May 15, 2014 Week 5 and still alive

Don't let the clever title fool you, I didn't come up with that by myself.... Haha. It is true though. I am still very much alive and growing like every second! It's insane how much the Lord shapes you and teaches you so much about yourself if you just open your heart and choose to be humble and listen :) Just like Ether 12:27! I've like never even thought about Heavenly Father pointing out your weaknesses before, but He doesn't leave it at that. He makes them strengths! How loving is that? I couldn't even imagine going into the mission field and making the mistakes I have here hahaha! The MTC has taught me so much about myself and what I need to work on. I know that through His help I can change and invite others to do so as well. 

That is probably the biggest thing I have learned this week. That and to just follow the promptings that you feel from the Spirit in a lesson. There are actual non members of the church walking around and you're allowed to talk to them and set up appointments. This week we had 2 extra appointments with some American investigators, which totally rocks! It was cool to actually understand with my ears as well as my heart as to what the investigator of the church needs. Speaking of that, when I'm in the Nihongo lesson... I know what's being said haha which is totally crazy because in class, I am totally lost! I know that you can really, truly feel things with your heart, you can even know a language that you aren't familiar with and I know the only way this is possible is with God's help.

I have been given the Pokemon Psyduck everyone says he matches my personality... Hopefully that's a good thing hahaha I'm not sure if everyone is familiar with this character, demo it's kind of cool to walk around with a sticker of a duck on the back of your nametag haha Japanese missionaries are the bomb.com or as the Japanese would say SAIKO DESU YO!!  

I GAVE THE CLOSING PRAYER FOR ELDER L.TOM PERRY!!! How cool is that?? He has the best attitude in the entire world and when he walks into a room, you can feel it change for the better. It was such an amazing and humbling experience. He is so wonderful and he gave an amazing talk on the importance of companionships and the importance of teaching with the spirit. That if contention arises, do not continue teaching because that is not the Lord's way. Super eye opening and incredible! How lucky are we?? 5 members of the Quarm of the Twelve have come to talk to us :) LOVE IT!

Okay, so this email was sota lame, sorry!! The other Sisters in this picture are my Kohi (they are new here) haha and I love them :) Uh but thats all the pictures it will let me download... I will send one of my whole District soon. You'll love them! 

AI SHITEMASU (I love you) Have a wonderful week! I know I will :)

Wright Shimai 

P.S write me on dearelder.com it's the best website ever and I have more time to reply to that!

May 8, 2014 1st Mass Email home

KONNICHIWA MINASAN!!

Goodness, sorry this took so long! I suppose I have been just focusing on emailing everyone who emailed me, but then realized that my hour was just used right up! Write me on dearelder.com. It gets to me like right away PLUS I have all p-day to write back! All you have to know is my name, which of course is Sister Jenesse Blair Wright (that's right, I'm a SISTER MISSIONARY) and my unit number which is 65 then my mission, which is by far the best mission in the entire world, I can already tell, TOKYO SOUTH!! Then I think that's it.... Oh wait.... Its not. You have to know I'm just in the normal Provo MTC :)

So I guess for like an overview of the month I have made like the greatest friends ever. It's kind of crazy how close I've gotten to all of them! I feel like we've all known each other for eien (eternity)! They are all incredible and I am pretty sure I laugh until I cry at least once a day.... I also cry all of the time because of how spiritual it is here! The MTC is truly a holy place, I have never felt so loved in my entire life. And its not even like I feel love for me, I feel literally God's love for everyone I come in contact with. It is the coolest experience ever. AND GUESS WHAT?? You can feel that love for everyone as well! All you have to do is pray for it earnestly! It will come, I promise :) I already love all of the Nihonjin (Japanese people) and I haven't even met them yet. I cant wait to get out there and let them know how much they are loved. How stinking lucky am I??

Well, I am a sister training leader, which means I get to go to like a ton of extra super spiritual meetings on Sunday's (which I just happen to cry at all of the time) The calling also includes loving people, which is seriously the biggest blessing ever. I love everyone I'm serving with and for. I feel like they are making it easy though hahaha! They are all just awesome! ALSO WE GOT NEW KOHI!!! That means we aren't the little kids anymore :( Dai jobu desu! (its all good) We just have to act like we know what we are doing, even though we know nothing haha It is so fun :) They just believe everything we say and its awesome! Also, I had sushi with one of the shimai before I got here and she is in my district! She is so lovely :) 

My doryo (companion) is incredible, can I just tell you guys?? She like so awesome! She seriously rubs my back all of the time haha! Also, everyone here just builds each other up. I haven't felt so loved in my entire life! LIKE THIS ONE TIME when I bumped into this lady in the hallway and I forgot the ego (english) word for sorry and I kept on thinking gomenisai which is sorry in Japanese.... and I finally figured out how to say sorry in ego, but we were like already down the hall and then I was like "SORRY" and she was all like "oh, for what" and I just broke down and started telling her like everything ever about myself and she just reached out and hugged me and said "my name is Shirley and whenever you need a mom hug my office is right there" So now I just have this lady named Shirley who just hugs me whenever. Its nice.

ALSO I AM GIVING THE PRAYER AT A DEVOTIONAL! LIKE POSSIBLY FOR AN APOSTLE! right????? Slap me in the face. I'll let you know how that goes! Speaking of Apostles we have had 4 come!!!!!!!!!!!! And one of them was Uchtdorf and the other was Holland! Either we did a super good deed in the pre existance or we seriously need a wake up call hahaha! I'd like to think we are already perfect ;) JODAN!! (Joke) just pronounce it like  Michael Jordan... its funny!

Okay, well AI SHITEMAU!! (I LOVE YOU) You are all Suberashii (wonderful) and I am so grateful for all of you in my life :) 

ALSO MAGGIE!!! I DIDNT HAVE TIME TO WRITE YOU BACK BUT I LOVE YOU!!! I READ YOUR LETTER AND I SMILED SO LARGELY HAHAHA (who says that?) 

Okay, bye (sung in the voice of little Ana from Frozen)

PEACE, LOVE AND SUSHI

Wright Shimai :)

May 3, 2014 What Word Explains Me?

The MTC is going super well. I have made like probably a billion friends or something. It's cool because everyone is always speaking in some other language which is pretty funny and confusing! It's like I'm in the middle of the world where everyone in the whole world is mixed together...because I'm sure that's exactly what the middle of the world is like!

Everyone here is so nice! One of my friends Elder Shurella C. told me to look up this word that explains "me" and it was translated to "bright, happy" OMG....isn't that nice? I almost cried right there. My district, meaning 3 doro  (companionships) of Choro (Elders) and hi (2) doro tachi (companionships) of Shimai's (sisters) and we pretty much do everything together except pee and sleep.
Guess what? I am a Sister Training Leader for my zone. Which means I have to go to an extra meeting on Sunday and serve all the Shimai's in my district. Cool right? So my zone means 2 districts.

We have had 3 Apostales within the past 2 weeks....3!!! and we have 2 more coming while I'm here. That never happens! Elder Uchtdorf, Elder Oaks, Elder Christofferson and then 2 more soon. You should look up their talks on lds.org I sang in the choir for Uchtdorf and Oaks, so you might see me!

My favorite thing I learned this week is Mosiah 2:23 and 24. It's all about God's grace and that you can never "pay him back" because that's not what the Atonement was for. How beautiful!

P.S. if you go to dearelder.com the letter gets to me that day and is free!

Read and Wright now all they need is arithmetic

April 28, 2014 (13 days at the MTC)

Hey mom,

Thanks for your wonderful (suburachi) letter. You will be happy to know I am doing laundry now.  Nihongo is going great (Japanese). I can't believe everything I already know! The gift of tongues is really so real!! Everyone here is so nice and uplifting :-) missionaries are awesome!

One Choro in our zone who looks like Michael Cera is a professional photographer from Brazil who takes pictures for Vogue! Can you believe that? He is really crazy though. He told us that 'onara' is a shorter version of bye...but it actually means 'fart' sooo that was nice hahahah! We've just learned not to trust him. Except he said Elder Uchtdorf was coming on Easter and Janessa Bates....Sister Bates!!! My old friend! She said Elder Holland was coming. So I didn't believe him but he was actually right!! So who knows!
Elder Uchtdorf did speak on Easter...Can you believe that? It's been 15 years since a member of the first presidency has come to the MTC and it was him, my favorite! He definitely had the entire MTC crying. He said, "to fear no man." give it your all-no half-hearted attempts, or you will be depressed?" "We are disciples of the Savior and because of that he is with us We Do No Fear!" "He lives, He is the Son of a living God. He will lift you up and inspire you if You work diligently." "As you turn your hearts and minds to the Savior He will take care of everything. He will help you overcome fear." He talked about Peter and his mighty change. He turned on the Savior but repented and became one of the most amazing Apostles ever! They threw him in prison for being so bold and when he kept on converting the soldiers that were holding him captive they decided to crucify him. But he wanted to hang upside down because he didn't want to die the same way as his master.  Isn't that absolutely beautiful? I was singing in the choir....and I couldn't get through the song, EVERYONE was crying! They said that it was the best time they've ever heard the choir and I really believe it was because of the spirit that was there! Maybe if you look up his Easter talk you can see me in the choir! That would be so cool!  Elder Oaks come on Tuesday as well. So two apostles in one week...I'm not complaining.
It's so funny that you shared Alma 7:11-14 because where were teaching about the atonement and I found that scripture! So perfect!


ai shite masu
I love you!

Wright Shimai

First letter home

The Missionary Training Center (MTC) gave them 10 minutes to Email home on Saturday after she had been there for fours days. What a blessing to get that email!  This is just a little of what she wrote.

Dad,

I only have 10 minutes to write!! Did you cry all the way home? ;) Aishitimasu! (I love you). Everything is going so well....We seriously have zero time to even think.  Life here is seriously insane. The food is absolutely delicious and my district the shimai (sisters) and choro (elders) I'm around every second of everyday is hilarious. AL SHITIMASU them.  I know how to pray and testify and say sentences like "genki desu ka?" (How are you) and it is only day 3.

We have study time from 8am-11 then lunch then 12-3 study time then dinner then oversize then 5-9:30 study then BED (we just fall asleep right away)....We barely have anytime at all.  My doyro is freaking sweet.  She loves things like k-pop and me (just kidding).  I love her so much though! Her name is Read Shimai and I'm Wright Shimai.....GET IT??? READ AND WRIGHT!!! I feel it was such and inspired companionship.  We are so funny and everyone will forever remember us :)

Tell mom I got her wonderful package and I'm going to share it with everyone :)

I have also seen like six or seven people I know!

love you! Got to go!

Preparing for a Mission to Tokyo, Japan South Mission

Jenesse got her mission call the end of November and entered the Missionary Training Center on April 16, 2014. That gave her 4 1/2 months to prepare and prepare she did. She went to missionary training class at the local institute every week and attended a temple at least once a week. She made a goal to attend as many different temples as she could before leaving. I believe she made it to 8 different temples....thanks Maggie Bromley for joining her on the Idaho road trip. Then for service, she was taking pictures of fellow missionaries all around the valley for free. Trips to Ogden, Provo, Idaho and SLC were constant then sitting in front of her computer for hours editing....did I say she is an amazing young lady! She definitely had the spiritual part covered, now getting her shopping was another matter...lol. I would stand outside her room and sing, "Do You Want To Go Shopping" from the movie Frozen "Do You Want To Build A Snowman." it was hard work getting her out shopping, but she did manage to buy what was on the list. Her suitcase was packed the morning she left...Thank you Maggie Bromley and Rachel Shearer for coming Wednesday morning and rolling clothing. Her suitcases were overweight so as it turns out more than enough shopping was accomplished.