. And on her 29th birthday, she decided to join the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.
She taught me so much. I think she can teach everyone a lot about
life. She is a very simple lady who lives a simple life. And, even
though she has had many mountains to climb in her life, she has stayed
positive. She has taught me that every scar we have had can eventually
one day be healed. And that they do fade. But, it is only through
Christ does that happen. We have seen this woman completely understand
the Gospel (something she had NEVER heard about before) within a month
and a half. And she has every intention to endure to the end. Sister
M and I feel like we were sent here for Miho.

And then the next day...all the elders were acting weird at District
Meeting. So, I complained to Sister M ALL day about how I thought
the elders were going to throw a surprise farewell party. I even tried
using my lie detecting skills on her (didn't work. That was a waste of
3 credits) That night we had a lesson with Kanae- one of my favorite
people. We hadn't met with her for a long time, and we both went into
the lesson expecting her to drop us. She surprised us by asking us
about baptism and said she wanted to receive it. That was pretty cool!
After that we went to the third floor for game night which was.......a
surprise party! But not just ANY surprise party- a surprise birthday
party. Because, it was my birthday (not really. It was because all of
the cheap stuff was birthday themed). It was really sweet...and I
didn't know how to react.

Yesterday, we had tacos, some weird British dish, and a whole bunch of
rolls. Saying goodbye to the members was very, very hard. Saying
goodbye to everyone is hard. I don't think I can bring all of myself
home. Some of me will always be here.

I am excited about the new adventure, though. God plans things for our
lives that we would never expect.

Here in Japan, one of the most agnostic countries in the world, I have
come to to know my Savior. I have come to see my friends to discover a
God they didn't know was there. And for them to find that He was
really familiar all along.

I will continue this blog. In the words of one of my Ward Mission
Leaders, "You will be a dork." the other, "You are going to be really
weird." We will see what happens.

The Book of Mormon is true. Seriously. And by true I mean legit, real,
actually God's word, cool, never-failing, ever-helping, awesome blue
book. And I thank God for it.

See you all soon.
Love
モレン姉妹

It's not over yet

久しぶり!!!

Sorry about the big gap between emails. This one has been a long time coming.
This last week was awesome. We have been preparing with our friend,
Miho, to be baptized. She is absolutely golden. In her story, it has
been very evident that the Atonement has worked in her life. It was
wonderful to see and is cool to see her progressing. The biggest thing
she has taught me is that no scar of the heart cannot be fully healed
by the Savior.

I have been panicky about coming home. I had the privilege of going to
the Tokyo Temple a few weeks ago, And, as I walked in, I felt so much
peace.

As of right now, I am trying to stay in the moment. I had a cold this
last week and received a miraculous blessing(someone who holds the
priesthood, God's authority, says a very special prayer tp help with
healing and sometimes counsel). And God told me in that prayer,

"It's not over yet...there are still many

great things you have left to do".

I am holding onto that. :) We have seen a whole lot of miracles out
here, and I am excited to see what else happens.

Wish these were longer! The church is true, and life is awesome. Just
depends on how you look at life,

love
Sister Molen

May 2015 - Miho

May 2015- Planners 

This is an excerpt from an email that Sister Molen sent to her mom.  We think this is a wonderful way to represent her love for the people of Japan that she has.

It is hard to describe the condition of the hearts of the people in
Japan. Imagine living a life with no purpose, no end result, no real
motivation. They have instilled in their hearts so deeply the light of
Christ and they do not know it. The greatest hope that I have is that
God has made it this way for reasons. I think it is because if
they had a Christian background as soon as they were born they would
be taken up into heaven pretty quickly. So their big struggle in
life is not having Christianity. I think Satan works really hard on
them because he knows how good they can be. The good thing is that the
members in Japan are amazing. And God is with us.

Happy Easter everyone! I hope everyone in America had an absolutely
wonderful Easter :-) as for Japan… Well… They don't really celebrate
Easter here.

Which is sad.

But, it is a great opportunity for us to
talk to people about Jesus Christ :-) understand who he is or what he
did, so was a really easy way to bring up who Jesus Christ.

After all,
he is the center of our message.

Which reminds me if anyone has not
seen that because he lives video, I would give it 10 stars :-) and
anyone who is watch movies with me knows that that is a really big
deal.

This week we learned a lot about doing service.

When Christ was on the
earth He performed service.… When you think about it, actually,

Jesus Christ whole life was all about serving other people.

Even after his friend John the Baptist died and

he went to a mountain alone pray and
to mourn, He decided to look outward and serve other people.

We've had the privilege of serving a lot

people this last week.

And, two hours ago I got my last transfer call.

It is the second time in my mission where I will have a companion

for more than one transfer :-) :-) :-)

I'm excited to be with Sister M as I try my best to
finish up the work the work of the Lord wants me to do here in Japan.
I'm excited to continue working on Yokosuka in to help the friends I
have here.

That is it for this week! Sorry that this email is a little record, I
will make it up the pictures :-)

I know that this church is true.

It is so good and so beautiful to know that God lives.

And I wanteveryone to know that for themselves.

Ai shite iru yo!
モレン姉妹

Easter Activity She is right here       ^^^^^^^

INTENSE WEEK OF INTENSENESS

Konnichi wa minasan

As the title of this email states, this week has been quite intense. A

lot of ups and downs, but I figure that is life. :)

For all those wondering, out dear friend Evelyn, is doing great. She

has received such a glow. And it keeps growing! there is an innate

strength in her and a fire within her. And, because she is quiet some

of the time, people might not see it initially. But it is amazing and

beautiful. I think of all the quiet people in my life that I have not

taken a lot of time to know. I think I should slow down more.

In other news, my companion, Sister C, left me. She is off to new

adventures in a place called Yamato. But my new companion is Sister

M. We knew each other in th MTC, and she is so awesome! People here

think we look a lot alike.

We have been running around like crazy this week, letting Sister C

say Goodbye and introducing Sister M (I don't know about

"introducing" her to too much, This was her first area, so she has

come in hitting the ground running)

We have a friend who is studying with us. And we have not known how

involved she has been in really wanting to know for herself whether or

not this message is true. And we were sitting with her talking about

the Book of Mormon. It went a little something like this:

Us: Do you understand this passage?

Her: Yes.... actually, this book is super easy to read.

Us: (I have NEVER heard that. It is written in old Japanese and

English) Wait, what?

Her: Yeah, this is super easy to read. And I don't know why.

Us:...yeah, it IS easy to read! (because it is easy for us)

Her: I don't get it, but whenever we are talking about this I have this

懐かしい feeling.

懐かしい-threw in a Japanese word there. Google translate doesn't do it

justice. No dictionary really does. Natsukashii is like that feeling

you have when you think of your childhood. Like a familiar feeling of

something that you have been missing.

When she said that, I felt so much joy inside me. "Yes. That's normal.

There is a reason." We then gave her a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and

told her we would talk about it.

THEN fast forward a few days. We get a text from our SAME friend,

saying she doesn't want to meet with us anymore. Out of the blue. We

call her and followed the Spirit like crazy. Turns out she decided to

start doing some research because she DOES want to know for

herself...and stumbled onto a Japanese website with lies about our

church (*sigh* do people not have better things to do than put lies on

the internet) We told her those were not true, and after a very long

phone call, were able to set another appointment with her. Rest assured

we will be bringing pamphlets, and try to get a member there to tell

her what our church is REALLY like.

This whole story is supposed to amount to something. And I will quote

something our Relief Society teacher said yesterday, "It is very easy

to find a voice to confirm your thoughts, good or bad. You will always

find voices for both. But the most important thing to do is to go to

the only source you know will not lead you astray. And that is the

Spirit."

We all have affiliations with the darkness and light in this world. I

have helped many people as they have tried to learn for themselves. No

matter where we are, there will always be those two. But we decide

where we choose to stand.

Hope everyone had a great week.

 Love you all, and cannot wait to hear from you.

愛しています

モレン姉妹

Me and Sister C on our last day

Birthday party for a member!

Hello!

Sorry, this one will be short. We had some technical difficulties with the ipad.

The good news is, I have now realized that I still remember

how to use a keyboard (somewhat.. it is actually kind of difficult)

Transfer calls came... and I am still in Yokosuka! Yay!

I am so excited to continue working here. 

I have met so many wonderful people and

am excited to see how we can be God's hands in helping others!

On a sad note, my companion is leaving :(

I will miss her a lot.

She is going to a good area with a

good companion, though, so I know she'll have fun.

Elder Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the 12 apostles, came and spoke to us.

That was an awesome experience.

There were 400 missionaries in one room, singing, "Called to Serve". 

  http://youtu.be/LEYRDvR_mMg

That was a powerful moment.

He spoke of us teaching our investigators to teach themselves.

Which is difficult, but He said we could do it.
Sorry this one is short.

But the church is true. God lives. It isn't a catchphrase, it is a fact.

And, as Christ had said, all things are possible to them that believe.

ai shite imasu

Moren Shimai

Dramatic One.........

Hello!
Hope you all are doing well. A lot has happened this week. But I would
like to share one story on here.

So, we had our Sisters' Conference! Our area is
near the very bottom of our mission, and, because we had never made
the trip together before, we got VERY lost. But that is okay.

Because there was one train that usually goes straight to the mission
home. You take it from the Yokohama train station, which is in my old
area, Yamate. It was the morning, so the train was very packed, It was
actually one of the most packed I had ever been in! The pushers had a
really hard time closing the doors. And I watched as a 45 year old or
so man got on the steam of people, and he made eye contact with me. He
gave me a look, and I felt a little uncomfortable. As of late, we had
some men approaching us, and we had to explain to them we don't date as
missionaries. It turns our the man got pushed right behind me. I heard
him rustling after a few minutes, and then felt a tap on my shoulder.
I awkwardly half turned around to see him holding my zone leader's
business card. He then said, "I met you on this train one year ago."

Needless to say, I was confused.
He continued, sheepishly. "One year ago, you and your companion were
on this train, You gave me an English flier. I chased you down the
staircase."

All of a sudden, it all clicked. I remembered! We were talking to a
woman who had no interest in our message, or even in our English
class. And a man chased us down and asked for a flier for English
Class and church.

I got very excited! "hey, nice to see you again! have you been coming
to church?"
he replied that he went to class quite a few times, but had recently
gotten busy. He said he had not seriously studied with the
missionaries, but thought it was a good idea to start.

I found myself on the same train with the same son of God- twice.
Expect now, I was more experienced than when I was a new missionary in
Yamate. and I can say a lot more now.  I was able to testify to
him about church boldly, and invite him to meet with the missionaries
again. he is now working that out with the elders he was in contact
with.

I am so grateful for second chances. I feel very privileged that
through being lost on a bunch of trains, we were able to invite
someone again to hear the Gospel.

Heavenly Father is truly aware of each sparrow. And, as the Savior
Himself says, "You are worth so much more than Sparrows".(Matthew 10:31)

I am glad God is looking out for this man.

Hope you all have been able go find the miracles amidst things going
hayware in your lives.

You are all amazing. Would love to hear from you.

愛しているよ
モレン姉妹

This will be a short one.
This last week was super busy, but full of miracles.

Our friend, through all craziness, was able to follow Jesus Christ and
be baptized. It was amazing to see. I have been how God is a part of
her life. Me and my companion did very little, if anything. It was all
 between her and God.

Love you all! Please remember: Have fun this week!

愛しています
モレン姉妹

Frantic Happiness

So, week three in the chosen land of Yokosuka!!! I am finding that
there are times when I have no time, but I suppose that is a better
problem to have. We are bouncing around everywhere like crazy! It is a
really good thing and is super fun, but sometimes I wonder if I can
really do this: balance the ward and the branch, finding and teaching,
coming and going, all while trying to be more Christlike. And I
realize; No, I can't. Not alone. But I DO know I can do it will God
and Jesus Christ. And somehow,

They are getting all of the necessary things done.

Here are some quick adventures and thoughts for the week:
So we come home from English class, climb up a bunch of steps, go into
the genkan(apt), and turn on the lights. And..nothing. Flick it again.
Nothing. We tried everything we could and...nothing.It was pitch
black. A few days earlier my companion mentioned how she resented a
little bit how our mission is so safe, so taken care of, and so
pampered. So I blame her for our power going out. And it was so much
fun!! I loved it. It was SO cool!!!!! After lighting a candle and
pulling out our emergency packs, we called the Mission Home, who was
nof as excited as I was. And さすが Mission Home, they were able to call
a very kind man to fix it in the middle of the night. (Mission Home
can do anything). But, as we were sitting there, I realized that this
was an opportunity to be grateful for everything we DID have. Isn't
life interesting? We do not tend to realize our blessing until they
are extinguished. And, amidst all the places we were going, God took
some time to pause us, and remind us of our blessings. It was a great
experience.

We had a lesson with a sweet new friend. She knows nothing about
Christianity and told us that she was scared of it when she was in
school. She said she thought people are forced to join, and when you
enter a church building they rob you. o.0 She then said when she met
us on the street we did not seem to be those kinds of people, but
seemed very friendly and respected people's agency. She said that
because she had a good feeling, she figured she would decide to find
out a little more. We told her that we most definitely respected her
agency, and would NOT make her join, but teach her how to find out for
herself if it is true. She likes that.

One miracle: We went bowling on Base last P day with the kindest
couple I have ever met. And, afterward we headed over quickly to the
McDonalds nearby so we could hurry to go out and work. To our surprise
we walked in and saw a church member from the branch! We then took a
few more steps and met a friend who drops by church! We set up a table
and were able to get to know them better and teach them. Miracle in
McDonalds.

Will tell you more next week. And the beginning of this post, I said,
"necessary things". And I love being a missionary-because those
"things" involve serving God and serving others. And, even though
sometimes the days are long, or the Japanese is difficult to
understand, I am so glad I have the privilege to act in the place of
Christ. I hope to be a better person so that I can help these people
the best I can.

Hope everyone had a great week! Would love to hear about it!

愛しています
モレン姉妹

Land of Dreams Continue

Hello!

This is week two in the promised land called Yokosuka... and we have
seen miracle after miracle. It is cool to see God helping His children.
In reality, I become a bystander at a point.We as missionaries teach
to the best of our capacity, and then people just start their dance
with God. I am so grateful to see the Spirit touch people．

This week, one miracle happened while we were housing, We are trying to
get time finding in between working for the ward and the branch. And we
were standing on the second floor of a building, overlooking Yokosuka.

And I had a distinct feeling we needed to go to a building I saw in the
landscape. I said it but felt a little silly, because I did not know of
 God was telling me to or if I was making it up.

So after I said
something I waited to see how my companion would react. She is the
hero of the story, because when we finished our building she is the one
that said, "Why don't we go try and see?" So we went.

And it was a long way.

So we prayed and hit the numbers with names on them. No one
answered. Then, just as ee were about to leave, I looked up and saw an
old, barely see able name.

So we called it-and it was a former investigator who remembered missionaries,

the Book of Mormon, and Nephi.
She was very sweet and invited us to come back.

God does His work, even though we stumble sometimes.

I am so grateful to be here.

Everyone, please have so e fun this week!

I have learned that life
 is meant to be enjoyed-

for God made the Earth to be good.

愛しています
モレン姉妹

Yokosuka, the Land of Dreams

It means flat joy. 横須賀. Cool, right?

I am not exactly what that is
supposed to mean, but I think it is something good.

First, my foot is getting better. Thanks for the concern.

I love it here! I cannot even begin to say how much I miss Machida,
 but these two areas are both polar opposites.

And awesome. I like them a lot.

 My new companion is Sister C. 

She is fiery and ready to work. And is funny.

So, right now we are helping a HUGE Naval Base ward

and a little Japanese Branch.

It is quite busy, but an adventure.

 This week we saw a lot of miracles.

But one thing that stuck out to me
was a miracle we had on the street.

We saw a sweet lady and started up a conversation.

After an intro, we asked her if she wanted to learn
about Jesus. She said yes.

We asked if she wanted to come to our
church now. She said yes.

So we did. And the Spirit was so strong!

I am so grateful for all of the chances

I have had to feel the Spirit.
God really does reach out to everyone.

We just need to want to hear it.

Hope everyone has had a great week Please keep at it.

愛しています
進んでいるモレン姉妹

So, this week. This has been the most hectic week of my mission.

Let me tell you about it.
First, we made it out of the apartment alive! My companion woke up
angry and said, "I am tired of being sick! I am going to get better so
we can work!" So she got better. And we did. She is literally the
toughest person I have ever met. So we went out Tuesday night! Woot!
Then we went out Wednesday. And honestly, it was one of the best
proselyting days of my mission. I truly felt the spirit and felt like
we were guided to do certain things and certain people. I've never
been so happy to be outside to work. That night we had English class.
A student asked me if I had dreams of going to Japan when I was
little. And I told him that I absolutely did not. For that I love
Japan so much now, and I was so glad that I came to be a missionary.
Then we biked home.and, as I jumped off my bike, I felt my foot hit
the ground the wrong way. I ignored it until we start walking up the
stairs. And we got inside the apartment I couldn't ignore it anymore.
It hurt very badly, and my stomach dropped.
In this mission, because of the revelation my Mission President
 received from God, if you fracture a bone at a certain point in your
mission and need surgery, you are required to go back to your hometown
with an honorable release.
And my stubborn side kicked in. Us Molens are stubborn. And I refused
to admit that possibility.
so I iced it. The next day, I needed to go to the Honbu, so I went. It
was pretty far, but My stubborn side was up. My companion said I
looked ridiculous. I talked to the amazing Sister Wada, and she told
me to talk to the doctor at Zone Conference the next day. She asked if
I could wait. I said yes. So the next day went to Takao (props to my
old area :D) and by then it was hurting pretty badly. The doctor
looked at it and said it looked like a fracture and that I should get
an X ray.
The following night was the least amount of sleep I had gotten in my
life. I laid there, terrified. And, for a brief second, I let my mind
turn home. What was waiting for me. Of course my family, who I would
love to see. Friends I would, too. Those were good. Then came school,
work, television, internet, movies, things I thought I missed. And
those things had no color to me. In my mind, clearly, those things did
 not have the color or depth of what serving the Lord does. and I
realized that, I will probably want those. But not today. I realized
there was nothing I would rather do than serve the Lord at this point
in my life. Even though I do it poorly, and loud, and with mediocre
language skills, it is what I want to do. And I was so grateful for
that knowledge.
And I learned that the Lord answers prayers, and He cares about our
desires. When the doctor pulled up the Xray and saw no breaks, I felt
so much. He then told me, "Well, you didn't break it, so just walk it
off." In essence, it had the characteristics of a fracture, but no
fracture. So he gave me special bandaids and told me to deal with it.
Which I am.
Why am I telling you this story? Because 1. i know God answers our
prayers 2. I know He chooses what is best for us and 3. If you are
contemplating serving a mission or serving in a calling, I will give
you this advice:Go for it. When I was at home, there were so many
entertainment things and other goals that I thought were the most
important things I could ever have. They had color to me. But I
promise you that if you take time and serve the Lord with everything
you have in your heart, you will soon see that those things are truly
 faded. There is no greater joy than serving the Lord.

My foot is feeling a lot better, by the way. I got my transfer call
today. I am moving to Yokosuka to serve in a Japanese branch and
English ward. And I know that is where God wants me to be. He is
letting me stay and complete my mission. I am grateful that I, my
small self, and able to witness so many miracles in people's lives.
God is truly in everyone's lives.
 I am grateful for this opportunity to serve Him.

I hope this week, all of you find opportunities to feel the joy of
serving God and others.
Love you!
Molen Shimai

Hello world!
What is it like out there? I have had the supreme blessing of being
stuck in the apartment due to illness.(her companion has been sick)
And I went crazy.

At first, I was upset. I was confused on why we had to be in the
apartment for so long. (which is the WRONG way to handle it when
something doesn't go your way)

Well, now it is day ten. and I am so grateful.
I have been in an apartment with no television, no internet, and a few CDs.
I called my friends, texted my friends, called students from English
class I have never met, made cards, and then sat there.

I was confused.

Then, day three, I got hit with the idea to read the Book of Mormon.
Best idea in the world.

I do not know how many times I have read the Book of Mormon, but I do
know that it is wonderful. I had just forgotten.

Seriously, everyone should read it. We all have sincere q

uestions,
心に響く言葉. Things that resonate in our hearts.
I cannot even explain the answers I have received.

Jesus Christ loves everyone. God had given us this church for our
happiness. He wants us to be happy.

May we all start the new year with joy in our hearts.

愛しています
モレン姉妹