Shinto Shrine

Awesome week

This week was Awesome! I am so grateful for the miracles that the Lord is doing here, and for the chance that I have to be a part of them! I am learning to have faith and trust the Lord. I am learning about the things that the Lord wants me to do and how He expects me to work. I am doing everything I can. I work as hard as I can and try to all that I can to be what I need to be. I try to be exactly obedient and to do everything that I am asked to do. I learn every day about how I can improve, but mostly we trust the Lord and simply do what He asks of us, and then we get to see miracles happen.
I wrote this to the mission president about what is happening in Nagasaki:

We had 9 investigators at church! What a miracle! For me it is even more of a miracles because almost everyone we teach knows enough English for me to be involved in the lesson and help teach them. I am never not involved, and I am seeing how much the Lord has blessed and helped me with the language so far. What miracles I have seen!
We thought we were going to have to cancel a baptism this week. Zan, a Chinese College Student living here in Nagasaki, had not learned or committed to the law of tithing, and then he stopped answering texts the day before his baptismal interview. We were to say the least, worried. We were worried especially because he has only had the time for the past few months to meet with us once a week. We prayed for him. Elder Coelho and Elder Malcom, our roommates and zone leaders fasted. Zan made it to Sacrament meeting, and told us that he had dropped his phone and broken it, and that is why he couldn't reply. He then read the tithes and offerings pamphlet, and, in our lesson after sacrament meeting, shared how much it meant to him. He expressed the truest Christian sentiment I have ever seen towards helping those in need, and helping the poor, and committed whole heartedly to living the law. We went over the interview questions, and we held the interview with no scruples. He will be baptized on Tuesday 28 January 2014. 

We really do see miracles every day.

Other things make living in Japan good too. Everything here is beautiful. The mountains/hills are covered in green, and the city is beautiful. The people are better.

Yesterday, the day of Zans interview, we had a lunch after church. It was wonderful!!! Everyone is kind and considerate. They are so loving, and in such a small branch they really love each-other. It really was just amazing. I love these people!!!   ...The food was great too :). I really cant express the love I feel for my people. I love them, and am so grateful to serve them.

I'm out of time again. My love to all.

Elder Bevan

Elder Harvey and Bevan

To Dad

Thanks so much Dad for writing me every week! It means so much to me to hear from you and in your familiar way. I love you so much. Thank you far all you do, and for all that you have done for me. I hope that you enjoy my letters, and more than that, that you can be proud of me. The week before this last one we got to do a service project with a sister in the branch. She is funny, and one of those people that doesn't mind teasing others. Anyway, I got to use a shovel for the first time since the end of October, and I couldn't have been more happy. I worked hard, and made a new friend of that sister. She came up to me after we were finished, and quietly told me that I was the hardest working missionary that she had ever met. You can imagine how much that meant to me. I was deeply touched with gratitude for what she said, and for you have did for me when you taught me to work. I don't think that any of the other missionaries could have made a friend of her like I did just by working hard with her. My Japanese is horrible, really, but that didn't matter, and I am so blessed to have even had that opportunity. Thanks Dad.

I Love you. 

Your Son, 

Working hard and keeping the rules,

Elder Bevan 

Miracles!

OK, Sorry this came late and I didn't say anything about it. I didn't know until later that p-day was moved this week. We had interviews with the mission president and so they moved us to Tuesday.

  

Two days ago we had ten minutes to get to a train station to pick up some incoming elders. We stopped maybe four people on the way (that's how we find most of our investigators) and we found a new investigator. While we were at the station waiting we stopped maybe five or six more people, and found a new investigator. The Lord truly does bless us as we set about His work. I see it every day without fail. 

     This Sunday was a particular blessing. Our branch is not very large, maybe sixty members. We have an outstanding mission leader and all the members are supportive. In the area we have eight missionaries, so we are a big part of the branch, but this week rocked the boat. We had eleven investigators in sacrament meeting, and when the meeting finished the president asked if we could introduce everyone. It was so Awesome!!!!! I am absolutely astounded to see how many lives are being blessed by God's great hand.

     Also I love to see how the Lord prepares those who He sends us. Right now we are teaching a Chinese college student named Zan. He is the Bomb!!! He is going to be baptized on the 28th. As we taught him the word of wisdom he told us; first, that he didn't even like taking prescription medication, then, that he didn't smoke, then, that he didn't even drink pop, then, that he hated coffee, and then that he didn't even like tea that much (although if anything at all he was surprised by that one). It was Amazing ! I love to see the Lord at work!   

    I'm out of time again, But thanks to all you all for your great support and all you love!

With all my love,

Elder Bevan

Mom, I love you sorry i was late, the pictures below are of last pday at a buddhist temple with Tung, a Vietnamese friend. im safe and am glad that you send this to so many people I love you

Tung and Elder Bevan

Pictures

These all are of- 

the view

me and Elder Harvy

Dajima- a cool old Dutch port -museum thing

a bookmark we made for a chines investigator.... and i think that about covers it, sorry this isnt very good ill try and do better next week

love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JAPAN!!!!

Japan is awesome!! I arrived in Fukuoka after something like over a full  24 hours of traveling.... I`m still not exactly sure  :) We slept that night in the mission home (which is underneath the temple), were trained a little, had a lot of Japanese food, and then went out to do some work with some of the more experienced missionaries.
The particular missionary that I was set up with had a lesson to teach to a couple of guys from Nepal who spoke a little English and a little Japanese. We taught the message of the restoration to them and were astounded at how prepared they were. Before they came to Japan they had studied Christianity and they had a lot of questions. During the lesson I asked if they had any about what we were saying and they said "no, you just gave us a lot of answers".... That was my first day here, and they committed to baptism. I have never seen such a miracle, I really cant express quite how amazing it was.

After we "streeted" for a while we had dinner with the president and his wife, and then found out our new areas and our companions. I was sent to Nagasaki, and my new companion is Elder Harvy, from Utah. He is awesome.

I met him the next day, and they took us to our apartment and showed me around.

Everything is narrow and small. We "housed" yesterday and it was probably the craziest thing I have ever done, ever. There are like a billion houses all scrunched together with crazy winding cement pathways threaded between them and stairs and just craziness... It`s hard to tell the front and back doors apart and for like the first hour I wasn`t even sure that we were even like supposed to be that close to peoples stuff, but the sidewalks that thread between the houses are totally their "streets" and it`s just normal. Besides that, sacrament was awesome, we had five investigators there, and four of them have baptismal dates!

I dont have time to write more but I love this. I love it so much! I love the people here more than I ever expected! I am anxious to be about the Lords work. I am grateful that I can be here serving Him and His people.
Love to all! 

Elder Bevan

I'm Here!

We have a few minutes to let you know that we made it safely and are doing well... I made it, and am doing well :) I love you and all at home. I loved talking to you and hope that all is well and that you will forgive me for messing up the call time... sorry.

Way excited to be here, I'm sleeping underneath the F. Temple, it's Awesome! 

Love to all. 

Elder Bevan