Big news this week! We finally got a dryer in the house! Oh man, living
in a house of 6 people with only hang-dry options was really hectic.
This new dryer should prove to be a life-saver!
HAPPY NOVEMBER!! I know it's already the 10th but it's never too late to celebrate.
So last weekend one of the Sister missionaries got sick here in
Fukuoka ward, and we were trying to figure out what we could do to help
her feel better. Well, on Monday we had a cleaning check for our house
and the Mission President and his Wife came and did it personally. The
first time they came was a couple of weeks ago and it was out of the
blue with no preparation time, after a month straight of no P-day to
clean it up... the first time wasn't pretty at all, but this second time
they passed us with a celestial rating and then decided that they
should go take us out for Ice Cream! Well, the President was kind of
busy at night, so I ended up driving everybody in the mission van to a
Baskin Robins (they call it "31" in Japan, and I think there's maybe 1
or 2 per prefecture, so we were super lucky to find one!) and while we
were their somebody brought up the plight of the Sister missionaries and
everyone agreed that we should buy them some ice cream too. I'm not
sure if ice cream is the best thing to help a cold or not, but I figure
it's good for the soul. So I led the attack group to the Sister's
apartment and there we had the Mission President's wife hand-deliver the
ice cream. You can just imagine the surprise on the Sisters' faces
when they opened the door and Sister Gustafson and 4 missionaries were
standing outside their door!
Also, we recently started having Monday office meetings that I'm in
charge of, and this past Monday was the grand start! I'm not sure how I
get put in charge of running office meetings, I have no idea what I'm
doing, but I figure if I fake like I know what I'm doing, one of these
days I'll eventually fool even myself. I feel like that's been my train
of thought for the majority of the jobs that have come up while here in
the office: Making the Christmas card, fixing internet and computer
problems, creating a weekly newsletter, creating a running inventory
list, writing the mission's yearly report to be filed in Salt
Lake, and a bajillion other small projects that seem to come up out of
nowhere. Looks like it's time to put into practice all of those time
management lessons I've had over the years! Somehow during this I'm
supposed to find time to go and teach people the gospel too, which we've
been able to do more and more each week!
In working out our balance of office work and Dendo time we've been
finding more and more the importance of scheduling and planning ahead of
time. E-mails and texts have become a great tool in finding times to
meet with investigators and to just keep in contact with them throughout
the week. An e-mail or text will never be able to take the place of
meeting them in person and actually talking with them, but it's a lot
better than leaving them in the dust with not contact at all! This week
we were able to get in several lessons, which was a great relief!
Everyone that we work with is progressing so well. I know that they've
felt the love and the truth of the gospel, and now the goal is to have
them know that it's from God.
We have 2 investigators that are progressing really well in the
Gospel, learning, reading, praying, and coming closer to Christ, and we
have many other investigators who are great people and who are working
on coming closer to the Lord. I know that as we find time to work with
them and focus our work on their lives that there is a joy that is
waiting for each and every one of them! This Gospel has a way that it
changes and improves people's lives. I've seen it time and time again, as
people take the work of the Lord seriously in their lives, do the
activities that bring them closer to Christ, read the scriptures, pray,
go to church, there is a very visible difference in their lives. How
great it is to bring joy and happiness into the lives of those around
us. It's so true, as you focus on the people around you, all of your
own doubts, fears, hardships, and worries seem to melt away and both
you, and the people you serve have an increased light of Christ in their
life.
One of the greatest joys that the Gospel brings is the happiness
from eternal families, something that we get to see today as Fukuoka
Ward is hosting a reception for 2 young adults who just got Married here
in the Fukuoka Temple! We were asked to set up a stand of pamphlets
and hand-outs that focus on the family to be offered at the Reception so
we set up a display board with copies of the Family, A Proclamation to
the World, A pamphlet on 3 ways to a happier family, and pictures of the
Temple. Hopefully the people at the reception will take at least
something from the display and learn, even a little more, about the plan
God has for families and for their eternal happiness!
Fall is a beautiful season here in Japan and I just love seeing all
of the beautiful colors everywhere around us. But it's getting awfully
cold, I'm already bringing out the sweaters, and I can only imagine how
it's going to be come January or so here in Fukuoka! If this is
supposed to be the warmest mission in Japan, I feel very sorry for
everyone else... it's cold!
Well, I hope you all have a great week and are able to go do something awesome!
Lots of Love,
Elder Everett
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