(shout out to Jana for giving me the title to this email, for inspiring me with her testimony, and for being a wonderful Sister-in-law. I love you!)
Dear Family!
HAPPY EASTER!!
Easter week is a great week to be working as a missionary for our Savior. I pondered a lot this week about the Savior and His resurrection and what the *The Living Christ* truly means to me. I think it was summed up very well yesterday at Yamaguchi shimais baptism. Two months ago, Yamaguchi shimai was a simple Japanese person, just doing what all the other millions of people here are doing, going to work each day with no purpose and no friends. However, this week in a lesson with her, Yamaguchi shimai explained to us the change she has noticed in herself. She said she can not see garbage on the ground and not pick it up. She can not see a job left undone at work and not finish it. She can not have somebody get mad at her and not forgive that person. She was sitting in our lesson saying over and over, *I cannot do wrong things anymore. I just cannot do wrong things.* It was amazing to see how Christ-like she has become (especially because I thought she was very Christ-like when we first met her)! But it was not very surprising or shocking to me, because she has been diligent in praying and reading the Book of Mormon and she has exercised faith and developed that relationship with Christ. Of course doing those things would help her become so Christ-like. Seeing her baptized yesterday felt like a very natural step in her progress. She did seem to be pretty nervous before her baptism. Afterward, she bore her testimony and she talked about her fear for water. Apparently she will not go to pools or lakes (I am not sure what she does about the bath...), and she was very nervous about having to go under the water for her baptism. However, she said that when Fukui choro lifted his hand and began to talk, that fear went away. She said she felt as if God was reaching out to her, and she felt the same warmth and love that she felt the first time she prayed and felt Gods existence. Of course hearing this and seeing the new light in her eyes were unforgettable moments. One of my favorite moments though was at the end of the service. As people came up to congratulate her, she broke into tears. The ward members were hugging her and giving her gifts and she was crying and crying. This normal, lonely Japanese person became somebody with not only a new purpose and motivation and light, but also a whole family of friends. That is what the Living Christ can do for someone.
But I realized that she is not the only one who has changed through the Savior. I am sure I have changed as well as my testimony of the Savior has grown deeper and my faith and my desire to gather the elect are stronger than they have ever been before. I owe a lot of that to being in such a wonderful mission with wonderful leaders and a wonderful mission president. We had interviews/training again this last week, and all I can say is I do not know why the Lord blessed me so much to be in this mission. Our leaders are training us to be true disciples who rely on the Lord to work miracles and gather the elect. They are wise, inspiring people and I am so grateful and humbled to be here learning from them!
More than anything, I am grateful for the opportunity to be learning from and changing through my Savior. I know that Because of Him, I have the strength to work harder than I thought possible every day. Because of Him, I can overcome bad habits and become that missionary I am expected to be. Because of Him, I have the privilege of seeing others find brightness and hope in their lives. Because of Him, I get to live with all of you in complete happiness forever! I know that He is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that He lives.
Love,
Crofts shimai
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