8/8/2016
慈愛、キリストの純粋な愛 (Charity, the pure love of Christ)
Kiyomizudera (清水寺, literally "Pure Water Temple").
As missionaries we are constantly seeking and praying sincerely for the gift of charity. I have truly come to recognize the importance for having charity for those around you during the time that I have spent on my mission. I have also come to learn more what the meaning of charity is. I think many people may have their own definitions of what charity means to them, but to me charity is truly the pure love of Christ.
When Jesus Christ came to the Earth he always had one purpose in mind. That purpose was to number 1, above all else, accomplish the will of Heavenly Father. The reason that he did this was because of his love for the Father first and then his love for all mankind. Jesus Christ truly had charity for all those around him. There is a countless number of times where it says that Jesus had compassion in the scriptures. He recognized who the people around him truly are. They are his brothers and sisters. He knew what Heavenly Father's will was and was 100% obedient to it by helping his brothers and sisters come to a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He constantly sought to show love to those around him. He is our example.
Whenever I think of the Savior, Jesus Christ, I think of what great love he had for Heavenly Father. I think that this should always be our number one goal in this life. To seek to develop more love for our Father in heaven. We can do so by doing the things that he asks us to. The gospel is so simple. As we show forth our faith and seek to develop love for our Heavenly Father, he will always bless us for doing so. I know that I talk about it a lot in my emails, but I always love to talk about seeing others through God's eyes because it is an attribute that I have really strived to acquire on my mission. I just wish that I could take one glimpse of what God sees in all of his children. I know that if I could, my outlook on everyone around me would be infinitely different.
I love what the prophet Mormon teaches us about charity in the 7th chapter of Moroni. He was so full of wisdom on how to gain charity for those around us. We must pray to the Father with all energy of heart to gain charity for those around us. (Moroni 7:48) I have felt this scripture take place in my daily life as a missionary. Last week we met with an investigator named Hayata kyoudai. He has gone through some hard things in his life and I have been praying for him a lot lately. I have really prayed with all the energy of my soul and have sought to gain charity for Hayata kyoudai. During one of the lessons that we had in the middle of the lesson he was talking. We asked Brother Hayata if he would follow the example of the Savior and be baptized. What he said was nothing special and actually not that relevant to what we had asked him, but for some reason God had poured out his spirit upon me and truly filled me from head to toe with charity towards my brother Hayata. I felt the spirit strongly and felt a sincere love for him. I hope that one day I can help him reach the waters of baptism. I have a sincere desire for his eternal welfare.
The gospel is true everyone! I love this gospel! Please everyone join me in praying with all energy of your souls so that you can gain charity for those around you. I love each one of you. You are all my brothers, sisters, and sons and daughters of a Father in Heaven who loves you! Please never forget that.
Ponderizing scripture: Mormon 9:28
Questions:
1. My investigators here are amazing. I love them all so much. I hope that we can find some more investigators who will progress more quickly, but we are doing our best to help them.
2. Our next transfers are on August 25th.
3. My companion's first name is Riley. He used to live in California, but his family has moved during his mission. They moved to Huntsville Utah. His family loves the lake, especially lake Powell. He has 1 older brother and 2 older sisters. He is from Glendora California.
4. The members in this area feed us every once in a while and give us food in a basket every Sunday. I have had a few meals with members already here. I love them all so much. We had a very powerful fast and testimony meeting yesterday. I don't know if there is a specific job that most people do it here. It iss just kind of random. The bishop is a carpenter. The Stake President is a lawyer.
5. There haven't been any more festivals since the last ones. The kids are back in school I think. They only get out for a few weeks.
6. The trains here are pretty interesting. It seems like a very effective way of transportation. I know what a bento (boxed lunch) is and I have had quite a few, but never on a train.
7. There are more stores here in the Kyoto area like the ones in the US. They also have a mall with a lot of foreign imported foods, which is really nice. I have seen quite a bit of Pokemon stuff especially with the new Pokemon go game. Everyone is playing it.
I love you all. Have a great week!
Elder Hirschi
ハーシ長老
More pictures at https://www.facebook.com/
Zone training meeting
Practice lessons with their duck investigator
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