The Atonement

Last week I got a letter form Dad talking about the Atonement. I have thought a lot about it over the week. I had the chance to attend the temple this Saturday and thought a lot about the Atonement there too. 

As I keep working here I find more and more of my imperfections, I find out that I have more to improve upon in everything that I do. I can be better at being kind. I can work on being selfless, I can serve others more, I can pray with more earnestness, I can lift up others, I can work harder. I have also seen where I could have done better and have often felt regret for those things that I should have done. When we apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ these things are overcome and The Eternal Father can do His work in us. 

The work here is fantastic, I have had more experience here than I have in all of my live put together. I love the people, and love to serve them. I asked on of our investigators to change his job yesterday, to make a huge change for his faith, and I was overcome with the thought of what the Lord requires. I know this is His true Church. I am so glad to serve Him.

With love to all 

Elder Bevan  

Elder Oshima

I want to write about how awesome my companion is. 

He works hard, and he doesn't stop giving of himself. He will spend all of his time doing what the Lord expects of him. Right now he is a breaker (the missionary who works with a new missionary right after his trainer), a zone, and a district leader. He is also the only Nihonjin in our apartment. He never complains, he always laughs. He loves those we serve, and is always effective. He is Awesome. When I have something to say, although it is often less than important, or even simply not as good as his way, he listens and goes with me. He listens when we teach, and when we talk. He has a wonderful memory and is great with English. He loves his family, and doesn't let anything get between him and the Lord. 

Yesterday we "housed" and an angry man came out of his apartment before we left and yelled at us. He he called us unchristian, and mocked my companion, saying that he was not Japanese and that he needed common sense. For the most part I just understood that He was mocking us and slandering the name on our name-tags. I didn't understand it all, but my companion did, and he took it like a champion. 

The reason that we were out housing at that time, was because the sisters of our district have no investigators right now. Elder Oshima wanted to find one for them, and so he decided that he would skip dinner to do it. That man was the last person we talked to before we had to return, and when we did return, he simply prayed that that man would be forgiven. I love my companion.

With love to all, and thanks for your support,

Elder Bevan  

General Conference!!!!!

This week was all great, but being able to see general conference was the Awesome. 

Watching conference here is a bit different than I am used to. For one thing, everyone goes to the church building for the whole thing, and, of course, we also had to wait a week for translation.  Most of us missionaries watched the English recording downstairs in a classroom with snacks at the table and the whole shebang. Some of the Nehonjin that can speak fairly good English joined us for parts of the conference so that they could hear the real voices of the prophets, and my companion stayed for nearly the whole thing. 

I was so impressed with how my questions and my concerns where addressed and helped. I never cease to be astounded with the power of the testimony and words of the Brethren and Sisters who speak, and I feel that I can never come away without being touched and uplifted. Priesthood session blew me away. I am determined, now more than ever before, to be the man, the servant , that I am supposed to be. In a very real sense Ihope that I can be that man someday, and I hope that I will be able to do God's work now. 

As I have learned about the enabling power of the Atonement, and as I have come to understand what it means to seek out and submit to the will of Heavenly Father, I feel that I have grown more than ever have before. I know of the sureness of the restoration's truth and of its importance. I have come to understand what kind of strength comes to those who bear with selflessness and gladness the burdens placed on them. I have come to have a brighter hope for things to come and many other great blessings have come to me. 

I really am grateful for this Conference, for the Spirit, and for the Blessing of the Atonement. 

I am so ready to back and ponder on the messages we where given this year!

 

With love, Elder Bevan

Happiness

This week was kind of crazy. Malcom Choro and my companion Oshima Choro had to prepare for zone training meeting and then for mission president interviews on Monday. For most of the week we have had to plan our days together, all four of us. Oshima Choro and I would go in and sit on the tatami with the other two missionaries, and then Oshima Choro would talk about zone stuff with Malcolm Choro in Japanese for a while, then we would finally figure out that I would just be working with Chung Choro for so and so amount of time, and then he and I would sit down and plan how long we should find on the street, and how many Book of Mormon we wanted to give out, and how many people we wanted to talk to, and so on and so forth. After that we all rushed to be in our futons on time and I would just kind of lay there while Malcolm Choro talked and we finally all got to saying our prayer. 

Every night I try and tell my companions why I love them, but we don't have bikes right now because of the recent transfers and so we are running a lot, and I am just so tired by the end of the day that I try and stay awake until Elder Oshima Ends his personal prayer, so that I can tell him, but I always fall asleep before he does... Man I love missionary work.

The other day, Chung Choro and I had four or five hours to just go out and dendo (missionary work/ finding) and we taught something like ten totsuzen (sudden or quick) lessons to the people that we talked to, and gave out four Book of Mormon. It was Awesome, and I was Dog-tired when we got back, but I was thrilled with the work. We always go "streeting" whenever we have anytime that is not filled. Yesterday Chung Choro and I went out again for a little bit and He said "I'm happy to be doing dendo, I don't even know why, I'm just happy!" 

Man! what a blessing that was to hear! What I change in tune from what he had been singing  before then! 

This week looks like it is going to be jam-packed too, I'm looking forward to it. Oh... before I forget, Nagasaki got to welcome a new member this week into the branch. His name is Yamasaki Hirouki. I found him with Harvey Choro and Malcolm Choro before the transfer ended. What a blessing! He is the fourth baptism I have seen. I am so blessed! He is so amazing!

I know the Church is true. I know the Savior lives. His Atonement is the single-most important event ever to occur. Prayers are answered and Heavenly Father is merciful.

Love to all.

Especially Family, during the Easter season. 

Elder Bevan

Baptism!

 This is an investigator that Harvey, Malcolm Choro, and I found. He gave up smoking and was prepared for baptism within two weeks of our meeting. What a blessing! 

Brother Yamasaki! Shiawase!!