Well, I am sure happy you had a good time in the most beautiful part
of the world. I miss the cabin dearly! I am just waiting for next
year! Let's start the count down! :)
We went to the Hiroshima Castle this last week on Monday. It was cool.
They had some cool samurai artifacts and we went all the way to the
top and it just overlooks the city. It's pretty. Then we met this guy
from New Zealand later that night who is also a Christian missionary.
He doesn't claim a church he just teaches people doctrine straight
from the Bible and while we talked to him we really felt the spirit.
We felt like what he was doing was a good thing. He truly just wants
to follow Christ. He was really fun to meet. It is good to know there
are others in the world who want to share about Christ. Then we met a
guy from Virginia and he was nice and we were able to go back and give
him a Book of Mormon on Wednesday. He wasn't interested in the lessons
so much, also we didn't know how to talk to someone about it in
English as smoothly either so it might not have been a fair chance,
but he said he would read it. We told him we can't convince him of the
truth but he has to read for himself to know and he took the
challenge. It was pretty neat.
This week we did something so fun and dumb. I took off my rain coat
and we just biked up this mountain in the rain and then we just like
played in it and I laid down on the hill and it was steep so the water
was just flowed down and it felt like there was just no one in the
world to stop us! It was so fun. We were soaked but we just went home
for dinner after and it was okay. But the rain just cooled us down a
little and it was just fun. Sometimes in life you have to make things
that can be hard to be fun. Take a break every once in a while! God
loves us so much! That's why he gives us the rain. We can either think
things are terrible and hard or we can learn to love it! I feel like
that's just something I was reminded of this week. Take time to do
something fun every day! Not extravagant or bank exploding, but
something simple! Take time to enjoy the blessings we already have!
We were able to meet with our investigator this week again and she
told us about her worries and things and really opened up to us. It
might be slower from here on but she was really willing to talk to us
and we had been praying so hard for her. She seemed more real with us
this time and it really relieved some worries we had as well. We know
God is directing this work and is watching out for us and our
investigators and even the members. There is a member in our ward who
has been helping us kind of from the sidelines with this particular
situation and she has just been so faithful and amazing, every time
she bares testimony in church or in lessons it is so powerful and
strong and heartfelt and I think part of it is that she doesn't use
big fancy words or experiences, she just simply knows this is true and
wants others to know it as well. I love these members and Japanese
people!
We had a really good Zone Conference this week. President Egan and
Sister Egan and the Assistants came as usual but it was just
particularly great. They talked about enduring to the end and enduring
well and I just found it so fitting. President Egan showed a clip from
a BYU speech I can't remember the guy but he talks about running like
a donkey verses running like a horse. He said how donkeys need to rest
and take breaks and won't work even a little until that's done. Then
he talks about horses and how they are so loyal and will run until
they just drop over or die. Kind of a dramatic metaphor but it just
really is so true. There is no time to stop now and we can only look
forward and keep pressing forward. There is only the future ahead and
the Lord is aware of how we are trying.
We went and taught our other investigators to come to sacrament. They
come to church without fail every week and always show up right after
the sacrament. We were bold with them and told them they need to be
coming for the sacrament for church to mean more. And they came! That
was a really cool miracle as well! Their hearts are being softened.
I love you all so much! You are such good examples to me. I always
think of you when the days get long and I always have enough to keep
going. Let the Lord change you! Change is the best thing for us.
I love you!
Love, Raines Shimai
No comments:
Post a Comment