Monday, March 28, 2016

Weston - The perfect Easter.

The baptism Saturday was a life changing event for me. I remember the feelings I had when I was baptized. It was beautiful to watch in the faces of these daughters of god. The same emotions I experienced so long ago when I received the ordinance. The emotions and feelings that when in my memory called upon, helped me through the hardest parts of my life and brought me the most joy in the best times of my life. Now these sisters of mine have been given the same gift. I can't describe my Joy. I thank my God for allowing me to be an instrument in his hands.
Love,
Elder Lamoreaux



The perfect Easter
Happy day for these hard working elders. 
Yes...those are gang signs. 
#missionaryworkinthehood




JT - Quick Weekly Scripture



Dear Everyone,

I am sorry, I have no time this week, so I will just share a scripture and a picture from where we went today for Preparation Day.

Mosiah 3:5-10
5 For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases.
6 And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.
7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.
8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary.
9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that salvation might come unto the children of men even through faith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a devil, and shall scourge him, and shall crucify him.
10 And he shall rise the third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.

This is true! Love you all!
  

   
This guy leaves on his mission tomorrow! He goes to the Provo MTC and
then goes to the Tokyo South mission. He will do great!
  
These cups were for a lesson with our part member family with an 8 year old kid who we are trying to get baptized.  This is a lesson about the great apostasy and the Restoration of the gospel.  Written an all these cups are gospel principles or words that represent Christ's true church.  Very fun, easy to understand lesson.



   

Monday, March 21, 2016

Weston - March 21, 2016

It was a great week! My birthday was really good. Thank you so much for the package you sent me! I liked it a lot. Saturday night we had a ward activity and we were able to get 7 investigators their! 5 of them came to church the next day! We have been really busy lately in our missionary work which is a beautiful thing. Planning the baptism has been stressful but its all coming together. We had a lesson with our investigators that are going to be baptized yesterday before church. They are all excited and right on target. Talk about a great birthday present from the Lord:) We have so much happening this week and its becoming a little overwhelming trying to keep track of everything that is going on. We had a funny experience yesterday. This Thursday there is a devotional at a stake center for investigators and Elder Windley and I were talking about who we should take to it. We realized that no one we had was available to go so Elder Windley jokingly said well will just have to finds someone tracting. We went tracting latter that day and the first door we knocked on we were invited in. We taught the restoration, and now she's coming to the devotional on Thursday. Guess Elder Windley has the spirit of prophecy:)
My Arabic is coming right along. I'm learning slowly but surely. We haven't spent too much time in Hammtramck lately so I haven't talked to very many people in Arabic yet.
Transfers in March are pushed back one week because of the change in the MTC extending our missions for one week. So right after the Baptism on Saturday we will be getting transfer calls. It's going to be a crazy day. Their is also a funeral at the church that we may need to help with in the morning that day and the women's general session of conference is at eight o'clock.
Crazy crazy week. Is there any big plans for Easter coming up? I love you all so much!
Elder Lamoreaux

Weston - March 15, 2016

The paper chain countdown sounds painful to me! I just try not to think about time. Every time I do it makes me feel a little sick. I also feel a great deal of excitement as well. My companion really doesn't help:) he tells me everyday how old I am. He talks about how gross the Number 20 sounds. Its okay, everyone has to grow up eventually:) Our ward activity for this Month just so happens to be on the 19th, so I do get to have a birthday party this year! Just nobody will know its my birthday:) I have not met a lot of Muslims who in the slightest bit had any sort of consideration that any other religion could be an option for salvation. Most of them are very devoted. But Allah is preparing everyone to receive the restored gospel:) We have a few in the ward here that use to be Muslim. One of them is from Lebanon and he's now the first counselor in our ward. He's the one who helps me with my Arabic.
Heavenly Father has given us a family that are now all ready to be baptized. They have been coming to church for Months but until now have not been ready. They are all set for the baptismal date of March 26th. We are very excited for them. Right now we don't see any problems in their preparation. There is no problems with any commandments. They are reading and praying as a family and individually.
I love you very much!
Elder Lamoreaux

Weston - February 29, 2016

We had a good week this week. We found Seven new investigators and three of them have a baptismal date. Yesterday we had three less-active members at church which was a great thing. My Arabic continues to get better:) this week we were given a ride to stake conference by a member of the ward who was originally Muslim and from Lebanon. He has been baptized for about three years now. I talked to him during the car ride and helped me get some of my Arabic straight. It was very helpful. A couple days latter I had the opportunity to try my Arabic for the first time, for real while we were Knocking on doors. The person answered "Do you speak English?" I asked. "No" he said. I then said "anaa tataHddatho giddon sageer al-araybia." ( I speak very small Arabic) He just kind of smiled and laughed and said "No" again. Then we walked away. The man didn't speak Arabic either. He was Bangladesh. It was a good experience for me none the less:) Last Monday was my 16 Month mark. Everyone is making sure that I remember. Its killing me:) I love and miss you too. I am praying for all of you constantly. I hope you all have a good week.
Elder Lamoreaux

Weston - From a mother's (Pam's) perspective.

January 21, 2016

I just got this from a random phone number. Always good to see my boy with a smile!



February 22, 2016
Weston sent us a picture of the collection he and his companion are working on....
‪#‎streetsofhighlandpark‬ ‪#‎doingthelordswork‬ ‪#‎happiestheseverbeen‬



 In my weekly emails I remind him to run in a zig zag pattern.... Just kidding. Most of the gang violence happens after the elders have gone to bed. They find everything the next morning. He said he won't tell me what "everything" is until after he gets home. He knows his mother well.

Weston - January 18, 2016

I had a great week! My companion got really sick but we were able to get a lot of work done anyway. Our investigators are coming right a long. We have two especially that are really Progressing. I already told you about the one who is really excited about her baptism. She is hanging in there. She is facing a lot of challenges from the advisory, as a result of her righteous actions. I notice most of My investigators that start to get really close like she is always gets attacked with some sort of issue right as it sees they are doing everything the lord is asking them. Our other Progressing investigator also agreed to baptism but right after that lesson she too was attacked. She had a stroke and was put in the hospital. Up until last night we we'rent able to see her. But last night we had a really good visit. She seems to be on the upswing now.
Thursday Brother Hardie in the ward randomly gave us a phone call and told us that the speaker they had planned for Sunday cancelled. He asked Elder Windley and I to give talks. After our talks we had all of the missionaries in our district, all six of us, sing True to the Faith as a special musical number. It was really great actually. I learned a lot in the process of writing and delivering my talk. I have done things like this so much now that I don't really get nervous in front of a lot of people anymore. The talk I gave was based on President Uchtdorfs talk Be not afraid, only believe. I would like to send it to you. I think the family might like it.
TODAY I GOT TO GO TO THE AUTO SHOW AGAIN!!! We had a blast. Favorite car I got to see was still the Chevy Silverado.  
 I'll make sure to send you pictures next week. After the Auto show we went to the church and played ping pong for a while. Because we now know how to write numbers in Arabic we wrote on a chalk board the score for each match in Arabic. I haven't learned too much more Arabic though. I know how to write Numbers, Joseph Smith, and Nephi. I don't know how to speak any of it yet. A couple of days ago we were in Hamtramick and I got to hear one of their Prayer calls. At certain times each day, over loud speakers coming from their Mosques, They have these prayer calls. When they do it Muslims are suppose to face East, Kneel and pray these recited prayers. Its very interesting. 
Thank you for your emails! I love you all so much!
Elder Lamoreaux

Weston - January 11, 2016








I forgot to tell you about the Church Building. The Church started out as a Jewish Synagogue, after that a Greek Orthodox church and now Our church Bought it. Because its a historical building the church couldn't or wouldn't tear it down to build a more Mormon looking building:) 
We have two members in the ward that are Muslim converts. They both are very enthusiastic about the gospel. One of them even goes tracting by himself occasionally. They Both have very thick Arabic accents that can be hard to understand over the phone sometimes but they are great to work with. I thinking about learning Arabic but I don't have any books or anything to help me. From the Books of Mormon we have in Arabic I can learn how to write a little in Arabic. I know how to read and write numbers in Arabic and I know how to write Joseph Smiths name in Arabic but that's all I know for now.
We have an Investigator on Date for the 23 of January. Her Name is Tavana. Of all of the investigators I've had in the past She by far is the closest I've ever had to baptism. Please keep her, Elder Windley and Me in your prayers. She Knows everything is true she has confirmation from the spirit time and time again. She has committed to keep all of the commandments. Her biggest hand up is smoking. She's been doing really good though. We've given her lots tools to help her quit. We keep her really busy as well to keep her mind off of it. We have a lesson with her pretty much every day. She wants to be baptized so bad. Every time we talk about it she gets excited. If she stops smoking and comes to church next week we can baptize her the week after. 

We had a really bad storm yesterday. Its super cold outside now and all of the roads are now gigantic ice sheets. We had a really fun time yesterday biking:) We only fell like 5 times on the ice:) Don't worry though I'm straying warm and safe.
I love you all so much!
Elder Lamoreaux

Weston - January 4, 2016

PALMER PARK EAST!!!!! I'M BACK!!!! OH DETROIT, HOW I'VE MISSED YOU SO!!!!!!!! 
Palmer park east is great and very diverse. We have typical Detroit but we also have many Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and Arabic people. We have a place in our area called Hamtramick which has huge Arabic Muslim communities. Tracting down there is crazy because most of the adults don't speak English. Not to mention some of the women aren't aloud to talk to other men. When we knock on a door the parents have to go get there kids to talk to us because the kids learn English in school. In our commissary we have copies of the book of Mormon in all of those languages. We also have pamphlets in Arabic.
New years day we went to bed at 10:30 but we didn't go to sleep for a while because of all the gunshots happening outside. The next day we went outside and found a ton of bullet shells on the ground:) So good to be back:)
I love you all! I'M Safe!!!!!!!
Elder Lamoreaux

Weston - November 23, 2015

Miracles in the Michigan Detroit Mission. The Mission has set a goal of 25 baptism for the Month of November and 25 for December. We are right on course to meet that goal. The first week of November we had 5 baptisms! I looked today and saw we had another 5 for this past week as well! I'm not sure how many altogether we have for this Month but the point is, for our mission 5-7 baptisms is average per Month. The Lord has heard our prayers of faith and has blessed us in abundance.
The Clarks in the ward are having us over for thanksgiving. We're really excited they are really great people. The work doesn't stop for us that day. The Clarks have two non-member friends that they invited to have dinner with us as well. We're also really excited to meet them.
The District I'm in now is really great. I love Elder Carlilse and so far he has been my longest companion. Altogether we are all a great bunch of guys. My District leader is very laid back and his companion is Elder Beckstrom! Elder Beckstrom was my DL in Belle Isle! crazy where the Lord sends us.
There isn't too much else going on. I made a swagg sweater. Its an old missionary trick. You tear off half of an old shirt that you can't wear anymore, and you put it under your sweater. This gives the impression that you are wearing the whole white shirt underneath but your actually wearing a T-shirt or under armor instead. Its a beautiful thing especially for things like P-day:) There was a crazy snow storm on Saturday. It dumped 12 inches on us. We went service finding. We carried snow shovels with us and went around helping people shovel there drive ways. It didn't snow on Sunday but now its snowing again today.
I Love you!

Elder Lamoreaux

Weston - November 16, 2015

I'm staying in Chelsea. Our bishop had a word with President Gerber and asked him to keep Elder Carlisle and I in Chelsea for a little while longer. I don't know if that had an affect on President but he's keeping us both here for the holidays:) I'm excited though. We get to stay here for the big Christmas activity the ward is putting on Dec/6th. The Nativity scenes they are putting on display are from all around the world. Some of them are super old and some are just very unique. They all have a different story. Have you ever heard of Stanford Olson? He is a opera singer that has soloed for the New York Metropolitan and also for the Mormon tabernacle quire. He currently is a professor at the University of Michigan. He's going to be preforming for the Dec/6th thing. He is one of the biggest attractions in the community for coming and he lives right here in the Chelsea ward:) We talked to the bishop and his wife a couple of nights ago and they said that they are now begging to become concerned because of how many people are going to be coming. They don't know if they can handle everyone. This is going to be the most amount of non-members ever before coming through this building, is what the bishops wife told us. 
We currently have a part member family that we are teaching. Tom is a less-active member who is doing awesome. Donna is the investigator. She already calls herself Mormon. She understands most of the Doctrine and is on fire right now. She had some concerns when we first started teaching her but we have done a great job in overcoming them and helping her understand. She has had less and less concerns that she has brought up with us. Tom and Donna have a 16 year old daughter named Haley. She is disabled and in a wheel chair. Tom and Donna are not technically married. If they were to get married they would lose medical benefits for their daughter. I don't understand it all but pretty much we either have to find a loop-hole or wait until Haley turns 18 for them to get married. Donna can't be baptized until her and Tom are married. This last Saturday we rounded up all of the less-actives we could and even one non-member and we built a giant ramp for Haley's wheel chair. President Gerber has done all sorts of construction and home repair things so he made up the plans for this ramp and we finally got to do it Saturday. We arrived at 8:00 in the morning and ended at 8:30 at night. The only time we stopped working was to eat lunch. President Gerber did not stop to take a break. He ate a slice of pizza while he was sawing different pieces of wood for the ramp. We were all working hard but I have never seen a man work as hard as I saw President Gerber working. He never walked. He was basically running all day long. It was great to spend so much time with him. We had a lot of work to do that day, not just on the ramp. We were on exchanges that day so the missionary I was with didn't know any of the people there. I was able to have very good conversations with the Less-active members there and I found some things that I had in common with the Non-member. He is really into restoration work for cars and so I was able to talk about that with him while we worked. We also talked a lot about welding. President Gerber really hit it off with him as well.
We still don't have snow here yet which is very strange for Michigan. It's suppose to be a very mild winter compared to last year. It's not suppose to stay like this for long however. I tried on the suit! I wore it for church on Sunday but forgot to take pictures for you. Sorry! It fits perfect though. It's strange to wear a suit that I can't fit an extra person inside with me:) 
I love you all! 
Elder Lamoreaux

Weston - Oct. 5, 2015

So much to say and not much time to say it:) I loved conference. I was thinking the same thing while I was watching: all of you are watching these things take place the same time I was. Did you watch Elder Lawrence's talk? It was super weird to see him just a few weeks ago and there he was again, talking to 15 million people:) I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do when I get home. The church has a new pathways program that is done through BYU-Idaho. I have a paper back in my apartment I can send to you about it. Basically it just helps you get started in college and provides cheap college credit. I think I want to do that, then go to UVU and start going into welding. Hopefully I can get a Job welding quickly and I can use that to help me pay for the rest of my college. I think ultimately I want to Major in engineering. I'm thinking of maybe finishing my college at BYU. I'm not sure yet. Education has become a lot more important to me since I've come on my mission
The Blitz was very very good for the young men in preparing them for their missions, but as far as our area is concerned we did not gain any new investigators from that. SAW A AMAZING MIRACLE THIS WEEK THOUGH! You now how we have been doing heavy member missionary work? It finally paid off! We had a lesson with this family. We taught them a similar lesson to the one I talked about before with Grandpa Parrots conversion story. At the end of each lesson we invite the members to pray and fast about someone specifically that they have been thinking about sharing the gospel with. (Alma 6:6) This family we taught told us they already has someone in mind and committed to pray and fast for them. Last Monday evening we got a phone call from them and they told us they had invited their next door neighbor to come over for dinner and take the first missionary discussion. The member was having a conversation with her that resulted in her telling the member she was going through a real tough time right now. The lady then asked the member what church she went to and that she was looking for something in her life to help her. Our first lesson with her was on Wednesday. She told us all of the things she was going through. She has been through an awful lot. We testified to her over and over again that even though she has had all of these horrible things happen to her, her Heavenly Father loved her so much. I told her: "He knows you perfectly, Better than you know yourself. He knows exactly what you have been through and what you are going through. He wants desperately for you to be happy. He truly does. He gives us trials for us to learn. I have a testimony that he loves you so much. I know because I have felt of his undying love for me." Toward the end of the lesson you could tell she was starting to feel more at peace. We invited her to watch general conference and to pray and ask specific questions to be answered as she watched it. 
I don't believe you. Tanner is not getting baptized already. When did the first presidency change that point of doctrine? I though it was at the age of 8 years old was when you got baptized. I'm going to have to read section 84 of the doctrine of covenants again. 
Oh by the way we got transfer calls:) I'm staying another transfer here with Elder Carlisle:) 
I love you all so much!
Elder Lamoreaux

Weston - Sept. 9, 2015

It was good! We are starting from the ground up here. We started with 0 investigators when we got here. We have about five now. Most of them are from referrals from the members. We work with the members an awful lot. On Sunday We try to schedule 3 appointments for the week with members. The Members are so helpful here we normally end up with 4 or 5:) and they pretty much always feed us dinner as well even though we just come to teach a member missionary lesson. Elder Carlisle and I have made a lesson plan that we think has been really effective. Elder Carlisle's mom is a convert and was introduced to the church by members. Grandpa and Grandma Parrot were as well. So we talk to the members about that and I read Grandpas conversion story for them. We then read Alma 6:6 and invite them to pray and fast for a specific person they want to learn more about the Gospel. It's been really great so far. We've had a lot of great experiences with this lesson and it helps us to get to know the people here more personally. I wish I had more time to write but we are running out of time.
Still getting use to the people here. They are all overly friendly and either cowboys or Farmers. Very hard to find people tracting here though. We spent about 17 1/2 hours finding last week.
Love you all so much!
Elder Lamoreaux




Weston - August 31, 2015

THE BOONIES! CHELSEA, MI! Its a gigantic area with five townships. Chelsea is the township in the middle of the area and it is also the largest but its very small. The Ward here is amazing and they are very very helpful with missionary work. We are working with members very heavily. It's an amazing ward though. SO BIG! I am trying to adjust but I've been in Detroit my whole mission so going from a tiny branch to this giant ward is crazy. They have to open the gym and set up chairs to fit all of the people in this ward. The people here are the exact opposite of Detroiters. They are also some of the kindest people I have ever met.... Most of them.... But so far I'm loving it.  I have to adjust a lot of my teaching for the people here because they just learn so differently. Everyone We talk to are farmers and Cowboys and I feel like I can connect to them well in that aspect. My new greenie is doing well. I get a long with him great and we can learn together really well. We have a lot of unity when teaching. I'm really excited about this area. It has so much potential. This Ward was just a branch about seven years ago. It has grown so much and is filled to the brim with recent converts. 
I am so grateful to be here and I am learning so much. 
I Love you all so much and am always thinking about you,
Elder Lamoreaux 
Sorry we are having kind of a crazy day I forgot to take pictures of my suit. I'll have other pictures for you next time too!

JT - 心の変化: Change of Heart

Dear Everyone,

So, this has been a crazy week. We've had a lot of ups and downs; which I guess is a normal week on the mission. However, we've had a lot of progress with our main investigator!

This is the guy that has all of the problems and has been up and down for most of the time I've been in Osaka. This week, we came in with the goal to see why he actually wants to get baptized, whether to get more money and help, or because he wants to change his life, get closer to God, and all that jazz. So, we asked him that and he sincerely said, "I want to change my life and I think that baptism will allow that to happen." He really has hope and faith that baptism will change his life and that Jesus Christ can take away his pain and his sins. He actually has a really good understanding of repentance. He understands that it is a change and you commit to never commit that sin again. I was quite surprised with his understanding of repentance.

We went over the qualifications of baptism in D&C 20:37 with him and he learned what needs to happen in order for him to be baptized. He has a problem with smoking and he knows the word of wisdom and that smoking is the biggest thing stopping him from being baptized. So during the lesson, we asked him if he would throw away all of the things that are related to smoking. He gave us all of his lighters, his remaining cigarettes and his ash trays and said that we could get rid of it! Wow, that was one of the coolest experiences of my mission. To see the change in this man is remarkable. His desire to change is something that I've never seen before and him throwing those things away was a symbol for how he is willing to do all it takes to change, even though it is really hard for him.

Addiction is real and it is really hard. It is almost impossible to quit. Because of an addiction, the body believes that it needs this substance in order to function. It becomes like the need for food and water. So, just because the substance is taken away from them doesn't mean that the desire to do so will go away as well. No, it is much harder than that. The only way one can overcome an addiction is through the Atonement and grace of Jesus Christ. The atonement will give us the power and strength needed to endure every hour of everyday. If we trust God, show him that we are willing to obey him, our decisions will be guided and we will have more strength to overcome.

In order to help replace tobacco, we gave him a couple church CD's and a few Liahona magazines. We also told him to call us whenever he is feeling vulnerable. So, Saturday, we get a call from him saying that he wants to smoke. When he called for that, I was so happy and proud of him. It takes so much faith to do that. I told him to take a walk and pray and read the scriptures. He did so, but the. A bit later, he said that he fell and smoked. But, his progress is so good. I was still so proud of him.

When I think of this situation, I think of a quote from last conference by Elder Larry R. Lawrence. "He rejoices every time we take a step forward. To Him, our direction is ever more important than our speed." It would be great if he got baptized when I'm here, but if not, I have the faith that he will get baptized sometime. He is facing the right way and he is doing his best. It's so awesome to see him beginning his change of heart.

One of the sad parts about this week was the investigator that we met last week. We visited him at the appointed time, but nobody answered the door. There were people inside, but they didn't come out. We also went again a couple days later, but the same thing. Pretty lame sauce, but 'tis is life.

I hope you have a great week! Love you all! The church is true. Take a look at Mosiah 2:20-24. Mind blowing!

Love,
Elder Lamoreaux ラムロー長老
Japan Kobe Mission 日本神戸伝道部



This is called a "sanshin" 三線. Traditional Japanese instrument.


   


The district for this transfer!  We also had 2 members who are preparing for a mission come to it.  It was great!  It's a great district.


We had a farewell party for a member who is leaving on his mission next week.  It was way fun.

Monday, March 14, 2016

JT - Staying another one in Higashi Osaka

Dear Everyone,

Transfer calls came last week and I am staying in Higashi Osaka. This
time, my companion is also staying so apparently there is still
something we need to do here. This is the first time both me and my
companion has stayed since my 5th transfer; almost a year ago. Let's
just say it was pretty weird not to have any changes on a transfer
week. But, the sisters here have a change. Omisaki Shimai transferred
to my first area, Nishiwaki! I'm not lying when I say I'm kinda
jealous of her. I would love to go back to Nishiwaki. There is now a 3
person companionship of sisters here. It will be a fun transfer.

We found a new investigator this week!! Yes, I said it! We found one!
(Finding new investigators have been a struggle here..) it was way
cool. So, on Thursday, we went to go visit a Potential investigator
that we had met a while ago to see if she was home. She wasn't home
(or didn't answer the door. We saw them and heard them but... Story of
my life haha) so we decided to knock on all the doors of the complex.
I was thinking (great, housing. I haven't housed since Maizuru.) but,
the first door that we knock on, somebody answers and talks to us. He
is a 19 year old guy from the Philippines and he was speaking to us in
English. We talked about God and Jesus Christ and heard his beliefs in
that. We also talked about prayer and how to receive answers to
prayers. He said that he prays to God everyday. We asked if he had
ever received an answer, and he said that as he reads the bible,
answers to his prayers come. Then we introduced the Book of Mormon and
he wants one! So we promised him one in English and Tagalog next time
we meet and we set up a next appointment for this next week. That guy
was super nice and he seemed super prepared to hear the gospel. I am
beyond excited to teach him more and to become his friend. I haven't
had an experience like that in a long time. It strengthened and
reawakened my faith that yes, God is preparing people to hear his
word, even in Higashi Osaka.

It's pretty hard to be positive and motivated as a missionary when
immediate success is hard to see. We just need to keep acting on our
faith and not let the lies of the adversary affect your diligence and
your obedience. If we continue to trust in God and be perfectly
Obedient and always desire the salvation of those around us, God will
bless us and will empower us to do all the things that he has
commanded.

Missions are the best. It's hard at times, but there is also a great
joy that comes when you are in the service of your fellow beings. The
growth a missionary experiences in themselves is incomprehensible.
Although my English has gotten worse and worse, my dependence on and I
understanding of the gospel and the atonement has grown so much.
There's still so much that I need to learn. The mission changes lives;
those they teach, and the missionaries themselves.

Other than the new investigator, it was a pretty slow week. We have
been trying to find different ways to find and different things to
focus on for this transfer. I have been here for a long time now and
will be here for another 6 weeks. Something different has to happen
here in order for the area to progress. If any of you have any ideas,
please email me. I would love to hear anything that you have to say.

I am now officially an "old missionary". The sisters who were with me
in the MTC are now finished with their missions. It's so weird to
think that it's over for them. I can't believe how short a mission is
for Sisters. I am grateful to have another 6 ish months left. Well,
enough of my babbling. Y'all have a great week! Love all of you!
Scripture of the week: 1 Nephi 3:7.

Love,
Elder Lamoreaux ラムロー長老
Japan Kobe Mission 日本神戸伝道部


   


 We went to a place called Namba for preparation day last week.

We bought these Osaka Nike hats!  They are awesome!

Eikaiwa in Habikino


Trying to get a good picture from Eikaiwa in Higashi Osaka.  It was Sister Omisaki's last day in Higashi Osaka.  She transferred to Nishiwaki, my first area!