03 December 2012::

Thanks so much for the wonderful email. I love them so much. It sounds like everything is doing good. From the newsletter, it seems you have found some blessings in the flood, a new woodfloor. I am always with the way that the Lord works. Ill tell you about that later. Your question, so here in Japan, alot of stores play christmas music, have the decorations and some poepel even put lights up. I went and bought some lights last tuesday and put them in our apartment. But as for the gifts and stuff, they really dont do that. Members do but normal poeple not really. I mean they still have work on Christmas day too. But the interesting thing is this. People make reservations at KFC to get a box of chicken and a Christmas Cake. They give eachother Christmas cakes. I dont know where that comes from but it is pretty funny. SO people give cakes and stuff. Some things are pretty funny over here. I like so of them alot.

 

So my week was just crazy. I havent had a week like this in like 6 weeks. It was so much fun. Besides that it rained everyday and it was freezing or below freezing some days.Monday after Pday we were coming home and right in front of our apartmet there was a couple that was walking and my comp heard them spekaing chinese and said "They are chinese". Well i immediatley had a feeling to talk to them. So we turned around and chased them down. Turns out to be they are Chinese but they are also christian and have been married for 1 year. We asked which church tehy go to and they said none, They were looking for one and every sunday they go to a different one to see which one is the best. Well we taught them and it was amazing. The said every thursday they meet with other chinese people who dont have a church but love christ, and read the bible. So taht was a huge miracle. They cant meet until christmas time but we wont forget about them. They are prepared. But that was suepr cool.  On wednesday we got a call from our Golden gator, Hiro. He told us that he wanted to pray. SO we went with him to the church and he went to the pulpit, knelt down and said a prayer, outloud. I was wondering if he knew that he could pray anywhere so after he was done praying i asked him. He told me he knew that, but he felt a special spirit in the church and he really wanted to pray there. Well we did a lesson on prayer and read from Alma 36. He said that his favortie verse was the last one which talks about why god gives commandments. He is amazing. Yesterday was testimony meeting and he bore his testimony. A gator. haha. how rad is that? He just talked about how he is going to be baptized and cant wait to be brother and sisters with all the members. It was way cool. He does have a problem thought. Just like all Japanese poepel, he has a HUGE problem with the Word of Wisdom. We are going to teach him that tonight. He loves commandements so hopefully he will commit to it. Please pray for it. He is such a prepared person from God and a Huge miracle. He jsut called and we are going out to eat at 6:30 but he is at the restraunt waiting for us right now. He is just waiting til 6:30. He is so cool.

 

later on Wednesday was pretty fun too. During study i was really wondering what God wanted me to say to people when finding. We havent found somebody through finding efforts in over 6 weeks. So i got a feeling to study about Baptism. It was raingin way hard and nobody was wanting to talk with us. But we were trying. We called out to this one man and he stopped. We started talking and he was 84 years old and on his way to the bath house. Well what else is like a bath? You got it! BAPTISM! I testified aobut baptism and taught him right there. Well to my suprise the old man agreed to meet us agian and come to the church. Unfortuanely we never saw him again. but how cool is that? I thought it was AWESOME!!!

 

Oh here is another funny story. So on thursday we were passing out fliers and i was watching my companion and he was this little girl. Well my thoughts were the girl was a high skool student. SHe was movin here leg and doing all sorts of stuff that made me think she was a bit turned on. Then she touched his face so iwent over. It turned out to be a 55 yr old lady who worked at a massage/ aroma clinic. I came and she started talking with me. Then she started grabbing my arma nd getting closer and closer to me. Then she linked our arms together. It was suepr wierd. Then out of the blue she jsut said something smelled really good and sniffed me. Ran her nose from my belly to my chest. Then did it again. Then did it to my companion who was wearing cologne. It was super funny and way werid because everyone was watching. But after we broke away we were able to meet a black guy from Ghana that wanted to come to Church. God works in mysterious ways.

 

So saturday is the best ever. My first gator ever, Sugiyama, got married!!!! I was able to go to his wedding in Shibuya. It was so cool to see and be apart of. It made up for missing Kamas's wedding. But how cool is that? I have had some way cool expirences as a missionary that most dont get. On the way home we get a phone call from some africans referred by a previous gator. They said the previous gator to "Ask the missionaries, they can help". Funny uh?  A really long story short, he said they got kicked out of there house and stayed the night in a alley on Friday night and needed a warm place. So we met the 2 africans from Ghana and let them sit in the church. Longer story short, they came to Japan 3 motnhs ago, got kicked out of there house, have no job, and no food. They stayed the night in a alley in below freezing weather. We talked to them for like 6 hours on Saturday. I told them as a missionary i cant give them money or let them stay they night, but we can help them. There is no way that i am going to kick people out into freezing cold weather when i know i can help them. We called our president and the bishop. Bishop called teh presiding authoriy here in Japna nad he said get them a hotel until Tuesday, thats when they have a interview for something. SO thats what we did. But while we were talking to them, they were touched. They are Africans. Christiaan can testify that they are way religious poeple. Well we taught them about the Chruch and aboutt who we are and they said that they wanted to come to our church. They have seen the Church in Ghana but never did anyting about it. But they came to church yesterday and really enjoied and now they are making plans on being baptized on 30 December of this year. This is why i was saying that God works in mysterious ways. Here we have to guys that needed to come to Japan, loose everything, become homeless to find the Gospel of Christ. Man God works in wierd ways sometimes but that is how people are going to be humbled to hear the word. It is like the guy i baptized in Sendai. It is way sad but by his wife passing away, he was humbled enough to hear the missionaries. God knows what he is doing. I am glad that he is on my side. But ya. It was a way crazy and super MIRACULOUS week this past week. I have been so blessed on my mission. I am forever in gratitude. Thanks be to my God forever.

 

Yup. That was my week in a wrap up. oh i ran 3.5 miles or more in under 21 minutes. The fastest i have ever done. Pretty awesome. Christmas is coming up fast and i cant believe how fast tiem is going. I have less thna 10 weeks left. Yesterday i was thinking to myself and i am so grateful that i came on a mission. I have had a really interesting one i think. When i tell most people that when i first came to Japan, i hated the people, i hated the country, and i hated missionary work, almost everyone of them dont believe me. I have a had a huge change in the past 1.5 years and like i said befroe, i will always be in debt for it. I am so grateful to be here doing what i am today. It makes me happy now and when i think aobut hte future too. I love Japan. I love teh poeple here. I am going to be really sad when i have to leave. I love the Gospel nd how it changes poeple for the better. I love my family. Here in Japan nad on the other side of the world. haha. I love God and his son Jesus Christ. I am grateful that i could be his servant.

 

"A servant of God, yeah thats what ill be

and when i come home, he'll be so proud of me.

Ill carry his plan to the grave if i must,

its a plan that i love, its a plan that i trust."

 

Have a great week. I am excited to hear form you next week and to get your package in the upcoming weeks. I love you.