What a week it's been!
To start off though, I'd actually like to take out of 'Io's letter from two weeks ago. 'Io and I have been talking to each other more regularly lately, even if it's just a few lines, but I'm super glad! I feel like before a few weeks ago, I hadn't heard from him in ages. Anyways, he shared with me his personal testimony on the importance of frequent self-evaluations. He invited me to regularly assess my teaching skills, my dedication to the work, and my drive. He bore testimony that if I consistently evaluated how a particular lesson went, what worked and what didn't or what I could do better, that I would grow heaps and quickly. I'll definitely be applying that this week!
I also realized that I don't read his email enough. I did last week, and he included something that really stuck out to me. He talked about an experience he had with an investigator, who gave an (for me personally, pretty reasonable) excuse for not coming to church concerning their family. Now, having lived with 'Io for like 18 years, I cannot for the life of me see my soft-spoken, meek and humble brother telling someone to their face that our message is more important than their family. After some reflection, however, it is true. As hard as it would be for me to be that bold, it is true.
Everybody loves their family. Everybody wants to be with their families forever, which in all honesty is impossible without this gospel. Unless they are baptized AND faithful to the commandments of the one and true living God, they cannot enter the temple to perform the sealing/saving ordinances required to enter the celestial kingdom with their families. Unless they develop a personal testimony of the restoration of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and are willing to live the Lord's standards, they cannot (should not, anyway) be baptized.
It's occurred to me that we need to love our brothers and sisters enough to lay it out in front of them as plainly as we have to for them to understand clearly the severity of our message. I'm grateful for dad's guidance, that if we testify and speak boldly through the spirit, it will never be interpreted as offensive. I know without a shadow of a doubt that 'Io had the spirit with him as he made that statement, and that his boldness will be a huge blessing to him and others as he continues on with the work.
Anyways, this last week was good!
We had a companion exchange with the zone leaders from Thursday morning to Friday morning, and I was privileged to work with Elder Chugg in Nasinu. That day was almost entirely spent OYMing, which turned out to be super rewarding. We tracted a street I'd never been on before near our house, and were welcomed in by two families. Both invited us back to teach them more about how they can, through Jesus Christ, achieve eternal life WITH their families. Several other people were busy but asked us to return this week. This next week will be mostly consistent of following up on people we found last week and seeing their true interest level in the gospel. The exchange was really good, it gave me heaps of opportunities to try out and improve my Hindi and to lead lessons. Elder Chugg REALLY helped me to see the importance of setting specific return appointments and finding common ground with them on the first visit.
The Hindi elders are all working closely together to develop a way to convince Hindus that the bible is the word of God. I honestly don't reckon it'll be too difficult, because they all seem to believe in everything. The Hindus' Krishna, the Christians' Christ, the Muslims' Allah, they're all the same God; simply presented different ways according the the background and belief of a particular culture.
One good thing is that all these religions, though vastly different in most ways, teach the same basic standards of living peacefully among our brothers and sisters here on Earth. Treat others how you would like to be treated. Service those who hate you. Don't hurt people or animals unnecessarily. Take care of your bodies. Take care of your families. Take care of the land. These are just a few things that are taught among most denominations we come into contact with every day. I believe that if we can show those of other faiths scriptures from the bible that teach standards also taught in their own, that they'll be convinced that the bible is the true word of the same God we all pray to, worship, and love.
I'm out of time, but in closing, I'd just like to share something from a lesson we had with a recent convert we work with named Aaron. Aaron is one of the most humble and intelligent men I've ever met. He ran unto some pretty huge trials several years back, and his story is an inspiring one. He took the hand of Christ, who pulled him through the darkest periods of his life, and he continues to hold close to the Lord as he faces the struggles of every day life. He is now regularly attending the temple and preparing to serve a mission. On Saturday, we sat with him and talked about virtue out of the Christike attributes section in the Preach My Gospel. We talked about the meaning of virtue, and concluded that virtue is entirely what's in a person's heart. Virtue is service others when no one is looking. Virtue is scripture study when nobody tells you to do it. Virtue is seeking guidance and personal progress for yourself. Virtue is living the gospel for the gain of others rather than yourself. It made me think about whether I knock on gates because my companion rags on me for not doing it, or if I do it because I desire their salvation. I think about whether I try to keep a positive attitude all the time because nobody wants a downer companion, or because I want to have the spirit with me as I teach. I'M OUT OF TIME I need to evaluate myself more and I know that if we ALL do that that growth will come quickly.
I love you all and thank you all so much for everything! Thank you for the letters, glad everything is all okay back home!
HAM AAPLOGKE BAHUT PYAAR KARTA HAI, KHYAAL RAKNA!'
Elder Ishibashi-Fiji
-Happy for this guy
-Service with the Koyamaibole matavuvale!
I think Sister Koyamaibole is Chochi Fong's father's sister or something. Sister Koyamaibole facetimed Chochi while we were there, and he was with Awe Miyasaki! It was way nice to see them!
-Baptism of Tabokai Matang, and I was privileged to perform it!
-Youth playing soccer after the baptism. Our youth invited Tabokai into the family with WIDE open arms, and I'm so glad that our ward has been blessed with a strong and united youth group to welcome Tabokai.
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