こんにちは、
Missionary life is great because while there are still ups and downs, the ups are much more frequent than the downs. I love being a missionary!!
Missionary life is great because while there are still ups and downs, the ups are much more frequent than the downs. I love being a missionary!!
Why do bad things happen to good people?
This thought provoking question is the question someone asked me last week. Mizuka, an 18 year old Japanese girl, came to English class and after class we got talking. God was brought up and I asked her if she believed in him. She said, "No, but I use to." This is such an unusual answer so of course I asked why. She told me that her really close friend to abused by her parents and if there was a God then why would he let that happen. She then asked, " If there was a God, Why do bad things happen to good people?" I have been a missionary for over a year, but somehow had no idea what to say. I knew we had the answers, but I just stood there in shock. I composed myself and said that I would love to answer her question. We set an appointment and she was excited to finally have her question answered.
This thought provoking question is the question someone asked me last week. Mizuka, an 18 year old Japanese girl, came to English class and after class we got talking. God was brought up and I asked her if she believed in him. She said, "No, but I use to." This is such an unusual answer so of course I asked why. She told me that her really close friend to abused by her parents and if there was a God then why would he let that happen. She then asked, " If there was a God, Why do bad things happen to good people?" I have been a missionary for over a year, but somehow had no idea what to say. I knew we had the answers, but I just stood there in shock. I composed myself and said that I would love to answer her question. We set an appointment and she was excited to finally have her question answered.
Fast forward a few days, and we teach her the answer to the soul wrenching question. We taught her the plan of salvation with an emphasis on agency. God gave us this special gift of agency to let us all make decisions for ourselves. Sometimes those decisions aren't good, and sometimes they effect other people, but we have the power to make those choices. However, God knows everything we do. We will be rightfully judged and either rewarded or punished according to our actions. We explained the wonderful plan that God has for us and explained that even though bad things happen to good people, that Christ suffered for them, and knows exactly what it's like. She was mesmerized. Some of the questions she asked actually made me think she was the one who got abused, for example, she asked, "What if my parents did something really really bad and I yelled at them, would that still be bad?" We then explained it's more how she feels after she does it and that there are some grey areas. I won't explain the whole lesson, but it was one of the most powerful lessons I've been apart of. I saw her heart soften in the lesson and I saw the light in her eyes as we told her about the plan of salvation.
The struggle of getting investigators to church:
Okay story of my mission life. As a missionary, we plan and try and help people come to church all week long. Let me repeat: all week. So it can be a little frustrating when someone doesn't end up coming. First you get the investigators that say, "oh yeah maybe I'll come," and aren't too convincing of that fact. Then you get the investigators that say, "Oh dang I have work on Sunday, sorry." Dang well then. Then you get investigators that say, "yes, I'm for sure coming." And then they don't show up. So frustrating. Not to mention we have to constantly talk to members to get them to befriend the investigators and it's a little awkward when the investigator doesn't show up. Just thought I'd let you in on a little bit of the daily struggles of being a missionary. When all was said and done though, we had 2 investigators come to church. Not what we were hoping, but it was still good.
Okay story of my mission life. As a missionary, we plan and try and help people come to church all week long. Let me repeat: all week. So it can be a little frustrating when someone doesn't end up coming. First you get the investigators that say, "oh yeah maybe I'll come," and aren't too convincing of that fact. Then you get the investigators that say, "Oh dang I have work on Sunday, sorry." Dang well then. Then you get investigators that say, "yes, I'm for sure coming." And then they don't show up. So frustrating. Not to mention we have to constantly talk to members to get them to befriend the investigators and it's a little awkward when the investigator doesn't show up. Just thought I'd let you in on a little bit of the daily struggles of being a missionary. When all was said and done though, we had 2 investigators come to church. Not what we were hoping, but it was still good.
Ryoko has a baptismal date:
So we had a couple lessons with Ryoko this week. During the first lesson she said that she never had interest in learning about Jesus Christ until coming to English class. Well not only does she have a ton of interest now, but she also has a baptismal date!! She kept all of her commitments from the first lesson and just thinks everything about the church is amazing. She is coming to church this next week (hopefully) and she said she wants to be baptized. So originally we asked her if she would get baptized on October 8 and then she looked at her calendar and said she would be out of town and then she asked if she could be baptized this next week. We told her that sadly she could not and explained that there are a few steps she has to do before getting baptized -church, the lessons, baptismal interview - and she said okay so we settled on October 29th. The amount of faith she has is completely mind blowing. She just has the strongest desire and even asked us how she could be a good example to her friends.
So we had a couple lessons with Ryoko this week. During the first lesson she said that she never had interest in learning about Jesus Christ until coming to English class. Well not only does she have a ton of interest now, but she also has a baptismal date!! She kept all of her commitments from the first lesson and just thinks everything about the church is amazing. She is coming to church this next week (hopefully) and she said she wants to be baptized. So originally we asked her if she would get baptized on October 8 and then she looked at her calendar and said she would be out of town and then she asked if she could be baptized this next week. We told her that sadly she could not and explained that there are a few steps she has to do before getting baptized -church, the lessons, baptismal interview - and she said okay so we settled on October 29th. The amount of faith she has is completely mind blowing. She just has the strongest desire and even asked us how she could be a good example to her friends.
Just Japan things:
•Japanese people are obsessed with melon. There is melon flavored soda, melon bread, melon candy, melon ice cream, you name it! Melon flavored soda is sold everywhere, McDonald's, convenient stores, restaurants, vending machines, everywhere. It's a melon world here.
•Japanese people are obsessed with melon. There is melon flavored soda, melon bread, melon candy, melon ice cream, you name it! Melon flavored soda is sold everywhere, McDonald's, convenient stores, restaurants, vending machines, everywhere. It's a melon world here.
Loving life, loving the mission, loving Jesus, loving Japan, loving all of you beautiful people. Lots of love.
愛しています、
Wunderli 姉妹
Wunderli 姉妹
Pics:
1. Comp and smoothies equals happy Wunderli Shimai
2. Ryoko
3. Tokyo zone conference
4. Exchanges round 100
5. Comp and melon soda
6. No table no problem
7. We got a new fridge but it had the mold of a 30 year old fridge so we did some cleaning
8. Exchanges round 10000
Thanks again for your thoughts, prayers, emails and snail mail. She appreciates it all. Until next week, make it a great one.
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