Friday, July 17, 2015
Here he is!
Well going over to pick Logan up in Japan was one of the most incredible experiences we've ever had. It was so wonderful to see him in his element and with the people of Japan jay he loves so dearly. Two years have come and gone and honestly Elder Cottle grew into an incredible young man. We will forever hold a special place in our hearts for Japan and the people there. Welcome home son!
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Week 100! My last week......
I can not believe that I am writing this email. I can not believe that
I have been a missionary for over 2 years now, and that I have come to
the last week that I will be a full time missionary. I won't lie it is
a strange feeling. It's a mixture of excitement, mixed with fear,
sadness, anxiety, and so much more all in one and all at once. I think
what makes it the strangest is that I have put all that I am and all
that I can into this work and this mission for two straight years. I
have breathed, eaten, and sweat missionary work for the last two years
and as a result I have felt some of the most incredible joy I have
ever felt. I will never forget this feeling. I think your mission is
the only place that you can be dead tired, have a pounding heading and
be sweating like crazy in a small hot apartment in the middle of
Japanese summer and have planning and a bunch of other phone calls you
have to take care of all the way up until 10:28where you realize you
are still in your shirt and tie and need to brush your teeth change
and get in bed, the only place where you have all of these things and
are still unbelievably happy. I don't completely understand it, but
it's real. You can ask any returned missionary, or any full time
missionary. There is such a special joy to this work and it's
something that I want to continue. I know I won't have the badge, or
the special calling, but I know that I can feel it as I continue doing
the good things that I have been doing the last two years.
There has been a lot I have learned as a missionary, and I don't think
that I am going to be able to put very much of them into this email,
but the overlying big message or biggest thing that I think I have
learned is our need to rely on the Savior in all things. There have
been too many times as a missionary where I simply could not do
something by myself or my companion and I could not do something by
ourselves. There are things that are just simply out of our control.
We have a sphere of influence, but there are just certain things that
we can not change. They just happen, or they are things that we no
matter how hard we work or try can not do. I remember last year when
T____ couldn't be baptized because his mother would not give him
permission. We had prepared T_____ and he was ready to go, but he
couldn't be baptized until he had his mothers permission and we had a
time limit because he was going to America. We did all we could to
meet with his mom and talk to her and tried to convince her but
nothing was happened. I remember praying and just saying God we are
doing all we can, but we can't do anymore and we need help. One random
day about 1 week before T____ was scheduled to leave for America his
mother call us and told us that she had been thinking and that she
just kind of felt like T_____should be baptized and that it is a good
thing. I know that wasn't our influence. God expects us to do our best
and do all we can, but he will make up the rest. I have seen it time
after time. I have learned that as we rely on him and trust in him,
that is when we are able to do anything. I have learned that we need
him on our side at all times, and all we need to do to have him is to
work to be worthy and than ask him. I have definitely learned the
power of prayer on my mission. Do you know how many times we pray as
missionaries?? At first I thought it was absolutely insane, but now I
know why we do. Because we know that we can't do it alone. I have also
learned the Lords timing. It might not always be when we want it, but
we have to have patience and when we do our faith increases and we get
grow. Although we sometimes don't want to believe it, God is smarter
than us! Haha He knows better. And when we learn that and can trust in
him and his timing our lives just kind of seem to be more hopeful and
optimistic, because we know it's going to work out! Above all I have
learned that he loves us. Not just his church members, not just Him or
her but every single person on this earth. Even all the way over here
in Japan. I have felt the love that he has for the people here, and as
I have served them and worked with them here I feel like I have gained
some of that love.
I am so grateful for all the amazing experiences that I have had to be
here and to have been a missionary. I would not trade this experience
for anything! I am grateful for the testimony I have gained, and my
own personal conversion that I have had while I have been here. I know
that this is where I want to be. I know that the church is what I want
to build my life, and the life of my family on. I know that Jesus
Christ is my savior, and the savior of the world. He did rise on the
third day and HE LIVES. I sustain his prophet Thomas S. Monson. I know
the Book of Mormon is true not because other people have said that,
but because I have taken it and tried the challenge written in it.
Because I know it is true I know that this is the Restored gospel of
Jesus Christ. I am grateful for my family and amazing parents, church
leaders, and friends who have taught these truths to me from since I
was a child till now. I hope to be able to do the same. My next step
is to continue working to help others have that same conversion as I
have. I have had it, so I know everyone else can too.
Thank you all for the amazing support that you have given me over
these last two years! I have been unbelievably blessed with a great
support system and it has made all the difference. I love you and I
will see you all soon!
Love,
Elder Cottle
I have been a missionary for over 2 years now, and that I have come to
the last week that I will be a full time missionary. I won't lie it is
a strange feeling. It's a mixture of excitement, mixed with fear,
sadness, anxiety, and so much more all in one and all at once. I think
what makes it the strangest is that I have put all that I am and all
that I can into this work and this mission for two straight years. I
have breathed, eaten, and sweat missionary work for the last two years
and as a result I have felt some of the most incredible joy I have
ever felt. I will never forget this feeling. I think your mission is
the only place that you can be dead tired, have a pounding heading and
be sweating like crazy in a small hot apartment in the middle of
Japanese summer and have planning and a bunch of other phone calls you
have to take care of all the way up until 10:28where you realize you
are still in your shirt and tie and need to brush your teeth change
and get in bed, the only place where you have all of these things and
are still unbelievably happy. I don't completely understand it, but
it's real. You can ask any returned missionary, or any full time
missionary. There is such a special joy to this work and it's
something that I want to continue. I know I won't have the badge, or
the special calling, but I know that I can feel it as I continue doing
the good things that I have been doing the last two years.
There has been a lot I have learned as a missionary, and I don't think
that I am going to be able to put very much of them into this email,
but the overlying big message or biggest thing that I think I have
learned is our need to rely on the Savior in all things. There have
been too many times as a missionary where I simply could not do
something by myself or my companion and I could not do something by
ourselves. There are things that are just simply out of our control.
We have a sphere of influence, but there are just certain things that
we can not change. They just happen, or they are things that we no
matter how hard we work or try can not do. I remember last year when
T____ couldn't be baptized because his mother would not give him
permission. We had prepared T_____ and he was ready to go, but he
couldn't be baptized until he had his mothers permission and we had a
time limit because he was going to America. We did all we could to
meet with his mom and talk to her and tried to convince her but
nothing was happened. I remember praying and just saying God we are
doing all we can, but we can't do anymore and we need help. One random
day about 1 week before T____ was scheduled to leave for America his
mother call us and told us that she had been thinking and that she
just kind of felt like T_____should be baptized and that it is a good
thing. I know that wasn't our influence. God expects us to do our best
and do all we can, but he will make up the rest. I have seen it time
after time. I have learned that as we rely on him and trust in him,
that is when we are able to do anything. I have learned that we need
him on our side at all times, and all we need to do to have him is to
work to be worthy and than ask him. I have definitely learned the
power of prayer on my mission. Do you know how many times we pray as
missionaries?? At first I thought it was absolutely insane, but now I
know why we do. Because we know that we can't do it alone. I have also
learned the Lords timing. It might not always be when we want it, but
we have to have patience and when we do our faith increases and we get
grow. Although we sometimes don't want to believe it, God is smarter
than us! Haha He knows better. And when we learn that and can trust in
him and his timing our lives just kind of seem to be more hopeful and
optimistic, because we know it's going to work out! Above all I have
learned that he loves us. Not just his church members, not just Him or
her but every single person on this earth. Even all the way over here
in Japan. I have felt the love that he has for the people here, and as
I have served them and worked with them here I feel like I have gained
some of that love.
I am so grateful for all the amazing experiences that I have had to be
here and to have been a missionary. I would not trade this experience
for anything! I am grateful for the testimony I have gained, and my
own personal conversion that I have had while I have been here. I know
that this is where I want to be. I know that the church is what I want
to build my life, and the life of my family on. I know that Jesus
Christ is my savior, and the savior of the world. He did rise on the
third day and HE LIVES. I sustain his prophet Thomas S. Monson. I know
the Book of Mormon is true not because other people have said that,
but because I have taken it and tried the challenge written in it.
Because I know it is true I know that this is the Restored gospel of
Jesus Christ. I am grateful for my family and amazing parents, church
leaders, and friends who have taught these truths to me from since I
was a child till now. I hope to be able to do the same. My next step
is to continue working to help others have that same conversion as I
have. I have had it, so I know everyone else can too.
Thank you all for the amazing support that you have given me over
these last two years! I have been unbelievably blessed with a great
support system and it has made all the difference. I love you and I
will see you all soon!
Love,
Elder Cottle
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Week 99! Last full week.
Hello Everyone!
I can't believe how fast this transfer is going! It is too fast right now honestly! There is so much stuff that I want to accomplish here but my time is running out so fast. It's crazy to think that in just a couple of weeks I will no longer be a missionary..Honestly it's kind of a scary thought. I feel like I honestly have put all that I am into being a missionary, and over time I feel like the Lord has kind of molded me into the missionary he wanted me to become. I'm grateful for the kind of person that I have been able to realize I want to be, and the steps I have been able to take to be that person while I've been here. I still am not there, I still have a long way to go, but I think I'm on the right track.
Although the end is drawing near we still have about a week and I hope to make the best of it! Right now in Shibuya we have maybe 5 or 6 progressing investigators who really have TONS of potential to be baptized really soon. I don't know if it will be while I am here or not, but I think that they are so close and that Shibuya is going to have a good amount of baptisms over the next coupe of months. There is T_____who works for the other church and he is so close. There are just a few things that he needs to realize about doctrine, and just needs to have that spiritual experience that is able to tell him that all the things that we are telling him are true. Of course that will mean that his church isn't totally true, but we know they have truth in it and we are trying to help him see that it's not a bad church is ours is true, but it just doesn't have ALL of the truth. We also have a new investigator named F_____ and he is the man. He really has such a desire to learn more and has lots of really good questions and is really open. I think I talked about him a little bit last week, but he lived in Texas for 3 yrs and went to a different Christian church but he really liked it, and always wondered why there are so many christian churches. We taught him the Restoration and he loved it. Gave him a Book of Mormon and he is reading it, and he should be coming to church today! We will also be going with him to a Senior Missionary's home this week to share a message and have dinner so I think that would be a really great opportunity to be able to set some good expectations and teach a great lesson. The work is going amazing right now, but the time is really just going too fast. All of these amazing people and here and they are so close, it's just a manner of teaching them a little bit more and then they will be ready! There are so many prepared people here in Shibuya. This is a special area. It is one of the only areas where you can almost always see someone that you can talk to no matter where you are. You know very well how we are taught as missionaries to open our mouths and talk to every single person we see. Of course, in Shibuya this really isn't possible. But I have seen over and over again the Lord guide us to the one that we were supposed to talk to, and we just have to be worthy to be guided.
I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have had to finish my last 4 transfers in Shibuya. It has been such a blessing! My companions, the friends I have met, and the miracles I have seen have all made me a better person and a better missionary. I know that most missionaries do not have the opportunity to go back to a past area, but it's been great for me and I think I have found those people that maybe we were supposed to find last year. Things are going well..it's just crazy that they have to stop next week..It's such a bittersweet feeling getting to the end of your mission, I honestly think it's just one of those experiences you don't really have unless you have come out here and worked your hardest for two years. I'm so grateful to all of you who have been such an incredible support to me. You are amazing and I love each of you! Talk to you next week!
Love,
Elder Cottle
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Week 98!
Heyoo!! On the train right now I thought I would send you a quick
reply! 100 degrees, that is crazy!
1. Thank you for the classes. I can look through my emails and see if
I can find it, it might be kind of tricky though. But maybe just call
Ry up and be like hey, Logan needs our help just this last week here,
what classes does he need? Cause he will be needing to sign up for
those leadership classes too, and then also he will know some other
good classes to have. Also I figure kind of the same schedule as him?
They don't have to be identical, but I figure might as well if we can!
I figure he is going to know better than me because I'm not back in
America yet you know?
2. I KNOW IM SO PUMPED RYAN GOT THE LEADERSHIP AMBASSADOR SCHOLARSHIP TOO! It's been an answer to prayers seriously such
a blessing. God sure loves Logan Cottle! I realize that more and more
every day.
3. Investigators are doing good. We have sooo many people in our
teaching pool and a ton of really prepared people we just need to get
them in the water!
4. I'll put our funny story in my big email:)
5. The weather is warm. It's probably only 80 degrees but it's getting
super humid. Your going to feel like your in South Carolina again!
It's fun though, you guys are coming our at the perfect time of year!
Your going to love it. Next Thursday are you kidding?! Crazy.
Sounds like things are so good it's always so good to hear. Crazy that
we are at this point huh mom? How crazy it will be next week when we
are together again:) it's exciting. It's going to be a busy week and a
half until I see you guys, but I will make sure to try and get lots of
sleep so I don't look like too much of a zombie for you;) I'm sorry
I've been doing this 2 years it happens...;) love you mom have a good
week!
Love Logan
reply! 100 degrees, that is crazy!
1. Thank you for the classes. I can look through my emails and see if
I can find it, it might be kind of tricky though. But maybe just call
Ry up and be like hey, Logan needs our help just this last week here,
what classes does he need? Cause he will be needing to sign up for
those leadership classes too, and then also he will know some other
good classes to have. Also I figure kind of the same schedule as him?
They don't have to be identical, but I figure might as well if we can!
I figure he is going to know better than me because I'm not back in
America yet you know?
2. I KNOW IM SO PUMPED RYAN GOT THE LEADERSHIP AMBASSADOR SCHOLARSHIP TOO! It's been an answer to prayers seriously such
a blessing. God sure loves Logan Cottle! I realize that more and more
every day.
3. Investigators are doing good. We have sooo many people in our
teaching pool and a ton of really prepared people we just need to get
them in the water!
4. I'll put our funny story in my big email:)
5. The weather is warm. It's probably only 80 degrees but it's getting
super humid. Your going to feel like your in South Carolina again!
It's fun though, you guys are coming our at the perfect time of year!
Your going to love it. Next Thursday are you kidding?! Crazy.
Sounds like things are so good it's always so good to hear. Crazy that
we are at this point huh mom? How crazy it will be next week when we
are together again:) it's exciting. It's going to be a busy week and a
half until I see you guys, but I will make sure to try and get lots of
sleep so I don't look like too much of a zombie for you;) I'm sorry
I've been doing this 2 years it happens...;) love you mom have a good
week!
Love Logan
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Week 97! May 25th what??
Heyoo 皆！
We had another amazing week here in Shibuya! It has been fun to watch this area build over the last 4 transfers, and I hope that I can continue to help build it here for these last couple of weeks in this transfer. It doesn't seem real just how fast this transfer has gone. As I have been on my mission it really has been incredible to see just how short 2 years as a missionary really becomes when you are working as hard as you can every day for others to be happy and to become better people. I'm really excited to keep pushing super hard with Elder Judd over these next couple of weeks to see miracle after miracle, and hopefully to see a couple of these amazing people we are working with to be baptized!
So this past week we had the BYU Symphony come, and we were able to go to the event with 6 people! It was great because Nakano isn't very far for us so we were all able to get there in less than 30 minutes and it was really easy. We had T_____and his family come and they seemed to love it! He is married, with a daughter who is maybe 2 or 3 years old, and it was great to be able to spend the evening with them. T_____and I had the chance to talk about the spirit a little bit and he really believes that he can feel that influence and that it is a real thing. He is doing great and he really really wants to be baptized, he just needs to understand a few more basic principles until he is ready. He really does have all of the desire to be baptized and that's amazing, but we just want to make sure that he understands what that will mean to him when he is baptized, and that once he is, there are things in his life that will have to change, one of those being his job! It is going to be a big week with him, because we are going to explain that and commit him to looking for a new job! I will definitely be letting you know how that goes next week!
Yesterday at church we had a huge miracle, but it all starts a couple weeks ago while Elder Judd and I were doing some streeting in one of the downtown parts of Shibuya. We stopped and talked to these 3 young guys who were smoking outside of a convenience store. As we kind of started talking to them one of them turned to us and said to us a little rough,"何をやっているの？！”(What are you doing?!) I just kind of turned to him and took off my badge and asked him if he knew what this was. Instantly his countenance changed and we started talking to them about what we do as church members. They were really impressed that a couple of 外人(Foreignors) could speak japanese, and the conversation turned 100% around and we were talking just like we were bro's from forever. The one who first started talking to us is named F_____, and he actually lived in America for 3 years and used to go to Catholic church, but has a bible that his host family gave him and he has carried it everywhere since because he thinks that it is really important, but he doesn't really know why. We just explained what we do, how we help people come to church and learn more about God and about a special message that we share and they were really impressed. We ended up getting this F_____'s guys number, and we messaged him this last week and invited him to come check out the church and he said that he really wanted to. So, yesterday he came and he is amazing. He had tons of huge questions like why are church is different than other christian churches and why there are so many different churches and how can we get answers from God and all these things. He told us that he really is searching for his path in life, and for a direction for him, and he really wants to know if this church is true and that the things we teach are true. We had a killer member present lesson with Brother H______ and gave him a book of mormon and set really good expectations with him to meet him a lot and to teach him more about the church and help him to be able to find that answer himself. We are meeting him this week, and he wants to bring his friends to be able to help them know too if this church is true because they have interest as well! It was a huge miracle and really just taught me that no matter who they are or what they look like, they are children of God and they might be that prepared person that the Lord put in our path. We just gotta talk to them!
The work is going great, and I think it is because I get to work with such an awesome companion! It has been great to get to work together for so long, and I feel like when you have that opportunity you have the chance to really get to know each other, and you really are able to work together really well. It has been great to watch him grow, and I'm just trying to get everything that I know about being a missionary out and over to him so that he can become the best missionary that he can. I really do feel like he is on the right track and is just working his hardest to do his part and help this area. He is a hard worker and it is going to help him a lot as a missionary, I am excited to see what he will do in the mission. It is still hard for me to believe that my time is quickly coming to an end. I am so tired you guys...haha mom and dad when you get here you are probably going to think I look like a zombie cause I just feel so tired and we are just out working so hard. Elder Judd is a champ for putting up with the crazy schedule that we always have of just being out and about all the time. It's amazing to me though that even though I am insanely tired, I can be insanely happy. It's something that I noticed when I was a really young missionary, and something that I have noticed all through out my mission. When we think only about others, and little to nothing about ourselves, we feel REAL joy. I'm excited for the next couple of weeks to be a whole lot of REAL joy.
Love you all!
Logan
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Week 96! Bring on the Summer!
It was hot this week! I could not believe how warm it got! The humidity has come back and it's come back with a vengeance! But it was another great week here in Shibuya! I feel like things are going as good as they can right now, and we are working really hard to see many baptisms this transfer! We were able to set another baptismal date with a young kid named M_______who really has tons of potential and really should be able to hit his date. He really thinks that God is important and really wants to receive an answer from him, so we taught him that God will answer us as we pray, come to church, and read the scriptures. He is doing all those things, and we will hopefully see him in church today! We also have T_____'s mom Sister I______who was the one last night who came to the chinese night, felt the spirit and allowed T_____to be baptized! The Sisters were working with her before, but because I was here last year and worked a lot with her and her son with Elder Egbert, she really receives the gospel well from the Elders, so we decided to give it a shot with teaching her. She has a date for the beginning of June, and she already believes that the church is true, it just seems like there is something with a past religion in China that is holding her back from just being baptized. We are teaching her with members and she will be at church today! Our 3rd baptismal date right now is T_____and he is the man working for the other church. We have been really straight forward, and clear about the restoration and how when he is baptized he will not be able to work for another church because it just doesn't work like that. I feel like we have explained it really well to him and with the spirit, and he told us that he isn't tied down to his job and that he can move whenever he needs to. We are really excited for him! His baptismal date was set for next week, however because he can't come to church this week we will be pushing it back to the 24th.
With all of these people progressing towards baptism, and lots of other people also progressing, you really have to be united with your companion and you both have to want the same thing! I really feel like that is what Elder Judd and I are doing right now. I felt like this when I was with Elder Wheatley for 3, but after 3 transfers together I just feel like you know each other well enough to be able to work so effectively together! It's way fun to be working with Elder Judd right now and just watching him grow into an amazing missionary. I feel like it's just been a huge blessing for me to be able to work with him, and to see him grow and develop. It's going to be an amazing transfer! With the things that we have going on, and the determination that we both have to see big things happen, I think that there are going to be some amazing thing that happen this transfer!
The last cool little miracle that we saw this week was a guy who walked into the church for Eikaiwa. When I saw him I really felt like I should go talk to him and so I did, and we talked during the beginning of Eikaiwa and he was a way cool guy who thought that the church was really interesting and wanted to learn more. I made sure to tell him to come meet me after Eikaiwa (because we have many different classes so I wouldn't necessarily be with him) and after we were able to meet up and set up a time to meet on Saturday! We play ping pong on Saturday and he loves ping pong so we invited him to come and he came! We got talking and he asked where we were from and we told him Utah and he pulled out an atlas that he had just bought and looked up Utah! On the Utah page, there was a big picture of the temple, and he right away asked what it was and thought it was a really special building. After that he turned the page and there was a highlighted box that said, "モルモン教はどなものでしょうか？”(What is Mormonism?) I glanced at it and it talked about Joseph Smith, how he translated the Book of Mormon, and essentially how our church was started! We were amazed, but we told him to read that section, and right as he asked what a Book of Mormon was, I pulled on out of my bag and handed it to him. The rest of the night consisted of him standing up and playing a game of ping pong, and then sitting back down and reading the Book of Mormon until he was up again to play ping pong. S______(the guys name) told us about how he had never studied these thing before, but that he wanted to know more and so we set good expectations with him to be meeting and teaching about it! We are really excited for him and know that he has been prepared by God!
Today was also great because we were able to skype with our families! It is always such an awesome experience to get to talk to those I love so much back home! It was so amazing to get to see everyone and I really felt like we were all just hanging out there for a little bit! It's such a fun thing to be part of such an amazing family! I feel too blessed. Thank you family! I love you so much! Thank you everyone for all your prayers and support! I hope things are going good and I will talk to you next week!
Love,
Logan
Week 96! Hello!
He is so busy, long letters aren't coming as often with only a short time left. Here is his letter to me.
Good morning mom!
I love you so much. Do you want to know something crazy? We will be
talking on skype in 2 weeks from today! Then, only a few weeks after
that we will be talking face to face! Exciting times are ahead of us!
I will send kind of my idea of an agenda that way we can kind of start
getting ready for hotels and stuff, but I have some ideas so hopefully
they will be good but I will send it in another email!
1. Thank you so much for sending those!(new slacks)! I am excited to get them, I
am sure that they will be great and that they will be able to get me
through to the end of my mission:) You have great style so I am sure
that they will be perfect.
2. Transfers!!! The crazy thing is....WE ARE STAYING!!!! I will finish
my mission in Shibuya with Elder Judd!! I am way excited to have the
chance to keep working with him he is the man, and we have gotten way
tight over the last couple of transfers so I think it is going to be
super good! I am really excited to be able to have the chance to stay
in Shibuya one more! This will be a total of 6 transfers in
Shibuya!!!! Super fun and I have absolutely loved it. Such a
blessing!
I love you so much. Do you want to know something crazy? We will be
talking on skype in 2 weeks from today! Then, only a few weeks after
that we will be talking face to face! Exciting times are ahead of us!
I will send kind of my idea of an agenda that way we can kind of start
getting ready for hotels and stuff, but I have some ideas so hopefully
they will be good but I will send it in another email!
1. Thank you so much for sending those!(new slacks)! I am excited to get them, I
am sure that they will be great and that they will be able to get me
through to the end of my mission:) You have great style so I am sure
that they will be perfect.
2. Transfers!!! The crazy thing is....WE ARE STAYING!!!! I will finish
my mission in Shibuya with Elder Judd!! I am way excited to have the
chance to keep working with him he is the man, and we have gotten way
tight over the last couple of transfers so I think it is going to be
super good! I am really excited to be able to have the chance to stay
in Shibuya one more! This will be a total of 6 transfers in
Shibuya!!!! Super fun and I have absolutely loved it. Such a
blessing!
We need to get you all registered for classes. Yikes!
3. Yes ok I heard that I probably needed to do some signing up so
maybe this week I will hop on and see what classes are available. I'm
not even really sure what I need to take....haha but right now I still
want to look into things in medical, but I also have some interests in
things with business....so that might be something else that I kind of
want to study when I get back just in my generals and see if that is
something I would like to do...I just really think that I could do
something big with my Japanese...and think it would be maybe cool to
work in a company that maybe works with medical as well?? I don't
know! I'm not sure what is really available there but I will hop on
this week and kind of see what I can do!
Wow I didn't know that Jessica (Reusch) was going on a mission where is she
going?! That is so awesome how is their family doing?? How is Jade??
It's been a while since I heard anything about him...I'd like to call
him up when I get back and see how he is doing. Wow that is crazy
about T_____! Right now we are working really closely with his mom, and
we are really trying to get her ready to be baptized before I leave!
We are looking like she might be able to be baptized the week that we
are together on Sunday which would be an awesome way to end huh?:) We
will be working hard with her, and if you can tell taka that he needs
to be encouraging her to be baptized! she thinks the world of him, and
if he can take the time to skype her with us then we might be able to
really help her make a little bit more progress. Since we aren't
using facebook right now we can't get ahold of T_____ to see when we
could skype him, but that could be something really good! Let him
know for me.
Love you so much mom! Hope things are going good with everything and
that school is good! Have an amazing week I'm praying for you!
Love,
Logan
3. Yes ok I heard that I probably needed to do some signing up so
maybe this week I will hop on and see what classes are available. I'm
not even really sure what I need to take....haha but right now I still
want to look into things in medical, but I also have some interests in
things with business....so that might be something else that I kind of
want to study when I get back just in my generals and see if that is
something I would like to do...I just really think that I could do
something big with my Japanese...and think it would be maybe cool to
work in a company that maybe works with medical as well?? I don't
know! I'm not sure what is really available there but I will hop on
this week and kind of see what I can do!
Wow I didn't know that Jessica (Reusch) was going on a mission where is she
going?! That is so awesome how is their family doing?? How is Jade??
It's been a while since I heard anything about him...I'd like to call
him up when I get back and see how he is doing. Wow that is crazy
about T_____! Right now we are working really closely with his mom, and
we are really trying to get her ready to be baptized before I leave!
We are looking like she might be able to be baptized the week that we
are together on Sunday which would be an awesome way to end huh?:) We
will be working hard with her, and if you can tell taka that he needs
to be encouraging her to be baptized! she thinks the world of him, and
if he can take the time to skype her with us then we might be able to
really help her make a little bit more progress. Since we aren't
using facebook right now we can't get ahold of T_____ to see when we
could skype him, but that could be something really good! Let him
know for me.
Love you so much mom! Hope things are going good with everything and
that school is good! Have an amazing week I'm praying for you!
Love,
Logan
Week 95! Hello!
No long letter this week, just a quick and short update.
Hello! Sorry my time is short, so I will be quick today!
1- I got your package and it was amazing! Thank you so much!
Should I buy you some slacks and send them?
2- Well, I can do either way!! I'm trying to find slacks that I can wear after the mission as well...but maybe it would just be easiest if I bought some here...? I don't know either way is fine...and if you get some and could send them this week that might even be better cause I don't think I will be able to go next week because I am so busy..but just let me know! I guess for now I will plan on you? And if it's hard to find some, I can go here! Love you!
3- I'm glad you liked the videos, I will try and take more!! It's hard to just capture all the moments sometimes, but we are getting lots this transfer so it's good.
Sound like your doing good stuff back home! Just keep trekkin! Your doing it! The house looks AMAZING!! I am so excited mom it looks beautiful! Is it your dream house or what?! I am excited it looks amazing. Things are going great here I'm loving the mission right now it's really just going so so good. We are busy and working hard and seeing success. I'm excited for you to be here and to get to meet some of these amazing people.
Love you so much have a good week!
Love,
Logan
Monday, April 20, 2015
Post 94!
No big email from Logan this past week, so I am sending my personal email he sent me.
Dear Mom!
Time is sure going by fast isn't it?! Crazy that April is already almost half way over...seriously unbelievable. Just enjoying it while it's here. Fun things are ahead though.
Has your package come yet?
1. The package has not come yet, but I'm sure that it will be coming soon! I am excited thank you so much for always sending me so much!
What is your decision in accepting the Ambassador Scholarship?
2. Thank you for your support with the program. I actually emailed the lead man there and talked to him this last week, and he asked who I wanted to room with him and I told him Ryan and he said that he probably has a good chance that he will get in because lots of people defer the scholarship for missions, so I'm hoping that he will be able to get in! But I accepted the scholarship this week and yeah just like what your saying like once I'm home I can figure out more about the details and stuff and talk to the guy in person and see what my options are if Ry doesn't get in. One option that he was saying is that if he didn't get in, I could still be in the program and not live in the Ventana apartments so that could also be an option, I guess we will just have to see! I'm sure God will be able to help me out a little bit...;)
Would you like me to send you some new pants?
3. Are you sure?!? I would be really grateful for some pants...my gray ones just tore...so I would love some new gray ones! Of course I don't really have that much time...so if I got them soon that would be amazing but of course don't worry about it too much I promise I'm doing ok right now:) haha but your amazing thank you for being so thoughtful. Yeah that is the style I like though 32x32 flat fronts slimmmmm haha. Although I loved having ginormous pants that were way baggy..I like the fitting slim pants a lot:) thank you I love you!
I got a teaching job in St. George!
It sounds like things are going soooo good! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! That is such a blessing that it is so close to our house, and that you were able to get a position that you wanted at an awesome school with an awesome principal and everything! I am so excited for you! How are you going to get all of your school stuff there?? Thats so exciting though I am so happy for you! It also sounds like things are going way good with the house and just that everything with the family is going so good it makes me so happy you have no idea!
Keep it up. Time is going quick...One thing that I wanted to make sure I told you is that I found something out pretty cool for coming to japan as a visitor. There is something that foreigners visiting japan can buy called a Japan Rail Pass, which is basically 1 flat rate for a straight week of riding the trains/ bullet trains all you want. I think the price is around $290 for 1 person, but I think that it could be worth it if we went to kyoto and Nagaoka...because it also pays for all the trains that we would take in downtown tokyo and everywhere we could go, so traveling around would never be a problem it would just be one price for a week, and it's pretty cheap compared to normal...So i don't know maybe you can research a little bit and let me know what you think. But if we all had that, that would mean that we could travel a lot farther around japan cause we would have already paid for the bullet train! Could be fun to go down to Hiroshima and different places...but I don't know let me know what you think!
Also I was talking to a sister missionary who used to live in japan and she said that she hiked mt. Fuji and that it wasn't that long....that people do it in like 3 hrs all the time...so I don't know if we could do it but I think that would be SO SICK! so maybe look that up too and see if it's open...but yeah I'll keep thinking of cool things to do!
Love you!
Logan
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Post 93!
Hello everyone!
I hope that everyone has had as good of an Easter Weekend as I had this week! It was great to get to go to church and have an awesome day with investigators coming to church, and people giving us easter candy! It's been fun over here and it sounds like most of you had a good time over there.
It really has been a great week here! The work is progressing and it's always fun to see. It has always been such a fun thing to watch how the Lord really is the one who is hastening his work. It's truly amazing. This week we had the opportunity to meet and teach some people who have real potential to be baptized in this next month. They are people who are young and have interest in the church and why it is here. We have a new investigator who was invited to a recent convert named H_____'s baptism last week because he is her friend and she invited him to come, and we were able to teach him a lesson at the Graham's, who are a missionary couple who live near the temple. He also came to Eikaiwa where we were able to teach a member present lesson with H_____ and we talked about what we do and how we want to help him know that these things are true just like how H_____was able to learn it. He wants to do it, and has agreed that he would be baptized if he came to know that these things are true. We are hoping to set a baptismal date with him our next lesson and help him progress to be baptized here soon! We also have a chinese investigator named S___who was able to come to church last week and just has tons of questions and interests in the church. We were messaging him and he told us that he doesn't know why, but he had this desire to read the bible and to learn more about the savior. So we set up an appointment and we met up and gave him a Book of Mormon and he is excited to start reading it. He is busy, but he is able to find time so we are excited to get things going with him.
This week we also had the chance to do some volunteer work with our Brother S____. We went with a group of Japanese people who all live in the area that we live in, and they basically just took us to cool places in Tokyo that not very many people know about, and it was really cool! The volunteer part was there there are some foreigners who live in our area as well, and so since we speak Japanese we were able to help them be able to understand what was being said and it was really cool! As we were going around, we were able to meet with some really cool people, and get contact information and make lots of friends! It was a really easy way to talk to people about what we are doing and why we are here. One older lady that I had the chance to talk to shocked me when she started speaking perfect english to me. It turned out that she actually was born in Utah, and lived there until she was a teenager and then moved to Japan to finish schooling, but lives all the commandments and really likes the church. We talked for a while, and we are planned to meet with her this next week to talk more about the church and it was just incredible to me to see how God put us in her path to be able to meet with her, and hopefully help her come to church and all that good stuff. There are miracles out here every single day, and it's so fun to watch! I wish I could put them all in here, but I just don't have the time to type that big of an email! But they are happening, and it is a testimony builder every day when we get home and reflect on all the things we saw that day. Something that I will never be able to forget!
Thank you for all you do! I love all of you out there and I am grateful for your support! This mission thing is too much fun, and it's crazy how I just feel like I keep learning and learning even though I have been a missionary for so long! I'm happy to be here, and especially happy to be serving here in Japan. It's an amazing country with amazing people. I hope you all have a great week and I will talk to you soon!
Love,
Logan
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Week 92! Keep me coming!
This week was pretty amazing! I feel like we are just doing the best
we can to see miracles here, and then as we do the miracles come! We
were able to really teach a lot of people this week about the church,
as well as bring a lot of them to church! We had 3 of the coolest
guys I've ever met come to church and they really liked it! One of
them, his name is S____, he is from China and he is one of the chillest
guys I've met and is really interested in the church and what it is
all about. He actually brought his friend to church and so we were
able to introduce them both to the church and we are planning on
meeting with them again to teach them more about why this church is so
important and about our special message that we share to other people!
We also had a member who we have been working with really closely
bring her friend to church and he is a way cool guy who has lots of
questions about religion and about the church. I'm really excited to
see what happens with all of these people and I'm excited for them all
to progress to baptism! I think that some amazing things are about to
happen here in Shibuya!
Something else that was great this week was that there was actually a
baptism in the english speaking ward on Sunday, and we knew both of
the investigators very well so it was very cool to have the chance to
attend. one of the recent converts brought two of her really good
friends, and they are actually Japanese and are really good guys. We
talked to them and I actually had the chance to translate the meeting
for them because it was all in english. It was really fun because
they had never been to church before, so I kind of just got to teach
them what I thought they needed, as well as translated what the
speaker was saying so I feel like all the speakers really spoke to
their needs;) haha but it ended up being really great and then we had
the chance to go back to one of the senior missionaries homes' and
have dinner with everyone as well as these two new guys, and we were
able to teach a really powerful restoration lesson. Actually it was
kind of funny because we were kind of expecting to just share
something very simple and basic because it was their first day, but
one of the senior missionary sisters turned to me and said "elder
cottle teach them the first vision now." haha. So, I had the chance
to kind of teach by myself for a few minutes about where the church
came from and who joseph smith was. It went really well and the
spirit was definitely there in the room and we taught them and
challenged them to pray there on the spot and they did and it was
super powerful! It was awesome to be a part of such an awesome
lesson, and we are going to have the chance to meet with them
hopefully this next wednesday and teach them more about the
restoration and about the church.
I really feel like this week, people were just kind of walking right
to us, and things were just happening for us. We were able to talk to
so many people, and share so many messages this week, and I really
think that it was just because the Lord blessed us and guided his
prepared people to us. I am grateful to be a missionary! I feel
lucky and blessed to be a missionary right now at this time, and I
feel like there is just so much to be done it's crazy! Excited to
have the chance to help people here in tokyo have the chance to accept
the gospel, and I really believe that there are tons of them here.
Thank you for all your awesome support! I love you all and I'll talk
to you soon!
Love,
Logan
we can to see miracles here, and then as we do the miracles come! We
were able to really teach a lot of people this week about the church,
as well as bring a lot of them to church! We had 3 of the coolest
guys I've ever met come to church and they really liked it! One of
them, his name is S____, he is from China and he is one of the chillest
guys I've met and is really interested in the church and what it is
all about. He actually brought his friend to church and so we were
able to introduce them both to the church and we are planning on
meeting with them again to teach them more about why this church is so
important and about our special message that we share to other people!
We also had a member who we have been working with really closely
bring her friend to church and he is a way cool guy who has lots of
questions about religion and about the church. I'm really excited to
see what happens with all of these people and I'm excited for them all
to progress to baptism! I think that some amazing things are about to
happen here in Shibuya!
Something else that was great this week was that there was actually a
baptism in the english speaking ward on Sunday, and we knew both of
the investigators very well so it was very cool to have the chance to
attend. one of the recent converts brought two of her really good
friends, and they are actually Japanese and are really good guys. We
talked to them and I actually had the chance to translate the meeting
for them because it was all in english. It was really fun because
they had never been to church before, so I kind of just got to teach
them what I thought they needed, as well as translated what the
speaker was saying so I feel like all the speakers really spoke to
their needs;) haha but it ended up being really great and then we had
the chance to go back to one of the senior missionaries homes' and
have dinner with everyone as well as these two new guys, and we were
able to teach a really powerful restoration lesson. Actually it was
kind of funny because we were kind of expecting to just share
something very simple and basic because it was their first day, but
one of the senior missionary sisters turned to me and said "elder
cottle teach them the first vision now." haha. So, I had the chance
to kind of teach by myself for a few minutes about where the church
came from and who joseph smith was. It went really well and the
spirit was definitely there in the room and we taught them and
challenged them to pray there on the spot and they did and it was
super powerful! It was awesome to be a part of such an awesome
lesson, and we are going to have the chance to meet with them
hopefully this next wednesday and teach them more about the
restoration and about the church.
I really feel like this week, people were just kind of walking right
to us, and things were just happening for us. We were able to talk to
so many people, and share so many messages this week, and I really
think that it was just because the Lord blessed us and guided his
prepared people to us. I am grateful to be a missionary! I feel
lucky and blessed to be a missionary right now at this time, and I
feel like there is just so much to be done it's crazy! Excited to
have the chance to help people here in tokyo have the chance to accept
the gospel, and I really believe that there are tons of them here.
Thank you for all your awesome support! I love you all and I'll talk
to you soon!
Love,
Logan
Tokyo Selfie!
Looking as Asian as I can with these two!
Getting some food.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Week 91! Here we go.....
Hello Hello!
I am so sorry that I have not been very good at sending long emails
lately! I have been struggling with time because we have just had so
many other things we are trying to accomplish on P-day that it has
been a little bit crazy, but today I have some solid time so I should
be able to give a good update about what has happened over the last
couple of weeks and what I have been doing here in Shibuya!
So lets start with last Sunday, the 15th with H________baptism!
What an amazing day. I love this guy and it has been so fun to watch
him change into a solid church member. I actually met Y____ for the
first time last year when I was here in Shibuya, and I had heard that
he used to meet with the missionaries, but that he was a little bit
crazy and just kind of hard to teach, so we actually never taught him
we were just really good friends with him and used to talk to him at
Eikaiwa. Well when I came back to Shibuya, the Elders had been
teaching him since I left supposedly and he had progressed quite a
ways and at one point actually had a baptismal date, but wasn't able
to hit it and was just kind of stuck meeting with the missionaries but
not really making any progress. When I got here I realized that he
actually really wanted to be baptized, but he was just going to take a
little bit of focus and pushing and he would be able to do it. So, we
set a baptismal date for him as a goal and he started progressing
really fast. He actually missed that baptismal date, but we reviewed
our goal and asked whether he actually wanted to be baptized or not
and he really said that he wanted to work hard for it. So we set the
baptismal date for March 15th, and he was able to progress all the way
to his date! It has been REMARKABLE to see the change that has
happened in his life, and to see just how he is really a completely
different person than he used to be. The power of the atonement is
real! The morning of the baptism, we had actually beforehand asked a
member to baptize Y_____because we wanted a member to have that good
relationship with him, but the morning of the member called and
cancelled with a family emergency! I think the Lord knew what was
going to happen because I had just happened to pack my baptismal
clothes just in case the member needed some, and so I was ready to do
the baptism! It was such a cool privilege for
me to be able to baptize such a good friend, and it was a day that I
will never forget! I hope you all got the pictures last week, but it
was just so awesome to see him so happy.
The next big thing we had this week was Elder Nelson visiting Japan!
He actually came last Sunday and they did a big meeting with all of
the members all over Japan and it was a really cool opportunity
because they came to Hiroo which is the American ward, but it is
technically in our area so we were able to go with W____ and a Less
Active member named S_____. Oh and W_____ brought his girlfriend
which was way cool! We had the chance to go to one of the couple
missionary's home and have a taco party before which was way good, and
then we were able to walk over and listen to an apostle speak to us,
and to Japan. It was quite an amazing meeting, and the big message
that I got all through out the meeting was how the work is really
being hastened here in Japan, and that there is a reason that in the
last month there have been 2 apostles that have come and visited
Tokyo. Elder Nelson gave us some amazing counsel, as well and really
taught the members what to do when their friends ask them questions
about the church. It was really cool to see the way that he would
answer to some of the questions that are commonly asked to members of
the church by their friends. It's just amazing to feel the power and
the spirit when they are in the room with you. Afterwards he and the
other general authorities there wanted to shake everyone's hands so we
were able to shake his hand after, and so was W_____,his girl, and
S______ which was the best part because they all felt it.
But, if Sunday wasn't enough, we were blessed to have another big
meeting with Elder Nelson on Wednesday in a 2 mission conference held
in Kichijoji church! We got to shake his hand again and we were able
to have a 4-5 hr conference with him and with other general
authorities and we heard some amazing messages. One of the big
messages, and big changes that is coming in the mission is that we
have new ipads coming out! They are pushing a new wave out to a lot
of different missions around the world, and as part of that we will be
getting new ipads, and we will be changing some of the things from
what we are currently doing, and one of those is facebook. I don't
know if you saw my post, but from here I won't be using Facebook as a
missionary for 6-12 weeks. This is just part of this new program that
we are starting as missionaries to make sure that we have the basics
down with the Ipads and that we are on the same page with the rest of
the world. So I'm sorry that I won't be posting anything on Facebook
for the next little while, but my guess is that it is going to be
closer to 6 weeks than 12, but we will see. The conference with him
though was really amazing and I just feel like the mission is just
really ready to go and see some big miracles! Those kind of meetings
are always just like really good pump up meetings which is way good.
Every so often you just need a pump up talk by a member of the quorum
of the twelve right? Haha I'm excited that general conference is
coming up and that we will have the opportunity to listen to all of
the apostles and leaders of the church.
Those were the big things that we had this last week! I think I
already told you, but we had our transfer calls last week and Elder
Judd and I will be staying in Shibuya! Because I only have 2 more
transfers left I think that I have a pretty high possibility of ending
my mission here which would be so cool! I have come to love so many
of the members here and the area is just awesome. It's definitely
some of the hardest dendo in all of Tokyo, because it is the biggest
and fastest, but it's so much fun. I love being in the heart of the
city, and it's a blast to be doing with such a good missionary! It
will be fun to continue to work with Elder Judd! I feel like we are
just like brothers already, so it should be sweet just working way
hard this next transfer together to see more baptisms for this ward! I
really think that we could see a lot of them. I'm grateful for all
the amazing support that I have back home! Thank you all for what you
do for me! Every week I always get great emails and I feel so much
support so thank you! I love you all and I will talk to you soon!
Love,
Logan
I am so sorry that I have not been very good at sending long emails
lately! I have been struggling with time because we have just had so
many other things we are trying to accomplish on P-day that it has
been a little bit crazy, but today I have some solid time so I should
be able to give a good update about what has happened over the last
couple of weeks and what I have been doing here in Shibuya!
So lets start with last Sunday, the 15th with H________baptism!
What an amazing day. I love this guy and it has been so fun to watch
him change into a solid church member. I actually met Y____ for the
first time last year when I was here in Shibuya, and I had heard that
he used to meet with the missionaries, but that he was a little bit
crazy and just kind of hard to teach, so we actually never taught him
we were just really good friends with him and used to talk to him at
Eikaiwa. Well when I came back to Shibuya, the Elders had been
teaching him since I left supposedly and he had progressed quite a
ways and at one point actually had a baptismal date, but wasn't able
to hit it and was just kind of stuck meeting with the missionaries but
not really making any progress. When I got here I realized that he
actually really wanted to be baptized, but he was just going to take a
little bit of focus and pushing and he would be able to do it. So, we
set a baptismal date for him as a goal and he started progressing
really fast. He actually missed that baptismal date, but we reviewed
our goal and asked whether he actually wanted to be baptized or not
and he really said that he wanted to work hard for it. So we set the
baptismal date for March 15th, and he was able to progress all the way
to his date! It has been REMARKABLE to see the change that has
happened in his life, and to see just how he is really a completely
different person than he used to be. The power of the atonement is
real! The morning of the baptism, we had actually beforehand asked a
member to baptize Y_____because we wanted a member to have that good
relationship with him, but the morning of the member called and
cancelled with a family emergency! I think the Lord knew what was
going to happen because I had just happened to pack my baptismal
clothes just in case the member needed some, and so I was ready to do
the baptism! It was such a cool privilege for
me to be able to baptize such a good friend, and it was a day that I
will never forget! I hope you all got the pictures last week, but it
was just so awesome to see him so happy.
The next big thing we had this week was Elder Nelson visiting Japan!
He actually came last Sunday and they did a big meeting with all of
the members all over Japan and it was a really cool opportunity
because they came to Hiroo which is the American ward, but it is
technically in our area so we were able to go with W____ and a Less
Active member named S_____. Oh and W_____ brought his girlfriend
which was way cool! We had the chance to go to one of the couple
missionary's home and have a taco party before which was way good, and
then we were able to walk over and listen to an apostle speak to us,
and to Japan. It was quite an amazing meeting, and the big message
that I got all through out the meeting was how the work is really
being hastened here in Japan, and that there is a reason that in the
last month there have been 2 apostles that have come and visited
Tokyo. Elder Nelson gave us some amazing counsel, as well and really
taught the members what to do when their friends ask them questions
about the church. It was really cool to see the way that he would
answer to some of the questions that are commonly asked to members of
the church by their friends. It's just amazing to feel the power and
the spirit when they are in the room with you. Afterwards he and the
other general authorities there wanted to shake everyone's hands so we
were able to shake his hand after, and so was W_____,his girl, and
S______ which was the best part because they all felt it.
But, if Sunday wasn't enough, we were blessed to have another big
meeting with Elder Nelson on Wednesday in a 2 mission conference held
in Kichijoji church! We got to shake his hand again and we were able
to have a 4-5 hr conference with him and with other general
authorities and we heard some amazing messages. One of the big
messages, and big changes that is coming in the mission is that we
have new ipads coming out! They are pushing a new wave out to a lot
of different missions around the world, and as part of that we will be
getting new ipads, and we will be changing some of the things from
what we are currently doing, and one of those is facebook. I don't
know if you saw my post, but from here I won't be using Facebook as a
missionary for 6-12 weeks. This is just part of this new program that
we are starting as missionaries to make sure that we have the basics
down with the Ipads and that we are on the same page with the rest of
the world. So I'm sorry that I won't be posting anything on Facebook
for the next little while, but my guess is that it is going to be
closer to 6 weeks than 12, but we will see. The conference with him
though was really amazing and I just feel like the mission is just
really ready to go and see some big miracles! Those kind of meetings
are always just like really good pump up meetings which is way good.
Every so often you just need a pump up talk by a member of the quorum
of the twelve right? Haha I'm excited that general conference is
coming up and that we will have the opportunity to listen to all of
the apostles and leaders of the church.
Those were the big things that we had this last week! I think I
already told you, but we had our transfer calls last week and Elder
Judd and I will be staying in Shibuya! Because I only have 2 more
transfers left I think that I have a pretty high possibility of ending
my mission here which would be so cool! I have come to love so many
of the members here and the area is just awesome. It's definitely
some of the hardest dendo in all of Tokyo, because it is the biggest
and fastest, but it's so much fun. I love being in the heart of the
city, and it's a blast to be doing with such a good missionary! It
will be fun to continue to work with Elder Judd! I feel like we are
just like brothers already, so it should be sweet just working way
hard this next transfer together to see more baptisms for this ward! I
really think that we could see a lot of them. I'm grateful for all
the amazing support that I have back home! Thank you all for what you
do for me! Every week I always get great emails and I feel so much
support so thank you! I love you all and I will talk to you soon!
Love,
Logan
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Week 90!
My mother:)
1. HE WAS BAPTIZED! It went amazing and I will send pictures.
2. Logan applied for a leadership Ambassador Scholarship and they Skyped him in Japan for an interview.
1. HE WAS BAPTIZED! It went amazing and I will send pictures.
2. Logan applied for a leadership Ambassador Scholarship and they Skyped him in Japan for an interview.
The interview went really good I think! I'm not sure when they will
let me know, but I definitely felt like I let them know who I was and
how I feel about leadership and about my future goals and dreams and
how they line up with this program and they were really cool. I think
I nailed it;) we'll see.
3. I asked him if he has decided on a full ride academic scholarship at UVU or BYU, no scholarship.
let me know, but I definitely felt like I let them know who I was and
how I feel about leadership and about my future goals and dreams and
how they line up with this program and they were really cool. I think
I nailed it;) we'll see.
3. I asked him if he has decided on a full ride academic scholarship at UVU or BYU, no scholarship.
College...I don't know. See what happens with the scholarship? I'm
still thinking...I don't want to mess it up...but I just feel like
free school is hard to pass up. I feel like that is one of the big
stresses coming back into the real world is money, and getting on your
feet that way...and I think free school would be a huge advantage for
me...But I'm still praying cause I don't want to mess this up
haha...any other advice?
4. I asked him about possibly working at the MTC as a Japanese instructor.
still thinking...I don't want to mess it up...but I just feel like
free school is hard to pass up. I feel like that is one of the big
stresses coming back into the real world is money, and getting on your
feet that way...and I think free school would be a huge advantage for
me...But I'm still praying cause I don't want to mess this up
haha...any other advice?
4. I asked him about possibly working at the MTC as a Japanese instructor.
I would LOVE to work at the MTC, and you can actually do that as a
UVU student now, which is cool. I've heard that it's kind of tough to
get a job there, but I know some of the teachers for Japanese, and I
think I could get in...:) We will see.
Ryan Bell returned home this passed week and I was talking about it with Logan.
UVU student now, which is cool. I've heard that it's kind of tough to
get a job there, but I know some of the teachers for Japanese, and I
think I could get in...:) We will see.
Ryan Bell returned home this passed week and I was talking about it with Logan.
I can't believe my bro is home....that blows my mind mom..Next week
Clint comes home, then Spenc will be coming home in May, and I'll be
coming home in June. It's here mom...the last leg is here, and it is
definitely the fastest part, no doubt about it. I am just trying to
get all that I can get done, done. I want to finish as hard as I possibly can. Hope to see many more baptisms these next 2 transfers!
I told Logan that his current companion's mother found me in Facebook and ranting and raved about what an incredible leader Logan was to her son as his first trainer.
Clint comes home, then Spenc will be coming home in May, and I'll be
coming home in June. It's here mom...the last leg is here, and it is
definitely the fastest part, no doubt about it. I am just trying to
get all that I can get done, done. I want to finish as hard as I possibly can. Hope to see many more baptisms these next 2 transfers!
I told Logan that his current companion's mother found me in Facebook and ranting and raved about what an incredible leader Logan was to her son as his first trainer.
that is so nice of his mom!! I feel lucky to be working with him he is a super good missionary and is working super hard. It's fun to be working with a bro and just getting way tight and seeing sweet
miracles together. he's an awesome missionary and will definitely be
a life long friend. Yeah right, it reminds me of Elder Hall and I as well! Funny how it's at the end of my mission that I'm having that...So fun though I love it.
We are preparing to move our family down to St. George for work and was discussing the change with Logan. Exciting with the house!! Ok cool It sounds like everything worked out
smoothly which is a huge blessing. You can really tell that it is the Lord guiding us to St.george! It is exciting. I'm excited to get back and help with anything and come check it out! Such exciting
things!
Thank you for your email mom:) I look forward to them every single
week and they never disappoint.:) Thank you for being amazing, and no
worries you can send that package any time:) haha love you!
Logan
miracles together. he's an awesome missionary and will definitely be
a life long friend. Yeah right, it reminds me of Elder Hall and I as well! Funny how it's at the end of my mission that I'm having that...So fun though I love it.
We are preparing to move our family down to St. George for work and was discussing the change with Logan. Exciting with the house!! Ok cool It sounds like everything worked out
smoothly which is a huge blessing. You can really tell that it is the Lord guiding us to St.george! It is exciting. I'm excited to get back and help with anything and come check it out! Such exciting
things!
Thank you for your email mom:) I look forward to them every single
week and they never disappoint.:) Thank you for being amazing, and no
worries you can send that package any time:) haha love you!
Logan
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Week 89! Can I get a sub?
Hello everyone!
This week was amazing! There was so much stuff this week that was
just so good I don't really know where to begin, but we'll see what I
can do! This week was one of those weeks where we had tons of stuff
that we wanted to do, and tons of people we wanted to meet, and we
were just running all over the place trying to meet with as many
people as we could! It really was one of those weeks where I felt
like I needed a sub! Haha but it ended up being one of the greatest
weeks I've had in Shibuya because we were able to get Y_____all ready
for baptism! He has had a baptismal date for next week for a while,
and we have been working hard with him to be able to hit that date,
and this week was the final week that would tell us whether he would
be able to do it or not..We met with him on Friday, and had a huge
lesson where we really followed up on all of the simple lessons and
really just wanted to make sure that he understands everything about
the church and the things that are in those first few lessons. Of
course when we are baptized we don't have to know everything, but we
wanted to make sure that he was prepared and knew the things he did
need to know, and we reviewed everything and it was really good with
him. Then the next day we met with him at the church with a member,
and he actually brought a friend of his to learn and she has tons of
interest in the church and wants to learn more about it which was a
huge miracle! Although it was our first time meeting her, she has
learned about the church before and kind of knew what we were talking
about already so it ended up being really good! We were able to teach
both of them, and really prepare Y_____ for his baptismal interview on
Sunday. We had the interview on Sunday, and he nailed it. There
wasn't really any problems and he is just excited to have this chance
to be able to follow Jesus Christ more closely and become a member of
this church. His baptism is this next Sunday! I will take pictures,
but I ask for your prayers that everything will go smoothly this week
and that he will be able to be baptized! I know that prayers really
do help, and I have felt the power of your prayers helping me in my
missionary work!
This week we were also able to meet with one of my favorite people in
all of japan! His name is S_____, and he is a member here in Shibuya
who hasn't been meeting with the missionaries for a while...There was
a miscommunication with us and him right when I got back to Shibuya
and he thought that we were putting him off and didn't want to meet
with him...Long story short he didn't want to meet us for a long time,
but this week as an apartment we decided one morning to go play
ultimate frisbee at a nearby park for work out, and we ran into S_____
on the street while he was walking his neighbors dog! He was happy to
see us, and we were able to meet with him later that day, and spend
time with him on Saturday as well! It was such a cool miracle to see
him in the morning, and then be able to meet with him and clear things
up and help him start making his way back to church. I really want to
be able to meet with him a lot over the next couple of weeks and
really help him come back to Shibuya! We will see what we can do.
The last really cool thing that we did this week happened last night!
We got a call this week from Sister Ringwood, who is the Asia North
Area Seventies President's Wife, and she invited us to come over to
their house on Sunday to eat dinner with them. So last night we had
the chance to go to the Area President's house with W_____and it was
awesome. The Ringwood's are such amazing people! It was awesome to
get to talk with them, and get to just eat dinner with a general
authority! The craziest part is that his wife Sister Ringwood is
actually Elder Nelson's daughter! So it was a pretty awesome chance
to go, but the reason we got to go is because Elder Judd is actually
their next door neighbor back in Utah, and has known them like his
entire life! So they invited him over, and lucky for me I'm his
companion so I got to tag a long;) haha but no it really was such a
neat experience and W_____ loved it. It was so good for him to see
how some extremely strong members have found happiness in the church,
and how they know that the church is true! We get to do some pretty
cool things as a missionary huh?! It was definitely a highlight of
the week.
Thank you to everyone for all the support you give me! The time is
going faster and faster, and it's crazy to me that this whole mission
thing comes to an end, but I'm grateful that I have the chance to
continue to serve, and I plan to serve as hard as I can until the very
end! I love you and I will talk to you soon!
Love,
Logan
This week was amazing! There was so much stuff this week that was
just so good I don't really know where to begin, but we'll see what I
can do! This week was one of those weeks where we had tons of stuff
that we wanted to do, and tons of people we wanted to meet, and we
were just running all over the place trying to meet with as many
people as we could! It really was one of those weeks where I felt
like I needed a sub! Haha but it ended up being one of the greatest
weeks I've had in Shibuya because we were able to get Y_____all ready
for baptism! He has had a baptismal date for next week for a while,
and we have been working hard with him to be able to hit that date,
and this week was the final week that would tell us whether he would
be able to do it or not..We met with him on Friday, and had a huge
lesson where we really followed up on all of the simple lessons and
really just wanted to make sure that he understands everything about
the church and the things that are in those first few lessons. Of
course when we are baptized we don't have to know everything, but we
wanted to make sure that he was prepared and knew the things he did
need to know, and we reviewed everything and it was really good with
him. Then the next day we met with him at the church with a member,
and he actually brought a friend of his to learn and she has tons of
interest in the church and wants to learn more about it which was a
huge miracle! Although it was our first time meeting her, she has
learned about the church before and kind of knew what we were talking
about already so it ended up being really good! We were able to teach
both of them, and really prepare Y_____ for his baptismal interview on
Sunday. We had the interview on Sunday, and he nailed it. There
wasn't really any problems and he is just excited to have this chance
to be able to follow Jesus Christ more closely and become a member of
this church. His baptism is this next Sunday! I will take pictures,
but I ask for your prayers that everything will go smoothly this week
and that he will be able to be baptized! I know that prayers really
do help, and I have felt the power of your prayers helping me in my
missionary work!
This week we were also able to meet with one of my favorite people in
all of japan! His name is S_____, and he is a member here in Shibuya
who hasn't been meeting with the missionaries for a while...There was
a miscommunication with us and him right when I got back to Shibuya
and he thought that we were putting him off and didn't want to meet
with him...Long story short he didn't want to meet us for a long time,
but this week as an apartment we decided one morning to go play
ultimate frisbee at a nearby park for work out, and we ran into S_____
on the street while he was walking his neighbors dog! He was happy to
see us, and we were able to meet with him later that day, and spend
time with him on Saturday as well! It was such a cool miracle to see
him in the morning, and then be able to meet with him and clear things
up and help him start making his way back to church. I really want to
be able to meet with him a lot over the next couple of weeks and
really help him come back to Shibuya! We will see what we can do.
The last really cool thing that we did this week happened last night!
We got a call this week from Sister Ringwood, who is the Asia North
Area Seventies President's Wife, and she invited us to come over to
their house on Sunday to eat dinner with them. So last night we had
the chance to go to the Area President's house with W_____and it was
awesome. The Ringwood's are such amazing people! It was awesome to
get to talk with them, and get to just eat dinner with a general
authority! The craziest part is that his wife Sister Ringwood is
actually Elder Nelson's daughter! So it was a pretty awesome chance
to go, but the reason we got to go is because Elder Judd is actually
their next door neighbor back in Utah, and has known them like his
entire life! So they invited him over, and lucky for me I'm his
companion so I got to tag a long;) haha but no it really was such a
neat experience and W_____ loved it. It was so good for him to see
how some extremely strong members have found happiness in the church,
and how they know that the church is true! We get to do some pretty
cool things as a missionary huh?! It was definitely a highlight of
the week.
Thank you to everyone for all the support you give me! The time is
going faster and faster, and it's crazy to me that this whole mission
thing comes to an end, but I'm grateful that I have the chance to
continue to serve, and I plan to serve as hard as I can until the very
end! I love you and I will talk to you soon!
Love,
Logan
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Week 88!
Dear Everyone!
This week was amazing! Elder Judd and I are working super hard in
Shibuya right now and we are seeing great things! The work this week
was great, but the highlight of this week was definitely Elder Ballard
coming to the mission! He had a devotional planned to be broadcast
from Utah to Japan, but they decided last minute to just come and meet
the missionaries and the members, and so we were able to have a 2
mission conference with him this last week! It was such an incredible
experience! Elder Ballard came with the presiding bishop, Bishop
Stephenson, and President Rasband of the Presidency of the first
quorum of the seventy. Then we also had the area seventy presidency
here with us as well and there was just a lot of power in that
building!
So we had the conference and it was intense because President Budge
asked me a couple of weeks ago to say the opening prayer, and so I had
the chance to pray! I won't lie I was pretty nervous because there
were a lot of amazing people sitting behind me, but I got up there and
said the prayer of my life! I literally was guided by the spirit
because I didn't know what I should say before but I think it ended up
being good because after I finished Elder Ballard said,"Thank you
Elder." so that was awesome! After we got into things we had just an
amazing conference. I love these kind of conferences because the
speakers don't have a talk written or anything like that but they
completely rely on the spirit and just kind of teach what they feel
everyone needs to learn. So it's always really cool to see what they
have to say and how they are guided and how they really are so in tune
with the spirit.
The meeting was really just amazing. I felt like I learned so many
things. Everyone who spoke seemed to really focus on the Restoration,
and teaching to people about the restoration as fast and as powerfully
as we can. It was so cool to feel the spirit so strong as they all
testified personally of the reality of the restoration and how the
people in Japan need these truths that we hold. It was definitely one
of those times where I felt my own testimony strengthened, and I feel
like that was just one of the huge blessings of this conference! It
helped us all to get excited about teaching all of Japan about the
restoration and about the church.
I know that this church is true! It is such a blessing to be able to
share about it every day, and to tell people how it has blessed and
changed my life. I have had the opportunity to see many of my friends
blessed with this gospel, and every time that I have seen their lives
improved and blessed by it, it has strengthened and blessed me. Thank
you all for the amazing support that you give me. I am grateful for
all of you! You are amazing and I will talk to you again soon!!
Love,
Logan
We got fruit roll ups and tongue tattoos this week!
Saturday morning basketball!
This week was amazing! Elder Judd and I are working super hard in
Shibuya right now and we are seeing great things! The work this week
was great, but the highlight of this week was definitely Elder Ballard
coming to the mission! He had a devotional planned to be broadcast
from Utah to Japan, but they decided last minute to just come and meet
the missionaries and the members, and so we were able to have a 2
mission conference with him this last week! It was such an incredible
experience! Elder Ballard came with the presiding bishop, Bishop
Stephenson, and President Rasband of the Presidency of the first
quorum of the seventy. Then we also had the area seventy presidency
here with us as well and there was just a lot of power in that
building!
So we had the conference and it was intense because President Budge
asked me a couple of weeks ago to say the opening prayer, and so I had
the chance to pray! I won't lie I was pretty nervous because there
were a lot of amazing people sitting behind me, but I got up there and
said the prayer of my life! I literally was guided by the spirit
because I didn't know what I should say before but I think it ended up
being good because after I finished Elder Ballard said,"Thank you
Elder." so that was awesome! After we got into things we had just an
amazing conference. I love these kind of conferences because the
speakers don't have a talk written or anything like that but they
completely rely on the spirit and just kind of teach what they feel
everyone needs to learn. So it's always really cool to see what they
have to say and how they are guided and how they really are so in tune
with the spirit.
The meeting was really just amazing. I felt like I learned so many
things. Everyone who spoke seemed to really focus on the Restoration,
and teaching to people about the restoration as fast and as powerfully
as we can. It was so cool to feel the spirit so strong as they all
testified personally of the reality of the restoration and how the
people in Japan need these truths that we hold. It was definitely one
of those times where I felt my own testimony strengthened, and I feel
like that was just one of the huge blessings of this conference! It
helped us all to get excited about teaching all of Japan about the
restoration and about the church.
I know that this church is true! It is such a blessing to be able to
share about it every day, and to tell people how it has blessed and
changed my life. I have had the opportunity to see many of my friends
blessed with this gospel, and every time that I have seen their lives
improved and blessed by it, it has strengthened and blessed me. Thank
you all for the amazing support that you give me. I am grateful for
all of you! You are amazing and I will talk to you again soon!!
Love,
Logan
Baseball with Brother Sugiyama
We had the chance to take the sacrament to Brother Wajima!Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Week 87!
I love my mom so much!
Yeah I am so busy, but we have 2 baptisms scheduled for the end of this transfer! so we are going to work super hard to see those happen! and yeah I think it would be sick to go to kyoto, and if we can maybe even nagaoka? I don't know if we can, but just an idea!
I love you mom. I am so sorry that I have been so all over the place lately on emails but I got some good pictures this week so I will send those and they will hopefully kind of show what we are doing here! Have a good week!
Love you!
Logan
Monday, February 16, 2015
Week 86!
Hey mom!
candy is much appreciated thank you so much!
tickets! I think that a week will be great.
of stuff I didn't want to move around with so I just sent it home.
up there with everyone! I'm excited, and I'm excited about that
homecoming talk as well!
So awesome mom I'm way excited for all the things that are happening.
I will be focusing here for the last few months, but I am excited when
I get back to help all I can! Things here are going really good, it's
so fun right now mom really the work is going really good and we are
seeing amazing miracles! Exciting! Love you hope things are going good
for you! Talk soon!
Logan
Apartment photo shoot!
Me and my bro L_____playing basketball in yoyogi.
Out on the streets of Tokyo.
Package come?1. Yeah I got the package today! Thank you so much it's amazing! The
candy is much appreciated thank you so much!
Are you okay with us planning on being in Tokyo to pick you up Friday, June 12th, your release date? Then leaving the following Friday the 19th? We need to pull the trigger and get tickets, including a return ticket for you as well. Let us know if that works. We can work out logistics for where we're staying later.2. Yeah I think that will be perfect I think! Go ahead and book those
tickets! I think that a week will be great.
Got your package with Japanese stuff and letters. I assume you want us to put this aside for when you return.3. Awesome to hear that you got that package! Yeah it was just a bunch
of stuff I didn't want to move around with so I just sent it home.
the week after we return from Japan, my parents have booked a big cabin in the Uintas for all of us and my siblings and kids. Hopefully you'll be up for that. :) I think it's a Monday through Friday morning. Not sure yet when your homecoming talk will be, but Bishop Marsh is already making sure you will be able to have it in the ward you grew up in. :)4. That's awesome I'm way excited I think that will be way fun to go
up there with everyone! I'm excited, and I'm excited about that
homecoming talk as well!
So awesome mom I'm way excited for all the things that are happening.
I will be focusing here for the last few months, but I am excited when
I get back to help all I can! Things here are going really good, it's
so fun right now mom really the work is going really good and we are
seeing amazing miracles! Exciting! Love you hope things are going good
for you! Talk soon!
Logan
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