The Strength of Family

July 4, 2016

Dear Family and friends,
This week I honestly do not have much to report. I hope to be able to
share my testimony with you all, and to help you feel what I am
feeling as a missionary of Jesus Christ.

I am still getting more adjusted to my new companion, Elder Bachman,
who is completely different than Elder Scheidt on all things from
differing opinions as to how to how really do missionary work, as to
planning out what we are going to eat every day for every meal.
(Scheidt choro and I almost never ate in the apartment, but when we
did, it definitely wasn't planned before hand. Haha it is so
interesting, I went from one side of the spectrum, to the complete
other, and I just kind of sat in the middle on both of the issues that
they differ from so greatly. It is very funny to watch. As Kitami San
put it when talking about Bachman choro's image, "You look very smart,
like a scientist or a math person." (In his very broken English.) haha
it was so funny, so I asked him what I looked like to him when I first
met him, and he just said "Sports". Haha I laughed, and then he said,
"well, you look like you could do many things, but first was sports."
Haha it was hilarious. Below is a list of quotes that I made to send
to Elder Scheidt that kind of show some fun contrasts between my two
companions.

Not all of that may make sense, but hopefull you'll find that funny.
Oh I guess I should say what Ikemen means. Lol. It basically it means,
"Stud/"Hot", lol. It was so funny.

Anyway, moving on to things that actually matter in terms of the
Salvation of our souls. Everyone please pray for Tawaria San. Pray
that his heart will be softened, and that his faith will be restored.
Pray that he will accept tithing, and not be so hardened towards that
commandment. He has seen many miracles and has come to church multiple
times, and his work schedule changed so that he always has Sunday's
off now, which was truly a miracle from God. He wanted to get
baptized, and God has truly played a major role in his life, and right
when we were about to set a new baptismal date, one that didn't seem
to have any obstacles in front of it, we brought up tithing a little
bit, just in reviewing what we had left to teach him, and then he
wanted to know what it was, and then we explained it, and I feel we
did the best we could to help him understand the blessings behind
tithing, and the fact that it really only helps us, but he did not
receive it with a soft heart, and since then, has barely let us talk
to him, and has stopped doing all of the other things that he was
doing so good at. It is a very sad situation, but I have seen many
miracles with him in positions where he thought things were
impossible, so I have faith that we can see them again with this
situation.

This week I have studied and learned more about prayer. I think that I
am learning more and more what prayer is, and what it really means to
be in tune with the spirit. I have said it before and I will say it
again, because true things need to be repeated again and again. "Our
spiritual life is only as strong as our prayer life." When we ponder
this, it helps give us proper perspective as to how we stand with God,
in both of those things. So please, do what you need to do to increase
the strength of your prayer life. God is there, and he is waiting for
you to pour your soul out to him in sacred prayer. Pray each morning
and night with your families.

I wasn't sure if I would, but I feel that I should  share a portion of
President Kimball's words. "The  daily  family  life,  if  well
charted  and  regulated,  supplemented  by  the  twice-daily family
kneeling  prayer  and  the  home  teaching  and  home  evening,  is
almost  certain  to  bring  up  the children  to  become  stalwart
sons  and  daughters  of  God  and  eligible  for  exaltation  and
eternal  life. Selfishness  on  the  part  of  parents  which  would
deprive  the  children  of  this  training  would  be  a  sin  of
omission  and  answerable  to  the  Great  Judge  when  the  time  of
judgment  comes." Although these words may seem somewhat harsh, they
are rightly so, because the lord does not take the matters of the home
lightly. The home is to be like unto a temple, and should be a place
of gospel learning, and of love. Thank you to you my wonderful
parents, for giving me the blessing of being raised in a home where I
learned the gospel, where we did our best, and rarely, if ever failed
to do those things that I know brought me the safety and spiritual
protection that can be accounted for the reason why I am on my mission
today: Family prayer, scripture study, home evening. I fear that
without those things, I do not know where I would be today, and so I
am eternally grateful that I have had those things in my life.

For those of us who could be better at doing those things, it is not
too late, but do not delay. There is nothing more important than the
spiritual strength of family, and as we seek to make our spiritual
strength strong, through those things that may be easy to forget or
push aside, we will achieve the goal of Eternal life, together. I know
that families can be together forever, and for that I am eternally
grateful. I love you all so much. Thank you for your love.
Love,
コノバー長老
Elder Conover

Change is good, right?

June 26, 2016

Change is good, right?
One great transfer, full of many wonderful things came to an end this
week. We received our transfer calls on Tuesday, and were rather
nervous about what was going to happen. Here is an insert from my
journal about that day:

"We received our Transfer calls today! We were so nervous, and I was
really hoping to be able to stay in Suehiro. We had the phone in the
middle of our desks, and when the phone rang, Scheidt choro quickly
snatched it. haha he ran over, and listened to Skinner choro give him
his call. I didn't really get a good sense of anything, but he didn't
necessarily seem way pumped either. Then I got the phone, and Skinner
choro talked about how zone conference was a success because of us as
missionaries. He was really nice, and then he told me my transfer
call, "You know President Nakatsuka, and the AP's got on their knees
and they really prayed about you and your specific situation, and
thought about where you should go, and who your new companion should
be, and we received the revelation that you will....not transfer!! And
that your new companion will be Elder Bachman! That was crazy to me!
He is such a young missionary, and he wasn't on our list of guesses at
all! He is also going to be our district leader, which means splits in
Wakkanai!! (wakkanai is the very highest part of Japan. You can see
Russia from it Across the ocean!) I am pumped about that!! I am really
excited for this next transfer. It will be full of many good things,
and I am so happy to have Elder Bachman as a companion. I want to work
really hard, and give everything I can to this work, in this area, at
this time."

So yeah! I stayed and that is my new companion! Now that I know him a
little bit more, I can tell you that he is definitely very different
from me. He has a really good heart, and is very humble, which is
really great. He is very very clean, and has made our apartment so
much cleaner since he got here. He is basically a polar opposite of
Scheidt choro, which makes adjusting a little interesting. It is
interesting though because I feel like I am right in the middle of
them, as polar opposites, and I just sort of sit right in between them
in personality on certain situations. It is interesting though living
with someone who is so different from me. I am learning a lot. One of
the best things about Elder Bachman though is that he wants to
SYL(Speak your language, so for us Japanese, with each other!)!! That
is something that I am very grateful for, and we have been able to
SYL, a lot, and my Japanese is already being blessed from it.

Saying goodbye to Scheidt choro was sad! It is weird to think that
after 3 months of living together 24/7, through the ups and the downs
of life, we will never live together again, at all. That's sad! He is
awesome, and I will always look back at the last three months with
many fond memories.

This week during weekly planning I set some pretty difficult weekly
goals, but I set them with a really strong determination to actually
keep the goals as well, which is not always the case. So I have been
working really hard to keep up these goals, and for the last couple
days I have been able to accomplish my goals, because I am so
committed to these goals! They almost kind of stress me out! It is
awesome to watch yourself progress through goals! I have some great
physical, and mental, and spiritual goals, and there is nothing that
makes you happier, then seeing yourself progress as you accomplish a
goal. Goals are powerful!!! The goal that kind of stresses me out, but
has also made me very happy to accomplish is memorizing solid, (Blank)
amount of words per day. (I don't want to say the actual number, for
the sake of not comparing to other missionaries who will see this
email.) I am hoping to be able to keep bumping the number up, but I
have been learning so many new words lately, and I am starting to get
faster at it! So that has been good! I am really learning to manage
stress in a positive way. I am trying to remember that stress is not
always a bad thing, it can push us to work harder, and more
effectively. Ever since I have set all of these goals, it really
pushes me to use every minute that God has given me effectively, and
efficiently. Basically my invitation to all of you is to set goals.
Make your goals happen, but make your goals realistic, and hopefully
ones that push you, but don't stress you out. I really do believe
though that if you do not have daily, and weekly goals, you will as
Elder Scott of The quorum of the 12 would say, "live life, and look
back to see that we have not lived up to even close to the potential
that we could have" (that's not exact, but that's the idea.) It really
is true though, (It was only spoken from the mouth of an Apostle and
prophet of God, no biggie.) But without goals, we cannot accomplish
what our potential is. So my invitation to you, is set a goal, and set
it with full intention of fulfilling it, and work hard, and do
everything you possibly can to make it happen. Pray for help, show
your faith in all things that you set goals in, and watch the Lord
pour out his blessings, and show you miracles. I BELIEVE IN AND LOVE
GOALS!! みなさん がんばって ください。

I love you all, and I know that God, and Jesus Christ know you and
love you. I know that they are watching you, and are there wanting and
waiting to help you. Please ask them to help you. Please pour out your
heart to them. They are there waiting to bless, guide, and to show
their love to you. When life gets hard, use that time to grow closer
to God, don't even think about turning away from him, because those
are the times when you  absolutely need him more than ever. I know
that that is true. I know that He is there. I know that He gives us
hard times to grow, and become better, and especially to grow closer
to Him. "God gives trials to those whom He trusts", sometimes when we
wonder, "Why us?" But we should actually be grateful for our trials,
and use them as an opportunity to grow closer to God, because that is
what they can be. Some of the greatest Prophets, and very spiritually
strong people, have actually prayed for trials, because they know that
they can grow closer to God through them. It is an interesting idea,
but it really is true. Trust in God, and pour your heart out to him
through prayer, and you will feel his presence, and his help and
guidance in your life.
(Sorry this weeks email is a little bit scattered. Lol)

Love,
コノバー長老
Elder Conover

Consecration

June 19, 2016

This week has been fantastic! It is crazy that we get our transfer
calls tomorrow! I really hope that I don't transfer, and that I will
be able to continue to help the people in Suehiro to come unto Christ.
The chances are high that I will be able to stay, but it is still a
major toss up. I am really excited to have the opportunity to work
with a companion! Scheidt choro has been awesome, but it will be nice
to have a change, and to be able to learn new things.

This week my spiritual thoughts are short, but I think very thought
provoking; or at least they have been to me. The central piece of my
thoughts has been: Consecration. "Consecration means to give all that
you are, and all that you can become to God." -Elder Bednar. He also
talks about how we need to becoming, and then giving our very best
selves to Heavenly Father, and his work. It may seem impossible to
give everything, but Elder Bednar says that it is not impossible. He
says that we do not have to be perfect to be a Consecrated member. It
is a mindset. A never settling, always seeking to be better, to give
more, to be more mindset. I would like to encourage you all to, along
with me, think about your mindset. Is your mind set in a way that is
consecrating your best self to the Lord? Is there anything more that
you can give? Are you holding things back? Remember that living the
gospel is easy. Not living the gospel is hard. Christ is the light and
the way. Choose to be happy, and to feel joy in this life, which is
very much so our purpose in this life. "Joy" in some cases means to
"become like God", which is our purpose here. If you do not have joy
in your life frequently now, you are not living in accordance to the
Gospel, because the gospel brings joy. President Hunter teaches us
about how when we live the Gospel we have the strength to endure all
things, through this mind engrossing quote, �gIf our lives and our
faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing
can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not
centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be
permanently right.�h Please ponder on those things this week, and if
you have any insights, which I'm sure you do, shoot me an email! I'd
love to hear them!

I bare testimony that Christ lives. He Lives, and is close to us, when
we let him be close to us. He is waiting in anticipation for us to
turn to him in our hearts. He can be our light, and through him we can
overcome, and do all things. I know that the Prophets of God are truly
that. Prophets. They are special witnesses to the Savior. They know
him, and Christ guides us through those great men. Stay close to the
Prophets words, and nothing can go permanently wrong. I am learning to
love more fully. The Church is true. Simple and true. I know it with
all my heart. Choose to doubt your doubt, not your faith, and your
doubt will die. I know these things are true without a doubt, in the
name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

June 19, 2016

This week flew by. On Monday after emailing, we went to Asahikawa (The
big part of the city) to the train station (at train stations they
basically have massive malls here.  We ate at this massive buffet
there as a district, for part of our district activity!! It was so
awesome! They had so many different kinds of food, and it was all so
good. Just think a smaller version of tucanos, but sushi, and Japanese
food too. But so many meats, and pastas, and they also had soft serve
ice cream, and a chocolate fountain with bananas and cream puffs to
dip in it! They also had Caramel popcorn, which is always the best.
Anyway, after that we went to the Asahikawa zoo!! You can look that
up, because it is famous!! It was so awesome! The animals were so
cool, and it was such fun time hanging out with our district, and
getting to know them better. We also wore normal clothes for the first
time in my mission doing something other than sports! That was really
nice!

Monday night Nishino bishop of our ward brought my bike back, and he
had fixed my pedal!! Apparently what he had done was something with
welding a new bolt onto the pedal and then screwing the pedal into new
bolts...Something like that. But it works great right now! He's such a
G! On last Sunday when we were talking about it he said, "There's
nothing that I can't do". Haha I love that!! When he came to bring the
bike back, he also brought four packs of bacon, a big thing of butter,
two HUGE loafs of bread from a bakery, 3 things of jam, and a Box of
handpicked Garden strawberries! He is so kind, and I love him so
much!!! It was so thoughtful and generous of him to give us all of
those things, but especially to take the time to help me with my bike.

This week we saw some really awesome success with some of our
Investigator's! We met with Mitsuishi San, and her husband, and had a
really good time with them, and asked her to come to church, (Him too,
but he's not really open to that right now, and so when we ask him he
laughs like it's a joke.) But we asked her and she came this week for
her second time!! We were so happy! She is so prepared I really want
her to more quickly progress, but I know that the Lord's timing for
her is per
fect. Her and her husband met with missionaries and were really good
friends with them before I was born! They lost contact, but then we
found them again, and have really been having an awesome time with
them! I have no doubt that they will be baptized, sooner or later. I
envision her getting baptized, and then perhaps a year or so later,
her husband also. But she came to church, and then also invited us to
come to their house for dinner last night! "Yaki niku" (Cook meat:
Barbecue) Yaki niku her is like a barbecue, except people go crazy and
have many many different kinds of meets, and all you eat with it is
rice, and cooked vegetables. There are no fries, or buns, or ketchup.
But the meat is gourmet. It is super awesome. We ate some really fancy
shrimp, and so many types of steak, etc. It is always so much meat.
Haha in my time in the mission so far, I've probably eaten more meat
then I ate in all of my time in High school combined! They were so
nice, and fed us so much (really not cheap either), and then we went
inside and she pulled out her special surprise, which was a CAKE! It
was a Cake for Scheidt choro's birthday, which we had already had a
meal with them for, about a month ago, but for some reason she decided
to celebrate it again now, with a cake. But it was awesome. This Cake
tasted so good, and it was so cute. She bought it, but had them make
this special chocolate thing on it, that said "Scheidt choro, and
happy birthday! It was awesome!

I also got my haircut this week! From the same investigator as last
time! It was super awesome again! I love haircuts here! (Before and
after pics below)