I missed emailing Monday because we were at the hospital Sunday and at
home all day Monday. Gomen nasai m(_ _)m <-- bowing person
We're getting chotto yabai on time here haha! My mission is ending...
Haha but if you were to ask me if I was going home next week, I'd tell
you no. Hahaha! I can't believe it.
This week has thrown a ton of crazy things my way! Last minute trials
you could say, but it's cool that with a knowledge that God is behind
all the little details trials don't really influence me the same way
they did before. In all of the trials, one can always find tiny
miracles or tender mercies. If you are not carefully watching for
them, it's easy to miss all of the peace that comes from recognizing
the Lord's loving hand touch your life.
The first came from Itou San. We asked her to pray about her baptismal
date on the 13th and she decided to move her date to August 28th
instead. It was a bit of a relief because she really does need more
time to study the gospel before she is baptized. We're trying to help
her the best we can. The ward is working closely with her too.
This week we have been so busy with meetings! Tuesday was my final
Tokyo Temple trip, Thursday was my final mission leadership counsel,
and Friday was my final zone conference with president and his wife.
It was my last time attending all of these things.
The second started on Thursday when my companion said she wasn't
feeling well. She threw up that day and didn't eat barely anything for
the next two. On Sunday she looked horrible but still insisted she go
to church. At church she looked like she was going to pass out, and
the members noticed (thank goodness because, I love her to death, but
she is so stubborn!) We all basically forced her to go to the
hospital. When we went they told her she was dying of starvation,
dehydration, exhaustion, and they were freaking out haha. So in Japan,
if a Japanese person even has the startings of a cough or sickness
they book it to the hospital. It's part of the culture. We Americans
kinda put it off a bit longer to see if it won't just cure itself. So
when the doctor read her vital signs he flipped! She wasn't really
dying haha. She just has the stomach flu. Which is contagious BTW. So
I hope I don't get it. She was in the hospital for 2 hours hooked up
to an IV haha. We got hilarious pictures. 😂😉
The crappy part is that we are stuck here in the house until she gets
better. They said one week. But yesterday (Tuesday) when we called the
doctor again, he said maybe 5 more days until she is fully healed.
Haha there goes the last week of my mission. Just kidding, I am being
patient I promise. 😊😉
Besides those things we are seeing legit sick miracles as always! The
Lords work moves forward still. Even though we are stuck in our
apartment! It's awesome.
So this last Saturday before the hospital episode on Sunday, we had a
lesson with Miyoko San. We met at the library for a lesson. She is
doing so incredible. Especially by being so patient with my Japanese
skills haha. She is learning more and more about the spirit and asked
that we specifically study the spirit today.
We asked her to bring her questions about the spirit to this lesson
and she did. She had questions about his size and shape and if there
were a variety of spirits. We read together from the Book of Mormon in
3 Nephi so that she could understand more about how the spirit speaks
and works with us. We asked her if she has had the spirit talk to her
before. She realized that she has before, frequently in her life. But
when she had that peaceful direction, she chose greed instead of
following the prompting. I shared an experience of doing that too
haha.
Miyoko San said that recently she followed the spirit though. One year
ago she wanted to do hula. But when she got pamphlets and information
from all the different schools in her area, she just didn't like any
of the options. She was sad cause she wanted to hula. One year later
when she came to our church (last June) she was so happy to learn we
had hula classes and she felt like she needed to go. In the lesson,
she then recognized that that was the spirit working in her life. It
was soooooo cool!
We gave her a list of scriptures, about the Holy Ghost, to read daily
so she can feel the spirit more. We also extended a soft baptismal
commitment. And she said that when she knows it's true she'll
definitely be baptized! STOP, NO WAY! She shared a couple of concerns
with us after that, but we are so excited for her to receive baptism.
It'll definitely happen this year!
As we were leaving she said that next time her daughter might come
from Yokohama to join our lesson! She said her daughter was going to
come today, but something came up so she couldn't make it in time. NO
WAY! She's already sharing the gospel with her daughter!
Okay and listen to this! When we were waiting for a ride after the
lesson--we were going to the church to watch Meet the Mormons-- she
told us that last week she had work scheduled for three days in a row.
That is super hard on her body because she is sick. Her job is
watching children but she says they frequently fight and punch and
throw toys haha. (They sound like brats hahahaaha 😂) So this last
week, every day before those three days of work, she said she prayed
to God for help. Then she looked at us with a big smile on her face
and said, "Guess what, I was okay all three days!" STOP, NO WAY!
Then at the Meet the Mormons movie later that night, she told us
another story. She said that this weekend she was planning on going to
her parents like she does every weekend, but this week on Thrusday
they called her and said they are super genki so she doesn't need to
come over. She was super surprised but happy because then she could
come to meet the Mormons movie and our lesson. Otherwise she would
have had to cancel both things! NO WAY! When she explained this
situation to us, she said it in a way where she maybe is starting to
realize how much the spirit is involved in her life! I think she
realized that God helped her parents so that she could come tonight.
During the movie there were comments made by all of the people about
the spirit working in their life which sealed our testimonies from the
lesson earlier. It was perfect!
It was awesome to have our investigators watch the movie and learn
more about what we believe. Of course Miyoko San came, but two of our
Eikaiwa students Yayoi San and Truly San came too. After the movie I
asked them what they learned and liked about the movie. And they said
that they didn't realize that our church was such a big organization.
They thought we were just a small church Americans brought over to
Japan. They all said that they want to learn more about the Mormon
church and that's the reason they came! Yay! Two new investigators!
Okay I realize this is a novel already, but I came across this in my
studies this morning and just had to include it. It's from October
1995 Conference Priesthood Session by President Hinckley. It's
beautiful. And it was a perfect check for me today to see if I have
been a good missionary. Maybe you've read it before, but I absolute
love it.
"I speak also of missionary service. I was recently in London,
England, and there we held a meeting with the missionaries serving in
that area. Representatives of the British Broadcasting Corporation
filmed part of the service. They are preparing a documentary of our
missionary work in the British Isles.
Prior to this I had been interviewed by a representative of the BBC
Radio Worldwide Service. He had seen the missionaries and noted their
youthful appearance. He asked me, “How do you expect people to listen
to these callow youth?” In case some of you do not know the meaning of
callow, it means immature, inexperienced, lacking sophistication.
I replied to the reporter with a smile, “Callow youth? It is with
these missionaries today as it was with Timothy in the days of Paul.
It was Paul who wrote to his young companion, saying, ‘Let no man
despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word,
in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity’ (1 Tim.
4:12).
“The remarkable thing is that people do receive them and listen to
them. They are wholesome. They are bright, they are alert, they are
upstanding. They are clean looking, and people quickly develop
confidence in them.”
I might have added, “They are a miracle.” They knock on doors, but not
many are at home these days in a city like London. And so missionaries
approach them on the street and engage them in conversation.
It is not an easy thing for a sensitive young man or woman to do this.
But they come to believe in these further words of Paul to Timothy:
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind.
“Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” (2 Tim. 1:7–8).
They recognize that fear comes not from God but from the adversary of
truth. And so they develop a capacity to engage people in conversation
concerning their work and their message. They and their associates
will bring into the Church during this year of 1995 almost 300,000
converts. That is the equivalent of a hundred new stakes of Zion and
more than five hundred new wards in one year.
"Callow youth?” Yes, they are lacking in sophistication. What a great
blessing this is. They carry no element of deception. They speak with
no element of sophistry. They speak out of their hearts, with personal
conviction. Each is a servant of the living God, an ambassador of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Their power comes not of their learning in the
things of the world. Their power comes of faith, and prayer, and
humility. As we have been reminded, the work is not easy. It has never
been easy. Long ago Jeremiah said that the Lord would gather His
people one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion and
feed them with pastors after His own heart (see Jer. 3:14–15). In
terms of the individual missionary, the harvest is not great in most
instances, but in the aggregate it becomes tremendous. The work
demands courage, it demands effort, it demands dedication, it demands
the humility to get on one’s knees and ask the Lord for help and
direction.
I throw out a challenge to every young man within this vast
congregation tonight. Prepare yourself now to be worthy to serve the
Lord as a full-time missionary. He has said, “If ye are prepared ye
shall not fear” (D&C 38:30). Prepare to consecrate two years of your
lives to this sacred service. That will in effect constitute a tithe
on the first twenty years of your lives. Think of all that you have
that is good--life itself, health, strength, food to eat and clothing
to wear, parents, brothers and sisters, and friends. All are gifts
from the Lord.
Of course your time is precious, and you may feel you cannot afford
two years. But I promise you that the time you spend in the mission
field, if those years are spent in dedicated service, will yield a
greater return on investment than any other two years of your lives.
You will come to know what dedication and consecration mean. You will
develop powers of persuasion which will bless your entire life. Your
timidity, your fears, your shyness will gradually disappear as you go
forth with boldness and conviction. You will learn to work with
others, to develop a spirit of teamwork. The cankering evil of
selfishness will be supplanted by a sense of service to others. You
will draw nearer to the Lord than you likely will in any other set of
circumstances. You will come to know that without His help you are
indeed weak and simple, but that with His help you can accomplish
miracles.
You will establish habits of industry. You will develop a talent for
the establishment of goals of effort. You will learn to work with
singleness of purpose. What a tremendous foundation all of this will
become for you in your later educational efforts and your life’s work.
Two years will not be time lost. It will be skills gained.
You will bless the lives of those you teach, and their posterity after
them. You will bless your own life. You will bless the lives of your
family, who will sustain you and pray for you.
And above and beyond all of this will come that sweet peace in your
heart that you have served your Lord faithfully and well. Your service
will become an expression of gratitude to your Heavenly Father.
You will come to know your Redeemer as your greatest friend in time or
eternity. You will realize that through His atoning sacrifice He has
opened the way for eternal life and an exaltation above and beyond
your greatest dreams.
If you serve a mission faithfully and well, you will be a better
husband, you will be a better father, you will be a better student, a
better worker in your chosen vocation. Love is of the essence of this
missionary work. Selflessness is of its very nature. Self-discipline
is its requirement. Prayer opens its reservoir of power.
And so, my dear young brethren, resolve within your hearts today to
include in the program of your lives service in the harvest field of
the Lord as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints."
Isn't that amazing! I'm so grateful for my mission. Okay one more!
The Prophet Joseph once declared, “Where doubt is, there faith has no power”.
Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith!
Went to Shonan to see the Gaitaus, Tatebayashi's, and Claudia
recently! Pictures below!
Love Sister Fordiani
1 MLC: Vainerere, Leach, and me
2 Our zone leaders ready to kill dendou!
3 photos and video of the hospital haha
4 Gaitau's house for lunch! Their new baby is so cute!
5 Claudia and fam! Ahhhhhhhhhh!
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