Week 27 - April 9, 2012

• Sagamihara

Hello!
How did everyone like conference? We just saw it this past weekend. Thanks for the cookie recipe, mom. I'm sure the kids will love it. It's great to hear that everyone's doing well. I want to try to get a small package out to you sometime. Because we have a member who lives on the U.S. Base, he can send packages from there for not too much. I'm glad Keanu got the letter. What position is he playing in basketball? And Keawe's probably had about three track meets by now? He'll have a lot of fun at EFY. I'm glad Mikela had fun at prom. Logan is a great person to take. Grandma sent a bunch more good recipes and I've used a few of them already.

It's been a great week here in Sagamihara. Tuesday we had the storm you saw on the news come in. We had a lesson with Okamoto kyoudai at 1:00 pm. The member who was going to joint with us wasn't able to make it because of the reports of the storm coming in later that day. After his lesson at about 3:00 pm, Elder Richmond and I went to a fishing store and to buy kappas (rain suits) in preparation for the storm. It was already starting to rain and getting windy. Just after we got in the store we received an email from the mission home telling us to go home. We bought the rain suits anyway and got back to the apartment. The storm was a pretty big one. A lot of the people we've talked to called it a typhoon but I don't know if it was really an actual typhoon. I know all planes were grounded and trains were stopped in at least Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa prefectures. There were 40 meter/second winds in Shibuya (about 85 miles an hour.) We were safe in the apartment looking through our area books and getting things ready for upcoming activities. By about 6:30 pm it had calmed down a little so we decided to try to go to our Japanese class (only about a two minute walk from the apartment) to see if it was still being held. The walk wasn't bad at all, we had our new rain suits so we were completely dry when we got there. But everyone had taken the night off, so we just talked with a few people that were still in the building and went back to the apartment to make dinner.

It was interesting as Wednesday rolled around because the skies were completely clear and the sun was shining. We went out in only white shirts, no suit coats or anything. After a few hours of streeting, we called an investigator that we've met with only twice this transfer. He's really nice and I think it's really great for him to meet with the missionaries every once in a while, he just isn't interested in progressing much right now. We met with him and went to get cocoa at a local shop. He had a friend pass away recently so we talked to him a lot about the plan of salvation, and there being a whole lot more than just death as the end. He's having a hard time believing that there is a Heavenly Father that loves him. For our Eikaiwa spiritual message that night I told the story President Hinckley told about ten years ago in a general conference. The story about his father and uncle, instead of hiding a pair of boots they saw on the side of a road, putting a silver dollar in each boot and waiting to see the owners reaction when he found them. There's a great Mormon message video about it on lds.org called, 'Lessons I Learned as a Boy.' Elder Igarashi translated into Japanese as I told the story.

There was great weather on Thursday as well, so we were out in just white shirts again. We had a lesson with Okamoto kyoudai scheduled for 4:00 pm and as we were on the bikes going to the church, we stopped a guy riding his bike down the street towards us. His name was Frank and he's Chinese. He said his American friend gave him the English name of Frank. He doesn't really speak any English though. It was interesting because just barely after stopping him, after getting to know each other for probably only about a minute, he asked for our phone numbers. We told him we were missionaries and he said (in Japanese), “Oh, let's go to the church.” We of course just said, “Yeah! Let's go to the church!” So we showed him where the church was. He had an appointment for something but said he wanted to come to church. So we will be trying to work with him and get him to church on Sunday. We had a really good lesson with Okamoto kyoudai with Sakamoto kyoudai (our ward mission leader) as a joint. We talked to him mostly about prophets, the spirit, and the word of wisdom. Okamoto kyoudai really wants to change his life. He's said often that he wants to and will be baptized. He just needs to really have a strong desire to repent and overcome his addiction to tobacco. After his lesson we (the other two elders, Okamoto kyoudai, and Sakamoto kyoudai) all went over to a members home to help him move. The member's new apartment is still in our area. We just helped move boxes from his apartment to three minivans parked outside the apartment building.

We visited Shibuya-san on Friday. If you remember, Shibuya-san is the man we met while housing a few weeks ago. He was an investigator about ten years ago. He was really nice and invited us in to talk for a little. We read from the Book of Mormon and he asked if we could pray. I gave a prayer and asked him to pray. He gave a nice short prayer and we left. Looking through the area book we found his records. It looks like he was doing really well with commitments as an investigator before, he just never really gained a testimony.

Conference on Saturday was great. It was held at the Machida church, about a 30 minute bike ride from our apartment. The first session started at 12:00 pm, Okamoto kyoudai came in the evening at 6:00 pm for the priesthood session. Conference started at 10:00 am on Sunday and Okamoto kyoudai came to both sessions then. After conference on Sunday we called Bikash, an Indian man we met last week. We met with him in Sagamihara and gave a quick church tour. He's studied a lot about religion and scripture and actually made a Mormon friend when he was in the Himalaya's for a short trip to learn more about religion. He works as a researcher at JAKSA (no idea what it stands for, but pretty much the Japanese version of NASA.) Elder Piland, one of the other elders here in Sagamihara, is really interested in it, so we'll probably stop by one Monday to see their little museum. We gave him a Book of Mormon, and I'm sure he'll read a lot of it quickly, seeing as he's so interested in scripture and religion. Sunday night, we had a dinner appointment with the Osaka family. They have a son serving in the Kobe mission right now. We had a great time talking about how great the work is.

Paul E. Koelliker spoke in the first session of conference and started with something like, “The mission experience is like a mini-life packaged in 18 to 24 months. They arrive as spiritual infants with a serious appetite to learn, and they leave as mature adults, seemingly ready to conquer any and all challenges placed before them.” I've thought about this a lot as I've been out here. This really is a mini-life. There was a time while Grandpa and Grandma were visiting us a few years ago. Grandpa was sitting out on the lanai on the lazy boy chair and I was sitting on the rug leaning against the couch reading a book written by Lance Armstrong. Grandpa started talking to me about how much missions prepare for life. He told me about how many people in the world can't see how taking two years off of school or work could be beneficial to someone’s future. But he said that a mission would provide far more growth than two years of college ever could. I believed he was right then, but I didn't know. Now I know. I know that he was right. I haven't been a missionary long, but I know that the experiences I am having now are laying the framework for my life. The opportunities I am having to help people in gaining their own testimonies is sending the roots of mine deeper than ever. Learning how to maintain a good relationship with companions I am with all the time is a great blessing. And seeing people improve their lives so much through the gospel of Christ is so rewarding. I love my mission, I love the gospel, and I love my family. Thank you for all of your love and support. Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Rindlisbacher

P.S. There are a few pictures attached. The sakura (cherry blossoms) are starting to blossom!

Week 26 - April 2, 2012

• Sagamihara

Hello!
Another week gone by in the Japan Tokyo Mission! Sagamihara is great. I hear Inage is great as well. I saw on the portal (our online mission portal) yesterday that an investigator named Quang has a baptismal date. Elder Coleman and I met him during a companionship exchange last transfer. It's really great to have so many technology resources here in Tokyo.

I'm sure general conference was great. We won't see it here until this upcoming Saturday and Sunday. The talks are all already online, but I think I might try to wait to hear them before reading them.

How was Keanu's birthday? I really hope it was great! Did he end up with a rib dinner like he said earlier?

I forgot last week to write to say thank you for the package. It probably got to me either the same day or day after Sister Saribay sent it from Narita. I've already used a bunch of the recipes. I think the other elders in the apartment really liked the lemon bars. I wrote a letter to Keanu, but be sure he knows I appreciate the Valentine's heart he sent!

We visited the Ando family last Monday night. Their father wasn't home, and their mother asked us to try to visit another time when they were both home. So we'll be heading out their way again sometime this week. It would really be great if they could come to church eventually! After visiting them I stopped a man walking down the street. He was on his phone, so I thought he wasn't going to want to talk, but he had to have a chance to hear the gospel. He stopped and stuck the phone out to me. I asked a few times who he was talking to, and he just kept a straight face. I asked if it was his wife and he nodded his head. I took the phone and was greeted by a pretty angry wife. We testified to the man about the happiness that comes through the Book of Mormon. We told him that we're still young, and haven't been married or anything, but that we know that the Book of Mormon contains what he needs to be happy. While holding a copy of the Book of Mormon he just asked, "Do you believe this?" We told him that it was true, and that we knew it. He ended up taking a copy of the Book of Mormon and our phone number. Hopefully he comes to church or gives us a call sometime. It was definitely an interesting experience.

Tuesday we had a lesson with Okamoto kyoudai. He's continuing to progress, slowly but surely. In the Book of Mormon, he's just starting Mosiah now. Tuesday night we had our Japanese class. It was my first time going, and it was pretty interesting. There were about 15 students total between the two classes. The other two elders over this area had an investigator there.

As always, we had Eikaiwa Wednesday night. It was raining during the day, so not as many students came. But it was still a lot of fun for those that did come. Our topic was "work," with next week’s topic "helping," so for our spiritual message we shared a talk entitled, "What Have I Done For Someone Today?" by Thomas S. Monson.

We taught Okamoto kyoudai again on Thursday. His lessons are normally each Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. He really has a desire to be baptized. I think his biggest problem is his addiction to cigarettes. He doesn't say it too much, but I think almost all of his concerns can be traced back to that problem. I know that the church has an addiction recovery program, so we'll be trying to find it in Japanese for him. Thursday night was our dinner on the nearby U.S. Base. So I actually went to America a few days ago. It was really nice. They have three small children so our message was really geared towards them. They love Star Wars so we used a little object lesson teaching them how to have "the force"/spirit with them.

On Friday we had a five-zone conference in the Kichijouji chapel. There was probably about 100 missionaries there. I really enjoy the big conferences. The spirit is amazing. The assistants shared a talk by a former mission president (I'm not sure where) named Lawrence E. Corbridge entitled "The Fourth Missionary." It's really a very inspiring talk, at least for me as a missionary. It basically outlines four different types of missionaries, and deciding what kind of missionary to choose to be. Essentially, what kind of person to become. If you have a chance, look it up and read it!

Saturday evening we were stuck in the apartment because of a big storm. The mission office emailed us at about 4:00 pm asking us to stay in the apartment because there were gale winds in Kanagawa-ken (prefecture) and Chiba-ken. Sagamihara is in Kanagawa-ken while Inage is in Chiba-ken, so the wind warnings were issued for the two prefectures on each side of the bay. That evening our zone leaders did a check of our apartment. Each zone leader companionship has been going around to each apartment in their zone to see what needs replacing/fixing. President Albrecht is really getting everything perfect for President Budge to come in.

Sunday was a lot of fun as always. Okamoto kyoudai fasted. Our testimony meeting was all youth and Elder Igarashi as the last person to bear testimony. Our stake had youth conference this past weekend, and it apparently really had a huge impact on many of the youth. Probably about 15 of them bore strong testimonies in sacrament meeting.

Today we made another Costco run. It's always interesting trying to get all of our groceries and things back to the apartment by bike. We went to Costco because we wanted to get some nonperishable food for the apartment. We got some crackers, peanut butter, canned fruit/vegetables, etc. to put in a box as storage for the apartment. Today I also got a reply from Elder Nitta! It sounds like he loved his first week in the MTC. I didn't know I would be so excited to see him go on a mission. It's really indescribeable, how much I've come to love my mission and how I know he will too.

This Sunday being Easter Sunday, here's an excerpt from an email the zone leaders sent a few days ago:
"Today (April 1) is the first day of the Passover celebrations! That means it's also the first day of Passion Week. In other words, it's the first day of the last week of Christ's mortal ministry. If we were living 2000 years ago, today Jesus would triumphantly enter Jerusalem hailed and cheered by many. Tomorrow, he will clear the temple of moneychangers and others who defile our Father's house. Tuesday will be spent at the Temple, making final rebuttals against those that oppose Him, and giving final instruction to the people. Wednesday will be spent amongst His Apostles and close friends. On Thursday, he will introduce the Sacrament and give final instruction to His Apostles. From there he will go to Gethsemane and atone for the sins of the whole world. From there, betrayal and trial. On Friday, the Crucifixion. On Saturday, His body will be in the grave, while His spirit will begin the ministration of the dead. Then the glorious Easter Sunday. The bands of death are broken and the resurrected Savior makes it possible to be free from the fiery pit of death and hell.

I'm so grateful for the scriptures as they beautifully portray that one week. The literary beauty and spiritual power is unsurpassed. One cannot read them without feeling like they are with the Savior at the temple, or in the upper room, or in the garden. And one cannot read them with an open heart and not feel a deeper love of, gratitude for, and testimony about Jesus Christ. That's why we would like to invite the zone to read with us this week about the last week of Christ's life. Below we have a day-by-day breakdown with recommended scriptures. As we go through the week, we will also be inviting companionships to send to the zone their testimonies of Jesus Christ, His Gospel, His Atonement, and His Resurrection. We hope you all join us in this opportunity to grow closer to our Savior."

Sunday: Mark 11: 1-11
Monday: Mark 11:12-19
Tuesday: Mark 11:20-33;Mark 12; Joseph Smith Matthew; Matt 25
Wednesday: No Record
Thursday: Matt 26; John13-16
Friday: Matt 27
Saturday: D&C 138:11-37
Sunday: Luke 24

So that's what I'll be doing this week. I challenge all of you to follow along as well! I know that I am so grateful for Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for his gospel and the blessings that I have received as part of a family in the church. Really, one of the main reasons I am on a mission is because I have you, a loving family, and I've seen the Gospel of Christ work to bless and strengthen us. I've felt the love of our Heavenly Father in my life. And I know it's real.

Thank you for your love and support! I love you!! Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Rindlisbacher

P.S. I'll attach a few pictures of last week’s Outreach activity with the young single adults. I don't have many of this area, but I'll send some other ones later. In the first picture, my companion, Elder Richmond, is on the far right.

Week 25 - March 26, 2012

• Sagamihara

Hello!
How is everyone doing? I hope you've all had a great week and a great Sunday!

Be sure Keanu knows that I say, “Happy Birthday!” I'll have a letter in the mail soon for him. I hope he has a really great one.

I sent an email out to Nalu Nitta in the MTC. I sent it to kainalu.nitta@myldsmail.net, so I'm hoping that's the right one. I'm really excited for him. He should actually be leaving the MTC soon, right? Since he's only there for three weeks.

This past week has gone well. Sagamihara is a great area. I've realized it's definitely pretty urban the more I've been able to get out and around it. Elder Richmond is a good missionary. He's different from Elder Casey and we're learning a lot from each other. I'm really grateful for him as my companion.

Let's see... this past Tuesday we had a lesson with Okamoto kyoudai. He was actually a referral from the honbu (mission office) around last November. He's been progressing, slowly but surely, since then. When the missionaries first made contact with him he wouldn't go in the church. Eventually they got him in the church for a quick tour, then to church on Sunday where he sat in the foyer during sacrament meeting, then actually in sacrament meetings. The first Sunday of the last transfer he came with his hair cut and wearing a suit (instead of a jersey/shirt.) And now he's just starting Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. He's a great guy. He loves all of the little kids in the ward. He's about 40 and lives about a one minute bike ride from the church. He has studied with a few different religions, but it seems like he's getting into this church more than he has with any other. He has said that he wants to be baptized. But he has a problem with smoking and he wants to finish the Book of Mormon first.

The Ando family of eight children that I wrote about last week may be able to come to church this next Sunday. We stopped by to visit them this past Wednesday and were met by the wife of the man we met the night we housed into them. She asked us to stop by again so that we can speak with her husband about having the kids attend church. We'll be going there tonight.

Wednesday night we had eikaiwa as usual. Because our topic for the night was 'friends and forgiveness,' during our short message time we shared a little from a talk entitled “Hidden Wedges” by Thomas S. Monson. Some of you probably remember it from a conference a while ago. It's a great one, I really like it. Our game at the end of the night was 'Jeopardy.' So we just had a few categories with a bunch of fun, easy questions/answers like, “A typical breakfast meal usually eaten in a bowl with milk” (cereal) or “A land often called Down Under” (Australia) for them to answer.

Thursday we had another lesson with Okamoto kyoudai. We had a member who's been back from his mission for about a month and half joint with us. He served in the Japan Fukuoka Mission. After our lesson, we got on the bikes and went out to the Machida church (an area next to ours) for district meeting. It was only about a 30 min. bike ride, not too bad for going out into another area. After district meeting the zone leaders spoke with us about a bunch of things that President Albrecht is having the mission do. He's going to be finishing his mission at the end of June, so he's been having the mission do a bunch of things. This past week the zone leaders talked to us about making sure that each apartment is completely clean and emergency prepared, so we've been making sure that we have enough water, etc. in case of an emergency.

On Friday we dendo'd (proselyted) for about two hours with Kanda kyoudai, a 19 year old member who will be entering the MTC next week. That was a lot of fun. He will be a great missionary. He's going to the Japan Nagoya Mission.

Saturday night we held an 'Outreach' activity. A bunch of the single adults came, along with Okamoto kyoudai.We had a scavenger hunt, using scriptures. So we split into three groups of about four, each team with a set of the standard works. They were all given a scripture and had to find in the scripture what they were supposed to bring us in order to get the next scripture. Some of the items weren't tangible, and the last item (number 13) required a little more than the others. We also hid a few marbles around the church as a bonus. If they found a marble they got an extra prize. I'll write the list of scriptures we used, and send the answers in another email. Maybe you can use it for a little family home evening. We got some of the scriptures from a scavenger hunt activity on lds.org.

1. Matthew 7:25　
2. Psalm 102:11　
3. Jeremiah 8:8　
4. Doctrine and Covenants 45:37
5. Mark 10:38
6. Ezekiel 37:16–17
7. Matthew 25:15
8. Exodus 3:5
9. Moses 1:41
10. Doctrine and Covenants 25:11
11. Doctrine and Covenants 46:24　
12. Micah 4:1-2; 2 Nephi 5:16
13. Mosiah 2:17-18

Sunday we had ward council, so we talked with the ward leaders about improving our member book, starting a ‘Preach My Gospel’ class since we have so many single adults preparing for missions, and starting an additional eikaiwa class. Right now we only have a beginner and an advanced class, but a few of our students would benefit a lot more from an intermediate class. We'll need to get more people to come out each week before we can really get that going though.

Last, we met a man named Shibuya san while housing. He ended up bringing an older looking Book of Mormon out to us. It seemed as though he had studied it as it had markings and notes. He said that he received it 15 years ago and really likes what's written in it. We're planning on visiting him again this upcoming Friday night. We were only able to meet with him briefly, but he seems like a really great guy. We are really excited to see how we can help him progress more.

This upcoming Thursday we'll be going out to the U.S. Army base for a shokuji (meal) with one of our members.

I finished the Book of Mormon this morning. I really like Moroni. It's a great book. And to think he hadn't even planned on writing it.

Moroni 8:16
“and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear.”

Perfect love is charity, the pure love of Christ... and with that love, with charity, we have nothing to fear.

I love you all! Have a great week!

“Happy Birthday!!” again, Keanu.

Until next week, take care.

Love,
Elder Rindlisbacher

Week 24 - March 19, 2012

• Sagamihara

Hello,
This first week here in Sagamihara went well. Elder Richmond and I ended up staying in the apartment Monday, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday cleaning. The apartment feels a lot better now though. And because it's clean, it seems like the other elders have picked up pretty well on keeping it this way. After getting the apartment cleaner we were able to get outside and talk with a lot of people. I've had a few days to familiarize myself with the area as well as a few investigators, and it's been really good. Elder Richmond is a really good person. He's always got a smile on.

Wednesday's eikaiwa was a lot of fun. Elder Piland (the elder from my MTC group) and I taught the advanced class while Elder Igarashi, Elder Richmond, and a member taught the beginner class. In total there were about 15 students in attendance. Because the theme of the night was families, we had a talk out of the Liahona printed in Japanese for them to take home and read.

Thursday we had a zone meeting and district meeting. Our zone theme for this transfer is "Others" (scripture reference Matthew 7:12 - golden rule.)

Friday night we had dinner with the bishop and his family. He has three sons ages 12, 10, and 7. He's been bishop of Sagamihara Ward for about two years now. Elder Igarashi and I shared a message about temples. We took a bunch of Tokyo temple pass-along cards and a few pairs of scissors. We asked them to cut a card so that they could fit it around themselves/enter the temple. The oldest son, Seima, knew exactly how, so he had it done pretty quickly. We had a list of 21 things that we had made beforehand, outlining things that the boys need to do so that they can enter the temple. It took on average about 21 cuts to get the card to expand big enough, so we went over that list and just talked with them about doing all of the things. We also had the edition of the Liahona that's all about temples for them to look through to see all of the pictures. We had a fun time. The bishop's openness with communicating with us will be a huge help with the work.

Dendo chosei shuukai (missonary coordination meeting) was good. It was Elder Igarashi and I's first time meeting the ward mission leader. Our church meetings with Sagamihara Ward were great. The ward is great. Elder Igarashi and I introduced ourselves and one of the members speaking after us started her talk with, "Aloooha." There were 139 people in attendance. There are so many single adults. There was just over 20 in church yesterday, seven out on missions, and three others with calls. It'll be really good if we can work a lot with them. After church, Elder Igarashi and I were able to talk a lot with many of the members because there was a shokujikai (lunch) with all of the ward.

Last night we may have seen the start of a wonderful miracle. Because it was a little cold and wet there weren't too many people out on the streets, so Elder Richmond and I were housing a little. In a little apartment-type place (only one floor, but all connected,) we met a father and his son. His son is eleven years old and has seen the church before. The father was very nice, but didn't seem very interested at all. He said, however, that it would be good if his kids went to church. So we'll have to work with a few members to see if we can't get all of them to church this next Sunday. He has eight kids. We haven't met them all yet so we aren't sure how old they are. But it may be the start of something really great.

How was Kona, mom? It sounds like it was probably a really great time. The Costco membership was 4,200 yen for two gold star membership cards, so only 2,100 yen each. With the exchange rate that's about $25.00. There's a good amount of shops around. As far as I've seen, a little more than in Inage, but not a whole lot more. I think that 3 Nephi 5:13 would be a scripture I'd like on the plaque: "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."

All in all, it's the start of a transfer with a lot of potential. I'm excited to work hard and rely on the Lord. Let me know how all of you have been, and have a great week!

Gambarimasu. Ai shite iru yo.

Love,
Elder Rindlisbacher

Week 23 - March 13, 2012 Sagamihara

Konnichiwa,
This past week was transfer week. I'm now in an area called Sagamihara with Elder Richmond, an eight transfer missionary (about nine months in the field) from Kearns, UT. So I got my transfer call this past Saturday morning and left Inage for here on Monday morning. The church pays for two items to be shipped so I shipped my two suitcases and packed my bike with me on the train. I didn't want to trust the shipping company with my bike. We were on the trains for a little under two hours. Some of the trains we were on were pretty full, so it was a little hard with the bike, but I think I'll always transfer that way. I just don't think the shipping companies are careful enough to trust with a bike. Sagamihara is in Machida stake, which is on the opposite side of Tokyo as Inage. The area is about the same size as Inage, so not very big at all, but there are four elders serving here. Elder Igarashi (an elder in my apartment in Inage) transferred here with me and his companion is Elder Piland (an elder from my MTC group.) So the four of us live in the apartment here and are all responsible for Sagamihara area. This could possibly be the most tokai (city) area I'll serve in.

Today we went and did our shopping at Costco. Elder Piland and I bought memberships, so now whenever I'm in an area with a Costco I'll be able to shop there. We had a Costco in Inage but noone in the apartment had a membership. Elder Richmond and I did almost all of our shopping for the transfer (six weeks.) There was a lot of food already in the apartment when I got here, so I don't think we'll have to do very much shopping from here on out. At least for a while.

The apartment was/is really messy. I've started to clean and organize everything but it'll take a while. Each Tuesday night the elders here usually participate in a weekly Japanese class as a finding tool, but today we'll be in the apartment continuing to clean. Yesterday I spent the day cleaning Elder Richmond’s and my study room, earlier today I started with the pantry closet area, and we'll continue on with the kitchen and fridge, living room, and tatami room (where we sleep.) There's no way the Spirit will reside in a dirty or unorganized apartment, so it's really important that we get it as clean as possible as soon as possible. This will be one of the cleanest apartments in the mission when we're finished.

As for my last week in Inage, it went great. Sakanaka kyoudai was baptized on Saturday at 10:00 am and received the Holy Ghost the next day in sacrament meeting. There was a lot of organizing and working with a lot of people in order to pull it off, but it happened. Satan worked so hard trying to prevent all of it from happening. At his baptismal service, the four elders in my apartment, Elder Casey, myself, Elder Igarashi, and Elder Peterson sang ‘Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy,’ like we did for the zone conference, but in Japanese this time. After he was baptized Sakanaka kyoudai bore a strong, strong testimony. He read 2 Nephi 4:15-35, the chapter where Nephi puts his trust in the Lord forever. Sakanaka kyoudai basically said that he will follow Christ and all of his teachings forever. He said that he missed one Sunday because he was sick, but that it would never happen again... he was going to be in every meeting from here on, for the rest of his life. It was really strong. Many of our members had gifts to give him after the service, and we had some donuts and sakura (cherry blossom) tea. Sakanaka kyoudai was just so thankful for everything. As Elder Casey and I congratulated him, his eyes were filled with tears and he was just full of gratitude. He is my eternal friend.

I also spoke in sacrament meeting. I was asked to speak about something I liked from this past October General Conference, so I spoke about how the gospel of Christ is for everyone. I really enjoyed President Monson's talk entitled, 'Dare to Stand Alone.' He said, "Whether you are 12 or 112 - or anywhere in between- you can know for yourself that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true." He talked about how we all need testimonies, and we all need to share them. I ended up speaking for a little over 15 minutes, longer than I had planned. It just took a little longer to explain everything I wanted in Japanese. Sister Fujita (a sister missionary) spoke after me. It was the last sacrament meeting of her mission. She's actually probably on her way home right now.

All of the events leading up to Sakanaka kyoudai being baptized, from meeting him for the first time on the first of the year, to setting his first baptismal date, to actually getting everything to happen, have served to strengthen my testimony so much. We've met with him for actual lessons 16 times now, and we've been able to grow so much together. He is full of righteous desires, and I am so thankful for him. On Sunday after his confirmation (done by the bishop) there was a really good feeling felt throughout the chapel. The member giving the closing prayer broke into tears as she thanked our Father in Heaven for everything that was happening. It has been over three years since that ward has seen a convert baptism. He is such a miracle. I will definitely be keeping in touch with him throughout my mission. I might even be able to go to the temple with him when he goes for his endowments.

Anyway, I'm really excited for this next transfer. There aren't many solid investigators right now, but I'll be putting forth my best effort and relying on the Lord. As soon as we can get this apartment clean we'll be out on the streets and in homes spreading the gospel of happiness. Last night, Elder Igarashi and I called the bishop and ward mission leader. We tried to visit the bishop at his home, but he was still working. Over the phone we were able to get a dinner appointment set with him for Friday evening. He has three small (elementary age) kids that seem like a lot of fun. The ward, from what I've heard, is about 140 people, with a good sized amount of single adults. The ward actually has seven missionaries out right now, with another with a call. It's exciting, and I'm excited to work with the members as much as possible. Elder Richmond and I hope to see some big miracles soon!

Thank you mom and Keawe for your emails. It's great to hear about how all of you are doing. It sounds like the ward is doing really great, I'm glad Tyler almost has his papers in. He'll be a great missionary.

I'll attach a few pictures of Sakanaka kyoudai before his baptism. Thank you for all of your love and support. I love you all so much. Get stronger in this gospel! Take care this week!

Love,

Elder Rindlisbacher

Week 22 - March 5, 2012

• Inage

Aloha,
How is everybody doing? I should be able to write more this week, we just ran out of time last week. I hope that this past week has been great for all of you. I hope you're all feeling closer to Heavenly Father and His Son.

On Monday after our p-day ended, Elder Casey and I went out to a street close to our apartment near the eki (train station). It's one of the better streeting streets in our area as far as amount of people (not big crowds, but still a good of amount of people.) We found two potential investigators (meaning contact information.) To be considered a new investigator we need to have taught them at least two lessons or have a solid return appointment from the first lesson.

Tuesday we had a good amount of finding time, so we planned to visit two members and find while en route to their homes. We had a lesson scheduled with Sakanaka kyoudai that night but there was a miscommunication and he actually thought the lesson was for Friday. That was fine though because we had that time to plan better with the member we were having as a joint. We rescheduled the lesson for Thursday and gave him homework to read Joseph Smith – History 1:1-20.

Wednesday it snowed a lot. Elder Casey and I spent almost the entire day inside though, because we had weekly planning (which usually takes about three hours.) After weekly planning we spent some spent time 'nurturing' our investigators (calling and emailing.) We then went to Eikaiwa. Recently we've started having topics with our Eikaiwa conversations. Because Elder Casey and I teach the advanced class, it's really just a conversation and not a lesson. Out topic this past Wednesday was 'childhood dreams' as well as 'what you want to be known for. We didn't really get to ‘what you want to be known for,’ but we had a fun conversation about each students’ childhood dreams. Next week we'll talk about languages. Everyone should bring language and English questions for us to answer.

On Thursday we had a mini-zone conference. A mini-zone conference is just a conference with one zone (My zone, Chiba Zone, has 18 missionaries.) We had a great time. Our stake president and one of his counselors (Isa kaicho) trained us as well as the zone leaders (the elders who live in our apartment with Elder Casey and I) and President Albrecht. At mini-zone conferences we also get interviews with President. It was my first interview with him since I first arrived. It was great. I love my misison president. Also, Elder Casey, myself, and the two zone leaders sang 'Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy' in English. I sang bass and the other three melody. We didn't get too much practice, but I think it went really well. Everyone had lots of compliments.

We also had our lesson with Sakanaka kyoudai Thursday night. We watched the 'The Restoration' DVD and talked to him more about Joseph Smith. He had a little bit of a hard time with his homework (Joseph Smith - History 1:1-20) so we read it with him again. Reading out of the Japanese Book of Mormon is definitely not easy for Elder Casey and I. Sakanaka kyoudai actually read all of Joseph Smith - History, and he's in 2 Nephi for the second time. He really wants to be able to understand all that he can.

I started a companion exchange with Elder Coleman (my kohai - transfer 1) on Friday. He's from an area more south of us called Kisarazu. It was great. It started with us taking a little longer than planned to get back to Inage. We splitted at a train station called Nagaura, a little past the halfway point between Inage and Kisarazu. We had planned on meeting and exchanging in Goi (a station a little earlier than Nagaura,) but Elder Einfeldt (Elder Coleman's trainer) called when Elder Casey were already on our way and asked if we could meet in Nagaura instead of Goi. I had all of our trains and norikai's (line changes) planned from Goi not Nagaura, but Elder Coleman and I were able to figure everything out and get back to Inage. Then we had about 45min. of language study because Elder Coleman didn't have his language study that morning in Kisarazu because they did weekly planning. That was good because I was able to read from the Morumon Sho (Book of Mormon) a little more. We then got on the bikes (Elder Coleman's first time really riding a bike since he's been in the field) and made our way out to Kaihin-Makuhari, the place I wrote about a little while ago. Not too long after leaving the apartment we found a new investigator name Quang who's from Vietnam. It was raining and cold, but we had a great time talking to everyone that was still out. At the Kaihin-Makuhari train station we had about a 45min. kubarikai (flyer hand-out.) It was actually Elder Coleman's first kubarikai. We had some more streeting time after that then made our way back to the apartment. On the way back we didn't have time to stop and talk to everybody, but one person we did happen to call out to was actually lost and looking for a train station. He was really nice, we gave him directions, and we might be able to meet with him again sometime to talk about the church. It was a great day. We're both really young missionaries, transfer 1 and 2, but we were still able to talk to people and see small successes.

Yesterday, Sunday, we met with Sakanaka kyoudai after church and talked to him more about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. Last week Sunday we asked the Bishop and Ward Mission Leader to set a date for Sakanaka kyoudai to be baptized (because Sakanaka kyoudai wants to be baptized on the day that is most conveniant for the ward,) but we hadn't been able to plan with them much so we still didn't have a date. That night we talked with our bishop over the phone but still weren't able to make much progress. The zone leaders talked with the stake president who actually ended up changing the day of our ward conference so that Sakanaka kyoudai could be baptized this upcoming weekend. The stake president is just really fired up about missionary work and he knows that even one baptism can be more important than a ward conference. In the past there hasn't been too much interaction with our ward leadership and the missionaries, so they aren't really used to it, but we're really trying to change that. Our ward is definitely starting to become more motivated about missionary work. It's great.

Today is another rainy day. It's about 12:20pm and we'll be leaving really soon to a member's home in about 10 minutes. He's handicapped in a motorized wheelchair and his helpers aren't able to be with him for a few hours today so we'll be there to provide support. He's about 30 and actually just recently started coming back to church.

I'm glad that Keawe got my letter so quickly. I thought it'd take a lot longer. He emailed, and it was great to hear from him.

We're back from the member’s home as well as shopping. We weren't actually with the member at his home very much though. Just after we got there, a taxi picked us up and took us to the kuyakusho (city hall) because he had some things to do there. We were there for a while, and just after returning to his home the other two elders from our apartment came to help out. It was great having this opportunity to give a little service. Elder Casey and I actually learned that he studied Japanese and Criminal Justice at BYU-Provo, and just got to Japan this past December, the same month as me.

While at the kuyakusho I was able to get a little Book of Mormon reading in. I started Helaman and I'm really liking it. From my personal study this morning/short kuyakusho study:

Helaman 3:35
"35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God."

Neal A. Maxwell said, "Consecration constitutes the only unconditional surrender which is also a total victory." He also said, "We tend to think of consecration only as yielding up, when divinely directed, our material possessions. But ultimate consecration is the yielding up of oneself to God." As a missionary I really like this scripture because we're constantly striving to be 'consecrated missionaries' - missionaries who come home at the end of the day with nothing else to give, with no regrets at all. Of course this applies to everyone though, not just missionaries. The Nephites in this scripture were sanctified because of their 'yielding their hearts unto God' through fasting and praying often, waxing stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in their faith of Christ. Even unto the filling of their souls with joy and consolation. The filling of their souls with peace. That was the outcome of their yielding their hearts unto God.

Helaman 4:12-13
"12 And it was because of the pride of their hearts, because of their exceeding riches, yea, it was because of their oppression to the poor, withholding their food from the hungry, withholding their clothing from the naked, and smiting their humble brethren upon the cheek, making a mock of that which was sacred, denying the spirit of prophecy and of revelation, murdering, plundering, lying, stealing, committing adultery, rising up in great contentions, and deserting away into the land of Nephi, among the Lamanites—
13 And because of this their great wickedness, and their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength; therefore they did not prosper, but were afflicted and smitten, and driven before the Lamanites, until they had lost possession of almost all their lands."

I especially like the beginning of verse 13: "because of their boastings in their own strength, they were left in their own strength."

Helaman 5:6-12
"6 Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good.
7 Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them.
8 And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that ye may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.
9 O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.
10 And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins.
11 And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

The beginning of this (verses 6-8) about the good examples of the first Lehi and Nephi. Verse 9 about the gospel of Christ being the only way home. And I really like the 10th verse because really, Christ did not come to redeem us in our sins, he came to redeem us from our sins; through his atoning sacrifice. However, redemption from our sins comes through the atonement, through repentance (verse 11). You have to 'let' yourself be redeemed by repenting. And verse 12 is just a great verse about having a firm foundation. Build your foundation upon the 'rock of our Redeemer' and you will have a sure foundation.

Helaman 5:17-19
”17 And it came to pass that they did preach with great power, insomuch that they did confound many of those dissenters who had gone over from the Nephites, insomuch that they came forth and did confess their sins and were baptized unto repentance, and immediately returned to the Nephites to endeavor to repair unto them the wrongs which they had done.
18 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did preach unto the Lamanites with such great power and authority, for they had power and authority given unto them that they might speak, and they also had what they should speak given unto them—
19 Therefore they did speak unto the great astonishment of the Lamanites, to the convincing them, insomuch that there were eight thousand of the Lamanites who were in the land of Zarahemla and round about baptized unto repentance, and were convinced of the wickedness of the traditions of their fathers.”

Here's a great missionary scripture. Nephi and Lehi, Helaman’s sons, preached with great power and authority. As missionaries we have the authority to preach the gospel, but whether or not we have power depends on us. It depends on who we are - what we're doing and how we're thinking.

Anyway, be sure to have a great week. Have fun everyday! I love you. I pray for you. I strive to work harder because of your great examples in my life. Thank you!!! Take care!

Love,
Elder Rindlisbacher