Monday, March 6, 2017
Monday, February 13, 2017
February 13, 2017: Crepes with Czech'sπ
Well this week had some crepes, ramen, tonkatsu, and
lastly some NATO!!!ππ✌π» Stomach was full all
week. I think that will make you happy
mom! π. In all seriousness, this week was a good
one and we accomplished the mission standard of excellence. We needed a nonmember to come to church to
get standard and after 20 mins or so of sacrament Miura san comes and stays for
2 of the 3 hours. So he is a man that is
progressing slowly but surely. We can't
go to fast when we teach him because we will leave him in the dust behind us
(so to speak). He has a little mental problem and apparently was an
investigator 3-4 years ago. However
since hearing what the branch members say, he has completely changed over these
couple of years and is progressing a lot better than previously. Everyone is a child of God and needs to
taste upon the good word. Excited to
continue to teach him!
We got into a lot of houses this week either for lessons
or just getting invited. We housed to
some Czechs, we couldn't share anything but the hospitality of those 3 people
we meet as way nice! I promise there are
good people out there, you just have to house in the cold sometimes to find
them. Plus it reminded me of the crepes
dad would always make.. I promise I am not trunky.
Friday was a really busy day we had lessons at 3, 5, and
6pm. All of them were really good and
spiritual. Especially the 5 o'clock
lesson where we set a new bap date with our investigator named Chiba san. She
is a single mom who wants to improve her life and her kids future.
She let us in and we sat around her tokatsu and had a short
discussion about the plan of salvation and after we committed her to be
baptized and she said yes and that she will try to make it out to church on the
19th with out us asking her!! She is
very aggressive and it's in a very good way.
Sorry my letters aren't great but I take an incredible journal!!
We have two choice in life 1) enjoy or 2)endure. I want to talk about this with kanji (Chinese
characters). θΎ
this is tsurai which means heart breaking, suffering, pain etc. however if you
put another line at the top it becomes εΉΈ. Which is happiness! Do you notice the difference one
line/decision makes? When that line goes
into the top it make a cross. Because of
the cross at the top we can go from pain and suffering to happiness! Because of Jesus Christ choice to die on the
cross and suffer for us we can go from pain and heartache to happiness. Now why would we choose to suffer when Jesus
has already done it for us?? Lets all
choose to be happy and make good choices!
I know Jesus is our savior and best friend! This is true and church is also true! Love you all and have a good week!!
(Btw mom put this in the ward newsletter thingy). Please!
Elder Halverson
γγ«γγ½γ³ι·θ~ζ₯ζ¬δ»ε°δΌιι¨
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
February 6, 2017: εγ―γγγγγγ‘γγγ (I'm an old man)
Alright everyone,
it is ok if you don't take a break from your Super Bowl watching to read
my email. Now all you people just
watching for the commercials, your missing out on the beauty of 300+pound men
doing athletic things. If you are that
commercial only person, please watch the game!
I know most can't read the title so I'll explain it a
little bit. I am already an old man! My body is probably not going to hold up
these finally 6 months. Most likely I
will be limping down the ramp in August!!
I know that is just music to your ears mom!
We continued to teach our investigator with a bap
date. However he did pull a couple no
shows to lessons, but when we went to his house he always lets us in. We had a little discussion about the Book of
Mormon and baptism!! Every time we visit
he always says that he was close to a miracle!
I am not sure what that means but he said that he has felt this way ever
since we found him. Miura san is looking
good too and he still has a bap date for after the transfer ends... cause of
that I am kinda nervous about this transfer.
I've been here for a total of 4 so I feel like it's time... :(. But idk yet cause still got 3 weeks. Lets go nuts!
Also this week we had a mission tour with the President
of the Area Presidency. Elder Whiting
came and did 2 conferences with half of the mission. He said over and over that he is just an
orderve (the thing you eat before the big meal) (BTW I AM FORGETTING TONS OF
ENGLISH) because Elder Holland is coming in 2 weeks so he was just prepping us
for it. He shared a lot of stories and
thoughts about his mission (In the Tokyo North, Now the Tokyo mission) and
especially about having fun on the mission and the Savior. He said that we can either enjoy or endure
our mission. We can choose to enjoy the
cold of Sendai or endure it. I'll be
honest there have been some days where I have endured it. Just for example I thought I was
"enduring" my time being a young missionary where i didnt understand
much of what was going on. But I look
back on that time and I know I enjoyed it.
I loved being a bean!! It was way
fun! I am enjoying my mission and love
serving the people in Japan. They are
great.
However, when you look back you know that some times were
hard and challenging but you dont remember them specifically in fact the only
things we remember perfectly are the good times that we all had. So lets choose to enjoy our time so that we
can have more memories! So put on a
smile and enjoy it! Think positive
Sorry i am not good at righting letters but i am pretty
good at telling stories from memory so just wait till i get home!!
I had ZL splits this week and got to be back with an old
comp. ELDER DANIELS, it was way fun i loved it!
It was great to be back with that guy and work in Kamisugi! The members are great!
Also when the Fam comes to get me after the mission. A member said that she will hook me up with a
place to stay in Tokyo which is right next to the temple. Turns out that her son lives in this big
house that we can stay in apparently!!
Way excited Mom, Dad and Syd??
Elder Halverson
γγ«γγ½γ³ι·θ~ζ₯ζ¬δ»ε°δΌιι¨
Monday, January 30, 2017
January 30, 2017: Understanding the meaning of Frozen Chosen.❄
Hello everyone!! How are you all?? It's cold here,
as in bone chilling. It was a numbing cold wind all week long and I can't
decide which is colder; the winters in Utah or the ones here because at home I
wasn't outside in the winter for about 7-8 hours a day. Now for all you
people in California, Peru, Australia be grateful for the sunshine and constant
warm weather!! This is what they say in Sendai...
The real scripture
D&C 121:34 Behold, there
are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?
The Sendai mission scripture
Behold, there are many called,
but few are frozen. And why are they not Frozen? Answer: Cause they
didn't get called to Sendai!
The miracles started Monday night! We were housing
in a apartment complex that is near our apartment. We are knocking away
just getting kekko after kekko (NO). Finally we knock on the door of a
man named Miura san and he lets us in. We sit down around his kotatsu and
start by introducing ourselves and he goes on to tell us that he knows us,
received a BOM in the past, and had been to church to play ping pong with past
missionaries. We teach about God and he asks if he can pray. We
could have ended the lesson right then and there! Then we schedule a
another appointment for Wednesday which went really well. Sunday rolls
around and we had invited him to church but we didn't think he was going to
come..... but he shows up for sacrament meeting! We have a little meeting
with him and now he holds a bap date for the 25th of March! We met him
again that night which went great and we have a lesson scheduled tomorrow at
the church! It's looking good! He is praying and having a good time
at church!!
We also meet a guy from Vegas whose brother is Mormon but
he isn't religious but WAY NICE.... he told me that his brother was
Mormon and I almost said "your joking right??" Lolol.
Tuesday played some baseball with some kids from the
nearby high school. That took me back! In the morning we had a lesson
with our recent convert who is legit. He takes the lessons that we are
teaching, he likes to review the missionary lessons. We are going along
and he runs with it, starts talking and teaching us. At the end of those
lessons I get so much info and new insights it's just unbelievable. He
will probably be the next branch president!! #SUZUKIKYOUDAI2019!
I know that God lives and we are all His children!
Doesn't matter where you come from or what kinda background you have, we are
all still Brothers and SIsters! Book of Mormon is true and I love my
family!!
See you all next week!
Elder Halverson
γγ«γγ½γ³ι·θ~ζ₯ζ¬δ»ε°δΌιι¨
January 23, 2017: Traveling!! ππ
On Tuesday we took a bus to Sendai (1.5 hours) and stayed
the night. Then Wednesday we attended a
5 hour "new missionary meeting" and then did the 1.5 hour bus ride
home. Got off the bus and headed to the
church for the eikaiwa. We wake up the
next morning and head back to Sendai for another meeting. So long story, Elder Davies and I didn't have
that much finding time. However, we were
able to get alot of stuff done.
On Friday this week we had another great lesson with a
guy named ζγγ
(star in Japanese houshi). He is a great man with a heart of gold. He told me all about what is going on in
America with the president and all the crazy stuff that is going down. Let's just say that I am glad I am not in
America to witness all this. After
hearing all of that we had a discussion about the Book of Mormon and God. The
discussion was completely normal but I was feeling so much love for this guy
cause of his circumstances. He lives by
himself, all his kids live in different places all over Japan, and years ago
his wife passed away. During the lesson
I was understanding him perfect, just like if we were talking in english!!
The gift of tongues is real! After we finished up he accepted a bap date
for the 21st of April. He needs some
encouragement and some actual confidence that he can do it but that is our
role! :)
Well some cool things from this week
-meet a really cool member from Tokyo named brother
sasaki lives in Chiba -an investigator finally came to church!! Lee san is from China and he speaks fluent
Chinese and Japanese!
-finally ate tonkatsu again, it's been a while.. too
long!
-the branch is really nice and helpful again!
-lastly nobody showed up to our eikaiwa class this week!
lol
that
isn't a cool thing just thought i would add it in because you never know what
will happen here.
Love you all and have a good week!
Elder Halverson
γγ«γγ½γ³ι·θ~ζ₯ζ¬δ»ε°δΌιι¨
Monday, January 16, 2017
January 16, 2017: Good Morning from Japan!
It is another bright morning in Furukawa and the weather
is a constant -4 degrees Celsius with a wind chill of -9 degrees.
Hello, how is everyone??
Those of you in a nice warm tropical place I hope you are loving the
weather cause it's bitter cold here.
Probably the miracle of the week was that while Elder Davies and I were
working, we didn't freeze and become popsicles.
Also, the fact that I still have fingers and toes is a miracle in
itself. This week we were able to spread
the gospel to a bunch of people and for the first time in a while we got into a
house. The guy who let us in was a PI
(potential investigator) named Houshi san and we found out that he is way good
at English and has meet / heard lessons from the missionaries 15 plus years ago
and received an Old and New Testament from them. Seriously, this man is awesome and has a
heart of gold. So nice. He gave us milk and mikans and told us to eat
as much as we want:):). We had a little
lesson about the Book of Mormon in Japanese and English. We have an appointment with him on Friday
which I wish would come faster. Lol.
As far as investigators go we are still in contact with
Sato San. She was really busy this past
week and couldn't meet but we have a appointment with her on Wednesday and plan
to teach her and her kids.
Those lessons are always way fun. We have been texting her and she is doing
great! Just a bit busy.
On a funny note, because of the freezing weather this
week I couldn't open my mouth and talk properly. All that would come out was just mumbling and
alot of people couldn't understand what I was saying. I had to say it again slower and make sure
that it all came out. I am starting to
speak like an old Japanese dude. One day
all the blood was gone from my face when I gave a commitment to a less active
sister. She said that she was scared of
me. She said that I was looking her right
in the eye and had a straight face that was pale white and said "READ THE
BOOK OF MORMON". We laughed about
it but apparently I scared her into reading for the week. Haha a win is a win I
guess. Last one, I was so tired from
working and the cold I almost fell asleep walking home one night.
Haha
The gospel is true.
There is a feeling that comes over me when I am teaching promising
blessings. I know that that feeling is
from the Holy Ghost. It is teaching not
only the investigator but also me that the gospel is true, God lives and He
loves each one of us on an equal level.
I am grateful for the gospel. I am so thankful for this opportunity in
Japan to teach and testify. Lastly,
everyone, when you go to any church function take your scriptures! Mark them up
because they hold a power that you can't get feel through the electric
devices!
Love you all and have a good week
Elder Halverson
γγ«γγ½γ³ι·θ~ζ₯ζ¬δ»ε°δΌιι¨
January 9, 2017: Hellow Everyone and Happy New Year!
Sorry for no email last week but I was busy partying with
all the new years festivals. Elder
Davies and I went to Izumi then to Sendai to see some of the culture and sight
see. In sendai at this time of the year
there is a japan famous shopping spree that goes on and i was right in the
middle of all of it. There was hundreds
of thousands of people gathered around to get the next deal on sometime it was
nuts!!
Anyway this week was a lot of cleaning and recovering
from the festivities.
The work was really hard this week cause lots of people
were still doing stuff with there families or still hadnt returned from where
ever they went for new years. So there was alot of people not home!
Which was a bit unfortunate. However we were still able
to meet our investigator with a bap date sato san. I wasnt there for the lesson cause a split
but from what i heard is that she is doing good and is progressing
steadily. She has a lot of questions and
her kids a tad bit crazy so we need to take it slow haha still exited for the
25 of feb! This is going to be short
again but everyone i hope made new goals for this year. We can all really change. I believe
that. But not in a year a month or six
weeks. We can change everyday thanks to
Jesus christ and the atonement. We can
take those small little steps every day to reach the final goal of eternal life
and becoming just like our father in heaven!
So everyone lets do our best everyday and take the small steps to
"be a little be better, try a bit harder to reach a little farther to be a
little bit better" President Hinckley.
I know that god lives and we can talk to him though pray
and he will respond always! I love you
fam and have a good day!
γγ«γγ½γ³ι·θ~ζ₯ζ¬δ»ε°δΌιι¨
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