Weekly Update: Maebashi is still hot

Family and Friends,

Well, the summer has officially started! The Semi's are loud and strong. Everyone's out for summer break (even though they all still have homework...?) and so playing at the parks and shopping and even here at this computer shop where they have this little e-mail place I get to use a computer at. It's unfortunately pretty far from our apartment :( and we came here an hour ago but they were full so we did some shopping and came all the way back and I was lucky to get a spot now.. so it might be tricky to e-mail these next few weeks with everyone out of school and places busy but we'll try.

They have a big fireworks show here in Maebashi on the 8th, so we've been invited by some less-active members to watch it with them. Then the next monday (for P-day) they're taking us to see a famous waterfall! It'll be exciting and a good excuse to build relationships with the family. Both the parents are members but the 14? yr old daughter is not and she's kinda free-willed but they seem like a really nice, good family. The mom actually came to church for the first time in a while last Sunday. I think she wants to come back the most (she's a returned missionary, and probably the dad, too).

Anyway, other than that we've had more lessons with our investigator Akutsu-san and they are maybe getting better. This last one was more based around questions that were of value spiritually... but she still just has to keep her reading committments!

The Book of Mormon is SO important! I can't believe there were days I didn't read it before.. and I don't know why but for some reason as senkyoshi (missionaries) we're not distracted by so many other things of the world so we just get so fine tuned to our emotions! When we watched the Joseph Smith Restoration movie a couple weeks ago I noticed it because I just wanted to bawl and leap for joy all in the same place! It was SO strong... but before dendo I probably thought that movie was pretty boring... So maybe from that our feelings when we read the BoM are more noticeable but it just all makes so much sense and is so amazing, like wow I never thought of it like that before.

Like for today's study I looked into how we need faith for miracles. Akutsu-san was asking last night why the Israelites could have seen Moses part the Red Sea and still not believe, or why the Jews could have seen Christ and still not believed. She proposed that if she had been there at that time and seen those kinds of things she would have zettai (without fail) believed. I think most of us would like to think that. But would we really believe? There's numberless examples in the Book of Mormon, and numberless scriptures I found studying.

To name a few there's Laman and Lemuel of course who saw angels but still turned away from the Lord in the end, and then there's many who by their faith wrought miracles, the prisoners with Lehi and Nephi who had faith to call upon God for repentence and were all every one enveloped in pillars of fire (Helaman 5). The underlying theme I got from my study was that God IS a God of miracles, and the only reason that miracles cease is that people forget God and do not believe (Mormon 9:20). If you want an interesting reading see Moroni 7:21-end. I went through and highlighted key words of Christ: faith, every good thing, angels, miracles, repentence, covenants. Then just to read through those highlighted words, well it may not have had much litteral meaning but it's clear that miracles start with the faith and love in our hearts.

Ok well other than that, not much exciting happening in Maebashi, we're still really trying to find investigators so pray for that will you? And I'll try exercising MY faith to work those kind of miracles too :)

And thanks to everyone for your letters and e-mails! I love you all lots and hope you have a fantastic week!!!! and remember to do you missionary-member work! :D

LeFevre Shimai

PS! Dad HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOMORROW wakaranai...) !! And Austin HAPPY BIRTHDAY in a couple more days!! LOVE YOU GUYS! (your presents are on their way :D)

PPS. Mom, you fire baton during halftime shows? ;D that was fun to read in the ward newsletter but .. can you still twirl? That'd be such a steki skill to brush up on.. :D

OK loves!!! G&G Leach you're so awesome for writing me every week, just so you know it was not Aoki in Kofu but I wrote her real name in my other planner :) I'll write it in snail mail!