June 27, 2016: raining raining raining

Hello everybody!!  How you all doing?  I've heard that the week was pretty slow for some of you back home and to be honest it was for me as well!  We are heading into the rainy season here in Japan!  And with that, it is even worse because I am in the farthest east area in Japan right next to the ocean.  It rained so hard these past couple days!  The week started of really well, we had some quick lessons with investigators (it's been one of our finding techniques, talk to people and say that we are missionaries and we are sharing a quick message of God or happiness or the Book of Mormon QUICK) and finally were able to schedule a lesson with a Q that has been playing hide and go seek with us.  Aaannnddd the game is not finished because he pulled a no show on us.  Then it started to rain for almost 3 days straight.

First of all we have rules that if it is raining at all we can't ride our bikes.  Elder Daniels and I totaled on Wednesday alone, 10 miles of walking in the pouring rain!  Got a good video and some pics it was unbelievable!

Really cool experience this week, we found a new q and had another lesson with her a couple days later.  We gave her a plan of salvation pamphlet and normally whenever we follow up the people haven't either read it or just won't talk to us.  But this time the woman had read it 3 times over and was waiting for us to come over.  She was so nice!  Elder Daniels and I were surprised at how prepared she was and just flat out nice!  We ran over the entire lesson with her and she wanted to learn more but she is quite busy for some time.  So the best we could do is give her yet another pamphlet except this time about the restoration.  We will see her down the road I am sure.

Two things from Friday that happened that I want to share ... An investigator of ours basically told us that because we were ALOT younger than she is, that we shouldn't be teaching her!  Then we got advice from a member, we need to teach the gospel as if we are teaching children because the gospel is that simple!

We had two Q'S at sacrament yesterday!!  And we are helping our q with a date for baptism and also a little girl in the branch!! Her baptism is at the end of next month also at the end of the transfer!

At DTM we got trained on how we could use the Book of Mormon better in dendou!  What I took away from it was that we had this training because the Book of Mormon CAN apply to anyone!  Again I bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon!  Everyone watch Elder Hollands Oct 2009 conference address!  Another blessing is having people like that bear witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon!

 Bye bye till next week!頑張ってね

 Elder Halverson

ハルバソン長老~日本仙台伝道部

 

 

I wrecked on my bike the other day and tore my pants all up.  Bike is fine.

Monastery we went to today and saw Monk doing their thing.

Blink and you'll miss the badge

Took the badge picture in Odate

 

Investigators we pray for

Kawame

Shuji 

Ogawa 

Mizumoto 

Fujita 

Hitakeyama

Kiyotsuke 

Kimura

Sasaki

Just a few

 

June 20, 2016: No Change in Miyako

So this week has been great!!  This week we had another awesome lesson with our investigator that will be getting baptized in a few weeks!  However, right before church yesterday she called and canceled saying that she couldn’t come to church and therefore cancelling all of our plans to teach her.  All is good!!  She is awesome and wants to learn!  And she already has a couple friends in the branch so fellowshipping isn't going to be that hard!  

Transfers came and went and I am.... Staying and staying in the same district with the same comp and same elders. So this transfer week is pretty normal, just like a normal week!  
So this week had some more miracles and interesting experiences.  
The other night while knocking on some doors, Elder Daniels and I found a new q who almost rejected us at first.  He wasn't wearing any pants but then we gave him the whole intro and he said that he has some solid interest in God and wants to learn but he can only meet at past 8:20 so we scheduled a time and we will be flying around to meet with him, teach him, and get home on time so we are obedient:). Right after that we had some time for some more housing and we house and nobody comes out and just as we are leaving a guy starts to yell at us in nothing but a short t shirt.  So we got both ends of the spectrum that night!  :) ✌️

There are blessings all around us everyday.  Finally people are starting to listen to us and are willing to meet with us again!  It is all because of obedience.  Elder Daniels and I have made a conscious effort to be more obedient.  For example, saying prayers before 10:30 so that we are in bed by that time.  It's the little and small things that make the big difference.  
Lastly,  God loves all his children.  And because he does, there is a book that applies to all of his children and that book is the Book of Mormon.  I testify that the Book of Mormon is true and God is our Heavenly Father!  Simple truths!

Elder Halverson 

ハルバソン長老~日本仙台伝道部

 

 

June 13, 2016 - A WIN IS A WIN!

This week was interesting!  I want to start of with a story from Tuesday!  We talked to nearly everyone in Miyako on Tuesday!  We got rejected all but once!  Sometime in the day we made room for a lesson with an investigator and we get to his house, knock on the door and he comes flying out.  He gets outside and starts to take off his shirt in front of us.  Only the shirt gladly but we continue on talking to him because him taking of his shirt is actually quite normal.  We have a really good lesson on baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost!! It was awesome!  He is improving greatly!  During the lesson he only took of his shirt one more time! 

Wednesday was even more interesting!  I arm wrestled a high school kid and found a new q! I lost in the arm wrestle but after being humbled by losing to a high school kid, we found a new q 2 minutes later!  We start talking to him and he says he has read the bible and we pull out the Book of Mormon.  He takes it and looks at it and says "Wow this is different, but this is way cool!"  He hands it back to me and I give it right back like from the movie Best 2 Years!  He says "I have a lot of interest!"  すごく興味があると言いました, swapped numbers and he accepted a time to meet again!

Thursday had a split with Elder Smith and found 3 new Q'S that day!  That includes a guy who was asleep on the bench.  Kinda woke him up and became a new q!  It was a eventful day!  We taught 6 lessons in that day which is very rare!  Right at the end of the day we were asked to help out with a charity concert and this guy that performed did a little more shouting than singing!  It was just weird but some of the songs had a good beat.  So all in all it was good!

Yesterday was the 10 month mark!  It crazy.. Going to fast!  Every Sunday we have an investigator that comes to church but we can never have a lesson with her cause she is always busy!  But this time right as sacrament was over she had time and we got a room really quick!  I was kinda nervous about the lesson beforehand because we weren't really prepared.  But we go in there hoping for the best!  As the lesson goes on, the nerves go away and all the sudden a nonmember walks in the room and just sits down.  We tell him we are in the middle of a lesson and he ignores us!  We continue on and it was good, we taught the entire first lesson and finally we commit her to be baptized and she replies without hesitation "Yes!"

Then all the sudden the nonmember who just came into the lesson chimes in and says in English "I can convince a million people of something."  Totally trying to stop her but she says that it doesn't matter cause she is happy and wants to be baptized.  That's why I titled the email, A WIN IS A WIN!  Another cool thing is when she said the final prayer, my eyes were shut (obviously), but I could sense the room getting brighter and brighter as she went on!  She was so happy and we set up another lesson for Thursday!  We are hopeful that she will get baptized on the 16 of July!  This week was awesome!

Finally I want to say something, I am a messenger of Christ!  I don't convince people by the words I say, but through the things that people feel inside their hearts when I am telling them truths.  Prayer is communication with God and anybody can pray and nobody is unworthy to pray.  God is our loving Heavenly Gather and we are his children, he is waiting to hear from each of us! 

Love you all and have a good week!

頑張ってね

神様は私たちの天国に住んでもう一つお父様です。私たちは彼の子供たちです。簡単な言葉ですけれどもそれは真実です。

 

Elder Halverson

ハルバソン長老~日本仙台伝道部

 

 

June 6, 2016 - Opportunites

Everything went wrong this week.

-my comps bike broke right after a member lesson and right before an investigator lesson

-most of our investigators couldn't meet this week

-our investigator with a bap date was met by the other elders and apparently was a little drunk

This is the true highlight of the week!  Elder Daniels and I got a referral from a member this week.  (She is the member that always post pics on Facebook of the missionaries.  So mom you probably know her.)  She gives us the referral and sets up an appointment for us.  We get to the appointment and it is us and 2 members but the Q is not there.  We wait and wait and it turns out that the member doesn't actually know what this person looks like.  They have only met once before and it was 5 years ago.  Because she doesn't really remember what the person looks like see gets up out of her seat whenever somebody walks into Mister Donuts where we are meeting her.  Ok so this girl finally arrives and Fotoma Shimai brings her over to the table and she is a young girl that just graduated from college is awesome.  However, I am pretty sure that she doesn't know that we are missionaries.  The member didn't give us anytime to talk and introduce ourselves, she basically told her that we are volunteers who teach English and she may have slipped in that we teach about God, purpose of life, and happiness, etc etc.   Long story short it felt like we were on a blind date.  So that beats my record of blind dates at home of 0!    She accepted a return appointment and she is now a new Q!  So, Japan is great!

Let's end on a spiritual note.  I was reading in the Book of Mormon this week and read again a very popular scripture.  Ether 12:27

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

As missionaries we are coming into Christ and I'll be honest I am finding weaknesses left and right in myself.  But his grace is sufficient for all men (me) that humble themselves before him and the weak things that I see in myself can and will become strong!  I have been thinking recently how can I help Heavenly Father make my weak points strong points and its in the first part of the scripture, I will approach God in humility and listen to the spirit.  My invitation to everyone is just keep reading and applying the scriptures in your life. Keep studying. Keep reading.  Keep praying! 

Love you all!

 皆さん頑張ってください。今週は楽しかったですよ。ダニエルズ長老と私が宮古でいっぱい奇跡を見ています。宮古支部が大好きです。これから英会話の生徒と共にゴルフしに行きます。じゃね

 

Elder Halverson

ハルバソン長老~日本仙台伝道部