I have officially been a missionary for one year which means...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYDNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (: I hope you had a great day!!!! The Ohio State pictures were awesome but it looks super cold and I'm a tiny bit jealous because autumn is my favorite in Michigan. It's still t-shirt weather here but there was one day last week that it was cool enough to wear a jacket and it was overcast and I felt like I was in Grand Rapids. It still smells like rice here which was kind of surprising because I was expecting the smell of corn and apples. Nevertheless, conference is coming soon!!!!!! 

I didn't celebrate my year mark at all, mostly because there is nothing to celebrate about being two-thirds done with your mission. We had a good lesson with Imade san though which was worth celebrating. I ate some yogurt for dinner and a hole rubbed through my shoe's sole? hahahha but seriously I am so sad because once I am done with this transfer I will have only 4 left. But it's okay because I will be a forever missionary.

There are zero things better in this life than bringing hope to those who have none. I bet that thought carried Jesus Christ through so many of the pains He suffered for us. I believe He saw our faces and saw us at our lowest, and saw what we could become as heirs to the Kingdom of God and the never-ending, perfect joy we could receive. And knowing that He was the only one who could bring us that much happiness and hope made the sacrifices that He did. I'm so grateful for Him and I love Him with all my heart. 

I'm discovering a lot of weaknesses that I have and also how much I love these people here. I want my companion to love these people as much as I do and to take good care of them when I leave. She is a good missionary and we've been able to adapt to teach well as a companionship together. She has a strong testimony and is really independent. I have also grown pretty independent these past couple transfers and I'm learning to be a lot better of a companion now with her and giving her the chance to speak more. She's pretty quiet around japanese people but she wants to be more involved.

We've been crazy busy planning and preparing for the international party tomorrow!! I have zero things from america. haha I think I'm bringing my flip-flops and justin bieber tattoos. hahah ahh. I'm so grateful Grundvig shimai gave those to me in the MTC (:

I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! have a great week!!! enjoy the leaves changing for me!!!!!!!!!!!!

love,

Daniels shimai