Christmas Cake and Wonderful Life!

This Christmas was so wonderful!


Interestingly, being a missionary doesn't change at all the temptation at christmas to get stressed and overloaded with too much stuff. But this Christmas I tried my hardest to make my focus on what the true meaning of Christmas.


On Christmas we got to watch "its a wonderful life," we exchanged presents and skyped our families (which was so incredibly great!) and ate tons of food!


But one of my favorite moments of Christmas was when I snuck away (still within mission rules of course) from the other missionaries and by myself kneeled and prayed in a corner of the church and spent time there by myself just reading the bible and the book of Mormon about Christ's birth and pondering it's meaning to me.


My favorite christmas story is in the book of Mormon, when the christian Nephites watch and wait for the star to come, praying hoping that it would, despite persecution and threats of death.


I can imagine the faith of a family, the kids get bullied at school for their belief in the savior, and they come home to their father probably named Jemlon and say, "Dad dad, the kids told us that they are going to kill all the christians if the sign doesnt come!"


And I can imagine that faith filled father speak with power and conviction from his testimony by the Holy Ghost, "Don't worry little one, I know that...


He Will Come"


And then they watched and waited trusting in the birth of christ that meant very literally the difference between life and death for them.


We can learn from the example of those predecessors and live our lives with steadfast and immovable faith in His son. Having our own powerful testimony, that He lives and He will come again.


I know that He will.


I bear witness of that in His name,


Nagasaki, Japan
Elder Walton

White Christmas

Dear Loved Ones,


This past while it seemed there was this feeling in the whole Nagasaki zone of tiredness and slowness, maybe being in a bit of a rut, not fully giving our all for the Lord's work. Part of it may have been from loads of christmas activites, but it just didn't feel right.


Me and Elder Redd talked and we realized it really started all from us, and as far as our companionship I realized it really came mostly down to me. Recently I felt myself losing vision and exercising less faith, and just kind of going through the motions, not giving my heart might mind and soul.


It's amazing the power an example has.


As I felt myself and us as zone leaders began to slack off and work with less faith, the whole zone kind of followed and fell a little bit. So that night after we realized it, I prayed and repented and promised Heavenly Father I was going to give my all for his work and not rest till His work was finished.


And since then so much more light has entered my life, my soul and this work! I feel so much joy as I simply decide TODAY to me the very best I can be and give my all for his work!


And He does so much to stretch out his hand and help his children and the work we are doing.


We had so many amazing miracles that happened this week that demonstrate that.


But here is just one:
On Sunday me and Elder Redd had an appointment to teach this family that we had met the father a week earlier, we were so excited, but we weren't sure what would actually happen at this first appointment. We start walking up the staircase to their apartment and then we see two little kids run down followed by a father in a hurry,


It's our father we are supposed to teach! He quickly says to us as he runs down, "Gomen! Mukai ni.....chotto matte!" (Sorry...over there.....wait a little bit!)


So we watch him get in his car and drive off having no idea where he went or what he meant except to wait.


10 minutes passes, 20 minutes, 25 minutes finally we say, well....what do we do? Should we just go?


But we feel like staying a little longer.


Then finally, almost 30 minutes after our appointment the car returns, and out comes a dad, a mom, and 4 adorable adorable kids. They walk up the stairs and say "sorry and thanks for waiting! Come right in! Though it is a little dirty." Even though they didn't really know us, they let us walk right into their home (really rare in Japan) and teach and play with their kids. And soon the kids were having a blast grabbing our pictures and seeing our families and having fun. The parents even told the kids, "be quiet! Listen to their message!"


We were able to share a game and christmas message, and though they don't know entirely yet where this can take their family, the parents agreed to let us come again and share this message more with them!


We left the house feeling like we were walking on clouds for what a wonderful family they were. To teach such a perfect young Japanese family with a father and mother who both seemed interested in our message was such a miracle.


Without a doubt the Lord is doing His work and this is His gospel. I know that Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of the Living God, and that so is President Thomas S Monson today.


It's all true.


Love,


Elder Walton
Nagasaki Japan

Opposition and Rejoicing in Christ

This week there have been some trials for sure. On Sunday we were expecting Dawn and Te to come and so they could be prepared to be baptized, but then they just didn't show up, then sitting in Sunday school I got a text from a family we were supposed to teach that day at 3pm. We had been searching for 3 months for a family that we could teach, and finally after several hopefuls we were actually able to teach them and set up a new appointment!

But then they texted us and told us they weren't interested and canceled our appointment. 

I sat there in that class, with teaching about some topic or another still flying around me. I felt to be honest a lot of discouragement and great sadness. But then I had this feeling, or rather, this remembrance of something I used to always tell my companion in Saijo Elder Bloomfield. 

Whenever we had trials I would say, "Elder, the greatest miracles always follow great trials. In the book of Mormon always before there was great missionary success there were trials, they were thrown in prison, spitten on rejected etc..."

"And after this day (or trial) we've had, we definitely have some trial of faith miracles on the way!"

And I sat there and remembered that, I just felt this comforting feeling from Heavenly Father that even though there is always opposition, that He is there, and there are so many bright joyful miracles in the future if we will press on and trust in Him. 

Then after that class a member's son (who is a non member) came and we were able to teach him. He is a 30 year old guy who feels like his life isn't going anywhere and is searching for something more.

We taught him about the atonement and the plan of salvation. Then asked him, "How would you feel if you had this power of the atonement in your life?"

He replied with such joy, "It would feel so amazing to feel free of all my sins and be so clean!" 

The spirit was so strong, so we invited him to prepare for baptism, and he accepted! 

It was such a tender mercy from Heavenly Father!

We also found out this week that Dawn and Te are experiencing some opposition from Dawn's mom about baptism and are wavering and afraid. I know that this opposition will be so good for them as they rely on the Lord to overcome it. But they need help and prayers. Please pray for Dawn and Te that they can overcome this trial of faith!

I know more than anything else that Christ REALLY is the savior of the world! He is the light of the world and He is the son of God! I am so grateful for the sacrifice of His son and to spend this Christmas sharing my testimony of Him. 

Love you all and Merry Christmas!!

Elder Walton

HE is Gathering Israel

Transfers came and I stayed!

This week was great! Dawn and Te told us they are getting married next spring! And the reception is going to be at the Nagasaki church! I am so excited for them!

I met my second cousin who is serving in our mission, sister Joyce Curtis for the first time. The conversation went something like this:

"Hey sister Curtis are you from Arizona?"

"Yeah I am"

"We're second cousins"

"What really? Does your dad write picture books?"

"Yeah he does!"

"Oh I have been to your house! We probably met like 10 years ago!" 

That makes cousin number three I have discovered on my mission! How many more will I find I wonder?

Anyways, the biggest thing that happened this week was on Monday we had an almost all mission conference with 180 missionaries gathered in Fukuoka church to hear Brother Heaton director of the MTC speak to us. It was so amazing to see missionaries or companions like my MTC companion big Hawaiian Elder Ho I hadn"t seen in a year and a half since the MTC. He ran up to me and picked me up in a huge hug and just held me with so much love. 

Brother Heaton was so amazing. I can't even describe what it was like, but what I really took away feeling is that sometimes we feel like we talk to people on the street or work with investigators or whatever and then they don't listen or drop or something. Often we feel like well it's over they're done they won't make it, or maybe feel like we ourselves failed. 

But in realty that mindset comes from thinking that WE are gathering Israel. But if we read in the Book of Mormon it says countless times "The Lord will gather Israel." He is working with each individual person. And we are only a part of that. He has and will be working with these people even after we are gone and was before we were there. Every single person we talk to or work with, we help them make the next steps God needs them to make to come unto Him. 

And sometimes I get frustrated at my investigators or people for not coming to church, or appointments or whatever. But in reality I realized that they are so so precious, and they are really trying their hardest. God doesn't get angry at them when they don't come, he is loving, and guides and loves them along. He helps them feel good about themselves, feel safe, feel loved, feel belonging, and if we want to help them come to him we need to help them feel those same feelings of the spirit. 

When I heard that, I realized that I had been feeling that way about an investigator who didn't come to church, a little disappointed, but then I realized how hard he was trying to change his life despite all the pressures around him, and school and 2 jobs, and how truly amazing he was. And so instead of telling him to do better next time in coming to church (which wouldn't have brought those feelings of love) I simply texted him and thanked him for everything he was doing to try and come closer to Heavenly Father, and all the time he gives us each week, and what he means to us. 

I know each investigator is so so precious to Heavenly Father, and just because they don't make it all the way now doesn't mean that anything is ever wasted. God is gathering them and He will continue to. Maybe right now isn't the time for them to be baptized, but as we simply seek to bring his light into their eyes, and be his instruments and follow the spirit. He will do the miracles in their lives. 

I love and am so grateful to Him.

Elder Walton

Nagasaki Japan

Transfers came and I stayed!

This week was great! Dawn and Te told us they are getting married next spring! And the reception is going to be at the Nagasaki church! I am so excited for them!

I met my second cousin who is serving in our mission, sister Joyce Curtis for the first time. The conversation went something like this:

"Hey sister Curtis are you from Arizona?"

"Yeah I am"

"We're second cousins"

"What really? Does your dad write picture books?"

"Yeah he does!"

"Oh I have been to your house! We probably met like 10 years ago!" 

That makes cousin number three I have discovered on my mission! How many more will I find I wonder?

Anyways, the biggest thing that happened this week was on Monday we had an almost all mission conference with 180 missionaries gathered in Fukuoka church to hear Brother Heaton director of the MTC speak to us. It was so amazing to see missionaries or companions like my MTC companion big Hawaiian Elder Ho I hadn"t seen in a year and a half since the MTC. He ran up to me and picked me up in a huge hug and just held me with so much love. 

Brother Heaton was so amazing. I can't even describe what it was like, but what I really took away feeling is that sometimes we feel like we talk to people on the street or work with investigators or whatever and then they don't listen or drop or something. Often we feel like well it's over they're done they won't make it, or maybe feel like we ourselves failed. 

But in realty that mindset comes from thinking that WE are gathering Israel. But if we read in the Book of Mormon it says countless times "The Lord will gather Israel." He is working with each individual person. And we are only a part of that. He has and will be working with these people even after we are gone and was before we were there. Every single person we talk to or work with, we help them make the next steps God needs them to make to come unto Him. 

And sometimes I get frustrated at my investigators or people for not coming to church, or appointments or whatever. But in reality I realized that they are so so precious, and they are really trying their hardest. God doesn't get angry at them when they don't come, he is loving, and guides and loves them along. He helps them feel good about themselves, feel safe, feel loved, feel belonging, and if we want to help them come to him we need to help them feel those same feelings of the spirit. 

When I heard that, I realized that I had been feeling that way about an investigator who didn't come to church, a little disappointed, but then I realized how hard he was trying to change his life despite all the pressures around him, and school and 2 jobs, and how truly amazing he was. And so instead of telling him to do better next time in coming to church (which wouldn't have brought those feelings of love) I simply texted him and thanked him for everything he was doing to try and come closer to Heavenly Father, and all the time he gives us each week, and what he means to us. 

I know each investigator is so so precious to Heavenly Father, and just because they don't make it all the way now doesn't mean that anything is ever wasted. God is gathering them and He will continue to. Maybe right now isn't the time for them to be baptized, but as we simply seek to bring his light into their eyes, and be his instruments and follow the spirit. He will do the miracles in their lives. 

I love and am so grateful to Him.

Elder Walton

Nagasaki Japan

Fruitless Finding and Families

Dear Beloved Friends and Family,

I don't exactly know what it is like in other missions, but here in Fukuoka we do lots of finding! There are lots of prepared people here of course and many who desire to be baptized, but it takes work to find them. 

The past few weeks me and my companion have been going out and trying to find people and find people, but we just weren't seeing a whole lot of fruits. It was pretty hard. It wasn't so much a "We can't find people in this place feeling" as much as it was a "something has become wrong with us" feeling. Because in the past we could always find people, but just lately it was difficult. 

After one way nice family rejected a return appointment my companion, probably out of a little frustration said that we just hadn't prepared enough our family approach. And I got kind of stressed/ discouraged too and then I realized Satan was just trying to bring us down, He always tries to bring us down and make us doubt ourselves. To be honest I think that is one of the most powerful tools Satan uses on missionaries. 

But we talked about it, talked about what we could and how we could do better. We decided that we really just needed to be more loving, more friendly and fun, and teach them in ways they can understand really simply like a simple analogy. 

A street contact might go something like this.

"Hello father (you say that to slightly elderly strangers) nice to meet you!"

-Some simple talk and joking to make him comfortable-

"We are here to share a special message about families that has really helped our families But we have a question!, If you had a car you knew would break down no matter what in a year, how much maintenence and money would you put into it?"

"Well probably not that much." The man would probably say.

"Well what if you knew it would last forever if you took good care of it? How much would you put into it then?"

Then he might say, "Well probably a whole lot!"

"Exactly father! Our message is the same, we believe that families are not just a thing of 1 year or 10 or 60 years. They are forever. So we have such a need to take care of them protect them and help them. And we are sharing the message of how to help our families the most and about their eternal importance. May we meet again and share it?"

Anyways that is something we have started using. Then on Sunday night after we did some figuring out we went to an area we felt really good about, and it was amazing! We had family after family listen to our message, and we even got 2 who gave us a specific return appointment and 1 who said to come back anytime! It was a small thing. But it was a miracle to us!

Anyways. That is a small insight into what the life of a missionary is like. 
Love you all!

Elder Walton

Pictures:

-Me in a tradition Japanese mens formal I got for 20 dollars. Such a good deal!

-Nagasaki Harbor

- Us eating a 8/10 of a meter Ice cream cone!

26 Martyrs and a Priest

Hello Wonderful World!

This last P-day we (The 4 Nagasaki Elders and 2 Sisters) went to a monument near central Nagasaki called the Martyrdom of 26 Saints. 

in the 1600s the Japanese emporer decided to outlaw christianity. They took 26 christian believers and priests including a few 12 and 14 year old youth and force marched them 1000 miles south to Nagasaki, a city full of Christians. 

There on a hill in the center of the city, they crucified them. 

They died still faithful and true to Christ. 

We went to the museum there to learn more about the rich history and sacrifice of Christians in Japan. 

It was so amazing to see the faith of these early christian missionaries who gave up their whole lives to come to Japan hundreds of years ago to teach these people about Christ. Really in a way I consider those early christian missionaries our predecessors. They had so much faith and really set up a foundation for the preaching of the restored gospel. 

Sometimes there is a temptation to see other religions as mistaken enemies, who hurt the work. Especially as a missionary other religions and churches is used as an excuse not to embrace the restored gospel, and it is sad. I sometimes find myself with that same temptation to see them as enemies. 

But as I walked through that catholic museum about humble christian missionaries and saints. I felt a great deep amount of awe and respect for those people with such strong faith and love. 

When we finished the museum we went to a nearby interesting looking catholic church to see if we could see the inside. We got to the doors and they seemed locked, no one was there. But then a man came from inside and opened them (they were actually sliding doors, ha!) 

He was an 87 year old priest from Mexico. But you could have just called him Grandpa. He had a classic warm love and humor. Treated us almost as if we were his grandchildren telling us stories and sharing about the church there. He took us top to see the beautiful architecture and windows. 

All the missionaries in Nagasaki love singing, so we asked him if we could sing in the church. He said "Please!" And so we did. No practice, or coordination, but we sung one of the most beautiful harmonizations of "Nearer my god to thee" and "be still my soul" I have ever been apart of. The spirit was so strong. 

Afterwards the old loving priest said to us, "In our church we have the same song, but just with different words, and as you sung it I couldn't help but feel that even though we may be different, I felt this great hope that someday up in heaven we will all be just one family in Christ." And I felt so much love and so much brotherhood from him as we said it. 

I left that church amazed at the lesson that aged catholic priest taught me. We aren't enemies here. We truly are friends, brothers and sisters in God's family. We must see them that way. One day we will all be united in love, and that won't come from fighting till one side is forced to the other, but from loving so much that we all come together. 

I thank the Lord so much for these wonderful experiences and the things He teaches me with his servants and his angels like that wonderful old man. 

I know He lives and He loves us, and one day we will all be united in Christ.

Elder Walton

Nagasaki Japan

-The church and the Old Priest