Elder Ballard

Mom and Dad
 
Hey!
How is everyone doing..
Gee thanks for the count down haha.. Three more emails left. Talk
about crazy... It's like almost 20 days left.. Gag me.
I made my companion promise me that she wouldn't talk to me about it
unless I bring it up haha. I am way excited... But I love Japan..... I
love everything here and everyone here. Sooo yeah... It's awkward but
oh well.
So this week was way cool!!
So many awesome things are happening here in Urawa. I feel so blessed
to be serving here right now.
 
So Keiko. She is amazing. She is from a part member family. She is
from the Fukuoka area. And she moved to Urawa like 2 years ago and
then a couple weeks ago she started coming to eikaiwa and started
meeting with us and what not. She went to church all the time when she
was little but never got baptized. And like a year ago her older
sister got baptized and her younger brother is baptized. And back at
her parents house her mom is the only member but like the missionaries
are always over there. And  like yokushiteruyo. So last week she came
to FHE and then we had a lesson at her house on Saturday and then she
came to church as well and we have a lesson with her tonight. Like it
is just amazing. I truly have such a testimony that things come when
the lords time is right! Please pray for Keiko that she will
understand the need for baptism and understand why it's importsnt and
be able to gain her own personal testimony.
 
So we have this "investigator" she is kind of out there.... And yeah
she like had us over for a lesson and made us this curry and what not
and then we tried to give her a Book of Mormon and she got all awkward
and would take it but she said when she comes to the church on
Sunday's she will use it and read it but only at church and that she
can't have it at her house. It was way strange. So then like a couple
days later she called us and sister Sticht answered the phone and I
feel so bad... Like she just started chewing her out saying I had you
over for lunch and was being all nice and then you try to give me like
this free book about God and was just saying all these crazy
irrational things. She like literally just chewed her out for over 20
minutes. I thought by the time the call was over sister Sticht was
going to cry.
 
Yesterday we were so lucky to hear elder Ballard speak. That was very
neat. We talked lots about the importance of prayer. And how our
investigators need to do person prayer or else we are basically
wasting our time.. I never really thought about it that way. But when
I look at it. The investigators that are progressing towards baptism
are all the ones who are do the basics by their selves, like reading
the praying. So that's was very eye opening. It was so fun being able
to a have an apostle come speak to us at our mission. And I feel even
more blessed because In like 2 weeks elder Nelson is going to be
coming and speaking to us as well.
 
Oh but I do have this way super awkward story that happened this week.
So we have this investigator, her name is Ai. Well turns out like one
day she met this guy from the ward and they became like good friends.
The guy from the ward is way cool and has a super cute family and just
rocks.  Anyways he liked invited ai over for dinner so
then she told us about it so we called him and he invited us over as
well. So we go over and like turns out his wife isn't home and she is
working haha...but like his kids are all home. So we go in and like ai
is all awkward haha like it was funny she speaks English and said to
us, this is way weird haha. The guy from the ward is like cooking all
this food and then we sit down and eat and he like dims the lights and
turns on some piano music and like put some essential oils in the air
haha like I was just thinking what the flip is about to happen haha.
But all in all it turned out way good! And Ai is progressing and
what not. Haha I think maybe we should take all of our investigators
over to his house and then they will all start progressing
 
Things are fun and great here. It's been raining lots lately but it's
mostly just been raining miracles here!!
 
XOXO