Golden Flakes👌🇯🇵💸 (Week 56)

皆さんこんにちは! Another week down here in Yokosuka, Japan. To tell you the truth, I can't believe this week is already over! Time is such a weird thing on a mission. Some days you walk around for and hour, look down at your watch and it's only been five minutes. And then there are some days when you blink and then the week is gone! It's quite the emotional rollercoaster. Elder Thomson and I are both buckling up and hanging in there though on this ninety to nothing rollercoaster of an
adventure.

This past week, we had lots of finding time. For the second week in a row, all of our investigators got busy or fell through and couldn't meet. Not going to lie, it was pretty frustrating. The beautiful thing
about the mission though is that, our success is not based on the decisions of others. No matter how many baptism we get or how many doors are slammed in our face, our true success is based solely off of our efforts and our commitment to the Lord. I have seen that a lot as I have served. As missionaries, we deal with a lot of numbers. And while statistics and accountability are good, they have no value if there are not real names and real people behind those numbers. Elder Thomson and I have been working hard to find those who are prepared to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. It is difficult to watch those people who could be blessed by the gospel so much, turn away from it. Everything happens in the Lord's time though. As we trust in the Lord and allow him to guide us through trials, we will be blessed and we will have the ability to bring those blessings into the lives
of those around us.

The other major event that happened in Japan this past week was General Conference. Yes, I know all you Americans watched it a week ago. Here in Japan, there is a weeks delay because of translation. Even though, I still watched in English. I take pride in my Japanese but it's definitely not 12 apostles kind of good haha. Because I don't know some of the words they use even in English, I decided to just listen in my native language and focus on the Spirit. Let me tell you, it was awesome! If you haven't seen it or only watched the Sunday portion, go watch it. You won't regret it. There was a lot to learn, but one of my biggest take aways was Service. I felt that sometimes I find my self, not necessarily unfocused, but just going through the motions. I believe that everything I do as a missionary (and even outside of a mission) should in some way, shape, or form help build the Kingdom of God. On top of that, service should be a very personal thing. If we can not identify or connect in some way with those we serve, is it even Service at all? Maybe we give them a hand and that helps, but it is when we connect with others on a personal level that service becomes something more. I felt that I could improve in that area and so I will being working to do so. I would encourage everyone else to give that some thought as well.

Sorry for the length of the email this week. A lot of great things have been happening. Lots of personal growth and a vision of myself moving forward. I love you all! Thank you for all your love and support. Hope everyone has a great week!