I CAN'T BELIEVE IT EITHER!! I can't wait to be in Nihon (:
It’s going to be amazing. After all the Nihonjin I've met, I just know
I'll love it (: Not nervous at all, though I know I'm prolly gonna be
super annoyed when I can't speak any Japanese and that's the only language
around me. But honestly... I'm really excited for that frustration.... (;
YES. I was running around looking for Sam during hosting
because I knew he was coming in with his family. One of the older
assistants helping out was like, "Elder, go over there!" and then I
was like, "My friend is supposed to be here right now..." and then
this lady (probably the man's wife,) was like, "It’s his friend!" And
just before I got in trouble, I heard someone yell, "Elder Stout!"
And there was Elder Liechty!! It was such a relief to see my brother
again. (Don't worry, he gave me the hug from you, Mama ;) I helped him to
his room and class, prolly taking a little more time than was needed... (; But
it was so fun. We also ran into Jacob, and the bros were united!!
So, I'll send that pic! (:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!! BRIAN!! EMAIL ME
NOW. Seeing his picture was so weird... I haven't seen a new picture of
Brian in two years!! Can you believe its been that long since we sat
outside my car and talked until 3 AM??
The MTC. I will miss the devotionals, the teachers, and my
district the most. It’s been truly an amazing experience and I love it so
much more than I ever expected I would (: There are so many great people in
this world and I'm so lucky that I've begun to meet more of them!! My
district is already feeling like family, so you need to meet all of them soon!!
So, guess who I got to teach yesterday? (Amongst my 3 lessons
ALL in Japanese?) JUNICHI OJISAN!! (Uncle, not grandpa.) He's so awesome.
I can't believe I didn't make time to teach him sooner. He's one of the
wisest men I've ever met. It’s funny though, when we try to teach him, it
really turns into him teaching us. As we go, he asks so many questions,
and occasionally stops the lesson and says things that never crossed our
minds. My favorite analogy he made was while we talked about spirits, he
said, (in an AWESOME Japanese accent,) "Ah. Muzukashi concept,
ne? Sei wa muzukashi." and then proceeded to rip up a peace of paper
into many smaller pieces. "The Church, is like a puzzle. And
right now, you are throwing individual pieces at me." He picked up one
piece and eyed it, continuing, "I have no idea what I'm looking at!
But, if you show me whole picture, then you can zoom in on individual puzzle
piece so that I understand."
Its CRAZY! I leave on Monday!! We spent all day
today packing, so we're running a bit low on time, but... man. I can't
even begin to tell you how excited I am. I've been waiting my whole life
for this. And its finally here.
Please pray for me.
So! Fun advancement: on Sunday I got released as the Zone
Leader and two of our Kohai (the younger missionaries, one of which was a
student body officer at AF!) were chosen to take our places. Being their
zone leader was an amazing experience. I learned so much and heard so
many life-changed and life-changing stories. Some Elders here have insane
pasts. Their families had all but given up on them, and somehow, through,
in his words, "what only could have been the grace of God, which I didn't
deserve, I realized the truth. That's why I'm out here. To show
people that they are never lost."
It’s powerful. I love these people.
So, another Faith promoting experience! On Sunday, we had
a speaker come in who said, "Everyone, I come here without 'purse or
script.' I'm going to try my best to follow the spirit, so if there is a
question you have that needs answering, ask God if he'll answer it through me
and then listen." So, I've heard that before, but I've never really
tried it. The idea that part of a talk would be turned to me in
particular just seemed ridiculously unlikely. But I said a prayer,
because there had been a lot on my mind that day. And the entire talk was
for me.
Not just one phrase, or thought, or even paragraph. The
entire 45-minute talk was just for me. He eluded to scriptures I'd read
in the last 24 hours, he talked about topics that seemed to have no correlation
at all unless you've had several specific experiences I have over the past few
weeks, he even shared some stories after saying, "Normally I wouldn't... I
mean, I don't think I should share this, but..."
It was for me. Sometimes God gives us the most blunt
tender mercies as a reminder.
So, I promise to write you all when I'm in Japan!! There's
a ton more to say, but I want to answer some emails, so this is where I'll
close. Aishiteimasu minnasan!! I love you all so much!!
Read The Book of Mormon more than you're reading it right
now. Just find time in some random space of 5 free minutes you
have. That's my commitment to you. Then see if Heavenly Father
doesn't bless you.
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