Why hast thou forsaken me?

Friends and Family,

  My kidneys still hurt. Nothing has changed there, but I`m able to work and function just fine so it really isn`t that bad. I`ll share an experience from early Sunday morning that had a really big influence on my life. 

  So I went back to the doctor last week and the doctor was really confused because the medicine wasn`t able to break up the stones at all. He said it was a little worrisome and thought it might be a bigger problem with my kidneys. I`ve been going back and forth with the mission doctor as well up in Tokyo and he asked me to send him my CT scan from a few weeks ago so I`m sending that up to him tomorrow. Basically I`ve been feeling pretty much 100% but early Sunday morning was a really rough one. I woke up about three or four o`clock in the morning with pretty intense pain. I knew I had to do something about it so I grabbed the pain killers the doctor gave me and my water bottle and went into the other room, away from where my companion and the other missionaries were sleeping. Everything hurt in my body and I pretty much fell on my knees when I got to the room. It hurt to lay down, sit down, and stand and the only position where I could get any relief was on my knees. I was still in and out of consciousness because it was so early, but I distinctly remember being on my knees and having this overcoming feeling that this was like my own personal suffering in the Garden. I don`t mean to even try to compare what I`m going through with what the Savior went through in Gethsemane. I was on my knees and I asked Heavenly Father, `Why hast thou forsaken me?` It hurt so much. They say that kidney stones are  comparable to child birth. I don`t know, all I know is it hurt. I begged my Father in Heaven to take the pain from me. I just wanted it to be done. I had the strongest feeling of love as well. When it says in the New Testament that an Angel came down to strengthen the Savior in the midst of his pain, I felt something I know was similar. Someone was there to comfort me. Through an impression I remembered that I hadn`t taken the pain killers and I needed to do so in order to get relief. I took them and noticed that I was shivering from the cold of the hard wood floor. I put my sweatshirt on used another one as a pillow and the next thing I remember is waking up about five or five thirty in the morning and thinking I probably shouldn`t sleep there on the floor and that I should go climb back in to my futon. When the alarm went off at 6:25 I told my District Leader what had happened and he said that he thought I should go back to sleep and let Sister W know I was in some pain. I told him I`d be fine and that I was capable to work that day. I emailed Sister W and let her know what was going on. She basically told me to just do what I felt comfortable doing and that her and President were so so so sorry that this was happening. I`m so grateful to have such a loving Mission President and Mission Mom. I went on through the Sabbath with a little pain every now and then, but I was able to work just fine.

  I`m so grateful for a loving Savior and for the chance to be made perfect through him. I know he lives. Our Father in Heaven knows us all perfectly. He knows what we`re going through and how to help us. I love this Gospel. I can`t imagine going through life without the knowledge I have of a loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. 

  I love you all so much! I`m just fine and I can feel your love every day. Thank you so much for supporting me. I love you guys. Have a great week!

Elder Giles   

One Bird, Two Stones

Friends and family,

  This week has been a crazy one thats for sure. I`ll just say that I am really, really, really grateful for the power of the Priesthood and prayer. I also became a trainer for the second time and it's been great! My new companion is Elder P from Provo, Utah. He`s awesome. His parents are from Puerto Rico and he speaks fluent Spanish (we`re working on the Japanese). He`s a beast though. He played football, lacrosse, and wrestling at Timpview in high school and served in the Army reserve for a few years before the mission. He`s awesome. I can`t tell you all how much I love this guy! I`m really grateful for the chance to be his trainer. 

  So last Sunday I had a pretty scary situation and I had to go to the Emergency Room because something felt really wrong with my back. Basically we were riding our bikes to go visit a Less Active member with the Sisters and I all of a sudden had the worst pain ever in my back. It was like I had a searing pain in just to the left of my spine in my lower back and I didn`t know what it was. All the neighbors in the area came out to see if I was okay and a member came and called an ambulance. Before the ambulance came the member said to me that I needed a Priesthood Blessing right there on the street. He kneeled down next to where I was laying and he and my companion gave me one of the most powerful Priesthood blessings I have ever received. I went to the ER and they x-rayed my back to see if everything was okay and the x-rays came out fine, my back was in good shape. After a while my back started to calm down and they decided that it was nothing more than a really bad pinched nerve. Well I thought it would be fine after that, but I kept having really weird pains throughout the week and at one point on Thursday I called Sister W and told her something was still wrong. She said to go to the hospital and get it checked again so we ran up to the hospital Thursday morning. They thought that it could have been a hernia so they had me take a test that showed my red blood cells were higher than they should have been. They had me do a CT scan which showed that I had two small kidney stones! That was the reason my back hurt so bad on Sunday night. They`re pretty small stones so they should dissolve by the end of the week, but man, these hurt pretty bad... I know the Lord is mindful of the situation though because I`m not really in a lot of pain, and haven`t been since Thursday morning. He`s sustaining me right now for sure! It's funny, everytime the Lord allows me to feel pain, it`s a reminder that Christ felt that once. He knows what it's like and he can empathize with us. Granted, his pain was a lot worse than a few kidney stones, but I know he`s helping me all the same. I know my Savior lives!

 

  So that was a fun experience. We also had our Stake Conference here this weekend and President W was able to attend and speak. It was amazing. Even in Japanese that man is extremely powerful, and I`ll say, he has some pretty freaking good Japanese. He told the wards basically what our job is in relation to helping them fulfill their callings. Our mission goal is to find out the goals of the wards and stakes and work with them to achieve those! I can`t wait until the wards here actually apply the great things he spoke about this weekend. 

  Well I`m onto another week in the service of my God as a trainer. I`m loving my mission more than ever and I love it more and more every day! I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Giles

This is my #2 Son!

​Elder B and I back as trainers for the second time! Love this guy. 

NEW MISSIONARY

Hello friends and family!!!

So its transfer week this week and we got the transfer spreadsheet this
morning in the weekly email. I`ll be staying in Takatsuki for a little
while longer and I was called as a trainer again! I`m SUPER excited. Its
going to be a blast. I think I`m most excited because Elder B, who`s on
the other side of the mission right now, is also a trainer again so we get
to meet up at the mission home on Friday! Pictures to come, folks! 

When I was called as a trainer a few transfers ago, I was way excited, but I think I surpassed that today when I got the news again. I`m much more prepared to train now! The only scary thing now is the fact that this week, I`ll begin
my tenth transfer. I`m officially an old missionary!

This last week Elder F and I pretty much knew that it was going to be our last full week together so we had an awesome time. The eight missionaries in our district practiced `I know that my redeemer lives` all week to sing in Sacrament meeting in both the Ibaraki and Takatsuki Wards because one of the Sisters, Sister D, is going home tomorrow. It was so cool! The song was super powerful and I think we had just about everyone in tears. The funny part was that no one really knew
about singing in choirs and stuff so I had to coach and lead everyone all
week. Talk about a flash back to junior high choir!

We had interviews with President W this last thursday and it was awesome! I absolutely love talking to that man. It was fun being able to talk to Sister W as well. Turns out her maiden name in N and her

family lives in Charleston, Utah (my Dad's hometown)! We`re probably related somewhere! My interview with President W was a blast. We talked about just about everything and he told me that I had to stay for the struggling ward I`m in
right now and that my companion would be transferring.  He gave me a great compliment when he said that I am the

least of his worries in the mission right now. That was extremely humbling
and made me want to be that much better and actually deserve those kind of
compliments.

Well yeah. Thats basically it for me this week. I`m a trainer again, my
companion is transferring to Hiroshima, and its getting colder. I`ve actually
had to break out the sweaters a few times this last week! I`m loving life.
I`m loving my area and I`m loving the gospel! I love you all! Have a great
week!

Elder Giles

Master, the tempest is raging!

Friends, family, future coworkers and associates, and hopefully my future spouse (that should cover just about everyone)

  This week was really good! Right now we`re focusing most of our efforts on visiting and strengthening up the ward. We`re doing a ton with the Sisters in our area, Sister M and Sister M (they`re awesome!). The four of us visited a few less actives and some members this week and had a few really cool experiences!

  The first member we decided to visit was an older woman in the ward. She`s one of the sweetest people I know and has a great energy level. We went by her house to say hello, sing a hymn, and share a short message with her, but when we arrived, we were pleased to find out her nonmember younger sister was there visiting from Akashi (my first area). She welcomed us in and gave us some really good Japanese treats like she always does. Her sister was really nice and was asking all sorts of questions like what the U.S. and New Zealand are like (Sister M is a Kiwi), and why we came on missions and stuff like that. We sang Nearer My God to Thee and the Sisters shared a short scripture. I think it was 1 Nephi 11:17. After they shared the scripture they shared their testimonies that God is Our Father in Heaven and he truly does love his children. It was a great message and the Spirit could be felt for sure. Well that was all fine and dandy until Sunday we found out from the member that right before we came over that day, her and her sister were talking about God and the sister had a question that the member couldn`t answer about our Heavenly Father that the Sisters were able to answer for her in their message! It was so cool. I`m so glad to be working with such wonderful, in tune Sister missionaries. 

  We also had the chance to go over to a potential investigators house for dinner with her and her two children. The woman lived in Cache Valley for a year and England for seven so her and her kids speak fluent english (phew). We had dinner with them and talked about our families and about the fact that we wanted to help people so we joined the ranks and entered the mission field and stuff like that. It was awesome because she actually made us a straight up American style meal of chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy! In Japanese that would be `natsukashi` or `nostalgic`. They weren`t able to become new investigators, but they asked us to come back for dinner every Tuesday from now on! Hopefully we`ll be able to soften and touch their hearts with the message of the restoration. 

  I`ve come to realize on my mission that it isn`t the huge miracles and defining, once in a lifetime moments that make your mission amazing. It`s the little things every single day. A smile and wave from a little kid, a random act of kindness from an `obachan`, or a chance to share a testimony to a college kid in front of the train station. It all piles up to make for an amazing experience. This week was my one year mark in Japan. I know, right? I`m coming home in like ten months or something like that. I can`t believe what an amazing experience my mission has been. I love this stuff. I love my mission!

  We were able to watch conference as well. Yes, it was amazing. Yes, I loved all five sessions. I think my favorite talk was by one of the new recently called Seventy, Elder Jorg Klebingat. His message was awesome. I loved the six principles he shared with us and how they can help us live better lives. I love our Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson as well. I know he is a Prophet of God, the worthy successor to Joseph Smith, and the leader of our church. I sustain him fully and try to live by every word that comes from his mouth! I love the Prophet!

  I hope you all have an awesome week. Yes, there`s quite the typhoon coming, but we should be fine. Christ calmed the tempest, right? No problem! I love you all! Have an awesome week!

Elder Jeffrey Maxwell Giles

`Walk With Me`

Friends and family,

 

  We had another great week here in the Land of the Dropping Tempurature. The other companionship in the apartment was surprised on Tuesday with a call from the Assistants saying that the junior companion, Elder G, was going to be transferred early to switch with another Elder on the other side of the mission. It was extremely sad because the four of us, myself, Elder F, Elder H, and Elder G have become really close over the last two transfers. It was really tough to say goodbye! The new Elder that came into the apartment is Elder A and we love him already. His parents are from Nigeria, but he`s grown up in Sweden and speaks fluent American English. Its awesome! He`s a really funny guy and all of us get along really well.

  This week at our Zone Training Meeting our new Mission Theme was released! We`re all super excited to focus on `Walk with Me` as our theme for the rest of our missions! I will admit. I was a little surprised and bummed when I first saw it, but the more we talked about it and pondered what it truly meant, the better and better it became. The Savior doesn`t ask us to run or jog with him. He simply asks us to walk. I love that. Every time I think of it the most peaceful feeling comes over me and I just feel like everythings going to be okay right now. I love our new theme and I know the little adjustment will make a big change with what we`re doing here in Japan.

  The area and ward I`m in right now is very interesting. The feeling we get when we attend our meeting is not a very good one so the missionaries took advantage of testimony meeting to bring the spirit into our sacrament. All the members are awesome, but no one really does anything and no one really even associates with each other. Its really strange. Right now we and the Sisters are working really close to try whatever we can do to strengthen and build the testimonies of the members. Right now the idea we`re going on is to visit every member that comes to church, try to share a message, and sing a hymn. Thats just the start because there`s something like 400-500 Less Actives in the area and we haven`t even scratched the surface. Nevertheless I know the Lord's hand is over this land. I had the impression during sacrament that if the Savior wanted to, he could walk through the doors of the chapel into our meeting. He`s real. He lives and I know it.

  I love this Gospel. I know the church is true and Jesus Christ is at the head. President Thomas S. Monson is the Lord's chosen Prophet on the Earth today and I sustain him as such. I can`t wait to have the chance to see General Conference this weekend! I know, I know, I`m a week behind, but don`t spoil it for me! I`m too excited! I love you all. I really do. The love and support from each of you is so incredible. It gets me out of bed at 5:30 every morning. Yes that's not a typo, Mom. 5:30. I hope you all have a fantastic week! I love you guys!

 

Elder Jeffrey Maxwell Giles

.. as if it were great drops of blood.

Hello friends and family!

  This week was AWESOME! We had the opportunity to have a visit from Elder R of the Seventy (Asia North Area President), and it was fantastic. I think the purpose of the visit was just to check on the mission after getting a new Mission President and making sure we`re working efficiently. He had a ton of good things to say about us over here in Kobe. Right now our main goal is to Establish the Church and work well with the members. As of now really none of the members are doing anything as far as missionary work goes, but slowly and surely things are starting to change! The Takatsuki Bishop and Ward Mission Leader are awesome and are really looking forward to getting the work moving in the ward. 

  I`ll give a quick update on my good friend, S, for the week. As some of you might have thought, we should have seen a baptism yesterday. Unfortunately for reasons out of our control, mainly do to a crazy work schedule, S was unable to be baptized. Don`t worry, he will absolutely be getting baptized here in Takatsuki in the short term, it was just not the will of the Lord for him to enter the waters of baptism this weekend. He`s crazy busy trying to keep up on his work and supporting his wife in Hawaii while she has her baby (She will be born on October 24). He was able to come by the church on Saturday for basketball and he told us all about his trip to Hawaii. He said the craziest thing happened! When they first got to Hawaii they starting talking to this lady sitting next to them on their shuttle. Just so happens the lady was a member and offered to take S's wife to church with her and help her out while S went back to Japan. Craziest thing! The Lord saw that these people needed help and provided a sweet church member to take care of them. I was way touched! The church is true! 

  This week we taught probably one of the most powerful lessons, at least to me anyway, that I`ve ever experienced. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but we had a great example for teaching the Atonement. As we were studying I remembered a lesson I got at a Young Men's Camp called Apple 08` where my former Bishop, Bishop T, gave us an amazing lesson on the Atonement with his son. I`m sure you probably know of the `push up` example in regards to the Atonement, but pretty much it goes like this: One person volunteers to do push ups and one person offers the others in the room some sort of treat. He gives it to them but says that in order for them to eat it. The chosen person has to do ten push ups. He then asks that person if he would be willing to do push ups so this person can partake of the treat. This goes on until somebody refuses the treat because they don`t want the person doing the push ups to suffer any longer. Even though the person refuses the treat, the person still has to do the push ups because even if we don`t access the power of the Atonement in our own lives, Jesus still suffered for all of us. All in all I think I did somewhere between 100 and 150 pushups. It was crazy! It was so powerful. We had most everyone crying that was present and the Spirit of the Lord could be felt so powerfully. This lesson was taught to our investigator, K, the one we found while doing service a few weeks ago and he accepted an invitation to be baptized! It was way powerful. 

  Those were just a few cool things that happened this last week! We`re truly seeing miracles over here on this side of the world and I feel so blessed to be a part of it! Thank you so much for all the love and support! I love you all so much!

Elder Jeffrey Maxwell Giles

​The Rising Sun at 5:30 AM!

Hashira means pole

Hey everyone!

  We had a pretty good week this week! Just another seven days fully enveloped in the service of God. Nothing special.... Not! This week was awesome and I was able to learn a lot.

  I`ll start off by saying that, yes, I hit a pole this week. We went to our investigators play on Saturday night and we were really hurrying to get home after because we were really close on time. We flew through an intersection trying to take a new short cut and I missed the road we were supposed to turn right on. I looked back to double check whether or not it was the road and then BAM. I managed to smash into one of the telephone poles placed conveniently on the side of the road. It was the craziest thing. One minute I`m cruising along just fine and the next I`m staring down a concrete telephone pole. It was even crazier because I wasn`t hurt at all. There was a guy riding toward us in the opposite direction on his phone and I heard him say when I was on the ground, `Oh crap, this foreigner just ate it in front of me.` It was pretty funny. My District Leader, Elder H, was right behind me when it happened and he was like, `You good?` I said, `Yep.`  and got up and kept riding. It was hilarious! A little while later he was like, `Dude you really took that like a man!` It was a proud moment. I`m not hurt at all. I don`t have a single bruise and I`m not even stiff. I feel like the Lord was trying to send a message. Last week I don`t think my mind was as engaged in the work as it should have been. I just straight up wasn`t focused. I think hitting that pole was a great reminder of what I`m really here to do. That night I had the impression to read my Patriarchal Blessing and see what the Lord was really trying to teach me. The answer I received was that I am to be an example. The Lord expects a high standard of me and he had to knock me off my bike in order for me to truly understand that. This was just a little experience, but oh, how I learned so very much. 

  The kid that we found through doing service at the park last week came to church again for the second time! He stayed for all three hours and for another two and a half hours after. I have no doubt he`ll be baptized soon! We had the chance to go to a play him and his group of friends were putting on and it was a blast. During the play he talked a lot about what he thinks the purpose of life is. He did and example using the Japanese character of life, 命. Theres actually three characters that make up that one and they are, person, one, and a word meaning concrete or something like that. He gave a great example that we`ll be able to use so well to connect to the Gospel! We talked to him a lot of `Eternal Life` during church and after we asked him what he wanted most out of his life was, and do you know what he said? ` I want Eternal Life!` It was awesome. He`s so prepared. I`m looking forward to teaching and hopefully baptizing him soon as well!

  This work is awesome. I love what I do here. This is very literally the work of God. I know this church is true and I know that God lives! I love all of you. I really do. I`ve taken the relationships I`ve had in my life for granted and I really want you to know how much I treasure each and every one of you. You`ve all impacted me in some way in my life and I`m so blessed because of that! I love you all! Have an awesome week!

Elder Jeffrey Maxwell Giles

Hymns outside the train station, anyone?