Excited for Departure

Give my love to my new cousin for me, It'll be weird to see him in 2 years when he's walking. I really enjoy sharing the plan of Salvation lesson. It really is the best news for everyone, regardless of their current standing with God. It gives people hope, which I've started realizing is really important. Hope, optimism, and positive expectations can be a night and day difference with life. We had a meeting with a former mission president from the Japan Fukuoka mission and he talked about making sure to align our will with Gods, not limit ourselves with expectations, and to stay worthy of the spirit so God is able to do whatever he needs through us as missionaries. He talked a bit about how Japan can sometimes have a reputation for being a slow mission, but he made the point that most LDS members in Japan are 3rd generation at this point, and it was in the 3rd generation after Joseph Smith that the church really started to grow in the States. I'm really excited to get out there and share the gospel, and even if I don't get a hundred baptisms I want to bring everyone I meet closer to Christ, even if its just a bit.

I leave on Monday, Feb 11th, and this is from memory so forgive me if the times aren't exact but I think we leave Salt Lake at about 8:30, arrive in Seattle around 9:30 PST, then have a 3 hour layover before the 15 or so hour planeride to Tokyo, where we'll arive at 4:30 pm local time. So between 9:30 and 12 I'll be able to call but I won't have that whole time haha. Crazy that it's coming up so soon! I'm super excited though.