I had an unforgettable experience at church yesterday. It was pretty amazing. Elder Tashiro (Area Authority) came to our sacrament meeting. It was completely unexpected. The ward put his name as the only name on the program and everyone in the ward was very shocked and excited. He walked into the chapel and saw that his name was the only name on the program and thought that was inappropriate. So, he asked for the Bishop and two missionaries to bear testimony. He asked one of the sisters and my companion Elder Gordon. They didn't really have anytime to prepare, but they all gave great talks.

Then he spoke about Baptism. It was kinda interesting. Most of the congregation had already been baptized. Not that it's a bad topic, but I was a little surprised that he choose that. Anyway, it was a very, very powerful talk. Elder Tashiro is a very genki guy. He's pretty bouncy when he talks and has a lot of enthusiasm. He's really easy to listen to.

Anyway, in the middle of his talk, he started talking about our responsibility to share our baptismal experiences with our friends and people who don't know about baptism. Then he jumped into talking about this "friend" of his that sees lots of success in missionary work from testifying about baptism. He said that you could see the change that baptism had made on this friend. Then he said that the friend was going to come and speak for all of us. Then he looked right at me.

"Elder Low, will you come up here and share your Baptismal experience?"

I was pretty freaked out. He spent all this time talking about this "Amazing" friend and I was getting really excited to hear from this guy. I didn't realize that he was talking about me. I didn't even think he knew my name. Then, out of nowhere, he asked me to bear my testimony about Baptism. I made the long walk up to the stand. I had no idea what I was going to talk about so I just shared my Baptismal experience and my testimony. I'd never really felt so much about my Baptismal Experience. I was 8 just like almost everyone else I know, but for some reason, I started crying at the stand over this experience I was sharing.

Afterwards, Elder Tashrio jumped up and said, "Thank you my friend! I love you!" and then he hugged me. Haha, he's a great guy.

So, I threw that experience in the journal and smiled all day.

Also this week we went up to Fukuoka for our presentation on how we were going to help our zone.  It was kinda a weird meeting. He asked all the zone leaders to pull together a special presentation to show how their zones are doing. It would usually take a lot of time because there are 10 zones in our mission. We went first, and after our presentation, Kaicho (President) talked to all the zone leaders about what we were going to do and then everyone else only had about 5 minutes to present what they were doing. I felt pretty bad. The only thing we really talked about was the language of the mission. Most of the missionaries in the mission can't speak Japanese. ....Like, at all. We have missionaries that have been out for more than a year that still can't communicate with anyone. That was the main focus of most of the meeting.

Also, this week, Elder Gordon and I are going to be doing nothing but training missionaries. We have our ZTM on Tuesday, and then Kaicho is sending us down to Miyako for the rest of the week so that we can train the missionaries down there. So, we are going to be really busy.

Last thing, Y-san is done with all of her Cancer treatments! She's getting much better! I'm so excited for her. I've been praying for her since the beginning of my mission. It looks like the sisters can probably start teaching her this next week or so.

Things are looking good and I'm loving the work.

Anyway, I gotta go. I love you all.

Elder Low

Elder Glover, Elder Gordon and me.....We were very tired.

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English Class

Elder Dursteler found these. ‏

Elder Glover and me ‏

My Area.

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OK! Quick experience. I got yelled at by an Okinawan who told me to go home because I didn't understand the Okinawan people. I told him to help me understand, but he just yelled at me and told that I was just another American. Then he went on and on about how the American's came and killed his ancestors and how we were all about war and violence. He slammed the door in my face and I felt like garbage.

 

THEN! Later this last week, we had a dinner for fast sunday. We ate at the Yoza family's house. They were so nice. There house is kinda like Grandma and Grandpa's. Grandparents on the bottom and the kids up top. Anyway, Grandpa Yoza was born in 1929....when Okinawa didn't have electricity. He's also a really quite old grumpy looking guy....like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino....only Japanese. Anyway, I shared this experience about the man and he stood up and grabbed me by the collar and said, in English (I hadn't said two words to the guy before so I didn't know he spoke English) "Come here Elder. I have something to show you".......I was pretty scared, but he threw me into a chair and started digging through his bookshelf. Then he threw this huge book into my lap and said "Look at this."

 

It was a huge book about the war of Okinawa and it was a pretty gross book. Lots of dead people.....Then he told me about how he had fought in the war. He was 16 years old. He saw all his brothers die in the war. Also, 72 of his classmates died. He was  a POW for about a day. Then he said, "They told us that the American's were not human. They were a demon. A monster." Then he flipped to a page of a American helping children and another of American's feeding babies. "Does this look like a monster to you?" he said.

 

He said that the whole thing was Japan's fault and he hated Japan after the war. It was pretty intense. I learned so much. He's an amazing guy too!

 

As far as the work goes, we have another suicidal investigator, but he's getting happier as we go....still pretty depressed, but it's a work in progress.

 

Things are going great. President called me and said that he was really amazed with the NAHA zone numbers for the month of April. He told us that Elder Dursteler and I could take a break.....Unfortunately, Elder Wells and I had a couple appointments.....so Elder Dursteler took a break and we worked in the rain. Haha, It was good though. 

 

Anyway, I will let you know if I transfer or not! I love you all and hope you have a great week. Talk to you all on Sunday!

 

With the Young Single Adults

 

 

Elder Low

 

Well, it's been a pretty long week. It's been a good one, but lots of weird things going on. I really don't know what to report. We have been working really hard, but it was just one of those slow weeks where you kinda get down from being rejected so many times. It happens though. Here are some of the good things that are going on.

 

K kyoudai is doing awesome. The only problem is he lost his apartment key.....haha, and he doesn't have a spare. Poor guy. He's spending most of his time in his apartment because he's scared someone will take it while he's gone one day. Haha, he's a funny guy. BUT, he  has such a testimony. Last Sunday I taught Gospel Principles about the atonement. When we went to visit him the other day, I asked him what he remembered about the Plan of Salvation. He said that he doesn't really remember anything....but then continued to draw out the entire atonement. How it works and what we have to do. He drew the two obstacles from the fall : death and sin. Then he drew how we overcome them; through the Resurrection and Gospel of Jesus Christ we can all return to Heavenly Father.....then he said, "I'm sorry. I've forgotten most of it." I was pretty impressed though. If he taught what he showed us to an Investigator, it would have been solid. He's a solid guy, and now he laughs....Something that didn't happen 5 months ago.

 

Also, I was able to talk to Y san again. Her chemotherapy is pretty rough and we still haven't been able to have a formal lesson with her. However, she's praying on her own and reports that she feels God's love. I hope we'll be able to meet with her soon. For now, we just pray that she'll be ok.

 

Elder Dursteler and I had a junkai in Yonabaru with Elders Ho and Robinson. They are great Elders and both work really hard. It was a little rough though. With Elder Robinson, we worked all day long and hardly even saw anybody. We tried housing and it wasn't really effective, so I thought we would go streeting, but nobody is out on the street. It's a tough place, but those two are really great.

 

Rain season just started up. It makes Dendo a little more difficult. I really hate the rain when you're riding a bike. But missionaries who work hard in the rain get blessings. 

 

Geez, I don't know what else to say. Church has been pretty rough. I was surprised attacked again and asked to teach Gospel Principles again. The sister missionaries were assigned, but they "weren't prepared" so I got to do it......It wasn't so bad though. I think the ward mission leader was a little upset though. He sat in my lesson and asked why I was teaching again and that he had asked the sisters......So, I don't think I'm going to be teaching again next week. However, he did comment that he loved the lesson...Haha, probably just to be polite.

 

I love our Ward mission leader. He does way too much for us and he knows missionary work really really well.

 

Other than that, I had a pretty average week. I'm sorry I didn't have much to report this week.

 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Low

So, it happened. We finally baptized K san. It was absolutely amazing. I have never seen him smile so much in my life. He was laughing like crazy. The ward members welcomed him so quickly.

An Easter Celebration

There was only one problem.....there wasn't enough water in the font. HaHa, I literally had water up to just below the knee. We were very lucky that his whole body fit in the water. I basically laid him on the bottom of the font. All the missionaries in my zone say, "When Low baptizes....he gets LOW".....It was kinda funny......but also really close to being a problem. I'm just happy that he's part of the ward now. We lost him during church yesterday. He was having too much fun with the members. It was fantastic.

Also, Yesterday, I was assigned EVERYTHING. Right before Sacrament, they asked me to play piano for Sacrament meeting. That was fun. Luckily the songs were not too difficult. Then, the sister missionaries forgot that they had the lesson in Gospel Principles and made other plans...so I got to teach Gospel Principles....AND THEN the entire Elders Quorum presidency didn't show up....so I taught Elders Quorum as well. Haha, it was good Japanese practice though.

One more awesome miracle. Elder Wells and I were weekly planning and we realized that we don't really have many strong investigators. So, we went into the area book to look for some previous investigators that might be strong. There was nothing. Nobody that we could visit that sounded good. Then a thought came to my mind. Do you all remember Y san in Nago? She was the investigator that had cancer.....well, I thought I'd ask the Ginowan zone how she was doing. They said she was dropped because she could never meet......but they said that maybe I should give her a call. I was the last person to teach her. So I did. She answered and started crying. She was so excited to talk to me. I asked her how she was doing and she said she's been in the hospital since I left, but that everything was going to be done this next month.

She's almost completely done with Cancer.....and then get this. She said, "So, you haven't really sent me something to read since you left Nago".......I was a little surprised. Then she said, "My Book of Mormon is still sitting in my bag everyday....I've been reading lots....I have lots to tell you about." So, guess who we'll be teaching again!! I'm pretty excited for her. She's so prepared!

As far as dendo goes, we are having lots of fun. Rainy season is coming up here pretty soon.....so I'm a little nervous. But it will all be good. Also, I met a trans-sexual Satan worshiping woman with facial hair. She was American and read my name tag. Then she started yelling at me and at the end of her rant, she said "Hail Satan!" and stormed off......So that was really weird. I meet lots of weird peeps! Also, I saw the flower helmet guy again! He waved at said good luck! I was happy.

Other than that, I'm just having a lot of fun out here. I know that God is proud of his missionaries and I feel his love every day. This is the best job ever......and Fukuoka mission is the best ;)

Mom, I hope you get to see this on Tuesday.

I love you all and I can't wait to report the miracles that will come in the following week!

Elder Low

 

 

 

One crazy thing that happened this week: K san had his interview....and he will be baptized this next Saturday! I'm so excited for him. He's a completely different person. It was awesome to see him at General Conference yesterday. He was blown away and was smiling and getting along with the ward. I just look back to when I first met him and remember that this is the same man who wanted to kill himself. People can deny our faith and our Church, but this gospel changed his life. He is not the same person anymore. I'm just really happy and he's such a great guy.

 

Also this week, We had interviews with President. It's always nice to be with President. I also got to work with the AP'S......Elder Dolbin is one of them. He was my MTC comp. And the other one is Elder Coelho from Nagasaki. They are two of my favorite people in the mission. They are both such amazing men. It was great to work with both of them. I got to spend the whole day working with Elder Dolbin. It's so crazy to see how much both of us grew. He's a powerhouse missionary. 

 

Watching General Conference. Elders Dolbin and Coelho are to my right.

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It felt so good to be with him again. We were such a great team in the MTC and we still worked way well  together even now. We found a couple new investigators. It was a party.

 

Now, I'm about to tell you about the most exciting part of my week....before I do, I'm a little scared to tell you about it because you will all think, "Oh....well, he's still a child. Still the same punk from before", but this new thing is so effective. It's called "Sumairu" dendo. (Smile). Here's what it is: we walk around Naha with a sign that says "Sumairu! We are mormons!" and we contact people like that. We just say "Sumairu!" and then start sharing a testimony right there! Also, we walk around with a ukulele and sing hymns to people. We introduced the idea to Kaicho (President) and he told us to give it a go.....and it's super effective. People love it! Even if they don't take the message, they walk away with a smile on their face....and they won't forget it. So next time they meet missionaries, they will remember the happy people on the street. We reported how it works to Kaicho and he got so excited he said he wants to come Dendo WITH US! Haha, It was so much fun. Obviously, we are being careful to still represent the Savior in all we do......but It's been Really good. Example: I saw this guy and he was smiling SUPER big, but tried to ignore me. So! I asked him "Why are you smiling so big?" and he just kinda shrugged his shoulders....but kept this HUGE smile. He didn't stand a chance against a couple of Americans with a Ukulele singing "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today". So I told him "How about you come over here and I'll tell you why I'm smiling". His name is N and we are meeting him tonight! :)

 

I'm getting super close to Kaicho (President). He calls me pretty often now. He said he wants to try something in Naha called a Dendo board. Naha is just so busy that he wants to get all the missionaries in the same place doing it the way the Dan Jones did it. Haha, it's super scary, but I'm up to try anything. I love trying new ways to teach people.

 

Saying goodbye to returning missionaries at the airport

 

 

Anyway, I'm out of time. I'm having so much fun and I'm loving this gospel more than I ever have in my entire life. It really does make the world of a difference to dive into the word of God and feel the spirit and see it change lives.

 

I Love you all,

Elder Low

So, another great week. I was super busy all week long. Haha, it was pretty crazy. Last time I emailed you, I was just preparing to head off to Fukuoka. So, yes. I went all the way to Fukuoka again on Monday, and then came back on Tuesday afternoon. It was pretty ridiculous. We had a great meeting with President and the AP's and then he kicked all the Okinawa missionaries out before the closing song and prayer because we had a plane to catch.

It was kinda crazy. We were super behind and the Recorder and the MSM were driving us to the airport. They had to stop at a Family Mart so that they could buy the tickets and we were super behind and they just kinda strolled into the Family mart. The Recorder made sure to button up his jacket. Haha, I was losing it. We were supposed to be at our gate in 3 minutes and we were ten minutes from the airport by car and the Recorder was making sure he looked like a gentleman as he walked into the store. We were all yelling from the car "RUN" but I don't know if he was super urgent. Haha, he's a great guy though. Luckily our plane was delayed so we were able to board.

Then the next day, Elder Dursteler and I had to plan for the two training meetings this week. I didn't get a ton of time with my actual companion, but we spent our time together really well. We were able to find a new investigator that we are meeting on Tuesday that was pretty solid. Also, we had TONS of fun finding.....which weird because finding can get REALLY boring sometimes. It can also be really fun, but I'm talking CRAZY fun. Here's an example:

We met one of the craziest people I have ever met. She seemed like any other lady you would contact into. Haha, she was asking questions about God and the Book of Mormon and everything. I was about to hand her the book when she asked about the second coming of Christ. I responded with the doctrinal answer. We are preparing for the day that Christ will return.....but she believed something else. "He already came" she said. I was a little confused. Then she reported that He had been killed again. Killed on the cross once. Then He came back to the Earth and was killed....again. I asked where and she said in America. BUT here's where it gets interesting. A third and final god will once again come to the earth. Except for the this god is a woman. She was very sure to make sure we knew that the third god was a woman. She said that one this woman would come to the earth, she would purify the earth and make it a place of love and joy.....and here's the best part. She hands us her flyer.

I looked at the flyer and tried SO hard not to laugh. This third and final God was preparing the earth with the help from someone from the spirit world......Walt Disney. Yes, this Flyer said in big letters "God's Disneyland" and the flyer described how we would all get to live together on the Earth with Walt Disney once more in an eternal Disneyland.

I got a kick out of this lady and I figured dad would like it too. :)

In more serious business, K san was unable to come to church again. However, we got a new ward mission leader who seems like he will really help us out. Our last mission leader didn't want members picking up K san because he thought that he needed a way to get there by himself without our help. BUT our new leader says that we should drive him to church so he can be there. I totally agree. This new mission leader is named Sakihara Tomoaki. He just returned from the Sapporo mission. Apparently, he was an AP there and the mission president emailed the bishop of our ward and told him that Elder Sakihara was the best missionary in his mission.....so this guy knows his stuff really really well. I'm really excited for him.

Also, I spent twenty dollars on mints and gum for K san to quit smoking. It was totally worth it. He was laughing and throwing the mints and gum in the air maniacally. He was so excited and has completely quit smoking and drinking. It's been a miracle. Now we are just trying to get him set on getting to church. He's really excited for General Conference so that's exciting.

Other than that, I saw Jon's Mormon Message video. (See it Here) Freaking drugs. Shoulda left the party. You know better.

Well, we'll let you know how this next week goes. It seems like it's going to be a great week. Also, president just made a goal that every companionship in the mission makes a baptismal date by Easter. I'm super set on it.

I love you all and hope you have a great week.