Fun and Laughs

A mission isn't all fun and laughs.






But you sure get your pick of them! This is just a few of the laughs I have had this week.






--One day me and my companion decided we were going to set an appointment with God. We picked a specific intersection a specific time and decided we were going to find a new investigator and he would be a guy with a hat. We get out there and its raining and wet and there aren't that many people. But we get to the appointment and wait for the man in the hat.






We waited and waited for him. 10 minutes passed after the time we set and then we saw this old man with a hat riding a bike towards us. "He must be the one! Some golden investigator who has been waiting all his life for the gospel!" We thought.






Then we tried to talk to him, but he just got really confused, "Ehhh?! What are you saying? I don't understand?" And then he just biked off....






Sigh...o much for being prepared...






But then we realized how funny the whole thing was and got a good laugh out of it.






--Yesterday in church the Mission President's counselor came and told this story of a grandma taught in his mission. The missionaries with not so good japanese or pronunciation were teaching this sweet old grandma about the law of tithing. At the end they asked her "will you pay the "Jubun no ichi?" (law of tithing)






The grandma scrunched up her face and thought really hard. She thought and thought and thought and then finally decided. "Hai jibun no uchi o utte sasagemasu!" Instead of "Jubun no ichi" which means "law of tithing" She thought they said "Jibun no uchi" which means "ones house". So that sweet old grandma heard the law of "jibun no uchi" or "Ones house" and with all the faith she could muster told them "I will sell my house and give it to the church!"






"Wait you'll what?! No no no! It's "Jubun no ichi!" It is just 10% of your income!






I love grandmas.






We had amazing miracles this week too! Especially with investigators in Nagasaki having amazing spiritual experiences on their own. Our investigator Yoshi, for example, we taught him with the district president about the book of Mormon, and then he went back to his house and then at 10pm he really started to read the book of Mormon. He read and read and got engulfed in it and felt so good. Then when he looked again at the clock it was 2 in the morning! He told us "I've always heard of people having their book of mormon experiences and feeling it's true. Now I have finally had my own!






And the sisters investigator Shiori, she has been wondering whether to keep learning from the missionaries or what to do. But they taught her yesterday and she decided to go home and pray about it all. She went home and prayed and for the first time in her life she felt this amazingly good feeling. It wasn't a voice but almost a feeling "Benkyho shinasai" Meaning "Keep studying!" and then as she wrote about it in her journal she began to cry from how good she felt.






We definitely do not convert these people, the spirit does. But if we can help them to pray, read the book of Mormon and exercise their faith then the Holy Ghost will bring the power into their souls.






I'm so grateful to be an instrument for the in His hands.






Love,






Elder Walton






Pictures:






My break fast every wednesday. (not really, I would die)






Me as a serious Japanese man from 200 years ago.






Nagasaki has one of the 3 best night views in the world.