Struggles and Blessings

August 26th

Konnichiwa!

 

Okay I have so much to update everyone on!

 

I was having a rough couple of last weeks. I felt Satan was trying really hard to keep me from having success in my companionship. I was getting so annoyed with sister Buhler and sister smotherman. It was making it so hard to feel the spirit. Sister Buhler is honestly a saint though, she is SO patient with me. I have never seen her get mad at me once since we have been companions, so I don't know why I was getting so bothered by her, but I was. Sister Smotherman and I are COMPLETELY different and so its just been an all around struggle trying to work with her.. she has a HUGE fear of speaking to people and it was leaving me and Buhler to do everything..so that in and of itself was causing a huge problem- we had a lack of unity big time. Last week I guess I got to my breaking point with it and we called our zone leaders to give me a Priesthood Blessing. They came on a train right away, and gave me a blessing.

 

After the blessing, I have returned to being my old happy self, and I am feeling to spirit again everyday! I am not struggling with sister buhler or smotherman anymore, our companionship is doing great! But here is the big surprise....

On the same day I got my blessing, we got a call from the AP`s (assistant to the president) and they said they needed to talk to me..

 

They called me to train a new missionary this next transfer!

I will be staying here in UBE, and I think Buhler and Smotherman will be staying here as well. There will for sure be 4 sisters here in Ube, its just a matter of who!

 

So yesterday I had to travel to the mission home in Fukuoka to go to the New Trainers meeting with the president and AP`s. It was SUCH a good training, I learned SO MUCH. I LOVE my mission President!! I learned some really great stuff on how to be a good Trainer, and I feel like since I am still such a new missionary I will be able to better help my new missionary make the somewhat difficult transition from the MTC to the Field. It is going to be so fun though, I cant wait to meet her. I will find out today what her name is and what time I will be picking her up from the bus station!

 

Its so crazy that I am already training this early in my mission. I feel like I have learned a LOT since I have been here, but taking on the responsibilities of being a trainer is going to be a bit overwhelming. I do know that it is going to be so amazing though. After I got the call from the AP`s I knew why i had been struggling so much in the last few weeks. Satan was working on me because he knew that something great like this was about to happen. I have noticed that the lord works in patterns in our lives, and we can start to recognize his blessings, but Satan also works in patterns in our lives. When things get really hard its usually because something really great is about to happen. I will be better at recognizing that next time!!

 

I am not having any major struggles at this time. The members make me mad sometimes, they are BIG into gossip and drama and it is creating a huge division between many members, but I feel like that is typical, and the Lord will be chastising them soon.

 if they don't stop.

 

Miracles:

Last week we housed into a former investigator of the church. She ALMOST got baptized 13 years ago, but stopped meeting with the missionaries because she felt like she couldn't live the law of tithing. We have started teaching her again though, and I feel like she will get baptized. Her name is Harata San, and she is SUCH a wonderful person, we don't know her that well but I love her already. She still has all the stuff her last missionaries gave her...she kept a picture of Christ being baptized in her house, and on the back was a long letter from her previous missionaries. Meeting her has been a testimony to me that no effort from missionaries ever goes wasted.  

 

We housed into ANOTHER former investigator of the church, she was really nice and is allowing us to come back so we hope to start teaching her in the next week!

 

We are making some progress with one of our less actives named Yamada- she is Buddhist and Mormon, and thinks that there is nothing wrong with that and that they are the same religion...hahah..she is slowly starting to understand that they aren't.

 

We are meeting with another man named Sasahara san. HE IS SO DANG CUTE! He is in his late 80`s and he LOVES talking about God and Jesus Christ with us. We will be teaching him the Restoration this week, so I hope he accepts it and accepts to be baptized soon. He cant read, (he lived during world war 2 so he wasn't able to get an education) so helping him gain a testimony is going to be difficult when he cant read the BOM, but we are getting creative with it. we gave him a Dvd to watch on Christ so that should help. He has his own cake shop and LOVES what he does. He is so cute. Love him!

 

I am so grateful to be here on my mission!!!! I am honestly learning SO MUCH. I am grateful for the trials, I am grateful for the people. I love the Lord. I am so grateful for the opportunity to repent, and use the atonement. I love you!!

 I love you. I will need your prayers this week as I will be taking on a lot of responsibility. Please keep doing everything you all can to stay worthy of the companionship the the holy ghost. The Savior will be coming any moment now..please prepare! I love you allllll!!!!

 

Love, sharp shimai