Week 7... Am I a native yet?

Shae is ready for all things Japanese!

こんにちわ!!

So these emails are getting harder to write the longer I am in the MTC because SURPRISE! It is week 7 and I am still doing the exact same things I have been doing since week one! Lol. I don't really know what to write about anymore... Buttttt life is still good so here we go! 

Some of you know already, but my best friend, Savannah Murdock, entered the MTC 2 weeks ago. We see each other allll the time and it is really fun! Everyone says we look alike... Like what. BUT to make things even better, not only do we apparently look alike but we are legit twins. We have accidentally worn the same outfit twice now. Like not just like matching colors, but like the EXACT SAME DRESSES. It's honestly out of control. Great minds think alike right? ;)

We had our first Skype TRC with an actual Nihonjin (Japanese Native) this week! (For those of you who don't know, TRC is where you have lessons with members). We skyped the cutest little grandma from Japan. Not gonna lie I was freaaaaakkking out. So so nervous. During the call I felt like I couldn't speak anything, but it's okay... We were able to get our message across and she said she was feeling the spirit so that's good! Speaking a language is sometimes frustrating when you are not able to say exactly what you want to say, but in all reality it is the Spirit who is speaking anyways, so it all works out:) I can't believe that in 11 days I won't have to be skyping these Nihonjin, but I will actually be able to talk to them face to face........ IN JAPAN. Still blows my mind but I am so so SO excited!

Speaking of Nihonjin, there are three sisters here from Japan! (well, one from Korea but she is fluent in Japanese too.... YA I KNOW LIKE BYE) We have become such good friends and I love them! I JUST LOVE JAPANESE PEOPLE WITH MY WHOLE HEART! We chit chat all the time and it's so fun. Yesterday during choir practice, we were talking in Japanese and everyone around us was looking at me like "wait YOU can speak this...? " Lol. Still gets people. Tall and blonde... they never expect it. *insert smolder emoji* They tell me I have golden hair and always give me hugs. I think I want to steal them and take them home with me. I love them so much. I taught them how to say faith yesterday. The "th" sound is not a thing in Japanese so it was really really fun. They always ask me how to say words in English and I always ask for Japanese, so it works:)

The mission is hard. Like really hard. But it is so so good. I am so grateful to be here and feel so lucky to be able to go to Japan on my mission! I am learning and growing so much and I know this is exactly where I need to be. 

THE CHURCH IS TRUE

愛しています

xoxo

Modersitzki 姉妹

Shae saw Alex & McKay, two of her roommates from freshman year!

You've gotta love the chopsticks in the buns!

"Sick selfie with our new STL flip phone"

"Ai wa Doki"

Cutest missionaries in the MTC!

Konnichiwaaa! 

Well to start off I would like to wish a very Happy Birthday to my AMAAAAAAZING mother in 2 days! She is the absolute greatest and everyone should send her lots of love and lots of treats. ;) 

It has been another great week at the MTC! Sometimes I forget that I actually had a life before a mission. I feel like I was born and raised here tbh. Week 6 man... It gets to you. Only 3 more to go though and I am off to JAPAN!!!!! I also sometimes forget that I will actually leave the MTC... But I am so excited to get out and let the adventure begin!

This week the Dai Senpai left us.... Which means WE ARE THE OLDEST ONES HERE. I am officially a Dai Senpai which means I really need to know my stuff.... Shoot. Lol.  We get our new missionaries today and I am so excited! :) Villanueva Shimai and I got made Sister Training Leaders this week as well! That has been super fun! We only have now 9 Shimaitachi (Sisters) out of like 2389423784 Chorotachi (Elders) but hey we hold our ground! ;)

So..... Update on the T-Swift situation. It is absolutely out of control. I have now signed 3 napkins, 1 bye bye book, 1 planner, 1 package, and 1 ARM. A FREAKING ARM. YA. I still don't understand it, but it's whatever. So funny. My zone has gotten in on the joke so now they always talk about it... I don't think I will ever hear the end of it. An arm you guys. AN ARM. 

The goodbye fiesta for Crandall Kyodai. Why so serious, guys?

Anyyyways. This week we had to say bye to one of our Senseis, Crandall Kyodai, as he is leaving to go to an internship in Boston. He has been my favorite teacher here at the MTC and has been so helpful and inspiring, not to mention I think he is the funniest person I have ever met. It was a really hard day for all of us to say bye, but thanks to my mom we were able to have one last fiesta with him filled with chips, salsa, beans, queso, and most importantly... mustaches;) He was such an amazing teacher and I was so lucky to be able to learn from him! 

Like I mentioned, he is HILARIOUS, so we have been keeping a quote page of all of the funny as well as the profound things he says. We read them to him and asked him for one final quote. He told us "Ai wa Doki" which translates to "Love is the motive." I LOVED that. I have since made that my quote for my mission and have tried to apply that each and every day. Christ loved everyone, and as a representative of Him, it is my job to do the same.

Fun Japanese fact for the day. There isn't a word for ugly in Japanese... Well at least not that we have found yet... But we learned that "Minikui" directly translates to hard to look at.... So if you ever think something is ugly you literally say it is hard to look at. HAHA. My district has had some real fun with that one;)

This work is amazing. I love being a missionary. Although it is really hard, I feel the Lord with me every step of the way. D&C 84:88 has been my favorite scripture for a while and even more so as I am here doing His work. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL WITH MY WHOLE SOUL.

Much love,

Modersitzki 姉妹

Shae with Sister Kailee Kema, one of her very favorite people in the MTC.

So, um, distinguished.

Because I haven't posted a temple pic since......last week. ;)

Shae and Sister V.

V, Shae, Austin Bailey (friend from LPHS) & his companion.

Purple Thursday.

Shae with Papenfuss Shimai and To Shimai.

Good friend Hannah Elieson ran into Shae at the MTC and sent me this. I love surprise pictures!

and let the fame continue......

Shae & her companion and their favorite kohi.

Konnichiwaaaaa!

I swear the weeks get shorter and shorter as the time goes by... I can't believe it is already pday! 

This week was another great one! It's hard to have a bad week as a missionary. There are bad moments... but no bad days and definitely no bad weeks. It is wayyyy too happy here to have bad weeks! 

So last week I talked about being famous because I got put on the screen all the time during choir performances... This week's fame comes in a different way. It came because according to the MTC, I am a Taylor Swift look-alike. Ever since I have gotten here, so many people have come up to me and told me that I looked like her... Uh what? My zone would always talk about it, but this week I had a funny experience with it. So picture this:

Here I am, casually eating my disgusting MTC food at dinner; pondering the beauty that is on my plate. Great imagery right? Next thing I know, a random Elder, who I have never seen before, taps me on the shoulder... "Uh, Hermana Swift?" He proceeds to explain that he is my biggest fan and has been to all of my concerts..... HAHA WHAT IS GOING ON. Then he asked me to sign his napkin. Ever since, there has not been a day that some random person doesn't yell SISTER SWIFT!!! It's hilarious. 

Funny language moment of the week:
 We were playing a game while trying to figure out certain grammar patterns. Basically we were trying to figure out how to say "I want to" when conjugating verbs. (YA I know it confuses me too, lol) Annnyyyways, we were pulling random nouns and verbs out of bags and then we had to put them together to make a sentence. The very first sentence went as follows:

Shimaitachi o tabetai to omoimasu.... Which directly translates to "I think I want to eat the sisters." 

uhhh thx elders how sweet.... LOL. I love Japanese with all of my heart. 

Another Japanese fun fact for the week:

Seitan (pronounced Satan): Scriptures

Satan: (pronounced Sahtan): Satan

also really fun to mix up..... :')

Speaking of the language, this week I had an amazing experience with the gift of tongues. I was feeling good about the language but I kept feeling like there was more I could do. I prayed to my Father in Heaven to help me be able to focus and be diligent in my studies so I could receive the gift of tongues. We had a lesson with a "less active" and during the lesson she asked me a super complex question... No joke, neither me nor my companion had one clue what she said... We had her repeat the question a few times and tried to find things on Google Translate, but no luck... I had a moment where I pled with my Heavenly Father and asked Him to help me. I was prompted to have her repeat the question one more time and as she did, I understood every single word and was able to answer her question with words I did not even know I knew. The Spirit was so strong and I was in awe.

Through this experience, I gained the strongest testimony that God is always looking out for His missionaries. He is looking out for all of His children. When we work hard and have faith, He will help us in our time of need.

Being a missionary is the absolute greatest and I feel so blessed to be able to have the opportunity to be out here. 

Sending prayers!

xoxox

Modersitzki Skimai

I don't even know what is going on here. But it seems to be a thing.....

Maybe it's time for a break??! hahaha!
Edit: I found out from her companion's blog that they wear these buckets so they can hear what they sound like. It's a way to help them learn the language better.

Shae's best friend, Savannah Murdock, came into the MTC today! Yay!!

So fun to see friends from our ward! Tanner Wakefield (blue sweater) left for Norway this week.

More friends from home! Kayla Yeck left for Germany this week too.

I told you she knows everyone in the MTC! Shae and Meghan Freeze used to be in the same ward together at home.

More friends from Lone Peak.

Their district.

I'm telling you. She really does know everyone.

Halfway done at the MTC deserves some peace signs!

And now, I'll leave you with some classic Shae Mod photos. I know you've been missing these. :) You're welcome.

Wut.

Tanner's face. Hahahahahaha!

I miss her.

Fame and Fortune

Helllloooo!

Well to start off, I hit my halfway mark of the MTC this week.... Um OKAY BYE I GOT HERE YESTERDAY! Soooo crazy but I still love the MTC so that's good! :) Also. Remember in my last email when I said if the MTC had Chick Fil A it would be paradise? YA WELL THE CHURCH IS TRUE. We had Chick Fil A for dinner on Monday and I don't think I can fully describe the joy that was felt. #shukufuku (still waiting for that to become a trend, lol)

This week was amazing though! We had two devotionals, one by Matthew Holland, and the other by Elder Neil L. Andersen! Gah! The spirit at both devotionals was so strong and I learned so much! I am so grateful for the opportunities I have to hear from all of these amazing speakers. It makes being here for 9 weeks not so bad at all! :)

My comp and I are in the choir, and at both devotionals I got put on the big screen. At the Sunday devotional, IT ZOOMED ON MY FACE FOR 10 STRAIGHT SECONDS. 10 WHOLE SECONDS. Yikes. Everyone and their DOG kept coming up to me and telling me I was famous. But it didn't end there. At the Tuesday night devotional we were broadcasted to all the different MTCs around the world. At this one I got another lovely zoom from both the side and front angles... So basically I am famous now around the MTC, so that is a fun thing. So so funny though. 

Why do they never have any fun? Haha!

The language is going well. For example, this week during our lesson I was trying to teach our investigator about baptism. I meant to tell her that I was baptized when I was 8 years old; but instead, I told her I was 8 people. HAHAHAH. So awesome. We all laughed about it forever after we realized what I had said. I'm telling ya. Learning a language is the funnest adventure. Lessons are getting better and better and we have started to not use our notes anymore. It's so crazy how fast you can learn languages with God on your side! I'm not saying I am anywhere nearrrr perfect, but it has been a really cool experience to be able to learn and grow from learning Japanese. 

Thank you for all the letters, emails, and packages. They all mean so much to me. I love being a missionary. I love it so so much. The friends I have made here are some that I know I will have for the rest of my life. I know that Tokyo is the perfect mission for me and I cannot wait to get out and serve the people of Japan! 

MUCH LOVE AT ALL OF YOU 

Heian soto minasan! (Peace out everyone!)

xoxoxo

Modersitzki Shimai 

Sister V, Shae, Parker Eastwood (friend from home) & his companion

Shae & Tara Stringham (another friend from home). The MTC is full of friends!

The girls with Shae's favorite teacher, Crandall Kyodai.

Wearing the mandatory mission shirt. :)