Mother's Day

Hi!

I'm excited to see you all next week on Mother's Day Skype calls! I can't believe it's that time already to call you again on Skype! Looking forward to it! Then looking forward to seeing you soon thereafter! The days are really counting down now!

The Temple was amazing today. Members from Machida Stake came, too, so there was a huge turn out. Usually they do the session in Japanese, but they did a special session for the missionaries in English. It was nice! It was sad to think that today was my last temple trip as a missionary. And that next time I'll be here, I'll be with you all! The Tokyo Temple is amazing, and I'm going to miss it a lot.

A lot of things happened this week! It's been a holiday in Japan for a few days now, so Tama Ward had a BBQ. It was a little different from American BBQs, but it was still fun! They served noodles, meat and someone even bought marshmallows from Costco! Our investigator, Y, whom we haven't met with for a while, came and had a great time! She told us that she's just been busy with work and stuff, but now she has more free time, so she wants to continue meeting with us! We have another appointment scheduled with her for this week which we are excited for.

We also found a new investigator! Her name is M. She had an accident a few years ago where she felt like she was going to die, but because she lived, she felt like a God needed her to learn and experience something else. She's a way nice lady! We showed her the Book of Mormon and explained that it answers questions of the soul. When we gave her a list of example questions, she said that she has thought of all of those questions! She exclaimed that she's very excited to hear what we have to say. We are excited to teach her!

Also, because it's a holiday, we went bowling with K, the Elders in our district, and other investigators yesterday. It was way fun. K crushed us. Apparently she's really good at bowling. Afterwards, we were able to spend a little bit more time with her and teach her the Restoration. She had a lot of questions, which is good! She also explained that it was easy to understand. K told us that she has felt the Spirit multiple times by going to church and meeting with us, and if she were to receive her answer that his church is true, she would get baptized! I don't think it will be while I'm in Japan, but just as long as she gets baptized, that's all that matters! K is amazing, and she would make a great member. Keep praying for her that she will get her answer, please!

That's about all for this week! I love you all so much! I'll see you way soon (on Skype and in person)!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Two Valuable Lessons

Hey everyone!

Again, this week wasn't super exciting. Sorry, I feel like the closer and closer I get to coming home, the less and less I have to write. I guess I can just tell you it all when I get home!

We had a couple of really good lessons this week! I learned, well I can you can say re-learned, two great principles this week: one, the importance of having a good, effective personal study and two, the importance of using members in our teaching. Our first lesson this week was with N. We contacted her during the week to see if she had prayed on her own. She said she had, and she felt closer to Jesus Christ, but she still wasn't sure about the existence of God. Therefore, during my personal study, I spent  a long time looking through scriptures in the Book of Mormon that had to do with God. When we got to the lesson, all the concerns that she had could be answered through the scriptures I had read that morning. We pretty much taught her through the Book of Mormon using 3 Nephi 18:20, Alma 32:27, Mosiah 4:9-12 and Alma 18. Her faith in Christ and God is really growing! She says she believes in God's words. We invited her to pray and ask God if he is really there, and then study Alma 18. The spirit was way strong. It wouldn't have been, though, had it not been for personal study that morning. That was a real blessing, and I hope she receives her answer. Then another lesson we had after that, a member came to help us. I'm always humbled my members and the power that they have, especially here in Japan. They turn Christianity and our church from just an American religion, to something that can help anyone, even Buddhist Japanese people. That lesson went really well, too.

We also got a new stake president this week! That was exciting.

We are on our way to the aquarium that I went to last year. I'm way excited! I realized that I only have a few P-Days left, so I have to make them count. Next week is temple P-Day, so I'm excited for that! I love you all! Have a great week! Love you!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Takoyaki Party

Hey!

I just sent a big package home to myself with a bunch of random things in it, including some Japanese food, so that should be there in about 2 weeks or so! Just leave it in my room with the other packages until I get home, please. I can't believe it's only a month away now! This is so crazy! I'm nervous but way excited, too.

I apologize again for the small email. Not a lot happened this week, either! We did a lot of finding! One cool miracle that happened is we went to visit an inactive woman, but she wasn't home, so we talked to her sister for a while. We ended up teaching the Plan of Salvation to her. She's not super interested in church, but she really felt the spirit during our closing prayer, so that was a cool experience! We plan on going back sometime to talk to her more.

Then we went to visit a less-active family whom I've visited three times before and they were never home; however, when we went to visit them again, they were home! They invited us over for dinner this week! We made something called takoyaki. It's little almost pancake balls with octopus and other things fried together. It's pretty good! We had a way fun time with them! We shared a message about God's grace from President Uchtdorf's talk from Conference. They accepted it really well and said that if they didn't have work, they would come to church. It was a really fun experience!

We also had interviews with President Wada this week. It was my last interview before I leave. He said something that really touched me, "Dansie Shimai, you will be missed. You're one of the best and you've changed a lot of lives here, including mine." We both started tearing up! I think one of the hardest things about leaving Japan will be leaving President and Sister Wada. I love them both so dearly. I have a feeling that the next month is going to be filled with tears, especially since I've become more emotional on my mission, anyways!

On Saturday, we had another baptism in Tama Ward! The missionaries in our district have been working really hard lately. We've found three amazing, prepared people who have received baptism in the last month. It's a great time to be in Tama! We've seen so many miracles!

That's all for this week! I love you all so much and miss you! Have a good week! The church is true!

Sister Lexie Dansie

General Conference

I apologize in advance for the length of this letter. Not too much happened this week, so I don't have a lot to write about.

General Conference was amazing!! I loved hearing from the prophets. M Shimai came, too, and she had the support of a lot of Ward members, so that was a great experience for her. There was a huge theme though: marriage. It way scared me because I'm coming home so soon! The whole time I was like, "Stop telling me to get married right off the bat because I don't want to!" I'm rebelling against the prophets and apostles, I guess. I though Elder Holland gave an amazing talk as well (of course). I was on the edge of my seat as he was telling the story of the rock climbers. One experience I thought was really cool was how Conference really answers all of our questions. I thought of a question a week or so ago about what grace is and how it applies to me and to my investigators. I didn't even think about it before Conference started, but President Uchtdorf answered it with his amazing talk about the power of grace. If we go into Conference with questions, we will receive an answer to literally every question we have. That restrengthened my testimony about how we have living prophets on the earth today so that we can receive revelation and know what we need to do in order to be safe and protected in this life. It was really, really amazing, and I'm sad that it was my last General Conference as a missionary. I feel like I've gotten more out of it than ever before!

That's about all that happened this week. We did meet with a couple of our investigators this week, which was great. We were teaching our investigator, N, about the Plan of Salvation, and I could feel the Spirit working through me and D Shimai to personally relate the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement to her. The spirit was so powerful that N and D Shimai started crying! That was a really powerful moment. The Plan of Salvation is true!

Again, sorry for the short email; however, I'll Skype you and be home soon enough that I can just tell you these things when I see you :). I love you all so much! Thank you for all the support you've given me this past year and a half, and that you continue to give me. Talk to you soon! Love you!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Transfer 12

Dear family and friends,

Transfer calls were today! I can't believe I'm beginning my last transfer of my mission. That's so crazy to me! Six weeks goes by way quick. I'm happy to announce that I will be staying in Tama for my last transfer, and my companion will still be D Shimai. We are way excited! I'm hoping to make this last transfer the best ever. I just can't believe my time is almost up.

So...this week was the craziest, best week ever! We met with M San everyday to get her ready, and then she was baptized on Saturday. That was the best day ever! Because the ward members were busy in the afternoon, we had to have her service in the morning, so I was worried that no one would show up. We called the members the night before to let them know about the service, and about 30 to 35 members showed up to support her! It was amazing! M Shimai said that when she was baptized, she felt purified. She gave up to bear her testimony after she was baptized, and she was in tears. M Shimai has had a hard life up until this point, but she said that the reason she is still living is because God needed her to find this church. She was crying during her testimony, and so was everyone else that came. She touched a lot of the members hearts. She's starting to get more and more friends too, which is great. Then the next day, Easter, in sacrament meeting M Shimai was confirmed. The spirit was way strong! She said that she felt like her body was on fire. She was in tears as she took the sacrament, too. She's so amazing! D Shimai and I didn't even do anything, she just came prepared! The Lord is truly preparing people. Teaching M Shimai and having her baptized was one of the highlights of my mission. I'm so happy for her. When I saw her in her white dress, I said a silent prayer that she would endure to the end so that I could see her again in the Celestial Kingdom.

One other really cool miracle this week! We went to Machida to watch the General Women's Session of conference, which was amazing. On the way home, there was a girl sitting across the train, and the Spirit distinctly told me that we needed to talk to her. I've only had those kinds of experiences so often in my mission, where the Spirit is so strong that I can't stop thinking about it until I do it. Well I'm grateful for the workings of the Spirit because when we started talking to her, she said she had a ton of interest in church. She's a 24-year-old adorable girl who went to a Christian university and had recently had the desire to go to church. She was way surprised to meet us! We met with her the next day, Sunday, and went to church together! She had a great experience and became friends with a lot of members. The Relief Society was way happy because M Shimai just joined the church, and we had another investigator come to Relief Society. Tama is on fire right now! The elders are working hard, too, so the ward is really beginning to trust us. Anyways, we have a meeting with this investigator again tomorrow, so I can't wait to talk to her more about the church. This week has been amazing!

For P-Day today, we went as a District to the Tama Zoo, which I went to a year ago. That was way fun! I can't wait for Conference this weekend! I love you all and I'll talk to you soon!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Because He Lives

Hey everyone!

There have been some crazy miracles happening here in Tama! I'll give you a quick update on M San. She's so prepared, I can hardly believe it. We've met with her a couple of times this week. We were able to teach her the Plan of Salvation. She felt so much hope and peace because of the power of the Atonement. She said she had a rough past, so when we talked about the atonement she felt so much love because Christ suffered for everything that she and the rest of us have done. We also showed her the new "Because He Lives" (the Easter campaign for the church) video that just came out. I'm sure you've probably seen it already, but if you haven't, watch it! It's amazing!! It had M San almost in tears, and then I was almost in tears, too! M San is progressing really well. She's making friends with Tama ward members, she's attended church weekly since we met her, she reads the Book of Mormon multiple times a day and loves everything about it, and she talks to Heavenly Father in her prayers as if He's right next to her. She's received multiple answers to her prayers, and she told us that she knows is church is true. She was also able to attend a baptismal service for another man that got baptized into Tama Ward (an adorable 83-year-old man) and had a huge defining moment there. She decided for sure that she wanted to be baptized, too, this week. Her baptism is scheduled for Saturday. We haven't taught her everything yet, and this week is going to be super busy getting her ready for it, but she has a 200% desire to be baptized and endure to the end. She's amazing! The Lord has definitely prepared her! Every time we meet with her, our jaws drop to the floor because of how prepared she is. Keep praying for her that we will be able to prepare everything for her baptism, as well as teach her all the doctrine so that she can be baptized on April 4 and confirmed on Easter. We are way excited for her!! I can't write it very well because I'm just too excited for her!

We had another miracle happen just yesterday. First, here is some background information. There has been a 15-year-old girl that the sisters in Machida have been working with, but she actually lives in Tama, so we've recently gotten her records. She has a super strong desire to be baptized, but her parents are against her joining the church. This has been going on for about a year. Fast forward to  yesterday. Last night we got a call from the Elders saying that they received a referral from church headquarters, so they went and visited them. When they went, the family was very accepting of the Gospel, and the Elders taught them the Restoration. The father and the mother seemed interested in the message and told them the missionaries could come back. That family is the above girl's family. This girl has been praying for a year that her parents would be acceptive of the Gospel, and sent for the missionaries to come visit. When they did, the Lord answered her prayers and her parents listened to the message. They gave the family to us, and we are going to visit them tonight. That was a huge miracle! Heavenly Father truly answers prayers. Sometimes it take times, but He does. We are way excited to go visit them!

That's about it for this week. The Sakuras are starting to bloom! They look way pretty! I'll send you some pictures! Also, for P-Day we went with the sisters in our zone and some of the Tama Young Women to go hike a famous mountain named Takao. I actually hiked it ago a year ago! too, so this was my second time. It was way fun! Great week! I hope you all have a happy Easter! Love you all! Talk to you next week!

Sister Lexie Dansie

restart

Hi, everyone!

This week has been extremely busy. We had the opportunity to be visited by another prophet of the Lord this past week, Elder Nelson. We had Elder Ballard come three weeks ago and Elder Nelson just came. That's so rare! This has been the best transfer ever! Elder Nelson came to talk about "Missionary Work in the Digital Age". They are now opening up all of Japan to iPad usage and online missionary work for missionaries. Up until now, us and the North Mission have been test missions, but the test is over, so we are going to actually start it in all of Japan. It's an exciting time! However, because of that we will be receiving new iPads on Wednesday and Facebook will be taken away for a transfer or so. They're giving missionaries access to apps in waves, so that's why we will be taking a little break from Facebook for a while. That probably means that I won't use Facebook for the rest of my mission. Elder Nelson spent a lot of time talking about how this time period when we are not using Facebook is a good time to "restart". We can repent of anything we need to repent of and recommit ourselves to following all of God's commandments, as well as the Missionary Handbook. In using Facebook, they want us to learn how to best use technology and how to control ourselves on social media for the rest of our lives. Anyways, it's a pretty cool time for missionaries here in Japan!

We had one really cool miracle happen this week! On Thursday we got a call from the Elders saying that a woman received a free English flyer, the word "Mormon" on it, remembered she had studied with the missionaries before and called them wanting to learn more. This woman's name is M. We met with her on Saturday and talked with her about Heavenly Father, the Book of Mormon and prayer. Then she pretty much invited herself to church before we got the chance to invite her. So on Sunday, she came to church and loved it! She said she felt pure after taking the sacrament. Then she called later that evening asking to meet again the following day, so we met again on Monday! We taught her about the Restoration, and she took everything in way well. M San was pretty much teaching us the lesson!  We also had a girl from the ward who wants to go on a mission come and help us, and she had a great experience! She said it was her first time helping the missionaries, but she loved it! Afterwards, we invited M San to pray, and in her prayer, she said she believes the Book of Mormon is true and that what we have been talking to her about is true. She has so much faith! We took her to go see the baptismal font in the church and asked her to be baptized in April, and she said yes! It's truly a miracle! We haven't even known her for a week and she's getting baptized! Heavenly Father is truly preparing his children! We have another lesson on Thursday, so we are excited. Keep praying for her that she will continue to have the faith to get baptized.

We've seen a lot of cool miracles this week. I love being a missionary, especially in Tama! I realized that I have less than two months left, but I plan on making the most of it. I love you all! I won't see you on Facebook anymore, but I'll continue to write weekly. Love you!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Social Media Fair 2015

As you probably saw on Facebook, we had a big Social Media Fair at the church by our mission home, which was the first of its kind in Japan. Members came from all around the mission to learn about how to spread the Gospel online. They had little breakout sessions including a Facebook session, Twitter, Mormon.org, and how to work with missionaries, which is where I came into play. About two months ago, the first counselor of our mission presidency asked me to do a presentation about how missionaries and members can work together on Facebook. I was so nervous! But I was able to prepare for a while, and then I had my presentation at the fair. It went really well. It was funny because I had to give three presentations, and the first one President Wada and the first counselor, President Stevenson, attended. After the presentation was over, they went up to each other and were like, "Nice choice! She did great." It was really funny. I felt honored to do the presentation, though. I really learned a lot about how members and missionaries can truly work to spread this wonderful a Gospel together in simple ways using the technology we have. We live in an amazing era. I feel really blessed because I feel like technology and Facebook usage has been a huge part of my mission experience. I've really learned a lot about it. All in all, even though I was way scared to present because it was in 100% Japanese, it went really well and I'm grateful for the opportunity that I had. Also, D Shimai and I took a picture in front of the room where I was presenting with the poster I used, so that's my new profile picture on Facebook!

Other things that happened this week: I gave my "good bye" testimony at Zone Conference. Normally I don't really cry when I bare my testimony, but I was crying from the get-go when I gave my good bye testimony. I didn't really know what I was going to say when I went up, but I figure I would talk about the things that I've learned and am still learning as a missionary. So I spoke on the Book of Mormon, our divine nature as God's children, the Atonement of Jesus Christ our Savior, and praying with faith. Obviously I've learned a lot more, but those are the things that I've really grown to know and apply in my life. The Spirit took the rest!

As far as investigators go, literally we didn't meet with anyone this week because they were all busy or sick, which stinks. We did do a lot of finding, though, so that was good. It's been a pretty big, good week overall! Being a missionary is hard, but I love it here! The church is true! I love you all and I'll talk to you next week!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Two by Two

Hi!

So I apologize now for the shortness of my email. My companion that I'm training, D S., did not receive an iPad and won't until mid-next week. We have to share until then, which includes sharing email time; therefore, I don't have a lot of time, so I'm really sorry!

As far as this week went, it was really good! We are back to two sisters again! R S. got emergency transferred to Kamiooka because another sister had to go home due to injuries. It's way sad, but being in two has been fun. It's really built mine and D S's relationship. We are actually a lot alike! She reminds me of when I was a new missionary. It's kind of cool! I'm trying to help her transition to missionary life be as smooth as possible because it's certainly not an easy process. She's a real champ, though.

We had our dinner and appointment with Y, our new investigator, and we were able to teach her the Restoration. She said she doesn't really believe in God, but when we finished teaching the restoration, she said that she felt like it was a message from God and that it was important to learn. She said she would start taking lessons. Miracle! We met with her again on Saturday and had another great lesson. She started asking us a bunch of questions about prayer and the Book of Mormon. In Japanese, the Book of Mormon is way hard to read, so we went with depth with what it meant and read some scriptures together. Afterwards, she said she would be able to read it, and we prayed together. She said an amazing prayer! She's way willing to learn! It's amazing! Then she came to church on Sunday! It was Ward Conference, so there were a ton of people there. I think it overwhelmed her a bit, but she said she enjoyed it. Hopefully we continue to meet with her this week! We are way happy about Y!

The rest of this week was good. Our recent convert, J S, went to the temple for baptisms on Saturday and said she loved it. Great things are happening around Tama! We have Zone Conference tomorrow, the last one before I leave. I'll be giving my goodbye testimony at it, which is so weird. I'll let you know how it goes next week! I love you all! Talk to you next week! The church is true! Love you!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Surprise!

Hey! So, before I start my somewhat spiritual, surprising email, I just want to let you know that I became an adult today! As a District, we went to Costco today because there is one close to us, and I bought a Costco card that will work in America, too! It was way fun to go to Costco! We bought a whole bunch of American food, so it was great! We have food for the rest of the transfer!

Okay, onto the surprise. So, on Tuesday night, after P-Day was over, I got a call from the mission home saying that R Shimai, and I will be training a new missionary this transfer. SURPRISE! I was way shocked, but I was excited. I spent Wednesday pretty much preparing the apartment for it because Tama had never seen three sisters. It's way cool!

Saying good-bye to W Shimai was way hard because we had a lot of fun together. But I met up with R Shimai S (transfer 7) and then we went to the mission home to get our new missionary D Shimai. We are having fun together so far! It's been great getting to know them. Also, being in a three-some again is fun. The Ward was way shocked to see three sisters walk in.

I don't have a ton of time today to write emails, I'm sorry. We had too much fun shopping at Costco and pretending that we were in America; however, we were able to meet with one of our potential investigators this week and went to Sports Night in Machida with her. We have another lesson with her today! We are way excited! We hope it goes well!

Sorry for the short email! We actually didn't do much besides that this week. I love you all so much and hope you have a good week!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Transfer 11

Hello everyone!

Sorry, I forgot to tell you last week that I would be emailing on Tuesday this week. We had Elder Ballard, Elder Ronald Rasband, and Bishop Gary Stevenson visit our mission and the Tokyo Mission yesterday! It was amazing! There were over four hundred missionaries gathered in the church adjacent to the Tokyo Mission Home to listen to an apostle of the Lord. They gave us some great council about testifying of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith at every chance we get, stressing the importance of prayer when teaching, and improving ourselves to find those who are ready to receive us. It was so awesome! Also, Elder Ballard is hilarious! I'll definitely remember that conference for the rest of my life.

Ok, so you're probably ready to hear about transfers. Sisters go home their 12 transfer, and I'm 11, so I only have two left! Three months! I'm staying in Tama as a Sister Training Leader. Sadly, though, W Shimai is transferring to Fujisawa stake, so I won't see her really anymore. My new companion is R Shimai. I'm excited to see how things go with her. Half of our district is transferring, which is so sad. I've really grown to love this district. We've worked really hard together. This transfer should be good, though! I can't believe I only have one more transfer call after this one.

We went and visited an old folks home (I can't remember the actual word for it in English) and talked to them about Family History. It was so cute! We gave them a family history chart so they can give it to their grandkids and great grandkids. Family History is really great. I can't wait to do family history work when I get home!

On Thursday we had President's Interviews. It's always great to spend some time with President Wada and ask him my questions. He asked me how many months I have left on my mission, and when I answered three months, he said, "You're making me depressed!" I'm really going to miss President and Sister Wada. A lot.

We also had a Questions of the Soul event this week. President Wada came and talked about faith while we watched clips of Indiana Jones. I don't know which Indiana Jones it was, but he had to go find the cup with water for eternal life. There were actually a lot of things that related to faith in that movie! At one point, Indiana Jones in hanging from a ledge, and his father reaches out to pull him up. While doing so, Indiana is mesmerized by trying to grab the cup on a lower rim. He almost slips from his father's grasp, when his father says, "Let it go." Indiana knew his father's voice and let go of the cup and was therefore pulled to safety. Just like with us, our Heavenly Father is reaching out for us, and he asks us to let go of the worldly things. If we do, we will spiritually saved and be able to return home with Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven.

Didn't think you could learn so much about the Gospel of Jesus Christ from an Indiana Jones movie, did you? It was a truly great event. We had two investigators come to it, and they were both really moved by it. One has committed to coming to church this week.

Pretty great week this week! We've actually found a lot of new people this week, too, so the work is going forward! I'm excited to continue the work in Tama! I love you all so much! Have a good week!

Sister Lexie Dansie

 

 

"For where your treasure is there shall your heart be also."

Hello!!

I hope you had a great Valentine's Day.

This week was pretty good. It was way fast! I don't know where the time went! Also, I have less than 100 days in my mission! That's waaaay crazy! It's going to be here before you and I know it!!

Nothing really happened this week until Thursday. We were really busy with Zone Meeting, then we taught a lesson to our recent convert with a member present. I love members because they are able to answer questions that I can't. We taught J Shimai about the Plan of Salvation and doing baptisms for the dead. The member really helped and supported her, so it was a great lesson. Then we made a video with one of the young women in the ward. She helped us do missionary work for this video. It will probably go on YouTube. It was way fun!

Then on Friday we had a Sister's Conference! It was way fun! The theme was "for where your treasure is there shall your heart be also" from 3 Nephi. It was a great conference! Sister Wada gave a training about letting the Spirit into our hearts and letting our countenances show it. We had trainings on a "kind heart", "healthy heart" and "sharing heart". It was really great and inspiring. Also, my trainer, S Shimai came back just for that day! It was so great to see her!

On Saturday, we had a meeting with the Machida Stake President. I haven't seen him since I was in Machida 1st Ward when I was a lot younger missionary. He said, "the biggest thing at has surprised me from this meeting is that Dansie S. can speak Japanese!" It was really funny. The Stake President is way nice.

Sunday was really fun, too! We got together with the youth in Tama Ward to do a big service project and then we had a birthday party for everyone that has a birthday in February. The youth in Tama Ward are really, really great! I'm inspired by their testimony everyday. They go through a lot not having a lot of LDS kids in their school, not even Christian kids, so their faith in Jesus Christ and testimonies are really strong.

That's about all for this week! I love you all so much! Have a good week!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Family History Blitz

Hello! Happy Valentine's Day! (Can't believe it's Valentine's Day already!)

This week was way good and way fast! Last P-Day was super fun! W Shimai used to serve in the Yokohama Stake, too, so we actually went back to Yokohama and did one of the most touristy things there. Kind of like the Empire State Building, but in Yokohama. There is a high rise building that takes you up 69 floors to an observatory where you can see all of Yokohama, Yokosuka, Mt. Fuji, and all the way into Tokyo. It was way beautiful! We went at night, so we saw the city lights turn on. Amazing! I'll send pictures!

Then on Tuesday, I went on splits back to Machida, which was way fun! We walked for days to find this park in Machida, then we did some dendo around there for a couple of hours. I went with a Nihonjin sister, so I spoke only Japanese for a straight 24 hours (if I had a Japanese companion,  that would happen more often). It felt good, though! I feel like I learn more Japanese when I do that. Also, it was nice to be in Machida again!

On Thursday, I went to Mission Leadership Council, which was great. I always leave there feeling like I need to do better, but way pumped at the same time. A couple of big themes from MLC were faith (Alma 32), accountability (being accountable to the Lord in everything that we do), and to make our conversations with people on the street more meaningful. It was a great reminder! After that, I was way motivated to talk to people on the trains, and I met one lady who has been helped by sister missionaries before. She was moved by their kindness, but she didn't really talk to them further. I was able to explain that we believe in being Christ-like people, and especially as missionaries, we want to help people and serve all the time. She actually accepted a Book of Mormon from me. She does live in Tama area, but I hope she meets missionaries again.

On Friday, we got on our bikes and went exploring. We found a way pretty park that overlooks Mount Fuji, and we found a girl in middle school who has interest in coming to church. We definitely want to go back to that area. But I haven't ridden my bike in a while, so my legs were way sore! I'm getting weaker!

Saturday was the best! We had a Family History Zone Blitz in Machida. There were about 69 missionaries there ready to spread the Spirit of Elijah. The Spirit that was there was amazing! All the missionaries were way diligent, and talked to everyone! The whole talking to everyone thing is a little hard I feel like in Tokyo because 16 million people live here; however, we talked to everyone! The zone saw some crazy miracles! Family History is really, really great, and it really softens the hearts of the Japanese people. That was a great experience!

 

Sunday was great, too! We had a woman who is from Colombia so she speaks Spanish and only a little bit of Japanese, came to church. I've never wanted to know Spanish more in my life! There is another lady in the ward who speaks Spanish and English (no Japanese) so we did a two-way translation! I translated from Japanese to English to the member, and then the member translated from English to Spanish for the investigator. It was way cool! I wish I could speak Spanish! Also, five investigators came to church this week, so that was a huge miracle!

This week was way fun! I love you all so much! Have a good week.

Sister Lexie Dansie

 

 

 

Shoveling Adventures!

Hey!!

This week was good! It snowed pretty hard on Thursday, so there was about 5 inches of snow on the ground. So guess what we did? We shoveled! Dad, you would be so proud of me! I shoveled for around three hours. I was exhausted, but it was great because we got to talk to a lot of people. One lady is actually curious about God. I asked her if she thinks there is a God, to which she said if there is, that would be nice. Then I testified of God and she said that we can come back and visit her. The blessings that come from service! I was way exhausted after shoveling, but it was so worth it! I'll probably even be willing to help with shoveling when I get home!

Another cool thing that happened this week is we've been really working with members on using Facebook and their Mormon.org profile for missionary work. We went to a members house on Monday to share with them a message about sharing the a Gospel online, and then we prayed together afterwards. On our way home, we found a lady that was really willing to meet with us again, and we scheduled an appointment, but because it snowed, it got cancelled; BUT we still found her! The faith of members is truly amazing. Then we were invited to have dinner with another family and we shared a message about sharing the Gospel online. I can't wait to see how the work is hastened online with these Japanese members. It's truly a great time!

Nothing else really happened this week. I love you all so much! Have a great week! Talk to you soon!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Machida Stake Conference

This week was great! Not too much happened though. We had a way fun dinner this week with the Elders and our potential investigators. We went and ate crepes for dessert, too, and we were able to teach the girl that came with us. We taught her about the Book of Mormon and shared our favorite scriptures. She said she would read it. It was way fun!

Then we had Machida Stake Conference this week, so I got to go back to Machida! Honestly, it was like I haven't been gone as long as I have. I got to see a lot of my old friends in Machida 1st Ward again. It was a great reunion! I actually get to see some of my old investigators when I go on splits in Machida tomorrow. I'm way excited! Machida is truly a great place to be. We definitely have to come back here when we visit Japan. Also, we had a recent convert fireside after Stake Conference was over, and it was such a great meeting! All the recent converts in the stake shared their testimonies. Most of them started crying through it. It was a way spiritual experience! Recent converts are so strong in their testimony! They're such an example to me.

Sorry, this email is kind of shorter. Not too much happened this week. 

 I love you all so much! Have a good week! This church is true!

Sister Lexie Dansie

My First Week in Tama

Hey!

I'm in Tama! It's so weird being in a big city again. All though Yokosuka was a city, it was more country-like. But now I'm back in main Tokyo! I really like it here! W Shimai, my companion is great! We've had a lot of fun the past couple of days together! There are six really hard working Elders in my district, too, so it's a great area. I've also seen J twice, and it hasn't even been a week. It's so cool that he's my Zone Leader!

The first half of the week, I was in Yokosuka still, and that was a crazy couple of days! We were trying to meet people so that I could say good-bye, and on top of that, I had to clean and pack, too! It was crazy! We did have one really cool miracle happen, though. We met with J so that I could say good-bye, and we told her that she couldn't get baptized on The 17th because she hadn't come to church. She was a little upset and asked if she could get baptized this month. We told her it was possible but she would have to come to church both Sundays and meet us three times a week so that we could teach her everything.  She agreed! J really has a lot of faith! Her desire to get baptized is so strong. I hope I will get to go back for her baptism. I've heard since that because her baby got really sick, she was not  able to come to church; therefore, now she really can't get baptized this month, but the desire is still there! I thought J was a great example of faith. I'm really going to miss her.

Tama is great, though! I've met the recent convert, JY. She got baptized about a month ago, and she's really doing great. I haven't really met the other investigators. We've been working hard, though, and trying to find new people. Tama Ward is great too! I felt really welcomed by them! It should be a great transfer! Im excited to work here. We also went to the temple today and it was great. I only have two temple trips left! Crazy!

I love you all! Talk to you soon!

Sister Lexie Dansie

 

Transfer 10!

Hello!

As for transfer calls! First of all, sisters have 12 transfers in their mission, and I'm on 10. Crazy!! We surprisingly got our transfer calls Sunday night because today is a Japanese holiday, and after 5 great transfers in Yokosuka, it's finally time for me to transfer again. I'm so sad! I'm going to a place called Tama. Do you remember the big Hello Kitty picture I sent about 10 months ago? That's my new area! It's in the same zone as Machida, so I'll be going back there again. I'm kind of excited for that! Also, J is my Zone Leader! I'm way excited for that! I'll probably spend my last three transfers there. I really am excited, but I'm sad, too. Yokosuka became my home here. I'll definitely miss it! But the Lord has other things in store for me in Tama! My new companion's name is Sister W, and she's Polynesian, too!! She's super cute. It will be fun with her!

Other exciting news! Elder Nelson is coming to our mission in March, and President Wada came up to me at Zone Conference this week and asked me to be the "Digital Ambassador" for that. It's safe to say, I feel a little in over my head. However, I am excited for this responsibility! It just means I have to gather the best and worst practices of using the iPad and Facebook throughout the mission, so it's not that hard. But, I also have to give a training on how to use the iPads to the incoming sister missionary this week (that's right, there is only one new missionary coming in, and it's a sister). Recently I've been given a lot of responsibilities involving the technology in the mission. I'm really passionate about it, though! This really is how the work of the Lord will progress! I know the Lord has been preparing me though the things I've done involving technology in my life. I'm supposed to use it now in this amazing time of the gospel unfolding through the Internet.

One cool miracle that happened this week was on Saturday. We had a lunch with a P.I., A, and she invited two other friends to come to lunch. We had a fun time all making gyoza (kind of like pot stickers) together, then afterwards we taught them all the Restoration. One of the woman that A invited kept asking questions, so I talked to her after the lesson and asked if she had interest in learning, to which she said yes! She said that recently she's had some struggles in her life, and one of her Christian friends noticed and invited her to church. She said that when she goes, she feels good, and that's how she felt when she was learning about the restoration. We got her number and C Shimai and M Shimai (Her new companion!!!) will go teach her. That was a really cool miracle! Is friends said that she didn't know we would be there, so I definitely know the Lord inspired A to invite her because she's prepared to hear His Gospel. Then that same night, we met with our Korean friend, M, and asked her to take the lessons, to which she said yes. That was a day full of miracles!!

That's all for this week. Next time I email you, I'll be in Tama! Let you know how it goes then! I love you all so much!! Talk to you soon! Have a good week!

Love,

Sister Lexie Dansie

2015!

Hey everyone! I can't believe it's already 2015! 明けましておめでとうございます。

It's been a pretty good week! New Years in Japan is absolutely crazy, so that means that a lot of people aren't at home because they're at the shrines. Needless to say, this week was a little hard for dendo, but it was fun!

As you saw on Facebook, we met with a member and talked to her about New Year's resolutions. That was really fun! I've never really thought about resolutions in the past, but it was definitely fun to talk about it with her. Another one of my resolutions is to apply everything I've learned as a missionary so far and make my last 5ish months the best.

New Year's Day was really fun! One tradition in Japan is to get up and watch the sunrise. So we met up with our Korean friend who is visiting Japan for a couple of months and watched the sunrise. It was freezing but really cool! It was kind of cloudy that morning, but there was just enough break in the clouds to see the first sunrise of 2015. That night, we went up to a place called Kamakura to have dinner. Kamakura is a huge tourist spot because of the shrine there, and, because it was New Years and everyone wants to go to the shrine, it was SO BUSY there! Just unbelievable! I didn't get a picture, but it seemed like about half of Tokyo showed up. (Also, mom, to answer your question, there are about 16 million people that live in my little mission.) the dinner was great, though! We had pineapple soaked ham, so it was delicious! We had a fun time with that member. He also brought a nonmember to dinner, as well. The members really have missionary fire here!

We also met a really cool guy this week! He's a guy from Africa, and he stopped us because he said he was from Utah! We got talking to him, and he lived in Layton for here years, and attended the University of Utah while I was there! Also, he said he worked in the Union while I was an Orientation Leader there! I don't remember ever seeing him there, but it's cool we were there the same time as me! He joined the Navy, and that's why he's in Yokosuka now! He heard all of the lessons, he attended the redecoration of the Ogden Temple, and he has a Book of Mormon, but his family are devout Catholics, so he doesn't want to go against his family by getting baptized into this church even though he loves what we believe. He came to a Young Single Adult dinner we had last night, and he was accepted really well! I'm not sure if he will get baptized anytime soon, but he definitely will in the future! It's cool to see who the Lord puts in your path! He really prepares people to hear the Gospel. We were led to find our friend, T, for a reason. I love this work!

Way good week this week! I love you all so much! Have a good week!

Sister Lexie Dansie

Happy New Year!

Hi! It was so fun to Skype with you all on Christmas! I hope you all had a great Christmas!

I had a great Christmas! Skyping was the best, then we went to the park for "Santa dendo" where we gave out about 40 bags of American and Japanese candy and a little "He is the Gift" card. It was a great way to talk to people. One mom said that Santa didn't really come this year, so the candy was her little boy's present. It was so special! Then we ended the day at our Branch President's house for dinner, which was really fun. They said when we all come to Japan, if they're not on vacation, they want to have us over for dinner! It was a great Christmas, definitely one I will remember for the rest of my life. Also, we got so much junk food from members that we don't even know what to do with it! It's like a little kid's paradise in our apartment! Now with New Years in two days, I realized that one year ago today I was getting on a plane to come to Japan!! Crazy!!! What a fast year it has been. I remember being so emotional on that day, but I look back now only with happy memories because of all the people I've met and experiences I've had. I'm so happy to be serving a mission. It's the hardest thing ever, but it's the best thing ever!

In other news, H Shimai and I got to be companions for the day again as we had to go on splits. It was way fun! We worked really hard and talked to a lot of people. We housed into one American who was gold! He's known LDS people and missionaries for a long time, and he has a Book of Mormon! He said he would like to come to church! He's moving in two months to Hawaii, though, but I think he will definitely get baptized someday! That was a way cool experience! Also, K came to church on Sunday! The Branch was so excited to see her baby that K didn't get to hold him the whole time! She had a good experience and said she would come again next week! Wahoo! J is still busy moving, so we haven't heard from her for a few weeks. We're hoping to meet with her this week!

The temple was great today, too! I love going to the Tokyo Temple! That's pretty much everything for this week. I love you all and miss you! Happy New Years! Love you!

Lexie

Merry Christmas!

Hello and MERRY CHRISTMAS!! You know what that means...Skype call!! I'm way excited!

My email is probably going to be somewhat short today because of Skype calls! But, Dad asked a question about the picture H Shimai tagged of me. We actually went on a big adventure to find a tree suitable for the picture. But we finally found that cute one in apartment kind of by ours. So we took the picture!

Things have been crazy around here! It's Christmas, so we've been busy with the Branch's Christmas party, caroling, and telling people about Christ's birth. It's been so fun! This month has flown by. We were able to meet with our investigator, K, and she is still on for being baptized on February 2nd, so we are excited for that!

I love you all so much and I'll talk to you in a couple of days! Love you! Merry Christmas!

Lexie