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
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