How are you all doing?? I am doing... Good! This week was rough at first leaving my last area and everyone I have come to love. But I walked into Kawagoe and I thought the only way to overcome that feeling was just to get to work. I am working in the hottest prefecture in all of Japan. The single hottest city in Japan is one of the neighboring areas to mine in my mission. It varies from about 85 to 105 with 100% humidity everyday and there is no wind. It is seriously like death valley. I would show a picture of how much I sweat out here but my dignity holds me back. But I have lost 2 kilos since I have been here and I love it! My backside is evidence of the heat!
I am back to the straight countryside again, no more Tokyo city life. There definitely is not millions of people outside. You will be lucky to see about 10 or 15 people on a one hour bike ride on the largest road in my area. It is straight hills. Straight hills. Straight hills. I was feeling a bit nervous leaving my home in Adachi, so I just begged the Lord that if I was diligent and worked hard every second to help that feeling go away. And he did!! With miracles!!!!!
I do not have a ton of time, so I do not have a big spiritual thought this week so I will send miracles. The first was the second day I got here. I told my companion that we were going to give it everything we had today. To ride as hard as we could so that we could get to the places that actually had people and walk around finding there so we did not spend so much time where there are no people (though I will say, going down these countryside roads for an hour is a great time to think. IT is beautiful!) So we went hard all day. Just finding all day.
I came and the area did not have many investigators. We went to this Eki and found for a little bit and found a new investigator Suman from Nepal! We will meet with him on Tuesday. Then after that!! No one had interest for about 4 hours at 3 different locations... So we went to leave and we were looking for a 7/11 to grab dinner because we were so far from the apartment and we went down the side roads, had no idea where we were going really, and then there is this park... And there is one man... With an AMERICAN FOOTBALL IN HAND AND AN OFFICIAL RIDDELL COLLEGE FOOTBALL HELMET ON!! Do you know how rare that is! I thought a Satellite had hit Japan. I thought a great white had finally learned to walk on Land. I thought the Dolphins just won the Super Bowl. It was like BYU just beat Alabama. It was like I was finally my dream 6'4 playing for BYU. I hauled at that guy. I went and talked to him and he was hyped. He told me he plays receiver for a semi-pro league in Japan and that he has been to America a few times. He asked where I was from and I said Utah and he goes oh really! "Ya the U of U and BYU are two really strong prestigious progra".... Like what? In English this was said I might add. He asks, doesn't BYU's senior quarterback have a good chance for the Heisman this year. I was just blown away at his knowledge it was like I found my best friend in Japan! I told him I went to BYU and he asked me "isn't that a Christian schoo"? I told him it was and that as Christian volunteers we teach the same message that that school supports. He told us he actually had a high school friend who was Mormon and served a mission!! We told him that we would love to share the message with him that he friend shared as well and invited him to church and he goes "This is awesome! Can I come next Sunday with my girlfriend?" Um... Yes!!! So amazing!!!
Then on Saturday Night we were planning for Sunday morning and it came to referrals and we honestly thought to put none because of how our day looked, but I said no let's go for one. We did not know how it was going to happen, maybe as I went on that first Sunday and got to meet the members for the first time, that they would give us one a we showed that love. But right before church a member comes up to us and says there is someone on the church phone can you talk to him. I told her that my Japanese is probably worse than hers. She said no he is speaking English. We went and the man said "Hey my name is Chris. I am a return missionary member from the Philippines. I have a referral for you. She is a Philippina. We will be at the church at 3 o'clock." I was like no way... They came at 3 together, we gave her a church tour, taught her in the Chapel and she said she felt so relaxed and felt such peace in that room. She said she wants to feel this feeling more and wants to be taught. She wants to find the truth and she has been looking. We will teach her and her sister from now on every week!! And Chris will come to every lesson as well and teach with us!!! There are a few more but it would be long. I want to close just with some cool stats because I love stats!!
The first missionaries that came to Japan came on on August 12th, 1901. They saw 27 baptisms in the First 24. Because of this missionaries were taken out of Japan until after World War 2. But in those next 78 years Japan has gained 3 temples, 8 stakes, 13 districts. 128,000 members. It's fantastic! And there can be more. President Eyring gave a prophesy about Japan. In that prophesy he promised that people would line up to be baptized in front of our church. All of those blessings are contingent on one thing. The people in Japan changing their hearts. He did not say Japanese people, he said the people in Japan. In our stake alone, 40% of the baptisms are not Japanese. People's hearts are already changing. The Sapporo Temple is a great example of that. Did you know that there is no gate around the temple? People can walk the grounds 24/7. Anytime. Everyone in that area has seen the temple in person or on a card and want to know what it is. His prophesy is being fulfilled little by little. The hearts in Sapporo are changing little by little and they are changing here as well.
I know in time that Japan will change, but it will take time. I saw these stats and I also thought, have our hearts changed about missionary work in Utah? There are so many members all around us sometimes we feel like we do not need to do any. Or there is no need. Please let us be missionaries for all of our lives. Please find ways to share the gospel at home. Pray for opportunities!! Most importantly uplift the members around you and help them. You never know what they are going through or if their testimonies are struggling. Please take more heed to do home teaching. It is so crucial. My last area was kind of struggling with testimonies and lack of love shown to some members in the ward. They did not feel needed or wanted. A part of that was 11% home teaching complete each month. Please let us change our hearts. I am so excited to go home and be a different member at home! I am trying my best to do it here haha. I love you all and I hope you have the best week!!
Love,
Elder Aiken!
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