Some sort of deeper purpose

THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME!!!!! 

So we had eikaiwa, and after class I was asked by a 28 year old student named Kumiko (san) if I'd seen Frozen or something- 

I felt a choice had to be made- I'd been working on tying every conversation into the restoration- so there I went. 

I told her that we as missionaries can't watch movies now- to focus on our 'Mission'. Which eventually lead to me testifying about Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon, and how anyone can ask God if it's true. 

She said she believes in God. 

She said she hasn't for most of her life, but then one day a few years ago she started to think to herself: "Which way would be easier for me? Which way would make me happier? Believing in a God or not?" She had heard about God from some of her friends who went to other countries and she liked everything she heard about that. She said there were too many things in her life that seemed to be connected and have a purpose. "For example" she said "I'd be thinking of one of my old high school friends, and then look up and see he walking down a stair case next to me and stuff." So she decided that maybe she'd entertain the thought of there being a God and a purpose to life. And she liked it. 

I gave her a Book of Mormon which she gladly accepted, but said "I want you to sign it for me." So right after Eikaiwa, I signed a Book of Mormon, and gave it to her. (I hope that's not blasphemous.) 

We set up an appointment for the next Saturday (three days after) before English Class. 

She came and we taught her. 

(I prepared so hard for that lesson. And we... or rather, the Spirit  nailed it. It was solid. Every principal we laid down fix perfectly on top of the other, building the perfect foundation for the rest of the lessons. And all of it connected back to her perfect need: having a desire to be close to God. 

That's why we do the How to Begin Teaching, all of you missionaries out there. We're searching for their needs and once we find it, we staple it to the gospel. If we don't build that connection to what they need or desire, our message will have less relevance to them than a random show on TV. The gospel is beautiful. It can connect with everyone's needs. It is the thing that will save the world; it is in fact what everyone needs. You've gotta follow the Spirit, ask inspired questions, and then though the Spirit connect it to the gospel. It's a delicate process, much like a surgery. We lack the knowledge of their needs, and often times we're not quite sure how to connect it (though we should study our hardest to be able to do so), because of that, if we don't have the guidance of the Spirit, we're going to do nothing for them. The surgery will fail. It won't help them. If we don't listen to them and connect the gospel to their needs we're like a doctor just chucking out random drugs at a patient that has only said "I'm sick.". We're shooting in the dark. 

So the Spirit helped us out. We talked with her. Figured out her needs, and connected it all in- now all that we will do will be some more than words. It'll be the truth she needs, the medicine that will cure her soul. 

We taught about prayer after God, and she told us

That at night when she felt like no one was listening to her, she'd just lay on her bed and draw her thoughts out to God (not knowing how to pray). She said "When I felt like no one was listening, I'd talk to God those nights. I feel like maybe He understands." 

And I had the chance to tell her: "He does understand. He does. He knows everything about you, and He loves you."

She started coming to Eikaiwa (English class) here a week after I came here, and she says she believed that maybe there's some sort of deeper purpose or reason that she came when she did. She said that she felt in her heart that she was going to talk about something important here, but she wasn't sure when it'd be, but that she felt it would happen soon. And then the next week we invited her to hear the lessons. 

Yosh. (It's like, 'yay' or 'yaaaa!' or 'I did it' 'that just happened')

So ya. We have a mission rule that makes it so that we have to pass her to the sisters pretty soon. But, we're going to wait until the end of this week when we find our about transfers. (A lot of sisters are going home now, so they're getting pulled out of all of the smaller areas, so the sisters might get taken from here.) 

I love the mission. 

We had ZTM and during the business the Zone Leaders would just look at me before moving on because I just kept asking questions. Laugh. Just as always. (sasuga me!) 

Yep. 

I chatted it up on the train with this girl, and shared the message of the restoration. But it just got way awkward. 

Some times you win some, sometimes you lose some. 

I mean, how do you share the restoration in a way that doesn't make you sound totally crazy. Especially to people who don't know prayer, Christ, God, prophets, or any other basic Christian, or religious concept? 

Just image if a Buddhist priest came up to you in the grocery store with a heavy Asian accent and started telling you how Buddha reached nirvana and one day if you're good you can get reincarnated enough to reach it too. (except for that wouldn't even be weird enough, because you all have some sort of concept or belief in a deity or a higher power.) 

I guess we just have to try and connect them to the gospel, and then whip it back to the restoration, but that's a little rough for a five minute conversation, or even the twenty minute one that I had with the lady on the train. 

Practice, practice, practice, and study. 

THE SNOW IS MELTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES! We've been riding out bikes. It's so wonderful. So so wonderful. 

Well, that was a long one folks. thanks for 我慢するing for me. 

As always, 

Love ya'll, 

Elder Tyson Clark Wheelwright