67th week in Japan
11/20/2016
会員の心 (The Hearts of the Members)

Dear Family and Friends,

On Monday last week in the middle of the day we got a phone call from
one of the Assistants to the President. He called telling us the big
change that would be happening in our zone this transfer. My companion
and I will be staying, but we have a new area opening up and a bunch
of missionaries are changing. Last transfer, other than 1 other
missionary, I was actually the oldest missionary in the zone. Which
was not good because I thought that I might be the oldest missionary
in the zone this transfer. A few new missionaries came in and now I am
safe. I still feel like a young missionary even though I know that
time is dying down...

With time dying down I have come to learn on my mission that one of
the greatest joys of being a missionary is getting to know the
members. As missionaries we get the opportunity to meet many new
people all of the time, and the members that I have been able to meet
have become my best friends. In the Fukuchiyama area we have about 20
members who come to the branch every week. Some of them are a little
bit odd, but being able to work together with them in sharing the
gospel has been an absolute blast!

It is fun to be able to go out and share the gospel with other people,
but when you have a member with you it makes it 2X as fun and 2X as
effective. We have so many members in this branch who are willing to
invite their friends to hear from us, who are willing to come out and
do missionary work with us, and who love the gospel.

One big thing that President Welch taught us at this last district
conference is the importance of inviting. I think one thing that many
members fear is if their friends will actually become converted to the
gospel. We think to ourselves "this person won't get baptized or this
person is too busy to meet anyways." However, President Welch taught
that it doesn't matter what position someone is in. It is not our job
to determine whether someone is ready to hear the gospel. All we do is
invite. Whether or not they accept to hear the message, it was still a
success in God's eyes because it shows faith. The members here in
Fukuchiyama are a great example of inviting.

I am grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve the Lord for 2
years. I know that he lives. I know that the Book of Mormon is truly
God's word. God loves each one of us so much. He recognizes the potential
that we cannot see in ourselves. Through constantly striving our best
to follow his will we can have joyful lives and obtain eternal life in
the world to come. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Ponderizing scripture: Alma 38:9

Questions:

 How did transfers go? Any news?

1. Our zone changed up a lot. My companion and I stayed. The Nishiwaki
sisters stayed. Our district got a new district leader. The other
district got a new district leader, opened another set of Elders, and
2 new missionaries came in.

Have you met any new fun people lately?

2. We meet so many people every day that I honestly lose track of all
their names. We have about 15 investigators right now. We met a kid
named Tatsuya kun who we will meet with today who is pretty cool. He
seems like he has some decent potential.

 What is the bishop like and ward mission leader there?

3. Our branch president is a funny guy. We get to do service in his
garden every once in a while. He was converted about 6 years ago so he
is still learning a lot. Our ward mission leader is amazing! His name
is Yokoyama kyoudai and he loves to do missionary work! When he has
days off he will drive us around in his car for 6 hours some days
going to visit people.

 Have you been cleaning out your apartment if it needs it?

4. Yeah, I worked pretty hard on it, but it is good now. I threw out a
ton of trash when I first got here.

Are you still teaching English classes on Wednesdays?  Are the leaves changing colors and falling off the trees there yet?

5. Yes, we teach Keep 21 which is a fun English class and our regular
Eikaiwa. We also got to go help with another English class this week
for one of our investigators. Yes the leaves are changing color and
starting to fall. There really isn't much of an Autumn in Fukuchiyama
though. It was extremely hot 1 day and then the next day it got
freezing cold. It has gone back and forth a few times like that. The
past few days have been pretty good weather though.

 What is your routine like during the day there?

6. We do a lot of housing and following up with potential
investigators. We don't teach less actives much because there isn't
very many who are willing to meet with us.

 Have you played any games lately or been to any more fall festivals?

7. Not too much. Just working hard and loving life.

Have a great week!

Elder Hirschi