Hello everyone!

I ran out of time for a fully fleshed out email this week, but thought I’d share a quick message this time around.

This week, I’ve had a lot of time to go street contacting every day. It’s seriously so fun, but so challenging. I often worry about trying to convey what I really want to say in Japanese. It’s hard to speak fluently at such an early stage of my time as a missionary in Japan. I’ll usually stumble into a conversation, say a few sentences, and my trainer will take over when I cannot possibly say any more. It is discouraging. Why, when I feel like I’m giving the language and missionary work my all, can I not say more? Why can I not do more? Why can I not help people more when my heart is already there?

At times in our lives, it may feel like we cannot be understood by any living being. Perhaps you’ve been misunderstood as having malicious intent while trying to do something kind for a dear friend, or you feel like an outcast despite all your efforts to contribute and fit in. Perhaps even you feel like you’ve made too many mistakes to be worthy of anyone’s love, and that you’ll never be able to change. These are all experiences, emotions, and pains that I’ve felt at one point or another in my life. And I know it’s part of the shared human experience.

But it is my testimony and my experience that the Lord knows and loves you infinitely for who you are. In 2 Nephi 25:23, Nephi writes, “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” The Lord sees any and all efforts we take for Him and to get to Him. It can be tempting to seek sources of comfort that take us away from the Lord when we face deep emotional pain, but because His grace is sufficient for us, He truly understands us at every level. This is my experience and my testimony. He loves you.

The Lord is always as close as a quiet prayer. His peace and comfort is always a moment away. His love for you is recorded in the scriptures, and it can be felt in the Church. I promise and testify that you are never too far away from the Lord, and He loves you infinitely more than you could even imagine. I have felt fractions of His love throughout my life. It is the purest form of joy and the deepest kind of love. What a pleasure it is to have the Holy Spirit to share that message with people on the mission!

It is my testimony that God lives and loves. When we seek Him, we invite that love to an even greater extent into our own lives. I testify of the reality of His care for each of His children, the powerful reality that reading the scriptures, coming to church, and kneeling in prayer can invite Him into our lives, and the reality of the joy of living your life in Christ. In His sacred name, Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Son

愛してますよ！