Email November 18, 2018

Email November 18, 2018 – Elder Jackson Kunzler Burton

Hey Everyone!

                  This week was great! I was once again reminded very powerfully that this is God's work, and that He really does hear and answer our prayers. This transfer has been kind of difficult in regards to finding new people to teach and having people progress, and yesterday morning I was thinking about that and what we could've done better this transfer and I was feeling a little down and like I had failed, and so I offered a really heartfelt prayer during personal study. After that I felt a bit better, and then my companion asked what was up so I told him what I was feeling and that helped a lot too. And then at our mission coordination meeting before church one of the ward missionaries, who's about to leave to Kobe on a mission with her husband, talked about how much potential this ward has and her gratitude for what the missionaries have been doing which lifted my spirits a lot. And then at church we had a man who met with the missionaries 35 years ago just come out of nowhere! He stopped meeting with the missionaries because he thought the commandments were too strict, but he's getting older and he has a lot of questions about life and death that aren't answered in the Bible (which he's read 10 times) and he doesn't want to go to hell, and so he's been wanting to come to church for a little while and finally worked up the courage to come yesterday. It was such a miracle! We were able to have a lesson after church where we answered some of his questions and we're going to meet again and hopefully at this next lesson we can set a baptismal date. But I really learned from this experience that God answers prayers, and it's God that does this work, not us. He answered my prayer in multiple ways when I most needed it. And if we work hard and are obedient, God will bless us in His way and His time. But no matter how hard we work or how well we serve, it's God who provides the miracles. And I'm so grateful for that and for all that He does for us.

                  Besides that there were few other highlights this week. We had a great zone training meeting through video chat about how to use our time wisely. We met a Chinese family who is way good at Japanese and wants to learn English so will hopefully come to Eikaiwa. We also met a lady who met with the missionaries a couple times a few months ago and has a lot of good questions and wants to meet again. And we're going to go play badminton tonight with another person who met with the missionaries before. So recently we're reaping a lot of what past missionaries have sown which is awesome. We also had district activity today where we had a Thanksgiving feast at an all-you-can-eat restaurant and went to the tower I went to while I was in Ebetsu. I'll send pictures. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! It's on transfer day so we'll see what happens for me, I have no idea. There's a pretty good chance my companion and I will both stay in this area but we never know. I love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Burton