3/27/2017
Hello Everyone!
Japan's Sakura [cherry blossum] is suppose to start blooming next week but the Ume [plum] trees started blooming already.
Japan is good. We have been helping our investigators and helping the ward [congregation] where it needs. We had some plans fall through during the week and were not having as much progression in the work, but I can feel the Spirit leading me and helping me do my best! I'm trying to give everything I have to the Lord so that I can be an instrument in His hands. In fact, on Sunday, we had many things going on! Recently, Mo____, (female) an investigator who moved from the Sendai mission area, moved here officially and came to church along with an investigator who came for the first time, Yu____ (female). I sat with Yu____ and I remember her saying how grateful she was for the prayer that we said on the phone with her. I had prayed that she would have the power to endure and be able to gain her health back and feel God's love and she did. She had almost no money, no food, living by herself and her illness was bad enough that she couldn't leave her house, but she has changed, gotten better and she feels happy. She's prayed
to God and when she came to church she felt so much peace. I gave her a Book of Mormon during sacrament reading to read a verse along with the wonderful speaker and she read the whole chapter!! She could feel the power that was in the Book and took it home. She had to leave
early, but she already bore her testimony to me that God lives and grants power in prayer. She left sacrament [meeting] early, but I was so amazed by how much she has changed and grown and her circumstances have completely changed with her faith in God. She just needs to learn more
about Jesus Christ now! But I prayed quickly and asked Heavenly Father, "is she really going to he baptized? I believe it.." and I felt shivers go through my body and I know that she can get baptized
next month. We prayed about a date and thought of April 16th, this year. We are going to extend it to her as soon as we can.
And Mo____-chan (same person listed near the top of this letter), she has been to church every week since she has met the missionaries in October last year. We are going to try and talk with her tomorrow about her concerns, and fears of baptism and invite her to join Jesus Christ's church by being baptized by proper authority of God. As missionaries, we teach repentance and baptize converts, and these next few weeks, we are going to try our best to help them convert to Jesus Christ, have faith in Him unto repentance, and prepare for the saving ordinance of baptism. Baptism is such an important ordinance because it is the only way, the covenant by that we can enter the kingdom of God, being completed by receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, as taught in the New Testament.
I believe that when these two wonderful women join and become one with the church of God, that they will start their journey and discipleship of Jesus Christ, and thye will be "living after the manner of happiness", according to Jesus Christ's gospel. Families are a blessing from God because it is a great place to have a loving atmosphere and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love you all very very much!! But it does not compare to how much the Savior Jesus Christ loves for he gave himself as an offering to satisfy the demands of justice that come from the fall of Adam.
Here's a scripture that I hope may be able to brighten your day. :) this is during the time of Captain Moroni and the wars. Helaman and his two thousand stripling warriors had been conquering back their cities from the Lamanites but they were receiving not as much help from their government [they were desperate, in dire need] and the Lamanites were attacking them often.
Alma 58:
10 Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would
strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and
also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands,
and our possessions, for the support of our people.
11 Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with
assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak
peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause
us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.
12 And we did take courage with our small force which we had received,
and were fixed with a determination to conquer our enemies, and to
maintain our lands, and our possessions, and our wives, and our
children, and the cause of our liberty.
Remember, that the Lord is with you always. In every single step that you take in this life as you continue back to Father's presence. We are all children of A loving Heavenly Father and we all need the Savior in order to return back to his presence clean and purified. Seek the spirit to purify you daily in everything you do and pray for it always that you may have the strengthen to overcome temptation.
Gomen [sorry], I want to put more words in this letter to help you or lift you up but we have to leave soon. I want you to know that I love the Lord and I'm learning that my mission is not mine, it's His. Everything I'm giving is to the Lord and I love my family, but I don't want you to feel that you're not important because you all are. I'm just trying to do what the Lord wants me to do. I'm really really really trying to give all my desires and hopes and talents to God because I know he loves his children and he trusts me to do it.
It's been stressful being in Japan--trying to help people progress and receive salvation and not knowing how to do it exactly. Although, it's good, I don't know how to do it because then I depend on the lord and seek the spirit, but anyways. In the times that I could have been upset or stressed because there's so much to do I have prayed for strength and have found peace and more love in my heart. I want to do the best good I can.
Sister Parker / Kirsten
Sent from the white fields of Japan π²π
