Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Ok, this week we saw tons of miracles.
This is a part of the letter that I sent to Kaicho this week:

"My responsibility to represent the Lord is a big one. I hope that I can fill that great calling to some extent. I have recently realized that forgiveness and repentance will need to take a bigger part than I have been recognizing. I love the God that would give me forgiveness and allow me to take part in His supreme love, even though I have made mistakes. I am so thankful that He affords me forgiveness.
I am trying to work hard, and I believe that the Lord is pleased with my work. I think that he has seen our faith and our efforts, and is blessing us. Actually I know it; there is no other way that we could have seen the miracles we did this week...
This week we met our goals for 2 baptismal dates, 3 sacrament meeting attendances, 2 member present lessons, and 2 progressing investigators. We met standard of excellence for new investigators, but not our goal. We are working, and doing our best. The Lord will need to make up the rest. I pray that we will be able to make standards by this Sunday. I hope my investigators are blessed with that. "

In case you didnt catch that we have 2 baptismal dates. The first is Akiyama San's, he is the one who has no voice because of throat cancer. We had some awesome visits with him this week and I am really happy for him. I got a picture with Him but that will have to with until next week. I dont have my camera ready. 

The second date is a college student's, named Yuji. He is sooo prepared. we met him on the street. did a lesson at the church(where we set a baptismal date) and he came to all of church and a recreation activity at the church. He is so Ready! I am very confident he will be baptized and I am glad, because he seems like such a great guy.
On other subjects, Christmas is coming!

The big thing down here is new years. The new years here last three days and before new years apparently everyone does a giant cleaning (like spring cleaning but for the new year instead). We will be having meals with members for three days. At the new year. Christmas is still uncertain. We will have a ward party and of course Christmas becomes p-day. We will be 

Call me at my 9:00, 25December2014 through Skype

the account is

luetta.koberstein

Make an account and friend the above person.  

The next time I hear from you will be on Christmas so Merry Christmas! If I had any gift to give you it would be for you to be happy, and to know of Gods love for you. I cannot think of any gift greater that the love of God. It is taller than any mountain, and deeper that the ocean, It reaches through the deepest stretch of the universe and touches the smallest bird. I know God lives, and as He lives He loves us. What great love Jesus the Christ showed, when He condescended to our plane and took our pains on his shoulders! What great love that He yet extends His mercy and forgiveness! 

Typhoons and Things

Hello Everyone!

This here is my companion and Nago's giant pig statue. Unlike the rest of Japan (I'm am fairly sure) pork is part of the traditional Okinawan food. I could be wrong about that though so don't kill me if you find out I'm wrong. :) Below that is a picture of me and Nago's famous Brother Miyagi. He is a way awesome convert of a little over a year ago and we all love him. He overcame a lot to join the church and if I know anything about it he is an awesome example of how the Atonement changes people. He has a little bit of a mental problem, but he is just a ton of fun to be around. He meets us about every week to study from the scriptures and every once in a while we go out to eat together. I love to hear his prayers. You can tell that he is talking to the Father. 

The last picture is this way awesome kid we found a while back. He is just seventeen, but he really thinks deeply about things and is a way hard worker. He is completely determined to become the top of the business world and has thought a lot about what kinds of things he will need to do to get there. He is the top of his school and I think that he is  ahead a grade... anyways he way cool! Hopefully he starts progressing!

 

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​At the end of this week a big typhoon came again. It got here on Friday night and went all day Saturday and yesterday. That wasn't any fun because we were inside the whole time, and didn't get to see general conference. We worked on organizing our records and area book a bit though, and that was good.

I love working with the people here. I love to work with the members and the people we meet on the street! We did some calling while we were stuck inside and I think just about every time I got off the phone I felt great! I don't really know why I love to talk with these people so much but I think it is one of my favorite parts of the mission. I love their voices and their language. I love this mission!

I love the Lord. I know that this is the true and only church of God. I love this church and the gospel that it declares. I am so grateful for the confidence and peace it affords. I love my Savior Jesus Christ.

My love to all,

Elder Bevan

June 1, 2014

Today is actually my companions birthday, so I get to celebrate quite a handful of birthdays with Bryan, Elder Malen, and your Birthdays' so close together. How great! Your the greatest! Love you!

As I run over my planner for this last week I am surprised at how much we did. Last P-day we finally fixed our bikes, which had been flat for the last two days, and from there we saw many miracles. 

On Friday we saw a great one of those miracles. In quite a hurry we went to drop a conference talk off at our investigators home. We caught her just before she left to go buy tobacco... ha! that was great. We then had a great lesson, not at all about the word of wisdom, but about where she is reading in the book of Mormon and prophets. We said a prayer together and Elder Malen and I went to leave. Before we left the home we decided to say another prayer together. She then came out again to go get tobacco. 

We then talked about the word of wisdom and the Spirit guided the talk. It was wonderful! She committed there to quit smoking and we felt supremely blessed to have been part of that. Please pray for her! Her name is Sister Uema.

Other days the miracles were harder to see because... well I guess because the day was a little harder, but they are always there. Yesterday, despite being rejected by everyone else, we did find one new investigator. Also a new investigator the other Elders found came to church and had a GREAT lesson in Gospel Principles. We are so blessed!

I love to serve here. I love serving the Lord. I love the people here. I love their testimonies. Yesterday before church I was privileged to stand with Elder Miyanishi for a priesthood blessing, and was blessed to feel the Lord's Spirit and love. 

I know this is the true and living Church of God, I and am grateful for my parents who taught me the truth of it. Love you Mom!

Love to everyone else too!

Elder Bevan

Working Hard

This week we worked hard. Really hard. We filled our days up and wore them out. It felt so good. We are working with two investigators with baptismal dates (well, three), but none of them have a lot of spare time to meet, and two of them are from Nepal so the language barrier is pretty strong. We do all we can, but the rest is up to the Lord and them. I hope that they will make it to the starting line. 

Because we don't have a lot of investigators that can meet we spent a lot of time this week finding. We literally spent hours just talking to people on the street and at their doorstep. Yesterday was the pinnacle of it all. We worked hard knocking doors and talking to the people on the street, and (I do not feel at all responsible for this) we found three new investigators. The Lord really does see us and know our hearts and know our efforts, and He really does bless us with mercy and with kindness. I do not feel like anything that I have done has been up to par, but I want to do what He wants of me to do, and He blesses us with great blessings. 

He also has a sense of humor I think. Yesterday we found a golden investigator, (or so we thought) she stopped us and said that she had some interest and wanted to know why we were serving our missions. To our astonishment she asked us to meet, and asked if it would be alright if we exchanged numbers. We were understandably excited. Today we met her with the sister missionaries so that we could make a good trade off, and quickly found that she was actually a missionary from a sect of Buddhism that aggressively teaches their own doctrine and is know for their zealous work. :)  I learned a lot about what my calling really is.

We are called to preach the truth by the power and Spirit of God, and not by any other way. HTere is no other way that we can take this message to the ends of the earth, except we have that Spirit. I pray, and hope, and work that I can be worthy of that Spirit. I am grateful for it. 

The day after tomorrow I will transferring to Nago in Okinawa. I will miss Nagasaki. 

I know that this is the Living Gods church and gospel.

Hard Work

This week I learned a little more about what it means to work hard. From the honbu (the mission home), we received instructions to go finding for three hours of the day, every day for two weeks. 

When we got that instruction we skipped dinner to fill our three hours talking to people for the day. After that we worked hard to fill those hours every day. It has often been difficult to fit it in, and we haven`t been perfect, but we have been really blessed. On this last Saturday we accidentally took the wrong train and ran out of time to do our part, but when we came home we decided to knock doors for the hour that we had. It was dark and raining, and neither of us was in a happy mood, but we did it anyways, knowing that it was the work that we are out here to do. We found our sixth new investigator of the week that night. 

I am very prone to be discouraged when I think things are not going perfectly well, but this week I have realized that it is really only as we rely on the Savior`s mercy to overcome our imperfections, and simply set ourselves to the work that He works through us. To our perfection, and the sustaining of His perfect will. 

I am so glad to be about this work and to be His servent. 

Thanks for all your love and support,

My love to all,

Elder Bevan

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