Elder Tschirki in Japan: Nekochan

みんあさん！おはようございます！

Everything's been awesome here. Sherman Chourou and I played in another Sunday night devotional and we played A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief and it was SO GOOD. We also wore matching ties. Everybody said it was the best musical number they've heard here (it's Marshall Macdonald's arrangement if you're wondering but with viola instead of a cello) and Sister Bertasso, one of the MTC First Ladies said that since we have three weeks left she would like to use us again so maybe we'll audition again our last week. You know, only having the music three days before auditioning and then performing in less than a week is kind of hard but it helps when you play through the spirit because it will always help you. ANYWAYS, when Sister Dahlquist and her husband speak they cried and said that music is such a blessing and that it always brings the spirit and that the people in Japan have been prepared and are waiting for us and that that principle applies to everybody on their missions. Everybody, no matter where you go, have people that are prepared and are being prepared for you.God works in mysterious ways! Speaking of that, one my teachers Bingham Kyoudai told us a story about how when he was a District Leader in Japan and they had a meeting in a chapel and a little lady walks in and they kind of chat and she had had a Book of Mormon and it had part of the address to the church in it, the other half got ripped out, but she read the book and prayed and knew that it was true (she just found it one day) and has spent years trying to find which church it belonged to and she got baptized two weeks after that or something. God really does prepare people!

Tuesday night, Elder Oaks came and he spoke to us a lot about the PMG and all that, woo hoo. However, what stood out the most is when he said something like the most important part about repentance is taking the Sacrament and renewing your covenants and actually owning up to it. If you don't love the commandments, you won't follow them. If you don't truly love God, you won't follow him. You can't serve two masters because you'll hate the one and love the other or despise the one and cling to the other or something cool like that. It's so true! Sometimes (all the time) I wonder why people intentionally do things that they know goes against God and what He has taught because that's just a big slap in the face to God and it's like saying, "I mostly love you but right now I don't and I don't know why I am going against you but I am and I know I'll feel bad and guilt later and I don't want to but I'm going to keep doing this even though I know the negative outcomes." Now that doesn't really make much sense, so why do we do it? I don't know! HOWEVER, I DO know that if we do our best to follow God's commandments and repent when we don't and take the Sacrament weekly (The only ordinance we take multiple times throughout our lives) then we WILL receive blessings. 100% of the time we will. "I the Lord, God, am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say ye shall have no promise" or something like that is 100% true, 100% of the time.

I was thinking about how blessed I am here at the MTC. I get to strengthen myself physically, mentally and especially spiritually everyday, more so than the kids that are here for a week. I get to create some of the strongest friendships I've ever had here and see all of my fellow Brothers in Christ from school and the rest of God's wonderful army of missionaries. I have gotten to play in two Sunday devotionals with Sherman Chourou. Not many people ever get to play in multiple. I've had the opportunity to hear from TWO members of the Quorum of the Twelve, including the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, President Nelson. That in and of itself is an amazing occurrence! Many members of the Seventy have come too. All of these just go to show how much God loves me, but more importantly how much God loves His missionaries that He will send Special witnesses of Jesus Christ, living prophets and apostles, to come and strengthen and edify us in order to better teach His gospel to His children. Life is so amazing and I love it SO MUCH!

みんあさん、愛しています！神様はあなたを愛しています！イエスーキリストの福音は真実ので、神様は自分のすべての子供がこの福音を受けてがほしいです。かれは私たちに預言者やせいてんやモルモン書をくださいます。イエスーキリストは私たちの罪をゆるすことができます。でも、私たちは悔い改めるひつようがあります。イエスーキリストにようて天のお父様のみもとにもどることができます。

よし。

シャーキー長老。

Pics:

Our Shimais and me