皆さんこんにちは！
This email is going to be a bit different. I have a lot of things I want to share. But before I get into that, I'll briefly go over what we did this week.
On Monday, we went to Round 1. We went to the batting cages, did some skating, played mini golf. Then we went to Costco and bought enough meat to last the whole transfer (I love Costco).
On Wednesday we went to BAQET; a French themed all-you-can eat bread restaurant with amazing cheese fondue. It was our last meal as a district before transfers. On Friday, we had an awesome lesson with Okamoto-san;we talked about the importance of church. And this Sunday, she still didn't come to church :( (3 weeks in a row now). We also had dinner with the Mitsubayashi family. We were expecting Japanese food but we had tacos!! Also celebrated a few birthdays, so we had cake! On Saturday, we went to a gyoza restaurant for Elder Konno's birthday. We ate a TON of gyoza, it was amazing! On Sunday, we met with a less active and had a great lesson!
Okay, now I can mention the things I wanted to share. I grew up in the church. I remember singing "Popcorns popping off the apricot tree" as a primary kid. For nonmembers reading this, it was a song we often sung as kids growing up in the church. I went to church every Sunday. But I didn't go because I wanted to; I just knew that's what my parents wanted me to do so I did it. I knew all the reasons why I should go though. I didn't read my scriptures everyday. Other than for seminary, I don't think I read all of the Book of Mormon until I was getting ready for my mission. I knew what I had been taught was true but I didn't act on it. Because of that, my testimony wasn't as strong as it could've been. So I guess you could consider me a half-active member?
I always wanted to fulfill everyone's expectations(good expectations of course) of me. Whether it be from my parents, teachers, friends, my band director Mr.V, and others. Here's the problem though. Whenever I didn't do what was expected and disappointed them, I got disappointed in myself. To add on to that, ever since I started middle school, I became depressed at least once a week. I wasn't a bad kid; I didn't smoke, do drugs, drink, or anything like that. Sure I've made mistakes such as not doing what my parents told me to do or fighting/arguing with my siblings but nothing serious. But for some reason, I felt like I wasn't good enough. I was always willing to help others and gave them advice whenever they were going through rough times. But I never followed my own advice. People always told me to be positive but for some reason, I could never see the good in me or really acknowledge the good things in my life. Times were rough. I felt like it was too much for me. There were even times where I had suicidal thoughts. I knew something had to change.
Eventually, I started realizing I had so many people that cared about me and wanted what was best for me. Family, friends, even people I barely knew. I also started to look toward the gospel more for help. I realized that I am a child of God and He loves me. I started reading my scriptures more. As I read and had that desire to know, I felt better. That strengthened my desire to go church. I wanted to feel the Spirit more. I wanted to feel our Heavenly Father's love. As I did these things, I began to change. It proved to me that by living the gospel and relying on God and Jesus Christ, we will be blessed more than we can even imagine.
Ever since my freshman year, I knew without a doubt, I would serve a mission after high school. Those 4 years passed quickly. Next thing I knew, I was standing on the podium getting my diploma. I submitted my mission papers before the end of June 2016. I got my call in the second week of July. When I found out I was going to Japan, I was ecstatic! I was overfilled with joy. In order to prepare for the mission, my bishop suggested I go teach with the missionaries. I was made a ward missionary. I went out with the missionaries at least once a week. I didn't speak Khmer, so it was hard to understand. But the missionaries would translate for me every now and then. I felt the Spirit as they taught. I wasn't with them the whole day but just getting a taste of missionary life helped so much. Elder Boyett, Elder Gardley, Elder Griffin, and Elder Hark, if you are reading this, I want you to know that I am so thankful for your examples and for taking me to teach with you. It really strengthened my testimony.
Going on a mission is easy. But SERVING a mission is not. There have been times where I just want to give up. Satan will do whatever he can to stop the Lord's work. That includes making me feel like I am not good enough and reminding me of my past. A few months ago, I got an email from Elder Boyett, who is home now. He gave me a lot of advice but one thing that stuck out to me the most was this: "Whenever the adversary tries to remind you of your past, remind him of his future". Satan doesn't have a body. We already have an advantage over him. He can't influence our life if we don't let him. God has given us everything. We can give him the one thing he doesn't have, our will. We do that by living the gospel and devoting ourselves to God.By doing so, we become more like him. We see things in a new light and our lives will improve. Life won't be perfect and we will still have bad days but that's okay. If we know that we've done all we can and give our best, the Lord will take care of the rest. Most importantly, when we give our will to our Heavenly Father, we experience true conversion. True conversion is one of the most important aspects of the gospel. Ever since I came out on a mission, I've heard this phrase a lot: "Even if you don't convert and baptize anyone on your mission, the one person you should convert is yourself". It is through true conversion that miracles happen. Life is hard. Serving a mission is hard. But as we strive to become converted to the gospel and perfected in Christ, we will know that everything will be okay. I can testify that that is true. I've learned so much in the 5 months I've been out. I've also changed a lot; it's the change I've needed for a long time. I'm so thankful I decided to serve a mission because I don't think anything else would have pushed me enough to become truly converted. I love this gospel, our Savior Jesus Christ, and Our Heavenly Father. I know the Book of Mormon and the gospel is true. I challenge all of you to become converted to the gospel; it will bless you more than you can imagine. I say these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
-Elder Chab
チャブ長老 or 茶武長老
愛しています^_^
Round 1 with the Yokohama North Zone
Costco food is the best!