The Strengthening Power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ

This week was really awesome. We had a seventy, Elder Whiting, come to the mission and do a mission tour, I really loved the talk, and was inspired by it. One of the main messages of the day, was teaching with power and authority.  We talked a lot abut power, and that is something that I myself have been studying. I felt that the Spirit had prepared my to learn in that meeting, and I was blessed to learn by the Spirit in the meeting. I have a lot to work on. I have recently focused my study of the Book of Mormon back onto these two questions concerning the strengthening power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. First: "what is that power,"and second: "how do I use it?" I have learned a lot about the different strengths that Heavenly Father gives us. 

As I have thought about these things, I have come to understand that Strengthening power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the power that we need to be saved. It is the power that allows us to overcome sin and work to become better. It is the power that helps us overcome the fall of Adam and the natural man or woman in us. This power is the power by which we are enabled to do the work of God on Earth. It is the power that we need to receive and teach by the Spirit of God. It is the power by which we can have handle on the power of the Priesthood. It is the power that allows us to receive revelation from God. It is the power of God unto the fulfilling His covenants. It is the power that delivers us from captivity. 

How do we use it?

We believe in or on Jesus Christ. We pray. We make covenants. We obey. W strive to keep our will in line with the will of God. We live the principles, and participate in the ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am so grateful for the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ, which enables us to do become who we ought to become. I know that I have been changed by it. I like this study, but it is not the study that really helps me, but the mercy and love of Jesus Christ himself. How can we give words enough to explain His divine love ! How can we tell of His infinite and tender hand! I cannot say how grateful I am for my Savior Jesus Christ. I wish that all I meet could come to Him and understand His mercy. Try a little harder, and work a little longer to be the person that Christ would have you to be! 

Love to all!

Working Hard and Being Obedient, 

Elder Bevan

I love my mission!

OK, I have fifteen minutes to write and I don t know how this will turn out. So please be patient with me. I love this work. My friend just got a mission call and wrote about it! What a cool thing. I do not know of anything like a mission. I have to admit I am greedy of this time. I love to do this work. i love it because I love to talk to 日本人 and because there is nothing in this life that I value more. i love the Gospel of Jesus Christ, more that anything at all. I love it because it changes me from the weak and selfish person that I am into something better. I would rather spend all of my time in this service, with these people, than in any other way at all. I know that I can not possibly use my time one hundred percent to its fullest, because I am human. But I wish I could. I feel like I am at a feast and cannot eat enough. Perhaps now is the time most of all to remember President Uchtdorf`s counsel to take in the journey and remember that the joy of it is in the midst of the work. I know that the Savior lives and that He loves and guides us. I have been reading the book of Mormon about the Strengthening Power of the Atonement, and have loved to see the principles of truth I have learned in my life. This work, and this life are not to be carried out on the virtue of our own power, but on the power and the might of our God. It is His work. I have this week memorized DandC29:1-8, about the gathering of the Lords elect. Surly it is true. This week we were blessed to find a family who wants to learn more, and have taught so much! I am so grateful for the Lord and His mercy. I am thankful for Their plan of Salvation for us. 

I love the Savior.

With love, Elder Bevan

Didn't`t go to the post office. They always leave package slips if they have one, and I am really certain that if they had our package they would have delivered it. Sorry! that stinks!

Humanity

I have to admit. I don`t know what to write about. I guess I will just start writing and see where things end up.

Well Akiyama kyodai got the Aaronic priesthood this Sunday. That was good. He is such and amazing guy. I love him a lot. 

Besides that mostly we did finding, nothing really happened this week but that. We prayed one day to find someone at a 3:30 and to be able to give him the book of Mormon. At exactly the time that we had prayed about, we found someone. There were a lot of Potential investigators that seem to have a lot of potential. The mission, under Kaicho`s direction, is trying to focus on finding the elect of God and so that is what we are praying to do. See D&C 29:1-8. 

We pray to know where to go to find the elect by the Spirit. We pray that we will teach by the Spirit and we pray that we will plan by the Spirit. It is such a great work. I love the times when we know that we are receiving revelation, and when we know how to achieve the goals that we have set. (Just thinking about goals. I want to be really good at singing someday and also to be able to do Iron-man competitions.) 

Well, I am not very good at this writing thing, especially with these Japanese keyboards and my English suffering. Besides that I just don't know what to write. I like the fact that there is an international airport in Kumamoto. I think that it is really cool to see the huge jets fly overhead all of the time. What cool things have humans made! 

I think that of all creations on Heavenly Father`s hands, humans are the most interesting. We have an amazing history to each of us. Since coming to places that are so full of people, I have come to marvel at the Amazing Being that created us all. It is wonderful to think about all the people that God has made. When I think about it I feel that I might be able to grasp, in some small way, what God sees when He sees us. Each of us has our own weaknesses, strengths, likes, dislikes, abilities, and interests. It was God who in the beginning fashioned us from whatever we were before. I do not know how much is God`s direct work, and how much was left up to us to decide, but I think I have learned that God has a much greater roll in that aspect of our existence than I ever thought before. 

Like Job, God can give and He can take away, all that we are, or possess. In Ether 12:27 we learn that He gave, or gives, weaknesses. In the same way He can give us strengths. It is not upon ourselves that we ought to rely, but on Him who can make us mighty, or who will not. It is in His Justice and His mercy that this Work rests. We are free to choose the result of that great day!  I am excited to meet that day. I am excited to work, and live, and grow until that perfect day.

I love life!

I know this is Gods church.

With love, 

Elder Bevan

Good Week, no Christmas packages

This is my letter to Kaicho this week:

Dear Kaicho,

Thank you for mensetsus! Good training, and all. Thank you.

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.
I am doing my best to fill this responsibility. I really felt that I was filling it this past week as I was able to preform a baptism, stand in for two confirmations, and give a healing priesthood blessing. I felt that the Lord put us in His hand and led us to where to go. I felt so at the baptism, and again as we visited a recent convert`s home where we met (without meaning to) the bishop and where able to give that priesthood blessing.
I also felt that way as we did finding activities this week and as we studied and planned together. I also felt it at training during mensetsu`s. I have hope that as we continue, we will continue to be guided by the Spirit in doing what the Savior would do if He were with us.

The next things to report are the status of the work and my personal progress.
The work is good. In many cases I think our miracles have been named "potential investigators" in stead of "new investigators", so it has made me think more about my responsibility to follow up with the things that I do have. I need to follow up better on potential investigators.
I am doing well.

My companion is awesome. I could not have asked for better.
We are doing good finding. Need to work on giving BOM and BI.
training is moving along.

Thank you for all you do!
Working hard and keeping the rules,
Much love, Elder Bevan

This week really was great. "Mensetsus" means "Interviews". Those were yesterday.

This is the recent convert we were able to bless. We ate a "banpaiyu" together. It is a giant citrus. It is way good. :)

This is Brother Akiyama and the sister who introduced him to the church. Sister Kametani.

It was a great week and I feel very blessed. 

I know that this is the church of God, with His priesthood. I know that it is led by revelation.I know that the Savior paid for our mistakes. I know that through Him we can be made strong. I know that the Book of Mormon is true by the power of the Holy Ghost.

I love this work.

Love to all, 

Elder Bevan

The packages didn't come to the house at all, they would have left a package slip if they did. thanks

New Missionary!

Hey, I got a new missionary again! His name is Elder Pettit (pet-it). He is from California, and is the oldest of five boys. He played football, did wrestling, and threw shot-put and discus. He is clean and neat. Is an Eagle Scout. He is pretty fun. And I am way lucky to have him.

One of his first experiences in Japan with the culture was a Mochi tsuki! where we make Mochi!

We make Mochi by taking Mochi rice(alreadycooked) and dumping it into a stone bowl. And then smashing it together with giant wooden mallets. when it is just one giant lump of gooey white dough, we cut it up into small balls and roll it in powder to keep it from sticking to anything. 

This was probalbly one of my favorite experiences with Japanese culture so far. It was so fun! and way delicious You eat mochi in soup, and with sugar and soybean flour, or you can eat it with daicon and tsuyu mix. You can put sweet bean paste into the balls too, and I think that they even had chocolate if you wanted it. I didn't know that I liked it so much, but I think that it might have become one of my favorite foods this Saturday. It also turns out that chopping wood gives you what you need to be a good mochi maker... that was cool too.

Here is  a picture.

I love Japan! and I love the people more. I love to talk with them and to work with them.

 I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and the peace that it affords me. I love to work in this work. I would not give up my hold on the blessings of the gospel for anything.

In other News Akiyama Kyodai passed his baptismal interview. He is so ready! We are so excited for him. I really think that he will go far. I love him a lot.

Much love,

Working hard and keeping the rules,

Elder Bevan

Bakari

P-day at Kumamoto Jo

Elder Hunter

a comp switch in the city of yatsushiro

with elder bowler in yatsushiro

this is the sisters recent convert that I was privlidged to baptize, her name is Sarina

this is elder hunter and I just before he left... i`ll find out who my new companion is today

Last night went to  a band preformance

Sorry that is all I have time for now. More next week.

they won first place nation wide this last year... it was awesome!!!

New Years!

Happy new years everyone!

The Japanese love new years! Everyone (mostly everyone, I guess) goes home to be with family. Before the new year everyone cleans like crazy (to get the old year out), and then at the new year they all stay together and eat with each other. It lasts until the third. Our ward is Awesome and set up meals for the whole time for the missionaries.

This is the Hirata Family, new years eve.

N

This is our Dendo Shunin (ward mission leader) brother Sato., who set this all up fr us. We ate at an all you can eat place with yakinike, sushi, and other great stuff. We all ate too much I think :).

This is the Nakagawa family. (we took this picture with my camera on a pole :).

This is the Bishop and his wife. The Miyase family. Also the sisters, and Yuji, our investigator. When I first got here I thought that she was a young woman and he was in his twenties. It took a while to figure out they they were married. He is thirty seven, by the way. 

This was dinner with the Usui and Okamoto families.  It was way fun, they are from both Nagamine and Kumamoto wards, so all the missionaries where there. It was so good to be with a family like ours. The boys would not stop wrestling all night. and I felt right in place :).

That`s my goofy companion!

Oh, yeah. We ate Basashi here. That is Kumamoto`s specialty food. Raw horse meat.

Anyways, I have resolved to be more perfectly obedient. I have set myself to do better in all that I do. I love the new year because I love change for the good. I love it! I guess that just means really; I love repentance! I love doing better than I have done. I love to become better. I have so many ways that I must improve in order to really fulfill my purpose and my duty as a priesthood holder, but I know that God will help me to do that. I am so thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which allows us to change and improve. I cannot even begin to understand, I know, what that sacrifice has done, and is doing, and will do for me. But I can feel it just a little bit, and it is more sweet than anything else I have ever felt. 

i love this church and this work. 

With love, Elder Bevan