Santa is in Town

Hello everybody!

Another busy week has passed in the blink of an eye. Where does the time go?

We did a whole lot of service... for kids. For kids? Does that mean dressing up like Santa and giving presents to innocent little Santa-believers while constantly going "Ho, ho, ho"? Bingo. It was surprisingly demanding to be Santa, especially because this Santa has to fold his legs and sit on the ground while trying to stuff food through his beard, speaking Japanese to enthusiastic boys and girls asking where their presents are. It was so much fun though and we will do more this week, too!

Christmas in Japan is so different from what I'm used to. Since Japanese culture and traditions are based on the Buddhist and Shinto religions, Christmas is merely adopted from Western culture and seen as a holiday of merchandise, shopping and... and... "Christmas cake" and "Christmas chicken " (KFC gets plundered on Christmas here in Japan). I remember my last Christmas before I went on a mission, in Germany. I still remember the lights, the carolers and this magical, quaint feeling in the air. I kind of miss celebrating Christmas like that. 

Yesterday, however, I felt something even more than that magical feeling. I felt the true Christmas spirit as I got up on the stand in front of everyone in the Abeno ward. As I was talking about the Savior and Him being the True Christmas Gift, sent for our eternal welfare and happiness, sharing the well-known John 3:16, I felt a fire in my heart, a feeling of love and of gratitude and I knew that what I was sharing was true. I hope that the members felt the same fire in their hearts as I did. Our Savior truly lives! I'm really grateful for the opportunity I have to share the true meaning of Christmas and the very first Gift of Christmas with a people that has never known. I'm glad I get to spend such a wonderful season on the other side of the world.

I wish you all a blessed and wonderful Christmas and I hope you feel the joy this season is meant to bring. I love all of you! Be safe!

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

Osaka Castle - 14 December

Hello everyone! No time! Went to Osaka castle with one of our friends! We got our transfer calls and me and my companion, Eccles長老 are staying! Wa-hey!

Hope you have had a splendid week, just like I did and I wish you a wonderful one! Lots of love!

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

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Speaking of Christmas - 7 December

Hello everybody!

This transfer is almost over. We get to hear where we'll go in a week.
I just don't know where time goes anymore. It'll be Christmas in a
second! Speaking of Christmas, have you all seen the new "A Savior is
born" video? It's pretty darn good, but the web page is pretty darn
better! Take a look!

christmas.mormon.org

Gotta go! Have a splendid week!

P.S.: Made オムライス (Omuraisu). 'T was pretty darn good

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

Winter Time - 30 November

Hey everybody!

It's been a tiring week; I'm looking forward to hugging my futon at
the end of today. It's gotten waaaay cold all of a sudden, too! At
first it's kind of nice outside and then, before you know it, you find
yourself wishing you had a decent pair of gloves and a neckwarmer on
you. I love the winter, but it could have rung the door bell instead
of straight up kicking the front door down and rushing inside, if you
ask me. Seasons lack proper etiquette here in Japan.

We are getting some progress over here and momentum's building up
really quickly. A lot of stepping out of the comfort zone was done,
but it was so worth it. It's so easy to just stay inside the warm and
cozy bubble, rather than to step outside, into the harsh and
unforgiving cold. The Lord appreciates those who go out of their way
to accomplish what He expects of them. It is "expedient that [we]
should be diligent, that thereby we might win the prize" (Mosiah
4:27). As we throw aside our fears and do what we can to follow His
will, He will bless us with many tender mercies and make us capable to
overcome, accomplish and win. I love the Gospel.

Also! This has nothing to do with anything, but I went hipster and
took pictures of some food I whipped up. 

​
​​I took them before the noodles were cool.

#SeeWhatIDidThere

Hey! I hope you all have a lovely wintery week! See you next week!
LOVE YA!!

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

Morning Exercise - 23 November

Hi! How are you?

Last week has been really busy. Long story short: first came chaos, then came order. A lot of problem solving, hasting and hassling happened last week. But we are 元気 as ever and ready for a new week of awesomeness!

Kind of random, bu I just want to tell you all how important (morning) exercise is. I suffer a lot from sleepiness and lack of energy. But by going running every morning lately, I have been able to get a lot more energy than I had before (keeping me awake during my morning studies and focused during our appointments with our investigators). Our bodies are a sacred gift from God and we should strive to maintain it. If we respect our bodies, we respect God and He will bless us with strength and health. We will receive health in our navels, marrow in our bones; run and not be weary, walk and not faint. The blessings in D&C 89 are real. If you feel exhausted in the morning, try working out. Because things will... well, work out.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! Have a fantastic week :9

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

Good Stuff - 16 November

Hey everyone!

Dropping by to let you know how much I love all of you and how much I
appreciate your concern, your support and your prayers. You are
awesome. It's been a little busy lately. As a new transfer began, we
kind of uncovered the ancient trash bin that is Abeno and found that
there is a lot of trash we need to take out. We've been working hard,
exchanging lesson quantity for lesson quality and began tackling the
core of our area's problems. We're dead. But we're going to do a lot
of good stuff here, so I'm excited!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

�`���k���V�AELDER SANTOS

Forgive & Forget - 9 November

How have you all been?

I'm tired. Therefore I'm happy. Last week was a mess and at first I thought organizing everything would stress me out immensely, just like it did when I became senior companion for the first time in Ootsu. But I'm really happy! Because I realized that I know what repentance is. When I was a younger missionary, I knew what repentance meant in my head, but not in my heart. I didn't apply every principle of repentance myself, even though I taught it those around me all the time. Even though I would improve day by day, I would always look back full of regret for the countless mistakes I had made before.

Forgive and forget.

That's the one part I didn't understand with my heart. Everyone is imperfect and our paths to perfection will, without a doubt, be filled with flaws and errors. Instead of looking back and cringing, I now look forward with determination to improve and become better. "What can I do from now on?" When I noticed how much my attitude has changed, I felt invigorated and strong.

The Gospel has really blessed me with an improved understanding of myself. I am a child of God. The end of my path shines with glorious luster and fills me with joy and hope. I don't need to worry as long as I trust Heavenly Father and as long as I try to love Him with all my heart, all my might and all my mind. The reason I'm still standing is because of Him. I owe all I have to Him. He has put everything I need to reach my potential on my path. Be it high mountains to test me and to burn away my flaws or the many tender mercies to comfort my wounded soul.

It's been a marvelous week. I love missionary work and I love you. Thank you so much for everything you do for us and for the Lord. Tell your wife how awesome she is as well, please!

Have a great week,

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

Time is Precious! November 2nd

Sorry, no time to write anything. Here are some pictures. Love you all!!

Love vs Fear - 26 October

Good day to you, misters and madams!

We've had a really good week. Me and my companion have been sick, but we're way better now. This week would be less busy (when it comes to meetings), so we went out and destroyed everything (in other words, did missionary work like crazy). We also did a couple of exchanges with the district leaders in our zone. It was so good!! I can always learn so much from the examples of everyone I work with, as simple as they may be. I'm really blessed with a lot of opportunities to learn and I'm grateful to my Father in Heaven for it. 't Was a good week indeed!

Because I was sick last week, I was a little depressed and insecure about myself. Whenever I get exhausted or sick, I go into a slump of negativity and start having doubts about my abilities as a missionary. I realized that there were a bunch of things I was doing wrong and I kind of felt unsettled because of my constant errors and failures here and there (nitpicks, really). I felt a little hopeless, because I felt like I hadn't improved on the aspects I wish I had so far. BUT! We had the wonderful opportunity to attend the "Heartfull Concert" held here in Abeno, in which three members with incredible singing voices would come over and sing for us (only two, sister Takaku and sister Amarume, ended up singing, as sister Yutaka had been injured in an accident prior to the concert). Listening to their beautiful songs and the stories told through them really fired me up and made me want to be a better, more loving, more diligent missionary than ever before. I was listening to sister Amarume's song, 「ペテロのように」(Petero no youni), and I just cried. I really love Peter. I can relate to him really well. Before Christ's death, he was very spontaneous and desired to follow Christ with all of his heart, but as soon as adversity struck, he feared man, rather than God, to the point that he would  betray his Beloved Friend even three times. Peter loved Jesus so much. Can you imagine his anguish when he realized he denied he knew Christ? I felt it. I felt Peter's pain thanks to the beautiful and powerful rendition of his story sung for us in the concert. I don't want to fear man. I don't want to deny Jesus Christ. And yet I do it, over and over again. I pondered and thought about how I could overcome the natural man in me (the man who fears man) and soon realized that all I lack is love for Christ. If I really loved Christ and if I really knew His power, I couldn't fear man. I couldn't be uncertain or insecure. I would stand tall and unshaken before my trials. Love casts out all fear, is the most important one out of three (faith, hope and charity) and is the first and great commandment in the law given through Jesus Christ. How do I develop more love for Christ? I'm still thinking about it, but I've remembered something Jesus said at one point during His ministry on earth: "If ye love me, keep My commandments". Keeping His commandments is a way for us to show love and appreciation for Him. We will recognize the blessings that come from obedience and feel the Spirit in abundance in our lives. So I should do my best to keep His commandments. It will help me learn to love Him more and I will feel loved myself as well. And if you're filled with Christ's love, you can do anything.

Thanks for listening to my rant there. I actually learn more by talking about stuff than studying about it. I hope you all had a wonderful week! Love ya ~

〜聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

Missionary Business -19 October mail

Hello everybody. Sorry for being late this time around. We had a lot
of important missionary business to take care of today. A-hem.

We've had the wonderful opportunity to be taught by our mission
president again, last week. It was quite glorious. I always feel like
I'm taught more than what actually comes out of his mouth. I love
learning through the Spirit; reading the Book of Mormon has also been
one of those things where I learn so much from just a single verse.
Sometimes what really helps me understand training and doctrine more
is if I step back and try and look at it from a different perspective.
I learned a lot just from looking at how the president and the
assistants were teaching all of us, for instance. GAH I LOVE LEARNING!

We also worked our rear ends off and took pictures of a nice little
place called "Korea Town" on our way home. There were a lot of Korean
people there. Speaking Korean. And selling super-delicious kimchi. Oh,
it's so gooooood...!

Aaaand we got a huge salmon. They way to an elder's heart is through
his stomach, right?

TUNS OF LUV
〜聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

Be silent as to services you have rendered!

Hello everybody!

Not much time, but I'm super 元気! General Conference was super awesome! There was something in every talk that really spoke to me and gave me insight on my personal problems and struggles. I hope you've all had the same experience.

We went to MLC and ZTM as well and I learned a lot about myself. I found out that there is a lot I can improve and change to become the ideal missionary I want to be. But no worries! Christ enables and qualifies us to do whatever we want, as long as it is righteous.

I really love all of you and hope you have a wonderful week!

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

P.S.: MLC picture and an inspiring message

A Solid Vision

Hello, everybody!

Another tiring week has passed. Really fun, too! We've met a large part of the people in our zone already (including my previous companion, Griffitts長老, which was super awesome) and we'll see all of their faces pretty soon too! I'm really looking forward to what's coming up -- it kind of feels like Christmas! Just like every kid jumps up and down before Santa drops by to deliver the presents, so am I (furiously) jumping up and down in anticipation of two Mission Leader Councils this transfer, an upcoming Zone Conference and October's General Conference (yes, we get it a week later). I might just start caroling!

Last week was good. We worked really hard! But I feel like we can do even better! I learned last week that in order for us to achieve something we really desire, we need to have a solid "vision". It's kind of like a grand goal or cause to work towards, kind of like drawing a finish line for your race course. As easy as it may sound, creating a good, effective vision is actually really hard. Sometimes we create visions that in the end don't even seem to apply to us, or have visions and goals that are too easily accomplished leaving us with little room for improvement and growth. My companion, Sano長老, is a missionary with a solid vision. When we go out to work, I can see determination in his eyes in every thing we do that day, as if he's vigorously chasing something. When we were talking about our visions for our zone here in Osaka, he taught me an important lesson: in order to establish a good vision, you need to have imagination. He said that he actually sees himself becoming what he wants to be in his mind. Because he has such a clear picture in his head, he's better able to set goals -- steppingstones, if you will -- that lead up to him achieving what he wants. Not only that, but it gives him drive and motivation to go at it and work. When you think about it, it completely makes sense: a "vision" is something you see in front of you, something you are looking at or something that is visible to you. If we don't use our imagination, how will we see? How will the path before us be visible? It's something so simple and yet, something I forgot as I was struggling to set goals that would be achievable and yet stretch me at the same time. Something to try out, for sure!

What do you want to picture yourself being in the future? What kind of person will you be and what kind of things will you do?

I'm really grateful for all the wonderful learning experiences I've had so far on my mission and I'm also really grateful for God's help and guidance for me. In the end, the only reason why I'm still alive is because God has given me the strength to overcome my trials and challenges and through that, I'm becoming a stronger person every day. Heavenly Father really loves me (and He loves you, too)!

I'll see you all next week! Love the poo out of you,

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

Consuming of my Flesh

Herro, everybody!

Last week was transfer week, which means that everything is all over the place. Missionaries came and went and we're now set to start this transfer! It's kind of sad to see how all the older missionaries I've always looked up to are gone now. It's kind of sad... but I'm really excited to meet all these fresh missionaries and introduce them to missionary work in Japan! About half of the missionaries in the Osaka zone have just barely come to Japan! EXCITEMENT!

Here is a cool scripture I bumped into:

2 Nephi 4:21

He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.

In Japanese the "consuming of my flesh" part has an even clearer connotation of how fire consumes something. But just think about it: to be filled with His love to the point where your body is consumed as though by fire? Whoa.

As I was reading this verse though, I noticed how you can put this in a different perspective as well. In the scriptures the word "flesh" often refers to the natural man, the worldly us; a part of our mortal or fallen nature, as described in the Bible Dictionary (see "Flesh").

So Christ's love consumes our flesh... our mortal and fallen nature. It's through His infinite Atonement for us that we are able to put off the natural man and become like saints, that we can take our imperfection and weaknesses and turn them into perfection and strengths. Christ's pure love casts out any form of darkness that may be in us and turns us into shining beacons of light. Through His love, we can become like Him.

How can we be filled with His love? How can we help other be filled with this love as well?

I love the scriptures. I learn so much from them. They have helped me understand the countless ways in which God shows His love for us. God loves each and every one us infinitely and so does His Son, who showed us the way and gave up His life just so we can be happy forever. We're so stinkin' LUCKY! Dang, the Gospel is the BOMB!

I hope you all have a wonderful week filled with awesomeness and fun stuff like that. I love you all a lot! See ya next week!

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

P.S.: Ate a big fat 500g steak. Didn't get the meat-sweats! 

#WowLookAtMeI'mSoCool 

#I'mNotFatIPromise

Walking the Ducks

Hello, you all!

Another transfer passed. I don't know about all of you, but for me it just flew by. It's insane.

I'm really excited for this transfer! I've been able to gauge myself really well and to determine where I'm at and where I need to go. I've set some good goals that will really stretch me and I can't wait to increase my potential! I really love transfers, because they're kind of like a fresh start; they give me a chance to restart and do even better than last time.

I will be staying as a zone leader over here in Abeno (Osaka). The total amount of missionaries in our zone will increase and I can't wait to meet all the new missionaries arriving in our Zone next Thursday, among whom are some familiar faces as well! YEAH!!

It's difficult to describe precisely what happened last week. We were out and about, working our heads off, of course. We visited members and got to know them better and strengthen them, we had a companion exchange, a sudden stake coordination meeting, we taught English to a bunch of 12-year-olds in a class whose teacher has met Arnold Schwarzenegger in the flesh, we walked some ducks, we had a wonderful district meeting about helping our investigators have spiritual experiences... It was a really fun week. There is never a dull moment here in Osaka. Every day you'll experience something peculiar. It's special; I really love this area. Come visit Osaka, if you have the chance. お勧めです！

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Love you!

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

The Eye is the Light of the Body

Another busy week passes over here in Osaka and I am pooped.

We did a companion exchange last week, which was really good! Even though every appointment fell through, we had a very good day! We were able to meet with a lot of people on the street here and we found some with interest as well! At first, I felt like I was kind of clumsy and I was a little bummed because we weren't able to meet with anyone we had planned beforehand (I didn't remember how to get to one of them, even though we go there regularly), but I soon put those thoughts away and focused on making the time we had that day as effective as possible. In between trying to visit the investigators, we tried to talk to as many people as we could handle on the street. We were able to teach 5 lessons in about 3 hours of in-between finding. To some it may not be much, but I felt happy with the fruits of our hard work.

I believe that if I would've stayed down about our appointments falling through and me not being able to find the way, I wouldn't have been able to actually invite people to come unto Christ. It reminds me of a scripture I really like.

3 Ne 13:22

The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

If our eyes are single or, in other words, if "our eyes look correctly" (as it literally says in Japanese), we will be full of light; we will radiate happiness, love and self-confidence. If we look at the bright side of things and have hope, everything will be alright. It is all about attitude. If you face your future with a smile, your future will be bright.

I love this Gospel. I remember being easily affected in a bad way by set-backs and slip-ups. But those things are all part of our learning experience here on earth. Jesus Christ is able to change our hearts and shape us into brighter, happier and more positive people. Thanks, Jesus!

I LOVE all of you! I hope you have a wonderful week!!

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

MLC & ZTM

Hey, everybody!

This week has been jam-packed with meetings. It was a lot of new stuff for me, too! The very first time I went to Mission Leader Conference and did training at a Zone Training Meeting!

MLC was amazing! We had president Mills skype in from the MTC to train us and it was awesome! I really learned so much stuff! It was like going to a General Conference! The fact that I'll be able to go every month (if I don't transfer out of here, that is) is something that really makes me happy.

I did my best to pass on the essentials of the MLC training to our zone at ZTM. I was kind of nervous before it started, but once it actually did everything went pretty smoothly. That's probably because our zone is so AWESOME, though. They're really cooperative and are really willing to share whatever experience and knowledge they have with the entire group. Actually, we (the zone leaders) didn't even do that much during ZTM: we just gave them the MLC stuff and then everyone basically trained each other. One thing that I also really liked this ZTM is that we actually assigned a few of our zone members to go to the stand and give a little training on Christlike attributes and teaching skills. It was super good!!

And then we had Stake Conference. It was really good, but I just wish the Japanese speakers would slow down a bit. Holy cow, they speak faster than machine guns spray bullets! Gah! Osaka, you're too fast for me!! Fortunately, President Welch was one of the speakers. I liked his talk, because it was really easy to understand (even though his Japanese is super good).

There was something in his talk that really stood out to me. He shared an experience where he recently received the new that one of his family members was being prepared to go to the temple by some one else and he expressed gratitude for something they did he couldn't. When he said that, I immediately recalled a scripture I had read recently, in Moses 7. In verse 18, it says: 

And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

If we are all unified in our desire and our vision and Zion is established in our homes, wards and stakes, there will be no poor among us, because those around us will make up for the lack of our own talent and ability. In Zion, everyone completes each other. It was a really sudden impression I had, as soon as the president shared that. And this impression is really relevant to our zone (as one of our goals is to "Be One" and establish Zion, so we can build the Kansai temple). 

How can I apply this myself? Something to chew on, for sure!

Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you have an awesome week, wherever you are! I LOVE YOU!!

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

P.S.: Have some MLC, ZTM and Zone Conference pictures!

The Works of God Made Manifest

Hello, everyone!

This week has been so tiring -- I don't even know how tired I am. But we've done well! Or, rather, God did well. Honestly, I feel like most of last week's work was brought to us, instead of us going out to work. A member treats you to some delicious homemade sushi at church, for instance, when all of a sudden a random man comes in and exclaims in slight disappointment "Oh, so they're not doing church today" (on a Saturday). We've had the privilege of sharing the abundance of sushi with this man and share a little bit about our beliefs and the Gospel. He even came back the next day and he wanted to learn a little more about our church. Hmm! Good job, Heavenly Father!

A cool scripture I bumped into: John 9:1-3

1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Sometimes we have a lot of afflictions, hardships and trials in our lives. Sometimes we say: "What have I done to deserve this?" Earlier on my mission, I was really insecure and felt like I had nothing but weaknesses. I used to think I'd done something bad to receive all the "punishment". But, looking back, I can say that this is not the case. I'm a much more confident, happier missionary than I was before. Why? God had given me those circumstances (that seemed really harsh to me) in order for me to open my eyes and see God's hand aiding me and lifting me up. My testimony has grown a lot since my first day in Japan and I know for sure that it wasn't through my own power. God suffers us to have trials and hardships, because He wants us to witness and experience the enabling and cleansing power that comes from our faith in and our reliance on Him and His Son.

Heavenly Father loves you and so do I! I hope you have an awesome week!

Buh-bye!

～聖徒長老、ELDER SANTOS

Hope For A Better World

Hello, outside world!

This week has been a very good one! It's been really tiring for some reason. It seemed like normal missionary work, but my energy tanks are empty. Work consisted of falling flat on my face a lot, not knowing Japanese here and there and giving a pretty okay talk at Sacrament meeting yesterday. Dang, I love Abeno so much! It's completely different from any of my previous areas I have been in. It feels like a completely different pace -- a faster one, for sure. It even gets TOO fast, sometimes (which is why I fell flat on my face a couple of times)!

But I'm really grateful to be here in Osaka. I feel like the challenges are here to help me grow and become what I want to be. In fact, it reminds me of a cool scripture we've been focussing on lately:

Ether 12:4

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

Hope is like a ship's anchor that makes us strong and unmovable even during the greatest of storms that life may bring us. To me, Osaka might be pretty stormy right now, but because I know that I'm doing His work and because I know that these experiences will shape me into what my Heavenly Father desires, I know that I'll be okay no matter what happens: I hope for a bright future.

What do you hope for and how is it your anchor?

A whole lot of love,

～エルダー・サントス、Erudaa Santosu

Hello Abeno!

Hullo, everybuddy!

This week has been great! Abeno is awesome! The ward is amazing, my companion is awesome, my zone consists of great missionaries and the area seems to have quite some momentum. Good stuff!

Oh yeah, by the way, I'm a zoneleader now. Congratulations, I suppose. It honestly doesn't feel different from being just a senior companion at all. I just have a phone as well and I actually have to follow up with missionaries in my zone. Right now, though, it feels as if I can't do anything at all to help my companion, or the area, or the zone. It was quite embarrassing, especially the follow ups:

"Good evening! How's Osaka going for ya?" 

-"I've been here longer than you." 

"Dang it."

I really want to help my zone! I need to improve myself and repent of my laziness and lack of accountability. I have realized that one of the biggest reasons why someone gets called to be a leader is for that person to learn what he still lacks and to repent and become a worthier, more capable missionary. Because, you know, God knows better than me what I need to grow and reach the next level of my personal progression. He knew that I needed to become a zone leader, because it would put the needed stress and increased responsibility on my shoulders for me to become stronger. I need this "trial" to become a better Santos長老. Blah blah blah...

Thank you so much for reading! You've come quite a ways, haven't you? I hope to see you next week! Have a great one!

That's a lot of love,

～聖徒長老, Elder SantosHell