This week has been a long one, which is a great thing! I`ll be just
fine if this last little while as a missionary goes by as sllooowwww
as can be! Haha it`s been a great week. Elder Takahashi transferred
out last week and I`ve got a new companion, Elder Jackson, now. He`s a
good guy. He`s from Arizona and came to Japan about 2 months ago. He`s
young, but he`s doing great! Transfer day was a tough one for sure.
This transfer we started transferring with bikes, so there was all
sorts of commotion over that. Usually transfers are done by about one
in the afternoon and everyone is on their way home, but it was a
little different this time. Because we were carrying bikes with us on
the trains, we had to go in smaller, more spread out groups, which
made transfers a LOONG day. To make a long story short, I basically
spent 9 hours in the Okayama train station helping people get where
they needed to be and waiting for missionaries to meet their
companions. It was a drag, but everyone got home safe and sound... I
think.
The week ended in a great way. We were able to be a part of Brother
Jiken getting the Aaronic Priesthood. It`s amazing to watch him
progress in the Gospel. He worries because he doesn`t speak Japanese
that well, that he is a hinderance because we have to translate for
him all the time. I told him to not think like that, but understand
that it is a major blessing for me to be able to help him. I love the
guy. I want him to stay active and grow in the church forever. I feel
the big responsibility that I have. These people who I`ve helped come
into the church deserve a continuing example of faithfulness to the
Gospel in their lives. I intend to be that example for them. This is
just all part of enduring to the end.
We had a really interesting experience with one of our Eternal
Investigators that I talked about a few weeks ago. Basically she`s
really lonely. She lives alone and doesn`t really have anyone in her
life so she likes it when the missionaries come over. We figured that
she hadn`t been keeping her commitments, so we went into the lesson
thinking that if she didn`t start showing signs of progression, we
were going to have to drop her. I followed up with her about prayer
and she told us that she hadn`t prayed, and probably wasn`t going to.
She went about talking to us like it was all a big joke. That set off
a fire inside. I asked her why she thought we gave her commandments
and why we were there in the first place trying to share the Gospel
with her. She talked about how missionaries in the past have tried to
get her to do the same things and how she doesn`t really have any
intention of doing anything we ask her to do that isn`t reading from
the Book of Mormon. We testified of the blessings of prayer and how we
can receive answers from God. That`s when the wheels just about came
off. She asked me in a strange way if I had ever REALLY received an
answer from God. I felt something well up inside so strong that I just
couldn`t contain it. It was one of the strongest testimonies I`ve ever
born. I witnessed that God was there. That he lives and that we are
his beloved children. I testified that unless we have a desire to act
on what we receive, we probably won`t get anything. I know that God
lives. He will answer his children IF they are ready. This women just
isn`t ready yet. We committed her one last time to pray for herself to
find out if these things were true. When she receives that answer,
she`ll come to church. I love bearing testimony. My testimony has
grown so much here and I was able to fully witness that when it was
put to the test. I can say with all that I have that I know this
Church is true and that Jesus Christ is our Savior. God does indeed
hear us and I`m incredibly grateful for that.
That`s about it for me this week. I love you all and I hope you all
have a great week. Pray for my companion and I and I`ll see you all in
a little while! I love you!
Elder Giles
Happy 4th of July!
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