Beach Bums

Hey so this week we went on a thirty five mile trip out to Kasari and back. Look it up from Naze to Kasari. On bike. It was a cloudy day though so we were okay. While we were out there I had goat curry which was delicious. I guess goats are kind of popular on this island. Today we went to the beach for p day and we still haven't gotten our transfer calls yet but I'm most likely staying here safe and sound on Amami.

ALSO, were safe from earthquakes. I only felt one and it woke me up but that was a month ago. Anyways were about four hundred miles from Kumamoto and separated by ocean. Just wait until July and if I'm still here we'll be talking about typhoons.

We played football with our 17 year old investigator and his friends in the rain which was way fun and I really just want to play football.

We also translated a guy's American social security into Japanese and why he had American social security, we're not really sure.

But this week, as I've been reading through the Doctrine and Covenants I've been noticing a common theme. It's that the field is white and already to harvest, and how if we thrust in our sickle, we will reap up blessings. As I though about that, I thought about a scripture in
Revelations, specifically Revelations 14:14-16.

14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

So, Christ is the one that does the work. His work is to bring the children back to His Father, our Father in heaven. He's go into do it. We read in the Book of Mormon that "[He] is able to do His own work." If he can do his own work, the work of salvation, why does he need
missionaries? Why does he need the weak, young things of the world to help in a work so important? Are we as missionaries and members of the church necessary? Is missionary work necessary?

The easy answer is yes. But why? If he can do his own work, why? So he can strengthen us. So he can bring us back. So we can be converted. He has us participate in finding his children so that we can experience the joys and happiness that 1. He feels when he brings us back and 2. So that we can remember what it was like to be found. We are supposed to be changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, but change cannot be brought about unless we act. We have to act to be in line with the commandments of God and that will bring about a change in our hearts, in order to keep us on the straight and narrow that leads to eternal life. The work of missionaries is just as important for people that are lost as is is for the one doing the work. We are all in a journey to come back to him, and we cannot do so unless we act.

In the Book of Mormon, in Second Nephi, we read that there are things made to act and to be acted upon. We were made to act. We were made to choose. We make choices everyday, but if in the end those choices don't bring us or other people in harmony with the gospel, is it worth it? If it's contrary to the gospel, it hinders the work. If it's inline with the gospel, it progresses the work and we get blessings, and hopefully we will be able to keep those blessings and the same feelings we felt here and everywhere else fresh in our hearts
throughout the rest of our lives. I feel like that's why missionary work is important. I feel like that's why I'm here in Japan. Obviously it's to teach the Japanese people, but less obviously is to help strengthen me for a lifetime of discipleship. Realistically, God doesn't need me. The work will progress without me. The people I find will be found by somebody else. He's not going to let his children go without hearing the gospel if they're supposed to hear the gospel. BUT, while he doesn't need me, I definitely need Him.

Anyways, love you all!

Elder Tschirki.

The beach today 

Me and Sano Shimai, a senior missionary. She's so sassy and grandma-like.

The kid on the right is Kaiya, our investigator. 

On our crazy adventure to Kasari. Me on my bike.

 

Us sliding in the mud being boys. Plus a little butt slip from your boy over here and I 

looked at Kaiya and said "oshiri wa kakkoii ne" which is "my butt is cool huh" 

 

Incense

Conference was so awesome. The highlights for me were Priesthood session, President Uchtdorf's talk on Saturday, and Elder Holland's talk on Saturday. Everybody was great though and there was a theme that I noticed about doing what we need to do everyday such as reading the scriptures, praying, serving, developing charity, etc. We have to do what we can do everyday to qualify for God's help. And like Elder Holland said, God knows that we can't be perfect, but he wants us to improve, and if we are improving everyday, it is enough. It's true! And to add to that testimony, I found a spot in the Doctrine and Covenants that testifies of that same principle. DC 5:21, "And now I command you, my servant Joseph, to repent and walk more uprightly before me, and to yield to the persuasions of men no more; 22 And that you be firm in keeping the commandments wherewith I have commanded you; and if you do this, behold I grant unto you eternal life, even if you should be slain."

The key is that Christ tells Joseph Smith to walk MORE UPRIGHTLY. He doesn't say that he has to be perfect right now, because that's impossible. He doesn't tell him to do something Joseph can't do. He tells him to walk more uprightly, or to improve himself and his behavior and actions, and promises that if he continually does that, he will have eternal life. It's a principle found in the scriptures. It's true, and I'm trying to do that everyday. It's hard, but like President Monson asked us to do, we need to make the hard decision to do right than the easy decision to do wrong.


Anyways, on to the week. We went with the Sano's around the island to visit some less actives and taught them some lessons. A lot of them just don't have a way to get to church because they live so far out, about an hour away, and they're older without a car. They get rides though but it's hard for them. So while we were doing that, the Sano's like to go to the beach and take pictures and walk around in the sand on the island, which was way fun, so I have some good pictures of that, and I took all the best ones on my camera. We found a new
investigator, this young mom named Shigeki, and she has three little boys. She's pretty interested and could sense the importance of the message and said she would come to church but she wants to be able to go with her whole family and her husband works Sunday's too. He's very busy and they don't have a lot of family time, but we are going back again to teach her on Tuesday. We also helped Miwa, our friend, move and she gave us food. She's fluent in English so we ask her Japanese questions and she can answer them and help us out. And conference happened too. So that was the week this week!


Love you all!

Elder Tschirki
#japan❤️

A cool beach we went to 

We eat snails here

My incense box. (We all have one). We love incense here. 

 Keihan, or rice and chicken soup, the native dish on Amami. 

It's Super Hot

This last week was pretty good. No bike accidents but two new investigators. We aren't sure how well they're going to progress or if they are too interested yet, but we're going to teach them the best we can. It's up to them! And just because someone says no doesn't mean that they'll keep saying no in the future! Like one of our investigators here says, everybody joins the church in the right timing for them. In English too. Now those are some words of wisdom.

We taught our 28 year old dad investigator Kengo and reviewed lesson three, the gospel of Jesus Christ, with an emphasis on the temple and priesthood. He was pretty interested in that and said if he knew that this was the right church and what his ancestors wanted him to do, then obviously he would join. I testified to him that if he really wants to know that it's true, and if he prays, then God, and maybe even his ancestors being taught in the spirit world, will tell him that it's true. It's interesting when we teach him because any time that he says something or has a question or concern and we answer that, the spirit is very strong and he just sits there and ponders. He knows what he is feeling is good and wants us to come back. He hasn't accepted the Book of Mormon yet, because, in his own words but translated, "The book is a very important book and I know that. I know it's important. But my kids will color all over it. Not my oldest daughter though. (She's 9). She'll listen to me when I say not to touch things but like my three year old will find it and color in it and so will the other kids because they don't listen to me." That's legit. I told him I probably colored in them too. I'm pretty sure I did ha. But we told him that we can download on his tablet thing the Book of Mormon and he was pumped about that. We asked if we could have his phone number and he gave it to us and said that our phone stinks and so does his and he doesn't know how to text on it and that we can only call him. He said, "If you end up texting me, I won't answer and I'll call you back and be like, 'hey, idiots, why didn't you call, call next time'" and that also we can only call him during his lunch breaks because "that's usually when I'm having a smoke break so I can answer then." He's the funniest guy I've ever met. He speaks SO
informally though, it's almost like a completely different language. He's pretty blue collar and gets up at 4:30 AM to go drive trucks and comes back at 7:00 at night. I love that guy.

Anyways, this week, as I was studying the New Testament (I'm almost in Revelations. My emails are going to get really interesting really soon) the big theme that John talks about is 1. love and 2. No corruption of speech, meaning bad language. He says that if we don't love our neighbors, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God. If we don't have charity, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God. If we say we love God, but don't love others, we are hypocrites and cannot inherit the kingdom of God. If we love God, we need to love others. We need to
have the same love that he had for us. Now for point two, if we say that we love God and our speech says otherwise, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We have to let the light of Christ live through us and let others see that! We have to follow the commandments with an eye single to the glory of God, and if we do so, we'll be okay! It's really a simple formula, but hard to be acted out, but I know that as we do so, we will be blessed and immensely happier!

I love you all!

Elder Tschirki

#japan❤️

For our German friend 

A good view kind of.

A crazy lady that said the same thing over and over and talked
to  us for forty minutes. She's pretty cool. She's like 85. 

We found this bike yesterday after we rode over the top of a mountain 
for  thirty minutes.