yayyayayya Happy Easter!!!!!!

SPENCER THAT'S SO LEGIT YOU CAUGHT A FOUL BALL AT THE TIGERS ANGELS GAME! You should probably let mom touch it still. but know I'm proud of you.  Yesterday was also Satake shimai's 89th birthday and Mao chan's 16th! Satake shimai is doing really well and paid her first tithe! <3 Mao chan hasn't actually met with us for 2 weeks so that's been heart breaking. Granted she just started high school and is making lots of new friends and participating in lots of clubs which are both good things but eternal life is sooo much better!!!!!!!!!!!! We're working on it.

This week we were blessed with tons and tons and tons of housing time and met lots of crazy people and also lots of wonderful people. I think the hardest part about being a missionary is having experienced the peace and warmth and happiness and satisfaction that comes from the restored gospel of Jesus Christ; feeling the strength of His priesthood power that is on the earth today; having the hope that we can live with God again and with our families forever after our time on earth is over; having the assurity that what you're doing is right as long as you're following the gospel of Jesus Christ and the counsel of living prophets and all the incredible church leaders; and telling someone that they can have the same blessings (in a second grade simple manner) and they just wave their hands at you like you're a swarm of fruit flies in their genkan. and they don't understand the eternal significance of their rejection. and they don't give eternal joy a chance. I've tried a million different things to say to people in their genkan that will overcome their agency and make them choose to listen to our message but unfortunately that's not how it works. I really wish it was haha. I think it really depends 1. on whether their hearts are open or not, and 2. the brightness of our faith-- whether or not we have the Savior's countenance within ours. We're not salesmen. We're simply sharing the joy that we have with those that need it too. But the opposition just makes the moments when we find potential investigators and new investigators- the ones that feel the Spirit as we speak and want to feel it again- a jillion times better. And those ones make all of this worth it.

I love you all!  No, they don't celebrate Easter here, but Kogure shimai and I boiled eggs and colored them with colored pencils!!!!!!!! Elder Nelson announced it was Easter yesterday in his talk and everyone got really excited and ahh so ka so ka?! We're working on Japan. (;

We haven't done a ton of Less Active work because we still need the branch president to fill out the necessary forms. But he and his wife took us to a couple less actives houses and we became friends. One lady had tons of origami flower boquets in her genkan. JAPAN!!!!!!!!

haha also, my headaches have basically ceased! I've been drinking lots of water, and I did receive and follow your advice in your email, Dad. Thank you!!!!! The picture of the kids in Mexico with the Japanese flag is soo awesome!!!!!!! 

I love you lots and I hope you had a Christ-centered week and especially Easter Sunday.

love,

Daniels shimai