Monday, April 14, 2014

13 April 2014 - Christlike Attributes

Well I don't have much time so here is some of what I sent to Kaicho that you can check out:

The work this week was great. It's always great. It's the Lords work.  As far as investigators go, this week seemed to have been our trial of faith.  We had 6 set up various appointments in which our investigators did not come and did not answer the phone when we called.  We were able to meet with our investigator, Kusatsu San and she opened up a lot to us.  She explained how she thought in order to come to church she had to stop smoking first, and has been praying to stop smoking but felt she couldn't come to church until after she stopped. There was a lot of love in the lesson and she progressed a lot.  She still has a problem where she is taking medicine to overcome a shoulder problem but the side effects is it causes her to sleep all day except for breakfast and dinner.  Hopefully it will finish in the next two weeks.  

As far as less active work goes we had a cool miracle.  We saw a less active member on one of the trolleys so we ran to catch up to the trolley and rode it with him to talk to him.   We set up an appointment and at that appointment committed him to come to General Conference.  Sunday morning came and when the fufu walked out of their apartment to drive to church they found him in front of their apartment.   He apparently had gotten lost and conveniently was placed right in front of their apartment as they were leaving to church and were able to give him a ride.   Coincidence?   Miracle!!  Our plan is to prepare him to be worthy to go to the temple and we will work with him to do that. 

The zone is working hard and genki.   Last week as part of our `Believing is Seeing` program, we focused on faith and obedience, and the challenge was to focus on baptismal invites.   As a result of the many baptismal invites there were so many cool miracles and many new investigators who already know of their goal for baptism in the zone last week!   I think as a result the zone has realized how effective baptismal invites are the companionship's that really focused on them, saw the results and want to do them more. 

Other than that everyone is working hard and seeing miracles.   The zone is currently working up and hopefully all of the new investigators will begin to turn into member presents, sacrament meeting's, and baptismal dates.   We will do all we can to help this to happen.   I love the work and will continue to do all I can for the area. 

Thank you for all you do.
(Now back to the letter to family and friends)
Yeah so this week the zone had around 100 baptismal invites (inviting someone to be baptized) and it was wayyy cool to see all of the miracles that came from it.   This week we also went on junkai (splits) with the Taniyama Edlers.   As we were teaching a woman while housing about eternal families and how we will one day be resurrected she began to cry.   We came to find out that she had cancer a couple of years ago and also that her children had just left her.   We testified of eternal families and Resurrection and she just wiped her tears and showed us pictures of her family and stuff.   She was a real cute woman. hah   She was like, "I can really be resurrected with them? when?  after I read this pamphlet will I be resurrected?   I want to believe, I want to believe!"    So that was a cool miracle from junkai.
Well I'm out of time for now.   I have some things I need to go do. but I will be back later most likely after you go to sleep ;)   So sweet dreams and much love to you all!
Elder Bloomfield

Well I'm back with a bit more time now.   Other things that happened this week... hmmm. Well one day we were fasting but accidentally didn't eat until about 9:30 at night because we were too busy and didn't have time for dinner.   Then another day, when I was trying to make dinner really fast so we could get out the door and go work I was moving to quick and accidentally stubbed my toe and ripped my pinky toe nail off a bit, so that was a bummer.   She used to be such a nice pinky toe nail.

I got to watch a few of the Saturday Session talks and then the Sunday Session talks of General Conference. Elder Holland almost ripped off the pulpit he was so excited. I love that man.  I'm counting my blessings, they don't really have mashed potatoes here in Japan so no worries there for me (Elder Holland told a story in his talk about a sister missionary who got mashed potatoes thrown at her by a "Hater".  Travis figured he is safe (put I think he better watch out for the rice balls - sometimes they are loaded))

Ohhhyeahhhhh. I already talked about it a bit in the other letter but this week the zone focused on baptismal invites and saw a lot of way cool miracles this week.   I don't know if I ever told you this but this zone in the past has kind of struggled a bit.   The ZLs and an entire District was actually white washed a few transfers ago, but it seems it is finally building up.   So far this month the zone has found an average of like 3 or 4 new investigators each day and there have just been so many cool stories.   We are focusing a lot on trying to make sure there is a lot of Christlike attributes and love within each companionship, because that is where it all starts, and from the companionship there can be a lot of success from it.   I think this can be compared to everyone whether you are a missionary, married, or not married.   If you are not expressing your best effort to be Christlike especially as a missionary how can we expect success in HIS work.   As a married couple if we are not trying to apply Christlike attributes every single day then we are not giving the married relationship the full potential it could have and if you're not married you still have the Holy Ghost as a companion and even your little groups of friends at school. just ask Lauren Bloomfield, she and the dozen know all about it. Deshooo!!   But I challenge everyone to pick a couple of Christlike attributes each week and just focus on just 2 each week.  Then next week choose a different two.   I promise more success in every part of your life whether it has to do with the gospel or not. In Corinthians we are told if we have not charity, we are nothing... So let that settle a bit. 

Well I hope all is well! 

Love ya!
Elder Bloomfield
Thought for the week:

7 April 2014 - Strawberry Picking

Well this week we had MLC (Mission Leader Conference) on Tuesday.   So we woke up at 5am and took a shinkansen to Fukuoka.  We had our meeting, then took a shinkansen home and got back about 9:00pm.   hah. It was an entertaining MLC though.   This week we also had our Zone Training Meeting.  We had a very good spirit filled ztm.   We are doing a "Becoming more Christlike" program this transfer.   Each week there is two attributes from the 9 attributes in Preach My Gospel, that are to be the focus that week.   The missionaries in the zone will study those attributes in the week as well as with their companion apply that attribute as best they can into their dendo and life everyday.   Along with the 2 attributes there is a different challenge to go with the attributes each week.   For example, one week is focusing on the youth, do as much as you can that week to focus on the youth, another one is focusing on baptismal invites to work hard towards the Easter goal.  Another is focusing on the Atonement, using it as much as possible, on the streets and in lessons, etc..  Challenges like that.   We are excited and it should be fun.   

At ztm we also did trainings on how to approach the young (high school students, college students, and young families) in an effective way.   Right now the church in Japan is way old and it's kind of a problem.   The average age for the Kagoshima Branch is 57 and if there are not more young in the church, basically in like 15 years after everyone dies there won't really be a branch anymore.   The entire mission is focusing on young right now and it's actually a lot more fun than teaching old people in my opinion.   No offence to the crazy old peeps here in Japan. We also did a training on how to teach the Atonement and such but it was a good time. 

Our investigator Kusatsu san had a cool miracle this week.   So lately she has been in and out of the hospital because of various problems she has with her body, and she is currently taking medicine for her shoulder to heal, but one of the effects of the medicine is it makes her sleepy and she basically sleeps from breakfast to about 3 or 4 in the afternoon and then from dinner again until the next morning.   So meeting her to teach is pretty much impossible.   We wanted to fast for her yesterday and she told us she wanted to fast with us.   The cool miracle is she decided to fast her medicine for that 24 hrs too because she has to drink water for her medicine, and she said she didn't feel any of her body pain those 24 hrs and didn't ever get hungry.   The beauty of fasting aye?   It works!!!!!!   So that was way cool for her and hopefully we will begin to be meeting her more often. 

Well I can't really think of much else.   Today we went to a strawberry farm and I ate a lot of strawberries. Apparently there isn't just one kind of strawberry,  who woulda known?  There were like 5 different kinds.   We apparently were not supposed to eat any while we were picking them, but I didn't know that and happened to eat a few while picking them. woops!!   But hey how am I supposed to know which flavor is which and if I like that one if I don't eat one real quick?   I just had to take a quick reminder. 

Kagoshima is good these days. We found some young new investigators Saturday and Sunday that we are excited to meet with this week.   We had a lesson with a guy from Nepal Sunday and we were supposed to meet him at the Central Park and when we went there I was pretty blown away at how much it was like Austin.   The park had tons of hipsters and kids break dancing and skating and such.   It was a way cool park that reminded me of Austin but prolly not the best place to teach a lesson I found out. 

Well I can't think of much else.   Life is good.   The ash is good.   I'm reminded why God gave us eyelashes... The ash in the eye never gets old.   I'm excited for General Conference next week.   I don't know if I will have the privilege of watching it in English or not but maybe if I'm lucky. 

Oh also I got the package from Mom. I'm way excited to read about Christs Life everyday until he died and his Resurrection. Legit!  Arigatooo!!  Way cool. 

Well I hope everyone is genki. 

Love,
Elder Bloomfield



Picking Strawberries


Elder Sasaki and Travis at Strawberry Farm

Travis, Elder Sasaki and guy from Nepal at Central Park

Thought for the week: 

30 March 2014 - The Lost Choro (Elder)

Whats up family,

First off I want to tell you all what I am experiencing right now.   The old grandma on the computer next to me is watching cartoons on youtube and absolutely busting up laughing.  haha   It's so awesome and as a result I am trying to keep my laughs in as much as possible but its pretty difficult.   I've already let a few out on accident.. Old people here are crazy. 

Well this week was good.   I'm glad to finally have a companion.   Not being able to work on my area and grow the work was a little frustrating.   I'm glad he is here now and I just wanna work way hard.   I have had a way good feeling about the work here in Kagoshima lately.   The good feelings kind of started about 3 weeks ago and there is a cool story to that.   So after I was telling Sasaki Choro how excited I am to work this transfer and the feeling and visioning I have for the area, he told me about 3 weeks ago he had a dream that he was dendoing here in Kagoshima as well.   I am just thankful president is so in tune with the spirit and knows where and when to send people to what areas.   I don't know what will happen in the area and when but I know the work is going to begin to pick up even more.   I don't know when or how but all I know is I will continue to abide by the spirit and do the Lords will. and his will for the area will happen. 

I emailed Gary and Azumi last week.   They are doing good.   Azumi is in Ecuador just doing her thing.   Another cool miracle.   Elder Dolbin (now working in Fukuoka) was going to lunch with a member last week and they were planning on going to some restaurant but then last minute decided to go to a different restaurant and guess who he sees the moment he walks in the door. Azumi!   she was just in Fukuoka visiting for a short time.  She was visiting her grandparents before she leaves for Ecuador for a couple of years, and just so happened to be in the same place, same time, in a city of prolly like 500,000 people or more (I'm not really sure how big). Coincidence? I think it is much easier for God to throw nice treats in there for you when you are living righteously ;)   We at least will be able to recognize the promptings from God so we can receive those treats if we are living righteously. deshooo!! 

Another funny thing that happened this week.   So on transfers its my responsibility to make sure everyone in the zone makes it to their area safe and sound,   One of the new missionaries fresh from the MTC had a bit of a mishap.  haha.   He came into Kagoshima by bus, I bought his train ticket for him, showed him his ticket and said, "alright bud, here's your ticket!   You will go to platform 4, it leaves at 2:19, and will arrive in Miyakonojo at 3:32, any questions?" (pointing to all of the information on the ticket as I gave it to him).  He says, "alright sounds good aishitteimasu bye byee!"  At 3:32 (the time he should arrive), I call Miyakonojo to make sure he made it safely.. "umm no he's not here yet, then they said, "the APs just called and said he would not get in till about 5 o clock."  I said, "what??"  hahah  So I called the APs (yes they reside in Fukuoka) and apparently they got a call from the Kagoshima train station and said that they have one of your lost Americans right now.  They said they can put him on the next train and he will arrive at 5 o clock.  How he got lost from the 40 steps we departed to platform 4,  I have no clue but hey at least the guy made it right? 

Well life is good. Mom, yeah the nihongo (Japanese language) is still a little ma ma (so so).  I can speak everything fine.  Sasaki`s English isn't the greatest, so we speak only in nihongo (Japanese), so that is fine.  The Kagoshima people are just a little hard to understand sometimes.   Hiroshimaben is a lil different, but life is good.

I am excited to work this transfer and see many miracles. Hope everyone is doing well. BTW can I see some pics from Mason's birthday?   I sent him a b day card and Kara as well.   Happy early birthday to her and the kid inside of her if he is celebrating as well since he is still kind of part of her.   Weird stuff the baby thing is ehh? 

Well hope all is well!   Love you all!   God wants to put miracles in our life every single day if we will just let him! 
2 Nephi 27:23    For behold, I am God; and I am a God of amiracles; and I will show unto the bworld that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I cwork not among the children of men save it bedaccording to their faith.
Elder Bloomfield
PS. Grandma over here is still laughing haha. Wild thing!!

PPS  I also had some hisashibure cow tongue this week for Kishihara`s birthday. It was way good. It reminded me of the good ol Sendai Days when we use to have it as a family.

Celebrating Kishihara's Birthday eating Hisashibure (Cow Tongue)

New Companion, Elder Sasaki

Thought for the week: