Learning Japanese

This week Grady sounds like he's really been working hard! I can tell that learning Japanese is really difficult for him, but I am so pleased that he doesn't seem to be too discouraged or frustrated. It sounds like he is really enjoying working in the call center and I love hearing how positive he is. I also love reading his testimony each week. I love the way he expresses the simplicity of the gospel. Here's a picture of Grady posing at the temple. I'm not sure what he's listening for??

June 16, 2009 Hey Kozoku. Watashi wa shiwase desu. The MTC has been subarashii. Senkyoshi o ai shite imasu. This week has been really hard but rewarding. Me and a couple other guys in our district have realized that we are behind so we stepped it up this week. We have been SYLing speaking the language more and it has really helped. Our goal everyday is to speak only japapnese. Of the 4 days I have done it I have given myself a 2 out of 4 3 times, and two days ago I got a 3. This is why it has been hard because I have done so poorly but today is a atarashi day. This week was also the first week me and Wiser Choro had to teach in Nihongo. It was a pretty humbling experience. I really had fun with it because I was just throwing out lots of crazy sentences that weren't correct or made sense. But the investigators seemed to get it all right. The coolest thing happened when we got to the first vision. I am in the process of memorizing it in Nihongo so I had to read it. As I was reading it I could barely finish, not because of the fact that I had never read it all the way through before, but because the spirit was so strong that I got really emotional. This really humbled me. I had no idea what I was saying and I stumbled over half of it. The spirit doesn't speak through really nice words or fancy words, it speaks through humble servants that realize that they are there for the investigator. (I love this!) This is the main thing I have been working on, trying to always have the spirit. Almost every week in the TrC the spirit has been so strong for me and the investigator. I know this because I ask them. Without the spirit there would be no baptisms. Another good experience happened this week in the RC, Referral center. I called this lady up to see if she had received a Video about Christ. Her name was Kim. She was awesome! I just started talking to her and she asked me a question that she wanted answered. What is my purpose in life? This was perfect! I had just got done teaching lesson two so I flipped open to Alma 34 I think and the verse said that out time on earth is the time to prepare to meet God. Kim just got sober a month ago so she is looking for direction. This simple answer really helped her. She said she had to go but I made her stay on the line by telling her that I had something she really needed to hear and that it would be really important to her. She agreed and I told her about Joseph Smith. O and I forgot to mention that she said that she felt that I was an answer to her prayers and that God sent me. This really touched me. but anyway I told her all about Joseph Smith and started reading the first vision. The spirit was strong and I knew that she had felt something. I asked her how she felt and she said that she felt something different and that she was happy. This was amazing! I then testified of how I knew it was true and said that I know that it can sound a little crazy but I know it is true. She responded with "no its not" this was a real smack to the face. Kim really has faith and she was a great example on faith. We talked for a little more and then I sent her a BOM. I know she is going to read it and feel the spirit. Keep her in your prayers. Her name is Kim Rathburn. Well I gotta go but I know that Joseph saw God and Jesus Christ. Sorry I didn't answer the Questions. Later.