Is It Worth It?

Dear Minnason,

Well, this week was a little bit out of the ordinary. And when I say that, I mean it was really, totally and completely, out of the ordinary. An Apostle (an important leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) came to visit our mission. Yeah, Elder Christofferson came to visit Kobe. Every single missionary in the mission (there is over 250 of us now) came to a place named Ibaraki to listen to Christofferson-Choro speak to us. That NEVER happens. It took some of these missionaries over eight hours to travel to this place. But it was completely and totally worth it. There was an intense spirit of unity as we gathered together as a mission to hear the words of an Apostle of the Lord. Sure, it was nice to see missionary friends I hadn't seen since the MTC, but it was even more amazing to feel the Spirit pour down upon us, testifiying to each and every single one of us in attendance of the truthfulness of this work.

It was amazing to feel the Spirt as Christofferson-Choro testified of the truth of this gospel and of the Living Savior, even our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I learned a lot, but most importantly, I once again recieved a strong witness of the truthfulness of this Gospel. This is the Way. This is the Truth. This is the Light. This is the Lord's Church. We are called in the Name of Jesus Christ to go out and teach this truth to those who do not know about it. To bring those who are lost back into the fold. We are, as Christofferson-Choro put it, carrying the Kingdom of Heaven in our hands. That is what we are bringing to every person we talk to, every contact we make, every lesson we teach, every friend we make. We are offering Eternal Life. So, even when things get hard, we need to keep going. Even when we fall off our bikes and rip our favorite pair of tights, and get a black, purple, and yellow bruise the size of Texas (as my companion did this week) we get up and we keep going. All of what we can experience here on earth is nothing in comparision to what the Savior experienced. It is nothing to what He endured. So when times get rough and we think things aren't worth it anymore, always remember this: IT WILL FOREVER AND ALWAYS BE WORTH IT.

Church Leader Elder Russel M. Ballard has asked, "Have you set your priorities? Are they solidly and clearly defined in your minds? Were they clear when you got up this morning, and will they be clear tomorrow morning and each morning? What I would like to convey to you is that we are the sons and daughters of God. We have a great destiny, a great challenge, and a great work to do. Our number one priority could well be, 'Am I doing and living and acting each day as a candidate for the highest degree of glory in the celestial kingdom?' I think this is our ultimate long-range goal and our number one priority. I believe that as we think about this and as we understand a few of the insights the Lord has given to us in the scriptures, we can easily come to the conclusion, 'Yes, it is worth it.'"

We are on the Lord's side; we are on the Lord's errand. And I'm not just talking about missionaries, I am talking about everyone who has been blessed with the truth. Those who have come to know God, and His son Jesus Christ, whom God has sent. We all understand this to varying degrees, that yes, God is there, and yes, Christ is His son. But what we each need, and I am of course included in this, is to DECIDE each and every day that yes, it is in fact, worth it. The storms are worth it. The rain is worth it. Getting mashed potatoes thrown at your head as you go about doing the work of the Lord, yes even that, is worth it.

But as another Apostle wrote, "Faith is not only a feeling; It is a decision..." Challenges, difficulties, questions, doubts—these are part of our mortality. But we are not alone. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have enormous spiritual reservoirs of light and truth available to us. Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time. In our days of difficulty, we choose the road of faith. Jesus said, 'Be not afraid, only believe.'"

We need to CHOOSE. We need to DECIDE. We need to REALIZE forever and always that it is worth it.

It is written in the scriptures, "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The choice is ours. The choice is mine, and the choice is yours.

Who is on the Lord's side, who?

Let's choose together.

Sister Weigl

FIVE QUESTIONS:

1. Is there any food that you really miss from home?

BURRITOS. CHIPOTLE. CAFE RIO. MEXICAN FOOOOOOOOD.

2. What is a food that they have in Japan that you wish they had in America?
Everything, basically. I LOVE Japanese food so very, very much.

3. What’s your favorite desert in Japan?
They don't really have all that many desserts in Japan....well, natively that is. After Japan opened up to the West, they adopted a whole bunch of stuff like cakes and cookies and stuff. But as far as Japanese traditional sweets go, things are rather not sweet. I really like these things they have here in Japan though - its basically like a grab and go bakery where they have different types of breads and pastries and stuff and you just pick what you want and pay for it. Sort of like fast food?

4.  What is a custom about food in Japan that is different in America?
You have to have both hands above the table. And you can bring your bowl to your mouth to eat. And you can slurp. My table manners are probably going to be pretty bad (according to American culture) when I get back home.

5. Is there any American food that the Japanese really love?

Pizza, hamburgers, and McDonalds.

I found this really hilarious t-shirt that I bought that had the word, "Smile" on  it which made me think of you Mom, but it also had a bunch of really nonsense English. I bought it because it was so hilarious.