Happy Birthday Dad!!!!!!!!!
BON ANNIVERSAIRE A VOCE!!!!
Parabens a voce!! :)))
Oiiiiii minha familia!!!!
This week was super awesome!!! WOW!!! I forgot my planner
with all the notes in what to write today, but I will just wing it... I have no
memory anymore :(
But first of all I would like to request something from you
all! From EVERYONE!! I was talking
to people about conversion stories and we went to a Why I Believe fireside
where recent converts tell their story. And I got to telling my conversion story. And they asked about my parents or grandparents
who converted first and I didn’t know!!! So, would you all maybe write or type out
your conversion story--before or after baptism?
I know that even if you're born
into the church, we all have our own conversion whether soon or later after
baptism. Will you type it out and send
it to me? and Grandpa's/Gramma's too. Those who first joined the church and your
own! I would REALLY appreciate it! Can you send it to the mission office or Dear
Elder, because I want to keep them? :) THANKS !!!!! I love you alll!!!!! And when I have more time, I'll write mine
out and send it haha. But yeah, I would
love it if you could all send me that! Everyone
in the family and anyone else who reads this and would like to. I just love being able to see the path you all
took to find this and it strengthens my own testimony so much. It's good to have it recorded down for your
future family!! I’m excited for my kids
to read my journal... some parts hahaa. but yeah! I would really love that! :)
By the way, we only get letters through our mission office
on Mondays in-valley. We were spoiled in Kingman :))
Anyway, this week, we went to the baptism of Bryon!! Oh wow! What an amazing event. I didn't even know how
amazingly prepared he was. I knew he
was, but it was so much deeper than he let us know. Apparently, his older brother was baptized a
member but died when Bryon was 11, and the last thing his brother said to him was “Never lose faith
in God.” He kept that and held to that his whole life
and when he met us and started taking the lessons, he knew his brother was Mormon
but never understood what it was and decided to just keep learning and studying
for himself. He finally understood why
his brother was so deep into this religion. and he bore his testimony at the
baptism. Wow. I never heard something so powerful in my
life. I never realized how deep his
conversion really was. It didn't matter about fellowship or about the
missionaries. It was his personal
conversion ---the way it should be.
Wow. I am so impressed; so amazed by how much Heavenly Father has his
hand in things and how much more there really was under the surface in everything
and in every one's story. Only He [God]
knows it but we got to be willing and humble and worthy and able to be His
instruments so we can do what He knows is best, even if we don't know why we
need to do it. Obedience Precedes
Understanding and Spirituality. It is so true.
Man, I can't even begin to explain
how much I love fasting. I hated it always
before because I love food...... haha.
But since the mission, I have never had such a strong testimony of the
power of fasting. This past Sunday, I
fasted for our investigators, especially this one, Brenda, to come to church. We invite her all the time and she wants to
go, but waking up for 9am church is hard for her. (She's amazing by the
way. She did 10years of research on near
death experiences and all that she gathered from her research pointed to the
conclusion that our Church is the only one with the plan and view of the afterlife
that matched up with all of the experiences.
Wow. She went to Mormon.org and
requested a Book of Mormon and went to church and loved it. And she found the missionaries. She is awesome. She feels the spirit so strongly and
understands things so completely. Her
husband is in the Air Force and is interested, too, but works a lot and reads
the Book of Mormon and loves it, but is a little more stand-offish and doesn’t
want to take the lessons yet. "Just
curious" he says. but yeah basically, she hasn't come to church since we
changed times at the start of the new year.
I fasted and prayed and wow, she text and says she's in the wrong area
and doesn’t know the address so we called and helped her get to the right
building and then she pulls up and we're freaking out cause they’re singing the
sacrament hymn. but she shows up and we walk in and sit down right as the last
verse ends. Haha. man, Heavenly Father
is sooooo awesome, but so funny sometimes.
He's like “Alright, I'll let you sweat a little. Test your faith.” haha. man... Did I sweat. Who knew Sundays are just so stressful?
Many other experiences from Kingman also
just solidified my testimony in fasting. It's seriously so amazing. Becoming closer to God, while invoking the
powers of heaven in whatever we're fasting for. It's just so amazing to see how physical,
tangible, undeniable proof of the miracle you ask for is shown when we fast.
Heavenly Father just asks for a little sacrifice and faith. and boy how
incredibly worthwhile it is.
I forget everything else I was going to write about.... :( I'll ust have to save it for next week! I feel sooo bad I can't write everyone everyweek! But I'll try to write letters! ahhh!! So little time on Pdays... haha. but I am reading what you write and loving it alll!!! I think about you all and pray about you all every day!!! I love you all soooo much!!!
Please tell Michael [Okazaki –
cousin who is contemplating about serving a mission] to write me or something. I'm
actually pretty sure that if he asks President Neider, and a woman is with
him, him, mom or sister, or friend, we can go out to lunch or something
and I can talk to him!! :) That'd be sweet!!!
haha. I just know that there is nothing he will
regret more than not going on a mission and nothing he will thank himself more
for than going on one. It's the single
best decision you can make in your life. Without a doubt. And no matter how hard it may seem, I can
promise you that you will never regret going on a mission. It will be wonderful for you and for all the
people you will meet (your companions, members, investigators, converts, and
all for their ancestors and posterity).
This work is beyond us and it's completely not about us. Yet we are the beneficiaries of our labors. We benefit the most when we selflessly lose
ourselves in His work. I hope this makes sense. I’m super pushed for time haha. but I would
love to talk to him or even email!
Love you all sooooo much!!!! COM
MUIIIIITO AMOR!!!!
COM MUIIIIITOO AMOR!!!!
-Sister Yoshimoto
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