Date: November 25, 2015 7:18:40 PM MST
Subject: Transfer 10 Week 3
Transfer 10 Week 3
Happy Thanksgiving!
This was a week of miracles! We have been focusing a lot on faith. Our
mission President came around and told us each companionship needed
two baptismal dates by Thanksgiving, and a baptism by Christmas. It
was a shock to me at first, but having this big goal has changed the
way I think about goals and having faith. We didn't have any
investigators (we had to drop all of our current investigators) and we
started from scratch. We decided every prayer we said would include
asking for Heavenly Father's help to meet this goal. In literally a
week, Ono San agreed to be baptized on December 19th. Miracle! But he
was our only investigator, and we needed another baptismal date. We
asked EVERYONE... We invited people in the first contact on the
street. We felt so strongly that since we had faith and were working
so hard, we would be blessed to see this happen. On Sunday, we find
our next miracle. Or, I guess I should say, miracles! We walked around
a building to a busier street and saw two young girls walking towards
us. We stopped and talked to them, and taught them how to pray. They
were still interested, so we extended a baptismal invite. They
immediately said yes! Then we asked if they could meet with us, and
they said they could meet the next day! We waited and waited... And it
was starting to look like they weren't coming, but we had faith and
prayed one more time! In the middle of our prayer, the phone rang and
it was them! They had just gotten lost! We run and find them, and
teach them a lesson. The spirit was so strong. They accepted to be
baptized on March 12th! That is so soon! They are our miracles! You
just gotta have faith!
I heard a quote this week that I just loved. A lot of things in my
life right now look like they are falling apart... But I have been
trying really hard to remain positive and rely on God. I wanted to
share this:
"Sometimes when things look like they are falling apart, they are
actually falling together."
God really does love us and He is in the details of our lives. When we
put our trust in God and do what He knows is best for us, we will have
so much more peace and happiness. If things aren't working out, don't
worry! It is just an opportunity to come closer to God and let things
fall exactly into the right place!
I also read Hold on Thy Way by Elder Aoyagi. I loved his talk. Not
just because he is Japanese, but because his message really applied to
my life right now.
I used to think I just had to endure to the end of my mission. But God
created us to have joy! I have been making an effort to enjoy my
mission and it has made all the difference. I cannot tell you how much
I have changed by changing my thinking. We need to have a positive
mental attitude. We will reach whatever expectations we have for
ourselves. If we expect to have a hard life and not have much success,
you probably won't. That is how I felt coming to Japan. Everyone told
me I would be lucky to see one baptism, IF that happened. I honestly
believed that. But I repented and changed my thinking. You can be
successful in any mission. There are no such things as hard areas or
no baptisms. You have to ask yourself "Where is my faith?" In the past
three weeks, Anderson Shimai and I have seen amazing miracles. We are
on fire! Ube has completely changed. And it is really nothing we did
differently. We just changed how we thought, went to work, and let the
Lord do what He does. The work is moving forward. In one week, we went
from having no investigators to having THREEwith baptismal dates. And
we are just going to keep working! Missions can be so fun! I really
really love being a missionary and participating in the work of
Salvation.
President Henry B. Eyring stated: "The test a loving God has set
before us is not to see if we can endure difficulty. It is to see if
we can endure it well. We pass the test by showing that we remembered
Him and the commandments He gave us."
Let go and let God. He is the one giving us these magnificent
blessings. Aren't we so blessed?
Because I hit my 15 month mark this week and today is Thanksgiving in
America, here is a list of the 15 things I am thankful for:
1. Peanut butter
2. My companion, Sister Anderson
3. Hot soup on a cold day
4. My health
5. The man who offered to buy us juice last night
6. Of course, my awesome family!
7. Beautiful sunsets
8. Receiving letters
9. Cute kids who say "Herro!" to me
10. Hugs
11. Finding a scripture that touches your heart
12. Naps
13. Making strangers smile
14. My Savior, knowing I can change through the Atonement
15. My Heavenly Father, knowing He loves me
I love you all! Hope you are getting excited for Christmas! Have a
happy day and eat some pie for me!
サンダーズ姉妹より
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