Dear family,
It's been another beautiful week in Sensokuike! Lots of miracles and
neat experiences to share with everyone. Thanks for your emails. :)
So, this last week we were walking down the busy streets of Tokyo and
we met a college student who was carrying a long bag over her
shoulders. It looked like she was carrying a big stick or something
inside of her bag. We proceeded to stop her and ask her what she was
doing. She told us that she was on her way to her Naginata class (Long
sword, Halberd thing). Pretty sweet! We tried to share the gospel with
her but she said she was running late. So, we decided to get a little
bit creative and ask if we could come and watch her practice. Her eyes
grew bigger as she realized that two crazy gaigin missionaries wanted
to come and watch her practice sword fighting in front of everyone.
What do you think she said?
YES! We followed her to the auditorium and she introduced us to
everyone else who was there practicing. It was a really neat dendou
experience! It was also a way cool experience to see these girls
fighting with long swords. They wore Samarai looking outfits and used
a kind of long Banboo swords for practice. It was pretty violent
looking! The armor they use is so thick that they hit each other
pretty hard and so it was really cool to watch. There was a woman
there who was instructing who was the champion last year in Tokyo.
Pretty awesome!
Anyway, as we were watching, one of the instructors called out to
sister Moffat and I...
We ended up training with the girls and practicing how to use these
swords! It was super fun! Everyone was asking us why we could speak
Japanese and why we were Christian missionaries. It was a great
opportunity to get in with the community and to share the gospel with
a lot of people. We had to leave early, but we were invited back to
practice with them again next week! Also, we have an investigator who
loves Naginata and so we hope we can go with her next week and
introduce more people to the gospel. God really does open all the
doors that need to be opened. It's neat to see the work roll on in
different kinds of ways. Super neat experience!
We had a zone conference this past week in Koiwa! I had the
opportunity to bare my testimony as one of the branded 'returning
missionaries,' which is not quite the right term as I STILL HAVE 2
MONTHS TO BE HERE. Haha, anyway, It was a neat experience for me to
bare my testimony in the Koiwa church again. It brought back memories
of the first week when I entered that chapel and was asked to
introduce myself and bare my testimony in Japanese for the first time.
Somehow, I felt confident knowing that I was back in that chapel
expected once again to bare my testimony.
Before bearing my testimony, I share a scripture in Mosiah 2:21. It's
been a scripture I have been thinking about a lot lately and so I
would like to share it with you guys too.
"I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from
the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you
breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will,
and even supporting you from one moment to another--I say, if ye
should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be
unprofitable servants."
I love King Benjamin's words. The future verses, he exhorts us to
remember our 'own nothingness.'
This really is the Lord's work. We are less than the dust of the
earth, because even the dust of the earth obeys our Heavenly Father.
We are so imperfect, yet he loves us. We are His greatest treasure!
Isn't that amazing?
It was definitely one of those times when you feel like a small spec,
compared to the amazing things God does everyday. It definitely puts
everything into perspective and helps me reevaluate the reasons behind
why I do things.
There is great power in doing things solely because you love the Lord
and want to serve Him. Sometimes it is harder than others, but when we
are humbled, the Lord's enabling power will always help us. We can
then become the Lord's hands and have our will becomes aligned with
His. I now that this is true.
We also had the opportunity to have exchanges with the sister training
leaders in Koiwa after the conference! I will send pictures. :) We
were able to do some fun things and catch up with some of the people
there.
We met this past week with a new investigator named Sheryl who we
found 2 or so weeks ago. Sheryl is from the Philippines and speaks
English! One of her best friends was converted to Mormonism and so she
took a lot of interest in our message when we shared it with her on
the street a while back. Anyway, our plan was to meet her at the
station and then travel to the church, but because she had to get back
to work early, time did not permit that happening. We ended up just
talking in a restaurant, which was thankfully silent with pretty
classical music, to help us find the Spirit.
We sat down together and began teaching her the first lesson. Sister
Moffat saved me a few times as it had been a while since I had taught
it all in English, haha. It was a really good lesson and spirit was so
strong. Our friend Sheryl asked some amazing questions and we were
able to answer them through the Spirit. As the lesson's end neared, we
shared Moroni 10:3-5 with her and the most amazing thing happened! The
mood deepened, as she read the words:
"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if
it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember
how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the
creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these
things, and ponder it in your hearts.
And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye
would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these
things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with
real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it
unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
She began to sob. We listened intently. She finally looked up,
apologizing, and said, "I know that this is true," explaining that she
had been to hundreds of bible classes and read the bible many times,
but had never read anything that filled her heart with so much love
and peace.
Sheryl is so pure. She is such a beautiful example of someone who has
been prepared by the Lord, to know and recognize the truth when it
comes to her. This was a really powerful experience for Sister Moffat
and I. It reminded me once again that there really are people who are
searching for this gospel and that they are all around us.
It's a neat experience to be a missionary and to find these kinds of
people and just to feel that God loves them so much and has led them
to finding everything they are looking for. It never ceases to amaze
me how the Lord is able to prepare people.
I know this church is true. The Book of Mormon has a real power that
flows into our lives as we diligently read it. I know God lives and
loves us. We are His precious children and He is constantly directing
and guiding our lives. Everything happens for a reason and the little
details of our lives are part of a great eternal plan for us, both
individually, and as families.
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love always,
Sister Hubbard
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