7/4/2016
証する機会 (The Opportunity to Testify)
Dear Family and Friends,
Being a missionary is just such a great opportunity. I know that being a missionary is only a once in a lifetime chance, and that is why I am so grateful that the Lord has called me to his work. One of the greatest things about being a missionary is the constant opportunity that you have to bear testimony. Many people in this world do not know about the truth. Because we have the gospel in our lives we have been given a knowledge of the truth. Being able to bear testimony of that knowledge is truly something special. Not only is it something special, but it is also something that is extremely important to do.
Just yesterday I was given the opportunity to bear my testimony and hear many in fast and testimony meeting. Every time you listen to members bear their testimonies in fast and testimony meeting you can feel the spirit flood the room. I am so grateful for the Uwajima branch. Each one of the members here have such a strong testimony. They have helped me strengthen my testimony to the point where I have completely changed. I have felt the power and truth of their words. These people are so strong and steadfast. They have Christ centered in their lives. The members of Uwajima will forever hold a special spot in my heart.
As I have said before I have many heroes from the Book of Mormon, and the testimony of Nephi (3rd Nephi, Nephi) is what makes him another one of my greatest heroes. In chapter 7 of 3rd Nephi, many of the people have turned their hearts from the Lord. They were in a wicked state. Nephi knew of their wickedness, but he had a great love for the people. You can tell that Nephi really cares about the salvation of their souls. In 3 Nephi 7:16 Nephi says that he is grieved for the hardness of the hearts of the people. He recognizes that they have so much more potential as sons and daughters of Heavenly Father. So he gets up to testify and it says that "he began to testify, boldly, repentance and remission of sins through faith on the Lord Jesus Christ." Then in verse 18 it gives the result of his testimony. "And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily." His testimony was so powerful to the people that it was impossible for the people to disbelieve his words. Even though we may not be able to hear Nephi talking to us in person as we read the scriptures, you can truly feel the power of the testimony that he had.
Something that I have been thinking about lately is one of my favorite scriptures in D and C. D and C 18:10-16. Yesterday I read this as part of my testimony that I gave in a missionary fireside that we had after church. I read these verses and bore my testimony of the truthfulness of this scripture. I truly believe that every soul is precious in God's eyes. You can know that is true simply through prayer. Think about it. God has 7 billion children on the Earth today. Even with all of the children that he has, he is willing to listen to your prayers individually. God loves each one of us. He wants us all to be able to return to him again someday. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ we have been given the opportunity to do so. It is truly up to us. We have the choice. All we have to do is do what God asks us to. (2 Nephi 10:23-25) Jesus Christ's atonement is real. I know it. I know it because I have experienced it so many times in my life. This church is true. Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. He was called to restore the church and translate the Book of Mormon for us. The Book of Mormon is truly God's word. I know that through reading it daily we can one day be guided back to our Heavenly Father. I know these things are true and I say them in the sacred name of the Savior Jesus Christ, amen.
The Ponderizing scripture that I chose for last week was 2 Nephi 1:15. "But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love."
Questions:
1. I have not taken my companion to the Uwajima castle yet, but we will have to go at least once before the transfer ends. I have not gotten the package yet, but I will be getting it on the 8th at Zone Training Meeting. They called about it.
2. My companion does play a little bit of piano. He is pretty good. I haven't been able to practice the hymn book much. I do want to play after my mission, but I don't really have that much time to play right now. Every once in a while during ping pong I try to play a hymn or two. There are a few people in our ward who can play the piano and some can sing pretty well, but not too many.
3. The next transfers are on the 14th of July. Next Thursday. I think the district will change a bit because there are 2 other missionaries in the district that have been here for 4 transfers along with me.
4. Yesterday we got to go housing and meet some really cool people that I am excited to go back and teach the restored gospel to. One of the families we didn't catch their names, but they seemed really open to talking. We also met someone named Miyazaki San who is really cool and younger (which is rare in Uwajima). He seemed open to talking as well. We actually sing, us four missionaries, every Sunday before sacrament meeting starts. My companion gave a talk in church the second week here. It was really good. Yes the Hasegawa couple stay in Uwajima their entire mission. Sister Hasegawa's mom was not a member before they got here and they participated in her conversion so that is the main reason they moved here. They have also really helped out this branch a lot!
5. Everything is holding up well. One of my pairs of shoes I use just for the rain so they are pretty beat up, but no worries about getting new ones. I am going to keep using them in the rain. Japanese people really like movies and music from America. I don't really know of anything specific that you could bring, but if I find something out then I will let you know.
6. We have ZTM on Friday next week. I feel like I have gotten better at the language, but I still have a long long ways to go. A lot of room for improvement. Of course there always will be. I still feel like I can't express myself very well. I'll keep trying though and the Lord always makes up the rest.
7. The apartment is great. We keep it clean always. Anderson Choro likes to keep it clean. We are probably going to replace the floorboards because they are really squeaky. We are also going to throw out an old cabinet and our vacuum for new ones. I'll take some after pictures and send them next week.
8. The Sisters in Matsuyama are awesome. The sisters are always better than the elders. They ride different types of bikes sometimes. They ride mamacharis which are bikes with baskets and they are built a lot different. I really don't like mamacharis, but sometimes they are better for sisters. They are more suited to women I think. We don't do much with them except I do follow ups on the phone with them every week. We also have district meetings on Fridays.
Thank you everyone for reading my long emails. I love you all. Have a great week and don't forget to testify always!
Elder Hirschi
ハーシ長老
Elder Anderson's birthday
First time trying a Kimono
There was a tree growing on someone's back porch
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