Braden ran out of time to get out a group email and asked me to post some of mine:
Hello!
This last week was great! We had a exchange with the Zone Leaders and I got paired up with a Japanese companion who didn't speak English! I was super nervous to see how the transfer was going to go with the issue of communication but it was awesome! I realized that I can speak quite a bit more than I thought and it was so fun to try to make jokes to him Japanese. Needless to say my Japanese got a lot better during that exchange.
After the exchange though we had a lesson and it was pretty rough we were trying to get a commitment to a baptismal date. This investigator’s sister is apparently very opposed to her joining a Christian church. The lesson was a little discouraging and then we had to make the long 40 minute bike ride back to our apartment because it was getting late. It was pouring rain and we were both freezing and soaked. Spirits were pretty low, but then we were crossing the bridge to get over the river and Wheeler Chōrō (Braden’s companion) felt like we should stop this guy who looked freezing and didn't have a jacket and was soaked. We stopped and taught him a quick lesson about the Savior and asked him if he wanted to know more, he said that he did and then gave us his number! It was so amazing, no one usually ever stops to talk to us in the rain, but it was really a miracle from the Lord. I am so glad that Wheeler Chōrō acted on his prompting.
We had a few other contacts and also have been teaching a lot of less active members recently and trying to help them regain a testimony of the Lord. In sacrament meeting yesterday I gave a surprise talk because one of the members that was supposed to speak got sick. I was pretty terrified because I don't think that I could even do that in English let alone completely in Japanese. But I remembered the scripture that says, "Take ye no thought what ye shall say, but treasure up in your mind the words of eternal life and it shall be given you in the very moment what ye shall say." So I just spent the little time I had to prepare reading scriptures and pondering on the love of Christ and his atonement. And right before I went up I felt inspired to talk about the light of Christ. I shared 3 Nephi 12:16 and also 3 Nephi 18:24 and I talked about sharing the light of Christ and the Joy that we feel from having that light in our lives and how we need to share that joy with those who don't have it in their lives. I truly felt the Savior and his angels bearing me up as I spoke to our ward in a foreign language testifying of the light of Christ's love. The Lord truly does work miracles through those who just put their trust in Him.
It was really just such a good week! We hit most of our goals and we are progressing with a lot of our investigators. Something that I have been really learning and working towards lately is developing the charity of Christ and not just in my actions but throughout my whole being. I want to completely align my will with Christ's will. I want my thoughts to be filled with charity. I know that as I do this I will have so much more energy throughout the day because the Lord will strengthen me in the work and I will just absolutely love riding through the rain to get to that wounded soul who is in need of healing. I love my Savior so much and I want to serve him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. May you all feel His love especially throughout this season!
Happy Holidays,
Elder Allred
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The cold whether is harsh to do missionary work in, but I am bundling
up and buying lots of nice winter gear and it is making this winter
seem a lot less daunting. I even got a scarf!
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