We actually hear Christmas music EVERYWHERE. Grocery stores, sushi places, malls, everywhere. They love Christmas here, if they have kids, and the music is always playing. I just wish it was the old stuff like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.
Anyways this last week we taught three lessons kanaaaa (kana is like "I think", I didn't even think about it when I typed it, it just happened). Jun, the doctor, wants to change his life and become happy. He understands the doctrine of God and he can't deny the fact that other people have had spiritual experiences. He believes them all. He wants to have those same experiences and so he's been reading the Book of Mormon everyday and praying everyday. He wants to know if God is there and how he can get happiness from him. We set a baptismal goal for him for 1/30. Okumura, my boy, we taught on Saturday. He believes that there's a God and he also now has a goal baptismal date for 1/30. He expressed concern about joining a Christian church but we asked if he knew that it was true if he would join and he said yes, if he knew. We taught him about Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon and how we NEED faith in order to receive promised blessings from God. We used the Shinko Bag analogy (faith bag) where we put candy in it, told him there's candy in it and they reach in and take the candy. We ask why they did and they said because there's candy. God is the same. He says "do this and I will bless you with this" and if we do that, we receive those blessings. It's really simple yet so overlooked. We have to have TRUST in Him in order to take the first steps in receiving those blessings. On Sunday we taught Kawachi with Fujinaka Kyodai who was the perfect joint (member present lesson, they call them joints here in Japan, I'm not sure why). We told Kawachi we would bring a young person but that fell through so we had the opportunity of bringing a middle aged man missing his thumb and index finger on his right hand (I love shaking hands with him) and instead of getting attitude from Kawachi we got respect. He had opened his heart a little but because he had a Japanese person teaching him. We taught about the restoration and the Book of Mormon at his genki saki (outside his door) and he said he really wants to know if it's true too and he's reading and praying everyday and still skeptical and doesn't believe but he wants to. He also has a goal baptismal date for 1/30. So in the last week we went from like 1 investigator to three baptismal dates. That's a miracle and it was only wrought because of faith and obedience. As we keep teaching them and they keep progressing, miracles will continue. "God has not ceased to be a God of miracles."
Oh we got to dress up as Santa's for Kunishi Shimai's special needs school and that was so much fun! They have such such sweet spirits and God loves them all perfectly, and you can feel it.
PS the Christmas Devotional was very good. Last year's music was better only because they sang "The First Noel" which is probably the most beautiful thing I've ever heard, but this year's "Unto Us a Child Is Born" was amazing. I loved it and that's exactly what the Christmas Video that the church put out this year says. Go watch it! I've seen it at least 100 times now and I feel the spirit stronger and stronger everything I watch it.
Oh and mom I memorized the Standard of Truth like you asked. "The standard of truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble and calumny may defame but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it was penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country and sounded in every ear; till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." Next step: Japanese.
Love,
Elder Tschirki
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