Kelsie Letter: “Long time deshou!”
Hello everyone!
OK, it seems like forever since I have updated you on everything goin on here. Our New Years was very fun. It is a huge week-long event in Japan. We were kept busy by the members inviting us over for dinners. I ate very yummy food, luckily no fish! Noodle dishes, yakiniku-you cook your own meat and veggies on a grill on the table, ice cream sundaes…it was a feast everywhere we went!
Stock shimai is doing great! She is from Sandy, UT, the second oldest of 5, well, 7, they are adopting two foster kids. She studied Pshychology at the U (only has one year left) and worked at special preschool for troubled kids. She has a great love of the gospel and wants to work hard every day. We get along great! It is actually very fun, interesting, and humbling to be her trainer. It feels like yesterday that I was the green bean. I have been looking back and feel so grateful for all of the
blessings of the Lord.
We are having a fun time using our gaijin (foreigner) power! We even got into a house last week just because we were American and the family had lived in California for 14 years. We talked to them about that and shared our testimonies of the BOM, we are actually going there again on Wednesday. It has made life a lot more interesting to have me be the most fluent one. I have a lot of responsibilities, all the phone calls, writing all of the progress reports, investigator records, etc. We are
very busy! I love it!
This last week we had Zone Conference. It was amazing. It was the most spiritual one I have had yet. President talked all about prayer. He used a lot of Elder Bednars talk from the Oct. General Conference. I loved it! He promised us that as we really report to the Lord about what we are doing, seek his guidance, give thanks for everything, and pray for others, we will be changed. We will be better missionaries, better people, and we will see miracles. I felt the spirit so powerfully; then the AP presented a training on keeping it simple. It’s so true! The gospel is not hard to understand. The easier I can explain it to people, the easier the Spirit
can testify to them!
Well, we left the meeting feeling very pumped up. We were headed to a less-actives house, to visit with her, but as are all addresses here in Japane, we had a hard time finding her exact house. We had the general area, but since all of the houses don’t have house numbers, we decided to knock around and ask. We asked for help, and then I just happened to mention who we were. The lady had gone to a Christian college, she was very interested in the Book of Mormon. Both Sister Stock and I bore strong witness that there is a living Prophet on the Earth, guiding the Lord’s church. We read a few scriptures with her, talked about how the gospel blesses families, and then committed her to reading the Book of Mormon. When we first tried to set up a return visit, she said we couldn’t, her husband is not friendly with religion. That is when we pulled out another scripture, and Stock shimai stepped up with a powerful testimony, saying how she wouldn’t be able to learn Japanese if the Lord wasn’t helping her. I felt the Spirit and knew that Fukudome san was too. I asked her if she felt a good feeling in her heart; she said yes. I told her that was the Holy Ghost testifying to her of the truthfullness of what we were saying. It ended with us getting warm welcome to come back and visit. I am so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who helps us find those who are prepared. I am excited to see what happens with Fukudome san. 
I am loving every minute of this mission, and can’t believe that one year is almost up. Ahhh! I hope all of you have read Pres. Eyring talk in the January Ensign. The work of the Lord must move forward! It is not just us missionaries responsibility! I hope you will all act on his very powerful message and seek and pray for those around you who are prepared for and desiring the blessings of our Heavenly Father. I love seeing the light that knowing ‘who they are’ and why they are here, brings into the life of people. Everyone is going to feel like something is missing, until they are baptized members of the Lord’s true church. Please pray for courage. Please be bold. I have learned so much from all of you and appreciate your wonderful examples! I know that together we can all bring our brothers and sisters back to a knowledge that they already know, but haven’t had the chance yet to ‘re-study it’
I love you all so much! I am glad to hear the twins are doing well, they are always in my prayers. Good luck Rachel…only a few more weeks, right?! Gideon…HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Wow! You are 5 years old! I can’t believe you are so big! I hope you had yummy cake and had a blast with the family! What did you get? Joseph and Lori, Congrats on your 8th Anniversary! Wow, how fun! Did you do anything special? How is the home going?
Well, we have to run to our nearest Mister Donuts…I’m starving! I am totally out of my health kick, but don’t worry I will get right back into it. I do enjoy a lot of the goodies here, especially all of the breads! And ice cream. No, I have not ballooned to the size of a Sumo, I have been the same weight since the day I left home! What a blessing ne! I just want to say thank you for all of your wonderful gifts one more time. Love you all and look forward to seeing some pictures of the twins!
Pap, thank you for your note! I was glad to hear you are really getting YM out to the Activities…that is huge! Really, the calling you have right now is soooooo important. You can get them to love the gospel, and understand how wonderful it is and they will stay strong for the rest of their lives. I would totally suggest getting the missionaries to come and do an activity with them. Use Preach My Gospel as well, it is amazing! You are the perfect man for the job.
Love you all soooooo much! Good luck over this next week!
Love,
Sister Haymond
