Wednesday, March 30, 2016

First Full day in the Japan Tokyo Mission (after getting some sleep)

Arriving Missionaries, their new companions, and President and Sister Nagano.  Notice that Sister Parker's former MTC companion, Sister Burke, is in the bright blue shirt.   Sister Pearson (also a former MTC companion) went to a different Japan mission in the north and is thus obviously not seen in this photo.

Sister Kirsten Parker, companion Sister Riggs, and President and Sister Nagano

Friday, March 25, 2016

March 25, 2016 -- Last Days at the MTC, Easter Message

These are my last days at the MTC.  Next week I will be in Japan.   I'm so excited!   I have already done some packing.  

In this past choir:

It was a powerful experience.. So during choir, Brother Eggett, the choir director, always tells spiritual stories with the song that we practice. We were singing Lead Kindly Light (hymn # 97) and the story behind it is really neat. The lyrics are written by John Henry Newman.  He was sailing on the sea for a while and the ocean was calm for a while but the waves were very big so the boat would move up and down constantly. John Henry Newman had malaria and so he though he was going to die from his malaria being effected by the motion. Days had passed and fog rolled in and it was dark and gloomy. He was convinced he would die. He didn't want to, however. All his life he was prideful and followed his own ways instead of God. 

"If God can save me from dying then I will follow him the rest of my life." He felt he should write down this commitment, so he grabbed a paper and pen and this is what he wrote:

"Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom;
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on!
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene--one step enough for me.
 I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that thou
Shouldst lead me on. 
I loved to choose and see my path; but now,
Lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years.
So long thy pow'r hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on
O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone.
And with the morn those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile!"

My mom gave me an Easter message which I will share with you:


  
  
    

    

    

NEW LIFE IS ABUNDANTLY BIRTHING -- THE SUN BEGINS TO SHINE AND THE GRASS IS TURNING GREEN 

HE IS RISEN!
THE BEST PART OF EASTER IS CHRIST'S PROMISE TO THE RIGHTEOUS FAITHFUL:  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.   John 6:47    The word "verily" means [truely, it is true].    Baptism by immersion is a symbol of this promise, that the righteous faithful will be raised from the dead and return to the Father.










In the last few years, I spent more time trying to understand the atonement.  I could not understand why God the Father would require His perfect Son to give his life  -- after all, he didn't deserve it.   Doesn't that seem cruel?   When I was younger, any time there was a short video about Jesus, by the time they got to the part where he was crucified, I would turn my eyes away and try to block out the sound in my mind, for several minutes.   I just didn't want to face that part.  With time, age-experience, and study, I have come to realize that Christ had to die for several reasons.

1.  God the Father is just; he is the Creator of a perfect creation.  We messed up His creation, as well as ourselves.  Justice says that you just don't let the guilty go free without no punishment of some kind.   Otherwise, we would never learn from our mistakes and deliberate wrong actions.   We do pay part of the price.   We do in fact, suffer and die.  We are not capable of paying the full price though of what we have done to this world and to ourselves, and continue to do everyday when wrong is done.  Having become unclean and imperfect, we cannot go to where the Father is.   We could not bear his presence.  Had we had the full weight of the price, we would be completely turned over to Satan because we had followed him.    However, out of love, there had to be a way made possible for us to return to our Heavenly Father.  Jesus Christ made that possible.   
The terms were, that we would have to turn away from the Adversary, and from our own carnal desires, and turn towards Him.  We would have to repent (and continue repenting throughout our life, seeking to perfect ourselves).   We would also have to have Faith in Him and become like Him, through the assistance of the Holy Spirit.   We would also have to forgive others, but still support righteous principles.   We would have to be peacemakers.  We would have to keep His commandments, and also share the gospel with others.

2.  Jesus Christ also had to die in order to descend below all evil, in order to spiritually fight it and overcome it.   If we could see it, we would realize that our sinful thoughts and actions have real effects which can't just be wished away.  He fought against spiritual evil.  Jesus has the Keys of Death and Hell and he started the process of setting us Free.    Had he not come when he did, our outcome would be different and there would've been no chance for us humans.   The weight of our spiritual and physical corruption would crush us.   Our planet and we all, would die eventually.  Jesus' atonement was eternal, because it corrected present, past, and future.  We were not strong enough to make a full atonement for ourselves and everyone we affect.   Jesus Christ was strong enough.   When he was done fighting Satan, he said, "It is finished" and he departed his tortured body and went to the Spirit realm.   There was a great earthquake then and the veil of the temple in Jerusalem was torn.

3.  Jesus Christ didn't come just to vanquish the Roman emperor as many of his people wanted him to do as Messiah.   Jesus came to vanquish the enemy of all enemies, Satan, who is the source of all corruption, suffering, blood, and horror on this earth.

4.  Jesus Christ came to prove his love.   He proved by giving his life like a lamb, over to torture and death by Satan as well as by the Roman soldiers, that he eternally loves us.   Everything that he did, qualifies him to be our world leader, Savior, Redeemer, and friend when he returns soon with power and with glory.  The marks and his loving spirit will prove it is the same person that we have heard about for over 2000 years.

Time for me to go dear daughter.   I hope you feel the appreciation of the promises that Jesus Christ gave to you when you were baptized in His Name.

Friday, March 11, 2016

45th day at the MTC - Origami dresses to deal with the stresses ;-)


The new missionaries ("Kohai") arrived, and they are all so awesome!  We have 7 sisters ("Shimai") and 4 Elders ("Choro").  We decorated the Sisters' doors with hearts and origami dresses that we folded. 

Decorating the doors may seem like a small gesture, but it is by small and simple means, sometimes, that we show love towards one another, in letting others know that they are wanted and appreciated.

Romans 12: 10   Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly [and sisterly] love; 

Love, Parker Shimai

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

March 4, 2016 -- 38th Day at the MTC


This week, more photos  ("motto shashin" in Japanese)
Sister Pearson ("Pearson Shimai") and I got these little origami hearts from the Japanese
Zone of missionaries. They are so sweet!! We put them behind our name tag, theeeere. My wrist looks weird, I don't know why!!

Our teacher was studying in a different classroom, and he looked out the
window and saw Elder Connover and Elder Hess studying. Hilarious!!!
Connover Chourou was taking a 6 minute power nap..
("Chourou" = Elder, an ecclesiastical title)

Saturday, February 27, 2016

February 27, 2016 Typical schedule at the MTC, and facilities


Front entrance of MTC with close up of landscape
Front Entrance of MTC

Aerial view of the MTC











Hello Friends,  

My typical schedule at the MTC is as follows (with some variation):

Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Saturday

6:30am   Arise

7:15 - 7:45am   Breakfast @ cafeteria

7:45am - 10:50am  Classroom instruction / teaching investigators

11am - 12noon     Exercise

12:30pm - 1:10pm   Lunch @ cafeteria

1:10pm - 5:10pm   Classroom instruction / teaching investigators

5:10pm - 5:50pm   Dinner @ cafeteria

5:50pm - 9:30pm   Classroom instruction / investigators,  personal and companion language study, and 5 minutes of planning.

9:30pm   Return to headquarters

10:15pm  Quiet time in dormitory

10:30pm  Lights out promptly, sleep

NOTE:  Every Monday morning we do a service project (so far we have only done cleaning of the MTC facilities).     Wednesday night is TRC.    Tuesday and Sunday night we have a Devotional, along with some choir time.

Comments about the exercise facilities and cafeteria:  (when Kirsten's mom was at the MTC back in the dinosaur age, there was only one cafeteria, and a gymnasium (basketball court) for exercise, which was dominated by the Elders.  So she usually went on a walk on the MTC grounds or socialized with other missionaries.)  Now there are three cafeterias and several sports areas:

Sister Kirsten Parker:  "There are two gyms/gymnasiums here at the MTC.  One has a cardio section with free weights, and workout machines (like a real gym--it's not huge, but still it's a decent size) and then in another building there's the sport gym.  We can play volleyball, four square, basketball, and then upstairs are mats and a staircase.  Then on the next floor up, is a running track and it has a few workout machines on the curves of the track.  Bike machines, elliptical, pull-up machine, other diverse machines.  There are also a lot of food choices in the cafeteria.   I don't know if I mentioned that.   Oh yes-- and dessert, lots of desserts are here." 

Friday is P-Day  (Preparation Day)

6:30am  Arise

7:15am - 7:45am   Breakfast.   We either get a sack lunch or go to the cafeteria

8amish - 11:55am   Go to the Provo Temple which is a couple big blocks away from the MTC

12 noon   Lunch @ cafeteria

1pm - 5pm   Laundry and emails

5:10pm    Dinner @ cafeteria

5:55pm  Personal study

7pm   Study with missionary Companion(s)

8pm   Language study

8:55pm - 9pm   Planning

10:15pm   Quiet time at dormitory

10:30pm  Lights out promptly, sleep

Sunday

6:30am   Arise

7:15am - 7:45am   Breakfast @ cafeteria

8am-10am   Study / interviews with Ecclesiastical leaders

11am  - 4pm   Church, temple walk (exercise/fresh air), lunch.
Church consists of Relief Society (Sisters/women's meeting) [Priesthood meeting for the Elders], Missionary district meeting, Sunday School, then Sacrament Meeting.

4:10pm  Dinner @ cafeteria

5:15pm   Choir

7pm   Devotional/Fireside

8:15pm  Movies.   They play different, multiple, MTC talks from which to go to, talks that are awesome and also Church movies, often provided in English & other languages.   There was the Joseph Smith movie in Japanese a couple of weeks ago.   We didn't watch it though, because we couldn't follow the Japanese quite well.

10:15pm  Quiet time at dormitory

10:30pm  Lights out promptly, sleep


The following descriptions are from http://mtc.byu.edu/themtc-virtualtour.htm   (this is now a broken link, so I have substituted some new pictures from the MTC's updated website, as of 3/9/2016, as well as other photos from search engine results for the MTC )



Cafeteria




There are three cafeterias at the MTC with a combined seating capacity of 1,200 missionaries, serving approximately 8,000 - 10,000 meals per day. Our goal is to provide quality, nutritious, and appealing food to keep the missionaries healthy and happy.




Classroom


Missionaries study a majority of the day. Their curriculum includes gospel and scripture study as well as language courses.

Devotional


Weekly devotionals and firesides are held in which General Authorities, Missionary Department leaders, the MTC presidency, and their wives instruct and motivate missionaries.

Gymnasium



Each missionary is scheduled for five hours of supervised exercise each week. The gymnasium also doubles as an auditorium that seats over 2,000 missionaries for devotionals and other events.   
There are also opportunities to use an exercise - workout area, and in good weather, to do outdoor sports.


Large Group Meeting


Occasionally it is appropriate for several districts of missionaries to meet together in one large group meeting. This provides interaction between several missionaries under the supervision of one teacher.

Communicating with their families is very supportive for the missionaries. Often handing over 4,000 letters and 500 packages a day, we provide accurate, prompt, friendly and professional service.



View of the famous wall-sized map

Missionaries like to point to where their mission destination is. *************************************

Note:  Our district leader (another young missionary, an "Elder") picks up our regular mail ("snail mail") 6 days/week from the Mailroom.   So yes, I can receive regular mail or a package on any day.   P-Day though, is reserved for writing letters and checking emails and responding to them.

Friday, February 26, 2016

February 26, 2016 - @ MTC, 31st day. Life is hard but miracles are possible

こんにちは皆さん。Hello everyone!

They always tell me at the MTC, obedience brings blessings. Exact obedience brings miracles. So I'm trying to be exactly obedient by being in bed exactly at 10:30 and every morning I wake up at 6:30am on the dot. I'm also trying the follow every single prompting of the spirit I have and repenting daily from mistakes I make. I know miracles will happen. 

Every Sunday and Tuesday we have devotionals. 

On Tuesday at our devotional, the choir teacher told a story that is true about a miracle. There was a man in the church who was a bishop, I think, whose 3-year old daughter got ran over by taxi (if I remember right), and she died. She had severe damage and her head was bashed in and people were going to set up a funeral for her. 

However, this man and his wife had faith that he could heal her through the power of the priesthood which he held.  He was going to do it with some of his close friends and give her a blessings, however, people from all around the neighborhood who heard came to watch. When he started the prayer, he couldn't speak.  The Spirit told him that there were unbelievers among the crowd of people and he would not be able to heal her.  He turned to the crowd and asked those people to leave and they did.  Then he still couldn't do it, so he went home and laid his daughter on her bed with a sheet over her.  The Spirit told him,"not yet." Everyone left except for his closest friends and family. He still couldn't heal her, his tongue was still tied.  His wife asked him, how much longer did they need to wait, and he told her, "Soon."  A few hours later, and then he said that he could bless her. They gave her a blessing that his daughter would be able to hear her parents voice and return to her body and that she would have all of her deep wounds completely healed and would be normal.  Then the parents fell asleep next to their daughter's bed as they waited.  In the middle of the night the daughter got up, without a single scratch on her body.  To this day, she has grown up and has had no brain trauma or any abnormal injuries. 

On Tuesday also, Sister Rosemary M. Wixom (general primary president) spoke to us about utilizing Jesus Christ gospel everyday. 

Everyday, we need to use each principle: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and endurance to the end:

The gospel is as important as the air that we breathe! We don't tuck away our baptism in a little box because we already were baptized and we don't keep the "Endurance" packed up in a box until we get old. Everyday we need to seek to be better and more like our Savior.  The more we seek to be obey God's laws, the more we can see God's hand in our lives.

In choir, we sang a classic primary song, "A Child's Prayer" for Sister Wixom along with some of the MTC presidency's grandchildren. I could feel the love Heavenly Father has for his children as these kids sang!  They are so sweet!! I know that God only wants what's best for his children. We are here pressing to become better people so we can receive our own glory through God's son, Jesus Christ. :)

"John 3: 16 ¶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life."

Every person is a child of God.  He sacrificed his first son so that the rest of the world might be saved.  Jesus experienced all manner of pains and afflictions, so we won't have to be over burdened, as long as we believe in his word.  He sacrificed his will to do God's will.  I know God wants all his children to return back to him after this life.  He sobs when we suffer. 

I testify that God loves all his children dearly, just as a parent would love their own child.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to return back to our Heavenly Father's arms.  To be welcomed home with open arms, "Well done, you have been faithful."

I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, āmen!

Parker Shimai

Artwork of  Jesus raising Jairus' daughter from death, Luke 8 or Mark 5

Kirsten's mother's note:   Kirsten's story about a child being raised from the dead sounds similar to a story (and may be the same) I heard about 10 years ago, about a spiritual Polynesian man (Iohani Wolfgramm), who raised his daughter from the dead.  (I think he also went by an anglicized form, "Johanni" or similar). He lived for years in Utah, fulfilling many callings including Patriarch. I was told that the daughter that he raised, later on as an adult wrote a book about her father.  I vaguely knew some Wolfgramms in San Diego, CA as a young person.

Here is a link to a blog which relates to the story:

http://visionsandtribulation.blogspot.com/2013/12/iohani-wolfgram-miraculous-healing-of.html

Here is a link to Brother Wolfgramm's online obituary (he died in 1997):
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/584854/Death--Iohani-Otto-Melila-Wolfgramm.html?pg=all

Her book:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10012150-iohani-wolfgramm
Iohani Wolfgramm:  Man of Faith and Vision, by Tisina Wolfgramm Gerber

Friday, February 19, 2016

2/19/2016 Sharing Japanese culture: Okay, a friend shared this, but it's awesome! Japan's answer to crop circles

Planting Rice in Japan...


Looks ordinary enough....... but watch as the rice grows!








Stunning crop art has sprung up across rice fields in Japan , but this is no alien creation. The designs have been cleverly PLANTED! Farmers creating the huge displays use no ink or dye. Instead, different color rice plants have been precisely and strategically arranged and grown in the paddy fields.  As summer progresses and the plants shoot up, the detailed artwork begins to emerge.


A Sengoku warrior on horseback has been created from hundreds of thousands of rice plants. The colors are created by using different varieties of rice plants, whose leaves grow in certain colors. This photo was taken in Inakadate, Japan. 








                                        
Closer to the image, the careful placement of the thousands of rice plants in the paddy fields can be seen. Rice-paddy art was started there in 1993 as a local revitalization project, an idea that grew from meetings of the village committees. The different varieties of rice plants grow alongside each other to create the masterpieces.

In the first nine years, the village office workers and local farmers grew a simple design of Mount Iwaki every year. But their ideas grew more complicated and attracted more attention. In 2005, agreements between landowners allowed the creation of enormous rice paddy art.  A year later, organizers used computers to precisely plot the planting of four differently coloured rice varieties that bring the images to life!
TRULY
LEGITIMATE WORKS OF ART


[Kirsten's Mom:  Sorry, I had to reload the pictures to get them to show up again.  Then some of them didn't upload in a straight, centered column.  I don't have more time to keep fussing with this to make it perfect.  :-( ]