Elder Giles, Kobe Japan Mission: Letters from 日本

Hi fam!

First off, Ryan had better not ruin my Allen Edmonds... Haha I loved that picture. Gatsby`s cool.

So small world right? Decker emailed me this morning saying how cool it was that I know one of the missionaries she served with. It was so crazy! Mormons really do live in a small world.

So the investigator that was supposed to get baptized yesterday ended up having to postpone because he went to the hospital. I think he has some sort of colon infection or something, all I know is it was pretty serious. He should be fine and told us he will be baptized next week.

So cool story from this last week; this investigator called us a day or so after he went to the hospital and said that he was starting to get a little uneasy and nervous about baptism and he wasn`t sure if he should be baptized now or some other time. We asked him if we could come meet him the next day and talk a little more in detail about his worries. We planned a lesson on why it`s never a good idea to put off sacred ordinances that will lead to eternal salvation and stuff like that. Pretty much what we were trying to say was, look man, you need to get baptized NOW! Just with a little more care and compassion than that... Anyway, we got all prepared for the lesson and went and met this guy the next day. We started off with a prayer, which I offered, and I asked Heavenly Father to help him to be able to be baptized and to feel peace and assurance and things like that. After I finished the prayer he looked up and told us that he wanted to get baptized as soon as possible. It was amazing! We shared with him the lesson we prepared and all the scriptures about procrastination and he was assured that he needed to be baptized as soon as he could. So hopefully next week is the week for him! I can`t wait. This guy is awesome. He told us he`s repented for being so lazy and homeless for the last few years and after he gets out of the facility he`s staying in right now he was going to find a job and an apartment and start his new life as a faithful member of the church. I`m so excited for him.

Last night it rained sooo hard while we were at the members house for dinner. When we left it was still a downpoor and we had a thirty minute ride home and all I had was my raincoat. Awesome. I was soaked from head to toe! It was so fun. I couldn`t help but feel the sweetest feeling of joy and happiness as we flew through the city of Nishi Akashi in the rain. Imagine you`re a Japanese person who see`s this foreigner, on a pink bike, absolutely soaked in the pooring rain, with a big smile and laughing his head off. That was me last night. I`m going to have to buy a cheap suit here to wear in the rain. I don`t know how much more water my gray suit can take! I took it to the cleaners this morning so hopefully its fine.

S 長老 and I are still working hard. I can`t believe my first transfer is almost over. I thought the MTC went by fast but it`s nothing compared to the field! I`ve been a missionary for three months! Crazy right??

This week I`ve been working harder on trusting the Lord. Sometimes I feel like I tend to put my will first instead of his but I know it`s probably just because I`m so young and inexperienced out here. The trust will come as my faith increased. I hope the language comes along with that too! I know it will. There are some days where I`m just drained, feeling hopeless and lonely, but I just put a smile on my face and tell myself its going to be a good day.

S 長老 and I had a great companionship inventory last week and we decided that we were going to enjoy our day more. We got a little mechanical and robotic for a while there and I know we can be a lot more effective if we enjoy and have fun.

We got another investigator to commit to baptism this week! He`s an older guy that`s just looking for some direction. He told us he wants to know like we know of the truthfulness of the gospel. It was cool to tell him that even though we are only 22 and 19 years old, we knew that the church was true and it would bless his life. People here are blown away that we would take two years to volunteer our time for our church. We just say, we could meet with you and tell you WHY we`re doing this... Pretty slick right? Its been fun. Hard but fun. Its going to fly by.

I can`t believe Elder Smith is home already! That went by so fast! I bet he was a stud. How old Does Dad turn on the 23rd? 45! Oldie... Thats crazy. Everyone's going to be so old by the time I get back, haha! Looking forward to it! I love you fam! Have an awesome week!

Giles 長老