Lowe Shimai (Sister Lowe) Mission: We are children of a Heavenly Father who loves us. Naha week 2 (week 32)

Monday November 16, 2015

We've had a pretty awesome week here! I love Okinawa! It's late November and just gorgeous outside! The ward here in Naha is really awesome, there's actually enough members for two wards! Up until now the wards I've been in have been pretty small. It's kind of overwhelming to come into an area brand new, which we did in Maebaru too so at least I had some practice!

So on Saturday night, we went out to proselyte and it started sprinkling but we weren't really worried about it. Then someone came over the loud speaker and said something but we couldn't understand it so we just kept going. As we kept biking, the rain got harder and harder until the sidewalk was so slippery, we couldn't ride our bikes anymore.

After the crazy rain storm

So we got off and started walking, but as we were walking we realized we were pretty far from home and wouldn't be able to ride back because of how hard it was raining. So we decided to park our bikes and walk home. The wind was so strong and the rain so heavy we couldn't really look forward, so we followed the lines on the sidewalk home! It literally felt like we were swimming, there was so much water around us! So yeah, that was an exciting adventure! Here's a video of me from when we finally made it home:

I love being a missionary! It's amazing how many people we have the opportunity to meet and serve whether it's a church member, a friend or random people we talk to on the street. Everyday it doesn't seem like anything terribly huge happens but then I take a step back and look at what we are able to do and the amount of people we are able to serve in the weeks and months that we are here, and I come to understand even more that "by small and simple things great things come to pass". Every day we talk to people and testify to them that they are children of a Heavenly Father who loves them. I know that this is true. I know that He loves and knows each and every one of us. He knows our struggles and our weaknesses. And He wants us to be happy so He gave us His Son Jesus Christ to provide a way to overcome those hardships and really enable us to find the joy in the journey of this life.

A really touching talk on the Atonement that Bearman Shimai and I studied was "None were with Him" by Jeffrey R. Holland, April 2009. My favorite part: "Brothers and sisters, one of the great
consolations...is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path--the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of His Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said: I will not leave you comfortless: [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you]." https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/none-were-with-him?lang=eng

I know that this is true. I know that as we rely on Jesus Christ He can and will Heal and strengthen us in ways no one and nothing else can.