August 19, 2010

Hello everyone!!

Well its been another very fun week here in Ushiku filled with good fun Japanese Dendo Missionary Work! Well this week at Eikaiwa (English Conversation Class) we had two new students!! And we had about 12 students total!! Wow!! And it was just me. It was way fun! Next week were probably going to be splitting the Eikaiwa into beginning and more advanced. I talked to one of the members who speaks really good English and he said he could do that for me. So I`m excited about that. Last week we went and played soccer with the young men, and it was way fun! Although i was hurting for a few days! My neck got burned, so wearing a collar was way hard, and me and my companion were way sore!! Yea like riding a bike we can go 60 kilometers no problem, but play soccer for about 30 minutes, and we die!! It was way fun though.
So yea being in Ushiku has been way fun, and also way humbling. I`m not going to lie, but i hear friends on there missions talking about how they have mastered the language in 3 or 4 months, and I look at where I am, and how long I have been out, and I`m far from that. Its not that I`m not studying hard, or not trying, but its just how it goes. Its been really humbling. I have a Japanese companion right now, so I`m learning a lot, but its also a lot harder. I really have found a greater love in studying the Scriptures, and relying on Christ. Knowing that he knows how I feel. He knows what its like to feel unworthy for the task at hand. Uncapable to carry the load that has been placed upon his shoulders. Inadequate to do that which he has been called to do. I have really found a lot of peace through that. I know Christ knows our feelings, and he knows our inadequacies. And if we let him, he`ll help feel in the gap. I know that is true. This work is amazing! I was reading a talk given this last session in General Conference today about missionary work, and it said that there is no better thing that you could do than to serve a mission. Its so true!! There is no better thing for YOU and for others than to serve a mission. I love my mission. I love this Country. I feel like an eternal bond is being woven between my heart, and the hearts of these people everyday. Every Kekko, or every Warui, or every Dame that i receive, that bond grows stronger. I love this Language, and I love serving in Japan. It truly is the best place on Earth. The Land of the Rising Son. The first country created by God. ;) I miss you all, and i love you all. Shall we not go on in so great a cause?! Dendo Shiyo!

Elder Stewart