For a Small Moment

Well, the call from my Mission President was the last thing I was expecting on a Sunday evening.

But I know that the Spirit guided Doctor Hansen in Tokyo. He is not even a spine specialist but he caught and noticed things that none of the spine specialists here in Hirosaki noticed. As hard as it is for me to leave the place that I have grown so much to love, I know that one day I will be able to come back and pick up where I left.

I feel bad for my companion Elder Kugai, He is like a little brother to me. I love him. I love all the investigators that I have gotten to teach here in Hirosaki. My hope is to come back with even more strength and a stronger Testimony. 

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment."

D&C 121:7

Well, I guess I can tell you more happy things right?

This week, I gave a district meeting on "Study", and I focused on focusing our studies on investigators. So I myself tried especially hard this week, and I prayed really hard for each investigator and how I can better help them. I have never had better personal studies yet on my mission. And this week as we taught Akimoto san, it was a half English half Gospel lesson.  Our theme that we chose to teach him was "Showing Love". SO we started the lesson off with English, and he looked at me and he said I have had something on my mind all morning and I want to know how to say it in English. So he said the sentence in Japanese and I translated it for him, "The People Live to Support Each Other." It just happened to be along the lines for what we prepared for him. And when we shared the message, he was very moved and tears were shed. It was a great lesson.

We have been having a lot of things happen like that recently with our investigators.

This week we taught a lesson to Narita San and we were talking about keeping the commandments with him, and he told me again that when he first met Christians and read the Bible he thought they were crazy. But he followed one of the commandments and he felt so much peace and happiness and that is how he began to believe in the bible.  He says that when he tries to talk to people they think he is crazy. And he says that as much and as hard as he tries to explain to people it does no good because they just have to try to know. ( Though whole time I thought to myself, ya, that's exactly the same things we are trying to tell you.) It was pretty funny, but that lesson went really well.

Well I guess I could call but I don't know where to buy a call card here in Japan to make it cheap so see you all in a couple of days.

love,

 

Elder Nebeker

All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience

Hello everyone,

I have been on my mission now just over a year, and about a month ago my back began having pain. The pain slowly moved to my right leg. I went to a spine specialist here in Japan and he told me it would be fine and that I should just rest. But a week later the pain became a lot worse. I returned again to the Doctors where they took and MRI and told me that I can either have surgery or let time fix it. So I chose to continue my mission and try letting time fix it out. But due to the back issues, I have very little to no strength in my right calf. On further examination, my back issues have caused me to have nerve damage. I received a call from my mission president, who informed that the neural surgeons want me in America this week to perform surgery to try and save the strength in my right leg. They said they can't guarantee that I will have power restored in my leg, but that by having the surgery there is a chance. So I will be pausing my mission and returning to America this week to have surgery. 

I love my mission and I know that every thing that the Lord allows to occur in our lives is for a purpose. 

"if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."

D&C 122:7

I am a missionary I know it, I live it, and I love it.

 

Elder Nebeker

I am a Missionary, I know it, I live it, I love it

Well I'm sure you are wanting to know about my back and you have probably heard some from Sister Smith. But I went to the Doctors on Wednesday at 8:30 and waited until 12:30 to actually see the Doctor. It was the same  doctor as last time and he had told me last time that I should just rest and I will be fine. So I wasn't to happy to see him again, but I explained to him my pain and so he let me take a MRI after some discussion. I went and had the MRI and I went back and it was a different Doctor and he was really funny. He said that he has met some doctors that work at the University of Utah. But he took a look at the MRI and one of my discs in my back had collapsed and the one above it was partially herniated. So he tested some of my reflexes and I don't have a reflex in my right ankle. So I kind of walk with a limp. But he said that I should take it easy for about 2 months or I could have surgery. But I can definitely feel everyone's prayers. I can walk pretty good and at least proselyte and do the things a missionary needs to do. So thank you! I can tell that my back is very fragile so I am trying to be careful.

So every week I get to the opportunity to do a District meeting. This week I thought I would give our District a theme. So I chose the Theme, "I am a missionary, I know, I live it, I love it."  The district and I discussed why each of them were important. I asked each missionary why they chose to go on a mission. And wow, hearing everyone bear testimony about how they and why they chose to come was a really cool experience. Definitely one to remember. The District is really cool. I am glad I get to work with them. I attached a picture of our district, we decided to be zombies. I think it turned out pretty good. ( It was District P-day today.)

I also attached a picture of my companion. Elder Kugai. He is doing really well, He likes to sleep, a lot. He can fall asleep literally anywhere. I have been stressing to him that an effective Missionary is someone who is always inviting others to do something to come closer to Christ. I think that a lot of people just look at numbers and how many people they baptized. When it is our desire to serve and bring people closer to Christ. It is the peoples agency whether or not they act on the message.

Oh I also attached a picture of my burnt coat. I don't need a new one. I had a member cut the burned portion out and then I found an old coat that was in the apartment and took some material from that and had her sew it. It actually looks pretty good and gives it some more character and a memory.

I also sent a picture of me in a hulk mask. I got the mask from a member in Aizuwakamatsu. I was thinking about using it for this years Halloween party. 

Well this week was pretty good. Our finding time has been kind of limited recently because of my back and having to be at the doctors. But I think that this upcoming week should be pretty good. This week we taught Narita san, Who is really cool. Except for he mostly has interest in learning English. But we discussed repentance and we broke down the word repentance for him. I used my Dictionary to break it down. But Re- is to do again. Pent- Means the past, ance- Means an action. So we thought it was interesting how it broke down in English.  We took the Japanese (悔い改め) (Kuiaratame) And the first Kanji in it is Heart (心) But the way it is written is like a child's heart. And the last part (aratame) (改め which means to revise or change. So the way we looked at it is how Christ always tells us to become like children. Through Repentance. We do an action that takes us to a state from the past like a child. But through repentance, We revise and change who we are to become better.　I thought it was really cool.

This week we also taught one of our investigators Akimoto san. He is hilarious and way rich and pretty well known here in Hirosaki. He took us out to eat after our lesson to a hotel restaurant.  Everyone knew him and they just let him park wherever he wanted and treated him like a king. It was pretty funny. But He is doing good. He has a lot of questions about the purpose of life and about after death. So we are working on him with that. I think that he will really start to progress here shortly. 

Well That was basically my week. I hope that everyone is doing good. I love you all. 

Elder Nebeker

Burning Feeling

This was another good week here in Hirosaki.

As I was studying my scriptures in the morning, it got a little cold, so I decided to turn on the space heater. As I kept reading my scriptures I felt this warm burning feeling, and I thought, " this is the warm burning that all those people must have been talking about over the pulpit for all these years."  But nope, it was just my winter coat burning..... 

 This week I saw a video that I thought was so good. Its a mormon Message video. 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=3792885561001

Maybe you could watch it for Family Home Evening or something.

This general Conference was really good. I think that there was a few big major themes to it.

I think that Gaining a Testimony of Joseph Smith and a current Prophet of the church today was really emphasized. I think that setting and making our priorities right was also a big thing, not letting small things distract us from our Eternal goal. "Eternal Perspective" And the last was making the Sacrament a more spiritual experience. 

As I was thinking about the sacrament this week I thought about how surprisingly different the Church in Japan or at least in Tohoku (Sendai Japan) is from the America. In America during the sacrament you will see countless people on their phones. Yes some are looking at scriptures and things, but a lot are not. In Japan you will not see that anywhere. When the sacrament is passed, you will see every head bowed in prayer. 

Well to update you on the work here in Hirosaki; Elder Kugai and I have been trying to help our investigators strengthen their faith in Christ. 

Narita san wants to try following more commandments to see his faith grow. So we are planning to use the bible to introduce a commandment and reinforce it with the Book of Mormon. Because he has a particular interest in Christ and his life. 

 

Elder Kugai and I have been doing some Streeting to help him open up more to talking with everyone. It is such a good learning experience for me too. 

Well to update you on my back, The pain has moved into my right leg and is constant. But Japanese doctors use every excuse to have a day off so there hasn't been any doctors offices or Hospitals open to go to. But my Branch mission leader is becoming a doctor and he graduates next spring so I have been working with him, and he thinks that I have nerve that might be pinched by something causing pain. But Hopefully I will get things figured out soon. 

Love you all,

Elder Nebeker

P.S.  Since receiving this letter from Jason, we checked with his mission President's wife about Jason's back.  They arranged some tests at the clinic where they determined he has a herniated disc.  He reported to Sister Smith that he is doing better.  His mission President is an Orthopedic surgeon, so we feel very blessed to have them there to help him.

A Day lived in Procrastination is a Dangerous Day

Hello Family!

Well I will let you know that I absolutely love my new companion Elder Kugai. He is very humble and ready to learn. He is very teachable. I think that he will be a great missionary. He also has a desire to work, which is so important.

This week we taught a lesson to Narita san and it was my companion's first lesson. We talked to him about the plan of Salvation and a lot about the Doctrine of Christ. He had a lot of questions and we were able to help him answer his own questions.  We taught him to follow what Jesus has taught us to do to make it back to Heavenly Fathers kingdom. And He said that he will receive baptism but he wants to know and gain more Faith in Jesus Christ. It was a really good lesson. He is a really cool guy who has seen the power of the Scriptures in life.

Japan is getting so COLD! Yabai! its so cold.

Anyways. The HIrosaki district is still doing so good. We are seeing so many miracles. 

I created a prayer list for the district where we pray specifically about everyone's investigators. It has seemed to be really effective. 

I'm sorry this week was basically just transfers so there is not too much to talk about. I was on a bus with 5 other missionaries traveling the last 3 days. 

Basketball Dendou (Mission work) seems to be doing really well for us. It is just starting getting started up so there is only like 4 people that come. But it is easy to get people outside to join and start conversations with them. But maybe God doesn't think it is too good of an idea because I woke up with back problems the next morning and I didn't even play too hard. Not to mention I have been sleeping on the floor for a year now.

 

So How is the Weather in Utah? Anything exciting happen in the ward? Any split announcements yet? 

I enjoy pictures as much as you probably enjoy my pictures. So I will be sure to send you some next week.

Well I have been continuing my study of The Miracle of Forgiveness. This week I learned about the Penalties of Procrastination. I learned that once you begin procrastinating it makes everyday harder to repent, eventually to the point where you lose the spirit, and all desire to repent. And that everyday living in Procrastination is a dangerous day. Because if something bad were to happen there is no turning back. So none of you be Procrastinaters!

Well Sorry its short but I love you all! 

 

Elder Nebeker