Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Goodbye Japan

Sasebo week 24 - wk 72 in Japan, wk 81 total

Tuesday August 23, 2016

Time has flown by so fast. I seriously can't believe this. It doesn't seem real, and it probably won't until I'm back in America.

This week has been awesome. We were blessed to be able to have an amazing lesson with our new friend Naomi. She's a young, awesome mom that is working really hard for her daughter. During our lesson she said that this was one of the first times in her life that she has felt that God is there. It's such a special opportunity to be able help people find Heavenly Father and the Savior Jesus Christ. I will cherish these experiences for the rest of my life.

When I first came on a mission, my scripture that I chose to be my theme was proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." I have seen this come true so many times in my life and even more on my mission. There have been so many times when He helps us know what to say, what to do, where to go, and who to talk to. And I know that as we rely on Him in our daily lives, He will in the same way guide us to find the most pure happiness.

As I've been serving as a missionary another scripture has become really meaningful. It's in the Book of Mormon, a prophet Moroni testifies of Jesus Christ: Moroni 7:41 "And what is it that ye shall
hope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise."

This is the essence of believing in Jesus Christ: it's the hope that we can have in this life because of Him. Hope to overcome our mistakes and weaknesses. Hope to become better people. Hope to be able to find happiness in this life. Hope that there is so much more than just this short life on Earth.  I am so grateful for the blessing and opportunity I have had for these precious 18 months to help people develop and strengthen that hope in the Savior. And I don't plan on stopping! Being a missionary is a life time opportunity. We are so blessed to know of Jesus Christ and the ways He can and does help us each and every day, and so we have an equally awesome opportunity to
help those around us experience those blessings too!

Thank you so much for the love support and letters.
See you soon!
Love, Sister Lowe
ロウ姉妹より






 Yes, these watermelon cost $38 each



Monday, August 15, 2016

Still alive!

Sasebo week 23 - wk 71 in Japan, wk 80 total

Monday August 15, 2016

Sorry no group email, I just didn't have enough time.  Here are a couple of pictures!

Love,

Lowe Shimai



Week 79!

Sasebo week 22 - wk 70 in Japan, wk 79 total

Monday August 8, 2016

Sorry I didn't write a big email today, I spent my time confirming plans with friends in Maeburu and Nagasaki for when my mom and aunt come to Japan!  But here are a couple of pictures.

Love,

Lowe Shimai



Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Over here in Sasebo

Sasebo week 21 - wk 69 in Japan, wk 78 total

Monday August 1, 2016

This was a good week. The people we were able to meet with last week weren't able to meet again, which is sad but it's okay. We met some cool people. And our friend Phoung came to church, she's really interested in learning about Christianity.

This week I was able to give a talk in Sacrament meeting about the personal blessings I've received from Jesus Christ. It was a really neat opportunity to reflect on the many different times I've felt the
Savior's strength, love and forgiveness. Some of the experiences are small, some of them big, but each of them are the foundation of my knowledge that the Savior lives. I know that He loves each of us perfectly and unconditionally.  I know that when we reach out to Him, it opens the path for Him to come to us.

Love Sister Lowe

There is a restaurant here in Sasebo where you can eat somen (a type
of noodle) in a cave! We went with our English Class Students this week.
Beautiful views of Sasebo!

 

Our friend Phoung came to Church yesterday! She moved here from
Vietnam to study Japanese.

Honda Shimai taught us how to make all kinds of things this week,
 she is so good at cooking!