It all goes by so fast I don’t remember a lot of what happened this week, I write in my journal and then it’s just gone. But here are a few highlights...
We knocked on the door of an older lady with a wayward son, and we testified of how this Gospel has blessed our families. She accepted a Book of Mormon and we invited her to read about a man named Alma who also had a wayward son, but prayed to God and had his prayers answered!
President Sekiguchi came to our district meeting and it was his birthday last week, so me and Kaku Choro (on splits) made a small cake the night before and gave it to him! But the frosting got smashed on the way there (we had written out お誕生日おめでとう）so it was pretty illegible, haha he asked “is this Chinese or something?” Still tasted good though.
We knocked on the door of a younger lady, also with a wayward son! He is 20, and I guess has a lot of different issues and doesn’t really talk or interact with others. He lives with his mom, so we asked if we could meet him sometime since we are around the same age! She told us not yet. But, we testified again of how the gospel truly does bless families, and she agreed to hear us out! She asked us to come by again, but to not come by when there is motorcycle outside the house because that means her son is home, and he hates having guests. Sounds like a family that needs the gospel though :)
We stopped by a former potential investigator that missionaries met late last year who talked to us for a while in his garage! He is the coolest Ojiisan. He does all kind of metal work and wired and programmed a machine (by himself) to cut metal into specific shapes and patterns. We talked and through the conversation we learned a lot about him. He doesn’t have any strong religious beliefs, but he thinks that God probably exists. We also learned that he smokes but wants to quit, but he just doesn’t have the willpower. I shared Ether 12:27 with him and told him that though God, he can have the strength. We talked a little more about how the Book of Mormon can help him to
receive help and blessings from God. He was pricked in his heart and accepted a copy! He said, “I think I’ll read all of it. Then I might get converted! Hah!” Well, that’s the plan, actually. :)
We had a follow up lesson with K san, but he decided that since he isn’t Christian he better not meet with us. He wanted to keep the Book of Mormon though, so we encouraged him to read it on his own and contact us when he wants to meet in the future!
We have been teaching an investigator named S san, and she has a lot of very strong beliefs about Christ and the Bible that she has been taught at her church, so I have had the opportunity to study the Bible so much harder than I ever have before. Most investigators have never actually seen a Bible and know little to nothing about Christianity, so usually we just stick with the Book of Mormon. This has been a new experience for me. We taught the Plan of Salvation and we were able to use the scriptures to clear up a lot of misconceptions! Her and her friend that came to the lesson believe that the Fall wasn’t supposed to happen, and neither was the crucifixion. (They believe that Adam was plan A and Jesus was plan B, but they both messed up so Plan C was a Korean guy who became the Messiah sometime in the early 1900s.) But we were able to explain using 2 Nephi 2 and Genesis that the Fall was a necessary step in God’s plan for us to become like Him, and that Jesus willingly dying for us, so we could overcome the effects of the Fall, was the plan from the beginning. As we explained that God has a full range of emotions and experiences, S san was like “yeah! We believe that too! We believe God has a personality, and has sadness, and joy, and sorrow and peace.” So we followed that to explain that if our goal is to become like God, we also need to experience sadness and suffering, so we are able to understand joy for what it truly is. And without the Fall, there would no opposition, and we wouldn’t be able to become like God. S san said, “wow, that actually makes a lot of sense...” and agreed to read some sections from the Book of Mormon that we gave her! Her friend still seemed unimpressed, but maybe she just needs some more time.
I have been trying to really stretch my ability to receive personal revelation and minister to individuals. Just like the Prophets and apostles have counseled us, we need to minister like Christ did—one by one. We are all God’s children. Especially as missionaries, it is such a blessing when we understand the true significance of that statement, and when we can see others through the eyes of their Heavenly Father. I never want to lose that perspective!
Love you so much Mama!!!
永遠に愛してます！！！
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パスケット長老
Elder Paskett
English class, and hiking with O san
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