Week 42

Haha that was awkward. I was trying to get more pictures and I pressed the send button :). But this was another crazy week!

Some cool experiences. So of course the language is hard, I knew that when I got my call, in Gilbert, and right now :). But it can still be so frustrating to want to say something to someone who is struggling or to someone who has a question, and yet, you can't find the words to speak.

But, in D&C 33, verses 8, 9, 10 it says 

8 Open your mouths and they shall be filled, and you shall become even as Nephi of old, who journeyed from Jerusalem in the wilderness.

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

10 Yea, open your mouths and they shall be filled, saying: Repent, repent, and prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;

Heavenly Father trusts me enough to work with His children even with my Japanese. We have to remember, that we don't save people, we don't bring salvation and exaltation, Christ does. Open your mouth and it shall be filled.

Wow! It's been slow and honestly hard to trust that promise. But! I have been trusting more and relying on Christ at the same time to fill my mouth. 

So I do my part, I study for an hour a day, and try to use it as much as I can with my companion, and then I trust in the Lord. 

There are times in our life when we feel we can't open our "mouths", maybe it's online, or at school, stating our beliefs. Or maybe we're scared to make a decision, we're afraid to go forward. Fearing more, won't help. But trusting in the one person, Christ, that can do anything...choose Him! I can't speak Japanese well, I simply don't have the vocab, or time in Japan (yes I recognize that I've only been here for 2 weeks), BUT, me trying to formulate my next sentence won't work-it doesn't end well. So of course the obvious choice would to put my trust in the one person that does know, Christ. He's perfect, He knows Japanese, as weird as that sounds. So I will put my trust in Him every time. He will fill my mouth through the Holy Ghost.

I've had a lot of experiences in our lessons with that principle of listening and letting the Spirit guide my words. 

And we've been very busy! We've had about 2 lessons a day which has been awesome! I think 4 lessons with non-members, 5+ members, 1 returning member, 2 new member lessons. 

It's been crazy, but awesome! Right now I'm on the ads team for the page and it's a pretty big operation :). 

One interesting tid-bit, mainly for all the Gilbert missionaries on my email list (Love you Elders and Sisters!), but streeting is so whack here. I've found a strategy that works! At first I was so overwhelmed by all the people, but you have to just choose someone to focus on. So focus on a specific person. Second, just ask them if they've talked to missionaries. Seriously, that's it, and then you get into a conversation about what they believe and what we believe, a chance to bear testimony and give a Book of Mormon, pamphlet, or a English Class pamphlet. 

It blew my mind. I usually want to connect to the person, show that I care, because I do! I want to know about them and their life, but in Japan, people are more closed up, more reserved. So I've been crazy bold and just straight up asking them if they've talk with us before and then we talk about what they believe, etc., etc.. It's been interesting to say the least.

Hope you all have a great week. Maybe this email will make sense :). Love ya guys!

ロバートソン長老