Ping Pong anyone?

I won the Ramen Noodle eating contest 

    This week was so fun. We were riding through the city the other day and I looked up at this big screen and it was showing a trailer for Jurassic World, and I was like Noooope. Pulled a hard left haha. Cannot be tempting me with that! Too hard. 
     We made a poster that in English that basically says who can beat the white man in ping pong. We are trying to get more youth to come to our ping pong night every week. It is actually pretty effective because I am the only white person in this whole city because we are so far from Tokyo and other big cities. It is going to be awkward though when the first kid I play beats me and everyone else just walks out, so I need to step up my game!

     This week has been an awesome week! I pray every day to see miracles.. according to my faith. It has been so humbling to see that the days I have faith I see more miracles. I mean I always have so much faith in my Father in Heaven. But the days I truly act on that faith I see miracles and see His hands at work, but the times when I do not open my mouth to everyone or I do not give 110%, I do not see them. 

     Our goal in this mission is to have a baptism every month. We have been told that Japan needs to see many more baptisms than we are seeing. President Whiting, the General Authority who visited our mission, said that, "if you think for one second it is about the numbers, your judgement is misplaced. I could not care less about the numbers. What I care about is the increased faith to baptize." 

     That hit me so hard. I do not know if I shared that quote last week but I do want to focus on it in a different light this week. I have pondered that all week and strived to act upon it. But what I realized, along with everything else in this mission, is that everything that we learn as missionaries, in my opinion, is not centralized on who we become as missionaries, but men and women for the rest of our lives. This is just the MTC for life, no matter how cheesy that may sound. Baptisms are important, but I need to learn to hold that faith, not just for baptisms in Japan, but for my whole life. This world is darkening around all of us and many people, instead of turning towards Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, to light their way, they are adjusting their eyes in the darkness of the world and seeing what they want to see. If I do not have the faith to help bring other souls unto Christ as a missionary, how can I have faith to bring my own?  In these latter days, faith is not important, it is essential!  It is required. But I will go further. Like in Alma 32, we need to push our strong faith to a perfect knowledge in as many aspects of our life as we can in order to withstand the evil and temptation in this world today. Do as Elder Richard G. Scott said about faith, "Understand and apply this vital principle to your life: Your exercise of faith builds character. Fortified character expands your capacity to exercise greater faith. Thus, your confidence in making correct decisions is enhanced. And the strengthening cycle continues. The more your character is fortified, the more enabled you are to exercise the power of faith for yet stronger character." What character are you building? What memory are you leaving to those around you? Elder Richard G. Scott built his character in faith everyday and we need to do the same. 

     I might be saying this with the boldness of a missionary but it cannot be said any other way I do not think. We need to plant that seed now and let it grow. Now this, like everything in this Church basically is so much harder said than done. This is the advice I received and it has changed how I spend my thoughts, words, and actions. Choose, in every thought, word, and action, "To Receive the Holy Ghost." When we were baptized we received the gift of the Holy Ghost and thereby received its constant companionship according to our actions. Though, we could not be conferred the "constant" companionship of it unto us, because we have agency and we can choose to not have that power in our life. The Holy Ghost could not be sealed upon us. Hence the words, when we are confirmed are "receive the Holy Ghost." How are we choosing to receive the Holy Ghost since that baptismal day? Are our thoughts uplifting and pure? And our words kind and caring? Are our actions charitable and righteous ones? We choose every day, just as we do when we partake of the Sacrament each Sunday, to receive that Holy Ghost. 

     I plead with you to be able to have the faith to withstand the temptations and trials of the world we live in today, consciously CHOOSE to receive the Holy Ghost in every thought, word, and deed. Think to yourself if what are you are doing in those moments, not only keep the relationship of the spirit in your life, but do they strengthen your relationship with the spirit in your life? As you do so I promise the power of the Lord will fall upon you and you will receive strength from him to withstand the fiery darts of the Adversary, and like the Stripling Warriors, you will not fall. Not one of us will. The Lord knows our hearts, and where our treasures are our hearts will be also. I hope we can all set our hearts on the treasures of our mansions prepared above. Let's keep our feet on the path, our hands on the rod, and keep our eyes on Christ. 

Have a great week!

エイケン長老 

Aiken Chōrō

Being truly converted!

      This past week was one of the best weeks I have had. Mainly just because of the experience I had to be able to hear from a General Authority. We had President Whiting of the First Quorum of the Seventy come and speak to our zone of about 16 missionaries on Friday. It is going to be the center of my blog this week because I can truly say I love that man because what he said, and the spirit I felt has changed who I truly am. 

     I have never had a greater desire to become like my
Savior Jesus Christ and serve his children. I want to be a better son to my Father in Heaven, and my earthly parents. I want to be a better brother, a better friend, and a better servant of the Lord's children.
     He started off the conference by saying that this meeting was under Apostolic Authority, which gave us as missionaries, guaranteed revelation if we had been living obediently and we were ready to receive it, he said. So I just wanted to highlight on some of the things that he said, that are not too personal to share. One thing that hit me was when he told the Elders and Sisters at the end of their missions that, "it is time to sprint Elders and Sisters. Do not ever take your foot off the gas. This is a race we are in." Now he did
direct that at the missionaries nearing the end of their missions, but after the conference some Elders told me how lucky I was to be hearing this, early in my mission. It hit me then that it is time to sprint now. This life truly is a race. A race against time. A race against the adversary. He told us that Satan is a lot of things, but one thing he is not, is lazy. He holds an anger that will never diffuse. He will work against us our whole lives. That thought honestly kind of scared me, but that is why we need to work every day of our lives and face our tents towards the temple truly.
     I then had the opportunity to ask a question personally. I asked him about how in the MTC, we watched a film called the Character of Christ by Elder Bednar. Elder Bednar prophesied to missionaries that if they truly converted to Jesus Christ they would never fall away. Whereas with just a testimony they likely would. My question was when
President Whiting saw himself truly turn from testimony to conversion? He first told us what Elder Oaks said that, "Testimony is to know and to say, conversion is to do and become." He then used the Bible Dictionary definition of Conversion. One part says that "conversion will complete and will change a natural man into a sanctified, born again, purified person. A new creature in Christ." He told us how he
sees his conversion progress every day is by consciously looking for the natural man in himself and seeing how many times it comes out. I loved that. Now every day I seek to see when my natural man comes out, which is still more so that not, but I consciously see it and try to rid it from my life.
     He then asked us if we had the faith to baptize every month. We honestly doubted. It is hard in Japan. He responded by reading Genesis 18:14: Is anything to hard for the Lord? I have never been so humbled. I fell into the depths of humility and sought forgiveness from my Heavenly Father truly. How could I ever of doubted or not had the faith? I will never be as I was. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. The second we believe that something is too hard for
the Lord, we turn from Him, we replace our faith with doubt, and then it truly will not happen because we have no faith. But we have to have that faith and work for it. Do not pray for things to happen in your life. Pray for God to help you be the instrument in his hands in which opportunities will come.
     He also told us that from this point in our mission that if we would promise to live obediently, that every good thought is revelation. If it supports your purpose it is revelation so treat it as such and act on it. I loved that!
     Lastly, and most importantly, the thing that most humbled me the most were these two things. He told us how Neal A. Maxwell said when he got Leukemia, that God told him, "I have given you this so that you may teach with more authenticity." I have rarely felt the spirit so strongly confirming with me that all the trials I faced before my mission were to build me to make me teach with more authenticity. To
love with more authenticity. Before we wish to complain about trials we are facing, as I did every year of my life before my mission, please ask yourself if the Lord could be giving you
this to help you teach, act, or love with more authenticity. 
     Then lastly, he told us we should be seeing more baptisms. Not because he cares about numbers at all, but because we should be having more faith for baptisms. He told us that we may be the best missionaries, maybe even the best human beings on earth. He quickly explained by
saying, "how many people on this earth have followed Christ and joined this church? How many remained worthy and faithful to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood? How many then went on to serve missions? Especially the sisters are all here by choice! He told us how the Lord has saved us for this time and has us at his side in the Pre-mortal life waiting to send us down. So REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE! You have a
responsibility!! How can you not have faith to baptize? If you cannot initially have the faith, act as if you do! You are living far beneath your  priviledge. Remember who you are! Get over yourself. Forget yourself. Have the faith to baptize brothers and sisters. Remember who you are and remember your authenticity." I say the same to brothers and sisters. Remember how amazing you are! Remember how cherished you are of the Lord!! Remember who you are! You have such power and are so loved by the Lord. He is holding you so close to his heart and sending angels down round about you to guide you and lift you up. He will never leave you nor forget you. Do not forget him! Do not forget yourself! We are living far beneath our privilege. We are promised untold blessings from heaven if we just ask for them and live worthy of them! I will never forget who I am again. I am going to be better, I promise. I am sorry that I was not before and that I have so much to work towards now to be better. I love this work and I love my Father in Heaven and I truly do have a responsibility to Him and to these people and to all those I love. 
     I will be better!  I love you all!
Love, 
Elder Trevor Aiken

Don't do the bidet!

       Hello everyone!! I hope everyone had the best week ever! I know I did!! And it does not hurt that BYU is 2-0 this week!! I think we all knew I could not go two years without that update! Anyway, I do not have anything about the culture this week, but I do have a word of warning/advice. There is a torture device in Japan that is in nearly every bathroom in Japan. I like to call it the bidet. It has settings from 1 to FIRE HOSE!! So my word of warning is that if you cannot read Chinese characters on Japanese toilets haha, then do not try the bedit! Just do not risk it! That is all I will say!
     Anyway this week one thing I loved was this line I heard,
"Remember: the heavens will not be filled with those who never made mistakes but with those who recognized that they were off course and who corrected their ways to get back in the light of gospel truth." Sometimes I think we feel like we have to be perfect or we look at others lives from the outside and we see this perfect picture. We look at our peers and truly believe that they do not make mistakes. Do not judge the picture by its frame. If you put two pictures of a beautiful
family side by side and one had a cracked dusty frame next to a picture with a golden new frame, would you truly say that one picture was better than the other? We are all equally loved in the eyes of God no matter our situation. Plus I can promise you that everyone is struggling in some way or another even if it appears not to be so. So often we forget Christ's own words in Luke 15:7:

7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner
that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which
need no repentance.

    The joy in Heaven for those that work and turn unto the Lord is indescribable in my opinion. So never get down looking at others and thinking you are worse. If you are going to look outward at others, do it to serve them, not to accept their judgements. Focus on God and Christ's judgements alone. Pray unto the Father daily and I promise you will receive the exact answer or help that you need, but you have
to be prepared to see those answers or that help be unfolded unto you in your life or you may miss it. I have always heard that we need to be in tune with the voice of the spirit so that we do not miss answers we could receive through spiritual promptings. 

     But what other voices are we listening to? In my experience, I would honestly say for me, roughly 9 times out of 10 my answers to prayers or needed support I needed in my life was sent through people in my life. Are we listening
to our parents? Our teachers? Church leaders? Are we truly tuning in when it comes Conference time? Are we actually reading the scriptures as a history written for us rather than made up stories of fairytale heroes? Are you putting yourself in a position that God could send someone you have never met before into your life to change it for the better? I know that there is at least one of these questions that we
could answer honestly to ourselves, knowing we could improve upon it.

     For example, as a missionary, I never realized how many people might be missing out on answers to their prayers through people when they walk around always with their headphones in. I cannot tell you how many people did not hear or see us trying to talk to them in this mission
field just because they had their headphones in. If anyone knows me they know how music is my life. But no lyrics you could have playing in that moment, is more important than the communication you could miss with a child of God. If you seek an answer to a prayer go out and live a life where God can send those answers your way! Or more importantly, live a life where you could be the answer to someone else's. I strive to give God everything everyday because there is 350,000 people to every missionary companionship in my mission. I am highly outnumbered. But there is not one soul among all of those 350,000 that are not being prepared daily by the Lord. I just need to be willing to serve and find the ones that are ready and listening. 

     I love you all so much. I know I am just a 19 year old kid across the world. But I can testify of this Church's truth. That Christ is our Savior. God is our Father. This is the Restored Church on the earth. I love you all. Have an amazing week. Keep your feet on the path, your hands on the rod, and keep your eyes on Christ!

Love,
Elder Trevor Aiken

So many crows!

     Hello everyone!  How are you all?  Before I started my blog this week I wanted to start by saying I love this work!! I love these people!!!! I love Japan!!!! That is important to me that you all know that.
     But I thought I would tell you more about the culture a little bit of what I saw this week! I have not done that a lot because I always get the impression every week that, just like this work, the spiritual things will leave more of an imprint on your lives than anything else. But I will try to do a little more when I see things!
     Just some things that I think Japan does that is genius. They have a yellow strip down the middle of every main road sidewalk with bumps all along the way for the blind to always know where they are going. I thought that was really cool to see that they have that in so many areas. Also Japan has little sprinklers along all main roads, facing the road, that sprays warm water whenever it snows on the roads  or gets icy so that there is never ice or snow on the roads. I thought that was genius honestly. Also Higashi Choro and I love to find in what we call "the loop." There is a big river with two big bridges that go over it about a mile apart. Our apartment is equally between them on the near side of the river and we do a big circle over both bridges back to our apartment, finding along the way. On the far side is a big park with little water park areas that little kids play in. 
    There is a really cool thing where you pull your car onto
this little track off of the side of the road, kind of like the same
track you pull onto to get a car wash. You park your car, get out and pay a few dollars and press a button. It lowers underground and parks your car. Then you come back and put in the ticket and gets your car for you. I thought that was very intense but cool. Lastly, there are crows everywhere. Ev... er... y... where.... Just a buck wild amount of crows going.  All wicked-witch-of-the-west like. There is a very big train station in Nagaoka and there is a central building with a clock on top and every time the clock goes off of the hour and chimes, about 500 crows from the roof rise up and fly in a huge circle. It truly felt like it was right off of a movie. But anyway that is all I have for the culture this week!



     But two quick funny stories before I go into what I loved spiritually this week.  First, was just an awkward moment with my Japanese companion that I cannot communicate with very well. We walked past a screen on the wall of the train station and it had a still photo of a basketball player going up for a layup and I love basketball so I said "Elder Higashi look!" The still photo changes as he looks to cheerleaders on the screen. He just looks at me and goes, "Elder." With this sad look on his face. So awkward. I could not explain myself that I was pointing to the basketball player not knowing the picture would change. 
     Second, my companion and I were finding and we found this young man and were talking to him about the Book of Mormon. Then four college girls walked by saw me and just stopped. It was like they had never seen a white man before. They just stared at me giggling. I finally looked over and one of the girls waved and I waved back and they ran away... I just sat there thinking... When is this going to happen back in the US?  Probably never so lets hold on to this memory everyone!

   Speaking of memories, I thought back on how we reflect on our memories as we get older and use them to direct our lives decisions and learn from our mistakes. We use our experiences to build our testimony of what we know. But I love what President Eyring said in his talk, Mountains to Climb: "Getting older does not do it alone. It is serving God and others persistently with full heart and soul that turns testimony of truth into unbreakable spiritual strength."
Getting older and looking on what we have done does not do it alone. What are we doing now? What are we doing right now in our lives to turn our testimonies into unbreakable spiritual strength? Are we serving God and others PERSISTENTLY with FULL HEART and SOUL? In D&C:86 and other places it talks about how we are the wheat among innumerable tares. It says that angels day and night plead with the Father to let them come and separate us from the tares, but it is not our time yet.  We are growing and ripening amongst tares. Ripening and being prepared to be gathered. Please don't let us ripen unto destruction. 
     I do not know where the story is, but I remember a story that President Hinckley told I believe, of a tree in his front yard that he let grow over the years. One day he came out and finally really looked upon it and found it leaning strongly one way. He realized he would have to cut off some of its beautiful branches and work hard with much effort to pull it back to its upright position. But recalled that if he had kept it straight in its youth, it would have been so much easier to reclaim and restore that tree. I say this not just to youth. This whole life is meant to prepare to meet God. We need to change now. We can't wait. It does not have to be a drastic change. When we feel we are on the path, we just need to work on the small things. Tighten our shoe laces, adjust the straps, straighten our posture, and walk with pride down the path to our Father. With every step we take, the path will become more and more familiar to us. As if it were a path you had walked a million times. It will be hard, but how great the promise in Luke 6:21: Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
     The trials of this life are but a moment of misery to an eternity of joy if we stand strong. I send this sincere message also to all return missionaries. Because I know one day that will be my category. In the field, missionaries are enveloped in the gospel 24/7, but return home to their old lives, to familiar places, and familiar situations. Do not let yourself think that because you served a mission that you can return to old places with new renowned strength and that it is ok now
because the temptation will not overpower you. Luke 5:37 gives this warning from the words of Christ:
37 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. Rather,
38 But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
     God will preserve our efforts and our hearts if we truly set our hearts on Him. Where our treasures are, our hearts will be also. Returned missionaries can never return and become the person they were before they left. No matter how great. This mission is meant to sanctify, purify, and exemplify us as children of our Father. We can't set ourselves as holy vessels in unholy places and think it is ok. That goes for all of God's children. I always hope to help someone in some way back home from this far off land of Japan. I love you all so much. Keep your feet on the path, your hands on the rod, and keep your eyes on Christ!!!
Love,
Elder Trevor Aiken

First transfer...

     This week was so amazing! I love this work holy cow!!! We focused this whole transfer on the Book of Mormon in finding. So we have had so many opportunities with that and handed out a lot. Speaking of which, it blows my mind that the first transfer is already over. (I'm staying where I am which I'm so happy about!)  It is funny, in the mission, to me there are no such thing as weekends, months, seasons, etc. Just transfers. Time is so different on the mission.  But I am treasuring every bit of that time.  I love D&C 28:15:

15 And it shall be given thee from the time thou shalt go, until the
time thou shalt return, what thou shalt do.

16 And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel with
the sound of rejoicing. Amen.

So I will open my mouth at all times. I love those verses. I have
truly been given a mantle to more fully feel of the spirits guidance
since I was set apart, and will carry that with me until I get
released. I cannot waste the opportunity to serve these people. It
connects well with D&C 33:9

9 Yea, open your mouths and spare not, and you shall be laden with
sheaves upon your backs, for lo, I am with you.

     I love that verse!! That is such a powerful promise. There are few more powerful to me as a missionary. I have no right to waste this time and not open my mouth. I accepted this call, so this is officially God's time. I most definitely have shared this before, but I love this. If we work like it all depends us, and pray like it all depends on him, we shall always have the strength to face our trials and tribulations. But we need to be willing to act upon the answers we receive in those prayers!  Matthew - 10:27:

27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye
hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

     But anyway the two things I really loved in my personal study that connected with me this week were what i wanted to focus on for my blog this week!  Elder Bednar says in the Character of Christ video in the MTC, how the Savior was perfect because in every moment when the natural man would have turned in, he always turned out. He shared the example in Matthew 4. (I have been reading the New Testament this past week so that really connected with me again) He says how the Savior had just fasted for 40 days and that it is safe to say that he must have been drained spiritually and physically from the effort. So it must have been such a joy and a strength when angels came to minister unto him after the 40 days and lift him up and give him strength. But that is not what happened. In verse 11, if you read the footnote a, he did not have the angels minister unto him. In the JST, we can read that Jesus found out that John was in prison, so he sent the angels to minister unto him in prison. I did not ever know that. I never read that footnote before then. The Savior never took a moment to look in unto himself after times of weakness and hardship. He always turned out. That is something we can work on every day of this life.

  The other thing I loved that I never realized was the foil in this painting. I never focused on the foil between the temple on the left and the great and spacious building on the right. That really hit me. I do notnot know why I never made a direct comparison between the two. We
chose God's plan to follow the Savior in the pre-existence. Now in this life we have to make that choice again. Will we call to our friends from the temple grounds, or mock them from the great and spacious building? Please brothers and sisters, choose the house of God over the house of man. Get to the temple. It is so important. I am in the only area in my mission that does not get to go to the temple p-day because we are so far and it is so hard for me because of the power of the temple. Please get to the temple. I testify that the temple truly is the Lord's house and attendance is essential for everyone in this and life and for those that have passed on. In my mission we set two baptismal dates. One for the investigator, and one
a month later for their ancestors, because they are both just as important.
     I hope you can find something for your life in these words this week as I did for mine. This church is the truth!  This is the work!  Christ is the Savior!  Keep your eyes on Christ!
I love you all!

Love,
Elder Trevor Aiken