This last little bit has been short since I wrote, but it's definitely been eventful.
First of all, I'm transferring. I'm really going to miss the people here, and it's going to be weird having a new companion. :P I'm going to be saying a lot of goodbyes tomorrow. But my next "area" should be
awesome, too!
I'm being transferred to... Tech Staff! Yep. They have those in this mission. So I will be fixing bugs, making blog posts, and helping people fix their iPads and such. Generally, Tech Staff doesn't get a lot of proselyting time - in fact, the name of my area was literally "Tech Staff." I think it is in Nakano, though, in case you were wondering. I will be living next door to the Mission President. Mostly works like a desk job, so that will be interesting... I'll tell you more about it next week. It should be good. :)
So... moving backwards... on Sunday, we had FOUR dinner appointments in this area, and two companionships... so every missionary went on splits to an appointment. Which means I had to go alone with a recent convert! I'm not going to lie, I was super nervous... but it was actually way cool. This family just happened to be the first family I ever visited in this area, and last time I went, I understood nothing of what was going on. This time, going alone, I had to hold a conversation, and share a message. I actually didn't have too much of a problem holding a natural conversation in Japanese, and the message went decently well. It was a great opportunity to see how much I've learned here, especially because they kept commenting on how much I had learned since the last time I had visited. haha. :P Anyways, just a cool coincidence - I went there for my second and last Sundays.
Then, definitely as the highlight of the week, I gave my first Priesthood blessing. We stopped in on a member to see how they were doing, and found out that their son was sick. I suggested he receive a Priesthood blessing, and he gladly accepted. His father is still a prospective Elder, so Elder Abo and I gave the blessing... and as a great trainer does, he let me take the lead on the blessing.
The moment he told me I was giving it (which came as a great surprise to me), a flood of memories came back. I thought of all the blessings my father had given me, and a sudden weight of responsibility hit me. I didn't think that I could do anything like what he did - his blessings were always inspired, always exactly what I needed to hear - but I did my best. And as I laid my hands on his head, all the worries went away. I don't think I was able to perfectly have and follow the Spirit, but I feel that at least a portion of my words were inspired (and he's better now, so it worked, right? ;) ).
My big take away from the experience came as a quote from President Thomas S. Monson that came to my mind. "When the time for performance arrives, the time for preparation is past." Honestly, there is no way I could have known that I was going to give a blessing - and I think a lot of awesome opportunities to be the Lord's hands are the same way - but preparation is definitely required. As I walked away from that experience, I had a new drive to have and recognize the Spirit, to really have the character required to be an instrument in the Lord's hands.
No, none of us will be perfectly prepared, but that is my challenge for the week. At some point, the Lord calls each of us to a work - and it will probably be a lot bigger than a simple Priesthood blessing (not that those aren't to be taken seriously as well) - and we have to be ready. There is no time to waste - the Lord is hastening His work! God knows that we aren't perfect, but He also knows that we can try our best, so that is what He expects. So this week, 頑張って下さい！ (Try your best!)
Have a fantastic week!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder O'Reilly
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| Me, on my bike, in front of a rainbow, in my rain gear. Yep. |
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| The new missionary I went on splits with a while back. It was way weird... we got dendod by missionaries for a Buddhist denomination... and neither of us really understood what was going on. HaHa |
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| The apartment I'm leaving :P |
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