This week was great! My official first week of being a trainer. I hardly have to do anything. Healey Shimai is a bomb missionary already. She has so much faith and mission fire, it`s great! Haha seriously though, nothing gets her down. She was telling me about how when people don`t listen to us or hear our message, she`s like "It`s okay! Someday they`ll know. Someday someday! And in that day they`ll be so grateful for us for even attempting to share the gospel with them. They`ll be so happy! They`ll say `sorry I slammed the door in your face!` In the afterlife as we have sunday dinner on a cloud!`
Haha! Really though. She`s the best bean-chan ever.
We had her first official lesson with Yamaguchi-san. It was a miracle! Yamaguchi likes to talk. So he would just ramble and ramble, and we`d try to fit in a word, but he`d just go off. Finally we asked him to read Alma 36:13-21. The story of Alma the Younger, repenting and being saved by Christ`s atonement. As he read, you could feel the atmosphere in the room change. Yamaguchi spoke clearly, and slowly. He spoke like he was really pondering. That feeling of the spirit entered the room. After, he turned to me and said in broken English, `That, had a big impact on me.` The rest of the lesson went great! He felt the spirit. I`m so grateful for the scriptures!
Let`s see, Thursday we got to go to Nagasaki! Goodness gracious I still can`t find my way in this country! We missed our first train, then went too far and missed our stop, then had to go back, then road that train for 2 hours and went too far, and had to take a long bus to the Nagasaki church building. The struggle is real! How long have I been in this country? A year? Haha just goes to show that I need my Fijian companion. Taufaga Shimai knew where everything was. :)
Any way we had an amazing training. We talked about the atonement. They had everyone sitting in a huge circle, and the Zone leaders went around and asked each missionary if they wanted a candy bar. When the missionary would say yes, they`d give him the candy bar. But then an elder named Elder Murphy had to do 10 push-ups for the price of letting that person eat their candy. They went around one by one, some people saying yes-making Murphy do 10 push-ups. Others saying no-and he wouldn`t have to do it. Some refused the candy bar because they didn`t want to see him do push-ups. It was hard. You could see him struggling, getting tired, arms giving out. And when he fell, He`d have to do another one. A perfect push-up. Eventually, they got to the last person and the Zone leaders announced `Well now, for those of you who refused the candy bar, not only did you not get a candy bar, but Elder Murphy is going to have to pay for all of those right now, whether or not you took it.` And at that point Elder Murphy was dead. He had probably down 220 push-ups already. Each time they would ask Elder Murphy "Elder Murphy, will you do 14 push-ups, just so that this person can have the CHANCE to receive a candy bar." Each time, breathless and tired he`d say, `Yes.` So they would throw the candy in the trash and Murphy would do 12 more. 15 more. He ended up doing 320 push-ups all together. At the end, Elder Murphy breathless and shaking, got up, and read from a paper. He addressed everyone individually, `Elder Sato, Sister Herrmann, Sister Healey, Elder Brower, Sister Stevenson ...... `and continued `You are hearby called so serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You have been called to serve in the Japan, Fukuoka Mission, and it is anticipated that you serve for a period of 18/24 months .....` He read our call. Our mission call. Tears were in my eyes. Each and every single missionary has read those words before. I knew them well. But as I heard him say those words, I didn`t hear it from Elder Murphy. I could hear it from my Savior Jesus Christ. I am called by him. He payed for us, so much more than just a candy bar. He payed for our ticket to have the CHANCE to return to our Heavenly Father. He performed the Atonement for us. Each of us. Me, you, your family, your best friend, your enemy, your boss, your 2nd grade teacher, everyone. And he payed it perfectly. Just like how Murphy had to do a perfect push-up, Christ had to perform a perfect atonement. He did it.
I have so much to say, but nothing can sum up how I feel towards my Savior. I love him. He loves me. I know this church is his. I am out here for him. And am honor to do it as his servant.
Love you all! Have a great week!
Haha! Really though. She`s the best bean-chan ever.
We had her first official lesson with Yamaguchi-san. It was a miracle! Yamaguchi likes to talk. So he would just ramble and ramble, and we`d try to fit in a word, but he`d just go off. Finally we asked him to read Alma 36:13-21. The story of Alma the Younger, repenting and being saved by Christ`s atonement. As he read, you could feel the atmosphere in the room change. Yamaguchi spoke clearly, and slowly. He spoke like he was really pondering. That feeling of the spirit entered the room. After, he turned to me and said in broken English, `That, had a big impact on me.` The rest of the lesson went great! He felt the spirit. I`m so grateful for the scriptures!
Let`s see, Thursday we got to go to Nagasaki! Goodness gracious I still can`t find my way in this country! We missed our first train, then went too far and missed our stop, then had to go back, then road that train for 2 hours and went too far, and had to take a long bus to the Nagasaki church building. The struggle is real! How long have I been in this country? A year? Haha just goes to show that I need my Fijian companion. Taufaga Shimai knew where everything was. :)
Any way we had an amazing training. We talked about the atonement. They had everyone sitting in a huge circle, and the Zone leaders went around and asked each missionary if they wanted a candy bar. When the missionary would say yes, they`d give him the candy bar. But then an elder named Elder Murphy had to do 10 push-ups for the price of letting that person eat their candy. They went around one by one, some people saying yes-making Murphy do 10 push-ups. Others saying no-and he wouldn`t have to do it. Some refused the candy bar because they didn`t want to see him do push-ups. It was hard. You could see him struggling, getting tired, arms giving out. And when he fell, He`d have to do another one. A perfect push-up. Eventually, they got to the last person and the Zone leaders announced `Well now, for those of you who refused the candy bar, not only did you not get a candy bar, but Elder Murphy is going to have to pay for all of those right now, whether or not you took it.` And at that point Elder Murphy was dead. He had probably down 220 push-ups already. Each time they would ask Elder Murphy "Elder Murphy, will you do 14 push-ups, just so that this person can have the CHANCE to receive a candy bar." Each time, breathless and tired he`d say, `Yes.` So they would throw the candy in the trash and Murphy would do 12 more. 15 more. He ended up doing 320 push-ups all together. At the end, Elder Murphy breathless and shaking, got up, and read from a paper. He addressed everyone individually, `Elder Sato, Sister Herrmann, Sister Healey, Elder Brower, Sister Stevenson ...... `and continued `You are hearby called so serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You have been called to serve in the Japan, Fukuoka Mission, and it is anticipated that you serve for a period of 18/24 months .....` He read our call. Our mission call. Tears were in my eyes. Each and every single missionary has read those words before. I knew them well. But as I heard him say those words, I didn`t hear it from Elder Murphy. I could hear it from my Savior Jesus Christ. I am called by him. He payed for us, so much more than just a candy bar. He payed for our ticket to have the CHANCE to return to our Heavenly Father. He performed the Atonement for us. Each of us. Me, you, your family, your best friend, your enemy, your boss, your 2nd grade teacher, everyone. And he payed it perfectly. Just like how Murphy had to do a perfect push-up, Christ had to perform a perfect atonement. He did it.
I have so much to say, but nothing can sum up how I feel towards my Savior. I love him. He loves me. I know this church is his. I am out here for him. And am honor to do it as his servant.
Love you all! Have a great week!