Highest Highs and Lowest Lows

Wow. This week was awful. It was pretty rough but alright until today.On the way home from the temple, waiting at the Hiroo station, I watched a woman fall in front of the train and get run over. Dang... I would say I hope she is ok, but she has to be dead. I don't really know what to think right now, much less what to say...

I guess I will just tell you about my week. It was quite the roller coaster.

On Monday we taught two lessons to two of our progressing investigators. One of them, J, did not have a baptismal date but we were able to set one with him for March 5. The next lesson was to our investigator with a date, K. In preparation for this lesson we prayed and both felt like we should teach the word of wisdom to him. So we did, but due to the lateness of the hour we had to leave in order to get home for curfew. We weren't able to teach the commandment as thoroughly as I would have liked, but we just did our best to do what God wanted us to. K-san had a problem with Coffee and Tea, and we weren't able to address it completely. Because of the pressure he felt with this new commandment that he didn't quite understand plus the pressure of preparing for baptism on March 5, his mental state got worse and worse and he kind of freaked out at us. When we got to the church the following morning (Tuesday) for a lesson, we saw a lot of messages from him saying not to contact him and not to go over to his house ever again. So we spent a lot of time trying to help him and overcome this problem. Later that afternoon he called us again and apologized. That night he sent us a message that was a little bit hard to understand, but mentioned that when he sees a picture of my us (our family) that I have on the back of my iPad he remembers his friend that he watched commit suicide with a train. So Elder Murakami and Elder Poffenberger went over there that night and talked to him. K-san talked a little bit about his mental illness. I don't understand everything, but it sounds like his mind comes up with a lot more ideas than normal people's minds. He can see an object and come up with a lot more memories and thoughts connected to that object than your average person. Sounds like this mental illness is both a pretty big gift as well as a pretty debilitating problem depending on how well you control it. So that is K. He is still a progressing investigator and still has a date that he is very aware of. We might postpone or release him from that date in order to ease pressure. I am really grateful that we felt prompted to teach the word of wisdom, because through this experience God taught us a lot about K San. All of which will prove useful as we try to bring him into the fold. We have a lesson with him tonight. That Tuesday was super emotionally rough though.

Then we got stood up for over 2/3s of the lesson appointments that we had, which was really annoying. With all of that extra time we hit the streets and talked to so many people but all of them either weren't interested or actually very opposed to the fact that we were trying to talk to people about religion. We got yelled at, spit on, pushed, and
I even got punched!

Then on Saturday we had a baptism which was pretty great. Sunday we got stood up again a couple times and did some good housing.

Yesterday we dendoed hard and then 10 minutes before meeting him we got dumped by J! My beloved communist who was my hope! So disappointing! Then I went to the temple today with a ton of questions and pent up emotion and had an amazing experience. I feel like I got a lot of revelation and answers from God and a lot of peace. I have been worried about a lot of things, then a week of stress and let downs added to that, but the temple proved to be the very experience that I needed. I left feeling refreshed, comforted, revived and directed, and overjoyed at the blessings that are afforded us through the temple and the atonement.

Then I watched a lady get hit by a train. That was the biggest low so far.

I know that there is a purpose to this, I know there is a reason that God is showing me these things. He is putting me through the wringer, but through it I can feel him refining me! Pray for me that I will learn what he is trying to teach and that I won't get too frustrated!

I know I have shared this scripture before and I know that you probably don't think it is super significant but I find a lot of hope in it! 

3 Nephi 17:
1 Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked round about again on the multitude, and he said unto them: Behold, my time is at hand.

2 I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time.

3 Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again.

I love the instructions that the savior gives us in order to prepare for the revelation that he is trying to give us and I especially love that he says he will come back on the morrow. I imagine that these Nephites were pretty frustrated with themselves as they listened to Christ speak to them and not understanding what he was saying, and then I can imagine the relief and gratitude in their hearts as he said "don't worry I will come again to morrow and try again! Just prepare!" I love that!

I look forward to what this week has in store and am filled with gratitude for a loving family and my beloved friends who all seem genki!

Love you all!
Elder Siebach