i forgot to tell you! last week our cute recent convert Ikemoto Shimai spoke in church! She did such a good job, she was so nervous, but she had such a sweet spirit about her. it was a neat experience.
This week started out..rough. super rough. Mineta Shimai found out her good friend from home passed away on monday. She cried all day on her futon, it was so sad. Sad to see her struggling so much when she is trying to do so much good. Then she woke up the next day with a fever and sore throat. She was sick for the next 2 days, we couldnt leave the apartment. Very lonely and hard week for her i think. She is a strong girl though and the rest of the week, we jumped right in where we left off and it ended up being a great week.
We visited Shimizu one night. Her baptism is in 2 and a half weeks so we felt like we needed to talk to her about the word of wisdom. The first time she came to church, they talked about WOW in gospel principles. She has a smoking problem and really likes coffee and tea. We were so nervous haha i think we said more prayers that day than any other day on my mission. The spirit needed to be the teacher or it would be very hard to help her understand the blessings she can receive from following this commandment. She answered the door and seemed soo happy. she was super genki! That was such a blessing! She said she had been reading the BOM and praying. I know that has made all the difference. So amazing to see how the Lord can change people! We talked about and committed her to follow the Word of Wisdom, she said she understands why we have it, and she will try to keep the word of wisdom. BAHHHH YES! Such a miracle! After leaving her house me and Mineta laughed and cried and prayed because we were so happy, the Lord had surely answered our prayer. The next day, we drove 30 min away to a members house for dinner with her. A bunch of ppl from the ward were there, and we were able to teach her lesson 3. The next day, she came to church with her 2 little boys. Please keep her in your prayers. she is so ready and so prepared. I dont want Satan to influence her at all in this righteous decision she is making to be baptized!
Kon chan also came to church! This is her 3rd time, she loves church! She is so awesome, we love her!! She said "next week i can only come for an hour :(" okay thats GREAT come for an hour! haha she will be a great member soon. :)
We tried to visti Ruri twice, then we called her on Saturday and she couldnt meet with us. :( she has to work everyday now, even saturdays. Makes me so sad! She is so busy, i hope i hope i hope and pray that I did my part in helping her come unto Christ. Sometimes I feel like we could hvae done more to help her, just dont know how. I really feel like we have tried to get direct direction from the Lord on how ot help her receive the gospel, we cant do His work without involving him and doing it His way. We will keep doing our best and working hard to soften her heart.
We had ZTM this week- Mineta and I were assigned to do a little training on Righteous Routine (personal, comp and language study, teaching, and planning), and thinking about our investigators at all times. We did a little role play- i think it went really well. Maybe you could do it in your mission prep class- mom and park!!
We made a little "cup telephone"- (2 cups with a string connecting them.) We had one person up on the stage with the cup to their mouth- telling us "revelation" for our investigators. He represented Heavenly Father. Then we had the cup to our ear, and during personal or comp study, if we started thinking about other things, or talking about other things, the cup would be put down. Riding our bikes, and singing disney songs instead of thinking and praying for our investigators, the cup would be put down. The string represents the Holy Ghost. God speaks to us, and through the Holy Ghost, we are able to know what HF would have us do for our investigators. If we dont have the cup to our ear, we cannot receive the revelation that is necessary for our success. We were going to sing Each Life that Touches ours for Good, but we ran out of time. Anyway, it helps remind me to always have a prayer in my heart, to be virtuous in deed and thought, and always be in tune to the spirit with the cups to our ears!!
hey also..park and jare- i want to challenge you to read the book of mormon. See if you can do it before your birthday!! It is powerful. If you put that first before other things, you will see more blessings flow into your lives. Ezra Taft Benson said:
"Often we spend great effort in trying to increase the activity levels in our stakes. We work diligently to raise the percentages of those attending sacrament meetings. We labor to get a higher percentage of our young men on missions. We strive to improve the numbers of those marrying in the temple. All of these are commendable efforts and important to the growth of the kingdom. But when individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, these other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow."
I have a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true. It is a powerful witness of our Savior Jesus Christ. Our friend who gave us the incredible gift of the Atonement. Please please please gain this witness for yourself. It is necessary to endure the fiery darts of the adversary. We have the tools, let us use them. "Yesterdays meal is not enough to sustain todays needs." Feast on the word everyday!
I love you so much. Heavenly Father loves you with a perfect love, which we cannot even fully understand.
have a great week!
Love, Sister Wilcox
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