Monday, January 30, 2017

Wow, the work is fun!

January 30, 2017

Hello Loved Ones! 
How are you doing this week? Hope that the new year is starting off on a good foot and everyone is happy and recognizing those blessings we have everyday. 
So this week, wow what a good week! We are so busy all the time it's not even funny but it makes the days so much fun and just full of the spirit. We are both so exhausted everyday but wow it's a good exhausted.  Before I talk about investigators, I need to tell you about the world wide devotional we has for missionaries. It was so crazy and shocking. It was a good spiritual meeting but also they changed the schedule of missionaries and the key indicators. We now have 4 only, Baptized, Baptismal Date, Church, and new investigators. Way more pressure with numbers now. Getting zeros just got a whole lot easier. (Yeah I get it for a week and a half) but anyway it's very interesting and we aren't quite sure how to use it to its fullest potential yet. But we used to study 3 hours in the morning and plan at night. Well now we plan our day that morning, do personal study and we are out by 10:00. Then it is our choice during the day when we put in our companionship study and language. Way weird. And we now do not study on preparation day besides personal for 30 minutes. Yeah it's way weird and it's sad it's my last week and a half but I think it'll have lots of good things to the work. And they talked a lot about how they want it to help us for after the mission too because we don't have set aside those 3 hours in the morning so we need to learn to use our agency and plan our study for when we are home too which I love. I'm excited to try it this week and hear from my companions how it has affected their work. Well Tuesday we were able to meet with Murata San. A 85 year old grandma who comes to Eikawa and is a Christian and told one of our members two Sundays ago when she randomly came to church that she wanted to listen to us again because she did before but she wouldn't do the commitments. So we met with her two weeks ago and it was kind of a hard lesson because she doesn't understand why she needs to baptized again if she was in another Christ church. So we explained the priesthood as much as we could but she didn't accept it. So this Tuesday we had Minamimoto Shimai come and help us out. We taught the whole restoration and about the priesthood and it was good but we just aren't exactly sure what to do because she still tells us she doesn't understand so we are studying and trying to do all we can to help her understand and I think next week we are having a dinner at Minamimoto Shimai's house and having a lesson as well. But it has been a hard one to teach. We also had exchanges this week. We went to the sisters area this time and actually had all the sisters of the zone come to that area and just find all day because they need new investigators really bad. But we saw less of miracles. My day was a little long and different because we met with one of their Spanish speaking investigators that is in the area next door because Lockett Shimai studied Spanish for 7 years so she helps teach her. I wish I could say I remember my Spanish and helped but I literally forgot it all and listened and felt the spirit. But it was cool to see her be in her comfort zone because she is still a new missionary and struggling with Japanese. But felt like I was in Bry's mission haha fun new experience for sure. 
We got to meet with Kyoko San on Wednesday and we had Oogaki Shimai come. It was a way good lesson. We were able to teach the restoration again and just really focus on the importance of the Book of Mormon and how it is a big difference in our church compared to others. She thought the experience and courage Joseph Smith had was amazing and Oogaki Shimai really shared a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. It went well and we will meet her again this week as well.  Sunday I got the fun opportunity for the first time here in Kawachinagano to speak in church. They asked me to speak on missionary work, of course I would love to do that.  So I decided to speak on the role of the spirit in missionary work. It went fine I think.. haha I felt the spirit as I talked and testified of the things which I've learned here and how much the spirit has affected my work.  And for my favorite thing to talk about right now, Kim and her growth. Her heart is so open now and willing to listen and study well. We felt she needed the Plan of Salvation. So we planned to teach it very simply knowing she will over think things. Well as we simply teach Adam and Eve and then just try and move on she asks why we needed a fall, why couldn't we just have been like we were in the spirit world with god and we told her the simple answer of we needed to obtain a body to learn and grow but she just wants an exact clear answer. So next time we met we just told her we don't know all things and that is where the faith will have to come in. And she actually accepted it well and even talked more about baptism and how she wanted to go to the celestial kingdom. We are hoping she'll accept the date we give her this next lesson and we can help her prepare faster to receive baptism. I just love her so much and she means so much to me. She cries sometimes because I'm going home and so then we both end up crying together. I'm so grateful to be a part of her growth experience. She'll get there soon.  Last is my thought of the week. It's a quote from the missionary devotional we watched that I just loved.  "Living the gospel isn't easy but understanding the gospel is."  -Elder Anderson  I just loved that, it's not easy in this big world to live the standards we have but learning and understand it is which then makes living it easier. I know that sometimes we feel we don't understand, well at least I do but it is simple. God doesn't want it to be a mystery or make it hard. He loves us and always remember it's simple to understand and I promise you it'll get easier to live. The world is crazy now so really stay close to the simplicity of the gospel. I know it's true and I love it with all my heart. Study it simply this week. It's true and the best thing ever. Love you and miss you all! Until next week. #RELY #SIMPLE
スミス姉妹 Smith Shimai
"Exchanges"

"Love these Sisters"

"We blitzed an area in our zone with all the sisters in the zone"

"Dinner"

"Last district meeting"

"Feels kind of weird"

"We went shopping in one of the biggest places in Japan called Namba"

"More shopping pictures"

"Having lunch"

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