If Thou Canst Believe

Dear One and All,
KONNICHIWA! 

Another week, and I just am not quite sure where it has gone. I feel as if I say that every week, but it is true. For those of you who are missionaries or have served missions, you understand exactly what I am talking about. I've almost been out for three months, and I’m just not quite sure where the time has gone. Everyday is a new day; everyday is a time for growth and for work. I just am loving every moment of it!

This week was a week full of miracles. This makes it sound like that's something new. It isn't. Every week is a miracle; every day; every second we are alive is a miracle. But this week I slowed down a bit and really thought about those miracles. And as I did so, they became more and more apparent to me. 

One of these many miracles is one of our new Investigators, N-san. He is the old man that I talked a bit about in my last email. My companion and I really wanted to teach him another lesson, but were unsure how we should go about doing that. We could not teach him alone in his house without another person (for safety reasons), but even if we did bring a church member along to teach with us, N-San's house was so messy that we don't think the Spirit would be able to dwell there. As we returned home for the day, we planned on stopping at N-san's house just to share a short message and try to figure out a way to meet with him somewhere besides his house. As we biked up to his house, there he was, sitting outside with his dog. He was just sitting there on the curb of the road, as if waiting for us to met him! This is highly unusual because he is sick and said that he doesn't leave his house too much because of that.

We sat down next to him on that curb and taught him about God. That curb became a sacred place for me. I feel that God put N-san there, at that exact time. He was sitting there so that when we biked by, we could teach him. It was an answer to our prayers, and I know that it was not an accident. That was a miracle. God loves each of His children and desires for them each to hear His word and follow Him. I have a testimony of that. 

This experience, along with others, has drawn my mind to a scripture that I read during my personal study time this week. It is in Mark, Chapter 9. A man brings his child to Jesus, pleading with the Son of God for a blessing of healing...to cast out the devil that has plagued his son since birth. The father looks to Christ and pleads, "But if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help" (verse 22). I imagine this father's pain as he tried to hold his squirming son in his arms. The pleading look he must of had, the desperation in his voice as he addressed the Son of God. Of all the things he could have asked this mighty being for, he asked for help. He asked for relief. Not gold. Not riches. Not power, though I am sure this father knew Christ COULD have given him all of these things. Instead this father sought help.

In the long run, that is all what we ultimately turn to Christ for... for help, for comfort, for relief from pain. We all have a need for that comfort, that relief. And I know that it is only through Christ that we can find the peace that we seek. Being far away from friends and family can be somewhat difficult for me some days. And while I love every moment I am here, it is different from home. And I want to be so much better, do so much better. Talk to everyone about the redeeming power of Christ. But, I can't. And that can be frustrating. I, like the father of the possessed child, have turned to Christ pleading in similar words,"But if thou canst do anything, have compassion on me and help."

And what is Christ's response? What did he say to this struggling father?

"If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (verse 23). 

Wow. Think about those words for a moment. ALL things are possible. All things. Christ CAN heal us. He WILL strengthen us. We WILL see miracles. And the only thing Christ asks in return is that we believe on His name. 

This week, I prayed that I would be able to understand a bit more of the Japanese at church. Every week, church ends up being a somewhat overwhelming experience. It's three straight hours of Japanese. It goes in one ear and out the other as I struggle desperately to try and understand. It is easy to become overwhelmed. But as I thought about that scripture throughout the week, I knew that I could understand more Japanese if I trusted Christ, if I believed in Him. I made it a goal to try and really focus on every word that would be said, even if I didn't understand it. "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." That also covers learning Japanese. 

And guess what? When I went to church on Sunday, I still didn't understand everything. But I did understand somethings. I was really able to see how far I have come in the language and receive a feeling of confirmation that I am progressing and that I will learn. One of the Sunday School teachers even commented on how much my Japanese had improved! 

Through Christ, I WILL learn Japanese. I know this to be an unchangeable fact. 

If we canst but believe in His name, we will see the miracles in our lives in abundance. 

Sister Weigl