With less than two weeks left till I fly out to Thailand, we have officially begun counting down the days. We receive our travel plans on Friday, and we're so excited in wrapping up our MTC experience.
Our time perception in the MTC began by the days feeling like an eternity, and the weeks steadily passing by. Now, each individual day and week is flying past us. My district and I think our Thai is so good, but deep down.. we know that we'll be humbled once we get to Thailand and recognize our level of Thai..
We have hope that our merciful God will deliver us by granting us the gift of tongues.
This week, what more can I write about except GENERAL CONFERENCE!!
Just like Nephi, I have been born of goodly parents. Goodly parents that made sure I watched conference every October and April..
However, they had limited control over my extraordinary talent (or curse) of being able to sleep in an instant.
For me, this conference was different from past ones. For one, I don't remember much of past conferences...
Aaaand two, for the first time, I was able to stay up for all sessions. Now this sounds normal for faithful Latter-Day Saints, but for me, it's a pretty darn close to a miracle. Looking at my notes, I feel so left out of the past conferences that I have missed out on.
Today, I want to share just a few things I learned from conference, and just a few points on how I feel about my life on earth.
Having Courage for those few minutes - 4/6/14
In this earthly life I was blessed to be born of goodly parents, parents whom taught me the gospel of Jesus Christ since early childhood. Although it wasn't always sunshine and rainbows, my foundation of faith was built from an early stage in life. Now, I have the opportunity to spread this wonderful message of Christ to the people of Thailand. My Heavenly Father has blessed me by placing me on earth at this time of generation, to the parents that I have. The things I say here, I speak for all whom had the opportunity to hear the gospel since childhood: I am eternally grateful, but I also understand that because we have been given much, the Lord expects more. The hymn, "Because I have been given much" comes to my mind.
Presiding Bishop Gary E. Stevenson spoke from this past conference that Olympians spend years of preparations to compete for a mere few minutes.Those few minutes will change their lives forever. A mere 1/100th of a second can determine if they are a gold, or silver medalist.
If our time of existence were to be represented in a straight line, our earthly life is merely a dot in that line. As children of God, we have been preparing in Heaven for a very long time for this time on earth. Our life on earth is the few minutes that we must do our best! Our few minutes will pass by very quickly than we can imagine. What we do in these few minutes on earth will change the rest of our life and the lives of others!
We often hear from General Authorities that the Lord is hastening His work. We must sense the urgency.
We are in the midst of an exhilarating journey. Sometimes, we have to stand alone.. And it sucks! I know this feeling very well! But Elder Anderson encourages us, saying "Remain true to your faith!"
President Monson said to have the courage to say "No." Have the courage to say "Yes." Have the courage to do the right thing. Courage comes in many forms... Not all acts of courage brings immediate results. "Needed is the courage of Daniel, of Abinadi, of Joseph Smith. They had the courage to do not that which was easy, but that which was right."
Perhaps the phrase that hit me the most is to Be the same person you are in the dark, as you are in the light.
A lot of my non-LDS friends see that serving a mission is a respectable act to do. Though they might not know the full extent of missionary work, they see my priorities and the values that I cherish. I am so grateful for the LDS friends, and the non-LDS friends that I have.
I have a friend that is in the midst of deciding whether to go on a mission or not. Though I don't know his challenges in life, I can say that I was in familiar shoes. I had the fear of losing two years of my prime. Two whole years that I'd lose.
Not that I know what missionary work is all about, but I've learned enough to testify that this work is not something we do for our own gain. It is selfless service. If we're caught up counting the pros and cons of serving a mission, it will be so easy to be blinded them. It is not for us, but for others. And for our God.
I am happy and grateful to be a missionary. I look forward for my final weeks in the MTC.
What do we have to fear? The Lord is on our side.
Have an amazing week!
Elder Takeuchi
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