Hello. It has been an exciting week I suppose. I wasn't able to get anything done this week and we only got to meet two investigators. We spent a lot of time a 40 minute train ride away in the zone leaders area. We had lots to do with the members of the ward. Which was really nice. We don't get to do much member work in Saijo. There are only 4 active members. And next month one is moving back to China for good. So we just can't get it done. But we have decided to go to the other area to visit the members of our ward maybe once a week. We did last week and it was very rewarding. We recieved a lot of food. :) But not only that it was good for us and for them to visit. We all felt good after and it was just good. And we have kind of got them a little more involved in our dendo in Saijo even though they live so far away. So it will be good for all of us. I love those members. And it seemed like they don't get visited very much. I think maybe the zone leaders are really busy and don't get to visit members as much as they like. So we will pick up some of the slack there.
We met with G_____ this week. And it was awesome. G_____ is so wonderful. We talked about a lot of his concerns. He is just so worried about his faith. He really wants to know this is right and he wants to know when he will know. So we helped him out. And we talked about baptism with him. And going to church. And we set a baptismal date with him. August 17, 2013. And he said he really wants to go to church so he is talking to his boss to get the time off. He is just so awesome. And I feel like this is the most legit baptismal date I have had since Tsuboi. And after that lesson he just seemed so relieved like he knew where he was going and what we were going to do to help him and stuff. It was just good. G_____ is so amazing. I love him so much. And he has been teaching me a little Chinese. I can now start and end my prayers in Chinese.
Also we had G_____'s lesson outside a little cafe thing at Hiroshima University. And a few tables away there were a few Americans. And they were talking and laughing loudly. And it was quite disgusting. They were just gross people. Luckily they got quiet for the more important parts of the lesson. But it was just weird. I haven't heard language like that for a very long time. Or such loud people. Japanese people are so quiet and considerate. And anyone I speak to in English doesn't know bad English or they are missionaries. And if Japanese people do say bad things then I usually don't understand it. So it was a big surprise to me. Very weird. I'm glad G_____'s English isn't very good. There is no way he would have understood so his ability to feel the Spirit seemed uninterrupted.
I watched that big mission meeting thing yesterday where they talked about the internet and stuff. Elder Perry said that we would be informed when it was time for our mission and specific areas to start doing such things so for the time being I am going to sit and wait. We will see. I think its a great idea. We need to get more creative with our ways of dendo. I hope to see success from such dendo. And its good dendo because members can do it too. Members really need to get on the ball. The most successful dendo is when members help the missionaries and do their own dendo with their friends.
I appreciate your kindness for the money for cool stuff. There is something here that I feel would be a cool souvenir from my mission. I have been looking around for stacking dolls for my whole mission. And I have not seen any. They have all kinds of dolls around here. And some that are really cool and almost look like stacking dolls. But no actual stacking ones yet. So I don't know about that one. And the next time I get transferred I plan on going to Ishigaki so there isn't much there as far as dolls go. Sorry. I know one place that sells some cool ones for like 10 bucks though in Hiroshima. But Ishigaki just has Shisa and stuff.
The heat and humidity here is death.
Do you remember the Kiribayashi fam? They emailed you that picture of us when I went over a few months ago. They have a chihuahua. And I got to eat at their house on Saturday. And their dog is so cute. Choco is the name. Choco chan. He is so cute. And he loves me now. Because I already have a chihuahua and I know how to take care of them. So he loves me so much now. It made me really miss Kujo. I still dream about her all the time.
Well. Dendo rocks. I love it. Its way hard and quite the emotional roller coaster. But it is awesome. I love being a missionary.
Have a good week.
Love Josh
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Just another week full of craziness (Week 78)
Well. Firstly I had the opportunity to go to another Hiroshima Carp baseball game on Saturday. And this time it was really sunny instead of rainy. I was wearing shorts. Which felt good to bike in. And I put on sun screen. Except I forgot my legs. And now my knees are severely burned. But its all good. I don't really need to touch them very much. And I decided what I need to bring back home from Japan. I need one of the Hiroshima Carp G-Shock watches. 150 bucks. Yoroshiku. Which doesn't translate very easy to english but basically means that I need you to put that money into my account and I am saying please but the polite form is yoroshiku onegai shimasu so I am being quite casual with you and I am kind of saying it like you have no choice. So yoroshiku ne.
Nextly last Monday we went streeting by Hiroshima University. We focus a lot of time there because young people listen much more. And we ran into a chinese guy that really doesn't speak Japanese very much at all and kind of speaks English. His name is G_____. Well that's the name he chose. His real name is G_____ M_____. And while we were talking to him his wife biked up. And she was the nicest person I have ever met. She was the kindest and most sincere person I have ever seen in my entire life. And we exchanged phone numbers with G_____ and then met him twice since then. And he is so wonderful. He said China doesn't believe anything and he thinks that is bad and he really wants to believe something but he doesn't know what is right and so he is really interested and wants to try out this religion. And he said he will take time to be sure but if he is sure this is true then he will grab hold and never let go. He is so amazing. I love that little Chinese man. Its way fun to teach him because his English isn't that good so we have to translate to Chinese for him a lot. And I got a book from somewhere that they give out at the MTC to teach missionaries Chinese so I am learning a little bit and teaching him with that book. Soon I'll be trilingual! Its been fun.
We have another investigator named H_____ that is really good at understanding. And he is really doing everything that we ask him to do. He is so cool. He said if he finds out this is true then he would want to be baptized. So we are just working to get him that testimony. At first he knew almost nothing about God or anything and then this week I asked him if he believes Jesus Christ is really there and he said yes. So he is progressing. I hope he can keep it up.
Our other investigators were kind of difficult this past week. Again. They just don't progress very well and are too busy and it is just frustrating because I know how much they need this gospel but they just won't put in what they need to in order to really get it. Its very difficult.
Also we have been really trying to work with Brother Y_____. He is less active. He is an older man. Very proper and old style Japanese. And I love him. So much. We get along so well. I have really made a good relationship with him. And he came to church two weeks ago. But since then we haven't been able to get a hold of him. I keep trying to call him but he never answers. And then another brother at church said he called him and was told that Y_____ K_____ wants to be done with the church. So he might be ignoring our calls. Which breaks my heart. I can't help but feel a little responsible. There is something specific at church I should have done but didn't and it offended him. He is easily offended so I had to tread carefully but I didn't. And that might be the reason he is done. It hurts me. I love him so much.
Well we are going to keep working hard. Life is good. Way hard. Happy. Sad. Never easy. But oh so rewarding. I love what I'm doing. And I love you all.
Love Elder Liddle
Nextly last Monday we went streeting by Hiroshima University. We focus a lot of time there because young people listen much more. And we ran into a chinese guy that really doesn't speak Japanese very much at all and kind of speaks English. His name is G_____. Well that's the name he chose. His real name is G_____ M_____. And while we were talking to him his wife biked up. And she was the nicest person I have ever met. She was the kindest and most sincere person I have ever seen in my entire life. And we exchanged phone numbers with G_____ and then met him twice since then. And he is so wonderful. He said China doesn't believe anything and he thinks that is bad and he really wants to believe something but he doesn't know what is right and so he is really interested and wants to try out this religion. And he said he will take time to be sure but if he is sure this is true then he will grab hold and never let go. He is so amazing. I love that little Chinese man. Its way fun to teach him because his English isn't that good so we have to translate to Chinese for him a lot. And I got a book from somewhere that they give out at the MTC to teach missionaries Chinese so I am learning a little bit and teaching him with that book. Soon I'll be trilingual! Its been fun.
We have another investigator named H_____ that is really good at understanding. And he is really doing everything that we ask him to do. He is so cool. He said if he finds out this is true then he would want to be baptized. So we are just working to get him that testimony. At first he knew almost nothing about God or anything and then this week I asked him if he believes Jesus Christ is really there and he said yes. So he is progressing. I hope he can keep it up.
Our other investigators were kind of difficult this past week. Again. They just don't progress very well and are too busy and it is just frustrating because I know how much they need this gospel but they just won't put in what they need to in order to really get it. Its very difficult.
Also we have been really trying to work with Brother Y_____. He is less active. He is an older man. Very proper and old style Japanese. And I love him. So much. We get along so well. I have really made a good relationship with him. And he came to church two weeks ago. But since then we haven't been able to get a hold of him. I keep trying to call him but he never answers. And then another brother at church said he called him and was told that Y_____ K_____ wants to be done with the church. So he might be ignoring our calls. Which breaks my heart. I can't help but feel a little responsible. There is something specific at church I should have done but didn't and it offended him. He is easily offended so I had to tread carefully but I didn't. And that might be the reason he is done. It hurts me. I love him so much.
Well we are going to keep working hard. Life is good. Way hard. Happy. Sad. Never easy. But oh so rewarding. I love what I'm doing. And I love you all.
Love Elder Liddle
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Sutoresu ga ippai (Week 77)
Well I can't quite tell you how stressful things have been lately. We didn't see as much success this week as we did last week. Most of our new investigators were dropped. So at least we don't need to worry about them right now. There is enough to worry about. Another investigator who does nothing is just more stress.
We met K_____ s_____ last week twice. And it was really good both times. And she wrote on her planner to go to church enough times before her baptism and we set up more times to meet her. Its always a good feeling when we teach her. And I know she feels the spirit. We pointed that out to her and now she knows she feels the Spirit. But she canceled our Saturday appointment to go to the doctor. Which is kind of legit. But then we were going to meet her again today. Our appointment was to be in 6 minutes from now. But I called her and then she said she has someone coming over from the city and she won't be able to meet us. And she didn't come to church yesterday. She wouldn't even answer her phone on Saturday. So its just stressful. She isn't progressing. But she so needs this gospel. I don't know what to do. I can't force them to do something with this. So if they choose not to then they just won't go anywhere.
We also met with L_____ X_____ Y_____ this past week. With one of our Chinese members. And she helped address some of his concerns with getting baptized and going to China because she is going back to China too next month. That stinks for Saijo. In my time here I have seen our active members go from 9 to 4. And soon to 3. They keep moving. We need 20 to start a branch. Well anyways. I don't know entirely how well that went because they spoke in Chinese at that part. I have been studying a little Chinese lately so I can say a few things and I know some vocabulary. I think I know more Chinese now than Spanish. So I could only understand enough to keep track of where the conversation was. Nothing specific about it though. But L_____ X_____ Y_____ wants to come to the Hiroshima Carp game with us on Saturday so that will be fun. He seems to be doing good. He is really reading the Book of Mormon. But he is really seeming hesitant to really get going with trying out this church. So that is hard. I don't know how to help him progress. But we're trying.
Our last investigator who has done something in the past little while is named H_____. He is a pretty recent investigator. We haven't met him too much. Only twice so far. So we are still at the beginning. But he is cool. He is 23. And he is reading the Book of Mormon pretty good. Last time when we were planning what to teach him we really felt like we should teach him the Atonement. And we prepared personal experiences and stuff and just had a good plan. And then we met him. And I wanted to get right to the lesson because it would take a while but Elder Dolbin wanted to ask him about his reading and if he had questions. He is very smart so I thought he would have questions. And I thought that would take too much time so I was hesitant to ask because I felt this was really important to teach to him. But we asked. And he read a couple of scriptures in the Book of Mormon that he had a question about and it was perfectly answered by what we had planned to teach. It was really cool. Right now we are really just trying to help him get his own testimony. I really hope it works. Or he won't stay an investigator for a very long time.
I had the opportunity to interview on of the zone leaders investigators for baptism this week. My second interview as district leader. It was interesting. Both interviews have been in English for me. This investigator is from China and her English is very good. And as I interviewed her I just felt that she was so wonderful and that she was really ready to receive baptism. But something came up in the interview where I wasn't able to pass her. We needed the permission of President Gustafson. Which made me sad because I really felt good about her. But then President called me and talked to me about it and passed her. So she got baptized yesterday. And it was so cool. And she shared her testimony at the baptismal service and it was just so good. It was a nice experience to see her get baptized.
Well. Life is hard. Dendo is hard. I feel like I'm just doing the same things over and over trying to get people to do something when they don't really feel the motivation to do it themselves. But we are working hard. We have faith. And we are going to find, teach, and baptize someone in the months of June and July. This is very likely my last transfer here. So I want to go out with a bang. And this has been my favorite zone. Hiroshima is a wonderful place. I have really grown to love it here. And I have now been here longer than I have been anywhere else on my mission. And I have done more to see the history and culture of this place than I have in previous areas. Like going to a baseball game on Saturday! So I feel like this place is where my mission has been. I don't ever want to forget it. I love this place.
Have a good day everyone. I love you all.
Love Josh
We met K_____ s_____ last week twice. And it was really good both times. And she wrote on her planner to go to church enough times before her baptism and we set up more times to meet her. Its always a good feeling when we teach her. And I know she feels the spirit. We pointed that out to her and now she knows she feels the Spirit. But she canceled our Saturday appointment to go to the doctor. Which is kind of legit. But then we were going to meet her again today. Our appointment was to be in 6 minutes from now. But I called her and then she said she has someone coming over from the city and she won't be able to meet us. And she didn't come to church yesterday. She wouldn't even answer her phone on Saturday. So its just stressful. She isn't progressing. But she so needs this gospel. I don't know what to do. I can't force them to do something with this. So if they choose not to then they just won't go anywhere.
We also met with L_____ X_____ Y_____ this past week. With one of our Chinese members. And she helped address some of his concerns with getting baptized and going to China because she is going back to China too next month. That stinks for Saijo. In my time here I have seen our active members go from 9 to 4. And soon to 3. They keep moving. We need 20 to start a branch. Well anyways. I don't know entirely how well that went because they spoke in Chinese at that part. I have been studying a little Chinese lately so I can say a few things and I know some vocabulary. I think I know more Chinese now than Spanish. So I could only understand enough to keep track of where the conversation was. Nothing specific about it though. But L_____ X_____ Y_____ wants to come to the Hiroshima Carp game with us on Saturday so that will be fun. He seems to be doing good. He is really reading the Book of Mormon. But he is really seeming hesitant to really get going with trying out this church. So that is hard. I don't know how to help him progress. But we're trying.
Our last investigator who has done something in the past little while is named H_____. He is a pretty recent investigator. We haven't met him too much. Only twice so far. So we are still at the beginning. But he is cool. He is 23. And he is reading the Book of Mormon pretty good. Last time when we were planning what to teach him we really felt like we should teach him the Atonement. And we prepared personal experiences and stuff and just had a good plan. And then we met him. And I wanted to get right to the lesson because it would take a while but Elder Dolbin wanted to ask him about his reading and if he had questions. He is very smart so I thought he would have questions. And I thought that would take too much time so I was hesitant to ask because I felt this was really important to teach to him. But we asked. And he read a couple of scriptures in the Book of Mormon that he had a question about and it was perfectly answered by what we had planned to teach. It was really cool. Right now we are really just trying to help him get his own testimony. I really hope it works. Or he won't stay an investigator for a very long time.
I had the opportunity to interview on of the zone leaders investigators for baptism this week. My second interview as district leader. It was interesting. Both interviews have been in English for me. This investigator is from China and her English is very good. And as I interviewed her I just felt that she was so wonderful and that she was really ready to receive baptism. But something came up in the interview where I wasn't able to pass her. We needed the permission of President Gustafson. Which made me sad because I really felt good about her. But then President called me and talked to me about it and passed her. So she got baptized yesterday. And it was so cool. And she shared her testimony at the baptismal service and it was just so good. It was a nice experience to see her get baptized.
Well. Life is hard. Dendo is hard. I feel like I'm just doing the same things over and over trying to get people to do something when they don't really feel the motivation to do it themselves. But we are working hard. We have faith. And we are going to find, teach, and baptize someone in the months of June and July. This is very likely my last transfer here. So I want to go out with a bang. And this has been my favorite zone. Hiroshima is a wonderful place. I have really grown to love it here. And I have now been here longer than I have been anywhere else on my mission. And I have done more to see the history and culture of this place than I have in previous areas. Like going to a baseball game on Saturday! So I feel like this place is where my mission has been. I don't ever want to forget it. I love this place.
Have a good day everyone. I love you all.
Love Josh
Monday, June 10, 2013
Awesome week (Week 76)
Mom. You wrote at the end of your email that you were hugging me in your mind. Right as I read that my zone leader Elder Clayton hugged me and said tell your mom I hugged you for her. So there you go. I got hugged.
So this week has been interesting. For most of my mission I was lucky to get a new investigator every few weeks or more. Lately Elder Dolbin and I have been getting a couple a week. And then this past week. We destroyed it. With the Lord's help. We got 7 new investigators. One is already gone because he never showed up to his appointment but holy smokes. The more you get the more you keep. And the more you keep the more you get to see progress and get baptized. So we are really excited for this bunch of people. And the more to come this coming week. I don't doubt that we will be able to get a similar outcome next week. This is just the time for dendo to explode here.
K_____ s_____ did not end up coming to church. We weren't even able to meet with her last week. But we tried to give her cookies in the mail and we gave her a cd of nice Japanese spiritual music to bring her the Spirit when we aren't there. Which music I love. It is quite beautiful and made me cry while Elder Dolbin was reading in the other room. But we have an appointment to see K_____ s_____ tomorrow!
L_____ X_____ Y_____ did not come to church either but he had work. He said he would go as much as he could though. And he seemed quite sincere. He said he has only read a little of the Book of Mormon in the few days it had been since we saw him. And we asked him about it. He had only read like 50 pages and just prayed before and after to figure out if it was true. No big deal. This guy is so cool. I love him. We even set up a baptismal date with him today. It isn't until September 8 but he has one now. And I honestly think he will get baptized. His biggest concern is that when he returns to China at the end of the year he won't be able to be Mormon anymore. But I hear there are ways to be Mormon and still obey the law in China. My zone leaders gave me a website. L_____ s_____ said that believing our teachings comes really naturally to him because he grew up going to the Chinese Christian Church. So. I have high hopes for him. He is so cool. He even said today he can't really get baptized earlier because he is so busy but when he gets a break from school he will start hitting the Book of Mormon hard and then get baptized. So it looks like joining this church is in his plan. So I just am happy about that.
We have been visiting a less active member named Y_____ K_____. He is so cool. We have such a good relationship with him now and I just love him so much. There is something I love about old Japanese men. They are my favorite. And we have been visiting Y_____ K_____ a lot lately. And then he came to church yesterday to go to ward conference! I was so happy. I really think he will start being more active in the church soon. I am so excited.
We found a Chinese woman the other day and we will visit her tonight. She doesn't speak any English and not very much Japanese. So we are going to visit her with a Chinese member. Who is coming all the way from Hiroshima just for this visit. We don't have very many members in our area that are active. Just 4. So visiting with members is really hard. And the distance from the church in Hiroshima is like going to Salt Lake I think. It is far for people that have normal lives and jobs and are busier than anyone I have seen in my whole life.
I think I just became the missionary that has been in Hiroshima zone the longest. Last transfer there was one sister who was here longer than me but she returned home and now I am the one who has been here the longest. Just so you know.
Well this past week was so awesome. We taught more than I ever have and contacted more people than I ever have and we found way more new investigators than I ever have. And I can tell you why. It is because we are relying on the Lord even more. We have started praying much harder and way more frequently throughout the day. And we are going through the missionary handbook and picking out anything that we don't do perfectly and we are starting to do it perfectly. And every man we pass we talk to. And we are figuring out ways to really feel the Spirit and to help the Nihonjin feel the Spirit when we talk to them on the streets. I really feel like we are starting to do everything that we can to bring to pass the salvation of the wonderful people here in Japan. And then the Lord does the rest. The Lord does it all. The proof is right here in this last week. We didn't really do anything that different when it actually came to the finding activities and how we approached them. We just tried to get the Lord involved more and He sure got Himself involved. I can't describe to you how awesome this feels. It is awesome to just be able to trust the Lord so much and to feel the Spirit all the time and to see things just work out well. I have really grown so close to the Lord on my mission. And especially these past few transfers and this past week. I just feel ready to go and do whatever the Lord wants me to do. Even if its awkward. I had an experience like that yesterday. I felt a strong prompting and it required me to do something awkward and to take a risk. But I did it. And it was weird. And I honestly can't see what came of it. But immediately after I felt peace and the Lord's approval. I heard a quote by President Monson just the other week. I can't quote it word for word here but he basically said something like he wants the Lord to know if he needs an errand run that he will always run that errand for Him. I want to be like that. So I have been trying really hard to do it. And I am having amazing experiences. This is just too cool for school. You wait homies. We're about to set up Saijo Stake. 楽しく頑張ろう！
Well. I'll just let you guys go now. And I have to go. I'll talk to you next week with whatever miracles come our way this time.
Love Elder Liddle
So this week has been interesting. For most of my mission I was lucky to get a new investigator every few weeks or more. Lately Elder Dolbin and I have been getting a couple a week. And then this past week. We destroyed it. With the Lord's help. We got 7 new investigators. One is already gone because he never showed up to his appointment but holy smokes. The more you get the more you keep. And the more you keep the more you get to see progress and get baptized. So we are really excited for this bunch of people. And the more to come this coming week. I don't doubt that we will be able to get a similar outcome next week. This is just the time for dendo to explode here.
K_____ s_____ did not end up coming to church. We weren't even able to meet with her last week. But we tried to give her cookies in the mail and we gave her a cd of nice Japanese spiritual music to bring her the Spirit when we aren't there. Which music I love. It is quite beautiful and made me cry while Elder Dolbin was reading in the other room. But we have an appointment to see K_____ s_____ tomorrow!
L_____ X_____ Y_____ did not come to church either but he had work. He said he would go as much as he could though. And he seemed quite sincere. He said he has only read a little of the Book of Mormon in the few days it had been since we saw him. And we asked him about it. He had only read like 50 pages and just prayed before and after to figure out if it was true. No big deal. This guy is so cool. I love him. We even set up a baptismal date with him today. It isn't until September 8 but he has one now. And I honestly think he will get baptized. His biggest concern is that when he returns to China at the end of the year he won't be able to be Mormon anymore. But I hear there are ways to be Mormon and still obey the law in China. My zone leaders gave me a website. L_____ s_____ said that believing our teachings comes really naturally to him because he grew up going to the Chinese Christian Church. So. I have high hopes for him. He is so cool. He even said today he can't really get baptized earlier because he is so busy but when he gets a break from school he will start hitting the Book of Mormon hard and then get baptized. So it looks like joining this church is in his plan. So I just am happy about that.
We have been visiting a less active member named Y_____ K_____. He is so cool. We have such a good relationship with him now and I just love him so much. There is something I love about old Japanese men. They are my favorite. And we have been visiting Y_____ K_____ a lot lately. And then he came to church yesterday to go to ward conference! I was so happy. I really think he will start being more active in the church soon. I am so excited.
We found a Chinese woman the other day and we will visit her tonight. She doesn't speak any English and not very much Japanese. So we are going to visit her with a Chinese member. Who is coming all the way from Hiroshima just for this visit. We don't have very many members in our area that are active. Just 4. So visiting with members is really hard. And the distance from the church in Hiroshima is like going to Salt Lake I think. It is far for people that have normal lives and jobs and are busier than anyone I have seen in my whole life.
I think I just became the missionary that has been in Hiroshima zone the longest. Last transfer there was one sister who was here longer than me but she returned home and now I am the one who has been here the longest. Just so you know.
Well this past week was so awesome. We taught more than I ever have and contacted more people than I ever have and we found way more new investigators than I ever have. And I can tell you why. It is because we are relying on the Lord even more. We have started praying much harder and way more frequently throughout the day. And we are going through the missionary handbook and picking out anything that we don't do perfectly and we are starting to do it perfectly. And every man we pass we talk to. And we are figuring out ways to really feel the Spirit and to help the Nihonjin feel the Spirit when we talk to them on the streets. I really feel like we are starting to do everything that we can to bring to pass the salvation of the wonderful people here in Japan. And then the Lord does the rest. The Lord does it all. The proof is right here in this last week. We didn't really do anything that different when it actually came to the finding activities and how we approached them. We just tried to get the Lord involved more and He sure got Himself involved. I can't describe to you how awesome this feels. It is awesome to just be able to trust the Lord so much and to feel the Spirit all the time and to see things just work out well. I have really grown so close to the Lord on my mission. And especially these past few transfers and this past week. I just feel ready to go and do whatever the Lord wants me to do. Even if its awkward. I had an experience like that yesterday. I felt a strong prompting and it required me to do something awkward and to take a risk. But I did it. And it was weird. And I honestly can't see what came of it. But immediately after I felt peace and the Lord's approval. I heard a quote by President Monson just the other week. I can't quote it word for word here but he basically said something like he wants the Lord to know if he needs an errand run that he will always run that errand for Him. I want to be like that. So I have been trying really hard to do it. And I am having amazing experiences. This is just too cool for school. You wait homies. We're about to set up Saijo Stake. 楽しく頑張ろう！
Well. I'll just let you guys go now. And I have to go. I'll talk to you next week with whatever miracles come our way this time.
Love Elder Liddle
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Transfer day! (Week 75)
We got transfer calls this week. I have been here in Saijo for 4 transfers and with this companion for 2 of them. So the odds of me transferring were quite high. And if not me then he would. I just didn't think we were going to stay together. So I was scared for the call. Wondering where they would send me. Sad because I don't want to leave Saijo yet. I love it here. And then the call came. And they told me neither of us were transferring! Yay! One more transfer with my bean in a wonderful place!
So early last week we were streeting. And I talked to a man coming home from work. He seemed like the typical Japanese businessman. But what was different is that he actually talked with us for a long time. Well. More like talked at us. He asked me what the heck I was doing here and he told me how stupid it was to try to teach about Christ and some book I thought was interesting in a Buddhist country. And he went on for a while about how there is no way I could prove to him if this was all real. And then at the end he said to me I should go back to America and teach the people there in English or go home and come back when I can actually speak Japanese. My confidence in my Japanese is not really very high. And then when I tried so hard to talk to this man clearly he told me how awful my Japanese really was. So that was really hard for me the rest of the night. I honestly started asking myself why I was all the way out here trying to teach in this language. God should have chosen someone else who is good at the language to teach these people. But as I prayed that night I remembered that this gospel is so true that it doesn't matter how well I say it. Its truthfulness is so true that it basically tells them itself. I just have to know how to say kono fukuin wa shinjitsu desu. And then I felt a big love for that man while I was praying. He made me so angry that night. But as I prayed I felt God's love for him. And now I just feel sorry for him. I hope someday he can find what I have found in this gospel.
K___ san did not come to church. It was rather frustrating. But we will get her to church this week. I told her on the phone how disappointed I was that she was going to do something else. And how much I knew this would help her. And she said she would come next time. But I fear it won't be easy. It may be quite hard. So we'll see.
We did have another guy at church though. He is a chinese man named L__ X___ Y_. We met him on the street and set up a time to teach him English when he had time. And then at the English lesson we asked him if we could share the gospel message with him and he said yes. And we asked him to come to church and he said yes. And then he did come. And while there he asked a lot of questions and then asked if we could all go to church together again next week. And then we gave him a chinese Book of Mormon and he said he would have it finished in 2 weeks. So he seems pretty cool. It was a really nice day. He is a cool guy.
Also that day we had one of our less active members we were asked to focus on come to church again. She has been considered reactivated now and she said she will come every week now. That makes me so happy.
Yesterday we visited a potential investigator who said it was ok to come back but said at the moment he was busy getting ready to leave for work. And he was busy again but that was because we chose a bad time to visit him. We should have visited him last week. And he told us he wanted us to come over and told us to come next week. And to make sure we did it this time. And then we found out he was from Brazil. But his Japanese is so good I thought he was Japanese. So he is way cool. And that was a really cool miracle.
This past Sunday we got together with the zone leaders and with a whole bunch of priesthood holders in the ward and we all split up with a member and went to visit less active members in Saijo. All of them in one day. And it was so cool. Not really many people were met. But it was awesome to see all the members and missionaries working together. I was with our ward mission leader. And he was listening to classical music in his car. He asked me if I could play that kind of music on the cello and I said yes. I used to do it all the time. And he said it seems like so much fun to play in a big group and to make those harmonies and that beautiful music. I told him it was. It is one of my very favorite things to do. And he said its the same with missionary work. When the missionaries and the members work together and all have the same goal it creates beautiful music. And that is what we had on Sunday. Beautiful music. It was really cool. I love this ward so much.
I am so glad I have one more transfer here. I love this place. I think my favorite is actually still Tsuboi. But Saijo is good. Cross your fingers that I go Hiroshima Zone leader next transfer. The zone leaders are in the same ward and I never want to leave this ward. And odds are my next area is my last area.
Well. I love you all. Especially you dad. Have a good day.
Love Elder Liddle
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Subject (Week 74)
Well. It has been yet another week. And this week was also not as successful as I would have liked. But it was good. I just want to be able to do more. And I want my investigators to progress more. But they have their own agency and their own time. So I'll let the Lord take care of that.
One thing that I get to do as district leader is to interview the investigators in my district for baptism. And I had my first interview this last week with a wonderful man from the Philippines who speaks english and almost no Japanese. I am so lucky. But he really is an amazing man. I already knew him a little bit because he is the zone leaders investigator and we go to the same church. And the interview was a really good experience. I felt the Spirit really strongly and I felt such a love for him. And I felt very powerfully that he was ready for baptism. And then yesterday he got baptized. And that was a really cool thing to see. He is a wonderful man.
Also this week we visited one of our newer investigators named K___ san. And she is really cool. We visited her with the senior couple missionaries close to here and it was a really good experience. The Spirit was there. And then we talked about baptism and how it will make your past mistakes go away. And she started crying. She said there are many things she did when she was younger that she feels bad about and then she asked me if I was telling her that baptism would wipe that away and make her feel good like how she feels when we visit. I told her yes. And we set a date for her to be baptized. June 30. She was supposed to come to church but then told us she had an appointment and couldn't go. And I did not hide the fact that I was very disappointed. So I think she will come next week. And we have an appointment to see her tomorrow. I have high hopes for her. She is wonderful. My only real concern is that I have been here for 4 transfers and transfers are next week. Its looking like I am going to transfer. But I really don't want to leave. I love it here.
We also met a man a while back named K____2 And we didn't really share anything gospel related with him then. We just talked to him for like a half hour about whatever because he was at work and we just stopped by to look at the watches. So we talked there. And he gave us is number so we could meet up again. And we talked again but could never find time. And then I never called back. But the other day we were trying to visit a potential investigator we found in some apartment buildings and as we were leaving he walked up. Apparently we just housed his house but he wasn't home yet. So we talked again. And this time shared a message with him. And he said it would be ok to talk more about it. And we will call him today and get with him probably on Wednesday for lunch. He is really cool. And it was quite the miracle that we ran into him again.
So every area in the mission has five less active members that they are supposed to focus on that is chosen by the bishop of the local ward. And we have our five. Which is all fine and good. But then last week at church our ward mission leader's wife came up to us and said she wants to get us together with one of our five next sunday morning to teach her. She likes missionaries and wants to listen to their lessons but was going to go back home before church started. So it was our job to get her to stay. And she came yesterday morning. And we heard before we got there she ran into the stake president and asked him to take her name off the records. Then we met and had a little lesson. And the Spirit was strong. And she thanked us for the lesson. And stayed for all of church and for the baptism and for most of a fireside after the baptism. It was quite a miracle. I am so happy someone finally came to church that I have been working with. And then the sister who set it up came up to us after and started crying and thanked us over and over. It about made me cry as well. I was so happy. Yesterday was a really good day. Lots of miracles have been happening lately.
Ok. Well. Its been real. Have a good day. I love you all. Kore kara mo tanoshiku ganbarimasho!
Love Love Me
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Just another week (Week 73)
This week was just another week. We had a good time but didn't get as much done as we wanted. So that was too bad. But that basically always happens. We want to do more and for some reason it just doesn't quite work out the way we want.
Yesterday we went to Fukuoka for another 4 zone conference. That was really good. It was really fun. I learned a lot. And then we had a big talent show. Each zone had 30 minutes to fill. And I think almost the whole mission was told to be on the look out for a cello for me to play because of one of my zone leaders. He was really pushing for it because he wanted to hear what this heavy metal thing was like. But no one ever found a cello. So they had me do it on a violin instead. It was weird. I played the violin like a cello and told everyone it was just a mini cello. And I sounded terrible. I don't play the violin. Its too small. And part way through I looked up at the audience and almost everyone was filming me. It was really scary. And Elder Amor was there. He returns home in a few weeks and he told me at that time he is going to put the video he took up on facebook. So maybe you will get to see it. But it was horrible. They just liked it because it was something crazy they have never seen before.
Most of our investigators are not really progressing anymore. So that isn't too fun. But we are still trying with them. And we are finding new ones a little bit. We found a guy who wants to come to church and will come next week. And we will see if we can start teaching him. And we started to go through the records of past investigators and started to try to find some of them that we felt we should visit. And we chose one who lives close to Hiroshima University from three years ago. Personally my hopes of this man still being there were really low. But we set out looking for room 211 in some apartment building in Saijo. And we finally found it. And no one answered the door. Then we just went streeting and taught a lot of little lessons but got no new investigators. It was fun. But sad. And we even met two guys from Egypt. That was a first for me. And then we decided to house the rest of the apartments where 211 lived. So we did. And no one was answering. And the one guy who did was obviously upset that we were there. So we were seeing no success but just kept going. Then a kid answered his door and listened to our message. And I asked him if we could come back to teach him a little more for like 30 minutes. And he said he had time now and asked us to come in. So we did. And we taught him and gave him a Book of Mormon and we set up a new appointment and we started off with a pretty good relationship. So it was fun. And it was a miracle. We were so happy and surprised. No one ever invites you in when they first meet you. And then as we left I turned around again to look at the room number. 211. The very door we felt we needed to find as we set out that morning. Yeah. That was cool. I have high hopes for this guy.
Other than that nothing really happened that was exciting this week. We will see how this week goes.
Just to keep everyone updated on my number of cool forms of transportation: Yesterday I had shinkansen number 5. And my airplane rides is hanging out at a solid 23. Yeah. No missionary gets that much. Out of all the missions in Japan ours is probably the only one that ever uses Shinkansen. And out of the missionaries in my mission only my zone gets to use them. And no one in Japan uses planes either. Except me. Yeah. I'm that cool.
Well. I hope you are all happy. I had fun talking to you last week. It was really fun. I'll see you in six monthsくらい。
Have a good week.
Love, 医
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