Saturday, January 31, 2015

BOSTON ! 3 Months


Dear Family & Friends!
I can't believe it's 3 months since I went into the MTC. I was there for so long.
And I can't believe I'm here in BOSTON! It's a wonderful experience that I'm having here in the MBM (Massachusetts Boston Mission). So many things have happened this past week. I'll just summarize a little!
Last week Monday:
It was our P-Day! That was a great day! We studied in the morning. Went groceries shopping. I went to Target and bought some winter stuff. Emailed our family and friends. Played sports. And had dinner at a members house. It was a great day!! 

Tuesday
We do a lot of traveling by bus which was hard for me at first. But know I kind of like it. It's great for personal contact. We get to talk to a lot of people about our Church. There are a lot of people here in Boston that know a lot about the Church and already have their opposition. Its hard but there are a lot of nice people here in Boston!

Friday:
I honesty don't remembered what happened last week. We don't have a ton of investigators so we've been doing a lot of organizing and scheduling appointments instead of actually teaching people. :) Don't worry though because we'll have a ton of new investigators soon!

SUNDAY
 I've already made some great friends! My district is amazing. There are 4 companionship's in my district. Me & Sister Moss and another Sister companionship and two more Elder companionship. They are great. The four Elders are actually Mandarin speaking Elders. They're awesome! Heavenly Father has truly blessed me with people that I can converse with in Mandarin. He is very mindful of all of us. Now, these four Elders are assigned in the Chinese Branch in our Stake. & I'm in two YSA Wards. The beginning of last week the Ward Leader from the Chinese Branch had called me and asked me to speak in their Sacrament meeting! I accepted and this past sunday I was able to give a talk about 'Hope, Faith, and Healing through the Gospel' in Chinese! It was hard but I made it! LOL, it was a wonderful experience and I am so grateful for that opportunity. ( I truly believe that the Lord is prepping me and everyone else that got reassigned for Taiwan. I believe we are being prepped to take what we learn here in the United States and take is over to the Taiwan Mission to better be effective as missionaries there!)
Yesterday:
There was a storm that hit us!! IT was crazy! The whole mission was "red-dotted" which means that missionaries were not allowed to go outside. It was a great day! We woke up to a bunch of snow! It really was 3 feet!! We waited for the afternoon and went out to jump in the snow! It was so high! There is a picture of me sitting on the pile of snow that is covering the bus stop bench. It was awesome! The snow was so fluffy and high that we couldn't help ourselves but play! LOL, it wasn't as bad as our Mission President thought it was going to be. But we survived! It was a nice to stay in and relax for a bit. I think it helped us all to relieve our stress!

Also, on Sunday there was a Baptism. Sister Moss & I live with two other Sister Missionaries. They are so sweet and both are from Brazil. Their investigator was baptized on Sunday. It was the most amazing baptism I've ever been to. The Spirit was so strong and you could just tell that this 18 year old girl loves the gospel with all her heart. She was so excited to be baptized and be apart of the Church. It was an amazing feeling. She knows that God and Jesus Christ lives and loves her. It really strengthened my testimony. This gospel is so true and I through that young girl I was able to see the joy this gospel can bring to people lives.

I'm so sorry my emails are always long. Just let me know if they're too long and I'll start to cut them down!! 
Love you all!
Here's the sweetest story from Orson F. Whitney. I love this story about the dream he had. This is a powerful story and a sacred one but I am sharing it with all of you because it has changed my perceptive on the Savior and His Atonement. I love you all! I pray for you always!
Love you lots, Sister Komatsu

As a young missionary, Elder Orson F. Whitney (1855–1931), who later served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, had a dream so powerful that it changed his life forever. He later wrote:
“One night I dreamed … that I was in the Garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the Savior’s agony. … I stood behind a tree in the foreground. … Jesus, with Peter, James, and John, came through a little wicket gate at my right. Leaving the three Apostles there, after telling them to kneel and pray, He passed over to the other side, where He also knelt and prayed … : ‘Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will but as Thou wilt.’
“As He prayed the tears streamed down His face, which was [turned] toward me. I was so moved at the sight that I wept also, out of pure sympathy with His great sorrow. My whole heart went out to Him. I loved Him with all my soul and longed to be with Him as I longed for nothing else.
“Presently He arose and walked to where those Apostles were kneeling—fast asleep! He shook them gently, awoke them, and in a tone of tender reproach, untinctured by the least show of anger or scolding, asked them if they could not watch with Him one hour. …
“Returning to His place, He prayed again and then went back and found them again sleeping. Again He awoke them, admonished them, and returned and prayed as before. Three times this happened, until I was perfectly familiar with His appearance—face, form, and movements. He was of noble stature and of majestic mien … the very God that He was and is, yet as meek and lowly as a little child.
“All at once the circumstance seemed to change. … Instead of before, it was after the Crucifixion, and the Savior, with those three Apostles, now stood together in a group at my left. They were about to depart and ascend into heaven. I could endure it no longer. I ran from behind the tree, fell at His feet, clasped Him around the knees, and begged Him to take me with Him.
“I shall never forget the kind and gentle manner in which He stooped and raised me up and embraced me. It was so vivid, so real that I felt the very warmth of His bosom against which I rested. Then He said: ‘No, my son; these have finished their work, and they may go with me; but you must stay and finish yours.’ Still I clung to Him. Gazing up into His face—for He was taller than I—I besought Him most earnestly: ‘Well, promise me that I will come to You at the last.’ He smiled sweetly and tenderly and replied: ‘That will depend entirely upon yourself.’ I awoke with a sob in my throat, and it was morning.” 

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

HERE I COME BOSTON !!!

HERE I COME BOSTON!!

Dear Family & Friends,

We just sent off my companion. She is going to Australia! It was a touching and heartfelt goodbye!

Nine weeks I've been at the MTC & I've learned so much more than I could have anywhere else. 
Massachusetts is such a huge surprise to me but I know the Lord is mindful of me and my abilities. I've never been to the East Coast so it will be a great adventure! I'm so happy and thankful to go and experience all these things!
Thank you Thank you family and friends for the letters and packages! You guys are truly the greatest support in my life!
When I teach investigators they ask how I know that this Gospel is true and how it has helped my life. I always tell my experiences about my loving family and friends that have been the greatest blessing in my life.

Here I come Boston! This Asian girl looks small and unnoticeable but I know that I speak of truth and I know that God will provide me with conviction to bring others unto Christ.

My purpose as a missionary is to: "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through Faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end."
I've learned a lot here at the MTC!! I love the MTC!  I encourage every willing young men and women take partake in this joyous opportunity to serve the Lord because when you decide to do this it will change you life into a happy and more fulfilling life!!
Love you all! Best wishes!

Sincerely, Sister Komatsu

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

ALOHA , Family & Friends ! BREAKING NEWS !!!




ALOHA, Family & Friends!

BREAKING NEWS!!!!
It's my last week in the Missionary Training Center!!! It's so exciting and nerve wracking! Here's the update that I've recently heard. I might not be going straight to Taiwan because Taiwan visas are apparently hard to get these days :(
I've heard rumors today that my Elders & us, Sisters, are on the "reassignment" list. Nothing for sure here at the MTC because they don't know till reassignment day, which is either Thursday or Friday!
I had my heart set on going straight to Taiwan, Taipei but now that I'm thinking about it I wouldn't mind going state side for awhile, so I can practice my teaching skills :) It's so exciting that I don't know how to feel anymore! 
Anyways, please pray for me and my district that we still leave on our assigned date which is JAN 12TH, 2015. As long as I'm out there teaching I'll go where the Lord wants me to go. :)

In other news, yesterday was Fast Sunday! It was the best Sunday ever! It was testimony meeting and everyone got up to bear there testimonies it was the best! I thought my Chinese was so bad because my talk last week didn't make sense but when I went up to bear my testimony I was surprised that my Chinese was better than I thought! Heres a bit about what I shared:
Family and Friends, I love Missionary work. I love serving others rather than myself. This is the best work ever! D&C 11:3-4 "Behold,the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God. Yea, whosoever will thrust in his sickle, and reap, the same is called of God."My Chinese is horrible and my teaching skills are pretty bad but what I learned being here is that- This is the Lord's work- Not my work. Even though I am inadequate I know that the Lord's work will still continue. The Savior will make up the difference. Again, this is His work not mine. I am not reliant on my abilities but my Saviors. And He can do so much more than I could ever do in a lifetime. I love my Savior. I know He will help me teach. I know He will help me say what I need to say in the language. Missionary work is a work of love. Christ will change the people I teach and He will change me. Last week Tuesday Devotional we had a member of the Seventy, Brother Perkins, talk about change. He said, "As you help others to change, the greatest convert will be you." I do know thats true! I can't wait to get out there!!

Mormon.org is a site for non-members and investigators. Last night we had Sunday Night Devotional and Bro. Greg Droubay talked. He is apart of the Missionary Technology department. He taught us missionaries last night on how to better use technology to reach out to those that don't know about the Church or even Christ. They are updating the site and they were showing us some new videos. These videos are 60 seconds of giving a brief overview of a gospel topic. It's amazing! They did  a study on those that watched it. And they received it very well. He showed it to us missionaries so that we are aware of the Church on media and can better teach and make conversation with people. It's awesome how advanced the Church really is. I'm so thankful for a Church that is willing to be in the world and not of it. We use media and our advanced tools so that we can better spread Christ's gospel.


HAPPY NEW YEARS!! Wow, can you believe it's 2015! I can't. The year went by so fast! I can't believe I'm on my mission. So much has changed since the JAN 2014.  
www.mormonnewsroom.org/2014yearinreview/index.html -Here are some things the Church has done this year.
It's amazing how much we do in a year. I believe we have a year as long as we do so that we can mark our achievements, our failures, the things we need to change, the things that didn't work out, the people that changed our lives, and the heartache we've felt. This new year is a restart. A restart of trying new ways of living a better life. I mean thats why were all here to have trial and error trial and error. We are to become celestial beings. Worthy beings to live with our God again. We are striving to be perfect. But we cannot in this life. The mark of a new year is one that I'm sure everyone holds deep in their hearts. People make goals and new plans for the new year but lets be honest here: Have any of those goals really worked in making your life better or happier???? Maybe for the first few months but not the whole year. This year I don't have any goals or hopes or dreams. This year it isn't about me. And I feel like there comes a point in the year that people say this to themselves. They say "Hey that goal I made in the beginning of the year what happened to it?" It disappeared because we see the happier and better things that lie in our lives. We realize that spending time with family, helping a friend through a hard time, or deciding to serve the Lord is much greater than losing 10 pounds or going to the gym everyday. We miss the point sometimes of a new year. It's a new year to learn from what happened last year and make this year better. 
I can tell you that I've changed since last January. I am much more happier than I was. Because were I am right now is the happiest time in my life. And it's because I learned from trial and error. My life wasn't great. I wasn't in a good place. The days I only thought about myself and my schooling and my grades and my social life the more I was unhappy. When I started to think about my friends my family and lastly my Savior in Heaven I knew what I needed. The life I lived was too selfish for me. I've never been happier to serve others. I don't have to worry about me. Others is what helps me get up at 6am every morning. I love it! This is what life is about. And everyday I'm serving others I'm becoming a better me. I'm changed for the better. I'm so thankful for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord.
Love yah! Sincerely, XiaoSong JieMei  Sister Komatsu