Words

So I don't have a ton of time left and I want to get some things out, so this might be short, but I hope that you liked the pictures. I'll try and send something like that every week.

This Sunday in sacrament meeting we confirmed Egawa Shimai a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Branch president was voice in the confirmation and it was powerful. I do not exactly know how to describe the things that I heard and felt. I love to have spiritual experiences in the Japanese language. By the way that you change the words you can tell how much you respect and love the person to whom you are speaking, and in the same way, how powerful the admonition or command you are giving is.

My companion and I were thinking about the wording of the Confirmation ordinance, and how we might say it, but I was off. The command "receive the Holly Ghost" is translated to "Seirei o uke yo!", the most powerful. command form that I know, and the same form into which the Savior's words were translated when he healed the sick and commanded them to rise or be made whole. 

From then on the Spirit was felt, and I believe that it was received. I love that Spirit.

Do we always follow the Lord's command to receive the Holy Ghost? I hope so, and I'm trying.

Love to all,

Elder Bevan

breakfast...

This is Nato and an egg. I mix this into a cup of rice for breakfast every day. I think it is pretty delicious, but Elder Jameson is kind of a picky eater and doesn't agree.

This is just a random park with a funky cement slide I thought was cool...

everything is cement here!

and this is my companion :)..

This week was really awesome. Egawa finally got baptized!!!!!! It was great! before that we had some trouble with relations in the branch and were worried about whether or not we were going to be able to do it at all, but everything turned out all-right. 
I really learned a lot about the Atonement and how much the Savior cares for us. So many of you helped my by your letters and emails. Thank you! I really felt God's love by your support and words. Thank you! 
I know that the Savior knows and loves us. I am so grateful for His infinite Atonement.


This is Elder Jameson, Egawa Etsuko, and I just before her Baptism! We had a lot of trouble getting her to this point but it was so awesome to see her finally be able to be baptized. 

Letter to President Gustafson

Dear Mom, 

I am sorry that I haven't been sending enough detail. I am not good with that sort of thing.
Here is this weeks letter to President Gustafson. I don't know whether or not you would want to share this, but at least maybe you would like to read it. 

"Kaicho,

The first things that I am to report to you on are: my responsibilities to represent the Lord in our area, and to obtain His direction in carrying out my assignments and blessing the people here.
"This week I was able to baptize Egawa Etsuko Shimai. It was a great experience. I really had so many people to help me. It was really rough to get this all together, but it is finally started and I feel like I can say that we have done the right thing. I really do love Egawa Shimai and hope that she will stay true for a long time, so that we can meet again in the faith after I have left here. I am so blessed to have been here to help her! I think I will always remember the words I said as I baptized her. What a great blessing!
"The next things to report are the status of the work and my personal progress.
"I have gained a greater testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As we struggled to know what was right and wrong, and as we worked to find out the will of the Lord, I was really stressed. It was hard for me to have the opposition that we had, but the Savior knows us, and knows how to succor us. In this time of great stress and trial, the Savior gave me support by good friends who care for me, good branch leaders, and even by friends and family back home. I did not know what power and what meaning could come from the loving hands and words of the people around us. Thank you for your support too Kaicho. Most of all, to feel the Savior's approval and love by them and through the spirit, was a blessing without measure. Partaking of the sacrament was so much needed.
"The work will continue here. I have a hope that it will speed up from here on out. I really have felt directed by the Spirit and am excited to know where we will be led.
Thank you for all you do.
Working hard and keeping the rules, love,
Elder Bevan"

Besides those things, I would like to ask if you might be able to send me a filled out "My Family" booklet, for showing investigators about fam. history.. That would be great.
Anyways, love you Mom. 

Sept. 14, 2014 New Companion!

Ah! I'm so sorry I forgot my camera!

I hope you will forgive me:).

 

I didn't transfer! but I got a new companion named Elder Jameson. He is from Indiana, has two older sisters (one who served a mission in Malan Italy, the other is married) and one younger sister. He studied for a year at BYU in economics, and plays the trumpet, swam on his high school's swim team and is an all around stud. He entered the MTC on the 26th of June 2013, and is on his tenth transfer. From what I've seen he is bold, faithful, and energetic.

Cool companion.

Elder Robinson (to our surprize) transfered to Hiroshima. I kinda thought that I would be the one leaving, but that is all part of the plan. Hheavenly Father really does know our circumstances and what we need. I am excited to start this new transfer with Elder Jameson, he sure is a blessing. Heavenly Father has also answered me prayers in wonderful ways. I love to spend the first fifteen minutes of personal study in prayer. I love to talk with my Father.

 Love you all.

Truly Elder Bevan

Sept. 8, 2014

We dont have a lot of time. Right now we are emailing from Nagos library because the one at the church refused to work.

I loved getting all of your emails! Thank you so much!

Things are going well. I am learning a lot and am very blessed.

Funny story; yesterday we had some time to knock on doors. At one door a man opened holding a misbehaving dog (middle sized) in his arms. He didnt seem super interested so I tried to hear a little bit about him by asking about his dog. I meant to ask how old the dog was (in Japanese you can often leave out the subject of a sentence) but he misunderstood and thought I was asking how old he was. He said 40 and I, astounded, said "wow! thats old!" before I had time to completely process what he was saying. Yeah... Whoops! :)

Anyways I love you all. Im out of time. Thanks

Elder Bevan

This was P-day, we had to wait for the computers to open up at the library and so we went out to the park outside. I thought that the tower behind me was pretty cool!

 This is looking North over Nago from the top of the tower

This is looking East

This is looking south onto the Ocean 

This is looking West.

 I think that gives a pretty good idea of what Nago is like. The weather is great just about now.