Hey y’all!!

It’s insane how fast time has flown by. I’ve written a few thoughts on my mission from the past year below.

President Sano, before he left, shared part of a short story to the mission. It’s about someone who spends a good chunk of their time preparing to go and visit (I forgot the country, but let’s just say) Holland. They get tour guide books about Holland, they look at pictures, videos, basically anything about Holland they can get their hands on. But when they get off the plane, they hear the words, “Welcome to Great Britain!” (my worst nightmare btw). The food is terrible, it’s constantly gray, and they have beans on toast. They’re devastated, since it’s nothing like Holland! But they come to appreciate Great Britain for what it has. The castles, the history, the scenery, etc.

My mission has certainly felt a little like that.

I kinda thought I’d be someone to come to Japan see a ton of people baptized. I’d be fluent in no time in Japanese. I’d be “Little Perfect Missionary.” You could say my head was a little big, and I’d happily accept it.

Truthfully, I’ve seen failure, from both causes in and out of my control, days where I can’t speak Japanese, days where I wonder “now why did I say that?” (or conversely, “why didn’t I say that?!”), days where I try my best and nothing seems to work, and days where I just wanna stay home and give up. You learn grit through a mission, I’ll say that. I haven’t had an easy mission (does anyone?), but have I not been blessed? There’s a lot of reasons why a mission in Japan is hard. I’m not gonna lie. The mission has kicked my [KJV Matthew 21:2, word #17]. I’ve been humbled time and time again, but you know what? I keep trying, inviting, sharing, praying that someone ready will be put in our path.

I was asked in Elder’s Quorum yesterday what the biggest blessing was from leaving on a mission. It took me a minute to think because, truly, I’ve been given much. I remember asking a few of my missionary friends the same question before. A lot said people-skills, a lot said learning Japanese. A lot said lifelong friends. I’m grateful for those reasons too. I’ve learned Japanese, learned how to accept rejection and communicate effectively even in a foreign language, and honestly been fortunate to make some friends that I’d be happy to be friends with forever. But honestly? I’ve kinda always thought those reasons are kinda weak. Can’t you work on those outside of the mission pretty effectively?

The biggest blessing I’ve been given is a testimony of Jesus Christ and His Gospel, the Restoration of His Church, and that He has a plan for each one of His children. It’s been the people who have come to the Church and realized that knowledge, and that I’ve been able to be put in their paths to help them along the way. I’m grateful for the change that they’ve made in their lives to live the Gospel. That’s my “even though Great Britain is gray, even though the beans on toast is getting a little old, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world” blessing. It’s the feeling of sunshine on a cloudy day.

I’m really glad I can say I’ve worked as hard as I can to this moment, and I don’t plan to stop. In fact if anything, I’ve just learned to work harder. For where much is given, much is required.

I have a friend who I had the opportunity to invite to church in Osaka and teach about the Restoration. I didn’t realize it (except for maybe from an unexpectedly tight hug before I left for Tsuyama), but he understood it, felt the Spirit, and would later accept the invitation to be baptized. Elder Kosaka, who ended up finishing the discussions, told me about his wife. “Right now, for her, it’s too hard to pay tithing and give up matcha. But she said, if she sees a big enough change in him, she says she wants to change and be baptized too.” I have no doubts that as long as Joe lives the Gospel, his wife won’t see just a small change, but an entire change of Joe’s character for the better. I know the Gospel has the power to change everything in our lives for the better. It’s changed mine.

I testify that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the pearl of great price. It is my privilege to be a member of the Church. I know God lives and loves His children. I know the Gospel changes and saves lives. I know Jesus Christ leads His church today.

See you in a year,

Elder Son

A great talk:
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1974/10/where-much-is-given-much-is-required?lang=eng

Some updates from this week:

• Became a temporary 3 man with Elder Nara the GOAT, he got sick tho so we basically stayed home all week.
• Two new families found last week w interest in Children’s English Classes. We couldn’t go due to illness, but our branch members came to English and the members gave wonderful testimonies which made me so happy!
• One of the families (Tanaka) is from Plano, TX (30 minutes from home), and for some reason is living in Tsuyama now which I thought was insane. They’re Japanese but speak perfect English. They were fire and down to meet again

Prayers welcome for:

• Tanaka + family
• Mao + fam
• Eri + fam
• Matsuoka
• Maria
• Alvera
• Hiro + Yuuka + fam