August 29, 2016: 120mph wind, Typhoon hitting tomorrow

Yep you heard it right a crazy huge typhoon is coming.  And it's going to be a fun experience.

So the week was a blast.  Elder Kudo and I hit the ground running and were busy all week.  We were bouncing around from different lessons and appointments for most of the week.   Because of that I don't remember anything specific and I also forgot my journal.  So I'll do my best.  Once again Elder Kudo and I almost got caught in a huge rain storm but luckily we were close enough to a ramen shop and it was dinner time so we quickly ran in and waited out the rain.  That day was way fun as well.  We found 2 new investigators and taught 6 lessons all in one day.  There were a couple of miracles right in a row, we were able to find new people when lessons fell through and we picked up some more new investigators.

Also had a split this week with Elder Pratt, he is a great missionary.

So we set out to see some miracles and we saw quite a few.  First, after a lot of biking up and down hills and housing, we bike up some more hills and we knock on the first house and it turns out to be the parents of some members that live in Utah and they used to be investigators of some past missionaries.  They were incredibly nice and gave us some food and stuff to take home.  It was interesting to learn that they, like most people, had some weird thoughts on Mormons.  One person thought milk was bad to drink and another didn't know that the real name of the church is LDS (... Latter Day Saints).  Also Elder Pratt and I received the gift of tongues because this family talked so fast it was unbelievable!  The Japanese can really talk fast when they get in the mood.  I am so excited to continue to teach them more about the gospel!! 

Well that is almost all that I remember.  I have loved reading the scriptures recently and know that the scriptures are certainly the word of God and that includes the Book Of Mormon!  I love you all and have a good week!

 

Elder Halverson

ハルバソン長老~日本仙台伝道部

 

 

August 22, 2016: Typhoon rain, splits and Sapporo Temple dedication!! 👌👌

Hello everyone!  It's been a good week with many great experiences!  I can't believe how fast it goes.  It feels like just yesterday when it was last weeks pday.  Time flies and I've gotta use it while I can!  So this week was a roller coaster of events.  Monday, Elder Kudo and I are out trying to expand the area and house all remaining areas but as soon as we get there it starts raining and I thought it would stop but it didn't it poured down on us and needless to say we got pretty wet.  Because of that Elder Kudo got sick and was down all day Tuesday.  So Wednesday was basically like the rest of the week....busy!  Almost no time to do anything but work.  We were on a bus to Morioka for interviews at 9am and back at 5pm, just before a meeting we had.  So it was pretty fun, I always like busy.  Saturday I had splits with the zls and before that I was very excited for the opportunity.  I did tons of praying in advance so that I could learn a lot. And guess what, I did!  What I learn most from Elder Thompson was that I could see the love that he had for the people when we were talking to them.  It was amazing to see.  That entire day was a blast.  We saw some success and were able to have some fun along the way.  Later that day the Sapporo temple culture celebration was broadcast to specific places around Japan!

It was so cool!  The youth of Hokkaido (northern most island of Japan) put on a play about the history of missionary work and the church in Hokkaido.  I was so cool to see the Japanese saints fight through thick and thin of the WW2 era and when Christianity was banned all over Japan.  Now they have a 3rd temple in Japan.  I was watching that and just thinking how Heaven Father is watching over his children in all places and at all times.

The next day I participated in the dedication ceremony. Listing to talks given by the temple president (who is a convert) really impacted me.  He said multiple times how thankful he was for the work of the missionaries who found him and also all the others who made sacrifices to make all this possible.  It's truly a miracle, the temple in Sapporo, missionary work,  the members here in Japan.  This is truly the Lord's work because average 19-25 year olds could not do this on their own, producing these incredible miracles.  We can't do it alone, that is how I know that He is here and helping us!

I know that the temple is the house of the Lord and that families are forever and ordained by God!

 

Love you all and have a good week!!

 

Elder Halverson

ハルバソン長老~日本仙台伝道部

 

 

 

August 15, 2016: Over the hump.

GOOD MORNING,  MIYAKO JAPAN!  It's a nice 26 degrees Celsius with 100% humidity.  It's 12:36pm and it's time to start Elder Halverson's weekly email.

If I could recap this week in one word I would be "finding"!  工藤長老

Elder Kudo and I hit the streets and the rice fields of Miyako this week to find Heavenly Fathers prepared people.  So it all starts on Tuesday, we planned appointments and got flipped around and wound up that Elder Kudo and I had to sprint to catch 3 different buses.  But towards the end of the day we decided to expand the area.  That takes us over in this place surrounded with rice paddies and farm type homes getting nothing but rejection.  Miracles definitely come from enduring and going till we nearly had no time left.   We were housing for 3.5 straight hours and with 19 minutes before eikaiwa, we decided to knock on one last apartment complex.  We knock nobody nobody nobody and the last door opens up and it was a pi that we have been trying to meet with for 12 some odd weeks.  He invites us in and we share a quick message about the Book of Mormon with his family.  If only we had more time, he would have become an investigator but we will go back.  It definitely was a miracle indeed, and it was the one that we needed.  I know that if we use our time wisely the Lord will bless us and we will see miracles.  If anybody has seen the Mormon missionary "Hello" by Adele video it is exactly what happened to me and my comp on Tuesday.

This week has been a lot of lessons learned and not to many lessons taught. 

 Right now it is the Obon Festival and it's basically Japan's Christmas.  My comp (who is Japanese) said it like this.  It's basically the holiday where everyone is actually acting Buddhist and then when it's over it's back to normal life.  Also relating it to Sunday Christians.  Haha he is a funny guy.  But because of that holiday nobody was home and not a lot of people could meet and have lessons.  So we were walking around most of the night talking to as many people as we could.  From that I learned the holiday is for their ancestors.  During this holiday people gather together, go to the gravesites of their ancestors and clean it up, hang out and honor them.  Also after that they go home and give burnt offering to hotokesama (BUDHA). The similarities in the religions is becoming more and more interesting and the realization of the truthfulness is overwhelming.  I know this is the true church and the Book of Mormon is the word of God. 

 Love you and thanks for making this year great and see ya in 1!

 

Elder Halverson

ハルバソン長老~日本仙台伝道部

August 8, 2016: It was hot!

Ok so this week was filled with bus rides and meetings.  On Monday we jumped on a bus going to Sendai that took about 6 hours so I didn't really get a pday but it was way cool once I got to Sendai.  There were a ton of mission buds at the mission home that I got to see!  It was so much fun!  Got to meet up and chat with them all.  Anyway the next day was all meetings and bus rides back to the "metropolis" of Miyako.  But serious President Smith is a genius.  Both in world knowledge and the gospel.  He is unbelievable.  I hope someday that I can be like that.   

But after we get home and settle in, it was time to get to work!  Funny when I say “get to work” cause almost all of our appointments fell through and the ones we meet with didn't want to continue meeting for various reasons.  So that left us with a lot of finding time.  And a lot of learning.  On Saturday we found from the time we left the apartment till we came home. We found the entire day, from 12-8 and all but one rejected us.  BUT it was so much fun, preaching the gospel is fun and it brought Elder Kudo and I joy today.  The one person that didn’t send us away has the potential of becoming a solid PI, they want to learn about the purpose of life.    

*I learned that “found” or “finding” means tracting

Also we had a lot of fun this week and we are seeing miracles and lots to go and find! 

Love you all and I know that the church is true and Christ is the bishop of our souls and he is always taking care of us.  Love you and and じゃね 

See 1 Peter 2:21-25. And bible dictionary under bishop.

It is fun hearing from you at home.  Thank you!

Elder Halverson 

ハルバソン長老~日本仙台伝道部