6.26.2013

Blueberry picking and Kevinkuns Baptism!

Dear family I have to make this super-quick this week.  My companion transferred out this week and I am training a new missionary again. I LOVE HER so much already.  Her name is Sister Tan.
Just a few things I wanted to write about though about this past week.

This week was a week of Miracles! Kevin Nakayasu was baptized by his father on Sunday who has returned to church and just received the Aaronic Priesthood. It was one of the biggest joys on my mission watching their family all sit together on the stand and the Nakayasu children couldn't be more happy that their father had returned to church. Brother Nakaysu was really nervous and kept joking that he was going to have to write the baptismal prayer on his wrist, but it all went smoothly and now they are working towards getting sealed together as a family. It was so rewarding watching them all together!

Another miracle is that Yamazaki prayed yesterday for the first time and actually ASKED for something.  We taught him the plan of Salvation and the Word of Wisdom and the blessings that come from keeping our bodies healthy and clean. He seemed discouraged. I told him then about our friend and recent convert Hayakawa-san. He is a 61 year old man who gave up coffee, sake, ocha, he did it all and he was just baptized two weeks ago. I told Yamazaki Kyoudai that one time Hayakawa-san did slip up and he called us telling us he drank a beer.  But I told him that God knows the desires of our hearts and that Heavenly Father would help him to quit. We expressed confidence in him and told him if Hayakawason can break his habits after 61 years, so can you. He seemed to feel a little better knowing that it was okay to just try. So we challenged him again and he said "hai!" We all kind of said yay and cheered and then it was so cute Lilly-chan started clapping and smiling really bit, it was like she knew! We told him we will be praying for him everyday to be able to stop smoking and we visited a member last night and asked her to include him in her prayers. I know that they will be an eternal family someday. I know that he wants it too. In his prayers usually he only says the things he is grateful for, but yesterday for the first time ever I he asked Heavenly Father very sincerely to help him quit smoking. It was amazing! 

Also we've been teaching a lady Irene and her faith would seem strong, but then she would go back home and read anti Mormon literature and talk to her other Christian friends and then the next lesson she would have so many questions about little things that didn't really matter that were setting her back alot. It was hard to build her faith when she was listening to her anti Mormon friends. So last week when she was asking us all these questions, we just told her, 'we think your real question is whether  or n



ot the Book of Mormon is true and if Joseph Smith really was a prophet, because if you know this is true, everything else has to be true'. So we challenged her last week to pray specifically to know if the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith are true or not. Yesteday during our lesson we asked her how things were going and she said, "I really like the Book of Mormon. The Bible is good, but the Book of Mormon explains things so clearly, and goes into more detail". We asked her about baptism she said "yes Im into it!" and so we asked her to go home and pray about a date. It was such a miracle!


Also we were able to work on Kentaroh Kyoudai's blueberry farm this week.  It was such a blast!  We were able to meet his sweet mother and start teaching her as well.  She is darling!  His house is filled with wonderful handmade things.  He even made his mom a chair for mothers day which I tried out-very strurdy!  I decided I too want to have a blueberry Vineyeard. 
Also we started teaching this family we met last week they are from Turkey and Japan, Chika and Gihan.  They are very cool.  Chihan made us Kababos and we got to know them a little bit and gave them a Book of Mormon.  One thing I loved that Gihan said is, "In some countries, they do not treat the wife very good.  For example, if I break this glass- I can buy another one. If I break the car, I can get another one.  But if I break her heart, I cannot have this again".  He really treats her so well.  We are going back on Friday and want to teach more!
Okay I have to go but want to say that I LOVE YOU!!!!
love
marni



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