Welll the day has finally arrived....FLIGHT PLANS!!! I'm am actually leaving the MTC! I can't beleive. It's hard to remember life before the MTC and used to be hard to imagine life after the MTC but now that we have those travel plans, it really feels like I am going on a mission! It's the best! I can't wait for this adventure to really start. I was sitting in class yesterday thinkink abotu it when all of a sudden it hit me...wait a second...I don't know this language at all...how am i suppose to talk to people. Really scary thought. But at the same time, I've really taken on Stevenson Choro's way of looking at it. He said that it is such an adventure to try and figure out what they are saying. Thank goodness I will have a companion who will actually know what they are saying.
This is the travel plan: Aug. 15 we depart from SLC at 2pm. Riley and I are on the same flight to Tokyo...yes we have a direct flight. Score huh? Which means, I don't know exactly when we will be calling...either at the SLC airport if we get there with enough time or in Tokyo...So just always have your phone with you and charged mom...let me know what phones I should call. We arrive in Tokyo at 4:45 pm on Aug 16. That's were we'll say goodbye and I will leave and Stevenson Choro will continue on with his adventure. I lost it in the Temple today when I thought about how this would be the last time I was in the Temple with him. I don't think I have ever been there without him...I'm sure gonna miss that kid. I can't express how much of a blessing it has been to have him here. I hope it has been the same for him but I have really really loved sharing this adventure with him. I got to teach with him last week and boy is that kid good at japanese. It was funny though cause neither of us understand very well so when our native investigator talked back to us we both kinda looked at each other. It was fun. He's gonna be a good missionary and he has such a good heart. Mom, you would be so proud to see him, espcially when he speaks Japanese. A mission really is a miracoulous thing. It's amazing how we learn a language so fast.
I'll share a quick experience we had at the Teaching Center. We taught this lady and my companion sisters too. We first had to share a message and then ask for any referals. We shared 2 nephi 8 about Lehi wanting to share the fruit and then the lady told us that her sister who lived in San Diego wasn't a member adn she wanted her to hear more of the gospel. The TRC is a mock version of the field so we were like oh okay we'll let the san diego missionaries know. end of story. Then we went out planned for a little bit and then came back in and taught the Plan of Salvation. I walked back in that second timea dn could sense that this woman was here for somethign. There was somethign that needed to be said to her but I didn't know for the life of me so i started to really pray. We taught about life before here, we taught about our purpose and then we started teaching about the Atonement. And no sooner we're we into bearing our testimonies that this woman just strated crying. We were a little like uh...what are we suppose to do. We let her cry for a little bit and were silent as the Spirit took over for a little bit. Boy was I prayin at that point on direction. Shimai started to talk about ressurrection which I found to not be the right thing and i kept feeling like I should just keep bearing my testimpny of how the gospel has blessed my life and how God knows us. With that our time was up. After wards we went out and Shimai's sisters who were in there then told us this: "While you were out preparing they lady was telling us how she was going to a family reunion this weekend in San Diego and most of her family are not members. She told them taht she came to the TRC to feel the Spirit and to gain confidence is sharing the gospel with her family." You think she got what she came for. How grateful we were that we could have the Spirit with us adn that this woman could receive strength from us. God knows each and everyone of His children and know what they need to hear and when they need to hear it. And that brings comfort to my heart because no I can't speak this language but when the Lord needs His child to hear somethign, He will let them hear it and it will be through me. So yes am I freakin out that I don't know the langugae. But do I know that the Lord will not let me fail at bringing His children to the gospel. He will use me as an instrument in His hands. I already love the Japanese people even when they speak really really fast. I cna't wait to get out there and start doing His work. I got a letter from one of the Elders that was here before us and He said that we should just be so pumped because yeah its hard but there is so much work that needs to be done adn we are the ones to do it.
I have loved my time at the MTC and have thought of it as such a blessing in my life where I became converted to the gospel again adn I know that this will keep happenign. I love this work. I love this gosepel adn I love being a missionary.
love
shimaiRiley's Letter
Sup all!!!!!
This week was away legit. we got travel plans on thursday. so that was way exciting. we leave on monday, we report to the mtc travel office at 1o am and then our flight leaves from slc at 2. so its way good becasue a lot of elders have to be up by like 3 am to make their flight so we lucked out. we also flight straight into tokyo, no lay overs in the us so thats good and bad i think. but we all fly together!!!! my whole district does, so that was way good , everyone was way happy. so natalie and i will be on the plane together and we will split in the tokyo airport, so that will be cool. the fukuoka people have a two hour lay over in tokyo and then we make the two hour flight to fukuoka getting in at 950 at night. it should be way fun and way intense. im pumped that we get to ride on the same plane because i love my district. i totally want to hang out with all of them. my and elder beazer our way tight. he is kinda like my cameron except for he is way cooler and just as funny as cameron. so its all good. speaking of elder bell, i said goodbye to him the night before he took off, it was kinda weird but way cool. i got way tight with elder collinsworth too, so its weird not seeing those guys anymore. but yeah, the big news of the week was travel plans. we went to the temple for the last time this morning so that was trippy becasue i love going to the temple. but it was way good. while i was in the celestial room the lyrics "Be still my soul, the lord is on thy side", "Fear not, i am with thee, o be not afraid", "faith in every footstep" and "soon we'll have this tale to tell, happy day, alll is well" just kept coming into my mind. it was way comforting. i am so excited to go to japan. it will be so fun and so crazy. its going to be the coolest thing ever. i also realized that time just keeps moving regardless, so that is good and bad. its good because i know that soon i will be back in the provo temple celestial room, soon i could be back in the laie visitor center watching the jospeh smith movie on a sunday, so its good and you dont have to get all nastalgic about things because time just moves on and sooner or later i'll be back. its also a bad thing that time just moves because being a missionary is the best, my mtc stay is just about up and i wont be a missionary forever so i have to take advantage of the time i have. that really helps me stay focused because i dont want to waste time or thoughts about other stuff because a, i want to take advantage of the time i have and have no regrets and b, i know that i those things like the provo temple and the laie temple are not going to be going any where so i can go back just not now. anyways, i am pumped for japan, i love the mtc and i love life. the lord loves us all and we just have to surrender our pride and come unto to him becasue his arms are wide open.
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