Elder Antonio Lim

Happy Easter!! I have never appreciated Easter more in my life! Even though I didn't get much candy this year! However the meaning has never meant more to me than ever before! I am truly grateful for Christ and His Hand in my life. Without Him, I would be lost. I hope that as you all celebrate Easter today, you remember the true meaning of Easter and utilize the precious gift of the atonement as much as you can! It's kinda sad cause in Japan they don't really celebrate Easter so it wasn't too big, but it was a beautiful day and we were able to share the special video the church made with lots of people! This week has been full of miracles.It's crazy seeing all the many miracles that happen each day! Every day I come home amazed at all the things that happened throughout the day! It's been such a blessing! I think I have been able to listen to the spirit a lot better now. We were able to stop people in the streets that I know were prepared by the Lord and h...

Nagasaki is going great! So far we only have one Investigator that we actually teach so we don't teach too many lessons, but we get to do a lot of Dendou! (Finding/missionary work) It was really hard at first. It's hard approaching someone and trying to talk to them, especially when a lot of the time they just start walking faster and waving their hand haha. However it's been getting better each time. I learned that I have to be more happy when I do it! I can't share a happy message if I'm not happy! So I just have to think about the joy that this message is and has brought me and it gets easier to share! So far I've crashed twice on my bike, all graceful Falls of course! But yeah it's hard to make sharp turns in the rain without your tires slipping out from under you, and you can't cross train tracks very well in the rain either, especially while going through an intersection! So those were all fun times! I'm okay so far so it's all good!...

Last week I totally spaced on telling everyone where I was assigned! My bad... haha I was assigned to the Nagasaki area in Nagasaki city and my trainer is Elder Jensen from Spanish Fork, Utah! It's been a crazy transition for sure! However everyday, it slowly becomes more like home. I still have a hard time understanding people, but it just encourages me to work harder in studying the language! It was a lot easier to do in the MTC, because we had more time! So those of you still in the MTC, take advantage of your time!!  Anyways, this week has been pretty fun. I finally got my bike so I don't have to walk everywhere anymore! Nagasaki is famous for it's hills in our mission, so I get a good leg workout everyday!  The food here is way good and the rice is so much different than in the States! It's so much better!!  Oh man so many things happen in a week but I don't have time to share everything!! I'll share one thing. So contacting people, stopping pe...

I am in Japan!! It's still hard to believe at times, I always have to double check myself and be like, woah, I'm in Japan! It's awesome here! It's like being in the Oriental Market, or Uwajimawa back in Renton, except you can't walk out of the store! I can't really understand anyone either so that's fun! It's funny, you speak a little Japanese to someone and they'll be like "Oh no you're so good!" haha but I'm really not! Oh and they have squatting toilets in some restrooms, I have yet to try those, it's a little intimidating... Anyways, trying to stop people and talk to them can be hard sometimes, they all say they're Buddhist but if you ask them what they believe, they can't tell you! Haha some people are willing to listen though and that's always nice! It can be discouraging though when they put up the hand and run away. I have to admit, for awhile I actually got homesick for the first time ever. Being out here ...

Well, I have completed my final entire week at the MTC. I fly out to Japan early  Monday  morning. It's been such a blessing to be here, but I'm ready to go and teach real people. I know my language skills aren't amazing, but I know that when I get there I'll be able to learn so much faster. I have learned so much in my short time here and I have met so many amazing people. My testimony of this Gospel has grown so much, and I know that this Gospel has the power to change lives and help people find joy and happiness.  One sad thing that happened this week is that our Branch President of our MTC zone was released  on Sunday . He was such an inspiring man that really instilled on me what it meant to be a missionary, and what it takes to be a successful missionary. It was hard to say goodbye, but it puts into perspective how many times you say goodbye on a mission, and it can be so bittersweet.  I know that my time here at the MTC has shaped me into what I ...

This week has been so full of powerful spiritual experiences and lessons learned. Last week the new missionaries that were to be added to our zone came in, which included 11 日本人 (Japanese) missionaries from Japan! It's been so fun getting to know them and make such good friends with them even though we can barely communicate! However I learn so much every time I do have chances to talk to them. They are such a kind and bright people and I can't wait to go to Japan and serve the people there! I was truly humbled by the Lord this week. I started to have doubts whether or not I was being guided by the Spirit, and if I really felt everything I was teaching to be true. I prayed for an answer, and was disappointed by the lack of profound revelation as usual. Then Sunday came along and the topic of the day was "Recognizing and Understanding the Spirit." I was assigned to teach in our District meeting and when I was researching for my lesson I came across the answer to...

Another week come and gone in a blink of an eye. It seems that as my time comes to a close at the MTC, time speeds up. These last three weeks seemed like no time at all. Yesterday the new Japanese Missionaries coming into our zone came in and it was so fun talking to them and very humbling to realize how bad my Japanese was! However it's such a blessing to get to talk with them often because I learn so much every time I talk to them and it has accelerated my learning. It's crazy to think that we are now Dai-Senpai and only have 3 more weeks left! One of the biggest and coolest things I learned this week is that the light of Christ is in everything because Christ created everything. We all have the light of Christ in us and we can show that light through our smile and our kindness to others. We can also feel the light of Christ through the sun. The sun is bright and warm and when we feel it's warmth, we can feel the light of Christ. There are many Scriptures in the Bo...