Tuesday, November 19, 2013


ohaio gozaimasu!!!
I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!! i hate emailing now though.. my goodness i always have the biggest struggles! but everything seems to be working now hours later.. fingers crossed this actually sends! such problems with having laptops! haha! it will all be better once we get our ipads next month!!!!
Anyways, the tsukuba divers had such a great week!!! it felt super long but super great anyways! Me and Sister Amituanai went to Matsudo for an exchange this week! Its so fun getting to go to new areas and work with other sisters! We were companions with two other sisters. One who doesnt speak english! hahah! and our japanese still pretty much sucks but we had so much fun! I got to teach eikaiwa there too! Seriously the funnest thing ever!! I love teaching the japanese english! they are just too funny and love all the missionaries!
We had an amazing Zone Conference this week! Matsudo is filled with pretty much the best missionaries in the whole mission.. hahah! We had different work shops and trainings and stuff! So good!! My favorite was a training on prayer. Our zone leaders asked us if we are using the full power of prayer? What do we wrestle with the Lord over? Blessings require some work or some effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work. And is the means for obtaining the highest of all blessings! The zone leaders gave us each little prayer books and asked that while we pray to "get to work"! We pray for each investigator and member personally and now with our prayer books we stop and really think about them during our prayers and write these things down. We show the Lord that we are ready to receieve his guidance! I love prayer! I love working! We teach everyday just how important prayer is and it is so true! We have the wonderful priviledge of speaking to our Heavenly Father and He promises to listen and provide for us! What a blessing!
Reusser Shimai stopped a lady on a bike the other day and started talking about what we teach as missionaries. This sweet lady wanted to learn more and offered to take us to lunch! We went to a super nice italian resturant (soooooooooo goood cause it wasnt japanese!!! hahah) and she brought two of her firends! We sat there for 2 and a half hours and basically taught every single lesson from PMG! They all had so many questions and were so interested in our gospel! They were the sweetest ladies and want to be taught again! oh and the best part was they told me that i look like such a california girl and that I look like i could be in High School Musical!!!! woohooo!!! mission accomplished! I am a happy girl! Life is complete! hahah! seriously the best compliment ever! i will love them forever!
Saturday, The Tsukuba community put on a little festival right across the street from our apartment! We went early in the morning to help set up. Our ward was given a time slot to sing! Our ward did the cutest little happy song from some japanese musical! then my companions and I sang the hymn Brightly Beams! That was something new! hahah! After, we sang another song with our elders! It was so fun! And such a great missionary opportunity! Everyone loved all these white people singing songs! hahah! We walked around after and handed out flyers for church and eikaiwa! We met so many great people both interested in church and english class! Tsukuba is going to explode with the amount of new investigators with this week! I am so insanly happy!
After we rode our bikes that long hour rode of just rice fields to go see an investigator who just got out of the hospital. When we got to the train station she called and said she was tired and that we couldnt come over.. Long bike ride for nothing! So we handed out english class flyers at the train station. Count your many blessings though people. A lady came up to us and said she had seen us before! She is interested in learning about the church and we made an appointment to see her again next week! woohoo! seriously Heavenly Father allows us these little miracles daily! We just have to have our eyes open to see them!
Sunday a member from another ward had us over for dinner. Her four college friends came and picked us up! They were so fun and thought our japanese was amazing! they were a little too easily impressed... hahaha! But i think they really liked us! They gave us all their contact info and want to hang out with us again! I love making new friends! Japanese people are my favorite!!!
oh and we got a new investigator from the phillipines whose name is JANET!!! Shes nothing like you mom, but when she said her name i almost started crying! hahah! I already love and adore her! She really needs the gospel right now. Her family was affected by the huge typhoon this last week and lost their house. She has the strongest faith ever! She counts her blessings everyday! Her house was destroyed but her family is ok. She is so thankful to God for all that He has given her! She is inspiring!
We are Gods children all here to help each other out and bring our brothers and sisters to know their Savior, Jesus Christ. We are all His special workers. Heavenly Father could snap his fingers and make everyone believe if he wanted to but He chooses to use us. He trusts us. He knows we can do it! We have his help! Have faith that he can work through you! Of this i have truly come to know on my mission! I love my Heavenly Father and my Savior! They love you too and are cheering for you!!
It was a great week filled with so much more miracles and just goodness i wish i could write it all! Thank you for all the love and support! I love you!!!!!!!!
Sister Christensen

The Tsukuba Divers are in action!


今晩は私の愛する皆さん!!!!
Ya the computer is too smart for me, i dont know if those symbols above are even right! i love kanji! not..
anyways, Hello!!!! The Tsukuba Divers had such a good week!!! i just dont know where to start! so many blessings and so many miracles were given to us this week!
Had interviews with our mission president this week! Always such a nice thing! and so dang nerve racking! He is so amazing and so sweet but i just look up to him so much and want him to like me! hahah! But he always has the best advice for me! I am still such a nervous person (hands still shack like crazy like always) and he told me to give everything to my savior. Give him my shaky hands. He will take care of everything. And that i dont have to be perfect! thank goodness for that! The spirit fills our gaps no matter how big! I am a missionary and representative of Christ. His work will not fail! what do i possibly have to worry about?
Wednesday we went housing in an area my companion had done before. We left a note for someone she had talked to before. When we finished the lady pulled up in her drive way. super awkward but it turned out to be a great meeting! She loves her family and wants to learn how she can serve them better! We will be seeing her again hopefully this week! I love finding new people to teach! after we went to a members mothers house. she is 98 years old and is literally the cutest thing of my life! She cant really hear so we were screaming at her the whole time! haha! She just laughed and laughed for no reason! She is just so happy! She made us each braclets and wants us to come visit her weekly! She just melts my heart! I love cute little old ladies!
After we had a lesson with Sumiko San. We teach her english and then teach her the lessons after. We talked about baptism of course :) my companions had previously asked her to be baptized and she had said yes but she really doesnt understand what it is. We cleared things up and i asked her to be baptized on dec 7! she said yes!!!!!!!!! she loves praying and the feelings of happiness she gets when she meets with the missionaries! we love her and are so excited for her!
This week Reusser shimai went on exchanges so we got another sister in Tsukuba for a day. She is also australlian. She and my companion Amituanai Shimai went crazy. Two aussies together is just not a good idea! hahah! kidding! they were so fun! and we saw lots of success! Two of our new chinese friends came to eikaiwa! they loved it so much they said they will come again next week and bring all their friends! eikaiwa is my life! hahah! i love it so much! english is so awesome! hahah!
The end of the week was weird. We just did a lot of biking and walking and little success so we are absolutely exhausted! Friday we biked for 2 and a half hours straight, and saturday was a mix of biking and wondering around lost looking for a hospital for five hours! good times.. We tried to visit our investigator Tsuchida San in the hospital. After we finally found the hospital we found out that she had been realeased and wasnt there anymore. So that was good... Happy that shes getting better though! theres a bright side to everything right?
Saturday we had a baptism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mizuho Shimai got baptized!!!!!!!!!!! saturday was her 20th birthday so she was legally allowed to get baptized without the consent of her parents. Her mom is super against religion and is cutting her daughter off from now on. The poor thing. But she is in the most perfect ward! She has been an investigator for years so everyone really knows and loves her! The baptism service was filled with members who are all willing to help support her! so sweet! we threw a surprise party for her after! She was so happy! I love baptisms! She was glowing!!! she kept saying "i am perfect!" so sweet! and so true! I havent known her for long but i already love her! I am so proud of her! She has the most faith of anyone ive ever seen! The gospel has changed her life! She has put all of her trust in her Heavenly Father and she has been blessed with so much! She is the happiest person ever! I love her! She is such a good example!
Sunday we taught a japanese girl who doesnt speak japanese! hahah! She grew up in hawaii and only speaks english! love that! We met at the church and made dinner together! We were so surprised when she said that she has been reading the Book of Mormon on her own! Miracle! we talked abouit the plan of salvation and we all got teary eyed! no surprise there.. Amituanai shimai cries more than i do! shocking! The spirit was so strong as we talked about how much our heavenly father loves us! He is our father and wants to hear from us! We are all small and simple but we have so much worth! We are sons and daughters of a king! If we look for our Heavenly Fathers love we will find it. Its not hidden. Its everywhere! if we take the time to really notice the lords hand in our lives we will find that he blesses us beyond belief! He guides me in everything!
Today, good old pday! A member picked us up and took us to visit another investigator in the hospital. everyone is in the hospital!! gosh! people please be careful and take care of yourselves! anyways her name is Hitomi san. My goodness she is amazing! She had thyroid cancer removed but is so happy! She loves the Book of Mormon and has been reading everyday! talked with her about baptism and she definitely wants to be baptized! My companions and i are just in awe! We told Heavenly Father that we wanted a goal of five baptisms this transfer and he is making it happen! we have seen so many miracles! He is putting his prepared people in our paths! I love teaching! I love teaching about my savior and our Heavenly Father! There is just so much love to go around! I want everyone to know that they are loved! there is a Heavenly Father who knows us each individually and loves us dearly!
ohhh and today we went to costco!!!! ahhhh! i cried i was so happy! ha! the member who took us bought all our food! sweetest people ever! I love the japanese people so dang much!
I love you all! thank you for the love and support!
Christensen shimai

Tuesday, November 5, 2013



Where in the world is TSUKUBA???? I don't know but I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!


こんばんわからつくばです!!!
Hi Hi!!!
so i already typed out a super long letter that took me like an hour to type. and it got deleted. ugh. anyways... IM IN TSUKUBA!!!! and loving it!!!!! my companions are amazing!!!! Sister R is the sweetest sister ive ever met! And A shimai is absolutly crazy!! she is so loud and out going! she is heard no matter where we are! which is a really good thing hahah! I love them! It feels like weve been friends forever! We are going to see so many miracles this transfer! I am beyond excited!!!! I live in a area called sakura! It is beautiful! a newerish city so its not super populated. Its all open rice fields and just green everywhere!!! i love it!!! We have amazing investigators! We are having a baptism this week for Mizuho! She is a cute 19 year old who has been waiting to get baptized for years! she had to wait until she became an adult so she could get baptized. her mom is against it. sad. But shes getting baptized on her birthday! She is soooooo excited!!! its so cute!!! i already love her! so proud! Since its a new area there arent really any trians so we ride bikes a lot. probably more than i did my first two transfer combined! hahaha! im dying! but its beautiful and im loving it!!!! im so happy to be here! my companions are crazy enthusiastic about being missionaries and doing missionary work! i am too obviously but their level is like unreal! i love it! We get so excited to get up and go work! I love being a missionary!!!! i love my companions! i love Tsukuba! I miss chiba but i know that Heavenly Father needs me here! Today we visited an investigator in the hospital. so sad. and one of my investigators from my first transfer passed away. im heart broken. so people, tell everyone that you love them!!!
sorry for the fast version but thats all i have time for! love you all!
Christensen Shimai