Busy Week

So this week was actually pretty good. We were busy with lessons which
was really nice, except for I feel like we are teaching so many people
now that I am mixing everyone's lessons up in my head
so I don't know what was taught to who. Thankfully we have records!

This week we had a very interesting lesson with Mr. M. He asked a
question about Adam and Eves kids, particularly about Abel and Cain.
He asked why God accepted Abel's sacrifice and not Cains. In Genesis
chapter 4 it says this.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the
fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the
fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was
very wroth, and his countenance fell.

It was a very interesting question because I don't think I have really
thought about it too much other than the fact that Cain eventually
kills his brother. We did some research and discovered that God
had required of them to sacrifice a firstling of their flocks. And
Cain felt that it wasn't fair because Abel's job was to be a shepherd so
he could get a sacrifice easily. So Cain got the idea (from Satan)
that he could sacrifice something from his job (He was a tiller of the
field) So he gave of his fruits and veggies. And God didn't accept it.
But God in Verse 7 said this,
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest
not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire,
and thou shalt rule over him.
God told him/ gave him another chance. But instead he chose to follow
the adversary and he killed his brother.
That was pretty much our lesson with M.

Then we had another lesson with a new investigator who is way cool. But we taught him about God and Prophets and it was really good.

The next day we had district meeting. And I gave a training on being
more converted and consecrated. I think it went pretty well. I shared
a video called staying within the lines by Elder Jeffery R. Holland.
Its been great to have an Ipad and be able to use technology to
improve lessons and trainings.

Also we met with the young man who asked if we were the Jesus people.
He brought a friend along to the lesson and we had a joint with
the branch president. It was really good. The young man actually was like a
member teaching his friend. It was really awesome.  The Branch President was
really happy and pleased to see that our investigators are understanding well the things we are teaching. It
was great to have that Joint because it helped the progression of our
investigators and build trust with the Branch President. He talked
about the lesson the whole ride up to our Stake (District) Conference,
which was that same day. We were able to teach about the plan of
salvation and his friend thought it was way cool. We were able to set
an appointment up with his friend to teach later too!

We also taught a Less actives son who is 14. He read Alma 40 and said
that he doesn't want to go to hell and he wants us to teach him how to
go to paradise. He is quite Shy but way cool. We are thinking we are
going to get a baptismal date set for him this week! So we will see
how it goes. I am going to call his father, (who is a returned
missionary) and get his input on it as well. It is great when you
teach someone who has a member in their family who can help them when
they read the Book of Mormon and explain things when the missionaries
are not around to do it.

We also had a District Conference, and an area of the seventy came.
His name is Elder Otohara. After the Conference I shook his hand and
he looked at me and he said I can tell you are a good elder just by
your face and I said no no no. But he said he can't lie. It made me
pretty happy.

That is pretty much my week up to this point!


Love Ya,


Elder Nebeker

Tender Mercy

Hi Family,

 

We had a lesson this week with M. san. He was feeling that God doesn't want us to have knowledge, and we explained to him that that is the very reason we were sent to this earth was to gain more knowledge so we could become like God. I explained to him that if we were taking a test with a cheat sheet we wouldn't actually be learning anything. He agreed and I told him the reason why God doesn't let us know everything is because he wants us to learn on our own.  We would not learn anything if God just gave us all the answers and prior knowledge of our pre earth life.

We also were teaching a family about the plan of salvation when a question came up about baptism and why it is important and what are the benefits. I also explained to them that this life is like a test and if we had all the answers to it we wouldn't learn and grow to be more like God but when we receive baptism we make a promise to do our best to become like God and we get the Holy Ghost who is like a tutor. So while we are taking the test, he won't give us the answers, but he will help us through the problem and help us learn when we may not be able to do it on our own. 

This week we had a great miracle.  We decided to visit a less active and invite him and his son to a basketball event that we have planned but he told us that his son doesn't really like sports and that they were good. So we felt like we needed to start talking to him about his son so we started talking and we asked him how his schooling is going and he told us not very good because he gets picked on so he doesn't go to school sometimes. So the Less active let us into his home and we were able to meet his son. Turns out the less active is a returned missionary and asked us to teach his son the Gospel. So we were able to teach him on Friday, but that day we had just gotten back from a zone training meeting and my head was hurting way bad, and our appointment was in like 15 minutes. So I said a prayer asking that when as we teach him the Gospel  my head won't hurt. As we started teaching, my headache disappeared and I felt great. As soon as the lesson ended my head began hurting again. But I realized it was a tender mercy from the Lord. The lesson went really well. You can tell his father really loves him. And he asked us to give him a commitment and set up a new appointment for next week. It was great! His name is super cool too, the Chinese Characters (Kanji) used for his name mean, gentle lion.

  We also on Sunday were able to find another Investigator his name is  Seiya, Which means to be holy. He just moved home after going to college in California, so his English is pretty good. We taught him about God and that we are his children. He said he agrees with our point of view and he gave the closing prayer! And we have another lesson with him today. So hopefully it goes well.

This week while I was at church I felt so much love for this small branch in Ichinoseki. The members are so humble and way nice. The mission President told me in an interview that I would be here awhile so by the end of this transfer it will be at 4 months. So maybe another transfer here or more, I hope!

 

Love,

 

Elder Nebeker