to what extent we allow it to influence us."
"There is no darkness so dense, so menacing, or so difficult that it
cannot be overcome by light." venn p. Stanfill
I remember this Science class when I was about 10 years old learning
about light and dark. The different types a light and how they work
and what is seen and what isn't. I remember my teacher asking "What is
the opposite of light?" I of course thought it was a plainly simple
answer ,so in unison with my classmates we said "dark." My teacher
smiled but shook her head "no, that's wrong there is no such thing as
darkness. Only the absence of light." I was a bit confused at the time
by the answer because I had always thought light and dark were
opposites. How could light not have an exact opposite? I have since
then thought about the concept of light and dark. I've come to the
conclusion that my teacher was right. Not just Scientifically
speaking, but in a spiritual standing as well. We can not sink so low
to a place that is complete darkness, with no way out. No matter how
dark of a place you've been or go to, you are not without light,
without hope, It's not possible. You have a Savior, who's been there,
who has felt the pains and sorrows that you can't even comprehend. In
Japanese the word " ou" means to carry on one's back. And he did
precisely this. He carried all the pains and the sorrows on his back.
All of them. He is the life and the light of the world, that will
never go out. Even if you feel like you are in the dark, I promise you
aren't, there might be a little flicker of a flame ,but if you don't
search for it, it's pretty hard to find. Because of Jesus Christ we
can have hope and feel the infinite love he has for us. I know that
hard times will come, but he is our light that always burns brightly
before us.
It's starting to get warmer here and the Sakura
are blooming. :) sadly they bloom for about a week or two then they
die. So there's all kinds of Sakura festivals and everything has a
Sakura flavor. I can't describe Sakura flavor it's almost like eating
something that's beautiful. Sorry I can't describe it even if I wanted
to. Anyways, yes the island is warming up and we get to see beautiful
Sakura for a week.
Last week was fun. We set up an appointment to meet this one member
named sister Yagi to visit her on Monday night. She's about 20 really
nice and some what active because she's a college student ,so we
decided why not visit her. When I asked her if we could visit she said
"ah no you don't want to visit me I live far." "No, no, it's okay we
have bikes!" "No seriously, I live far. Really far!"... We talked for
some bit and finally she said we could visit her. So Monday night
rolled around and we were off. Turns out she really does live really
really far. About 1 hour and 30-45 minutes on bike. Good thing the
appointment was at like 7:00. We found her house, and she invited us
in. We had a nice chat and taught her a little bit about missionary
work and sharing the gospel and we gave her "I am a Mormon" pass-along
card to give to her friends. She said "Wow talking about the church is
easy! I can totally do this." As we left, she gave us some Okinawa
treats (she's from Okinawa) and then we slipped on our shoes and left. As we
were walking away. My shoes felt a little weird, so I told my
companion to wait a second so I could fix them. I looked down and
realized I was wearing bright blue boots that were not mine. I ran
back to the door, laughing and swung the door open. Yagi shimai was
surprised as I pointed at my feet ,and apologized for trying to steal
her shoes. She laughed too. We said good bye again, and we left. See
when you go into someone's house in Japan you always take off your
shoes, and when you leave you put them back on. I guess the bike ride
wore me out enough to so I didn't even notice I was putting on bright
blue shoes.. I think she likes us. Even though I almost stole her
shoes. I hope we can work with her in the future!
We decided to go visit some members that don't get visited very often.
And now I know why. They live over this mountain on the other side by
a lake. 2 hours away by bike. Yes we biked it. But we got to teach
them and talk with them for a bit. Cars are blessings y'all, but bikes
are awesome because you can stop people on them. If you stopped people
while you were in a car, that would be way weird and creepy!
We had interviews this week, with the mission president. Gosh, I love
interviews. Every-time we have interviews, we get to talk with the
mission president one on one and learn how to be a better missionary
and how to better help people. It's awesome. He said something in mine
that made me laugh. "You are always happy! Or do just act like you are
happy when I see you?" I said, "well, I rather be happy than sad, so I
guess I just choose to be happy." "Well, sister Fullmer that will
serve you well in life." I thought it was funny mostly because I
prefer to be happy than sad. I bet anyone does. I've always thought
you can just choose to be happy. As they say, "you can see the glass
half full or the glass half empty."
Update on lice, they are gone. Every time I
scratch my head, paranoia kicks in, and I get a little scared
thinking, "Oh no I have lice! I have to burn my clothes, chop off all
my hair..etc". I now know too much about lice. A mission prepares you
for life after the mission, so if anyone needs help with their lice problem call me.
I know how to get rid of them, but you are going to have to get
someone else to pick your head for you.
Love ya!
Fullmer shimai
Kochan.. My favorite little kid ever.
No comments:
Post a Comment