July 11, 2016 No time busy with the open house I'll email when it's over but here is a pic July 5, 2016 Hey all great week and a baptism!! Sato San he is super awesome guy and so glad he decided to be baptized!! Other than that been working at the Sapporo temple for past couple of days!! It is so very wonderful for the amazing opportunity to be on a mission when a temple is being built and being able to work so closely with a bunch of church leaders! Hope you all have a great week love you all!! June 20, 2016 Hey friends and family! So sorry for the late absence of emails and again sorry for the short email again not that much time! Been so busy with things lately but had a pretty good couple of weeks Muto San has been moving a long nicely and we had a great time today! It's kinda sad had my transfer call and I'm going to Honbu again!! Pretty crazy but excited to work with President Nakatsuka so closely! Today was great and we went to Round 1 the sports place with Muto San and a recent convert Sister Kitagawa! It was pretty fun and then Muto San bought me some delicious rice and a pork cutlet, it's called katsu don but it was great! I love you and hope you all have a great week!! Luke 1:37 favorite scripture and a classic, read it love it believe it, and I promise God will pour the blessings and they won't stop!! May 15, 2016 Hey all its been a while but man it's been a great couple of busy weeks, but I won't bore you all with the small and specific details, but a couple of good highlights! First of all me and Elder Hishii will be companions for another transfer that makes us 3.5 transfer companions or 5 month companions!!! Woohoo!! Longest in the mission! In other transfer news I'm still a ZL but now our district had a DL so I don't have to do both hooray!!! Yesterday was church and we had 4 investigators come to church, I also gave a talk on the power of Prayer, it went great, I'm going to brag and be prideful for a second but dang that talk was beast!, compliments came left and right! Elder Stevens you are so amazing!! Hahaha just kidding back to reality we all know that everything good comes from the Lord!! Anyways just did a talk and here was the flow -hi I'm elder Stevens -topic power of prayer -purpose of prayer (Japanese scripture guide) similar to bible dictionary but different, made for Japanese people but from it simple translated, " The purpose of prayer isn't to change God's will, but to receive blessings for us and others that God has prepared and is ready to bless us with. And to obtain those blessings you must seek." "祈りの目的は，神の御心を�浃à毪长趣扦悉胜�，神がわたしたちに与えようとすでに�浃à皮�られる祝福を，自分のため，また人のために得ることである。しかし、それを得るには求めなさい。" -when I was a kid prayed everyday so I could fly still can't fly,,... I guess it wasn't God's will for me to fly. -emphasize "seek" to obtain the promised blessings -how and when to prayer Alma 37:36-37 Alma is talking to his Boy Helaman, earnestly pray always and council with the lord in all things, how earnestly, when always -alrighty now that we all know the simple and fundamentals of prayer but now for the stuff you have all been waiting for the Power of prayer, -what is the power of prayer, for me the power of prayer is the answer or the blessing received, when Joseph smith he sought out God through prayer, God answered and appeared to him. Powerful right. -although God might not appear to us directly, as I was studying for this talk, Elder Richard G. Scott's talk from oct. 1989 "Learning to Recognize Answers to Prayer" three ways that prayer comes. -the answer yes "When He answers yes, it is to give us confidence." Nephi 2:19- nephi prayed the lord said yes, Nephi 3:7 we all know this scripture, nephi had confidence to do anything and everything the Lord wanted him to do, when the Lord answers yes, we receive confidence. -the answer no, "When He answers no, it is to prevent error." Church teaches don't steady dating in High school, but I though well if it's Elder Stevens it okay right, plus the girl she is Beautiful, a good Mormon, lives my standards she is perfect... I prayed, the answer was,,, NO, God said no I obeyed, I was able to stay worthy and now am on a mission serving people. When God answers no he is protecting us. -for me the third is the most common but "When He withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth." Shared experience about 2 brothers, medical problems, they went home early from mission, no direct answers, but now some have come, others are coming, and some won't be answered for a long time, from email "[Elder Stevens] you are still on a mission and I bet things don't always fall into play the way you want, but know that God is watching and knows what he is doing. You may not get answers today, this week, month, year, or ever in your life, but there is an answer and you'll eventually know." (By the way on a side note got this email two days before my talk and it was an answer to my prayers as to what to talk about thanks for follow the spirit man I love you!!) -relate to missionary work for myself, thought coming out I would receive answers as to where to go what to do everyday for every phase of the work.. Wrong, that number 3 answers is everyday, God doesn't answer so I can grow faith, obey and act on the truth he had given me. -testimony - in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Anyways that was the talk after 6 weeks we were finally able to meet that guy that didn't believe in God, but Elder Hishii and I stayed strong and he eventually let us in Sasaki San is his name if you are keeping track. He has been busy on business trips and then he has a wife in the Philippians and went there for "Golden week" a Japanese holiday, so he has been out of town we were able to talk to him a couple of times on the phone but finally we met and it was a good lesson, he said he would come to church too, we invited him cause I was talking but unfortunately he didn't come. Officially today only 4 months left on a mission, and at the rate I am emailing maybe 4 more emails home;) I love you all and hope you all have a great week!

April 10, 2016

[Mom's note: This week Jarek, didn't write home. He sent a few short clips of video. He sounded stressed. Overall he is doing well just seems to have a lot on his mind. Keep him in your prayers. Thank you]

 April 3, 2016


 Hey everyone had another great week!! Some news, I was transferred to
Eniwa-Chitose I am excited to work here, and I will be with Elder
Hishii again, we were companions in Honbu, but I am so happy to be his
companion again! Basically spent the last week in Kushiro like any
other week lots of visiting but this time saying good bye it was
pretty sad but I am excited to work in Eniwa-Chitose!

First day of work here was so good, we went housing with the little
bit of time that we were giving and we knocked in this one door and a
guy came out, I went into our introduction on who we are and what we
are doing and he was like well God doesn't exist so there is no reason
for you to be out doing what you are doing and then I was like well
guess what God exists and he loves you and me and wants to help and
then he was like God doesn't exist there are wars death and bad stuff
so there is no way that there is a god!! And then I was like There is
a God, I know it and if you want to know too I would be happy to show
how you can know!! At this point I was kinda of thinking, uh oh this
is bad I'm about to throw down with the 40 year old man about the
reasons why God exists. But then he was like, oh um well I actually
like Christians ya know and you guys seem okay how about you come in
and we talk. Then we went in and talked about God and our church, he
asked about Baptism said that if he can would like to try and do it
some day, got his phone number and then we walked with him to the
train station because he was going out with some friends and we were
going to Sapporo for MLK (mission leader conference). But anyways
hooray for being Bold!! His name is Sasaki and I'm excited to get to
know him better and hopefully help him receive the saving ordinance of
baptism!! Anyways pretty cool miracle!

I haven't seen GC yet but excited to watch it this weekend, but
anyways before I left Kushiro we have these things called "To Become
Items" our mission has a motto
"To Become"
Obedience is the price
Faith is the power
Love is the motive
Spirit is the key
Christ is the reason
Joy is the reward
Thus we have "To Become Items" and in order to better achieve that we
pick a theme for a month and the we think of ways to help others learn
and achieve the mission motto. Our theme this last month was "why" we
had people think of the why of the things that we do in president
Uctdorf's "The why of the Priesthood" from the 2012 April GC
priesthood session he says "The what is important in our work, and we
need to attend to it. But it is in the why of priesthood service that
we discover the fire, passion, and power of the priesthood. The what
of priesthood service teaches us what to do. The why inspires our
souls. The what informs, but the why transforms." Although he relates
it to priesthood service, it works with anything, for example, the
what, I want to lose 10 pounds, the why I want to be healthier, I
wanna see my 6 pack and I want a Girl or a guy;) the what by itself is
not a bad thing, but with the why we receive the desire and the what
becomes an aspiration! In the church and in our callings there is a
bunch of what's like home teaching, a mission, going to church,
reading scriptures, and such but just like Uchtdorf says "
Understanding the why... will help us to see the divine purpose of all
of this." But if there are ever any questions on what you should do,
think of the why and everything becomes clear, the gospel is simple I
love it and I hope you all have a great week!!

March 28, 2016

Hey all, Happy Easter!!!

We had a nice week were able to make a new baptismal date with a new
person, Yamada, he has some cool Tattoos, in Japan it is really rare
for someone to have tattoos so I thought it was pretty cool! We taught
about the plan of salvation and what happens when we die and I have
never seen anyone that wanted to go to the Celestial kingdom so much
in my life, so I am pretty excited for him! We have been sending a
scripture to Masato every day I feel like it has helped a lot he is
super busy and we weren't able to meet on Sunday so that kinda sucked
but sounds like he is making a little bit of progress with his family,
would love some extra prayers for him! Nitona we taught him with the
young men at an activity about prayer so that was pretty good for him.
We met 4 other college students this week for the first time and they
seem to have some after we introduced the gospel so we have
appointments with them this week. And one of the Less actives we are
visiting with came to church this week and she had a wonderful time!
We were also able to meet with a bunch of our other investigators this
week so it was a nice week!

This week is the transfer week so we will see what happens, also we
have Mission leader Conference (MLK) this weekend so I am excited for
that!!

All ya alls in America are so freaking lucky you get to watch General
Conference this weekend!! I have to wait for a whole week!:0 If you
haven't  had a chance President Eyrings message in the April Liahona
is inspiring, I love this part though "We who listen to and watch the
messages of general conference sometimes think afterward, 'What do I
remember best?' The Lord?fs hope for each of us is that our answer
will be: 'I will never forget the moments when I felt the voice of the
Spirit in my mind and heart telling me what I could do to please my
Heavenly Father and the Savior.'" If we just watch and hope to learn
we hear inspiring words from some wise old dudes. If we prepare
whether it be questions, prayer, reviewing old talks, it then becomes,
old dudes inspiring words to personal treasures of revelation from
God's messengers of truth here on Earth! Wow right?! Watching General
Conference = a cool story or two from some apostles. Preparation and
watching General Conference = revelation, answers everything that God
wants you to know, and everything you need to help you with anything
that you might be struggling with. The difference is too big to not
put preparation in.

It's Easter and I would like to take that opportunity to let you all
know I Love Jesus and his sacrifice for me and you, he has "descended
below all things" so that we can, with him, ascend and return to our
Father in heaven with our families forever!

March 20, 2015

Whats up everyone!? Another week gone just like that time flies right!? Anyways this week was full of miracles! Just a lot of really good missionary work this week! Lots of finding and Lesson teaching and we even went on a walk with a Less active member it was kinda awkward she is an 60 year old grandma but we were talking about her wanting to buy a new house and move and such but then she is like umm there is another less active member near by lets go and visit her, so we went but she wasnt home, so we stopped in a park and we showed her the new Easter video HALLELUJAH, and then she was like I felt the spirit it was so good, next time you come over I want you to teach my Husband! That was a nice little miracle to a wonderful week of missionary work!!

We were able to visit with Masato as well he had a baptism date for the 27th of this month but we talked yesterday and we decided that it might be better that we push it back a little bit it was pretty sad for myself but the lesson went really well and it was easy to recognize that it was better off that push that date back a little bit, he is going to pray about it and talk to his parents with his Girlfriend, so it should go well and we are going to send him a scripture daily to help with his Spiritual strength.

Also Nitona came back from Vietnam and we were able to do a lesson with him after an activity, and it was a really good lesson and he has a good friend in the branch now so we are very excited for him.

I Started the Book of Mormon again this transfer and I am in Alma and was able to read chapter 26 when Ammon Glories in the Lord, and all of the success he had while he was doing missionary work in Land of the Lamanites verses 35-37 stood out to me this time, but reading this '...God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land;' This is Japan a strange land who is still a part of branch of Israel who has just been lost, he goes on 'yea, I say blessed be the name of God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land.' God is mindful of both his Missionaries and his lost sheep in Japan and he will guide us in all we do as long as we are open and ready for the spirit and blessings that he is always pouring over us. It is always cool to make connections and remember things that we are taught as we reread the words of God, I love it!!

I love you all and hope you alls have a great week!!

 

                                                      Bowling!

March 13, 2016

Hello everyone!! Had a wonderful week, last week we went to Sapporo to have Mission Tour with Elder Choi, he is the man, I love him he was so good! Learned so much and had a bunch of answers answered! Hmmm, maybe some of the highlights PMG stands for Preach My Gospel, Elder Choi taught us another Meaning Perfect Marriage Guidance, made me pretty Trunky hehe, Just kidding but he told us how this book helps us not only on the mission but it is a guidance for us throughout our lives and how we need to not just only know the things that are written in the book but to be Experts of the PMG. The next thing that I loved that he said was a combination of two quotes that he shared but they were ?No Fears, No doubts, Today I obey, and Tomorrow I understand.` I like that and it is going to be my quote for the rest of my mission probably, it doesnt matter what we do as long as we are obedient and faithful today it doesnt matter what happens because we wont understand why all this happens until far down the road of life and eternity.

Hmm, other Highlights for the week we had a couple of good lessons with a couple of investigators and did splits in Obihiro but that was basically it for the week half of it was on the bus traveling but still were able to get some good progress in the area!

Anyways I hope you all have a great week Love you all and thanks  for all you prayers!!

March 6, 2016

Dear Family and Friends!

Hey had a wonderful week here in Kushiro, last P day we had a Zone Activity we played scripture Jeopardy and it went pretty well and everyone seemed to have a pretty good time!! Then we had ZTM on Tuesday, ZTM went great and we did a 2 workshops the first one was on the why of the Missionary work? it went really well and we really tried to focus on the WHY of baptisms and how to try to help everyone see some more success. The next was on setting goals and the importance of not only setting goals but also to set goals that will stretch but not discourage, I feel like we did a really good job and that the zone got a lot from it! 

The rest of the week was really hard,.. we worked so hard and had a lot of goals this week to see a lot of progress, but literally no one was home and we ended up finding a lot of the week and in that finding there was really no one who wanted to listen, I have never had a week were I have worked so hard to see no success, but by Sunday we had a couple of New investigators and we were able to meet with 2 progressing investigators that week, and we felt pretty good going into Sunday, we felt like we had put the work in and that we would have people at church, and then no one came to church, at that point I was pretty frustrated, and during sacrament I thought back at my whole mission I felt like I have worked so hard everyday no sick days, always housing, always working but still no real huge success, I just asked the Lord "why we worked so hard and we tried so hard and we saw nothing why" as I was thinking this I was pretty discouraged and I thought it was because I had missed the opportunity and that the golden investigator I missed.. I was humbled after sacrament meeting we asked about one of the members about Masato san, I think I talked about him a couple of emails ago, but we have been working with him a lot and he has progressed so much, but he hadn't been to church in a while and we haven't been able to meet for the past 2 weeks because he was busy with work, but after talking with the member, we were able to make an appointment for Sunday evening, and in that lesson we talked about his worries and doubts but in the end we talked about goals and we wanted him to make a goal, he told us that he wanted to receive baptism this month or the next, and after that we tried just a little more to get a specific goal and after talking about goals for a little bit he made the date 3/27 I was humbled through out the week working hard and seeing nothing, but because of it I have a stronger testimony and know that sometimes we don't see the immediate goals but success will follow and sometimes you just need to hit that concrete block each time you hit it you may see a little chip here and there but what you don't see is the inside getting weaker and weaker until finally "pop" it finally bursts, and this week we were able to break the concrete block for the week and a nice big hit in the goal of Masato san receiving baptism, we don't see the immediate but God helps us push forward until we can all break our personal concrete blocks. I love being a missionary it is the greatest and time is short but I am so grateful for this opportunity to be out here serving the people of Japan!!

I Love you all and hope that you all have a great week and see lots of miracles!!

 February 28, 2016

Hey everyone, we have zone activity this week so not a lot of time to email, and I have not pics so.. Sorry but love ya all and hope y'all have a great week! Nitona came to church and we had a great week of missionary work! Here is a good talk this week!

"First, you are called of God. The Lord knows you. He knows whom He would have serve in every position in His Church. He chose you. He has prepared a way so that He could issue your call.

 The person who called you did not issue the call simply because he learned by interviewing you that you were worthy and willing to serve. He prayed to know the Lord?s will for you.

You are called to represent the Savior. Your voice to testify becomes the same as His voice, your hands to lift the same as His hands.

Your call has eternal consequences for others and for you. In the world to come, thousands may call your name blessed, even more than the people you serve here.

If someone rejects the Savior?s invitation because you did not do all you could have done, their sorrow will be yours. You see, there are no small callings to represent the Lord. Your call carries grave responsibility. But you need not fear, because with your call come great promises.

The Lord will guide you by revelation just as He called you.

Just as God called you and will guide you, He will magnify you.

If I only think of my own performance, my sadness deepens. But when I remember that the Lord promised that His power would go with me, I begin to look for evidence of what He has done in the lives of the people I am to serve. I pray to see with spiritual eyes the effects of His power. All He asks is that you give your best effort and your whole heart. Do it cheerfully and with the prayer of faith."

Elder Henry B. Eyring "Rise to your Call"

These are the parts I liked in this talk it is wonderful but this part is my favorite "If I only think of my own performance, my sadness deepens. But when I remember that the Lord promised that His power would go with me, I begin to look for evidence of what He has done in the lives of the people I am to serve. I pray to see with spiritual eyes the effects of His power. All He asks is that you give your best effort and your whole heart. Do it cheerfully and with the prayer of faith" God is everything and through him we perform miracles, I love you all!!

 February 21, 2016

What's up everyone?!! Its been a while since I have done a good email back home but, as a new transfer goal I am going to try and do a good email every week this transfer! Hooray!! Anyways this week said goodbye to some of my favorite missionaries so that was pretty sad but they are all in America and having a blast so its all good!! We also entered a new transfer and I am going to be with Elder Day, he was the AP last transfer so he is basically the greatest missionary ever! I am really excited to work with him, we have gone on splits before, but I like him he is pretty funny and sarcastic so it will be a fun transfer. Some of his hobbies, well actually the only one he says he has is playing the Violin but he is really good at it so maybe someday I will send a video of it?.. anyways this week was fun week we were able to meet a lot of people and we had a 15 year old come to church his name is Nitona but he seemed to enjoy the youth and the young mens teacher so I have some high hopes for him!

We also made a Baptismal date with Yamane it was a pretty good lesson but right now his biggest worries is that if he gets baptized he changes from being a Buddhist to a Christian so hopefully we can get over this worry and get him eternal salvation! I love being a missionary and it is so awesome to be here in Kushiro, we see miracles everyday, and I am so excited to work with Elder Day and we are hoping to see a lot of success over  the next 6 weeks!!

I was reading the White Handbook this week for those of you who don't know what the White Hand Book is it is a book with standards for missionaries to follow, but anyways in the beginning of the book it talks a little bit about the calling and the importance of the calling of a missionary, but anyways I have been reading this book my whole mission but this week I was reading from the beginning again and there is a paragraph that I really liked `When you accepted you call , you promised to live by these standards. You are accountable to the Lord and to the leaders of Church for how well you honor this promise. Always keep in mind the importance of your calling. Strive constantly to magnify it.` I really liked this sentence because it works for any calling that we receive in the church whether it is primary teacher or Bishop, we are `accountable to the Lord and leaders of the Church for how well we honor this promise`, and after reading this I really thought of the remaining time for myself on the mission, but we all have our different callings in the church right now, and our time is limited, sometimes we don't know when it will end, so we need to do everything we can at all times. I love this gospel, we have one lifetime, but in that time we have the amazing opportunity to discover and rediscover the simple truths the gospel, and more importantly we all have the calling to share it with others! I love you all so much thanks you for all your emails and prayers and support! I hope you all have a great week!!!

 

 

February 14, 2016

Hey people I have like no time to email but it has been a crazy couple of weeks here are some photos for your enjoyment I will send more in the near future I hope?:) 

Love you all have a wonderful week!!!!!

 February 7, 2016

He sent a video instead. How about that?

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January 31, 2016

 Hey everyone! Woah look at the time I am about out of time for email but just a quick update for the last two weeks!

Elder Tokuzawa and I have had a lot of fun we have taught and visited so many people

we had a training from the church that was worldwide for all missionaries!

It was super cool and I learned a lot

went bowling today, played 8 games average was 146 high was 166 it was fun

had a baptismal interview in our zone, Elder Tokuzawa did it, he passed, he was baptized sunday

I am having a blast in Kushiro 

I love the Lord 

and I hope you all have a great week!!

With Love,

Elder Stevens

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January 17, 2016

Hey everyone sorry for not getting an email out last week, we were super busy and we didnt have a lot of time to email, but anyways a couple of updates, I got transferred to a city called Kushiro, there are six missionaries, there names are Elder Nakashima, Elder Sakihara, Elder Tokuzawa(he is my companion) Sister Cooper, and Sister Peters, and then there are two elders in the a city called Nemuro but they are also in our district, Elder Tomioka, and Elder Wajima. Its pretty great all the Elders in my District are Japanese, and in our zone the only Japanese missionaries are in my district, so I feel pretty blessed. I was also called to be a Zone Leader, which is cool I guess, but this week we had Zone Training meeting and we did 2 workshops on how to better recognize the spirit and help investigators understand it as well, and then the other one was on mission culture and what kind of culture do we think that this mission has and what kind of culture that we want to have. It was pretty fun and I was super nervous too, and for the end of the second one President Nakatsuka came but it was good the 2nd workshop was really good and I think that it really helped everyone notice the potential that we all had and it also got everyone super excited to get out and do missionary work!

Other than that there has been so many people that we have met and taught lessons with this week, but one of them was Masato, he is probably the closest to baptism right when I came he had a baptism date and interview all set up but a small slip up and it got postponed for a little bit but he still wants to get baptized so I am excited!! And then there is another person called Nakajima, we found her this week and she was pretty excited to see us and she also was like I love to talk about church stuff, so we are excited for her! And then one more Highlight was Paul he is a Russian we found, he invited us in and then we taught about God and Pray and Church simply in English, then he said that he wants to come to the church and here more about this message, it was a super good and spiritual lesson, I am excited for him and a lot of people here in Kushiro!

This weeks Ponderize is a nice and simple one but a great one Jacob 2:18 `But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.`

Anyways that is all I got for this week and I am so excited for the next week got splits with the Assistants and also with some of our members in the Zone. I love you all have a great week!!! 

January 3, 2016

Well hello everyone I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break and
New Years because here in Hakodate we saw tons of miracles... Wow I
sound so lame but really, lots of big things happened, but probably
the biggest is that my companion went home he had an irregular heart
beat and he is getting it check out by the doctor now but he should be
back in like less than six weeks so everyone please pray for Elder
Mccreary and his family. And because of that big thing that happened
we became a threesome companionship and we saw a lot of miracles these
past couple of weeks. One of our investigators named Ryu he is pretty
cool he was a little bit sick this past week but we were still able to
meet with him a couple of times and he was in bed one day reading the
gospel library because he was bored and he was reading the preach my
gospel, by the way he is 18 and been investigating the church for
about a year so he knows quite a bit, but anyways he was reading it
and he was like hey what should I read in this book, and we told him
chapter 4 and 6 and then if you got time 3 but since coming to
Hakodate again it is crazy to see the huge change in him from my first
time to right now, one thing he said last week was he wishes that he
had started studying the gospel when he was younger so that he could
know more now.
Among our other progressing investigators hikaru, kusumoto, and JJ, we
were able to meet and taught them all there respected lessons but
really other than that it was pretty normal taught about Jesus, and
his atonement a lot this week!! Those are the focused people and then
we have other people we visited but aren't really focusing.
Some fun stuff we did, we woke up and 4:00 in the morning to hike the
Hakodate Mountain in the snow to see sunrise, we also had to walk the
10 kilometers to get to the mountain. Then we went to round 1 I don't
know if you all remember it but it is basically a huge sports place
and it is super fun!!

Was rereading talks from conference and when I read Elder Hales then
end of it was super good when he says
Ask yourself: ?gWhat areas of my life do I want to strengthen so that
I can strengthen others? Where do I want to be a year from now? two
years from now? What choices do I need to make to get there??h Right
now I am on a mission and everyday that I get to serve the lord I get
to become the closer to the person he needs me to be, and I also get
to help everyone strengthen their lives as I come closer to the lord
as well, it also reminds me of how far I need to work in order to
become the person I want to be by the end of my mission and also in 2
years from now, I loved that we had New Years and the opportunity to
make goals for the year. I love goals and know that through goals that
we are able to progress and achieve and reach our potential!

Had an all day Book of Mormon reading day but during that I found my
ponderize scripture: 2 nephi 3:24
24 And there shall rise up one mighty among them, who shall do much
good, both in word and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of
God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders, and do that thing
which is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to pass much
restoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy
brethren.
It talks about Joseph smith but I think we should all be striving to
be the one that is described in this verse, I can't really say it
better than the scriptures but, we should all be the missionary tool
for God in all times and in all places because "after all that has
been said and done the most important duty is that you preach the
gospel"

Every have a wonderful week I love you all!!

December 21, 2015
 Hey everyone had a good week not too much time to email this week but
just some cool quick stuff Kusumoto San is becoming a pretty good
investigator we have visited with here like 3 times and have an
appointment for tomorrow so I am pretty excited, there are only to
weeks left in this transfer, Christmas is in 5 days, the 1998 ensign
"Come unto me" by Elder Holland "Let him lift the load. Let him give
peace to your soul. Nothing in this world is more burdensome than
sin--it is the heaviest cross men and women ever bear." I loved this
part of the talk but there is really nothing holding back the only
thing we have to do on our part is let him, the key phrase is to let
him, all we have to do is humble ourselves and let him take all our
problems and sins. Matthew 11:29-30 ponderize scripture his yoke is
light and he is willing to take it all on him.

I love you all have a merry Christmas!!

                                        Everything that was in his Christmas box we sent him :)


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December 14, 2015

Hey everyone!! Had a decent week, my companion was pretty sick this
week so we had some extra time in the apartment, it was pretty lame I
hate being in the apartment longer than usual. One of the days I baked
a bunch of cookies to give to members, and I remembered how much I
don't like to bake it's boring. But anyways so far this email has been
full of a bunch of downers, but there is some great news too!! I went
on splits with another elder so that I could visit one of the
appointments that we made (because my comp has been on his death bed
all week) and she ended up being a super awesome we talked about
Christ Christmas and prayer and at the end of the lesson we prayed
together so it was pretty awesome! We also had a Christmas party on
Saturday and we sung O little town of Bethlehem it was pretty fun, but
Christmas parties here aren't really parties but more like a
performance that helps everyone look back to the true meaning of
Christmas which is Christ, so they are actually super spiritual which
is awesome and we had a bunch of English class students and
investigators come to the party!

Our mission motto is "To become"
Obedience is the price
Faith is the power
Love is the reason
Spirit is the key
Christ is the reason
Joy is the reward

And I was reading a talk this week from Dallin H. Oaks from the 2000
oct. conference entitled "The challenge to become" he talks a lot
about testimony and conversion as well as following the Savior but
there is a small part which I really liked he says "To testify is to
know and declare... To do is to become" in this talk he challenges us
to always be converted and to always be learning and become better in
the gospel, he used one example of missionaries who come back but
aren't seeking to still be converted in the Lord but are instead less
worth while endeavors. And this week we had Zone Conference and we
learned a lot about missionary and member work but the three main
points was how to get members to help more in finding, teaching, and
inviting. Our whole purpose in this life is to become the person God
wants us to be and one of the things that help on this eternal process
is being a missionary always declare the truths we know. Back to the
mission motto but I just want to talk about the last point, joy is the
reward, as we invite and come to the gospel with our brothers and
sisters we will be able to feel the supernal gift of joy. I love this
gospel and I love being a missionary!

Ponderize scripture: "Feed my Sheep" John 21:15-17

I love you all hope that you have a great week!!

                                                           Picture of the cookies he baked
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December 7, 2015

 Hello every how are you alls doing??? This week was a wonderful we
started off with bowling with investigators on pday it was pretty
great!! The second game I bowled a 157 still got it, but it has gotten
a little bit worse!! Then on Tuesday had a great DTM talked about the
three simple rules to life which are:
1. If you do not go after what you want, you will never achieve it.
2. If you do not ask the answer is no.
3. If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.
These three are so simple and they are just basically saying get up
and get it done. I related this to goal setting and the importance of
goals, as well as time and how short and quick it goes and you have to
take full advantage of the time that you have and don't waste a
second. Then later that day we found a pretty cool Protestant lady who
said she was going to come to church this Sunday but called and
canceled but we set another appointment for Thursday this week.

Cool talk I read this week that inspired me to make emails a little
more meaningful, but Thomas S. Monson 1974 October conference 'my
personal hall of fame' was super good anyways here is a story:

Today Craig Sudbury presides over a ward here in Salt Lake City, but
let me turn back the clock just a few years to the day he and his
mother came to my office prior to Craig?fs departure for the Australia
Melbourne Mission. Fred, Craig?fs father, was noticeably absent.
Twenty-five years earlier, Craig?fs mother had married Fred, who did
not share her love for the Church and indeed did not belong to the
Church.


      Craig confided to me his deep and abiding love for his parents.
He shared his innermost hope that somehow, in some way, his father
would be touched by the Spirit and open his heart to the gospel of
Jesus Christ. He pleaded earnestly with me for a suggestion. I prayed
for inspiration concerning how such a desire might be rewarded. Such
inspiration came, and I said to Craig, ?gServe the Lord with all your
heart. Be obedient to your sacred calling. Each week write a letter to
your parents and, on occasion, write to Dad personally and let him
know that you love him, and tell him why you?fre grateful to be his
son.?h


      He thanked me and, with his mother, departed the office. I was
not to see Craig?fs mother for some 18 months. She came to the office
and, in sentences punctuated by tears, said to me, ?gIt has been
almost two years since Craig departed for his mission. His faithful
service has qualified him for positions of responsibility in the
mission field, and he has never failed in writing a letter to us each
week. Recently my husband Fred stood for the first time in a testimony
meeting and said, ?eAll of you know that I am not a member of the
Church, but something has happened to me since Craig left for his
mission. His letters have touched my soul. May I share one with you?


      ?g?eDear Dad, Today we taught a choice family about the plan of
salvation and the blessings of exaltation in the celestial kingdom. I
thought of our family. More than anything in the world, I want to be
with you and with Mother in that kingdom. For me it just wouldn?ft be
a celestial kingdom if you were not there. I?fm grateful to be your
son, Dad, and want you to know that I love you. Your missionary son,
Craig.?f


      ?gFred then announced, ?eMy wife doesn?ft know what I plan to
say. I love her and I love our son, Craig. After 26 years of marriage
I have made my decision to become a member of the Church, for I know
the gospel message is the word of God. I suppose I have known this
truth for a long time, but my son?fs mission has moved me to action. I
have made arrangements for my wife and me to meet Craig when he
completes his mission. I will be his final baptism as a full-time
missionary of the Lord.?f?h

?????C????????`

It was a great talk and I loved this story although I don't feel like
I am going make anyone join the church through my emails or anything,
I feel like I needed to put more time in and at least send a good
message and let people know more about what is going on in the
mission.

Ponderize for the week- 3 nephi 18:20, prayer is the key to receiving
God's promised blessing:)

Have a great week everyone!

1. Finally snowed in Hakodate we made snow angels after dendo

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November 29, 2015

Hey all great week out of time for email but here are some pictures
for your pleasure!:)

                                                               Their Thanksgiving Dinner

November 25, 2015
[Mom's note: So sorry, everyone! It's been a little crazy and I was having issues with the blog. Finally had Katherine come fix it which didn't take much ;) Here it is all caught up.]

 Hey everyone it's a short week for dendo and a lot of travel spent a
total of 17 hours on a bus, train, or subway so that killed missionary
work for the week, we were able to have a wonderful zone conference
and and stake conference too! But anyways running out of time this
week, we found one new investigator she is like 4 foot 7 and 85 years
old but she is the cutest little old lady she is super nice and
actually came up and talked with us so we picked her up and had a
lesson with her so that was good!! Anyways here are some pics I hope
you all have a great week!! I love ya all!

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November 15, 2015

 Hey friends and family it was a great week we had a couple of awesome
lessons with members and we found some cool people this week. Also had
zone training meeting learned some really good things really excited
for this week we have a lot of good things planned but a lot of travel
is planned as well so that is a little bit rough takes a way from a
lot area missionary work so that is kinda hard. Read a good talk from
this week learning from past mistakes by m Russell Ballard it was
really what I need I think and it reminded me of the importance of
always learning and getting better and it really helps for this white
wash situation there are a lot of ideas and things we do and sometimes
some things don't work as well as other things and when we learn from
those things we become better missionaries and better people!! I love
this gospel and I love being a missionary!!! Have a great week
everyone!!
1. Went to a big chair and had to get a sick pic
2. Zone trading meeting
3. Ice cream
4. Went with a member to get some ice cream on pday

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 November 8,2015

Love you all lots of role plays with members and new investigators
great week I love you all!!

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 November 1, 2015
Hey everyone it was a great week we found some more people to teach
and and saw miracles everyday!! That is the summary of the week but I
want to be more specific and give better emails home so here is a
little bit more of the weekly schedule.

Monday- Pday we went to the gym it was a lot of fun, I can still bench
225 so I was pretty stoked still fill weak but happy still that I can
lift a little bit of weight, then we did some drop sets for the chest
was sore for a couple of days afterwards but it was okay. Cool thing
though we found a guy named Chiba he was cool we taught lesson one
and made a return appointment but he wasn't home that day so we will
try again I still have hope he said he was super busy with his job but
if we can meet with him regularly it will be good.

Tuesday- DTM did it on being a Christ like missionary and not just
doing missionary things, we also found a guy named Chiba and another
guy named Noda good day.

Wednesday- lots of housing planted seeds but wasn't able to make a
strong appointment with anyone and tried to meet a bunch of potential
investigators but a lot weren't home so that was sad but we keep
pushing forward.

Thursday- DKK and finding and visiting

Friday- a sushi goach!! Yea grateful very grateful I luv sushi hahah
jk just at a bunch of fried food stomach hurt the rest of the day.
This was also the day we met with Nado again for the second time he
listened he was a super weak appointment but he opened his door and
listened so it was good taught lesson 1 and gave him the lesson 1
pamphlet it went good always happy teaching it feels great and it is
super fun to talk with people!!

Saturday- Halloween party I was a hipster and looked great;)
hahhahahah told everyone that I was going as my little brother, luv
you Trist:)))) lots of people came to the party and Lots of non
members too came so it was a super good activity!!

Sunday- church and then we had 2 mogi (role play) lessons with members
they went good. They are pretty stressful feel a lot of pressure
because with a bean you basically teach and expound on a lot of the
points but I let my bean try to teach as much as possible and try to
practice his teaching but, they have a language barrier so you have to
fill in for missed teachings but the spirit is so strong when he bares
he testimony no spiritual barriers he is such a good bean!! Whenever
you are teaching you really feel the spirit and personal testimony is
strengthened.

Ponderize scripture for the week DC 24:8 "Be patient in afflictions,
for thou shalt have many, but endure them well, for, lo, I am with
thee, even until the end of thy days." Learned a lot about patience
this week ,are a goal to learn about different Christlike attributes
every week. And this week was patience I felt like it really applied
to the situation that I am in because we aren't seeing huge changes
right away but we need to be patient through it and because we are
working hard everything will be okay

Anyways love you all have a great week!!:)

Halloween party I was Tristan:)

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October 25, 2015

 Great week!! We spent a whole lot of time housing and finding and
talking to wonderful people so it was a great experience! Elder
Mccreary is a freaking boss I love him he is so funny we get a long
really good and we just have a blast all day long!!

We were able to find 4 new investigators and teach them lessons hoping
that it will go good with them some are stronger than others and some
like talking more than others but I have lots of hope and faith for
them!!

Went to the beach last pday and we threw the football and then played
some other games then we went to an all you can eat pizza so it was
great!!

That is really about it for the week though I hope you all have a
great week and see miracles everyday

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October 18, 2015

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October 11, 2015

 

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October 4, 2015

 Hey everyone thanks for all the B-day Wishes and love!! This week was a great week in the Mission the Highlight though is that we were able to talk to Mark again (the guy from the Philippians) He is pretty much the coolest Guy there is, I asked him what he does in his free time he says he talks with family and plays computer games but guess what computer game he plays... yup that's right he plays League of Legends and he is a boss!! he plays it with his younger brother and they talk through skype just like me and Trist!!! it is so freaking cool, he also loves bball he is just the coolest I don't know what else to say!! oh yea and we have an appointment for Tuesday! we are going to the church and we are going to do a tour and play bball and do a lesson so I am excited!!!

This week for my B-day we went to a place called Jacksonville burger and they made a really good burger and guess whats more??? It had Jalapenos on it...heaven.. So freaking good!! Had a Investigator take me out for a meal this week and he gave me a cake a card and a personal Kanji Stamp one saying my last name and the other was a nick name he calls me because I love a Meal called katsudon he got another one called katsukatsu which had a really good meaning from the Kanjji like overcoming and perseverance or something like that I don't remember perfectly, If you don't know what I am talking about that is ok too because it is kind of confusing to explain in english but ya. Also one of the Kotoni Shimai made a Chocolate cake for me it was really good she was like a pro baker before the mish, so it was freaking delicious yup, but after that nothing else all that crazy happened more splits with elders in my district but nothing crazy happened but it was fun and spiritual!! 

Thats All I got!! Love you all and hope that you have a great week!!

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September 27, 2015

Hey everyone not much time to email but it was a good week, we got out to house and we found a really cool guy from the philipians he was really good at english and I am hoping that we can meet with him again but he said that he wanted to come to church so i am pretty excited other than that went on splits and had an overall pretty good week!! hope you all have a great week I love you all!!


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September 20, 2015

Things were good this week It flew by though I can never believe that it is P-day again. I sent him another email he sounded a lot better in his last email to me a lot more like Tristan, but I got the package was I suppose to wait until my b-day to open it because, ya ummm I didn't heheh just to excited, the Ties were great Elder Horne said that the Tie from Laos was sick and I love the Other Ties, Tie clips are great too! where do I put those pins though we aren't aloud to wear pins on the suit can I put them through the tie?? and the shirts are pretty good they aren't smaller than the shirts that I have but oh well new shirts so I am happy!! Always love Cliff bars too!! Thank you soo soo much for the package it was wonderful!! 

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September 13, 2015
[Mom's note: There was no group email this week. Just this short one for me :)]

Well I just tell you the same stuff that I sent dad but I sent him a little note about what could maybe pump him up and help him but really the only thing that matters is that he himself knows that he can get passed it and I know that he will get there just give him some time , I think I had all the same thoughts as well, I was reading my journal, and I just think I put on a face for you guys for the first 3 weeks or so, i didn't want the MTC or mission to ever seem super hard because I knew trist was gonna have a bit a of a struggle in the beginning, But I am sure that he will be fine! Anyways I am out of time for Email so there probably wont be a weekly for this week But I love you and for this wee basically just the normal so that is okay right???;) I love you!!

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September 17, 2015/Week 2/Elder Tristan Stevens

 

Hello Everybody!

 The MTC is a place that is full of amazing experiences to have. I have learned so much in the 2 weeks I have been here. Being asked to be District Leader on day 2 was a shocker and very stressful. I had just met all these new people and now I am supposed to be their leader and make sure all of them are doing okay throughout the day and the fact that they look to me as an example in hard times has made me feel inadequate at times. I quickly learned that the most effective way to serve people is to find a love for them and to pray for patience with them. I have a Choro (elder) in my district that is a linguistics major and man...there are a lot of stories just from that intro there alone. He corrects my English all the time which is fine by me and he always is strongly opinionated about things. He is very good at Japanese and that has helped the district a lot. I am not very good at Japanese and I struggle my way through the lessons with investigators but I can promise that the language of the Spirit will always be stronger than the Language of Japanese. The spirit will teach things that you dont even say but yet the investigator feels it and as long as I am prepared and worthy to bring the spirit then I feel like the lesson was a success.

 

 As I have been District Leader I realized the importance of Prayer. Everynight in my personal prayer I find myself relying on the Lord to help me find guidance for the District. I pray for every person in my District individually and pray for what I think they might need at that time. Its hard to know exactly what to pray for but just acting on that prompting to pray for them has allowed me to have a stronger love for them and serving them has been a great blessing. Carr Choro (Elder Carr) the linguistics major really wants to be Zone Leader. The current ZL's are leaving on Monday and he is campaigning hard for that position and constantly asking to be interviewed and always sharing scriptures and speaking a lot of Japanese when the Branch Presidency is around. I havent understood that fully. I wondered why would you want that responsibility on top of learning Japanese and teaching lessons and eating MTC food and all of that going on. A quote was shared in the Devotional..."when the desire becomes greater than the title, that is when you become a powerful missionary endowed with power" I learned that whether you are an AP or a junior companion you are a servant of the Lord and if you have a strong desire and dont worry about what position you are in the "food chain" or line of authority you will be powerful. 

 One final thing there is this Brazilian guy in my zone and he wants to play me in soccer like everyday and today I get to play him because its P Day. If I meg him first he has to do 70 pull ups and call me the Dom Ching King and he said if he beats me he gets to call me Stevens Shimai (Sister Stevens) and I do 70 pull ups....but I mean....I have some good soccer tricks up my sleeve so we will see how that goes....but if I was a betting man I would bet that soon he will be calling me the king haha just kidding....but really though... Love you all and thanks for the encouragement. A mission isnt just 2 years of your life serving as the Lord. It is a lifelong calling we can all strive to be. We dont need to name tag to represent the Lord. Just serve always and do your best and he is Proud. 

-Stevens Choro