This week was an interesting one, for sure. I wish I could share some
of the details, but I can`t. It`s been a little difficult, but know
that I`m doing just fine and I`m working as hard as I possibly can to
help people my last little while in the mission. It`s so crazy that
I`m also 21 now... I actually forgot it was my birthday yesterday until
I saw an unopened envelope on my desk from Sister W that said,
"don`t open until July 12". Ha! It was a great birthday, for sure!
Most of this week was spent, well, loving and lifting. That`s all
I`ll say about that. Being a District Leader and a Senior Companion to
a very very young missionary is a huge blessing for sure. It has
helped me to forget myself and just focus on the needs of either my
companion, or my District. Our investigators are doing really well
right now as well. We have a 15 year old girl that will be getting
baptized in two weeks with her Mom. Her parents have had some
difficulties, so long story short, the parents live over in Izumo
(about an hour away) and their daughter lives here in Matsue in an
institution. The Dad was baptized some twenty years ago or so, but has
been less active up until recently when a missionary invited him to
come play ping pong at the church for an activity. He went to that
activity for a few weeks, and then approached the missionaries and
said that he wanted to come back to church, and he wanted his family
to be baptized as well. It was a huge miracle for sure! So yeah, the
Sisters over in Izumo are teaching the Mom and we`re teaching the
daughter here in Matsue. She`s doing really really well. She comes to
church every week and plays with all the kids because we don`t have
any young women in the ward, but she just does what she can anyway.
It`s basically like she`s already a member. We taught her the
Commandments yesterday and she readily accepted all of them. She`ll be
getting interviewed by the Zone Leaders for baptism on Saturday with
her Mom, so miracles are happening for sure!
We had to jump on the 3 hour bus down to Okayama again last week for
Zone Training Meeting. It was a blast though! We have two Brazilian
Elders who were sent up here to the District to try and start a
Portuguese branch in the area next to ours. One of them in the Son
(trainee) of the one and only Elder Brown, so he`s pretty solid!
They`re both really good guys though. I had fun learning some
Portuguese from them on the way down. Our ZTM was way good. As a Zone,
we`re focusing on "Becoming One through changing". That`s something
that I really really love. I`m so imperfect, and the only way I`m
going to be able to work with someone else is to change and become
more like the Savior. I had the chance to bear my testimony at the end
of the meeting, and I was overcome with gratitude for the two years of
missionary service I`ve been able to have. This really is the greatest
thing I have ever done. I wouldn`t want to be anywhere else, and I
know what I`ve done here has had eternal significance. I`ve come to
know my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ over the last twenty
three months and that`s something I`m incredibly grateful for.
I`m sorry I don`t have a lot of time this week because I`ve got to
go celebrate my birthday right! Know that I love you all, and I pray
for you all the time. I hope you have a great week! Wish me luck and
I`ll see you in a little while!
Elder Giles
I`m 21!!!
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