Long time now see!
i am sorry i have not been able to send out an official email to
everyone in the past couple of weeks. This is the first P-day
(preparation day) that I have been able to spend good time emailing in
quite a while.
I want to start off by saying I love being a missionary. I think
everyone would enjoy being a missionary, and I hope everyone who was
one reflects on their experiences often.
This area has been quite difficult in many aspects (simply because we
 cannot openly proselyte on Base) but it has reminded me of how much
God is in charge of our lives. I know He's there and I am watching
Him, through no real effort of our own, lead those who want to hear
about the church to us.
We have met many wonderful friends here, and I am so grateful for the
opportunity to serve here.
Never mind the bugs.
The bugs here are....well, insane. The worst is the cicada, which is
called semi in Japanese. It is so... Ugh. Because you rarely see them.
You just walk by trees and you hear this rumble of bugs and their high
pitched chirping going faster and faster...sometimes I wonder if I
will survive being here. None have dive-bombed me yet, bug the Elders
get hit quite frequently.
I am trying to find an object lesson to relate semi to a Gospel
Principle...hm....one day I'll find one...until then, if you feel
brave, please google them.
I have had a lot of great experiences this past week, but there are
two specific ones I would like to share with all of you.
One: We were in a lesson with one of our new friends, who is Chinese.
i cannot even begin to express the amount of love I feel for this
person who i have just met. We are excited to teach her, and she
 really wants to learn. We have to work through a translator to speak
with her, but that is okay. Yesterday we taught her about Jesus Christ
(because she literally knew nothing about Him. She thought, because
there were two names, that it was two people) and we briefly explained
 who He is and why He is the most Wonderful person on the planet. When
we were done, she leaned back and, as simply as possible, said, "Well,
if Jesus loves me like that, then i will love Him." We asked is she
beloeved in Jesus, and, after hearing about His life, said, "Yes, I
do. I think He's real." Her simple faith is so beautiful. I wish I,
and others, could also have such pure, childlike faith. I have found
 on my mission that having faith like that is refreshing. It is not
for the simple minded, or the dumb. It is a faith that we find after
having run around in psychological circles, trying to find another
answer-any answer, from that which is so simple. I do not know why we
do that-try to make things more complicated than they need to be, but
I find that, after I run a mental track of complicated notions for long
enough, I find myself back at the origin the simple answer I knew all
along- that I believe.
Second: This week i went to a meeting where our mission President
spoke. I love my mission President. He is one of the best examples of
me of a person who loves the Gospel and has fun in living it. I have
learned a lot from Him. And, ask he spoke about his conversion story,
I finally made a connection. He spoke about being a quiet teenager who
met missionaries on the street, and, I connected it. There is a
stereotype of quiet Japanese teenage boys- we see them everyday. And
they act quiet and scared of...well, a lot of people. And. I realized
my mission president was one of those little boys who met the
missionaries. He was one of the quiet, nerdy boys who we see dauily.
And then i watched my mission president bear powerful testimony on the
Book of Mormon in a language that is not his native, speaking of
things that he knew. I suddenly saw all of those High School students
on the street as future President Wadas. People who believe in the.
Gospel so much and are strengthen by Jesus Christ.
Sometimes when we see people, we only see them in their current state,
not as who they could be. I hope I can, and i hope all of you cn, see
people this week not as how they are but how they can be. And maybe,
we will trest those people a little bit differently.
This. Gospel is true. This church is real. God loves you. Just read
 the Book of Mormon, people. Let it flow through you.
愛しています
モレン姉妹

Hello to all

Sister Molen has been so busy that she has been unable to send us an email to include on this blog.
I have accumalated random thoughts from her emails to family to bring everyone up to date.
Summary, she has been on the move again and has found yet another great adventure waiting for her.
Enjoy!

July 28, 2014

Hello!
Well, I am transferring.
Again.
Wooo!!!
And I am in LOVE with Kawasaki. I really do not want to leave. But,
yesterday at church, I was sitting in sacrament meeting, and I had the
strangest feeling I would be leaving. And I had peace.
So when the call came, I was not too surprised. I WAS shocked that my
companion was also transferring out. I will miss the people here more
than I can say, but I know this will be good for us.
So I'm transferring.
That's not the weird part.
I am going to a place called Yokota, andI will be serving an only
English speaking mission. (well, as much as you can get in Japan) I
will be serving in a military ward, and I am to help people by finding
them, teaching them, and preparing them to be baptized ONLY in
English.
 That is a very interesting principle. To be honest, I am not quite sure
how to do that. I will still talk to everyone I see about the church,
but I will be focusing on speaking English.
My companion is going to Odawara-one of the most beautiful places I
 have ever seen. I will miss Sister R a whole lot, but I know her
new companions, and they will help her out a lot.
 So when I received the information regarding my transfer call, i was
told to go, to build up this English ward, and to "work like crazy".
I can do that.
In other news, we had a Music Festival this weekend. it was so much
fun! Mt friends were able to feel the Spirit very strongly and I
watched them grow.
 Kawasaki is growing. I am so happy. I hope and pray all will go well here.
Well, off to packing (again.) I find that packing gets easier, but
leaving does not. It is one thing to fold up shirts you wear all day
and another to tuck away your life and move forward to another one.
But I know I will never truly leave the people here. i hope to stay in
contact with them for a long time. A part of me will remain in
Kawasaki.
I know this is what God wants me to do. This is His plan. As much as I
want to say this is my mission, i know it is not. This is God's
mission. I am grateful for it.
And I feel very strongly there are reasons He wants me to serve in Yokota.
 So I will go. And I am absolutely

excited! :D
This was an interesting entry. But I am so grateful to be a missionary.
I hope you are all doing well.
愛しています
モレン姉妹

August 4, 2014

I am assigned to a military ward, and I am asked to bring people to church. Missionaries used to be in charge of both the Japanese and English ward, but this is the first transfer they are splitting the two-so I am only with the English speakers. And we are not allowed to proselyte on base. We cannot even wear our nametags. So all work will be through members. 

August 11, 2014

I am doing good. :) I have forgotten a lot of American table manners, though, so it is interesting to eat with them. There is a golden investigator here who is only waiting to turn 18 to be baptized. And we met her Mom today and was able to build a great relationship with her.
We are having an adventure on base, too. We ate dinner with a member whose friend wants to learn about church. So we will be praying for them.

August 18, 2014

God has us here for a reason.  I am determined to try must best to follow Him.  I am over my half way point now.  That is weird but I am trying my best. The Book of Mormon is true, so everything will work out fine.  Japanese class went very well, our ward is very good and we have a busy schedule this week.  My companion is awesome, and this work is true.

The Work is not only great but good. Praying for all of you!!

July 21, 2014

No post this week.  Molen Shimai is busily working in Kawasaki.  She is healthy and fine and appreciates all prayers for herself, the missionaries and the people in Japan.   Stay tuned for next week.

Her Mom

It's HOT!!!!!


Haha.
No seriously. It's hot.
I was entirely unaware that places in this world could be so hot.

From: July 14, 2014

But
Japan is hot.
And it is only going to get hotter

.
I am learning the steady art of drinking water throughout the day.
because I fins that, if I drink a lot of water in the morning or at
night, and none during the day, it is almost impossible to work. But
if I do a little bit at a time (少しずつ) I thrive during the day.

Something I am learning.
My companion is amazing. She refuses to get down about things. She is
a great example to me. She is also great at whistling.
I was a little under the weather earlier this week, but now I am
feeling better. :D

God is helping the people of Japan. I can see it. and when people read
the Book or Mormon, their lives change. I know it, and I trust that
 God will continue to help my friends.
God is guiding a lot of people to His church. I am glad to see it
helping my friends.

If you believe in prayer (and I sincerely hope you do-because it is
AWESOME :D) please pray for the people in Kawasaki. They are so
strong, and such wonderful people. Whether or not they are ready to go
to church, I am so grateful to them. If you could, that would be
great.

Well, out to the cold weather. Ha. Not cold.

However, 愛しています
ありがとうございます
モレン姉妹

Hello my wonderful party people!
I sincerely hope you are enjoying life- because life it worth
enjoying. I figure it is one of the many gifts God gives to us, and
its is one we should never take for granted.

As for me... right now I am sitting in a church, having just finished
a little lunch, with a plan to go to Yamate after this. (Woot! Old
stomping ground)

This last week was an...adventure. But, hey, crazy days leads to
growth. And growth leads to good change. And good change leads to joy.
This week one of my very dear friends joined the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter day Saints. She is probably the sweetest person I
 have ever met in my life. She is 87 years old, and I had the absolute
 privilege to teach her the first few lessons. Knowing her and how
wonderful she is, I feel kinda unworthy to say that-because I know I
didn't teach perfectly. But I know that, because God exists and He is
with His missionaries, she felt the Spirit. And that is who truly
taught her.

This week my companion and I also came down with something. It might
have been the weather, the fact we were so busy earlier this week, or
we ate something bad and we became sick. I recovered quickly, but I
felt so bad for my companion because hers was so much slower. And she
tried her best to get well, because I knew she wanted me to be able to
go to the baptism.
But I was NOT going to let her to go into the rain with a fever. I
told her I had already missed two weddings- I was going to be fine
missing a baptism.

 So, as we sat in the apartment at 1:30 pm on Saturday, as I looked out
the rainy window, imagining I could see the church building, a
question came to my mind,
"Why? Why does God have things like this happen?"
 And I was reminded, ever so poignantly, once again, that this is the
Lord's work. Not mine. It is His plan. not mine.
We may not ever physically see the effect our good actions will have
in others lives. we may never see the result of our kind words or
actions. But we need to trust that, even though we may not see it, it
does happen. We need to trust God and those we help.
 I am so grateful to be able to dedicate a little bit of my life
 helping people learn about the most important thing they ever could.
And serving them and God in that way.

 And yes, my companion is now feeling better! Even though she refuses
to eat fish. It's a good thing she likes rice...
 I think Sister R is awesome. She inspires me everyday.

I love Japan. I love the Japanese people. I don't really love Manga
 (because I don't know it), but everything else is pretty awesome here.

Keep strong. have fun. And reach out to someone this week.

愛しています
モレン姉妹

This week while training one of the COOLEST PEOPLE OF ALL TIME (yes,
Sister R is amazing) I came across the story of Samuel Smith, the
first Mormon missionary after the church was restored.
He went on many missions,but on his first mission he saw absolutely no
baptisms. True story. Passed out two Book of Mormons. Saw a two people
who liked the Book of Mormon. that was it.
 And when saying this while training, I found myself asking, "What
would have happened if he quit? What if he just gave up on the whole
mission thing?" But he didn't. He kept going.
 And because of his first trip, those two people with the Book of
Mormons told their friends, one of who was named Brigham Young, who
later became the prophet.

Now baptisms and numbers are not measures of success, but being
 determined is. And he went back out and was blessed to see God change
hundreds of lives.

Our weeks started out a little hard. But we did not give up. And then,
 Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were just filled with seeing
our friends lives change.
And we saw that because we kept going. We kept trying.

That is the message I want to share with everyone.
The Book of Mormon is a life changer and a life saver.

I love you all!
愛しています
モレン姉妹

PS Thus was from and activity this week we had with kids in the community

雨! Ame! Rain!

ハロ!
So, as from now on, I will be using Facebook to help those I am
working with. I am very excited to be able to contact people in new
ways, but I am also a little nervous.

An awful lot happened this week. God has led us to a lot of people.
Something I've learned this week is love. I work in a lot of details.
Sometimes I get lost in them. but the truth of the matter is that
missionary work is all about love. Love for God, love for your
companion, love for the people you serve. It is not about deadlines or
planning-although those are tools to help people. it is really all
about caring. And sometimes being persistent while caring for people.

Sometimes it scares them.

Yesterday we had quite an experience. We went to visit a sister in the
work who, because of work, has  not been out to church lately I
remember asking Smith 姉妹 if she thought it would rain still. It was
perfectly sunny! What a dumb question! I said if half joking.
Well, leaving her apartment, 30 minutes by bike from our apartment at
night, you'll never guess what happened. Yes. it was soft at first,
then steadily got heavier and heavier until we were being pelted. My
mascara was running everywhere, we had to go slower, and puddles were
splashing us everywhere!!!! It could have gone two ways-we could be
upset about it, or enjoy it. So we had fun! We enjoyed the rain! I
remember once stopping, looking at a man and saying with a huge smile
on my face いい天気ですね?

Our lives are really all about attitude. Attitudes of cheerfulness or
gloom, faith or fear, trust or doubt. And when we choose to react
positively, we can see the Lord more fully in our lives.

Love you all! Would love to hear from you!

This church is legit. God listens to everyone. And He can help out
with anything.

愛しています
モレン姉妹