Being an Example of the Believers

Hello hello hello!

I am so sorry that I am late sending this! Last week I forgot to mention that we had temple p-day this week and I would be emailing late! I am sorry if I caused any worry (Mom, don't you fret ;)).

Here's what an "empty" train looks like!

Home sweet home! (our old neighborhood train stop)

So this last week has been pretty great! We got a lot of good contacts and a lot of good potential investigators. We still don't have any real investigators, but a couple who are close! I tell you what! It is so hard to return to the apartment with what seems like very little to show for our day. Contacting/finding is fun because we get to talk to a lot of people but so very few (none so far) turn into anything more than a conversation or two. It's tough but it will get better. Even now we are beginning to see some of the seeds we have planted grow. Last week 5 separate people walked up to me while I was passing out 英会話 fliers (English class). They had no interest in the class (they all spoke pretty good English) but were interested in what I was doing. They said something along the lines of "I see you here a lot passing out fliers, and even though most people aren't very interested, you are always happy and smiling. Why?" I was able to tell them about my purpose as a missionary and why I'm even here in Japan. It gave me an opportunity to testify a little bit. They were all really neat experiences and reminded me of the
importance of being an example at all times. People really are watching you. Whether you think you blend in or not, they notice. I have noticed in my short life ;) that when I do my best to be a disciple of Christ, people see that I am different and want to know more. It's so important to be an "example of the believers".

Let's see.... What else can I tell you about this week... Church was really fun. I don't understand a word that they say, but somehow it's still fun (haha!).  The members are so friendly and always help the missionaries in any way that they can. Plus, I get to play with the babies and Japanese babies are the cutest in the world!

Tokyo temple with chapel
annex in the foreground

Today we went to the Tokyo temple, which is annexed to the chapel where I was baptized way back in 2003! Awesome right? The temple was a super cool experience. It was all in Japanese with an option to have a headset with English running through it. I grabbed one but ended up not using it most of the time. It was really neat to hear everything in Japanese, and even though most of it was over my head I could guess at what was being said. After the temple session I read through my patriarchal blessing. It was such an amazing experience to read it in such a holy place. I noticed parts of my blessing that I had never noticed before, I was able to gain insight on how it relates to my life now, as a missionary in a foreign land. It helped me remember promises that were given. I could really feel the Lord's love for me, as well as for the 40 other missionaries packed into that room! Fantastic experience!

Since coming to Japan I have seen and felt how much the Lord loves all of his children. Because of that love he has given us so very much. He has given is the opportunity to come to this earth and learn so much. He has given us the opportunity to have families, and for those families to be eternal. He has given us temples. He's given us the gospel. He's given us the scriptures. There are so many more blessings too. He truly does love us! That's just something that I have been thinking about today!

Anyways, I love you guys and hope you're doing well!

- Siebach 長老