This last week has been pretty challenging! I`ve had a viral infection in my stomach for the last few weeks and it hasn`t been fun at all! I keep just trying to push through and work, the doctor says its just got to work its way through the system and I`ll be back to normal in no time at all. I know the Lord is mindful of us, `wanderers in a strange land` -Ammon.
Other than a little trial of sickness, the week was really good! The work continues to hasten and its good to be a part of it. We taught an awesome lesson to one of our investigators last week that really got him curious in the Book of Mormon. He`s showed signs of really wanting to know about the Gospel, but up until now he really hasn`t put forth a lot of effort or true desire to learn. We met with him at a McDonalds and just started talking about his beliefs in God. We listened to him for a good little while as he told us the differences in the God we believe in and the God he believes in. He told us that he believes that God is a spirit that is in each of us, guiding and protecting our lives. I told him how cool I thought that was and showed him Moroni 7:16 and explained how we believe much the same way. God is our Father in Heaven and he sends us the Spirit and the Light of Christ, which is given to every man, to guide us and help us know right from wrong. We then took him to two of my favorite parts in the Book of Mormon where some investigators thought that God was a `Great Spirit` as well. We read from Alma 18 where Ammon teaches Lamoni and from Alma 22 where Aaron teaches Lamoni`s father. We connected it back to him and explained that God is a man, glorified and perfected and we are created in his image. He was pretty blown away by that. He said at the end that he thought it was so crazy that his beliefs and our beliefs could be so close. My companion challenged him to start reading from the beginning of the Book of Mormon and told him he was going to call and see how it has been going on Wednesday night. We`re super excited to see how he goes!
I`m realizing as I get older in the mission just how much I learn from week to week. I guess I haven`t really had the chance to kind of look back, but I can really see how much I`m changing. They`re absolutely right when they say that person that will change the most on your mission is YOU. Its so true. I`m learning so much every day. I`ve really come to know and walk with my Savior here in Japan. I`ve come to the knowledge of my Redeemer in Kobe. It will always be a special place in my heart. It will be so difficult to leave one day. I know it might seem sometimes like we`re not doing much, but what I`ve seen and learned on my mission is that we truly have no idea the impact we can have, especially as members of the church. God can do a lot through us, as weak as we are. There`s never a time to be discouraged because the Lord truly is mindful of all of his children! He loves each and every one of us and knows us by name. How do I know the Lord loves me? He makes me do hard things. I love you all! I hope you all have a great week! If you haven`t seen `He is the Gift` go check it out, its pretty cool. I love you guys!
Elder Giles
This is an area close to the train station in Takatsuki where we serve every week, planting flowers and stuff like that. They put Christmas lights up every year and we were recognized by the Mayor for helping out! It was way cool!
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