MMA & Ramen (1/22/18)

Hey everyone this week has been crazy! This week I have been talking to a ton of people in the frigid snow fall. Everyone here is super nice. Right now is the big test season for just about anyone who is in school. College tests are crazy, high school tests are crazy, but the most crazy tests are the high school entrance exams. They are freaking crazy, right now all 3rd year middle school students have no life because they spend all day every day just non-stop studying. Even though all that kind of crazy stuff is going on we are still seeing miracles! The biggest miracle this week was this last Saturday.

It was a really cold day, the snow fall was terrible and no one, I mean no one was outside or wanted to stop and talk because of the cold. We tried everything we could and right at the point where it was close to dinner and we were feeling a little bit down we decided to try to get one more contact. We decided to talk to these two guys who were outside the train station. They looked a little lost so we asked if we could help them. It turns out they came from Asahikawa and were looking for a place to eat. They had come down to do some mixed martial arts training for the army. In the end we went with them and ate Ramen with them and taught them a lesson. It went really well and all kept saying it was a miracle that we had met. Though the funniest part is here we are two Americans who barely moved here to Hokkaido and two Japanese guys who have lived in Hokkaido their whole lives and its the Americans that were showing them around. Certainly something I never thought would happen!

Any way I hope you all have had an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Harvey

This week (1/15/18)

Hey everyone!

This week has been crazy! We have talked to a ton of people this week and have found a bunch of new friends! This week we have had a bunch of great talks with a lot of our friends and have had a great time! I love you all and am so thankful for you all

Love Elder Harvey

Food Court (1/8/18)

Hello everyone!

This week has been really fast! A ton has happened it seems like but it's only been a few days. Haha I hope everyone had a great week and were safe during the bomb cyclone. This week my companion Elder Burton and I worked really hard on finding new people to teach. We found one of our new favorite ways to find too. Food Court contacting is the Best! It's really easy for people to give you a chance because they are already sitting down and are always interested in talking with foreigners! It's really interesting because there are a lot of Australians and other foreigners around here because it's near the airport but none of them ever talk to the locals so we are extra popular. 😁

In all this week we saw a bunch of miracles! This last Thursday while waiting for the train a college student came walking down the stairs and ended up contacting us as though he were a missionary. We were able to share a powerful message with him and got his phone number. We also found a man shoveling snow who is soukagakai. A really weird Buddhist religion because they are actually excommunicated from Buddhism and don't believe any Buddhist beliefs but still call themselves Buddhists. Anyway they are also really gung-ho about their religion, kind of like those Mormons, but he had met missionaries before and was really happy to get a Book of Mormon and told us he would tell his family about it too! In all it was a week filled with a ton of miracles!

I hope you all can see the miracles in your daily lives and can know with a surety that God loves you and that I love you!

Love,

Elder Harvey

A well used set of scriptures!

Food Court contacting is the best!

Happy New Years! (1/2/18)

Hey everyone Happy New Years! This week has really just been a it of eating. Like I said last year New Years is the biggest Holiday so everything, EVERYTHING! Shuts down. That includes missionary work as well. So instead of talking to a ton of new people everyday we had way too large dinners with a lot of different members. They took really good care of us though. However I feel like I never want to experience another Japanese New Year again as a missionary. I hope you all had a wonderful new year and are looking forward to 2018!

I love you all,

Elder Harvey

New Transfer, Christmas Miracles, and same ol' Eniwa (12/16/17)

Hello Everyone! This week has been crazy!

So many things have happened that I will probably miss a lot but I will try my best to give details. First off we started this week with Mission conference! We were able to have a wonderful mission conference with a LOT of Christmas music. It was really great to see everyone and to have learned a lot from the conference! It was really awesome to be part of such an amazing conference filled with Christmas music and Christ-related themes! Also because it was transfers I got my new transfer call! I moved back down the hall in my apartment. I'm back to Eniwa Elders 1 and am with Elder Burton. He's a really great missionary! He is from Ogden Utah and has a family of 11! As expected of Utah. （笑）

So This week have been doing a ton of finding but we have been having some really great success! Especially since it's Christmas we have been able to explain the true meaning of Christmas to a ton of people.  It has been really amazing and we have felt the spirit so strongly over this past week! It's going to be an amazing transfer of miracles!

So Christmas Eve we went caroling! We were able to meet with a bunch of less active members and they all gladly accepted us! Though the best part is that we were caroling with the second counselor of the Bishopric. When we started caroling he expressed that he wanted to go to his mother's home to go caroling. His mother has been really against the church his entire life. Up until now he had never introduced missionaries to his mother before. We went over to his mother's house and he was kind of fumbling over his words. She gladly welcomed us into her home and we were able to sing some songs for her. By the time we had finished singing her eyes were quite wet with tears. She was very thankful we had come over and welcomed us back anytime. It was a an amazing miracle for all of us. On the way back we were all crying because of how great a miracle had just happened.

On Christmas Day we also went caroling again for an old folks home which was really nice too. We also went to Family Home Evening at the Mission home which was great! I even got to meet an old investigator of mine from Shinoro which was an extra bonus!

Anyway In all it was a great week full o Christmas Miracles!

I hope you all had great Christmases!

Love,

Elder Harvey

Family Home Evening at Mission Honbu (headquarters)

Mission Conference

 (with Sister McClure)

Merry Christmas from Japan!