Cherry Blossoms, Chinese and Changes

So last week we received our transfer calls and.... I'M STILL IN NAGASAKI! Haha I can't even believe it. I really thought that I was leaving after 7 months, but I guess I'll stay in my favorite city in Japan for a little longer. I have no complaints :) All of us sisters stayed the same, so I'm still companions with my tiny Asian friend, and I still live with my daughter Cook Shimai and her adopted aunt Lane Shimai. However, Elder Harvey and Elder Coelho got transfered! Elder Harvey and I came to Nagasaki on the same bus together 7 months ago and have watched this area change and grow together this whole time! It was sad to see him go because now I have officially been in Nagasaki the longest. By far. And Elder Coelho, the genius Brazilian went on to be an Assistant to the President! It's a little bit weird to stay in one area for so long and watch so many people come and go. However, we received another Japanese Elder who speaks fluent English and is going to be a doctor someday, his name is Oshima Seigi which means Big Island Justice. I love Japanese names. And then Nagasaki recieved another green bean! His name is Elder Chung and he was born in Hong Kong and lived there until he was 10 then moved to Australia. So he is Chinese, but speaks fluent English with an Australian accent. It throws me off EVERY time he talks. But the lucky duck knows fluent Chinese as well, which means that he understands pretty much all of the written Japanese language even though he can't speak it yet. (For those of you that don't know, all of the Japanese characters are actually borrowed from Chinese. They have basically the same meanings, but you say them completely differently). I'm excited for this next transfer to work with all of the Nagasaki missionaries! This past Sunday we all sang the EFY Medley as missionaries because we had a special church leader Tashiro Choro come and give us a fireside after sacrament meeting. We were able to have 2 of our investigators attend and it was super good because he just talked really simply about the Book of Mormon and about Prayer and how they are truly a gift to bless us and also about how the Book of Mormon was written for US and for THIS time. Japan right now is absolutely beautiful. All of the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom and I have to exert all of my self control to not take 40 pictures every time we step outside. Spring is my favorite time of year because it just feels so fresh and makes me wants to start changing things in my life to be better. Anyway, I love Japan. I love the cherry blossoms, and I love being a missionary. Thank you everyone for the love and support! Have a wonderful Spring! Wells Shimai