I'll start off by saying that through a lot of hard work, and
God's
help, Nagumo San got baptized yesterday! For me, it has been one
of
the biggest testimony builders. We met Nagumo San for the first
time
at our ward Christmas party (one of my first days in Japan), and
over
this past month have taught her all the lessons and have
prepared her
enough so that she could relieve baptism. I saw this process
from
start to finish, and it was crazy! Let me just say that with
faith in
the Lord, anything is possible. Nagumo climbed over mountains
because
of her faith, and I realized that anything is possible if he
have the
desire to put forth the effort and the faith to align our will
with
His.
So something funny that happened this week was I went on my
first
double date in Japan! Haha, but instead of a girl, I had to
bring
Baldwin... Hahaha, he made for a decent date though! So
backstory. One of our investigators who we teach English (Naoki)
invited us to go to an all you can eat YakiNiku restaurant.
Basically,
you can order a crap ton of meat and you cook it right in front
of
you. You can eat as much as you can within an hour and a half
time
limit. You can see why missionaries love these places. But yeah,
Naoki
invited us to go to a way expensive restaurant with his
girlfriend!
Haha, but she wasn't really his girlfriend... Haha, it was odd.
But
she was way cool, and actually might become one of our
investigators!
We talked a lot during dinner (we didn't really like that
because we
were trying to eat as much as possible...) and then after we
went back
to the church and talked about the gospel. I know, great date
right?!
I was trying to help Naoki out but he is SOOO awkward... It was
rough.
Hahaha she was really interested in the gospel! She grew up in
Canada,
and speaks way good English. She also has learned a lot about
Christianity there too. We gave her some pamphlets and invited
her to
read them. She told us that she wants to go play basketball and
get
ramen sometime, so we were way stoked! Also, she wanted to go
and take
us to see the Snow Monkeys! Yeah, they are the monkeys that go
and
chill in hot springs all winter. They are in my area, but hey
are
hecka far away! She said she has been wanting to go, and she had
a big
group of Chinese friends that were gonna go. She invited us, but
it
was on Sunday, so we couldn't... I know. It killed me inside to
turn
that one down... Chinese people that speak English. Snow
monkeys.
Potential investigators. Sounds awesome, huh?! But following the
rules
is more important.
We met with some of the members in our branch this week, and it
was
kind of difficult. Our branch has been having some difficulties
lately, and it has made it especially hard for us missionaries,
as we
assume all of the responsibilities that the branch shirks off.
For
instance, I met our ward mission leader for the first time
yesterday
at the baptism of Nagumo San. In our branch, a lot of the
families
have personal resentments to other families, and it feels like a
silent war is going on. No one wants to fulfill their
responsibilities, and so nothing really gets done. We are trying
to
get the branch re-energized for the gospel, because right now, a
lot
of them are on the brink of becoming less active. And we have a
lot of
less actives, speaking of that. Coming into the mission, I
didn't
expect to be focusing a large portion of our time trying to fix
problems in the ward. But in my mind, these members need our
help just
as much as our investigators do, and so I will do all that I can
to
invite them to come unto Christ.
The work is moving along, and we are beginning to see the fruits
of
our efforts. I am so glad I am here, and am so grateful for all
of
you. Thanks so much for everything! Sorry this letter isn't
super
long!
Love,
Luke/パシー長老
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