I cannot tell you how grateful
for the preparation that so many people helped me with--spiritual and
temporal. I have been wonderfully warm and have not tired of my
clothes in the slightest thanks to the variety that I have. Thank
you, thank you!
Also, thank you for
the package that you sent Mom!!!! I love the various wrapped gifts wtih
little sayings on them and so look forward to opening them and reading the
letters that you all wrote. Seriously, I treasure them. I feel
so richly, unbundantly, mercifully remembered and blessed because I get to be
family with such great people. I hope that I can somehow contribute to
you each having a wonderful Christmas.
So, my new companion
is the fearless and determined and REALLY patient Sister Minson from Salt Lake
City. She is so willing to work and be flexible as I try and learn how to
lead. I am grateful for her and also that Jones shimai and Nagamine
shimai are still in Narita--I call on their knowledge, energy, and kindness
daily. Leading and instructing when I feel like I hardly know how to be
an effective missionary myself is kind of crazy but I really love what
President Budge teaches about facing weakness. He instructs that we can
either become humiliated or humble. It is when we are humble that the
Lord can do His work through us. One thing that I've noticed a lot in my
personal study lately is that its not really about skill or ability or talent
but diligence, faith, humility. I know that the Lord responds to our
faith and blesses our efforts abundantly. I hope that I can choose to be
humble and be like Enos who prays and labors with all diligence and then is
given what he desires from the Lord because of his faith. So I choose
faith!!!!! (Enos1:12) Faith and obedience are a wonderfully
powerful combo--those who labor in the vineyard with the Lord as described in
Jacob's allegory of the olive tree have decide to follow the Lord's will and
thus are blessed (verse 72). I also really love how He knows and plans
where He plants and brings forth friut even in the poor spots of ground--and
often times I feel like I am that poor spot of ground, but He can make miracles
happen even there (see verses 21-23).
Sorry, I made this
kind of a lecture rather than an email. Minson shimai and I are already
seeing miracles as we talk with people. Really, its when we do the work
that the Lord can guide us. Today when we were walking, we started
talking with a lady who wasn't really interested, but then when she walked on,
another lady came up to us and said that she had real interest in learning
about Jesus Christ and learning about charity. She came up to US.
Woah. People are so preapared.
I love you all.
So much. I pray for you. I hope the best for you. I hope that
you feel the power and strength and JOY that is avaliable to everyone through
the atonement of Jesus Christ. Really, His life and sacrfice are the
reason that we rejoice at this time of year.
I love you all one by
one more than sushi loves seaweed paper (nori),
Williams shimai
No comments:
Post a Comment