12/18/11

 

Herro Famiry,

HEY!!! Guess what , there`s only a week before Christmas. So, before I forget I`ll tell you when to call me on Christmas. Call me on the 25th, approximately around 5:00pm. Do it! Do it now! Okay and the number is...080-2149-6214. Well, I don`t know what to tell you guys. I`m way excited to hear from you youngsters but at the same time...I`m way concerned. If that make sense. Only, only because I know that this call will mostly consist of:

-uncomfortable and probably unintentional probing questions about my future choices of schooling, housing, life in general, etc.

But, I guess that's just the inevitable. Its happening to me family, I`m becoming old. At a very alarming rate that is...Itsn`t great to know that I`m going to be a social inept and probably senile in less then seven months? Oh well. Oh yes, I should probably inform you that I am, indeed, staying for a third transfer in Kobe with my beloved Elder Meyer. Transfer 12, bring it on!

Well, I bring good tithing to all of those who reads this email. Brother Yoshida was baptized yesterday!!! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Amen. No, but in all seriousness, it was a fantastic baptism. Brother Yoshida is a spiritual anchor when it comes to the Book of Mormon. After the baptism, he stood up and testified to the ward about his conversion. It was awesome because he told the ward how we were so persistent when it came to following up with his Book of Mormon reading...but it really helped him build a habit to read out of the Book of Mormon everyday. I love that guy!

Yeah...well. There`s a bunch of elders waiting for the computer...and I`m just gonna talk to you over the phone in a week so, peace! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! Can`t wait to talk to all of you! Have a GREEEEAAAAA-T week. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! Oh and thanks for the package by the way!!!

Mucho Love,

Elder Saito

Dear Grandview 16th Ward,

Thanks a bunch for all the Christmas wishes! I really love all of you guys! The work is going great over here in Japan and we are currently seeing miracles as our brothers and sisters are coming unto Christ. Please continue praying for them! Thank you so much! And thanks to the kind person who donated their well worked for 50 dollars! It shall be used for good.

Love,

Elder Saito

12/11/2011

Hey hey hey,

How are you guys? Thanks for the email!!!

So, let me start this email off with a crazy experience I had earlier this week. Well, if you look at the pictures I send to you guys first it may ruin it...but whatever. It was just Monday when I had received a package from a certain man by the name of Jordan Burns. I was excited, mainly because I love letters, packages, etc, but that's beyond the point. Well, within the package was a large blue scarf and a letter on a single piece of paper. I was already pretty stoked at that point because it was a good lookin` scarf and its starting to get cold up here in Kobe, but there was something quite peculiar about this certain scarf. I couldn`t figure it out but it just looked pretty...whats the word, antique? So, I just went ahead and read the letter...which led to my mind being blown. So, Jordan wrote to me that he had watched the last general conferenced and was very moved by the talk Elder Yamashita had given about "my father`s coat." He decided to send me a very special scarf that he had received from a little 17 year old girl named Mizuno Yasuko who lived in Nagoya, Japan during the winter of 1975. Yup Mom, you got that right, that 17 year old girl is you! Isn`t that crazy?! So, 35 somewhat years later...that exact same scarf is now being used by the son of the the little girl who made it herself on his mission. I`m tellin` you, there is no coincidence of this happening. This is purely the tender mercies of the Lord being made known to us! I mean, how else could something like this happenでしょ？ Yeah, that's my crazy experience of the week! (Jordan Burns was my mom's family missionary)

Yup, then after that we went to Luminaria...which is the special lights thingy that commemorates the lives lost in the Kobe earthquake 20ish years ago. Twas beautiful.

Yeah, so things are going crazy over here in Kobe. Extremely busy...but that's life you know? Well, ready for more good news? Brother Yoshida passed his interview on Thursday and now he`ll be going through this Sunday! This kid...is the best! I swear, every one of his lessons is just full of the Spirit. There is nothing better than an investigator who doesn`t understand everything but is craving to know more. I mean, he`s tearing apart the Book of Mormon right now. He`s already almost half way through Alma and he started reading seriously just a few weeks ago! Its so great to have investigators who turn to prayer and the Book of Mormon instead of missionaries when they`re faced with challenges or have questions of the soul. That's what leads to lasting conversion I`m tellin` you. But, just because he passed his interview doesn`t mean we can take our guard off. I think this is the time that we need to strengthen him the most, cause you know all them adversity and temptations will be goin at him. But, I think a consistent prayer in the heart and the Book of Mormon will help him out a lot. I also had a big impression to share with him Lehi`s vision about the tree of life this last lesson we had with him, and I think it fit perfectly!

Well, please continue praying for him okay? It`s almost Christmas you guys!!! 早いね！　Oh yeah...and what`s up with Spohr being engaged?!?! I am going to DESTROY him if he gets married before I get back! Ah, why is everyone getting married without me there? Whatever, whatever.

Anyways, I go now. Hope ya`ll are doing awesome! Can`t wait to hear back from you soon!

LOVE YA,

Elder Saito

12/4/2011

Hello Family!

Another fantastic week has gone by over here in Kobe! But first off, how are all of you guys? Its so good to hear from all of you guys, gotta love it! Well, good old Christmas is coming up pretty quickly. Tell me family, what are your plans for the holidays? Oh and for the Christmas calls...I haven`t gotten any updates on it so I`ve got no idea when you need to call me. I know that it`ll be on your Christmas day over there...but I`m not sure. Yes mother, and for the package...I don`t really need anything honestly. A few snacks, letters and pictures will be more than enough for me! Save the money for future uses...like buying me eccentric Japanese items half a year from now! ahaha I joke. I don`t think that far in my mission. No, but really I don`t really need anything. Well, would you guys want me to buy something for you guys from Japan? I mean, I`ve got no money whatsoever but I can buy you things from Daiso (100yen shop) if needed. Oh yeah, if possible, would you be so kind to send me my old iPod so I can put a few songs from the mission home? That`s pretty much all I need.

Anyways, its creeping me out to think that a year ago, I was only on my third transfer with Elder Rahn back in Okamachi. Goodness gracious that was ages ago! I can`t believe how much has gone by in the past year though...I also can`t believe how much I can`t remember. Thank goodness for missionary journals! I swear I have Alzheimer disease. Oh yeah, this was a worthy journal entry. So, we were aired on national television this past week!!! Remember when I told you that we were taped doing that ラジオ体操 (old man stretches)? I guess it made national television this week! It was funny, we had a bunch of members in our ward telling us all about it. One guy even taped it for us on a blue ray DVD! I can`t wait to watch it! A member described it as four rather large 外人`s (foreigners) surrounded by old grandmas and grandpas doing stretches. Can you say 有名人? Yeah, representing the church in a fine manner I would say.

Well, on a more spiritual note. This week was amazing! One of our yakusokusha, Brother Yoshida, made significant spiritual progression in a week! I`m telling you, this guy is a spiritual giant. I haven`t seen anyone manifest as much faith as he did in a long time! So, this last week he was unsure about on whether or not he really wanted to commit to receive baptism. He had legitimate concerns about certain things and we did our best to our ability to help resolve them but there was still something...something that we couldn`t resolve on our own because it wasn`t in our circle of influence. So, we laid it all on the table for him. I told him straight up that we could try our best to convince him with our words but in the end it doesn`t matter because its up to him to decide for himself. So, we did what every missionary should be doing and helped him turn to the Lord. We testified about the power of the scriptures, mighty prayer and how only by those means would he be able to know for himself. And it was great, because the next day I followed up with him over the phone and he told me that he couldn`t get a clear answer...BUT, he felt a good feeling inside when he read and prayed and he knew that it was a good thing! It was great because I told him right there that that feeling he had inside was the Spirit. And that same Spirit is the way that the Lord is teaching you that it is true! Once I told him that, he was all like "OHHHHHH" and it finally clicked for him. Then right off the bat he started testifying and reading to me scriptures that he found earlier that week over the phone. It was like, an hour long phone call but we testified, read out of Alma 32 together and helped him realize that the Lord is trying to teach him something. Isn`t the Spirit so amazing? So in the end, he told us at church that he still doesn`t know or understand everything but he feels that what we`re doing is right and that he had been saved by Jesus Christ! I know right, that`s the definitions of faith. Not a perfect understanding of things, but a hope. Yeah, well his interview is coming up this Thursday so please, please, please pray for him okay? He really needs it!

Yeah, so the work is moving forward! Life is good. Gotta keep working harder to see more miracles! Gotta go and set up Christmas decoration for the Zinke`s now! I LOVE YOU GUYS! 頑張って!!!　ファイト!!!

Mucho Love,

Elder Saito