It has been raining all this week. I realized that I lost my rain
jacket when we moved apartments... Haha it has been fun! I am going to
miss the rain, so I am just enjoying it :)
If faith in God can move mountains, then faith in God can help
Yasuko's ears hear the gospel! These lessons have been amazing faith
builders for me! Her family was so concerned that she would have
reservations about the Law of Tithing... But we taught the lesson,
asked her if she would keep it, and she said Yes! We asked why, and
she said "When I am a member of the church, I will have to pay in
order to receive blessings." Wow, so cool! She gets it! She is on
track to be baptized next month. I have such a strong testimony of
faith bringing miracles! Heavenly Father wants to bless us, and we
just need faith!
On Friday, we had Elder Yamashita from the Asia North Area Presidency
come for Mission Tour. We woke up early and took a Shinkansen to
Fukuoka, then a subway to Fujisaki. I got to see a lot of my friends,
and of course the training was amazing. I came with 5 specific
questions, and I know that God answers prayers, because they all were
answered in the first part of the day! It was exactly what I needed.
We talked about our testimonies, being focused on our missionary
purpose, and teaching effectively. All of the training was wonderful,
and the Spirit was so strong. I am so thankful for the priesthood
leaders who receive revelation to direct the work.
Elder Yamashita told us "You don't study hard enough!" Then he gave us
an invitation to be more dedicated to studying our mission language. I
am repenting and upping my goals for language study! There is a lot I
can learn in three weeks!
I can't remember who shared this scripture, but I wrote this reference
in my notes.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And [ the Lord ] said unto me, My grace is
sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most
gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power
of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities,
in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for
Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
If my weaknesses or trials are supposed to help me come closer to
Christ, then I will gladly accept them. Everyone's mission (and life)
is hard... Mine is no different! I have been blessed with
soul-stretching and testimony building experiences that honestly
seemed like distresses at the time. As I look back, I can see the hand
of the Lord helping me, guiding me. Now, I can honestly say that I
love my mission! I couldn't honestly say that a few months ago. I am
thankful for the hard times because that is when I grew the most.
Trials = blessings!
Remember how a few weeks ago I said that the fact that I am going home
hasn't hit me yet? Well, this week it hit me. Hard. It started on
Wednesday when I received my DEATH LETTER... The letter that tells you
NOT to stress/slack off/lose focus. It was a huge wake up call and it
threw me off. Then we had the Taikai and so many people made a special
effort to say goodbye. It was... sad. This time next month I won't be
able to wear my name tag. I don't want this to end! But I know there
are good things ahead! So many mixed emotions. It is so hard to
describe. I still want to be here though. I am refocusing. I feel more
driven work even harder now that the end is in sight. I am determined
to see more miracles! 最後まで頑張ります！There are more people I need to find!
This week, I found a scripture that I really liked! Nephi is writing
about the things that make him happy. 2 Nephi 11: 5 "And also my soul
delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our
fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and
power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from
death."
The phrase "my soul delighteth" has stuck with me all week. Nephi says
it a lot throughout his writings. I thought, "What does my soul
delight in?"
My soul delights in the happy message of the gospel: True love never
ends, we can be with our families forever, we can be free of guilt, we
can start over, we don't have to worry when trials come because we
understand there is more than just this short life... THAT is the
happy message that my soul delights in sharing!
We have a crazy week coming up... Two Junkai's and I put together a
concert that some of the Elders are going to help with. I am so
excited! We are going to ask someone to record it, so hopefully we can
put it on facebook :)
Have an awesome week! Love ya! Read your scriptures!
サンダーズ姉妹より
Sanders Shimai
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