So many tears.

Well. The last pday is upon us. Just to clarify early on, no. No, I am not okay.

This past week was crazy busy. So many people were so generous and wanted to meet us for meals and such before we left so we were running around like mad women. But it was so good to get to say goodbye to so many people and spend some time with them one last time.

On Friday and Saturday we got to go help at the missions international Christmas open house and it was so fun! We got to sing and carol and talk to people about Christmas. I was happy. Real happy. I also got to see some members from Kichijoji and Hachioji so I was just grinning like a fool. But saying final goodbyes was NOT fun. Didn’t enjoy that. We were also super late for curfew because it took us much longer to get back to Yamate than we had expected. But it’s fine. We repented.

On Saturday we went back to Kichijoji to sing some more and help explain nativities to people who came. And I had seen Michiko Shimai the day before and she said she’d come back on Saturday to say final goodbyes but she thought I had left before she got to see me on Saturday so she got sooo sad. So I went and found her and she just burst into tears. My heart. I love Michiko Shimai so much. She just makes me so happy and makes me feel like I actually did do something good on my mission. I got to help her grow in the gospel and understand God and His love for her a little bit more. But saying goodbye to her was so much harder than I expected it to be. I’m not going to lie, saying goodbye to everyone here was SO much harder than saying goodbye to go on my mission.

We had the Yamate Ward Christmas party and it was way good! We had 5 eikaiwa students come and an investigator and we were like “YAAAAAS”. It was a good time. There was also a missionary who went home last Christmas but decided to come back and say hi to everyone so that was cool to see him since he was my zone leader before he went home. He’s also going to Utah State so he was like “see ya in Logan” and I was like well that’s odd and I don’t like it. Yeah. But anywho, the party was good!

Everything is coming to an end. I am not handling it well. I don’t think it’s a secret that I did NOT want to go to Japan. At all. But I am now so glad I followed God’s will for me and came. This tiny island country has a piece of my heart now and I can’t ever imagine serving anywhere but here. Everything is totally opposite of the States and our culture but it’s somehow become home. The people I have met here and the places I have been will always be special to me. I know first hand that the work in Japan can be real hard but I also know first hand that there can be so many miracles in this blessed land. I may not be a part of it as a full time missionary anymore come tomorrow evening but I know the work will move forward and the people of Japan will continue to let the gospel into their hearts and feel of His love for them.

I love you all!

Stay safe. Stay classy. Stay sassy.
See ya soon.

愛しています💕
--フィッシュバーン姉妹🐟🔥

Yamate District Christmas card coming your way soon.
Also, the elders clearly don’t understand the term “funny picture”🤦🏻‍♀️

Yamate District Christmas card coming your way soon.

Yamate Ward killing it with the Christmas party group picture✌🏻 the giant white boy in the back
is the returned missionary who came back, Elder (Brother?) Spackman.

My beloved Yamauchi Shimai!! She went to the open house and I got to see her!

I can’t go home.

Why? Because the number of sister missionaries in the Tokyo South Mission is getting SOOO small and I can’t let that happen. I can’t let them close Yamate when Taylor Shimai and I go home. Nope. Sorry, fam. 

Anywho, this past week was just kind of a blur. Between getting everything ready for Ikeda Shimai to transfer and then starting the new transfer, things have been pretty busy. 

And saying goodbye to Ikeda Shimai was no fun. Just so y’all know. I miss her

Okay. Getting the “returning missionaries training” and then going back and being a normal missionary is weird and I’m not a fan. It was way good but it just feels so.. off.. they gave us “life training” and talked about sooo much good stuff and I was like “Yeah! I’m gonna do all this! In 3 weeks.. when I actually go home..” yup. President Warnick also did a training and it was super good. There were only five of us there; me, Taylor Shimai, Beck Shimai, Tanner Shimai, and Hirata Shimai. So it was super personal and way cool. After we had dinner at the mission home and ate some delicious sukiyaki. You use raw eggs. Google it. So good. Then we had a testimony meeting and everyone was crying and I just love those sisters and President and Sister Warnick and wow. Emotions. Then Taylor Shimai and got on a train around 9:15pm and got back to our apartment at 11:00pm. Let’s just say we were pooped

Fun fact: Ikeda Shimai told me I’m an egg. I’m white on the outside but yellow on the inside. I have become Nihonjin. And I am like really proud of myself but then I’m like “This was the exact thing I didn’t want to happen before coming to Japan..” conflicting emotions are going on right now. 

Have y’all seen the new #LIGHTtheWORLD video? Please watch it. Also, there’s a video and an act of service for each day up until Christmas and y’all should do that too! Taylor Shimai and I have been doing it and have even planned out how we can do something for each day and included the Elders in some of them. It’s such a cool thing to see everyone working together to #LIGHTtheWORLD this Christmas season! Let me know how you’ve done it or will do it! And post it on Facebook! Let everyone see! I mean, we celebrate Christmas because of Christ so what better way to celebrate than to try and do as He did? That’s just my two cents.

Also, I forgot to write down scriptures for today.. classic me. So please do the #LIGHTtheWORLD! And read the Book of Mormon on your own I finished it again yesterday and all I can say is that it truly is another testament of our Savior and IT IS TRUE. Please read

Well. That’s it for now, I think..

Stay safe. Stay classy. Stay sassy.

Love you!

愛しています

--フィッシュバーン姉妹

Last district meeting of the transfer:(

Our cute eikaiwa students💕

Transfer day! And with that, transfer 12 has begun..😱

Only in Japan would someone find a watch in a parking lot,
put it in a bag, tape it to a vending machine, and it will still be there the next day.
This country.. it’s too safe, y’all.