final April update from Japan 30 Apr 2012

Ok, so, I don't even know where to start with this week!

So, Monday and Tuesday were pretty good.  Tuesday we made the trip back to the investigator’s house up at the top of a mountain in the neighboring city, oh my goodness that was a 45 minute climb to get to the top of the mountain!  I felt like my legs were just about to fall off, but it was all good, because we got to talk to her again and really get her settled in for her May 27th baptism.  The main problem she's been having is that she works at a boxed lunch store, and Sundays from 10 to 1 are essentially, must work hours.  But through a lot of prayer, work, and some divine intervention she managed to get every Sunday off until her baptism on the 27th!  She's been trying to get baptized ever since last February, and it's finally getting to the point where she can seal the deal!

So the big news! 

Wednesday we get our Transfer calls and, well, it was quite a morning.  Elder Takahashi got transferred out of Oita, and is going to be serving a bit further south in this place called Miyakonojo in a three person companionship (which makes the second person in a row that has gone to a three person companionship) and I was not told who my new companion was going to be, because, well at that time it hadn't been decided.  (You see, they don't confirm where new missionaries go until Wednesday night, and I had just been called as a Trainer!)

So Wednesday, after a long day of wondering who in the world I'm going to be with I finally learned that my next companion for the next 6 weeks, at least, is Elder Gandy (pronounced Gyandy, which in Japanese sounds very much like candy), from West Valley Utah.  He is a brand new missionary, fresh out of the MTC (so fresh that he was actually in the MTC choir at the Saturday Afternoon session of General conference.... I know; I found him!) and full of what we call here, "Dendo Fire" or, a desire to work.  I really don't know what it is, but in the past 5 days we've really seen at least a miracle a day!  New investigators that magically speaks English so that Elder Gandy can bear his testimony to them, self-referrals that come to church asking if they can join, running into a member randomly on the street and getting invited to dinner the next day, getting in contact with a less active member for the first time in over a year, or the investigator who finally got her job to give her a break to come to church; we really have just seen a ton of miracles every day.  

So in the special language that is missionary lingo, people tend to call trainers Fathers, and new missionaries beans, or the more affectionate sons.  And I always thought it was a little strange, but really, I think I've come to understand why; because I feel a love for Elder Gandy that I can really only equate to what I imagine a father must feel.  It's his first time out in the world on his own, in a brand new country, speaking a strange language, and trying to be the missionary that these people need.  It's a scary time, I know, and all of the sudden I'm in charge of helping him become, not only a better missionary, but a self-sufficient, successful man.  Maybe it's a little overdramatic, but it. is. true.  

So one of the first things you have to do with a new missionary is go to get them a bicycle.  So we get this nice 21 speed mountain bike and get going.  And what happens, not even 20 minutes later?  We go down this one road where the side walk turns into dirt, and make one wrong move, and totally face plant and flip the bike........I managed to get off with some pretty grody scrapes, but it was all good (I always keep a first aid kit in my pack for such occasions) but we've just been telling everyone that Elder Gandy beats me up at home.

Saturday we finally got to meet up with Naoya again!  He's doing way good!  So he's been super busy because they have a big festival at his college at the start of June, and being on the RA group, he's been called to have a big part in planning, and preparation.  We ended up meeting to eat dinner together at this place called Naruto Udon (it's a delicious udon store that you can choose between 300g, 600g, and 900g of noodles.... all for the same price (that's like a pound and a half of noodles!))  He's keeping busy, and he seems to be really excited to meet with us again.  We gave him a triple combination in English, with a letter from my parents and he was very excited to receive them!  It looks like we may be able to start meeting with him on most Thursdays, and we'll see if we can keep that going!  

This transfer looks like it's going to be amazing!  It's been a jam-packed week so far, and I can hardly imagine how we're going to keep this up for 6 weeks!  But oh man, how awesome will it be if we can!  

Remember who you are, remember that you are all a son or daughter of God.  We are all in His family, and we all have a divine inheritance that is waiting for us, and we are the only ones that can stop us from receiving it.  Because all we have to do is keep the commandments and endure to the end, and if we do, we will receive Eternal life, which gift truly is the greatest of all the gifts of God.  

Have a good week!

Lots of Love

Elder Everett

benjamin.everett@mylds.net

Elder Benjamin C. Everett

Japan Fukuoka Mission

9-16 Hirao-josuimachi

Chuo-ku

Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka

810-0029

JAPAN

IT'S BEEN A YEAR!! 22 Apr 2012

What a minute, somebody explain this to me, how in the world has a year passed already??  Not only that, but that was last week!  No time!

So this past week started off with a companion exchange (junkai) over in Nobeoka.  Nobeoka is the closest area to us at a 2 hour train ride straight south, on the super express train (not the bullet, just super express).  Wow, I never realized how country Japan could be.  Nobeoka was super pretty, fields and farms stretching out everywhere you can see, but, there's just no people there..... It also doesn't help that they live an hour by foot from the Train Station and Church!  

The junkai was good things though.  We had P-day together as well on Monday, and then worked together on Tuesday.  Things I learned from p-day.... I'm not as bad at ping pong as I thought I was, Yahtzee comes to those only who have never played the game before, Farkle is a terribly addicting game, and writing the numbers 1-100 can be a dangerous affair.  We also got to meet some members around Nobeoka which was an awesome experience.  I don't think I've ever seen members with more fire for missionary work!  Desire is a very important thing.

That Tuesday we planned on splitting up between two of the cities (towns) that are in the area because they have a second set of bikes in the second city.  The problem is we forgot to bring the bike key for the second bike ...... whoops!  It turned out good, though; we met a lot of good people and ended up meeting a member randomly as they drove past us on the road.  Probably one of the sadder less-active member visits I've had happened that Tuesday.  The member used to be the branch president and his wife was in the relief society presidency.  But it seems that something may have happened and they have both quit coming to church.  I'm not sure if they overworked and burnt themselves out or what, but the biggest problem that we found, and really, if they change it most all could be resolved, is that they both stopped reading The Book of Mormon.  

Yes they are very busy, and sometimes it will be hard to read the book when we're tired, worn out, dragged out, ready to pass out; but we will always have time to read the Book of Mormon.  It really doesn't matter if you read 5 minutes a day or 5 hours a day, the power of the Book will only come to you when you open it up and let it come; only we can keep ourselves from the blessings of the book from God.

From this past transfer I came to this conclusion:  If you are suffering and you have a way to relieve yourself from stress, pain, and frustration in a fully acceptable way and don't take it, then you become the worst enemy to yourself.  It becomes such that we keep the frustration constantly over us, so that when we complain, we will feel justified because we have been suffering (even if it has been brought on by our own stubbornness and pride).  

To describe it a little easier - imagine you're going up a hill on a bike.  The hill is not super steep, but it is very long.   You start out on your bike and feel like you have the strength to push through and make it to the top.  As time goes on you realize that this hill is longer than you thought, no matter how long you go the hill simply never seems to end.  But we told ourselves that we have the strength to make it to the top of the hill on that bike, and stepping down is not an option, for then it would mean that we would lose that that hill.  So we put the bike into a lower gear, and we push on some more.  Our legs begin to feel heavy, with each stroke of the pedal feeling heavier than the last, but that's just pain, we're strong, we can make to the top.....  So now at this point, our legs hurt, the hill is still there, we've slowed down because it takes so much effort to push forward, and we're slowly becoming more and more discouraged from pain, frustration, and the thought of losing to this hill.  As we try to feel our pride the pain fills us.  Strangers pass us by going down the hill and we ignore their greetings with an angry turn of the head thinking, they don't know the pain I'm going though, they have it easy, my way is hard, and I am suffering, why should I acknowledge them on their way down, they should congratulate me on my effort to push through the pain.  When we reach this point, we are becoming our own worst enemy.   The hill is not your enemy, the kind strangers on the way down are not looking down at you, and you are not showing strength by continuing in the pain, strife, and frustration from the decision you made to not get off the bike.  We will always have the option to step down from the bike and walk the rest of the way up the hill.  Our journey will be faster, easier, and a generally more pleasurable experience.  How is it that we could not see this easier path before?  To put it in one word: Pride.  

I encourage each of us to think, what are our own personal hills?  In what things are we ignoring the easier path because it is not the way that we decided on.  Yes the prospect of walking sounds like it will take longer than the grandeur of a sleek mountain bike; but the steady, methodical application of consistent work will always make it to the top, and often times, in a much easier and pleasurable way.  What things must we take in a steady, consistent way?  Daily prayer and scripture study and weekly church attendance.   There will be other duties that come up with each individual hill, but the three essentials will never change.  Read your scriptures, say your prayers, make it to the top!

This past Sunday we had Ward Conference.  We had members from all over the Stake make the 4 hour car ride out to Oita for a very good conference.  I somehow got roped into translating for two of our foreigner members here.  There's something special that happens when you're called to help translate for a special event.  Something happens to your language skills, suddenly you begin to understand words that you previously wouldn't have, and find ways to put them into your own language that you had previously hadn't thought of.  Now to see if I can get that received language skill to continue on throughout the other aspects of living in Japan.

So this Wednesday is the end of the Transfer, and the calls are coming!  One of the Elders in another area may have "seen" the transfer calls after visiting the temple on Saturday, and called us to say "Man, Everett is going to have an interesting transfer next time."...... GAH, if that's all you're going to say, DON'T SAY ANYTHING!  Man, now I'm going be thinking about what that means for the next 3 days!?  But it's good, I know that this is the Lord's work and He will place me in the position that He knows I must be in.

Have a great week and enjoy the beautiful scenes of April!  This weekend is Golden Week in Japan, so I'll have it good over here.  :D

Until next week,
Elder Ben Everett

Happy April from Japan! 16 Apr 2012

HAPPY APRIL!  So it's the 16th here, which means that in 4 days, this Friday, I will hit 1 year on the mission!  What in the world, how did this happen?  That's super fast, I'm not ready for that kind of speed yet!  

It has been a hectic week here.  We were hoping for it to culminate in a baptism this past weekend, but it ended up getting pushed back about a month, which is alright, if it'll help make her a stronger member and keep her closer to Christ. I think this'll be a good month!

Ok, so we had the Zone Leaders over for Companion Exchanges (Junkai) this past Monday and Tuesday.  On the mission we talk a lot about 'Junkai Miracles', because things just seem to come together on a junkai.  And, man, can I attest to that!  So the first day we ended up hitting the streets around Oita, we met people from pretty much all over the city (Even somebody from Kumamoto, and one from Osaka)  I even ended up exchanging e-mails with somebody (that's big thing for a missionary, you know).  Now the challenge is whether any of them will contact us back, or if contact will ever be made again....  One of the main things we try to do as a missionary is to teach people, whether it be on the street, in their homes, at the church, or wherever we may be.  Something must have been in the air in Oita because just from the streets, we ended up teaching 5 different people, in one night!  

Then on Tuesday we went to work again.  One of our members contacted us a little before and offered us lunch in the park!  Which was super awesome because 1) Sister Miyatake's cooking is super delicious and always the best! and 2) it was the last day of the Cherry Blossom season in Oita, so the trees were absolutely full of pretty pink flowers!  Oh man, why isn't there an SD reader here?  

Tuesday means that we had District meeting, which is currently done over the phone.  It's a huge difference from when I was up in Hiroshima.  In Hiroshima, everyone from all over the Zone meets up at one building, but Oita is the island of the mainland, so we're completely separated from everybody else.  But that doesn't stop the spiritual insights that come from district meetings!  We talked about Prayer, and its supreme importance for personal testimony and growth.  We talked about one sign that Elder Gregory saw a couple of years ago:  'If you meet the Mormons, don't pray; that's how they get you!'

Prayer opens the conduit to Heaven, prayer will calm the raging soul, prayer will give you your testimony.  Prayer might be the way we 'get you' but it's more like, prayer is the way we get to God.  Prayer isn't even that hard a thing to do.  We can pray at any time, any place, and essentially about any thing.  The most important thing though, is to pray with a pure heart, with real intent (the conviction to act on your answers) and, when necessary, on your knees.  "When you can't stand life, kneel."

The rest of that Tuesday was spent meeting people around the city and with a couple of our members.  Somehow, throughout all of the meals that we had to eat that Junkai (breakfast excluded) we didn't have to make or buy one meal, it was all provided by members!  Miracles do happen once in a while :)

Wednesday we ended up meeting with 2 very different 21 year-olds.  One, we met for lunch and talked about his studies to get into medical school.  We talked about the gospel, how it can help us, and really, who we are and our relationship to God.  He's working to help other people and strives for service, and the gospel is waiting, or rather, he is waiting for the gospel.

The second one works around the city and spends all his free time watching Anime, and doing what just about any normal 20 something year old does in Japan.  We ended up talking about the gospel, how it can help us, and our relationship to God.  And now he is waiting for the gospel.  

These are two very different people.  But they both have a place in the Gospel.  My descriptions of them do no justice to the extreme juxtaposition we experienced that day, or the revelation I found that it doesn't matter who we talk to, what kind of person we think they are, or what kind of personality, desires, manners, or habits we have, there is a place in the Gospel for us, and the Gospel is waiting for us.

The rest of the week was filled with meeting new people and several new friends.  We have just one more week left in this transfer, and the pace is furious!  

Saturday we had a family home evening over at one of our member’s house in the next city over.  She invited everyone from that other city for the activity and we ended up having a Family Home Evening with 24 people!  It honestly felt like a ward activity!  There was a ton of food (oh man, so delicious too) and a ton of people.  We ended up with 3 non-members, and 4 less active members at the event.  It was a very good Saturday night, and it was totally worth the hour long bike ride both ways! :)

Sunday, we pretty much came to an impasse as to what to do, we just couldn't find out which way we were supposed to go, or who we were supposed to meet.  We eventually decided on this one area and to try and visit as many people as we could around that place.  Just when we were about to go I saw this one name in our Less Active book and decided to write down the address, in case we had time to go and visit.  We ended up working a little late and it didn't seem like we were going to have time, we came to the crossroads; continue working on the apartment where we were now (about 200 families) or to go a visit the less active member on the other side of the city, who we didn't know if they would even be home or not.  Something told me that we should go, and we went.

So we made the journey over to the house. We were really excited because the light was on (the sign of hope for a missionary) and knocked, nobody came.  We knocked again, and nobody came.  I figured it'd be nice at least to leave a note or something for them to look at again.  So I take out one of our pass along cards and start to write.  It's a good thing it takes me so long to write in Japanese, because about half way through the note a bicyclist came up to the door.  I don't know if there's anything creepier than having two 20 year olds hunched over writing something in front of your door at 8:15 at night, but we definitely surprised her.  We just decided to be straight up and told her that we were from the Church, working as missionaries.  To which she then answers "Oh, you’re church people, oh okay.....Here, have a drink, you look thirsty."

I'm still not sure how it happened but, we met the member’s mother, talked to her for a while and somehow came back home with a bottle of lemonade, kit-kats and 2 bananas....and a possible meal appointment in the coming weeks.  We had no plan, no real reason, to make our way over there that day, but only a “feeling” that we should.  I don't know how this will end, or whether it will go anywhere beyond that night, but I do know that if we had not gone that night, we would never have had that conversation.  Listen to your little impressions!

Today we're making our way to Nobeoka (2.5 hours away by train) for this next week’s junkai.  And I'm fully expecting a wonderful junkai miracle!  

Have a good week, and keep in mind those little impressions that will tell you all things which you should do!

Love you lots!
Elder Everett

Elder Benjamin C Everett

Japan Fukuoka Mission

9-16 Hirao-josuimachi

Chuo-ku

Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka

810-0029

JAPAN

Happy Easter from Japan! 9 Apr 2012

Happy Easter!  Truth be told, if they hadn't mentioned it in conference, I don't think anybody here would have known that it was Easter.... It's not a holiday that's celebrated in Japan, hardly even the members know about it.

So this week was a super busy week full of conferences and meetings!  Monday we had to make it over to Kumamoto for Zone Conference that Tuesday.  So, Oita, it's a great city, a ton of things to do here; it's super pretty with the Sakura (cherry blossom) trees everywhere and really nice sea views.... But it's really in the middle of nowhere.  It's a 4 hour bus ride to get to Kumamoto over several mountains and the next closest area is a 2.5 hour bus ride away!  

Ok, I have to confess.... On the 4 hour bus ride to Kumamoto they were playing the movie 'Unstoppable'  and I may have watched it all.  In my defense, I didn't actually listen to it, but I did do my best to try and read the subtitles that were all in Japanese.  I can call it Japanese practice right?  I did get to develop a pretty good relation to the gospel from the movie though, and I am planning on using it in an upcoming lesson.  That's how it's supposed to work right?

Well, the Zone Conference was awesome!  So we combined with the Kagoshima zone and here's the interesting thing.  Elder Clements, my first companion, is now an Assistant to the President (AP), and trained at the meeting.  Then Elder Koyama, my second companion, is now a Zone Leader (ZL) for Kagoshima and also trained at the meeting.  Then Elder Beckstrand, my third companion, is now a ZL in Kumamoto and also trained at the meeting!  I ended up getting to meet 3 of my 4 previous companions again!  It was a way cool thing and we got to learn a lot of awesome things.  

What stands out most in my mind though, is the training from the APs.  So, they didn't really teach anything, but provided rooms full of quotes, activities, and spiritual thoughts so that we can find and focus on the subject that we each felt we needed to focus on most.  We ended up having a half hour of personal time to learn and study for the things we needed most, an individual, very personal training.  

My favorite activity was all about Hymns.  We had to pick our favorite hymn and read through it, just reading the words.  After reading it, write in a journal how you feel, what it means, why it is your favorite hymn, and how you can apply its teachings.  Of course I read "True to the Faith"!  It's been my favorite him since I was 12, and it just keeps having more and more meaning as I continue on!  

Shall the youth of Zion falter
In defending truth and right?
While the enemy assaileth,
Shall we shrink or shun the fight? No!

True to the faith that our parents have cherished,
True to the truth for which martyrs have perished,
To God's command,
Soul, heart, and hand,
Faithful and true we will ever stand.

While we know the pow'rs of darkness
Seek to thwart the work of God,
Shall the children of the promise
Cease to grasp the iron rod? No!

We will work out our salvation;
We will cleave unto the truth;
We will watch and pray and labor
With the fervent zeal of youth. Yes!

We will strive to be found worthy
Of the kingdom of our Lord,
With the faithful ones redeemed
Who have loved and kept his word. Yes!

True to the faith that our parents have cherished,
True to the truth for which martyrs have perished,
To God's command,
Soul, heart, and hand,
Faithful and true we will ever stand.

Take time and really read what the words mean.  We are called to a fight, a fight against sin.  No matter where we are, we will face adversity, we will have hardships, it will be a hard time, but that is good.  We have a stronger power on our side, we have a greater cause we work for, we have a more powerful way.  Recently I've been reading from the New Testament.  In several of the epistles from Peter he talked about the hardships that we will inevitably face.  The most important thing we can do is to make sure that when we face adversity, that we face adversity for doing good and following Christ.  Everyone can face adversity for doing wrong, for doing bad, but how blessed is he that does good, and will suffer for the Lord, for his is the kingdom of Heaven.  

Ok, so that ended up being a little more down-trodden then previously planned, but the truth stands.  For a more happy tone, remember the reason for the Season.  We do not celebrate Easter because we like seeing colored grass, decorated eggs, chocolate bunnies, and pretty flowers (but they are fun), we celebrate it because we know that the Savior lives.  Because He lives, we too, along with everyone in the entire world, will also live.  I know that this is true, we will one day all live, we will all receive the sublime blessing of an immortal and perfect body.  I know that this is true, and my faith and testimony of this only deepens as the days go.  Don't drown out the truth you know with the trivial acts of daily life; we know more, and thus we must do more.  And we can do it.

Much love to you all!

Elder Everett