Ringwood...not Ringworm

So this past week, we went to a mission tour which was basically us meeting with the zone in Kanazawa with President Yamashita and Elder Ringwood who is a member of the seventy that is now the Asia Area North President.  It was a really good meeting.  Elder Ringwood taught us that `Our challenge is not the message, but is with the messenger.`

It really made me think, `Yeah, our message is perfect but not all the times does it come out perfect.`  The thing that makes missionary work hard isn`t the message or what we our saying but is with the person giving it.  First off, the language can be hard and if we don`t try to learn the language diligentily, we won`t be blessed with knowing it.  Second, if we are obedient, we can`t deliver the perfect message in a way in which the Spirit will be present.  He gave us an analogy of how Obedience is the electrical system in a car and that the engine is the Spirit.  Our obedience is what starts the Spiritual Engine or is what invites the Spirit into our work but once our obedience is on, the Spirit is the driving force and does the work.  All we have to do is to be obedient and try our best which isn`t always the easiest, especially when outside it is below freezing because of Satan`s icy temptations and we think we can`t get the Spiritual engine to start.

He also taught us how we can`t take the ups and downs out of life but we can learn from those lows to improve.  God put these in our life to help us grow so we should use them to our advantage.  If you face the problem now that you are facing in a year, the second time around you should be a lot more prepared for it.

He also told us to tell our family (and friends) that the brethen (the General Authorities) are grateful for your sacrifice in getting us missionaries out here and sustaining us while we are gone.  I am sure some of you are glad to have shipped me off for the two years but he wanted us to show gratitude for all the help you have given us.

And I`d like to thank you all myself for all the help and support you have given me.  If you are on my e-mail list, you for sure have touched me and helped me grow positively before, if not once, but multiple times.  So thank you for all the help, the e-mails, the letters, and the prayers and while most of you can`t give me a wrapped present or something like that for Christmas, you have given me your prayers, support, and thoughts which, to me, is much more valuable to me than anything that money could buy for a man with friends, truly is the richest of them all.

I hope everyone enjoys the Christmas season and this opportunity to remember Christ in your daily life. 

 I love you all and have a great week!

Snow outside of the apartment... and a side note, I have only fallen off of my bike to land softly on the white, driven snow twice so far so I am staying pretty safe still.