April 19th Week 28 - Hope and Harmony  Layton Utah Week 18 (T6)

皆さん!

 

… 

 

I'm tired. lol. 

 

But seriously, this week has been a whirlwind. combining the stake has literally doubled the amount of work that we have… but it's brought some amazing miracles. Being to meet all of these new people - seeing them, talking to them… it's been so much fun. It's so much work, but it's so worth it. 

 

And the nice thing is that I have two amazing companions that are hard working! We became best friends almost immediately, and our apartment is just filled with laughter… well, wherever we are is, anyways. 

 

We've done basically everything under the rainbow - service, teaching, helping members, and performing musical numbers. I mentioned this before, but my companions are both phenomenal singers. Remember how I talked about singing at a girl's baptism, and how the Bishop asked us to perform a musical number? There's a little bit of a miracle with that. We definitely saw the Lord's hand in our lives - for sure.

 

As I mentioned, we accepted, and began preparations immediately… though at first, we were a little stumped on what to perform. 

 

I recorded the following events in retrospect at a member's request:

 

...and more than that, what can we prepare in a week? As we sat through the sacrament, we slowly got lost in the messages.

I remember looking up at the speaker, and he smiled fondly as he spoke the words, "One of my favorite hymns is In Humility, Our Savior."

A surge of the Spirit flooded into me - a reminder. This is it. This is the song you're to perform.

 

I mentioned it to my companions after the meeting, and they agreed - we would move forwards with that!

But that wasn't the only impression that I received.

Listening to that song, I remember writing in my notebook, "In Humility, Our Savior - New Verses?"

It was an idea I just threw around in my mind… but I found myself idly jotting a few ideas down. It wasn't anything particularly fancy.

Later that night, I showed it to the other Elders, and they liked it! So we began brainstorming new ideas… and as it progressed, we realized that this was something that we felt very strongly that we needed to pursue.

 

So before we went forward, we realized we needed a message. What kind of message did we want to leave with the audience? We had a few ideas, but collectively we felt strongly that we should focus on Church worship. We didn't particularly know why that was… but it just was.

We finished the lyrics, and polished the arrangement together in the limited time that we had. We arrived at the church a little bit early to rehearse, and then moved to our seats.

We were a little bit nervous. Would the congregation appreciate the message? Would they understand it? Would they feel it?

We fervently prayed it would.

 

It wasn't long before we saw Bishop Young walk through the doors after his morning meetings. We said hello, and talked for a while.

"By the way," he smiled in his gentle way, "we just received a message from the stake Presidency last night at 11:00pm. We just learned that we're going to be returning to two hour church."

My heart skipped a beat. Returning to two hour church?

Immediately, I understood what that prompting was.

It wasn't just a good message to share with the congregation. Only the Lord could have ever known that the timing would have been this way. Who could have ever guessed that our song, written to talk about the importance of gathering, would be delivered on the same day that two hour church was announced to begin?

 

Only the Lord.

 

And through the promptings of His Spirit, we were able to create something that we hope resonated with the people there that day and at home, listening.

That would be the greatest blessing we could ever hope for.

 

Music has always played such an important role in my life… being able to share that has been a wonderful and amazing blessing. I hope that through the songs we write and the pieces that we play, all that listen can know of what our hearts and spirits sing - of comfort, of peace, of joy, of love.

 

The rest of the week went by in a flash. So much has happened… it's incredible.

 

Inspired walks through areas both old and new. New faces to meet - messages to share - friends to find. And ultimately, lifting where we stand! We had the opportunity to serve someone in the community that doesn't belong to our church - and he is just an amazingly friendly man. We're grateful that he allowed us to help, and hopefully we can continue to help out whenever and however we can!

 

We've also continued to help out wherever we can - sharing messages with those that are a bit downtrodden, serving those unable to do so for themselves, and helping others to find and come unto Christ in every opportunity. Sharing principles and scriptures to enrich their lives is something that has brought us immense and unimaginable joy!

 

It's a wonderful blessing to be able to spend every single moment helping other people. It's interesting that by focusing on others, I've been able to find more of who I am in the process. I think that can be true of all of us!

 

...And I suppose I have a little bit of a way of testing that.

 

I received a call from the APs earlier today, who informed me that as of tomorrow, I will become my district's DL - or, district leader! My responsibility as a missionary remains the same, but now I will be watching over and taking care of four other missionaries in my district. Essentially, I'll be helping them to be able to do the best work that they can do, and help them to achieve their own goals. The Lord trusts me enough to do so - and so I'll try my best!

 

But that's not all the Lord had in store for me.

 

Also starting tomorrow, I'll have a new companion - and not only that, someone straight from the Missionary Training Center. The Lord trusts me enough to become a trainer! That's… certainly something, too. I'm excited and more than a little nervous - I, myself, am still learning a lot! - but I want to be the best trainer that I can be!

 

Exciting things await in store for us - and I can't wait to see what the future holds! Nervously, but filled with joy, onto the future we go!

 

I find strength and comfort in the words of our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson:

 

"The Lord understands our mortal weakness. We all falter at times. But He also knows of our great potential. The mustard seed starts small but grows into a tree large enough for birds to nest in its branches. The mustard seed represents a small but growing faith.

The Lord does not require perfect faith for us to have access to His perfect power. But He does ask us to believe."

 

I know this is the Lord's church on the earth. As we draw closer unto Him, and learn more of Him, we will be able to find such happiness and joy - such that we might never find anywhere else. The Lord knows us, and loves us. He does not expect us to be perfect - only that we try our best. And as we reach out to Him, His hands are already outstretched. Go forward - pray with all of your heart, truly seeking if He is there. I promise that if you do, with a sincere desire to know,,He will help you to know... and will help you to overcome whatever trials you have.

 

I can testify of that. I can testify of His miracles which He has sent for us as we've looked to Him. Both here on the mission... and evenbefore.

 

"I will not leave you comfortless," He urges. "I will come to you."

 

Love you all - have a fantastic week! Take care - you all are amazing!

 

Peace, love, and joy be with you all!

Elder Decker

デッカー長老

 April 12th Week 27 - Melodies and Meadows  Layton Utah Week 17 (T5)

(Another side note! I'll be performing again this Sunday - twice! 

Orchards Ward - 9:00am MST/ 8:00am PST - In Humility, Our Savior [arranged and performed by my companions and I, including two verses we wrote ourselves!]

Canyon View Ward - 11:00am MST / 10:00am PST - Missionary Medley, self-arranged

You can access the broadcasts through the Farmington North stake broadcast landing - http://mywebcast.churchofjesuschrist.org/farmingtonutahnorthstake - and all you have to do is select the ward you want to broadcast and enter your name, and you're in! I'd love to see you all there!)

皆さん!

Holy cow, it's been busy. Like, ridiculously busy. So much has happened in such a short time, it's felt like a month has passed in seven days. One of those kinds of weeks.

But I guess I'll start with the biggest news.

This week was emergency transfers! One of our zone leaders received their call back to Peru about a month ago, and has been gearing up to go for a while. This past Thursday, it finally happened. And as such, a little bit of a zone leader vacancy was created...

...and who better to get that than Elder Cope?

Seriously, he deserves it. The amount of work and effort the puts into every single district council, every single lesson - it's amazing. And it's all because he has such an immense love for the people he serves and the people he's over. And so, as such, when we learned that our zone leader was going to be transferring over back to Peru, I immediately knew who it was going to be.

He denied it every single time I joked about it. 

But now that Elder Cope has transferred areas, there's not a vacancy within my are,a now! So what ended up happening is the e time has come that the Farmington Noth stake was to be combined!

There have previously been two Elders - or rather, two sets of Elders - that were serving in the Stake. Now that there's a vacancy, they're recombining the stake to one set of elders, and I've joined the other companionship in a trio of Elders. It's really exciting - and they're both amazing! Elder Thompson and Elder Caryotakis and I spent the past couple of days adjusting to the doubling of size of our areas, and have really worked on making sure we're able to help as many people as we can in the meantime. We've set up an insubordinate amount of lessons and service opportunities (including six hours of service on Saturday because of the Farmington spring cleanup-pickup!) and a ton of inspired walks. It's exciting to see what'll happen in the future!

Already, the unity that we have is consecrated by the Lord - I know that .We're making the same references and jokes, and even walking in step most of the time. It's... kind of creepy, to be honest. But what's even more interesting is that we're sort of quickly becoming known as the musical elders... and the stake is taking full advantage of that, apparently.

No complaints here - it's fun to get these things ready and to perform them!

As such, like I mentioned at the beginning of the letter, there'll be two opportunities to hear us next Sunday:

In OIrchards, we'll be singing performing "In Humility, Our Savior" (including an  added two verses we wrote together!), and in Canyon View, I'll be performing a Medley of missionary songs for one of the missionary departures. It's... really busy. But that was fun!

Speaking of music, one of the first teaching opportunities we had was to teach a baptism lesson to one of the children turning eight. Within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, baptism does not occur until the child is old enough and chooses to be baptized. As such, we typically wait until they are old enough to make that decision - about eight years old. We had the privilege of teaching a young girl named Hannah about baptism - she had just recently turned eight, and was excited to be baptized! We taught her a little more than what she already knew (her parents did a really gootd job of teaching her what everything meant!) including how we can continue to remember the covenants - or promises - we make at baptism, and what we receive in return. She soaked it in like a sponge - and answered all of our questions and found herself learning a ton! That's one of the coolest things about teaching someone willing to learn - through asking questions, you can help them come to a conclusion themselves, and really help them to see why it's important!

After the lesson, I noticed a piano that they had in their living room - and they asked if I played at all. I quietly admitted that I did, and that the other elders had amazing voices, too! So we sang "When I Am Baptized" - one of the children's songs in our church - and it was a lot of fun!

We got a call later that evening, and apparently Hannah had asked if we could sing that again at her baptism. We were honored.

And what an amazing baptism that was! To see the amount of love her father had for her as he administered the ordinance, the loving and tender care her mother showed to her, her siblings supporting her... it was wonderful to see. So much joy was exhibited there at that moment - it was an honor to be able to perform there!

...The next Sunday, we got a text. Apparently, Hannah's family had mentioned to their bishop that they were really thankful we were able to be there - and that it meant a lot to themm. We should be the ones saying that, first of all! But Bishop texted us... and asked if we could perform this following sunday. So that's the performance on In Humility, Our Savior in the Orchards Ward.

We then got a request from the Canyon View Ward's bishop to perform in their ward, as well... so we're pretty packed now. We'll find time to practice somehow... but finding people to share the Gospel with is our main priority! 

We're continuing to serve and teach wherever we can - and we're trying to become the missionaries the Savior wants for us With music in our hearts and the winds of spring in our souls, we're continuing to move forward and helping all those that we can around us.

To hear that we had been able to touch others' hearts through our music... brings me a joy I can't quite explain. Especially because during that baptism in particular, everything I played was dedicated to her, of course - it's her special day! And to hear that she enjoyed it - and for her to come up and say, "Thank you for playing!" It's inexcplicable. There's nothing quite like touching someone's life through that - after all, music has the power to heal wounds deeper than the eye can see, and fill hearts sometimes even better than words alone can!

I feel as Ammon after his brothers had returned from the land of the Lamanites, where he exclaimed,  "Therefore, let us glory! Yea, we will glory in the Lord - yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full. Yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of His great power, and of His mercy, and of His long-suffering towards the children of when? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel!" (Alma 26:16) Being able to help people to find peace, comfort, and joy - through music, through service, through teaching them - it brings such joy that I can't quite explain. It's wonderful - and I'm so excited to be able to continue to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

Here's to the future - song in our hearts, wind at our backs, and the love the Lord within our spirits!

Take care, everyone - you all are amazing! Cheers!

Elder Decker

デッカー長老

 April 5th  Week 26 - He Lives, Layton Utah Week 16 (T4)

皆さん!

 

There has been so much amazing stuff happening! Between Easter and conference, serving some and teaching others... it's been wonderful.

 

So much has happened. We watched general conference together as a district - outdoors, socially distanced, listening to living prophets and apostles speak. It was so much fun - and being able to bounce lessons we've learned off each other has been a ton of fun. (We held our breath for the group pictures!)

 

I could go on for a long time about what's transpired this week... but even amidst exchanges with the Zone Leaders, serving nonmembers and inactives, and meeting so many amazing people through inspired walks, after time and time again of being able to see gratitude in people's eyes as we lift their spirits and warm their hearts... I've really come to know my Savior even more.

 

And ultimately, it is because of Him that I'm able to be here today.

 

Throughout this week, I've been studying the Lord Jesus Christ leading up to Easter. Holy Week is a wonderful time to reflect upon His teachings, His life, and His purpose. And I've found that as I've done that, I've truly come to see Him and know Him more than I could have ever thought possible.

 

There are too many broken hearts and broken souls in the world today - whether it be through sorrows and sadness, trials and tribulations... there is so much to mourn in the world.

 

"Be of good cheer," Christ told his wavering disciples, "for I have overcome the world."

 

My testimony is that He *has* overcome the world. He did not just take upon Himself the sins of the world - no, He did so much more.

 

I've shared this scripture before, but I'll share it again.

 

"And He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind - and this, that the word might be fulfilled which saith He will take upon Him the pains and the sicknesses of His people.

And He will take upon Him death - that He may loose the bands of death which bind His people. And He will take upon Him their infirmities - that His bowels may be filled with mercy according to the flesh, *that He may know, according to the flesh, how to succor His people according to their infirmities."

 

This is my testimony of Him, above all - that He lives! He knows us. He loves us. And He wants nothing more than to heal us. From the triumphant entry in Jerusalem to the teaching of disciples and Pharisee alike. And from there... to the agonizing pain of the Atonement. Every pain, every joy, every sorrow, every joy... He has felt it all. And as such, no matter what the situation is, He can commiserate.

 

And through the influence of the Holy Ghost, He can cause "the heavens to shake for [our] good." He knows the best way forward because He's felt every single possibility. Every single heart, He knows. And as such, He knows how we will react. How we will think. And as such, He has the end from the beginning - and can bless us by guiding us through the darkness.

 

That was the power He gained in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the power He gained once all was completed - and every single emotion ever felt... had been felt. 

 

He is the Rock and our Redeemer. He is the Good Shepherd. "Fear not, little flock," the Savior soothes, "for it is your Father's great pleasure to give you the kingdom."

 

I testify that after He had suffered all things - after He had been betrayed by all of His apostles, one by one, until even His most devoted had fled. After He had been scourged, unjustly sentenced to death, and after He was crucified... three days later, He rose from the grave, with "healing on His wings." 

 

He is a Testament of our potential, and a Testament of our glory. In a coming day, we will overcome sickness. We will overcome pain. We will overcome death.

 

We will "rise [again] with the just, when the Savior doth come!" For above all... the Lord loves us. He would not have sacrificed all if He didn't.

 

Did Christ have to suffer all of these things? Did Christ have to bear every single one of our sins? Did Christ have to feel every single sorrow, every single failure, every single bout of loneliness? Did He have to give up His life? Did He have to be crucified, and abandoned by His Father?

 

Did He have to do any of it?

 

No. He didn't.

 

But He did.

 

And because He did, we, too, can rise. Physical death will die - and we will all be resurrected. We will all become as They are - glorious, perfected beings, filled with light and hope and love. We will continue on this path, learning and growing together. Those we love will be with us - every single one.

 

Together, we can look to the future with hope.

 

That is my testimony and my witness. God the Eternal Father lives. His Son, Jesus Christ, live. They know us. They love us.

 

They have prepared a plan that allows us to become better. To learn. To grow. To improve. To fail. To succeed.

 

And through that, become better - and eventually, return to live in eternal happiness together, forever.

 

I bear you that witness in the name of our Savior and Redeemer, even Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

 

Elder Decker

デッカー長老