I have learned that we as missionaries are God's first investigators. We need to know the gospel first and foremost before anyone we teach.
The first few days were insane and we learned so much. It truly is getting information from a firehose. It is definitely scary when they inform you that you are going to have to teach in Japanese the third day in the MTC and your teacher only speaks Japanese. I have loved every second though. I have learned how to pray in Japanese and all of the Hirigana, which is one of the two main written languages that I have to learn. It has been so amazing! I have definitely lived by the saying I hear in here that I need to work like it all depends on me, and then pray like it all depends on Him.
On Sunday we had our first Sacrament meeting and it was amazing!! I thought it was very interesting that our Mission President told us that we never have a sustaining vote for callings in the mission field because when we accepted the calling as a missionary we accepted every calling that goes along with that. We got to watch the film called Characters of Christ by David A. Bednar. It is a film that only missionaries in the mission field get to see and it was so powerful. In the video he talks about the importance of when life gets hard to turn out to others like the savior rather than turning in to yourself like the natural man. The natural man is like the cookie monster he said! He wants everything to come to him now and he takes nothing in. We need to GET OVER OURSELVES as missionaries and focus on the people and grow to love them. Though we might not know what to say in another language it does not matter what we say but who we are. The Gift of Tongues is not the event of learning the language, it is the process of loving the people.
One of the things I have been struggling with even more than the language though, is our district rule of no sarcasm.... And if you know me that is my whole life!!! It has been so hard! We seriously cannot be sarcastic at all and it is hard! But one thing that I was told that was so powerful was that "the study of the gospel changes behavior faster than the study of behavior changes behavior." That has helped a ton.
It is crazy to think that I have already been here for over a week and have taught 5 lessons. The days seem like forever but the weeks fly by. It also seems so far away already that Elder Holland came and spoke to us. Elder Holland!!! It was one of the most powerful meetings of my entire life I kid you not. He brought such a spirit and a power. He talked about how this is not a church where we as missionaries can live by the rules we want. We have to live by the rules that the Church has set for us. He said, "This is not Burger King. We decide where the pickles go and how much mustard to apply." Ha! I loved that so much. He talked about how we as missionaries are God's investigators before anyone we teach. I have strived every day to make that true. I have learned so much and continue to do so.
My companion has helped me sooo much. He is from Australia and has taken four years of Japanese so he knows a good amount. I think I will have his accent down better than the language by the time I leave the MTC though! He is hilarious and we have worked really well together. His culture is so different though. I am working everyday to become better than I was before. I have held to the thought that if "I ever feel like I am drowning, I know that my lifeguard walks on water."
I want to close with this. I know this Church is true. The gift of tongues is real. I love my Savior more than I ever have. I would never be here without Him. This is where I am meant to be and I am not putting my "real life" on hold as I go on my mission, because this is the closest to "real life" that I will ever be. My challenge to everyone this week is the challenge that Elder Bednar gave to missionaries. Make your testimony your foundation, not your final destination. If we truly convert ourselves to Christ, He prophesies that we will never fall away. That is a pretty great promise.
Aishite imasu!!!!! I love you!! God be with you til we meet again!
Love,
Love,
Elder Aiken
No comments:
Post a Comment