Oh, so I need to apologize for not e-mailing last week. We seem to be
continuing this pattern of not really having a P-day here. Last
Saturday we had activities from 12 all the way until 9! It was a crazy
busy day, but it was way fun, and way worth it.
Ok, so this is what's been going on the past couple of weeks. We
got a challenge from the Mission President to go and participate in what
he called the 12 Days of Christmas. The theme was, "What Shall we Give" to Christ
(Click the link) the answer being to spread his word to all those who
would hear. What better gift to give Christ than to serve those around
us with increased emphasis and zeal. The goal was for every zone in the
mission to contact 1000 people and focus on finding, then the following
week (this week) to meet with them or talk with them every day focusing
on teaching them Christmas' true meaning. With that goal, we were
hoping for 8000 contacts throughout the mission. Well, in the Fukuoka
zone alone we broke 3000 contacts and over all of the zones we spread
the Christmas message to over 10,000 people during that first week of
focused finding. But even beyond that, more than just talking to people
and spreading the message, is the hope to find someone who will want to
hear more, who will continue to hear more about the Gospel, and out of
those contacted in the Fukuoka zone alone, more than 30 new
investigators were found, and are hearing the lessons of the Gospel of
Christ.
Even Elder Tanaka and I were able to find extra time to go out and
put extra time into dendo. We didn't have as much time as other
companionships to go out and find, but with the time that we had, we
were truly guided by the spirit, and our time, regardless of how short
it was, resulted in the highest effectiveness of any other
companionship! Of 41 people contacted, 11 contacts turned into a lesson
on the restoration of the Gospel, and 4 people agreed to hear more
about the Gospel. I can't think of a single other time in my mission
where every 1 in 10 people I talked to had a desire to learn more. The
normal seems to hover around 1 in 100 or even 200. Christmas is truly a
special season.
While we were finding out on the streets on Tuesday we found this
one guy walking down the street talking on his cell phone, we went up to him
just kind of saying "Hello, we're missionaries." Usually at that point
we get 1 of 2 responses. Either a flat out turn on the head, trying to
put on a face as if they never heard us, or a hand up between their face
and us saying "Kekko desu" (meaning: I'm good). So you can imagine our
surprise when he puts down his phone and says "あ、聞いてみよかな”Oh, let me
listen for a bit". That's one reaction that you almost never get!
After we talked to him a bit he got another phone call, but he quickly
told the guy on the other end that he was talking to some missionaries
and that he'd get back to him later. After talking some more he was
like "It's way cold out here, lets go talk in the cafe." For the next
hour or so we ended up talking to this guy eventually leading to an
invitation to the Ward Christmas party and the young single adult
activity that weekend to which he even brought a friend, who seems
even more interested in the message than the first guy. I don't think
it's any coincidence that this 12 Days of Christmas activity came right
at the end of the 40 day fast for the ward. I know that it set the tone
and prepared the way for the success we've seen this past 2 weeks.
On a slightly sadder note though, one of our main investigators has
been absolutely swamped with work, and hasn't returned calls, texts,
messages, or anything that we've been leaving for him. We're really
worried about how he's doing. He works really hard and he's been loving
reading the Bible and learning about the Gospel, but I think he let his
work life get the most of him and I think he's losing the sight of what
the Gospel is for. There's not much we can do now but keep leaving him
messages and notes, and hoping that through some small act that he'll
be able to feel the savior's love for him and, when he's ready, come and
continue in his progression towards Christ and our Heavenly Father.
This past Wednesday I was called on to be Santa Claus for our
parent-kid English class. It was way fun to come bursting into to the
gym with all of the kids screaming "SANTA PLEASE." Most all of them were
still little enough to believe that I was the real Santa Claus, so I
had to make sure I did a good job of representing the Jolly Old Man. I
taught them about the true meaning of Christmas and how we can all do
and say kind things to make the baby Jesus happy. We practiced saying
nice words like "Thank you" "Please" "I love you" and "Merry
Christmas." There were some kids that were absolutely terrified of me,
but for the most part, I think they had a really good time.
The caroling activity that we put together for the Ward activity a
couple of weeks ago has become a hit, and we've performed it 3 times now
in various locations. This past Monday and Friday we had an
open house at the mission home for investigators and for the leaders of
the ward. Sister Gustafson and a couple of helpers were working overtime
to prepare for the events making the most delicious cakes and sandwiches
and my favorite Swedish Meatballs. I even got into the food making
mode and taught them all how to make the pretzel, hershey kiss, M&M
treats! I'm not sure if I can classify them as a hit or not, but I know
I definitely had a fun time making/eating them.
Merry Christmas to all of you, and I hope you all have a great New Year!
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
It's Beginning to Look a lot Like December in Japan!
You know, for being the southernmost mission in Japan, the
"warmest" in the country.... it's awfully cold. All this week
the weather has been in the single digits (granted that's Celsius so it's
really 30's to 40's but that's still cold). I've definitely been getting
some good mileage out of my vests, jackets, and scarfs!
Well, Happy December! This week, all week, we had 2 main themes: 1) Get everything ready for the interviews around the mission throughout this and next week and 2) Somehow get prepared for the caroling event (which just so happens to be tonight!).
We've been working on having a practice every day, as time permits, and it really seems to be coming along. We're singing 6 songs, a good mixture of common secular songs and mostly religious up-beat and feel good songs. We're starting with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" followed by a quick introduction to who we are and what all these foreigners are doing in Japan. Then we go into "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" and "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas". They're both kind of a jazzy version of the songs, and we'll be using that to transition into "Little Drummer Boy." We somehow got hold of a drum set and an electric guitar for that piece, and it's looking really good! We'll be following "Little Drummer Boy" with "The First Noel" before finishing it off with "O Holy Night". All the while members will be going around to everybody watching, passing out flyers and bags with cookies, inviting them to the ward Christmas activity and to come and learn more about the church. It looks like it's going to be pretty intense rain today, but I have confidence that we'll still be able to get it all together! (Thank you President and Sister Maxwell for the picture I used to make the Flyer for the Caroling event!)
Speaking of storms …. Yesterday as we were running through the program a huge storm rolled in! It started with this HUGE crack of thunder shaking all of the windows in the cultural hall! It stopped all of us in our singing tracks. After that the clouds just opened up and dumped everything they had on Fukuoka. Luckily Elder Tanaka and I had brought the car to drop off the amp, because we were able to pack everybody and their bikes into the Vanimal and take them home in the squall. We've had a recent rash of accidents in the mission and I didn't want anybody getting hurt again, so we dropped everybody off by car. It might be a terrifying thing to drive in Japan, but it sure is useful to have a car sometimes.
Monday we had dinner over at a member's house. She shared at least part of her conversion story, which spanned more than a decade. She was like, if I could get baptized, anybody can. Don't give up on your friends, family, or anybody because they don't seem like they’re open to the Gospel right now. Everybody has their own time, everybody has their own season, and this Gospel is for everyone. So don't be discouraged because they don't come when you want them to; know that the Lord is in it, and He has a plan for them and you. Now that doesn't mean that we can slack off. In that same meeting the member also shared a story about a group of people, Jesus Christ, and a rock.
Now there was a group of people walking down a path when they ran into a giant rock. They weren't really sure what to do about it, but as they were conversing the Lord came to them and told them to push the rock. So they, being obedient, pushed the rock. All of them exerted all of their effort, tried with their whole might to move that rock. Eventually they heard another voice telling them, "it's impossible to move that rock, try as you might it'll never budge, you might as well give up and not even try." As they worked and pushed, they began to listen to the other voice and eventually all of them quit pushing. It was just too hard, and that rock would not move. At that point the Lord came again and asked them, "Why did you stop pushing the rock?" To which they answered, "We tried with all we had to do like you asked and move the rock, we exerted all our efforts, and tried to work together but it wouldn't move, so we quit, realizing it was impossible." Then the Lord said to them "I never told you to move the rock, I only told you to push it. You'll never be able to move the rock alone, only I can do that, all you are required to do is push, and I will move the rock for you."
How many times do we come upon a giant rock in the middle of our path, and try with all our might to move along, only to become discouraged and eventually give up? The Lord never asked us to move the rock, to move the work forward on our own. He has asked us to push the rock, and when the time is right, when we need it most, He will move the rock for us, and our path will be made open. But this freedom, this new vision comes only after much trial and after all we can do. That is the way of the Lord, that is the hope for a better day. So don't give up thinking that your efforts are in vain, because no effort is wasted on the Lord, and it time, all will be made right, if we let Him make it so.
This is a special Christmas season and a time for everyone to be of good cheer and to bask in the light of the Lord. I hope that you all have a great week and feel the spirit of Christmas in all that you do!
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
Well, Happy December! This week, all week, we had 2 main themes: 1) Get everything ready for the interviews around the mission throughout this and next week and 2) Somehow get prepared for the caroling event (which just so happens to be tonight!).
We've been working on having a practice every day, as time permits, and it really seems to be coming along. We're singing 6 songs, a good mixture of common secular songs and mostly religious up-beat and feel good songs. We're starting with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" followed by a quick introduction to who we are and what all these foreigners are doing in Japan. Then we go into "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" and "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas". They're both kind of a jazzy version of the songs, and we'll be using that to transition into "Little Drummer Boy." We somehow got hold of a drum set and an electric guitar for that piece, and it's looking really good! We'll be following "Little Drummer Boy" with "The First Noel" before finishing it off with "O Holy Night". All the while members will be going around to everybody watching, passing out flyers and bags with cookies, inviting them to the ward Christmas activity and to come and learn more about the church. It looks like it's going to be pretty intense rain today, but I have confidence that we'll still be able to get it all together! (Thank you President and Sister Maxwell for the picture I used to make the Flyer for the Caroling event!)
Speaking of storms …. Yesterday as we were running through the program a huge storm rolled in! It started with this HUGE crack of thunder shaking all of the windows in the cultural hall! It stopped all of us in our singing tracks. After that the clouds just opened up and dumped everything they had on Fukuoka. Luckily Elder Tanaka and I had brought the car to drop off the amp, because we were able to pack everybody and their bikes into the Vanimal and take them home in the squall. We've had a recent rash of accidents in the mission and I didn't want anybody getting hurt again, so we dropped everybody off by car. It might be a terrifying thing to drive in Japan, but it sure is useful to have a car sometimes.
Monday we had dinner over at a member's house. She shared at least part of her conversion story, which spanned more than a decade. She was like, if I could get baptized, anybody can. Don't give up on your friends, family, or anybody because they don't seem like they’re open to the Gospel right now. Everybody has their own time, everybody has their own season, and this Gospel is for everyone. So don't be discouraged because they don't come when you want them to; know that the Lord is in it, and He has a plan for them and you. Now that doesn't mean that we can slack off. In that same meeting the member also shared a story about a group of people, Jesus Christ, and a rock.
Now there was a group of people walking down a path when they ran into a giant rock. They weren't really sure what to do about it, but as they were conversing the Lord came to them and told them to push the rock. So they, being obedient, pushed the rock. All of them exerted all of their effort, tried with their whole might to move that rock. Eventually they heard another voice telling them, "it's impossible to move that rock, try as you might it'll never budge, you might as well give up and not even try." As they worked and pushed, they began to listen to the other voice and eventually all of them quit pushing. It was just too hard, and that rock would not move. At that point the Lord came again and asked them, "Why did you stop pushing the rock?" To which they answered, "We tried with all we had to do like you asked and move the rock, we exerted all our efforts, and tried to work together but it wouldn't move, so we quit, realizing it was impossible." Then the Lord said to them "I never told you to move the rock, I only told you to push it. You'll never be able to move the rock alone, only I can do that, all you are required to do is push, and I will move the rock for you."
How many times do we come upon a giant rock in the middle of our path, and try with all our might to move along, only to become discouraged and eventually give up? The Lord never asked us to move the rock, to move the work forward on our own. He has asked us to push the rock, and when the time is right, when we need it most, He will move the rock for us, and our path will be made open. But this freedom, this new vision comes only after much trial and after all we can do. That is the way of the Lord, that is the hope for a better day. So don't give up thinking that your efforts are in vain, because no effort is wasted on the Lord, and it time, all will be made right, if we let Him make it so.
This is a special Christmas season and a time for everyone to be of good cheer and to bask in the light of the Lord. I hope that you all have a great week and feel the spirit of Christmas in all that you do!
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
Sunday, December 2, 2012
HAPPY DECEMBER! 1 Dec 2012
Holy cow, how is it already
December? I wonder what that means for the imminent end of the world,
that's supposed to be on the 21st of December right? Well, that's not for
another 3 weeks, so no need to worry about that now right... ;D
Well, this has been a pretty good week for finally getting done several of the small projects that seem to pile up here. I finally got all of the proofs sent in and finalized for the Christmas card and the new Temple Recommend holders. I'm not sure how I got roped into designing both of them but I think they turned out pretty well. Now if I can just finish up some of the other projects that pile up on my desk, that will be perfect. It's always a good feeling when you can look at something that you made and can be like, "Yeah, I made that, and now it's all done and I don't have to worry about it anymore."
This week we had the Zone Leader Conference here in the Honbu, which had a whole other set of preparation leading up to it. One of the things that I have to do is create the Newsletter at the start of every transfer. However, this transfer our printer went down right as Tokyo left their office, and we ended up being without a printer for quite a while! I finally found a place around Fukuoka with the right parts and Elder Tanaka and I ended up buying them during the conference and then made a mad dash to get everything printed before it was over! We ended up printing out the last couple of pages just as they all came pouring into the office. A good thing about having an army of missionaries flood your office, they all want to help, so we put them all to work folding the newsletters and sorting them out. I'm pretty sure that was the fastest I ever saw the FM news get out, but it was just a little bit of an ordeal. But that's all good now and I've started to get really good at making split second decisions for problems as they arise. I guess those critical thinking questions they had us do throughout school end up being of more value than I ever gave them credit for....
That's something that I've noticed recently too. Everything in our lives seems to prepare you for whatever is ahead of you. In just about every challenge I've run into I can think back to an experience where I was prepared to answer that specific problem. I'm sure that that pattern will continue throughout my life as well. And if I ever wanted a crock-pot of experiences to prepare me for later, I can think of no better place than the mission!
This past week one of our investigators was in Tokyo touring the church's headquarters over there. I'm still not sure how he gets over to places like that, but somehow he manages it. He made it back this past Thursday but we still haven't been able to meet with him to see how it went. However, one of our other investigators finally got a day off of work (well, a lunch anyway) so we're going to meet up with him and have a nice lunch with him. I'm very excited for this chance because he's been swamped with work 7AM-10PM every day! We were talking about the importance of personal relationships with God and how we can always pray or read the scriptures even if we can't go to church, and he said that it's already been a great strength to him in the past weeks. Every Sunday that he hasn't made it to church, he's been thinking about what all of his church friends are doing, and right around 10AM, whatever he's doing at work, he'll take time to pray because he knows that that's where and what he should be doing. Even in the midst of all his work, stress, everything working against him, he still remembers what's important. I'm absolutely positive that I'm learning more about what it means to be a true latter-day saint from working with this man, than I would ever have learned on my own. He's definitely someone that everyone needs to learn from!
Things are going great in Japan, the weather is getting colder (I'm already wearing sweaters and scarfs and gloves!) but it's still beautiful. Even if we do get the occasional murder of crows spreading trash all over the front entrance, it's still beautiful outside. I've also started decorating the Honbu with Christmas decorations, so soon it will really be the Christmas season, even in the office! I've already been playing Christmas music the past couple of days while we've been working, but now I feel like I can go all out.
I hope you all have a great week and a wonderful Christmas season!
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
PS:
Well, this has been a pretty good week for finally getting done several of the small projects that seem to pile up here. I finally got all of the proofs sent in and finalized for the Christmas card and the new Temple Recommend holders. I'm not sure how I got roped into designing both of them but I think they turned out pretty well. Now if I can just finish up some of the other projects that pile up on my desk, that will be perfect. It's always a good feeling when you can look at something that you made and can be like, "Yeah, I made that, and now it's all done and I don't have to worry about it anymore."
This week we had the Zone Leader Conference here in the Honbu, which had a whole other set of preparation leading up to it. One of the things that I have to do is create the Newsletter at the start of every transfer. However, this transfer our printer went down right as Tokyo left their office, and we ended up being without a printer for quite a while! I finally found a place around Fukuoka with the right parts and Elder Tanaka and I ended up buying them during the conference and then made a mad dash to get everything printed before it was over! We ended up printing out the last couple of pages just as they all came pouring into the office. A good thing about having an army of missionaries flood your office, they all want to help, so we put them all to work folding the newsletters and sorting them out. I'm pretty sure that was the fastest I ever saw the FM news get out, but it was just a little bit of an ordeal. But that's all good now and I've started to get really good at making split second decisions for problems as they arise. I guess those critical thinking questions they had us do throughout school end up being of more value than I ever gave them credit for....
That's something that I've noticed recently too. Everything in our lives seems to prepare you for whatever is ahead of you. In just about every challenge I've run into I can think back to an experience where I was prepared to answer that specific problem. I'm sure that that pattern will continue throughout my life as well. And if I ever wanted a crock-pot of experiences to prepare me for later, I can think of no better place than the mission!
This past week one of our investigators was in Tokyo touring the church's headquarters over there. I'm still not sure how he gets over to places like that, but somehow he manages it. He made it back this past Thursday but we still haven't been able to meet with him to see how it went. However, one of our other investigators finally got a day off of work (well, a lunch anyway) so we're going to meet up with him and have a nice lunch with him. I'm very excited for this chance because he's been swamped with work 7AM-10PM every day! We were talking about the importance of personal relationships with God and how we can always pray or read the scriptures even if we can't go to church, and he said that it's already been a great strength to him in the past weeks. Every Sunday that he hasn't made it to church, he's been thinking about what all of his church friends are doing, and right around 10AM, whatever he's doing at work, he'll take time to pray because he knows that that's where and what he should be doing. Even in the midst of all his work, stress, everything working against him, he still remembers what's important. I'm absolutely positive that I'm learning more about what it means to be a true latter-day saint from working with this man, than I would ever have learned on my own. He's definitely someone that everyone needs to learn from!
Things are going great in Japan, the weather is getting colder (I'm already wearing sweaters and scarfs and gloves!) but it's still beautiful. Even if we do get the occasional murder of crows spreading trash all over the front entrance, it's still beautiful outside. I've also started decorating the Honbu with Christmas decorations, so soon it will really be the Christmas season, even in the office! I've already been playing Christmas music the past couple of days while we've been working, but now I feel like I can go all out.
I hope you all have a great week and a wonderful Christmas season!
Elder Everett
エベレット長老
PS:
It would be cool to get a bunch of cards, letters, and pictures for Christmas!
Elder Benjamin Charles Everett
Japan Fukuoka Mission
9-16 Hirao-Josuimachi
Chuo-ku
Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka
810-0029
JAPAN
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