The travel plans are in!‏ Last week in the MTC!!!!

This seems so unreal to me. I have been here at the MTC for like ever but really time has just flown by. I honestly am surprised that I am leaving sosososos soon. I am very excited to go. The gospel is taking off in Japan and I cant believe that I was chosen by the Lord to do his wonderful work!! Its truly amazing. I am so humbled by this opportunity. I am scared out of my mind though.  But I need to have faith in my Lord and I know that I will be able to do the Lords work and be able to do the tasks and feed his sheep and bring them back home to him. Like I can't explain to you what I am feeling. I hardly can speak any Japanese. But I am not feeling nervous about that. I feel nervous about other things. This is the best thing that I could be doing with my life. I need not to worry about things. I need to keep a clear mind and know that I am doing what the Lord wants me to do and that HE is going to be by my side the entire time! He is watching over me, He will lead me to do the things that he wants done in his church. He knows the master plan that I don't know. I don't know but even with how hard this is going to be and how much this is going to stretch me and push my limits I have never been more excited in my life!!

Well here is what everyone has been waiting for!! The Travel plans:  Monday morning at 5:30 we are meeting at the travel office and leaving and driving to the airport! I am going to make my doryo get there at 5:15. Like this will be the only time that I will nag her about being on time. You would be so proud of me. I am pretty much late to everything because she has ZERO sense of time and I dont want to be a jerk and nag her alllllllll the time.... Its been really hard for me.  ANYWAY so leaving at 5:30am monday morning

We are flying from SLC to LAX. We are flying on DELTA flight #1813 to LAX. Our flight takes off at 9:48am and we land in LAX at 10:51.  From LAX we fly straight to Japan the airport is NRT (Tokyo Narita, Japan) We are flying on DELTA flight #283. It takes off at 1:00pm and we land at 4:55pm October 29!!!  Is Kirk Pace going to be working!!?? Tell him to look for me! I would love to see him!! :) I love Kirk and Paula! 

Its so crazy!! I am so excited. I can't even explain it. I am so nervous but at the same time I have such a calm feeling. Its amazing. This week we also get our new name tags. So like sister brown won't be in English any more its going to say　ｂロｗンシマイ  My name will be something along those lines. Which is crazy. Good thing I know how to read hiragan and katakana!! and a little romanji!!

Well this past week has been a really awesome week! Last Tuesday night Dallin H. Oaks came to the Tuesday night devotional! He did such a great job. I love the way he talks he is like brilliant!! He talked a lot about the other churches in the world and they made complete sense. That they all have some truths to them and they do good things, ours is just the best out of all of them. It was a very interesting talk but it was very very good at the same time. 

So the other day during lunch this elder came up to me holding a newspaper. I was a little confused and then he pointed to a picture and then asked me if that was me in the picture. Sure enough it was the church news with the choir singing in it and it was me. He then continued to say that him and the elders have been watching me the past days just really wondering if it was me in the picture or not and then one elder was like well why don't we just go ask her. So he did, and then he asked me if i would sign it for him haha it was so classic and so weird hah I loved it!! 

WELL good news I have had like the same 6 zits on the side of my head for the past 8 weeks cool and i am getting knew ones that are moving in and moving out all the time. Its pretty much a great landing spot. I don't know.. I guess its just a great vacation spots for zits or something haha.

Last Wednesday I was also a host for the new missionaries. It was pretty fun!! Like its weird being the one that has been here the longest. In less than a week that will change and I will be the little bean chilling in Tokyo so fresh having no idea what is going on!

Thank you for the package! it was pretty much everything I needed. I will be sending home a package in a couple of days of stuff that I don't really need!! AHHH I love you so much and I cant wait to talk to you on monday :) I miss you so much! Its going to rule!! 

XOXO 

Sister Brown

Temple walk on a rainy Sunday

yay the nihongi are here

last Temple trip of the MTC

Sister Ellis she is so cool!! we love all the same tv shows

MTC Week #7

This week was the bomb!! It was probably the most eventful week I have had since coming to the MTC.. well besides singing in conference. So last Wednesday we did this thing call TRC. We do it every week and it's where you have lessons with members. Well this week we did a skype TRC and we skyped with members from Japan!! It was so awesome!  But it was really hard haha I just realized over and over again how bad my Japanese really is... Oh well. I think I was able to get my point across for the most part. So at the start I was introducing myself. I told the lady I was skyping with that I had 10  older brothers... whoops. She laughed and was like well that's okay to have 10 older brothers because we are Mormon.  When I told her I was sister Brown she laughed and said Chairo Brown funny funny... not really...I guess I better start getting use to that joke now. Well then she asked me what I liked to do I told her that I love to play soccer!! and she looked at me and said what are you like a man or something??! hahah. OH man that was terrible.. And then I tried to pray with her and she asked me if I had memorized that prayer... and of course I had to tell her the truth and said yeah... awkward. It was all fun and games talking with skype. I shared a scripture with her and I talked to her about repentance. It was really good. I can't wait to do it again!! 

So this whole week I had been feeling like I was going to get called on to speak on Sunday. So when we go to Sacrament meeting everyone has to prepare a talk on the theme that we are speaking on. And then after the Sacrament that's when they call on people so you have no idea if you are speaking or not... Well on Saturday night the people in charge of getting people to say prayers asked me if I would pray and I said yes. So I was thinking okay perfect I am saying the prayer I won't get called on to talk... but then again all week I had been feeling like I was going to be giving a talk. So I had no idea what was going on. Well sure enough after the Sacrament they announce the speakers and I am the very name that they say.. and then he finishes announcing the rest of the program and was like we will also have a closing prayer by Brown shimai. All I have to say is that is was the Brown show in Sacrament meeting. I also made a fool of myself too haha because everything is in Japanese. I only had to say one verb right the whole time and everything would be okay but I messed that up. So at the end of my talk when you are saying in the name of Jesus Christ amen, it's a little different than in English. I said O-inori ( and that's what you say in a prayer) when you are saying a talk or like testifying you say Akashi. haha ughh  I messed that up so bad.. It was too classic. 

Well now me and Jake Brown have class right next to each other. They made us all switch class rooms last night. All of west campus is going to be Spanish speaking. So its just a huge mess over here.  So we had to move out of our building and move to a different one. It totally sucks because we used to have the top floor of a building and it was just us in it.. it was amazing and now we are on a floor with all the other Japanese speakers which is probably a really nice thing, but its packed and super loud and it smells funny so that's annoying.  At least it will only be for a few mores days because I am leaving SOON!!! AHHHH 

GO UTES!! I am so proud of them for winning!! I bet it would have been an awesome game to  be at!! And lame the picture of Josh on ESPN didn't work it was like an email of just a huge link and yeah.. which sucks hah I am just happy they won!! Sarah Bell emailed me and she sent me a picture of her and Kamille at the game! It looked so fun!

Only one more Pday here before I go to Japan. I am so excited!!  We should hopefully be getting our travel plans on friday :) weird!!!! I can't believe that its actually time for me to go!!! 

The church is true and there is no other place that I rather be at than here serving the Lord!  I cant wait to share the gospel with the people living in Japan. 

XOXO

Brown Shimai

MTC Week # 6

Another wonderful week at the MTC!! Its crazy I only have two more pdays left!! WHAT THE HECK!! Soon enough I will actually be living in Japan, That is blowing my mind!!

This week was hard. Like maybe it was the fact that it was conference and that made me a little home sick or maybe it was the fact that I am realizing that I am gong to be in Japan really soon and I don't know if I feel very well prepared to be there. Like I am feeling pretty confident in my gospel vocabulary. I still need to learn some notes, I am doing good but like I have  no idea what people ever say to me and if it's not about the gospel then I just am so lost. Like the other day when we were teaching our investigator he said that he hated it when it was freezing cold and raining. And I had no idea what he said so I just said yea, I love it. haha What the heck?! No one in their right mind likes when it is freezing cold and raining. And I just find myself nodding my head and said yes or no trying to not look to confused. Even when people say a statement or ask me a question that obviously needs more than a yes or no answer. So in Japanese to say that you don't understand you wakarimasen. Well this is what I find myself doing. I nod my head like I know whats going on and like I am understanding but then I also say wakarimasen. Its pretty funny. Well its funnier in person I guess and its probably funnier when you actually speak Japanese.  I guess that my sleep talking has gotten out of control. I am talking all night long, but I do have some help in learning Japanese, I am sleep talking in Japanese... haha so thats always a good thing.

So conference. Lets see. I actually watched every single session and I didn't fall asleep once. So that was really cool. I am really glad that I was able to watch it here. Like this conference was really amazing. The whole time I felt like it was talking to me directly!! I am so excited to be doing the Lords work. My favorite talk was by Richard G. Scott. I liked how he talked about you can't let satan get to you. He tries and will bring back memories of past sin and past guilt. That is something that can be so hard for you and something that can make the mission seem almost impossible. It just makes you feel inadequate and I have been feeling that a lot lately.The over all message that I got from conference is that I need to come unto Christ. Not just when I need help or when I am struggling or when I need to repent, just come to him like he is there in person with you and you can talk to him about anything. I have really been having a hard time doing that, I have all this pride in me and it's been my biggest struggle letting go of it and going to Christ, but I can  say that I am improving with that every day!   Day by day I am getting better so that is really great. I can feel Gods love for me and that's a great feeling.  I am go grateful to have had conference at the time it was, I really needed it and really has changed and helped me out so much in the past couple of days, I am very excited for the future and what can happen now.

I am sorry that the flowers are freezing, they kind of start looking crappy at this time of the year anyways. I love fall, that's something that I am missing for sure. Like I just love it.  My district has come up with this awesome musical number though... hahaha we sing I am trying to be like Jesus to the tune of Harry Potter. It's pretty much the coolest thing in the whole world. haha The things we do to stay entertained in the mtc

Thanks for sending my pic and address to James and Vivian. I love them!  They are so cute and I miss them!  Every time I meet an elder or a sister who is going to Brazil I think about them. I am so excited for Katie, hopefully she has a girl! That would be so cute!!! :) I remember her and I were making jokes about her getting pregnant like when she moved hahah awkward.. So I finally figured out Kate's email and I emailed her last week, and she wrote me this week! OH what a cutie!! I told her we are basically going to be neighbors in about three weeks.

I love you so much and thank you so much for all of your support and everything you do for me!! I love you lots.

XOXO 

Sister Brown.

Brown bag lunch with the district

My district in front of the Temple on Sunday.. what a bunch of keepers

Me and Elder Redd!! or known as Mormon. He was in my youthlinc group and we went to Mexico together so it was fun having him in my branch.  We always talked and such, it was great!!

The two nihongi, they are so cute and they left on Monday!! They told me they love the way my voice sounds... haha awkward because I sound like a man..

Weekends at the mtc are pretty slow so I have resigned to taking pictures of myself hahaha

I couldn't find that mtc sign so I took this picture  instead.

MTC WEEK 5

This last week was amazing!! Choir was amazing! It was a once in a life time opportunity and I am so glad that I was able to participate it in. It was great fun! We left the MTC around 12:30 and didn't get home until  about 9:30! It was a full day gone from the mtc haha I was loving it. But it was actually kind of weird being out in the real world and not being in the mtc or the mile radius of the mtc haha. We got there and we sang sang sang. We had really good food and then sang some more and then it was time for the meeting to start!!  The two songs we sang are awesome and they were just such a reassurance to the fact that I am exactly where I am suppose to be serving the Lord :)

It made my day seeing you the other night :) gosh it was so great!! Like I don't even know how to explain it. I cried just a little bit the first time we waved at each other. Pretty sure I just stared at you the whole meeting!! It was great.  It was weird though because even though I miss you and I was so happy to see you, like I wanted to come home with you but at the same time I didn't at all!! I love being on my mission. Its amazing. Even though I am only in the MTC, I just love it here.  I got to give Sister Burton and her two counselors hugs so that was nice. It was so amazing. The conference center is huge!!! Like all the back stage areas. So crazy. It was just overall such an amazing experience and opportunity. So my companion was in the choir actually. But she was in a different part than me and like leaving the conference center was crazy back stage so I just left and was hoping I would see her on the bus. One brother told me to just go to the buses. That's the most important part was to make it to the bus and that your companion would find you somewhere haha So I went to the bus!! So it was fun. All of the sisters that are in my district were in the choir. 

Well another week down!! It is crazy how fast time is going. I am not sure if I like it or not. Its just weird. I am officially well, my district is officially the oldest now.  Its so crazy, I still feel like I can hardly say anything that isn't written down on paper.. My memorization skills aren't very good, they really need some work. I feel like I just learn so much in one day that it is impossible to remember it all. But I can officially read and write in hiragana  that's such a great feeling I am really slow at it, but it's coming along and I am making some major progress.  On Sunday we had a really great fireside about going to the Temple! I am really excited about going because of the fireside and because of this questions I have been thinking about lately. I was reading the scriptures and the question or statement "Dare to be consecrated" has been in my mind the past week. It's something that I have been studying a ton about so yeah. I am really excited to go to the Temple today because of that!! 

 

Things in the mtc are good I think I am gettting fat haha I eat so much!!  However I have been feeling really sick the past couple of days.. Its  been terrible. I have like an awful cold. A headache that won't go away and sore throat, my ears kill and that awkward chest pain haha my body is so sore too. I am tired of being sick. It makes it impossible to pay attention in class when you are feeling like this. Hopefully it gets better soon.

 

I love you so much and I know that this church is true. Try not to miss me too much!! I love ya 

XOXO 

Sister Brown 

あい　して　ます

Week 4 of the MTC

I am doing pretty well the mtc is treating me fairly  good for now. Lets just say that I am getting use to it and I am actually really having a great time here hahah. Its nice having a strict routine and always being busy. My japanese is slowing making progress! I memorized the missionary purpose in Japanese last week so thats a step, next up the first vision. That will be a real treat for sure. Hopefully I will be able to do it. SO exciting news, I am in the choir for general Relief Society meeting!! I can't wait until Saturday!! Wahhh its going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity! I am very lucky to be blessed with this. I am still not sure how I made it in the choir because I have like THE worst singing voice and I have no choir experience. But i don't even care!! I am just so excited that I am going to be singing in it!! 

 

I see Jake Brown all the time! So far he seems to be doing good, he might just be acting tough around me, I couldn't tell you for sure!  But it's fun actually talking to him, He never has talked this much to me before, I love it hahah. We pretty much were in the same boat about coming to the mtc  having no prior knowledge of Japanese, unlike everyone else in our district. We aren't in the same zone/branch so that's lame but I still see him all the time! I only have like 4 and half more weeks here I can't believe its already gone by so fast!! 

 

 

So my sleeping hasn't gotten much better. I am like sleep talking all night long and doing weird stuff haha, but I do have hope, my companion said that last night I was sleep talking all in Japanese.. Well if only I could do that when I was awake!! Tonight is our last night for having our devotionals at the Marriott center how sad.. I love that little freedom of crossing the street and and being outside of the mtc for a few hours.. The only bummer is that I am going over to BYU when we leave! I am so glad that UTAH WON! On Saturday I wore red and I also wore red on Sunday too. It was so crazy walking back to my little dorm thing and hearing the game!  The whole time I was hoping that Utah was going to win! and sure enough they did!!  Brandon told me that the BYU fans were like throwing garbage and stuff at the refs, what a shame.

Thanks you so much for the package!! what a treat! It's great getting some of my favorite foods and such, and yes I just got grannies and grandpa's  package yesterday!! Lets just say everyone was jealous of me when they saw me walking in with that huge box! I am so grateful for them.

 

I can't wait until I get to Japan and I get the chance to change lives in so many important ways. It will be the best feeling ever!  It is crazy! only 17 more months.. I am so afraid they are going to go by way too fast!  I love my mission so much and I am so grateful to be serving the Lord, he has taught me so much in my life and I don't know where I would be if it wasn't for Him!! 

 

I love you so much and hope all is well :) keep having fun

xoxo 

Sister Brown

Week #3 of the MTC

So I am pretty sure that the high of the MTC has worn off! Things are getting pretty hard again! I keep realizing how much I still have left to learn and I have so little time. So that is starting to be a little stressful. But hopefully thing are starting to pick up again. I am excited that Jake Brown is going to be here. It will be great to see a face that I recognize and know. I hope that he is in my branch because yesterday we had three branches leave so it is pretty small now which stresses me out because that means I am more likely to be called on to say a prayer or speak in Sacrament meeting and I am no way ready for that!!! Teaching our investigator is getting better too. I am just having such a hard time because I don't understand a whole lot of stuff and  I have a really hard time forming  a sentence. Everything in Japanese is backwards from English so that is super frustrating. But Heavenly Father is watching out for me and has sent me some of the best teachers in the whole wide world! Powell Sensei and Heaton Sensei are like true disciples I am so grateful for them. They really are helping me out a ton. I am doing my best not to get too overwhelmed but you know me.. I think the hardest thing I have had to realize while  being here is that I can't do it all on my own I really have to rely on the Lord and that has been such a hard lesson for me to learn. the mtc has been such a humbling place. I have also found that being at the mtc has really tested my testimony. In many ways you would think that being here would only make it grow but that is not the case I have really had to look deep into the gospel and really look at  my testimony. I know that with out a doubt this church is THE true church. I have a hard time saying my testimony in English now haha because I am trying to think like in Japanese and its just throwing everything off, here is a sentence that I believe. It is in Japanese

Iesu Kirirsuto no agani ni kansha shimasu. haha blahh its all good though. I am very excited to go to the Temple today! That always helps with everything. It makes me happy there, which is a really good thing. So yeah!  

 

The gluten free food here is really good.. surprise haha I probably have gained a few pounds I hope not.. I have been lifting weights so that always good and doing a little cardio. I play four square like a champ so its a great feelings know that I am working out a little. It is a good stress reliever. But yeah the food isnt too bad so I am enjoying that. Like it could be so much  worse!

 

On sunday night we had a really great devotional. Have you seen the movie 17 miracles or Ephraim's rescue? well the guy who made both of the movies came and talked with us so that was really awesome those two movies look AMAZING! I want to see them when I get home! You guys should check them out!! Its funny the simple things I am finding joy in now. Like when we watched the Testament I was loving it! any excuse to watch tv or a movie right?! 

 

My companion is so kind hearted I am very lucky that I have her. She has taught me so much! I am so grateful for her!

 

So yesterday while teaching my investigator, she said a word and we didn't know what it was so we were looking it up in the dictionary. But I have no idea who to look things up in it because its all in hiragana and I can't read that yet. well the word we looked up the definition and it said smeared yellow... haha well I was like what the heck that can't  be right. She told us that when she prays and reads the scriptures she feels, "smeared yellow" haha we were just so confused so we asked her to look up the word for us and like literally right across the page from it was the correct word and that was hope so now I know and I will never make that mistake ever again!! 

Things are good here but its going by so fast! I  can't really believe that i am on the start of week four!!! The church is so true and I love this gospel so much. I also have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and know it is the word of God!!

Talk to you all later!! Write me 

XOXO Brown Shimai.

                                                     we have this picture at home!!

 me and the nihonjin (japanese missionaries)

Second Week of the MTC

This week has been soooooooo much better. I am actually used to my whole new schedule. I still don't have any idea what people are saying when they are speaking Japanese but its getting better. I now can pray in Japanese and I can even say a few things about my testimony so that is actually really exciting. I am also starting to learn Hiragana So I know about 20 of those characters I only need to learn 26 more.. but that is just one alphabet there are about 3 others but I am not going to learn those they said to just focus on the one I am learning now. So it is coming, slowly but surely. I am so grateful for my sensei he is amazing and really is such a great help. It is crazy to think that he is only like 22 and already has such a great knowledge of Japanese and can be such a great teacher. I really feel the spirit in class. We do all these things called mogis, (skits) and its crazy how much you can learn and feel the spirit in a pretend investigator. The other day we got out investigator to pray that was amazing. She was so hesitant at first, in fact the first thing she told us is that she doesn't want to be baptized but she said a prayer and it was so amazing, So I am really hoping that she will change her mind about it. ( she isn't a real investigator she is pretend) Even with that fact the spirit is really there and its awesome. But I am a disaster in the lessons because we are trying not to write a script haha so like I have no idea how to form sentences or anything the only real sentence I have memorized is God loves you! haha so i mean i guess i could just say that over and over again but i don't really think that would be the best thing. It's funny because there are like huge awkward pauses when nothing is being said and we are all just staring at each other.  But it is crazy being able to see the huge change from  just the 3rd day of being here and teaching her compared to our 6th lesson with her.  

I am going to do my best to look for Elise!!! I better see her or I am going to be mad I told her where I am living and what class room I am in.  Oh Mitch was a cute critter, gotta love that kid :) and I really am excited for Jake to come. I know that we aren't like really close but it will be great hopefully he is in my zone! Because next Monday a bunch of people from my zone are leaving so hopefully he can be in my zone then we would see each other a ton. He is going to love it here. At first he might hate it and want to come home and cry all the time in the shower but after the first week it gets better. It is still hard as ever but its getting better so that makes me happy!! Make sure to tell me when Amy gets her call I hope it is to TOKYO!!

 

 

I don't know how Kate is doing it. Her mission seems so hard and such a stresser and I thought the first week here was hard haha I am very grateful for where I am going and the trials I am having compared to Kates. But that is such an amazing experience. Kate is going to be the best missionary and I am so happy for her, this will bless her life so much! You should always send me her emails  I  just love her so much!! 

 

 

Thank you so much for the packages I really love getting them and I really love getting mail. It helps me out a ton. It makes me realize that yanno E you can do this. People think that it would make me home sick, but it doesn't, it makes the days better when you have been tested so hard and been thrown heaps of Japanese and the gospel in my brain. It is relaxing getting letters and packages. I loved the HiChews ahh those are my favorite and those cookies are delicious!! I love a good ginger snap! Next time you go you need to try some of their peanut butter they have like all these really good flavors haha try one and pick your favorite and send it to me with a spoon and I will eat it!  SO I really miss del taco....  but you don't need to send that to me because I don't know how that will work out. Maybe send me like a coke.

 

 

That letter from Tim Brown was so kind! I really appreciated it, as weird as this might sound everything he said I know exactly what he is meaning. The first week really tested me and took me to my wits end. My hand was clear up here!! Past my head and as high as I could reach :) haha  but it was good. I am very thankful for that. The two other girls in my room are pretty cool. One is a HUGE BYU fan so that makes it hard she talks like they are the greatest thing in the whole world.. It gets pretty annoying. She is also from Texas and that's just a whole nother story. Some people take way too much pride in themselves and where they are from, the best part is she has only lived there for like 2 years.. so can you really consider yourself from Texas??  But the other one is so sweet and is from Wyoming and went to Utah State I really like her. We have a couple of inside jokes together so its great! Me and my companion are doing so much better and are getting a long better. We just have complete opposite personalities but in a way I think is a good thing. but it would be cool if Alisa was my companion, that would be the bomb.

 

I Love you so much and the things that I have learned this week are:

 

1- faith, don't let your faith that you already have disappear. At times I think we tend to do that. We need something and need the Lord so deeply I think we forget about the faith we already have right now. WE must always keep our faith we have and let that faith grow and develop into more faith. You know, you can never have too much faith!!. 

 

2- It is the Lords will not mine. I am His servant and I am doing His work. He will answer all of my prayers but He will do it on His time and not on mine!

 

 XOXO Brown Shimai