Learning the Language

really quick, this is Sofie.  I'm super sorry but the photo upload isn't working.  I will try to get them up as soon as possible!


Hello everyone! I love hearing from you all through emails, letters, and dear elder! Thank you so much for your constant support and prayers. This week went by so fast. I am loving the MTC so much more every day. It makes me sad that time is going by so fast. I want time to slow down so that I can keep on learning. We have over 10 hours of studying a day, and somehow I crave more than that! haha it's crazy. I'm a totally different person though, but in a good way :)

Our first PDay was last thursday and it was the best day ever haha. After emailing, we played volleyball against the chorotachi (elders) 4 on 4 and we played for two hours haha it was so much fun. I am getting so close with my district and zone, it's like we are family. They are so great. After the gym and lunch, we all went to the Provo Temple and did a session there. It was so awesome to be able to attend the temple with my zone. The temple was awesome, and it was nice to be able to get off the MTC property for a little bit.

On friday chapman shimai got sick :( so we took her to the doctor and then met up with everyone at lunch. She is doing a lot better now though. The water here made her sick so now she has to drink from bottled water only. Class was really good on friday; I understood ALMOST everything :) 

I see Mallory... or sister Golden.... a lot, and every time I see her, I get so happy. It's amazing to see our friendship grow while we are both here at the MTC. No distractions, no input from other people, just both of us being spiritually fed constantly and changing for the better. Whenever she sees me she says that she hardly even recognizes me! that's how much ive changed! but she said that I look so much happier, and that I just glow here at the MTC. The light of christ really does shine through us missionaries. It's so awesome. I bore my testimony to her in Japanese a few days ago and she cried! It was an amazing experience. I am so proud of her and am so glad that she is here with me.

Saturday was good as well. We had service at 6:15 am... so early.... but then gym after, so it was great :) one of our chorotachi in our district got so sick that they had to take him to urgent care.. it was so sad because he the sweetest thing ever and doesnt speak english cause hes from brazil. so it was so sad to see him hurting so much and not being able to help. he got better though after a few days. thank goodness. Chapman shimai made a friend across the hall from our classroom. hes an elder who speaks 8 languages, and they talk all the time. It is nice for her to have a friend she can talk to. I always just end up talking with his companion haha he is so awesome and we talk about how we got on missions, and we both have a really similar story so it is cool to have someone to relate to. That district is full of such strong missionaries. We always hang out with them because we are such good friends with all of their chorotachi. we are lucky because they are also going to kobe! it's so cool to see how much the MTC brings people together on deeper levels.I feel like the people who i have met here, i will be friends with for a long time. at least i hope that that is the case haha.

Sunday was awesome, as usual. I love sundays at the MTC and look forward to them every week. that night I watched the Testaments in a huge room full of missionaries, and at the end, the spirit hit the room like a semi truck. haha it sounds weird but i am not even kidding. within the last few minutes every single missionary in that room was feeling the spirit so strong. everyone was crying, but the good type of cry. it was so awesome to feel the spirit like that, and to see so many other people feeling the same spirit as me. It was a really cool experience.

Monday was great and super hard. We taught a new investigator without ANY notes. It was so cool to be able to look into his eyes and just connect with him about the gospel. learning japanese can sometimes be a distraction for the spirit, because we end up focusing on our grammar and trying to remember words instead of truly speaking from the heart. but this time, that was not the case. chapman shimai and i were both so happy to have shared that experience with each other. Later that night, however, we had a rough patch. We taught two lessons in a row that went really badly. It's hard because, since I plan every lesson by myself, I feel like it is my fault if a lesson does not go well. I got really frustrated and down on myself, until I realized that I was being selfish by thinking that way. The only thing that i could do was make it better somehow. I talked with Nitta Sensei after class, when i was crying, and he gave me some amazing advice. he told me how proud he is of me and how much the other senseis have talked about my companion and I, and how our companionship is a miracle. It really is :) It's amazing how great she is doing. I love her so much. My teacher also gave me a scripture that I have read every day since then. D&C 78: 17-19. It's a good one. I am so grateful for my district and my teachers and the support they give chapman shimai and I.

Tuesday was good as well. I beat all the elders in a game of bump so that was pretty dang awesome haha. They now all call me the straight shooter. it's pretty funny. I played them again though and got last place.... so I think i just had a lucky streak haha. Oh well. I finally got around to reading the talk The Fourth Missionary. It was so powerful. I spent hours just studying it. it definitely made me want to be a better missionary. I am so determined to be the best that I can be. The devotional on tuesday night was awesome too. it was cool to be able to listen to a member of the 70. he spoke on the importance of finding the lost sheep, or inactive members. I am determined to be the missionary that reactivates those members and I want to be the one who lets them know that they have someone who they can count on. The choir sang Where Can I Turn For Peace, and it was so amazing. we might get to sing in general conference (!!!!!!!) How awesome would that be?! I will know in the next two weeks and will definitely tell you all about it.

The nihonjin (japanese) are so cute. I love having them here with us and in our zone. if I love the japanese people in kobe HALF as much as i love the ones that i have met here, I am going to have an awesome mission haha.

yesterday I got really sick unfortunately. today I feel a lot better though. my district was there to support and help me catch up, thank goodness. We taught two investigators last night and they both went relatively well. I love teaching investigators :) it is definitely one of my favorite things about the mission.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. I love and miss you all so much. You're in my prayers, and please know that I think you are all wonderful!!!!

Aishiteimasu! I love you!

Kasteler Shimai