Hey Family,
I was glad to hear from you. I am looking forward to next week's e-mail to hear how your baptism went Amanda. It sounds like it will be wonderful!! :D Mom thank you for the video you sent and Jen you have some amazing skills with making videos. That was an amazing video and seemed like a very full house. Very different then the way that I did it. :D Shows Megs and mine personality I think. But it was really fun to see. I took a video of when I first read the e-mail and tried to only make it 30 sec. Long but it was just over but I am sending a memory card home this week so you will all be able to see it. :D That and more videos and pictures.
So onto this week. YESTERDAY WAS AMAZING!! Our investigator Kentaroh got baptized and the service was wonderful. We had it after the second session of conference and the spirit was so strong there. Me and my companions plus one other member sang a song for him (even though my voice is HORRIBLE) and many people were touched. I saw a lot of wet eyes. After he was baptized he bore his testimony and it was the sweetest thing ever. First because he was translating himself for our benefit and 2nd. In his testimony he told everyone that even though he has an incurable disease that may turn into cancer later in his life he is grateful for it because it led him to search God and led him to that moment baring his testimony and being baptized. His testimony is so strong and and amazing and I feel so very blessed to have met him and to have learned from him. He has become like a brother. Love him! :D
What has also been amazing is that recently the Lord is showing me that I have been working hard and effecting people in many places that I go. I don't think I mentioned this last time but a few weeks ago one of my previous companions called to tell me happy birthday and she told how one of the people we talked to on the street during our time together in shibuya is an investigator (a golden investigator) and has a baptismal date. And then from my time in Oyama one of my old investigators has a date and another wants to become close to God. I hope this does not make me sound prideful because I don't want it to be. I know that any effect I have on people is because of the Spirit and that it is really the Lord but it is so comforting and a tender mercy from the Lord to know that I am doing a good work here. That I am needed and that none of my effort was wasted. Hope that makes sense.
We also met with one of our investigators who is from Arica twice this week. She is very kind and has a lot of faith in Christ and loves her Bible. We watched the Joseph Smith movie with her because we knew she was confused as to why there was a Restoration and latter day prophets so we felt that if she watched the accounts of the prophets life she would understand more. But after we watched it and asked her what she thought she said that she didn't believe it. She doesn't believe that there is a need for the restoration, a prophet or temples. It has come to the point that she only wants to share scriptures with us (almost Bible bash) so we have decided that it would be best to drop her. From the last time we met with her I came to understand what it meant to feel godly sorrow for those who do not accept the message. Hearing her say the words "I don't believe it" after seeing all that the saints and the prophet endured was heart breaking. It brought tears to my eyes. It was a hard decison to drop her but it was getting to the point that the spirit wouldn't dwell there anymore and I felt like I was always defending my beliefs instead of merely testifying. She is still very sweet but we need to focus on the people who will hear our glad message and won't fight us. Maybe now is not her time. I hope though that one day she will accept the true Gospel.
I have really come to love my mission in the last few months and finding so much joy. I fall more in love with the people everyday. It will be so hard to leave here. I am pretty sure I will be crying. But I am so grateful for the Lord His tender mercies in sending me to Japan and to Utsunomiya.I LOVE it!!
Great things are in store for you Megs!! :D
Oh and for your information. I will not find out if I will be in the south mission or not till the Saturday before that transfer starts. We find out during the regular transfer call. So I have a while till then. It will be sad to leave everyone I have come to know if I go to the south mission but I will go where the Lord wants me to go and there are always more people to meet. :D
Well I love you all with all my heart and I look forward to the day that we will reunite.
Have a wonderful week and I shall see you next week. :D
Love,
Love,
Kenzie
