明けましておめでとうございます！！⛩🌅
I can't believe it's 2017!! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and
fresh start for the new year! New Year's day is called 正月(Shōgatsu). After
sacrament, we studied, did some self-reflection, and set goals in order to
prepare ourselves for this new year. We also finished up cleaning the
apartment(It is Japanese culture to do a deep clean of the house around New
Year). とにかく、I am so glad I get to spend all of 2017 serving a mission,
especially in Japan!
Last Monday, we went to Enoshima island! There was a place that had those
fishes(they call them doctor fishes here) that eat the dead skin off your
feet...so we tried it! It tickled a lot but all of our feet are super soft
now! Totally worth it! Then we walked around the shrine grounds. We saw an
amazing sunset and the shrines themselves, which were beautiful! Enoshima
island is very popular for tourists; I can understand why now :p
After touring the island, we had dinner and the sisters went back to
Kamakura. We decided we would visit a potential investigator that was in
our area book. He lived near Shichirigahama, about two train stops away.
But considering the amount of money we already spent during the day, we
decided to walk to the house; it also gave us a chance to talk to people on
the way. When we got there, no one was home; it actually look abandoned. We
left a note and started walking to the nearest train station, which was in
Gokurakuji, about 20 minutes away. In order to get there from where we were
at, the quickest way was to take a mountain pass trail, next to a shrine.
When we got to where it started, the entrance was blocked off by a fence.
At this point, it was about 7:45PM. I had a weird feeling, but I didn't say
anything. Little did I know that my companions felt the same. Anyway, there
was a sign that showed where the detour was. As we walked to the detour,
our surroundings became more forest-like. It got darker and darker. We
reached the beginning of the detour and Coleman 長老 suggested we use our
iPads for light. There was a super narrow, temporary staircase(the kind you
see at construction sites) leading to the path. To sum up the situation, it
was nearly pitch black, we were in a forest, and it was pretty much silent.
I was beyond scared and had doubts. Just a side note; as we were looking
for the detour, all of us felt terrified. For some reason, we began to go
up the super sketchy stairs. When Elder Coleman got to the top, we stopped.
Something did not feel right. All 3 of us then received a prompting from
the Holy Ghost : "Go back. Do not proceed any further." No need to tell us
twice! We went back down and went to the main road. There was a much safer
path that had lights further down; we made it to the train station safely
and took the next train home.
I don't know what kind of danger was waiting for us at the trail. But the
best way to describe how we felt standing at the top of those stairs, is
that it seemed like the devil's front door. I had never been so terrified
in my life. To be honest, I might not have been here to tell you about it
if we kept going. Or all of us might not have made it back safely. I have
never felt the Spirit so strongly before. For nonmembers reading this, the
Spirit or Holy Ghost put simply, guides us through our lives and protects
us from danger. Moral of the story, always listen to the Spirit's
promptings. You may not understand it, just like how we didn't know what
awaited us, but the promptings are given to us for a reason. Your situation
may not be as crazy as ours, but I promise as you listen to the Spirit and
his promptings, you will be blessed. I would like to end this story by
letting you know that I am so thankful for that experience; it is proof
that God and Jesus Christ lives. They are always watching over us and will
guide us. My testimony was definitely strengthened through that experience.
Sorry for writing so much. But I think that experience is worth sharing. We
didn't get to dendō much this week. Coleman 長老 got sick the day after and
we stayed home. We also did a lot of cleaning. It was a very interesting
week; I will always remember it. Also, feel free to email me or send me a
letter/package! I wanna hear about what you've all been up to this holiday
season! Be safe, stay 元気(Genki=good or well), and lets start 2017 with a
bang!
I can't believe it's 2017!! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and
fresh start for the new year! New Year's day is called 正月(Shōgatsu). After
sacrament, we studied, did some self-reflection, and set goals in order to
prepare ourselves for this new year. We also finished up cleaning the
apartment(It is Japanese culture to do a deep clean of the house around New
Year). とにかく、I am so glad I get to spend all of 2017 serving a mission,
especially in Japan!
Last Monday, we went to Enoshima island! There was a place that had those
fishes(they call them doctor fishes here) that eat the dead skin off your
feet...so we tried it! It tickled a lot but all of our feet are super soft
now! Totally worth it! Then we walked around the shrine grounds. We saw an
amazing sunset and the shrines themselves, which were beautiful! Enoshima
island is very popular for tourists; I can understand why now :p
After touring the island, we had dinner and the sisters went back to
Kamakura. We decided we would visit a potential investigator that was in
our area book. He lived near Shichirigahama, about two train stops away.
But considering the amount of money we already spent during the day, we
decided to walk to the house; it also gave us a chance to talk to people on
the way. When we got there, no one was home; it actually look abandoned. We
left a note and started walking to the nearest train station, which was in
Gokurakuji, about 20 minutes away. In order to get there from where we were
at, the quickest way was to take a mountain pass trail, next to a shrine.
When we got to where it started, the entrance was blocked off by a fence.
At this point, it was about 7:45PM. I had a weird feeling, but I didn't say
anything. Little did I know that my companions felt the same. Anyway, there
was a sign that showed where the detour was. As we walked to the detour,
our surroundings became more forest-like. It got darker and darker. We
reached the beginning of the detour and Coleman 長老 suggested we use our
iPads for light. There was a super narrow, temporary staircase(the kind you
see at construction sites) leading to the path. To sum up the situation, it
was nearly pitch black, we were in a forest, and it was pretty much silent.
I was beyond scared and had doubts. Just a side note; as we were looking
for the detour, all of us felt terrified. For some reason, we began to go
up the super sketchy stairs. When Elder Coleman got to the top, we stopped.
Something did not feel right. All 3 of us then received a prompting from
the Holy Ghost : "Go back. Do not proceed any further." No need to tell us
twice! We went back down and went to the main road. There was a much safer
path that had lights further down; we made it to the train station safely
and took the next train home.
I don't know what kind of danger was waiting for us at the trail. But the
best way to describe how we felt standing at the top of those stairs, is
that it seemed like the devil's front door. I had never been so terrified
in my life. To be honest, I might not have been here to tell you about it
if we kept going. Or all of us might not have made it back safely. I have
never felt the Spirit so strongly before. For nonmembers reading this, the
Spirit or Holy Ghost put simply, guides us through our lives and protects
us from danger. Moral of the story, always listen to the Spirit's
promptings. You may not understand it, just like how we didn't know what
awaited us, but the promptings are given to us for a reason. Your situation
may not be as crazy as ours, but I promise as you listen to the Spirit and
his promptings, you will be blessed. I would like to end this story by
letting you know that I am so thankful for that experience; it is proof
that God and Jesus Christ lives. They are always watching over us and will
guide us. My testimony was definitely strengthened through that experience.
Sorry for writing so much. But I think that experience is worth sharing. We
didn't get to dendō much this week. Coleman 長老 got sick the day after and
we stayed home. We also did a lot of cleaning. It was a very interesting
week; I will always remember it. Also, feel free to email me or send me a
letter/package! I wanna hear about what you've all been up to this holiday
season! Be safe, stay 元気(Genki=good or well), and lets start 2017 with a
bang!
-Elder Chab
チャブ長老 or 茶武長老
愛しています^_^
Sorry for the double post, the pictures I sent previously were blurry.
