Tokyo Japan Week 84

Exchanges with Elder Webb!

Hello Amazing Family! I can't believe it's going to be April! This week has really gone by so so fast, but Heavenly Father has truly been sending down so many amazing miracles, and it's been such a great week. Throughout this week I've definitely felt the Lord's love for His children, and I'm so thankful to be serving here in Tokyo, Japan at this time. I love serving as a missionary with all of my heart, and I'm so thankful to keep going forward with faith!

I hope you guys all had an amazing week! Lexa, I really hope you had an amazing birthday, I definitely put a ton of time in that rap video, haha. ;) I made sure to sing a little song for you, and I was so excited to think that the next one I'll for sure be there! Thank you again so much for being such an awesome sister to me, and such a great example to me of great faith. I know it was such a big act of faith to move out of Utah to go to California, but I'm so happy to see how much Heavenly Father is sending down so many blessings, and I'm so thankful and happy you are doing so great in the Bay Area. You are awesome, I'm so happy you had a great birthday!

Making pancakes!

This week was overall so awesome! We saw one INCREDIBLE thing that I'm so excited to share! So, here we go. We were having a great Saturday, and we had a first lesson with our new investigator Shouta! We had finished showing him around the church, and we had such a great lesson on the Restoration and were able to give him a Book of Mormon! It was so great, and we felt really excited, and Shouta left to get some food at a nearby 7-11. So while he was there he was carrying the Book of Mormon, and this young college girl from Mongolia runs up to him and says, "Where did you get that book? Where is the church?" And so he brought her to the church! Miraculously Elder Templin and I were just about to walk out of the church, and they walked up! So the young girl, Yuri, had arrived in Japan 4 days earlier, having been baptized in Mongolia just few months ago, and was looking all over for the closest church. She was having a hard time finding it, but she was so thankful to find it, and was able to come the next day and had such a wonderful time. She had her Mongolian triple combination in hand, and had her pictures from her baptism in her hand as well. The sisters are now meeting with her, and it turns out she's planning to serve a mission, and she was so happy to know that the temple was so close to her now. They don't have a temple in Mongolia, but now she'll be able to prepare, and move forward with those needed ordinances. :) It was such an amazing miracle, and just confirmed to me the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and how they can truly bring us to Christ. Even someone who had just received it, was able to guide a wonderful young sister safely to the church. So awesome! It made me feel such a feeling of thankfulness and the love of God, and how much He will do to guide us to Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. The gospel is true. :)

Urayasu District Meeting

As well throughout this week, Heavenly Father really blessed me with another amazing miracle. This past week I had a chance to go on a exchange with Elder Webb, the Zone Leader in our zone, and we had such an amazing time! We had a great exchange together, and Heavenly Father blessed us so much with so many great miracles. Elder Webb has always been a great friend, and when he was district leader in Saitama, I was his Zone Leader in Urawa. We did many exchanges together, and he's really taught me so much as a missionary. When he was in Saitama, they had a really rough time, and were always focusing on showing love and helping as best we could. During the exchange we sat down for the exchange review, and he asked me for some advice on what missionaries should focus on, and just any thing I'd like to share about what I've been learning on my mission. I started to talk about the things I felt I've learned are so important as a missionary, and I couldn't help getting a little emotional talking to him! Pretty unmanly I guess, haha. But it just started to strike home all of the wonderful things my mission has taught me, and how much it's changed me as a person. At the end Elder Webb thanked me for what I said, and told me he feels the mission has been influenced a lot by me. Although I feel that is pretty far from the truth, his words really hit me hard, and I felt so thankful for the time I have here in Tokyo Japan. I love being here with all of my heart, and I'm so excited to go forward with faith!

With the Cautivo family

I'm so happy to hear everyone is doing so great, and I hope you have an amazing conference weekend this coming week! Japan will receive the translation the next week, so I'll have to do my best not to watch conference in the internet early, haha. Again I just want to say thank you all so much for your amazing kindness, love, and continually showing me the example of what I want to be in my life. I'm doing all I can in my power to stay focused on these last few months as a missionary in Tokyo, and I'm so thankful for the blessings Heavenly Father keeps sending our way. I love this work so much, and especially around this Easter season, I'm especially thankful to the atonement of Jesus Christ. His love is eternal, and His grace is sufficient for all of us. I know that He lives, and I have felt His influence in my life and especially in the lives of others while serving here in Japan. I love this work so much! I'm always praying for you guys, have an amazing week!! Much love.

Love,
Elder Justesen

P.S. To Virginia! I'm so happy to see you in a couple months! Thank you for being such an amazing second grandma to me, and always being so kind. Your charity and faith is amazing, and really a powerful example to me! I hope to marry a woman as spunky and full of faith as you! See you soon! :)