September 18, 2016
Dear Family and friends,
This week has been great!! We received our transfer calls on Tuesday,
and unfortunately the chances of my amazing companion transferring
were very high. I was so nervous to receive our calls, because I
really did not want anything to change...But God is so very kind, and
he granted unto us the gift of us both staying!! It was the best thing
ever. I was so pumped!! So hopefully we can have another amazing
transfer full of miracles.
We have been able to teach an awesome investigator named toki San. He
comes to our Ekaiwa class, which we have actually been making pretty
intense lately, and the people are loving our Ekaiwa (English class).
Ekaiwa is actually a really good way of finding strong investigators,
if you make the class really good, and take it seriously. Ekaiwa is
those people's first image of the church, so it is actually really
important. But anyway I was able to connect with Toki San, because he
loves tennis! We have been able to have 3 different tennis
appointments!! (やっぱりわたしはうれしかったです。) We have been able to teach him the
gospel, and play tennis, and it has been the best thing ever! He
actually is really good at tennis, and so it's been really fun!
Akamatsu choro has also been working hard, and getting a lot better at
tennis too, even though he has no previous experience. Toki San loves
the gospel teachings, and has some really good potential!
There is this investigator named Himawari chan, and she is super
awesome! Her and her member friend have come to our church twice. They
are 15 years old, and are really good girls. Himawari chan is a
straight golden investigator, but she was the sister's investigator,
because almost always sister missionaries teach females, and visa
versa. When they came to church, we talked with them, and they were
really nice, and wanted to hear about Utah and America and stuff, I
was really hoping that the sisters could see her baptism before the
end of last transfer, because Honda Shimai was returning home, and it
would have been awesome for her to see one more baptism before she
finished, but it wasn't able to happen. Anyway long story short, the
member friend called our ward mission leader, brother Masashi, and
told him that Himawari chan actually had interest in coming to Ekaiwa,
and in coming to church, originally because she likes Americans. So
actually after talking to me a little bit, she told Masashi kyodai
that Himawari chan wants to hear the lessons from my companion and I,
because "I'm a cool gaijin..." Lol. So basically because of nothing
the sisters or anyone could control, we get to teach a super awesome
golden investigator! Haha so that's awesome, we will definitely be
able to baptize her this transfer. I think the sisters will still help
with teaching some, or at least I hope, because I feel bad for them,
but we obviously aren't complaining. It is nice to actually have value
as a foreigner, sometimes people act like I can't do anything, because
I'm not Japanese, and I really don't like that.
Chi San. Please everyone pray for chi San. Pray for him to be able to
receive the gift of tongues, and pray for him to be able to overcome
his word of wisdom struggles. Chi San has one of the best hearts that
I have ever felt. He is about 22 years old, he is from Vietnam, and
doesn't speak much Japanese. He works construction here, and gets paid
very little, and has to work very hard. The Japanese bosses, aren't
very nice to him and his Vietnam friends, but Chi San always forgives
them, and says that he sometimes gets angry in Vietnam too. He reads
the Book of Mormon everyday, comes to church every week, and is truly
loved by our Father in Heaven. He has very little, but he is so
willing to share, and his word is his life. He says that if he makes a
promise, he will never break it. His honor is the most important thing
to him. I admire him so much, and am so grateful to have met him. The
hardest part helping him to understand the doctrine of the gospel. He
works so hard at studying Japanese, but he isn't quite to the point
where he can really understand the gospel. Fortunately he has a Book
of Mormon in Vietnamese, so I hope that that will be able to help him
gain a strong and sure testimony of the gospel. He is so prepared, and
I am so amazed by his pure goodness.
I want you all to know that I have a testimony of this gospel. I truly
know that God is there. He loves you. He loves me. He is always
waiting with open arms for us to follow him. I know that the gospel is
the way. Satan is forever working to make us unhappy. Don't ever let
him trick you into thinking that God's way is not the happy way.
Strive to follow the gospel as closely as possible. That is the way to
joy. Share the gospel with those around you. Do not be afraid to open
your mouth. Quit sitting on the sidelines, and thinking that it is the
full time missionaries work. This is the greatest work that we have to
do in this life. The missionaries role should be to teach. The members
role is to find. I would challenge all of you to give at least 1
referral to the missionaries in your area per month. This does not
seem to crazy to me. Truly think about, pray for, and find someone who
is prepared to receive the message of the gospel. This is the greatest
gift you could ever give someone! Do not delay. Seek and find someone
who will listen to the message of Joy. The message of salvation. I
know that Christ lives. I know that we can do anything if we put our
trust in Christ. Rely on Christ, and you will receive what you need. I
say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.
Love,
コノバー長老
Elder Conover
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