9/10/09 Email Message
Family,
Hows it going?! Sorry last weeks email was so lame. We were just sooo busy last week. With new missionaries coming in, old missionaries going out, and missionaries transferring around, it was a miracle we even found time to sleep. It was hectic, but I guess thats what makes life fun. But for now Im glad Ive got time to sit down and write - then its back to running around ;-)
Its great to hear all the news about the cousins. Thats so cool that Bobby got sealed in the temple! Im happy for him and his wife. And Jack, Norman, and David are all living in Utah now? That is so cool. Im excited to to hang out with them when I get back. Hopefully they will all still be there. You know we never really got much of a chance to hang out when we were young, but I think it would be a great blessing to be friends now that we are older.
Sounds like the musical will be fun this year! Im glad the kids in our ward let at least a few of their school friends in on the fun - sounds like it will be a great dendo [missionary] activity ;-) Is mom planning on helping out? Should I even ask? Its too bad Kendall didnt get the part she wanted, but Im sure she will have a blast as choreographer. Good luck!
Things are going good here. Like I said, we are super busy right now but having a blast. The Nagamachi ward is incredible. Good things are happening all around us - I am so blessed to be here right now. Lately Ive had some special experiences that have really given me a better understanding of how much God loves His children. Last week was really special. Ayumi chan, a 16 year old girl that we have all been working with got baptized. And her baptism was the most spiritual baptism Ive been to on my mission. Her mom and sister who are both recent converts themselves were there too. After she was baptized she stood at the pulpit and bore her little sweet testimony about Jesus Christ. She said she loves Jesus because He loves her. She said she knows the gospel is true because it makes her happy. When she prays good things happen. When she obeys the word of wisdom she feels good. When she reads her scriptures she feels comforted. When she comes to church she feels love. With all of that proof how could she doubt? Then she said amen and sat down.
Her testimony really made me think. It was so simple but also so powerful. There is no need to argue, or debate, or worry, or reason your way into a testimony. This gospel is true because it is. And anyone can experience it for themselves. You can know it just by living it. Ayumi chan helped me really understand how I know for myself. I know Jesus Christ is my Savior because Ive felt His love. I know the commandments are from God because they keep me safe. I know the Bible and the Book of Mormon are Gods word because Ive read them. I know the Church has been restored today and that it is lead by a prophet of God because Ive heard him speak. And I know God answers my prayers because Ive prayed and He has answered them. It really is just that simple. I am so grateful for this chance to be here and learn so much. I am so grateful for the people that have touched my life here in Japan. I am especially grateful for Ayumi chan for teaching me about my testimony. I just feel so loved by the Lord. I love you! I hope you are all happy! Talk to you soon.
Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
Friday, September 18, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Duc knows it. And I know it.
8/24/09 Email Message
Family,
So this was a great week. Our companion exchange this weekend was fantastic. I worked with Allred choro. He was my senpai in the MTC and he was actually my Zone Leader there too. I remember when I first arrived at the MTC he was the first senpai I met. He had been there 6 weeks, but from my perspective he might as well have been there 6 months. I looked up to him during our entire stay in the MTC - and last weekend I finally got to work with him in the field. And it was a blast. We found a lot of interested people and had a great time talking with them. It was fun.
And then on Sunday Duc got baptized. And it was a great. His story is awesome, so I want to share that with you. Duc is Vietnamese but he is going to graduate school in Japan to get his PHD in Mechanical Engineering. He began meeting with missionaries about three months ago. He came to church a few times and heard a few lessons. But at that time he just could not believe in the Restoration. He said he could not believe that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would appear to a 14 year farm boy just to answer one prayer. He also could not believe that the Book of Mormon was true because of "inconcistencies" between its teachings and the Bible's. So after about a month he stopped meeting with the missionaries.
Fast forward to about three weeks ago. In the middle of the day, we got a call from Duc. The first thing he says is "I have had a significant spiritual experience and I would like to be baptized. When can we do it?" We were shocked. We didnt really know what to say at the time, but we set up an appointment to meet and talk about it. We met the next day and he told us what had happened.
For about 6 months he had been working for his cousin, delivering CDs that his cousin had sold over the internet. What Duc didnt know is those CDs were illegal pirated copies. About a week after he stopped meeting with the missionaries, the police came to his home, arrested him, and took him to jail. He was in jail for over three weeks. He cannot speak Japanese so he had no way to help himself get out of his situation. All he could think to do was to pray like the missionaries had taught him. And as he did so, he felt like he also needed to read the scriptures. He called a friend and had him bring him a Bible and a Book of Mormon. And over the next three weeks in jail, he read the entire Bible and the entire Book of Mormon. By the time he had finished he had received an answer from God that everything the missionaries taught him was true.
Through careful study and prayer he received a testimony that the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon was the word of God. He realized that there are no "inconsistencies" between the two, but in fact they actually support and complement each other perfectly. He gained the knowledge that Jesus Christ is his Savior. He also received a burning testimony that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God who actually met Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. At that point, Duc told Heavenly Father that he would serve Him the rest of his life and would follow the Savior and be baptized no matter what happened to him. As soon as the police figured everything out and released him, he called us on the phone. And on Sunday he followed through on his promise to God and entered His church through the waters of baptism. It was such a spiritual experience to witness all of it.
When he got up and bore his testimony at the end of the meeting it was just amazing. He stood up and said very simply what his heart knew to be true. God is our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. The Bible and the Book of Mormon both contain the living word of God. Christs church has been restored in our day through a prophet of God, and we can all be happy forever by living the gospel that has been restored. Duc knows it. And I know it. From the bottom of my heart.
Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
Duc, me, my companion, Takami choro, and the Hansens (the office couple, who also helped us teach a lot)
Family,
So this was a great week. Our companion exchange this weekend was fantastic. I worked with Allred choro. He was my senpai in the MTC and he was actually my Zone Leader there too. I remember when I first arrived at the MTC he was the first senpai I met. He had been there 6 weeks, but from my perspective he might as well have been there 6 months. I looked up to him during our entire stay in the MTC - and last weekend I finally got to work with him in the field. And it was a blast. We found a lot of interested people and had a great time talking with them. It was fun.
And then on Sunday Duc got baptized. And it was a great. His story is awesome, so I want to share that with you. Duc is Vietnamese but he is going to graduate school in Japan to get his PHD in Mechanical Engineering. He began meeting with missionaries about three months ago. He came to church a few times and heard a few lessons. But at that time he just could not believe in the Restoration. He said he could not believe that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would appear to a 14 year farm boy just to answer one prayer. He also could not believe that the Book of Mormon was true because of "inconcistencies" between its teachings and the Bible's. So after about a month he stopped meeting with the missionaries.
Fast forward to about three weeks ago. In the middle of the day, we got a call from Duc. The first thing he says is "I have had a significant spiritual experience and I would like to be baptized. When can we do it?" We were shocked. We didnt really know what to say at the time, but we set up an appointment to meet and talk about it. We met the next day and he told us what had happened.
For about 6 months he had been working for his cousin, delivering CDs that his cousin had sold over the internet. What Duc didnt know is those CDs were illegal pirated copies. About a week after he stopped meeting with the missionaries, the police came to his home, arrested him, and took him to jail. He was in jail for over three weeks. He cannot speak Japanese so he had no way to help himself get out of his situation. All he could think to do was to pray like the missionaries had taught him. And as he did so, he felt like he also needed to read the scriptures. He called a friend and had him bring him a Bible and a Book of Mormon. And over the next three weeks in jail, he read the entire Bible and the entire Book of Mormon. By the time he had finished he had received an answer from God that everything the missionaries taught him was true.
Through careful study and prayer he received a testimony that the Bible as well as the Book of Mormon was the word of God. He realized that there are no "inconsistencies" between the two, but in fact they actually support and complement each other perfectly. He gained the knowledge that Jesus Christ is his Savior. He also received a burning testimony that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet of God who actually met Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. At that point, Duc told Heavenly Father that he would serve Him the rest of his life and would follow the Savior and be baptized no matter what happened to him. As soon as the police figured everything out and released him, he called us on the phone. And on Sunday he followed through on his promise to God and entered His church through the waters of baptism. It was such a spiritual experience to witness all of it.
When he got up and bore his testimony at the end of the meeting it was just amazing. He stood up and said very simply what his heart knew to be true. God is our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. The Bible and the Book of Mormon both contain the living word of God. Christs church has been restored in our day through a prophet of God, and we can all be happy forever by living the gospel that has been restored. Duc knows it. And I know it. From the bottom of my heart.
Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
Duc, me, my companion, Takami choro, and the Hansens (the office couple, who also helped us teach a lot)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The Gift of Tongues is Real
8/13/09 Email Message
Family,
Wow I cant believe all of that happened to Grandpa and he is still alive. I guess he is just too strong. I think this is a sign that I should write him a letter. That will be the first thing I do next P-day. If you talk to him soon tell him I said Hi. And Im praying for him.
I have kind of a cool story from over here in Japan. So in the MTC they drill three little letters into your brain. No matter what you do you cant get away from these three letters. They say it in class, they say it in the halls, they say it in devotionals, they say it in gym, they say it in your dorms, they say it at lunch - its everywhere! After three months in there all you can think about is those three letters. "S.Y.L." - Speak Your Language. Its a little reminder to keep you speaking the language that you are learning at all possibilities and in all situations. They used to promise us that if we kept "speaking our language" one day Japanese really would become "our language". Sometimes I doubted if that was really true.
Well after "speaking my language" for over a year there are a handful of Japanese words that have become part of "my language". Recently Ive been doing a lot of translating at church and other places for the Hansens (the senior couple that is in the office here) The most difficult times are when someone says one of "my words". If someone says something like dendo or kamisama (God) I repeat it back as dendo or kamisama. There have been a few times when they have to look at me and remind me they dont know what Im saying. Sometimes I just dont even know the English translation. Its a testimony to me that the gift of tongues is real. Its a crazy experience thats for sure.
I have a few questions. Did you get my memory card for my pictures in the last package? Also are you going to send my childhood pictures soon? If so please include pictures of high school too. It would be great to have pictures of back home. Also please send my baptism picture and one of me and kimberly in our kimonos. It would realllly help with investigators and in lessons. Please send those ASAP. Also did I tell you I broke my camera? If not - i broke it. Should I buy one here? What should we do? Also one of my suits is falling apart. I need a new one. I can get a good one for about 80 dollars. Also I need to get my drivers license here and we have a problem. I need my driving record from Alabama. Please copy that and email it to me ASAP. Thank you!
Love you all! Thanks for writing me. Talk to you soon!
Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
Family,
Wow I cant believe all of that happened to Grandpa and he is still alive. I guess he is just too strong. I think this is a sign that I should write him a letter. That will be the first thing I do next P-day. If you talk to him soon tell him I said Hi. And Im praying for him.
I have kind of a cool story from over here in Japan. So in the MTC they drill three little letters into your brain. No matter what you do you cant get away from these three letters. They say it in class, they say it in the halls, they say it in devotionals, they say it in gym, they say it in your dorms, they say it at lunch - its everywhere! After three months in there all you can think about is those three letters. "S.Y.L." - Speak Your Language. Its a little reminder to keep you speaking the language that you are learning at all possibilities and in all situations. They used to promise us that if we kept "speaking our language" one day Japanese really would become "our language". Sometimes I doubted if that was really true.
Well after "speaking my language" for over a year there are a handful of Japanese words that have become part of "my language". Recently Ive been doing a lot of translating at church and other places for the Hansens (the senior couple that is in the office here) The most difficult times are when someone says one of "my words". If someone says something like dendo or kamisama (God) I repeat it back as dendo or kamisama. There have been a few times when they have to look at me and remind me they dont know what Im saying. Sometimes I just dont even know the English translation. Its a testimony to me that the gift of tongues is real. Its a crazy experience thats for sure.
I have a few questions. Did you get my memory card for my pictures in the last package? Also are you going to send my childhood pictures soon? If so please include pictures of high school too. It would be great to have pictures of back home. Also please send my baptism picture and one of me and kimberly in our kimonos. It would realllly help with investigators and in lessons. Please send those ASAP. Also did I tell you I broke my camera? If not - i broke it. Should I buy one here? What should we do? Also one of my suits is falling apart. I need a new one. I can get a good one for about 80 dollars. Also I need to get my drivers license here and we have a problem. I need my driving record from Alabama. Please copy that and email it to me ASAP. Thank you!
Love you all! Thanks for writing me. Talk to you soon!
Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Be a Hinckley Scholar. That's all I ask
8/3/09 Email Message to Kendall
hello kendall!
school already huh? crazy. what grade are you in again...6th? 7th? no wait 10?!!! huh? how did that happen!&%! i remember when you were getting ready for your first day of kindergarten. we went to elementary school together. can you believe that! and every time i'd walk past the kindergarten section i'd stop and take a peek to see if i could see my little sister. how did you make it to high school so quickly?
your schedule looks so fun. who are your teachers? i'm glad you are taking a lot of honors classes. you will be happier there. and next year take as many APs as you can. you will enjoy yourself most there. also this year do all you can to make all A's. people may tell you its ok to make B's but they are wrong. dont sell yourself short. also make sure you find some cool clubs to join and don't be afraid to take leadership positions. that's where all the fun is anyway. don't be afraid of doing too much - do as much as you can. do it all. work hard and have fun. and remember you have to prepare to be a hinckley scholar. that's all i ask ;-)
you got to see Tyler [cousin] play baseball? no fair. i wanna see him too. did he play? what position? and kimberly's apartment sounds fun. i'm glad they live so close so that you can see them a lot. isn't family fun? and that is so cool that stephanie came to girls camp and was able to strengthen her testimony. i love that she has learned to recognize the spirit. does she still come to other church activities? tell her i said hey! also tell her i said she needs to get baptized...oops thats the missionary coming out ;-)
so since i came to the honbu [mission home], i've been listening to a lot of music. we have soooo many church cds. but i think i've found a favorite. its an efy cd. the theme is Stand in the Light. I'm not sure what year its from but it may be 2008 or 2007...pretty recent i'm sure. anyway, i think you would love it. it would be a great sunday cd. i like track 1, 4 and 5 especially. 4 reminds me of you. i recomend it.
i love you! you are the best little sister i could ask for. thanks for being so cool. keep makin' me proud!
Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
hello kendall!
school already huh? crazy. what grade are you in again...6th? 7th? no wait 10?!!! huh? how did that happen!&%! i remember when you were getting ready for your first day of kindergarten. we went to elementary school together. can you believe that! and every time i'd walk past the kindergarten section i'd stop and take a peek to see if i could see my little sister. how did you make it to high school so quickly?
your schedule looks so fun. who are your teachers? i'm glad you are taking a lot of honors classes. you will be happier there. and next year take as many APs as you can. you will enjoy yourself most there. also this year do all you can to make all A's. people may tell you its ok to make B's but they are wrong. dont sell yourself short. also make sure you find some cool clubs to join and don't be afraid to take leadership positions. that's where all the fun is anyway. don't be afraid of doing too much - do as much as you can. do it all. work hard and have fun. and remember you have to prepare to be a hinckley scholar. that's all i ask ;-)
you got to see Tyler [cousin] play baseball? no fair. i wanna see him too. did he play? what position? and kimberly's apartment sounds fun. i'm glad they live so close so that you can see them a lot. isn't family fun? and that is so cool that stephanie came to girls camp and was able to strengthen her testimony. i love that she has learned to recognize the spirit. does she still come to other church activities? tell her i said hey! also tell her i said she needs to get baptized...oops thats the missionary coming out ;-)
so since i came to the honbu [mission home], i've been listening to a lot of music. we have soooo many church cds. but i think i've found a favorite. its an efy cd. the theme is Stand in the Light. I'm not sure what year its from but it may be 2008 or 2007...pretty recent i'm sure. anyway, i think you would love it. it would be a great sunday cd. i like track 1, 4 and 5 especially. 4 reminds me of you. i recomend it.
i love you! you are the best little sister i could ask for. thanks for being so cool. keep makin' me proud!
Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Now the mission is on fire
7/27/09 Email Message
Dad,
I can't believe I'm here either. When Kaicho [my mission president] called me last week I was shocked. When he told me I was going to be AP, I didn't say anything for a few moments and he laughed and asked if I was alright. Well I don't know if I can answer that question even now. I guess we will see how it goes over the next few months here. And to answer your question, it's been about half and half since I've been here. Half of the APs have died [finished their missions]as APs and the other half have either gone trainer or ZL for their last 1 or 2 transfers. I don't know what will happen with me though. The youngest AP before me was on his 11th transfer. I'm only on my 9th. At this point I'm not really sure what Kaicho wants me to do in the future. We'll see...
I'm glad you got the package I sent you. It was way over due, so I'm sorry about that. But I'm glad you enjoyed it. Isn't that flag awesome? And you want to know something cool? One of our Eikaiwa [english class] students went to Osaka to visit her daughter and before she left I asked her to bring something back for my dad. So she brought that flag back for me. So that flag is actually from your mission. Cool huh? I thought it was beautiful. I'm glad you liked it.
So this last week was a very new experience. Apart from transferring to the honbu [mission home], I also got my first Nihonjin [japanese] companion. His name is Takami choro and he is from Gifu ken in the Nagoya mission. He's way cool and so hilarious. He makes the funiest sounds all the time and he's a great cook. He pretty much cooks every meal for all of us four in the honbu. And thats another weird thing. I now live with three other Elders instead of just one. The other two are my former Zone Leaders - Oswald choro (from Idaho) and Kawabata choro (from Fukuoka). We speak so much Japanese all the time. Which is awesome because that means I've learned soo much in just a few days. In that regard I'm way excited for this opportunity to work closely with two Nihonjins. I'm expected to be an interpreter for the honbu so I'm going to need all the help I can get. My new ward is awesome too. It's called Nagamachi and it is the biggest ward in the mission. About 120 people come every week. I was pretty much shocked when I walked into church on Sunday. I'm excited to work with the members here.
There are so many good things going on around the mission right now. Recently Tateoka Kaicho challenged us to start committing our investigators to baptism on the first or second lesson. Since that time our baptisms have gone from the lowest in Japan to the highest. In a little over a month we have seen our baptisms and baptism dates triple. And they arent slowing down. When I first came to the mission missionaries saw baptism as some rare miracle that only happened every once in a while. But now we are seeing miracles happen left and right. Tateoka Kaicho has really shaken things up. Before he came the mission was really kind of stale and sloppy. He's brought a lot of changes and really energized everyone. He has really inspired us to be bold and energetic. Now the mission is on fire. Members are excited, missionaries are filled with entusiasm, and best of all those we are teaching are feeling the power of the Spirit like never before. Each and everyday we are going out with power from the Lord and inviting people to come unto Christ. Its really something incredible to be a part of. Its awesome! I am so happy to be here right now. Im really happy for this chance to work so closely with Kaicho and learn as much as I can from him and the other missionaries. I think these next few months will be soo much fun. I cant wait!
I miss you and i love you. Hope to hear from you soon!
Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
Dad,
I can't believe I'm here either. When Kaicho [my mission president] called me last week I was shocked. When he told me I was going to be AP, I didn't say anything for a few moments and he laughed and asked if I was alright. Well I don't know if I can answer that question even now. I guess we will see how it goes over the next few months here. And to answer your question, it's been about half and half since I've been here. Half of the APs have died [finished their missions]as APs and the other half have either gone trainer or ZL for their last 1 or 2 transfers. I don't know what will happen with me though. The youngest AP before me was on his 11th transfer. I'm only on my 9th. At this point I'm not really sure what Kaicho wants me to do in the future. We'll see...
I'm glad you got the package I sent you. It was way over due, so I'm sorry about that. But I'm glad you enjoyed it. Isn't that flag awesome? And you want to know something cool? One of our Eikaiwa [english class] students went to Osaka to visit her daughter and before she left I asked her to bring something back for my dad. So she brought that flag back for me. So that flag is actually from your mission. Cool huh? I thought it was beautiful. I'm glad you liked it.
So this last week was a very new experience. Apart from transferring to the honbu [mission home], I also got my first Nihonjin [japanese] companion. His name is Takami choro and he is from Gifu ken in the Nagoya mission. He's way cool and so hilarious. He makes the funiest sounds all the time and he's a great cook. He pretty much cooks every meal for all of us four in the honbu. And thats another weird thing. I now live with three other Elders instead of just one. The other two are my former Zone Leaders - Oswald choro (from Idaho) and Kawabata choro (from Fukuoka). We speak so much Japanese all the time. Which is awesome because that means I've learned soo much in just a few days. In that regard I'm way excited for this opportunity to work closely with two Nihonjins. I'm expected to be an interpreter for the honbu so I'm going to need all the help I can get. My new ward is awesome too. It's called Nagamachi and it is the biggest ward in the mission. About 120 people come every week. I was pretty much shocked when I walked into church on Sunday. I'm excited to work with the members here.
There are so many good things going on around the mission right now. Recently Tateoka Kaicho challenged us to start committing our investigators to baptism on the first or second lesson. Since that time our baptisms have gone from the lowest in Japan to the highest. In a little over a month we have seen our baptisms and baptism dates triple. And they arent slowing down. When I first came to the mission missionaries saw baptism as some rare miracle that only happened every once in a while. But now we are seeing miracles happen left and right. Tateoka Kaicho has really shaken things up. Before he came the mission was really kind of stale and sloppy. He's brought a lot of changes and really energized everyone. He has really inspired us to be bold and energetic. Now the mission is on fire. Members are excited, missionaries are filled with entusiasm, and best of all those we are teaching are feeling the power of the Spirit like never before. Each and everyday we are going out with power from the Lord and inviting people to come unto Christ. Its really something incredible to be a part of. Its awesome! I am so happy to be here right now. Im really happy for this chance to work so closely with Kaicho and learn as much as I can from him and the other missionaries. I think these next few months will be soo much fun. I cant wait!
I miss you and i love you. Hope to hear from you soon!
Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
I'm doing good (besides being sick to my stomach)
7/21/09 Email Message
Mom -
Im sorry i dont have much time. but the good news is i will have email next week. President called me today and told me I am transfering into the mission home. Hes asked me to be the new assistant. I feel sick. I dont know if Im ready for this so soon. Please pray for me. I wish I could write more and talk to you face to face to get some help, but this is all I have time for. I love you! Im doing good (besides being sick to my stomach) Tell everyone I said hi! From now on youll be hearing more from me, because I will have more time to email. I love you lots!
Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
Mom -
Im sorry i dont have much time. but the good news is i will have email next week. President called me today and told me I am transfering into the mission home. Hes asked me to be the new assistant. I feel sick. I dont know if Im ready for this so soon. Please pray for me. I wish I could write more and talk to you face to face to get some help, but this is all I have time for. I love you! Im doing good (besides being sick to my stomach) Tell everyone I said hi! From now on youll be hearing more from me, because I will have more time to email. I love you lots!
Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford
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