Genki?! (How are you?)
Happy 25th Anniversary Mom and Dad! Man...you guys have been married for a long time! Congratulations!
So, not to brag or anything, but today's e-mail is gonna be really good! It's been a long time since I've updated you on what's going on...and we've seen TONS of miracles in the last two weeks!
So let me pull out my planner and walk you through this step by step.
So the last time I e-mailed you was right after General conference. Our 16 year old investigator came to conference...and fell asleep, and then because of unfortunate events, we were unable to meet him the next day.
On Monday, I went back to Fujisaki where we did an exchange with the Fujisaki sisters. It was alot of fun getting to work with my old companion again, and also with my Doki(the sister who entered the field at the same time I did). It was like we had a girls night...but so much better. It's amazing the miracles we were able to see in such a short period of time. We gave out tons of Book of Mormons and were able to get multiple phone numbers! It really boosted our spirits and gave us the motivation to keep working hard! It's a shame that we were in the Fujisaki area...Kurume could have used the same miracle. But what I didn't know was that Heavenly Father had the Kurume miracle up his sleeve...we just didn't know about it yet.
So, we got back to Kurume on Wednesday and had an AWESOME Eikaiwa Easter party! Motegi-shimai(sister) and I bought a bunch of candy, put them in little plastic bags, cut out paper Easter eggs and stuck them on the bags, and hid them around the church. Who knew that grown adults would find so much pleasure in looking for hidden candy!! We were able to share the Easter message with our class and have a really good time together. Because there aren't any Elders in our area, I was a little unsure about how it would go...(elders can get everybody pumped up about little things...especially when it comes to Eikaiwa (English conversation class)) but it couldn't have gone better! It was tons of fun!
then on Saturday we did the same thing for the kids Eikaiwa(English conversation class)...which was even more fun! We all made bunny ears, colored Easter eggs, and did the Easter egg hunt. We combined with the primary so there were tons of kids there, members AND nonmembers. It was great!
But the story gets good AFTER that.
We had our second lesson with our 16 year old boy. We followed up with him, and found out that he was still reading the Book of Mormon and that he had prayed twice...so we committed him to pray every day. He was still waiting for his answer to whether the Joseph Smith Experience was real, and if the Book of Mormon was true. Well, we talked about the plan of Salvation, which he understood and accepted very well. We committed him to pray and to come to church the next day. His answer was "I can come in the afternoon...I'm getting my hair cut in the morning" to which our member joint promptly said, "Why don't you come to church in the morning and THEN get your hair cut?" He was like "uh... yeah...i guess I could do that...okay, I'll come to church tomorrow". He's really amazing!
We kept on talking, and asked him if his parents knew that he was meeting with us. One of the biggest obstacles with minors listening to the lessons is hantai (opposition) from their parents. Well, he pretty much told us that his parents are fine with it, that when he goes home after lessons his parents ask him, "So how was church? What did you learn?" Woah!!!! Cool parents! He even said his parents would tease him about how it was like he was going to become a christian or something...to which he replies, what if I am?....whoa...
Anyways, after alot of fun chit chat, we closed with a prayer and started to walk him to the front door. As we were walking he was looking at the back of the pamphlet which we had given him that explains the plan of salvation...then he asked the most random question. "What's baptism?"
?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?WHAT?! So, as we were standing in the doorway we talked about how baptism is an ordinance that we do to show our commitment to follow God, that when we are baptized we promise God that we will obey his commandments and always follow him. And we told him how when we are baptized Heavenly Father gives us the gift of the Holy Ghost. To which he said "すげえ(Amazing)".Then our amazing member joint explained " And the cool thing is, in this church you are baptized by someone who holds the proper authority from God...so the baptism actually counts" This lead to a tangent about the Priesthood and how all worthy male members of the church can hold this power. His response "すげえ(Amazing)"
That's when I told him how if he desired it he could receive these things too. "receive what?" I explained how if he desired, he could be baptized, receive the holy ghost and also the priesthood. His answer "受けたいです!!" (I desire it!)...."おれ、クリスチャンになる。(I want to be Christian)"
SOOOOOOOOO. We set a Baptismal date with him for the 30th of May.
Well, the good stuff doesn't end there. That Sunday night, his fellowshipper--Satoshi(15) invited him and us over for dinner with Satoshi's family. We had a blast eating, talking, doing chocolate fondu, and doing a First Nephi trivia game. (to which he was able to answer almost all the questions we came up with!) It was an INCREDIBLE Sunday.
The list of miracles with this boy goes on and on. I wish I could talk about each event in detail!!!! Every time we meet him or talk with him, I am filled with the spirit! This INCREDIBLE happiness fills my soul to a point where I think it will burst!
Because I've already taken too much time, I'll just give you a quick update on where he is right now.
He told his parents "おれ、受けるけん。"(I'm going to be baptized) He said he told his parents that if they thought it was a weird religion or something, that they should read the Book of Mormon. (so i guess his parents read it a little?)
Satoshi invited him to a seminary activity...so he went to go see the Fukuoka temple!
Even though he really likes sake and tobacco (why he's drinking and smoking at age 16?!?! I don't know) after our spirit filled lesson on the word of wisdom, he, on his own said " oh man...no, I can't do these things anymore, these are dame(No good)!" HE'S INCREDIBLE!!!
Right now we're thinking of moving up his baptismal date to the 16th. He's progressing tons faster than we thought. He even sort of has permission from his parents. If we can get their signature on the baptismal form that's all we need! Please pray that things will progress smoothly and that he can be baptized! He's truly a miracle!
The work is great! Couldn't be happier! This work is the Lord's, and the church is true!
Happy 25th Anniversary Mom and Dad! Man...you guys have been married for a long time! Congratulations!
So, not to brag or anything, but today's e-mail is gonna be really good! It's been a long time since I've updated you on what's going on...and we've seen TONS of miracles in the last two weeks!
So let me pull out my planner and walk you through this step by step.
So the last time I e-mailed you was right after General conference. Our 16 year old investigator came to conference...and fell asleep, and then because of unfortunate events, we were unable to meet him the next day.
On Monday, I went back to Fujisaki where we did an exchange with the Fujisaki sisters. It was alot of fun getting to work with my old companion again, and also with my Doki(the sister who entered the field at the same time I did). It was like we had a girls night...but so much better. It's amazing the miracles we were able to see in such a short period of time. We gave out tons of Book of Mormons and were able to get multiple phone numbers! It really boosted our spirits and gave us the motivation to keep working hard! It's a shame that we were in the Fujisaki area...Kurume could have used the same miracle. But what I didn't know was that Heavenly Father had the Kurume miracle up his sleeve...we just didn't know about it yet.
So, we got back to Kurume on Wednesday and had an AWESOME Eikaiwa Easter party! Motegi-shimai(sister) and I bought a bunch of candy, put them in little plastic bags, cut out paper Easter eggs and stuck them on the bags, and hid them around the church. Who knew that grown adults would find so much pleasure in looking for hidden candy!! We were able to share the Easter message with our class and have a really good time together. Because there aren't any Elders in our area, I was a little unsure about how it would go...(elders can get everybody pumped up about little things...especially when it comes to Eikaiwa (English conversation class)) but it couldn't have gone better! It was tons of fun!
then on Saturday we did the same thing for the kids Eikaiwa(English conversation class)...which was even more fun! We all made bunny ears, colored Easter eggs, and did the Easter egg hunt. We combined with the primary so there were tons of kids there, members AND nonmembers. It was great!
But the story gets good AFTER that.
We had our second lesson with our 16 year old boy. We followed up with him, and found out that he was still reading the Book of Mormon and that he had prayed twice...so we committed him to pray every day. He was still waiting for his answer to whether the Joseph Smith Experience was real, and if the Book of Mormon was true. Well, we talked about the plan of Salvation, which he understood and accepted very well. We committed him to pray and to come to church the next day. His answer was "I can come in the afternoon...I'm getting my hair cut in the morning" to which our member joint promptly said, "Why don't you come to church in the morning and THEN get your hair cut?" He was like "uh... yeah...i guess I could do that...okay, I'll come to church tomorrow". He's really amazing!
We kept on talking, and asked him if his parents knew that he was meeting with us. One of the biggest obstacles with minors listening to the lessons is hantai (opposition) from their parents. Well, he pretty much told us that his parents are fine with it, that when he goes home after lessons his parents ask him, "So how was church? What did you learn?" Woah!!!! Cool parents! He even said his parents would tease him about how it was like he was going to become a christian or something...to which he replies, what if I am?....whoa...
Anyways, after alot of fun chit chat, we closed with a prayer and started to walk him to the front door. As we were walking he was looking at the back of the pamphlet which we had given him that explains the plan of salvation...then he asked the most random question. "What's baptism?"
?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?WHAT?! So, as we were standing in the doorway we talked about how baptism is an ordinance that we do to show our commitment to follow God, that when we are baptized we promise God that we will obey his commandments and always follow him. And we told him how when we are baptized Heavenly Father gives us the gift of the Holy Ghost. To which he said "すげえ(Amazing)".Then our amazing member joint explained " And the cool thing is, in this church you are baptized by someone who holds the proper authority from God...so the baptism actually counts" This lead to a tangent about the Priesthood and how all worthy male members of the church can hold this power. His response "すげえ(Amazing)"
That's when I told him how if he desired it he could receive these things too. "receive what?" I explained how if he desired, he could be baptized, receive the holy ghost and also the priesthood. His answer "受けたいです!!" (I desire it!)...."おれ、クリスチャンになる。(I want to be Christian)"
SOOOOOOOOO. We set a Baptismal date with him for the 30th of May.
Well, the good stuff doesn't end there. That Sunday night, his fellowshipper--Satoshi(15) invited him and us over for dinner with Satoshi's family. We had a blast eating, talking, doing chocolate fondu, and doing a First Nephi trivia game. (to which he was able to answer almost all the questions we came up with!) It was an INCREDIBLE Sunday.
The list of miracles with this boy goes on and on. I wish I could talk about each event in detail!!!! Every time we meet him or talk with him, I am filled with the spirit! This INCREDIBLE happiness fills my soul to a point where I think it will burst!
Because I've already taken too much time, I'll just give you a quick update on where he is right now.
He told his parents "おれ、受けるけん。"(I'm going to be baptized) He said he told his parents that if they thought it was a weird religion or something, that they should read the Book of Mormon. (so i guess his parents read it a little?)
Satoshi invited him to a seminary activity...so he went to go see the Fukuoka temple!
Even though he really likes sake and tobacco (why he's drinking and smoking at age 16?!?! I don't know) after our spirit filled lesson on the word of wisdom, he, on his own said " oh man...no, I can't do these things anymore, these are dame(No good)!" HE'S INCREDIBLE!!!
Right now we're thinking of moving up his baptismal date to the 16th. He's progressing tons faster than we thought. He even sort of has permission from his parents. If we can get their signature on the baptismal form that's all we need! Please pray that things will progress smoothly and that he can be baptized! He's truly a miracle!
The work is great! Couldn't be happier! This work is the Lord's, and the church is true!
