MLC - Letter to Dad - 9 August, 2015

Hey Dad!!! :)

How are you doing? Any news recently on your job and things like that?  Thanks for always showing me how to work hard, and for being an example of a good leader. I actually wanted to talk today about a couple of the traits that good leaders have that I have learned a lot about recently. The first one is patience.

Yesterday at church we had a meeting with the bishop, the ward mission leader, and some other members that were helping to coordinate an activity that is coming up. The discussion started off great, and we were trying to decide best how to run a booth focused on family history that the missionaries will be running at this next ward activity. Slowly the one committee member started to get a little agitated. Finally he just kind of blew up and told the bishop that they had already decided in the committee meeting how it was going to work, and now he was just switching it, so all of the hard work of the members in the committee was wasted, and then stormed out of the room. It was kind of an intense moment (I felt way bad for him, since it was basically just a room full of the missionaries). Instantly the bishop got up and left the meeting to make amends. I learned a lot in that moment. The first one was the patience of our bishop. I see this same patience in you, but it was cool to see it first hand here. He listened intently to the ward member and his concerns, and then when he left, he patiently got up and went to help him. He left us, the ninety and nine per say, and went after the one that needed his help. I really loved that.

The second thing that I really learned about leadership this week was the need to show love constantly, and then correct through that same love.

We had MLC this last week, and it was super good! Elder Driscoll and I actually got to do a training, which was super fun. I loved it. But, that is a little beside the point that I want to make. One of the things that happens in MLC is that President Wada shares with us the rules that he feels are being broken in the mission, and then charges us to go and help missionaries recommit to follow those rules. This last time he was very adamant. He corrected very sharply, and to the point. But it was all through love. I honestly just felt super warm and good the whole time, even though he was telling us all sorts of things that we need to do better. It wasn't anything that we in the room personally needed (although there were probably some in there that needed it too), but for the other people, and I just felt good. It is incredible to me that when people correct the way that the Spirit would want them to, then people feel motivated to listen and to follow, because the motive for correction is not pride or irritation, but love and the Spirit. I know that this is the way that you led, and I am so grateful for your example. Thank you, Dad. 

MLC is always such a good experience. Whenever I go into meetings like that with questions, they get answered. I know that it is the same way with all of our church meetings. If we take questions to the Lord, and do all that we can to find the answers in the meetings that He provides for us to feel the Spirit, then we will find them. I think that is one incredible thing. I hope that you are continually taking the questions that you have to church and to your other meetings every single week. You will find more answers that way, even if you don't know exactly where to look for them. Just do all that you can to be obedient and follow the promptings that you receive.

I love you so much, Dad!! I hope that you know that. You are my everything, and I am so grateful for all that you have done for me. Keep taking care of the family! I know that you are going to see your personal questions answered as you search for those answers. I love you!!

Love, Elder Livingston

Transfer Calls!! - Letter to Mom - 9 August, 2015

Hey Mom!!

Thank you so much for your email and your advice. It meant a lot to me, and really helped me out. I hope that you know how much I love you. <3 :) Thanks, mom!!

By the way, I am doing fantastic!! :D I am loving life out here. It is amazing that it truly is in the midst of trials, in the hardest times, that we grow the most. I have learned so much from this recent trial, and I am doing so much better. :) I have learned how to trust the Lord. Which is what I want to talk about a little bit. But first, just an update on a couple of investigators.

Oscar san is one of the investigators that we are working with right now!! :) He is super cool. He started taking lessons about 3-4 years ago, I want to say, but has been so busy that he has never really committed and started working at it. Just a few weeks ago, he showed up and said that he wanted to prepare to be baptized!! :D So, we are currently working really closely with him to help him progress to baptism. He has a baptismal date scheduled right now for the twenty third of August, so please keep him in your prayers! He is super busy, and needs to be able to meet and come to church, so please pray that he will continue to have time. He is such a great man, and we are excited to see him take this step in following Christ.

Another investigator that we are working a lot with is Roger. He is doing great. He is struggling to commit all the way to following Christ, as his work and life is very busy. It is interesting just how much satan stops us from doing by just putting little busy road blocks in the way. He doesn't need to convince us to do super bad things, because he will just stop us from doing really good things. Please don't ever have too busy of a schedule to follow what Christ needs you to do for the day. Anyway, that was a little tangent. He has a nephew right now who is sick, and could use your prayers. Please pray that he will get feeling better. This would really strengthen Roger’s faith in prayer, and help him to continue to progress.

But, now to the trusting in Christ part. Last night we had a special testimony meeting for the missionaries that are going home in our stake to bear their testimonies to everyone. This was at 6:00 last night. It is usually something that we do in zone conference, but we have about 30 people going home this next transfer, so it was too many to do in a normal zone conference. But, at the end, President Wada talked about serving Christ. He told a story about Neal A. Maxwell. When Neal A. Maxwell was younger, he served in the army during WWII. He was actually in the battle of Okinawa (the southernmost islands of Japan). Right before the battle the next day, he was extremely fearful and nervous. He was still young, and he did not want to die. He said the most sincere prayer that he has ever said. In the prayer he really just said, "If thou wilt help me to live through this battle, then I will serve thee forever." President Wada then proceeded to talk about that moment, and how each and every single one of us needs to have that moment. He talked about one of his counselors (who had borne his testimony earlier. I wrote about that one in my journal and will share it when I get home), and how his was on his mission. After he talked about that just a little bit, I thought about if I have had that kind of a moment in my life, where I told the Lord that I would serve him forever, and I really meant it. Since then I have really been thinking about that, and I am not sure that I have had a defining moment quite like that in my life. Obviously I have decided to serve the Lord for these two years, but have I really given everything to him for the rest of my life? That is a hard thing to commit, and something that takes real commitment. I want that. I feel like the past couple of weeks have been preparing me for that. If I can give truly, from my heart, give everything to him, then life will work out so much better. I know that to be true. But, you aren't going to give everything that you are or can be to someone that you don't trust, so the Lord has been doing all that he can to build up my trust in Him. Which means that I needed a trial. A big one. Which is exactly what the past little while has been. I am so happy/proud/thrilled to say that it has been doing that!! My trust in the Lord has grown so so much. I love Him and the work that He is doing through each an every one of you at home, especially you, Mom. He is doing so many miracles through your example and your influence. You don't know just how much you help people. You have helped me infinitely more than I could express. I love you so so so much, Mom. :) You're the best. I hope that things are going well at home!!

Speaking of which, how are you doing? Is everyone okay at home? Are you all doing alright health wise? Are you having fun, and smiling every day? Are you studying the scriptures personally and with your family? Are you praying by yourself and with the family, every day? I hope that you are. :)

Take care of everyone!!! :) Also, just so you know, Elder Driscoll and I are staying together for another transfer! :D It is going to be super fun. I love Kichijoji, and I love working with all of the amazing members here. :) Help the missionaries in our home ward as much as you can!! Love ya!!

Love, Elder Livingston


Note: Some names may have been changed for privacy.

Learning From the Scriptures - Letter to Mom - 4 August, 2015

Dear Mom,

How are you doing? How are things back at home? It sounds like they are starting to pick up with the  beginning of school coming. I really can not believe that it is August!! And since it is August..... 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

Wow, I really can not believe that it is your birthday tomorrow. That came so fast. Man, you are going to be the best 29 year old this world has starting tomorrow! ;D haha I love you, Mom. You really are one of my best best friends, and I love you to infinity and beyond! :)

I want to share something really cool with you this week. I can't remember if I told you or not, I think that I did, but I made a goal to finish the entire standard works by the end of my mission. I know that it is definitely not going to be easy, but I feel like it is something that I need to do. I can honestly say that I have never gained a personal testimony of the Bible before this. I have noticed quite a few things that have astonished me as I have read through just the first hundred or so pages of the Bible. I would like to share a few of these with you today:

1) The Bible speaks so plainly about the nature of God that it is baffling that other Christian churches do not believe in Him the way that we do. I was incredibly impressed by the first few chapters in Genesis, where it reveals some of the fundamentals of God, such as the fact that we are the same image as he is!! It declares that! I wish that everybody would just remember that. 

2) God loves His children SO SO much, and He ALWAYS provides a way for them. He always keeps His promises. Just like Nephi talks about at the very beginning of the Book of Mormon, the very beginning of the Bible talks about how the children of Israel have to rely on the Lord in order to be delivered from their trials. What I really like, too, is that the Lord promised them before they were in bondage! that he would deliver them from the hands of the Egyptians. He knew that things were going to turn south for them, and He promised them beforehand that he would make sure there was a way for them to come out of it.

3) I am really like Moses. :) haha No, I can not split the seas (well, unless the Lord needed me too). But, as you all know, I have always dealt with worry, particularly recently. So did Moses. When the Lord called him, he complains that he has a speech impediment. The Lord tells him it is okay, and that He will provide for him to speak well (not talking about providing a mouthpiece at this time). And then Moses brings it up, AGAIN, saying that he was inadequate. Moses was worrying!! Haha :) That made me feel good. Even Moses worried. But, something even better came out of realizing that Moses worried.

4) I came to a knowledge that the Bible does answer the questions that we have, when we search for the Lord's words to us in the pages contained therein. I was looking to see what could connect to my life, and at the time that I happened to be worrying, the Lord showed me His servant Moses, the one who eternally holds the keys to the gathering of Israel. The Lord speaks through the Bible. It is His word. I know that for a fact. I can't say that I had a super strong testimony of that until this past week. I would always say that I knew they were true, just because I knew that the church was true and that the Book of Mormon was true. But this past week was the first time that I really had a witness for myself that the Bible was true. It felt so good. If you or anyone in our family has not found that witness than I hope that you will do everything that you can to find that answer. 

Anyway, I love the scriptures. So so much. How has your scripture reading been going, Mom? I hope that it has been going well, and that you have felt the Spirit directing and guiding you in the things that you are reading and learning. I hope that you are taking notes and that you are treasuring the things that you find in your heart all day long, not just in that moment. That which is treasured in our heart for more than a moment will sink into the depths of our memory and be drawable in a time of need. Remember, pondering is an essential step to the personal revelation that will change our lives and become a defining moment. 

I hope that your health is holding up! It was so great to see the pictures of Beau and to know that he is doing okay. I hope that you also continue to improve and see the miracles in your life. I know that the Lord is performing them. Watch for them, and you will be astonished, and realize that they are just as magnificent as the plagues that hit Egypt. Oh, crazy fun fact that I just remembered that I don't know if I have told you or not. You know the red gates that you see at Japanese shrines (you have probably seen pictures of them.) Google them if you don't. But, the cool part is, whether Japanese people know it or not, those are a similitude of the doors that were painted with the blood of a lamb at passover. Incredible, huh?? :) The gospel was here in Japan years and years ago, and we are bringing it back again!! :)

I love you so much! I am going to try and send you a physical letter soon, so expect one within a month or so. (I am not exactly sure which P-day I will have the most time on, so it might take a week or two). I love you, Mom!!!

Love, your son :) 

Elder Livingston

Pictures this week - 27 July, 2015

I found it!

Elder Livingston and Dinoco

Weirdness (Elder Jesperson is obviously worried)

More Weirdness (Elder Jesperson trying to go along)

Some Tsukemen (similar to Ramen but different) Haha

Zone Blitz

Zone P-day

Work-outs - Letter to Dad - 27 July, 2015

Hey, Dad

Thanks for the advice on the work-outs! I will do that...soon. :) haha I mentioned my wrist in my email to mom. I'll explain a little more here. If I put my hand on the floor, I can not bring my arm up to a ninety degree angle. For now I won't be doing any P90X3, because I can't even do a single pushup. I didn't notice it until last night, so I must have tweaked it in some way, but I do not know how. I didn't do anything strange or weird recently, so I don't know why it is hurting. Hopefully it will get better soon. It has not really limited me yet, so we will just hope it gets better soon. :)

One of the other highlights of this past week was definitely interviews with President Wada! He is the best! This time President and Sister Wada actually came over to our apartments to check the cleanliness and to do interviews. They have been working so hard every day in order to do it for the whole mission. It was great to have them there though. They really are incredible, and just like my parents in Japan. I love them so much. I want to share one experience, and then the advice that President Wada gave me.

This past week we were going and knocking on some doors and we found this one lady who really made an impression on me. We started talking to her and she immediately turned us down, and then told us that God does not exist, and that it is illogical to believe in Him. She told us that it would be best to quit our religion, and just move on. We did absolutely everything that we could to testify and to bring the spirit to the conversation, but nothing would help. She was unmoving. It was a little hard, and when we left, it weighed on my mind the rest of the day. If you read the account of Alma talking to Korihor in Alma chapter 30, it says that when Korihor again denies the existence of Christ, Alma says that his heart is grieved because of the hardness of the heart of Korihor. That is what I felt. My heart was grieved, and I had no idea what to do.

I brought up this experience with President Wada and he had some good  advice. He told me that we can only invite. One of the things that he loves to say, and he uses a lot, is information before inspiration. As missionaries, we can only provide the information. We can bring the Spirit, but they have to allow the inspiration to come into their lives. As missionaries we succeed when we inform, and we invite. He honestly just told me to let it go, and know that we did what we could.

That was really good for me. As a missionary, bishop, leader, teacher, anything, we cannot expect ourselves to do everything and to be perfect. You know me. That can be hard for me to do. I am generally a perfectionist, and it is hard to let things go, no matter how logical/illogical it is to let it go/not let it go. It was really hard for me to grasp the concept that I really COULD not do anything more for that lady, because she just wasn't willing to open her heart up to it.

I hope that things are continuing to go well with your work and with your teaching in the church. Thank you for the email about Jared! Please let him know that I love him, and that I am praying for him. He is a trooper. I hope that everything is going well in the ward. What can I do to help you/the family, dad? I really want to help everyone, so if there is anything, just let me know. I love you and your example so much, and I am grateful for all that you do for me. I love you!!

Love, Elder Livingston

P.S. Thank you for forwarding Braidon's email! He is such a good man, and is going to be the best missionary. Thanks! Tell Mitchell congrats for me!! :D

Blitz - Letter to Mom - 27 July, 2015

Hey Mom!!

So, no, we did not play football this week, contrary to what you might have thought when you looked at the title of this email. This has been a super good week, though, and I will explain what the blitz is in the following paragraph.

So, a zone blitz is actually what we had. It is when all of the members of the zone get together, and then we had a training, and then we went on splits with about three different people over a period of 3 hours or so. We received the training from Elder Jesperson, who is awesome, and his companion Elder Murata, who is one of the coolest Japanese missionaries! They did awesome instructing us how to boldly invite others to come unto Christ by taking lessons or by coming to church. It was great, and then I got to go on various splits! The first one was with an Elder named Elder Fenton! He was actually in my MTC district, but then had to go and get surgery, so he is a transfer lower than me in the mission field. He is a great elder, and has such a powerful testimony. I love him so much, and it was so fun to be able to work with him. After him I got to go with Elder Konno. Elder Konno loves disney probably as much as we do. :) Needless to say, we did not have to be quiet for any part of that split! Haha we talked to a lot of people, and we also got to talk about Disney a lot, so that was fun. He said that he doesn't know how I am like Hiro (the boy in Big Hero Six, which actually has a different name in Japan! Lots of disney titles are different here), but I am excited to see that movie, because Jenna said that it is basically like me put into a character! haha We will just have to see. :) Lastly I went with Elder Murakami. He is fluent in English, and such a nice, good elder. He is so fun to work with, and we had a lot of success talking to people. I loved working and learning from all of them.

One thing that I have definitely learned on a mission and that was accented by the splits that we had this past Tuesday (in the blitz) is that everybody has something that someone else needs to hear. The gospel is not a solitary thing. It is expounded and understood only when it is shared with lots of people. President Monson has said something to the effect of that which we selfishly keep, we lose. That which we willingly share, we gain. Or something like that. It is that way with all of the principles of the gospel. Charity cannot survive if it is not manifest in outward expressions to those around us. Faith can not be grown if it is not tested and used to lift ourselves and those around us up. Hope can not survive in a solitary room, but rather in the company of others, well lit with the Light of Christ. We have to share the gospel. If we selfishly keep what we have been so graciously blessed with, we will lose the things that are most precious. But, if we spread that which has been given to us, we will find hidden treasures of knowledge. That is why missions are important.

And not just for the missionaries sharing it. :)

You gave me to the Lord for two years. You ultimately have gained and  will continue to gain so many more blessings because of the things that you have allowed me to do for Him. You have given of yourself in times of sickness and trial, and the Lord has multiplied the blessings upon your head an hundred fold. You may not see them. But the things which are not seen are often the most powerful. You have a testimony. You have a family. You have love in your heart. You have hope. You are truly blessed. :) Don't ever forget that, Mom. I am so blessed to have you, and I want to thank you for all that you have done for me. :)

Let's see, another thing that we did is that today we had zone p-day!! :D It was super fun. I will send a couple of pictures later. We had a hamburger cooking contest between the three districts in our zone, and then we played sports in the cultural hall. It was so great. and now I am emailing! I truly have been so blessed in my zone. As a zone leader I haven't really had to deal with that many problems in the zone. It has been really good. I have loved it so much. I really don't want to transfer. Next Saturday is transfer emails, and I have a feeling in my gut that I might transfer. I am not excited. But who knows, maybe I will get one more with Elder Driscoll! it is crazy to think of how fast time is flying. It is going way too fast. I am excited to see you again too. :) Oh! And you may even get to meet the Wada's! I will probably be going home on the same plane as them, so probably a couple weeks earlier than planned, and you may be able to meet them!! :D I really hope that you can. :) Anyway, I want you to know that I love you, Mom!! You are the most incredible mom ever! Keep working out hard, and keep pushing yourself! I know that things are going to improve. Oh, and just a heads up, my wrist has been hurting a little if I bend it too far up or down (it is weird, and hurts a ton if I push just a little too far). Is there anything that I can do to help that that you know of? Let me know. I love you!!

Love, Elder Livingston

Pictures this week - 19 July, 2015

Elder Driscoll and Elder Livingston

This explains splits with Elder Jesperson

Elder Livingston and Elder Jesperson

Elder Livingston and Nishida

Don Stapleton.
I started teaching him, and he just got baptized!!