yo yo! its been a crazy week!!! all starting off with thursday, day one of ankle injury, pretty sucky, we were confined to the appartment, so we went through the area book, we called everyone in there!! that took the whole day up. then we made carmels with some people in the ward it was pretty awesome, they were a lot of fun. fugita passed her baptismal interview with flying colors!
Friday was another day in the appartment or solitary confinment as i like to call it, i was way sick of being there! earlier in the morning i was thinking about what we could do, i had the random idea to just go through the phonebook and try approaches and see if we could pick anyone up, when it came time to go to work, elder nelson had the same thought and mentioned it so we gave it a try. i thought we should start and do all the names that ended in fugita (would be the equivelent of calling all the smiths in the phonebook) after 2 hours we had nothing, just a couple contacts but no pick ups. finnally elder nelson talked to a guy who likes english picked him up and took a come to church commitment, pretty wild! we were excited.
saturday was the day of fugita's baptism. the first one i would get to watch, i liked it. The baptism was great, as soon as fugita came out of the water she was crying. she was very touched and graetful. just how grateful i did not know but would soon find out. when she went up to bear her testimony she was very emotional. she could not really speak much, but whatever she said it was expressing her gratitude, it was very sincere. then to my astonishment she closed her eyes bowed her head and started saying a prayer, at first i was stunned, i didnt know what to do, i thought it was very weird but than as i listened to the prayer it hit me, she was so grateful, so overcome with emotion and gratitude that she knew of no other way than to thank her Heavenly Father than to offer a prayer to Him. i was very touched by her prayer, in which she said she was older and commited sinns and how greatful she now was that they were washed away, she thanked the missionaries, and everyone that helped teach her. I have never seen someone so humbled and greatful. This is what a mission is all about!! fugitas conversion and experience will forever be engraved in my mind.
Sunday we confirmed fugita as a member and gave her the spirit, and the other fugita from the phone book came to church, he is about 30 or so very tall for a japanese person, after church he said he enjoyed, but was not really interested in religion, but agreed to meet with us again to talk in enlgish and get to know us.
Monday started off with teaching tatsuya (phone book guy) at first we talked, he is very smart and very good at english, he started to explain japanes culture, history, background. i learned a lot, very fasinating!! he talked about the way japanese people think, act, it was amazing, i learned a lot, and it made a lot of sense. he than told us how he was different why he was not like the rest. he said about ten years ago he was very unhappy. all he did was work. he got up at 6:30 took a train to work, went to work, worked, took a train back got home at 12:30 at night, slept and then did it all over again, every day, no vacation, no weekend. he repeated that life stlye for 5 years. one day he said it was too much, he fainted, woke up in a hospital. when he woke up people thought he was mental, but he explains he had awoken, and broke free of the life he was trapped in, he stoped working, and lived, his girlfriend thought he was crazy and left him, to this day it is a sensitive subject. i was very taken back by his story. as i just listend i found so many thing he said that highlighted messages of our gospel, i just listend, never said anything unless he asked me a question. and he talked, a lot. he told us when he came to church he felt a peace, a sense of love, and unity. he agreed to come to church next week, again. I am very excited for him! the lord guided us to find him, in a very perculiar way, but i am so greatful to have found him, it can be said it was a coincidence or fate, but it is nothing short of the tender mercies of the lord, and his gathering of his elect. even if tatsuya turns into nothing i have learned a great deal from this experience. after that we had another lesson with a 25 year old kid named hashimoto. we went over his reading and discovered he had, had quite the experience. he said at first he did underdstand mosiah 3 the spot where we gave him to read, so he than went and read mosiah 1-4 and he gave a perfect explanation to us of all the chapters. it was amazing, just as we were about to move on i asked him how he felt and he could not describe it, he said it was more than just learning, he felt something, he said he felt like he should pray but didnt. we told him that was the spirit, from there the lesson went great! he offered one of the best prayers i have heard from an inverstigator ever!!
Tuesday was a day full of member visits and meals, it was a lot of fun.
This last week tried my faith with my ankle injury, but it proved when we are given afflictions and trials, the lord is testing us to see if he can bless us, he wants to shower us with blessings but wants us to prove that we want them, that we will submite to his will, i was patcient in my small affliction, and the blessings from heaven we received without end!!! How great is my calling
With all my love
Elder Daniel Henry Lawler
Friday was another day in the appartment or solitary confinment as i like to call it, i was way sick of being there! earlier in the morning i was thinking about what we could do, i had the random idea to just go through the phonebook and try approaches and see if we could pick anyone up, when it came time to go to work, elder nelson had the same thought and mentioned it so we gave it a try. i thought we should start and do all the names that ended in fugita (would be the equivelent of calling all the smiths in the phonebook) after 2 hours we had nothing, just a couple contacts but no pick ups. finnally elder nelson talked to a guy who likes english picked him up and took a come to church commitment, pretty wild! we were excited.
saturday was the day of fugita's baptism. the first one i would get to watch, i liked it. The baptism was great, as soon as fugita came out of the water she was crying. she was very touched and graetful. just how grateful i did not know but would soon find out. when she went up to bear her testimony she was very emotional. she could not really speak much, but whatever she said it was expressing her gratitude, it was very sincere. then to my astonishment she closed her eyes bowed her head and started saying a prayer, at first i was stunned, i didnt know what to do, i thought it was very weird but than as i listened to the prayer it hit me, she was so grateful, so overcome with emotion and gratitude that she knew of no other way than to thank her Heavenly Father than to offer a prayer to Him. i was very touched by her prayer, in which she said she was older and commited sinns and how greatful she now was that they were washed away, she thanked the missionaries, and everyone that helped teach her. I have never seen someone so humbled and greatful. This is what a mission is all about!! fugitas conversion and experience will forever be engraved in my mind.
Sunday we confirmed fugita as a member and gave her the spirit, and the other fugita from the phone book came to church, he is about 30 or so very tall for a japanese person, after church he said he enjoyed, but was not really interested in religion, but agreed to meet with us again to talk in enlgish and get to know us.
Monday started off with teaching tatsuya (phone book guy) at first we talked, he is very smart and very good at english, he started to explain japanes culture, history, background. i learned a lot, very fasinating!! he talked about the way japanese people think, act, it was amazing, i learned a lot, and it made a lot of sense. he than told us how he was different why he was not like the rest. he said about ten years ago he was very unhappy. all he did was work. he got up at 6:30 took a train to work, went to work, worked, took a train back got home at 12:30 at night, slept and then did it all over again, every day, no vacation, no weekend. he repeated that life stlye for 5 years. one day he said it was too much, he fainted, woke up in a hospital. when he woke up people thought he was mental, but he explains he had awoken, and broke free of the life he was trapped in, he stoped working, and lived, his girlfriend thought he was crazy and left him, to this day it is a sensitive subject. i was very taken back by his story. as i just listend i found so many thing he said that highlighted messages of our gospel, i just listend, never said anything unless he asked me a question. and he talked, a lot. he told us when he came to church he felt a peace, a sense of love, and unity. he agreed to come to church next week, again. I am very excited for him! the lord guided us to find him, in a very perculiar way, but i am so greatful to have found him, it can be said it was a coincidence or fate, but it is nothing short of the tender mercies of the lord, and his gathering of his elect. even if tatsuya turns into nothing i have learned a great deal from this experience. after that we had another lesson with a 25 year old kid named hashimoto. we went over his reading and discovered he had, had quite the experience. he said at first he did underdstand mosiah 3 the spot where we gave him to read, so he than went and read mosiah 1-4 and he gave a perfect explanation to us of all the chapters. it was amazing, just as we were about to move on i asked him how he felt and he could not describe it, he said it was more than just learning, he felt something, he said he felt like he should pray but didnt. we told him that was the spirit, from there the lesson went great! he offered one of the best prayers i have heard from an inverstigator ever!!
Tuesday was a day full of member visits and meals, it was a lot of fun.
This last week tried my faith with my ankle injury, but it proved when we are given afflictions and trials, the lord is testing us to see if he can bless us, he wants to shower us with blessings but wants us to prove that we want them, that we will submite to his will, i was patcient in my small affliction, and the blessings from heaven we received without end!!! How great is my calling
With all my love
Elder Daniel Henry Lawler
Now for some pictures... too bad there is no cane in view.
Fujita's baptism
Can you believe it looks like dano is actually enjoying the food in Japan? I keep holding out for his first encounter with squid and fish soup...
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