Transfer Week!

October 24, 2016


Dear Family, and friends,
This week has been a normal week, but as a missionary a normal week is
nothing to be associated with the standard usage of the word.

This week on Thursday are transfers! It is very sad, because
unfortunately my companion and I will almost for sure not have another
transfer together.;/ He has been such a good companion, and I am so
grateful to have been able to have two transfers with him.


This week we were able to have a super awesome lesson with our
investigators koki and yusuke. They are both 16, and I have talked
about them before. We introduced the BOM, and they were really
excited. We committed them to read from the Book of Mormon for ten
minutes everyday, and to pray about the BOM. They are so solid. They
said that they would do it, and they said that they would come to
church next week, and I arranged with koki to be able to call him
everyday, and share what we learned from the BOM that day. I am super
excited about that, and about them! Please pray for them.

This week I learned something that will change the way I live the rest
of my life. I learned of the joy of just in general, being sharing and
giving. This may sound pretty standard, but I guess that I always felt
like if I gave something away, like I was losing, and so I never
really liked it (For example, just giving a bag of chocolates away,
for no reason, except just simply to give.) My personality before My
mission, would definitely not be in a rush to give something that I
bought, away, but this week from my awesome companions example, and
then through interrogating him with questions, I learned that there is
joy in just simply being a giving person, even when there is no reason
to give (Birthday, Christmas, Special occasion, etc.) He told me that
he actually likes giving things to people, because it makes him feel
happy. I know that I have always felt happy when I give things at
Christmas, but I guess I'd never really thought of it as such a happy
thing to just give away things that you worked for. But the beautiful
thing is that it doesn't have to be big, and it doesn't have to be
super expensive, or take an absurd amount of time. This is simply the
idea of kindness, and putting others joy above your own, which
actually increases your own joy.


 Obviously I am not a very good person, and need to change a lot,
because I am so selfish, and am always trying to be kinder, but
learning this has really helped me. I have since just given small
things away to people if it seems like it will make them happy, and it
has been great! It has really been a great thing, and I realized that
giving someone a chocolate: the happiness that they feel, outweighs
the sadness of having one less candy bar tenfold.

It has become my testimony that by becoming a little bit more giving,
a little bit more kind, I know that we will become a lot more happy,
and will find it a lot easier to become like, and follow Christ. I
invite you all to find small things that you can do, to put the joy of
others, just a little bit above your own, because I know that you will
feel God's strength, as he always puts us as his number one, and makes
us his personal and individual work. I know that Christ lives, and
wants us to be able to make it back to our Father in Heaven. I know
that the Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead, and that he
guides us. I know that Thomas S Monson is a Prophet of God. I know
that the gospel is not just a guide to becoming happy, it is in itself
what brings joy, and satisfaction, and what better gift to give, than
the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Love, Elder Conover
コノバー長老
Elder Conover