Hi guys, how are you?

Shorter email this week because I forgot to write it last night! (Our Branch President took us and my dear friend Asaumi San to some beautiful waterfalls near Tsuyama.)

Tsuyama is a somewhat small inaka (rural) town (100k people), so you gotta be really creative and Spirit-led to find friends and do missionary work. I’ve already been able to learn a ton! We just found a friend from an impression we had to go to Tsuyama Castle. There’s usually nobody over there, so my companion originally told me no. But later, when we passed by the area (we decided to go to a nearby area instead), there was a family of four there having a picnic! We didn’t wanna intrude too much, but we knew they were the right family. So we thought, “Why not just tell them about the English class for kids that our branch does?” We told them about the English class and introduced ourselves briefly as volunteer missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We then learned the father’s father had met missionaries before and hung out with them a ton in Osaka! We testified about Jesus Christ and the church which He leads on earth. We’ve actually got a lesson scheduled for Wednesday with the dad which is crazy. Tsuyama just has random little (and big) miracles. I love it so much!

We did a lot of planning with the members this week. A lot of prior Tsuyama friends are older women so we discussed how we can move the teaching pool to what the ward needs more! Specifically, we want to find young families and young priesthood holders (young men), so we talked about how to coordinate ward efforts towards that goal. A lot of it involves things we have organized like Children’s (family) English Class, and we’re thinking of trying some additional activities (that are connected to church) such as Family History Night or Music Night. It also involves clearing up our 4PM->9PM blocks up from teaching old friends so that we can find at better times.

I also got a text message from a friend in Osaka this week, saying that he was grateful for me. It helped me so much. I’m super grateful for his friendship. He’s currently studying for his law school exams. Ayu, 頑張って！！

I love the scripture Ether 12:27.

“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

Sometimes, I really wonder if I’m good enough for the Lord. It’s really easy for me to see the things that I am doing that are wrong and not those that are right. Or in other words, I see my weaknesses first, instead of my strengths. It can be really discouraging! But as I’ve felt the Lord’s grace time and time again, I’ve realized in my life that my weakness IS strength in the Lord. The times I feel like I made a mistake, or the times that I feel like I should’ve done better, I know will be strengthened by the Lord’s Atonement. Jesus Christ, through his Atonement, gives us grace in our lives. I’m grateful for the gift of baptism that allows us to be guided through life. I heard an excellent analogy from a member this week during a lesson. When you’re at a busy fair, say, Osaka EXPO, a parent holds onto a child’s hand tightly so that their child will not get lost along the way. Baptism is the same. So that we may have direction through life, our Heavenly Father guides us through the bond (the covenantal connection) we make through baptism. (Matthew 11:29-30). We strengthen our access to the Lord and protection from evil through covenants. I feel the Lord’s guiding hand every day. I am so grateful.

Thank you for reading this far. I love you all! P.S. I’m so excited to welcome the Kerr’s as our new mission leaders! I promise to write more soon!

Elder Son