Miss Maddy in Japan

The rice fields in Japan are so beautiful! こんいちわ This week was full of miracles! We had a lesson with Tanaka San and it was awesome! Her faith is growing and it is amazing! We had district training and a member in Saga brought us food... including home made ice cream! That was so fun. Dimmitt しまい and I are the only sisters in the district, but the Choros are awesome! They are so nice and funny. We talked about our investigators and got great advice. We also had cleaning checks. The Henrys are the sweet couple that are in charge of that. We got 100%!! That rarely happens but it did! On Thursday we had the opportunity to serve. Ogata しまい invited us to help pull weeds at her neighbor's house. It was fun! Japanese people are masters of the sun. They are super skin healthy so when we got there she gave us these sleeves, a hat, gloves, and a towel for around our neck. It was super funny because I am not used to that, but it protected us from the sun. We also went to McDonald...

first meal in Nihon --shrimp tempura udon-- こんにちわ So I have survivied a full week in Nihon! Its crazy how busy on a mission you are. We have packed schedules but we always follow the spirit and try to serve the amazing people of Nihon! So this week was a lot better than last week. Last week was really hard, missions are  just hard, but I was able to rely on Jesus Christ and make it through it. This week we taught eikaiwa (our free english class). Not a ton of people showed up, but it was so fun to help teach. We have amazing ward members here in Kurume. Akiyama きょうだい (brother Akiyama) helps in our eikaiwa. He came early and set up chairs. Nihara  きょうだい (brother Nihara) brings us milk every week. There are so many other amazing people here who love to serve. Tanaka San (our golden investigator)  grew a lot this week! We had a couple lessons and her desire to be baptized is growing more and more each time. Spiritual keiken: This week we had interviews wit...

President and Sister Egan in front of the Fukuoka temple.  こんにちは So I'm actually here in Nihon!!! It is crazy! Everyone actually speaks japanese! So I had to say goodbye to all my MTC friends and my district. That was really sad. We arrived in Nihon and got lots of hugs. The next day we got our trainers. I have the best trainer, her name is Dimmitt Shimai.  She is sure happy and excited. She has been out for more than a year. In the Fukuoka mission when someone asks how long you have been out you only say a little more than a year or a little less than a year. It makes it so people get along better and the members trust you more. I am in Kurume. It is part city and country. It is a huge area and Dimmitt Shimai and I are the only ones in the area and the only ones living in our apartment. We have 3 investigators. I have met one. Her name is Tanaka San. She is super cute and nice. She has a baptismal date and everything. It is really fun and super hard to dendou...

Bright eyed and ready for 24 hours of traveling! A little rough...not quite as bright eyed after 2 flights! Made it to Tokyo...one more flight to Fukuoka. first look at Nihon President Egan picked us up from the airport, and we made it to the mission home. Never has a bed looked so good. After dinner, paperwork, showers, and a little journaling, we crashed. Email home from the mission: Good evening, Thank you for having your sons and daughters serve in this mission. We just wanted to inform you that your missionaries have arrived safely tonight to the Fukuoka Mission Home. We know that your sons and daughters will contribute greatly to this mission. Thank you, Japan Fukuoka Mission Office Email from Miss Maddy: I made it safe and sound, as you know. I get to go out and start tracting/ just talking to everyone. I'm so excited and i cant wait to see what today holds. I love you both so much and...

My final days at the MTC were filled with more photo opportunities than ever,  but how could we not document every one of our last moments together! The MTC has been better and more than I imagined it could be. I have made friends that I will have for the rest of my life! Our teacher: Richardson Kyodai Our teacher: Raines Shimai Our teacher: Akamatsu Shimai Japanese name tag! Last Sunday devotional MTC sistas gotta have some silly with all the serious Double Zone Pic Moss Shimai Lee Shimai Kesiel Shimai Crandall Shimai North Shimai Tsuchiyama Shimai Hippolite Shimai Davis Choro Rasmussen Shimai Aren't those faces so precious? Lavea Choro no words people...no words Easter, conference. April Fool's day, and our last day in Provo! TRAVEL PLANS!! Note from the mama: Maddy called us thi...