Week 59 - August 31, 2014

Hello everyone! This week was a great week.

So! This week, I had a very peculiar experience. I was feeling that no matter where I go, I wasn't doing a good job sharing of the Atonement; letting others feel the love of God. I'm not sure why, but on Saturday, I broke. Completely and utterly broke. My mind was shot; my heart was down; my spirit wanted to lay down and give up. And this was at 12 o'clock. I struggled through the rest of the day to not give up. There were a few moments while teaching that I felt a bit better, but for the most part I was down for the count. That night, I was up for several hours because I almost threw up. Then, Sunday rolled around and I was completely empty.

A thought came to me. "Get a blessing." I thought, I can't. I need to be strong. I need to keep going. But I just... can't. My mission President's words came to my mind. "The hallmark of humility is that we cast our burdens on The Lord." I thought to myself, "I got a blessing 2 weeks ago! And in THAT time, all The Lord told me was to keep going. Do I need another?"

Then came the gentle thought, "Draw near unto me, and I will draw near unto you." With those words, I got a blessing. And then The Lord said something that filled me with such wonder. He told me that He loved me; that He was grateful for the fact that I serve with ALL my heart, mind, and strength. He promised me, again, that my family would be safe (I wasn't even worried), and that He was protecting them so that I could completely focus on the work for the time I am a missionary. And then He said I had touched the lives of many, and would continue to do so. I was grateful for His comforting words.

And then, that day, an investigator from Maebashi area (2-3 hour car drive away) came to see me, tell me his girlfriend left him, and asked me to pray for him. I met this man once. And for some reason, The Lord helped me touch the heart of this man. It meant so much to me that God has guided me through a change and has let me be His instrument. He is the greatest!

Love you all! Everyone should at least send me a picture of you so I can see how much you've changed!

Peace. V(^0^)V
--全長老

Week 58 - August 24, 2014

Hello! This week is a bit short on time, but some updates.
 
I am now in Matsudo. It's a little ridiculous. I went from a "ward" of
25 people to a ward of 250. The building (a picture is on my Facebook
page) is huge. 5 stories. Top floor is a gym.
 
 
Miracles:
we were streeting the other day and we ran into this guy that said, "I
am very confused. I'm looking for truth. I am hoping for change." So
we handed him a Book of Mormon and said, "This is the truth you are
looking for." He wants to meet us. But the biggest miracle was that
right before I met him, I was praying to God for a chance to love the
Japanese people more. THen as I saw him and testified to him, I felt
the Spirit powerfully tell me that Rentarou (that's his name) is my
brother and friend. The Lord answers our prayers VERY quickly
sometimes. And sometimes not.
 
Anyways, love you all! If you have any questions or requests as to
what you want to hear, shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do.
If not, このままで続けます！You're great!
 
愛、
--全長老

Week 57 - August 17, 2014

Hello Everyone!

Today, my mind is occupied by the topic of forgiveness and healing.
I'm not sure why this has come up, but I want to talk about it. Now, I
realize that most of my emails are way fun and upbeat. This is a much
more serious tone, so if you don't want to read that, go ahead and
skip to the bottom paragraphs with a "*" next to them. (b^ ^)b

As a missionary, I've learned to explain the Atonement in a very
simple way. All of the blessings we gain from Heavenly Father can be
likened unto a treasure chest with a tri-lock. The tumblers in this
lock represent physical death, spiritual death, and human
imperfections. We need the key of the Atonement which, according to
Alma 7, helps us overcome death because Christ took upon Himself
death; our sins because He took upon Himself the punishment of sin;
and our weaknesses (or infirmities) because He took upon Himself our
infirmities in order to learn how to succor (or run to) His people
(us).

Jesus Christ took upon Himself death so that He could loose the bands
of death that came upon us due to the 1st transgression. Thus, He has
forgiven all of mankind for the 1st transgression; He will redeem us
all from the fall; and He will give everyone the present of
immortality (a body that will not die).

Christ took upon Himself our imperfections because He loves us! He
wanted to know, according to the flesh, how He could run to us;
comfort us; heal us. So He went so far, no one could run to him; He
was alone and, eventually, left comfortless to battle for our
salvation; He took every excruciating pain, crippling disease, major
and minor discomfort, crushing sadness, outraged soul, and broken
heart so He could know by experience what we would need.

He also took upon Himself the punishment for our sins. I repeat: He
wants to forgive us so badly that He suffered every punishment for OUR
mistakes. He did nothing wrong. It is His desire to forgive.

Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father want us to progress and grow. The
mistakes, sins, and imperfections we have can be overcome by the
Atonement and help us to do so. But when we choose not to forgive
someone, we damage their faith in the everlasting love of Jesus
Christ. Without meaning too, someone who is unforgiven will
unconsciously believe that if they aren't forgiven by an IMperfect
being, how much more would a PERFECT being be filled with
disappointment and anger.

Again, I'm not sure why this weighs so heavily on my mind. Maybe it's
because our investigator has a hard time forgiving his dad. Maybe it
has to do with a dream I had. But please ask yourself this question:
"When someone hurts my feelings, what do I do to let them know it's ok
to ask for forgiveness?" And then remember that Jesus Christ suffered,
bled, was beaten, bruised, tortured, mocked, and humiliated for the
sole purpose of letting us know we can ask Him for forgiveness. If He
did that much just to give us a chance to ask for forgiveness, what
more could we do?

*Yeah, this is a letter with a heavier topic and a bit stronger
wording. But if you want really strong wording, you can read D&C 64!
(b^0^)o If you want it put in a nicer way, you can watch the mormon
message, "The Savior wants to forgive". It's good.

*Anyways, Shinji's baptismal date was pushed back to the 31st, but
that's ok! He's doing way good. We did a practice baptismal interview
and he's solid.

*Also, I'm transferring! I'm going to the area with the biggest chapel
in Japan. It's a castle. 5 stories. One floor is nothing but a
basketball court. I'm excited. Going from a ward with 25 members to
one with 250. ☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆ We'll see if Elder Chun can
survive going into the city again. The country has grown on me quite a
bit! I think I had to clean some fungus off of my shoes the other
day.... Aaaand you think I'm joking.

*Love you all!
--全長老