Thursday, August 9, 2018

Week 89 - April 16, 2018 - Mission conference and zone training!

To the best family and friends in the world!

This past week has been fairly hectic, in the best way possible. We
had a mission leadership conference in Fukuoka on Tuesday, gave a zone
training on Thursday, had junkais on Friday, and then things started
to move back to normal. So I've been bouncing all over, and it wasn't
really until Saturday, almost 10 days after I got up here, that I got
a real chance to work with Elder Valdivia. But it's been a party.

To start, MLC on Tuesday was a spiritual experience. All of the zone
leaders and sister training leaders from the mission gather to discuss
both the needs of our missionaries, and how the Lord is guiding us to
help them. So you have about 30 people, counting President and Sister
Egan, focusing on one thing, and this time, along with teaching
skills, the focus was on the Book of Mormon. As PMG states, 'the Book
of Mormon, combined with the spirit, is your most powerful tool in
conversion'. Thus, if we, or anyone we are blessed to meet, have a
desire to change our lives, to improve, to become better people, it is
done through the Book of Mormon. A lot of people were able to bear
witness of this, and it reminded me how powerful it is to literally
hold the word of God in our hands. This is one of many ways He speaks
to us, and there are many, many times when I've been able to feel
peace through it's words.

So we were able to take that, and bring it to the missionaries in
Kumamoto during Zone Training. As part of our training, we issued a
challenge which I've already been able to see benefits from. As a
zone, we are trying to have everyone read the Book of Mormon within
this transfer, which is an abbreviated 5 week period. I think it's an
example of raising expectations to raise results, because as people
have been reading, they've been working harder. I've noticed myself
changing small things, creating more time to work on what is
important, and it's an amazing change. And helped to slow the chaos of
our day to day lives down.

I think the other interesting thing from the past week was that Elder
Swapp and Elder Wheeler have passed their investigator to us, because
it turns out he lives in the Tsuboi ward. It's a crazy situation,
because Nomoto's baptismal date is next Saturday, and so I will barely
even end up teaching him. He's a prime example of someone looking for
the truth, and just to work with him has already built my faith.

Love you all, and keep being happy! Spring is a beautiful season, and
I can't wait to hear everything that's going on back home!

Love,
Elder Woodhouse




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