A very special day

Greetings!

Yesterday was one of the best days ever. O-san was baptized. The Spirit was so strong. The greatest blessing was just seeing how happy this wonderful man is. He is a very special guy . . . so humble and trusting. He really loves God the Father and Jesus Christ, and he is so happy to be a member of the Church. And all the branch members have been so welcoming and kind. Several people brought him gifts. I was honored to give him one of my white shirts and a tie. He has very little, but he is so happy. An awesome guy.

O-san was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 24 May 2014

I was honored when O-san asked me to do the baptism and confirmation. It was my first time for both, and I was nervous. But it went well. So happy!

And it came to pass that Alma said unto them: Behold, here are the waters . . . and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another's burdens, that they may be light;

Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all t hings, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God . . . that ye may have eternal life—

Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.

And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the first, and went and stood forth in the water, and cried, saying: O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness of heart.

. . . and the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he said: Helam, I baptize thee, having authority from the Almighty God, as a tesimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the world.

. . . and both Alma and Helam were buried in the water; and they arose and came forth out of the water rejoicing, being filled with the Spirit. (Mosiah 18)

I love this work! I love my father in heaven! I love all of you!

Elder Naylor

ネイラー長老

PS Dad, I have contacted my commanding officer as directed. Looking forward to returning to the wonderful CGA in a years time. Shout OUT to all my Coast Guard friends. Until then, I'm happy to be here in Japan serving the Lord. Love you all!

The missionaries in this district are working so hard!

Hello everyone!!!

These past two weeks have been great! Things have gotten infinitely busier. But I like being busy, so it`s all good.

We have a baptism coming up this week! We`ve been meeting with our friend O-san, and he is so excited for the special day, May 24th. He has been making some huge changes in his life, he says he is completely different from who he was before. He has had a rough life (he was born not long after the end of World War II), and it is just amazing to see how much happiness the Gospel has brought to his life. I am so grateful for the opportunity we have had to teach him.

Actually, in our district alone, we will be seeing FOUR BAPTISMS over the next few weeks! The missionaries in this district are working so hard, and I am so grateful for their hard work and dedication. We are seeing a lot of success here, all of a sudden. I am so happy.

before

My new companion, Elder Sch comes to Japan from Brazil, and he's great. We have had some very special experiences in teaching and finding people to teach about Jesus Christ. We have been guided to people who are prepared to receive our message, and I just can`t describe the good feeling that comes when we testify to someone who knows nothing about God that they have a loving Father in Heaven who knows them and loves them and wants them to be eternally happy. It is a blessed opportunity to spread this message to the world.

after

I am sorry that I don`t have as much time to tell you everything about this past week. But I want you all to know that I am just as happy as ever....happier than I could ever be. Spreading the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is really the greatest work in the world. I am so grateful to be a part of this work.

I testify to everyone reading this that God is our infinite and loving Heavenly Father, and that His greatest desire of all is for us to come back to live with Him someday. This life on earth is literally just a tiny blink of an eye compared to the eternity that we get to spend with our heavenly families in the endless worlds above. 

All we have to do is come unto Christ and receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. 

"Come unto Christ and be perfected in Him"
Moroni 10:32

Every one of us is capable of receiving these blessings and partaking of the everlasting salvation that Jesus Christ offers freely to all of us. If we just put aside petty arguing and unimportant details and just focus on the fundamental principles of the Gospel mentioned above, we will all be blessed with greater happiness than we can possibly imagine.

visit from our friend N-san

I love you all! Thank you always for your love and support. It means more to me than you realize. Every letter and email from all of you is a treasure to me. Thank you.

Peace and love,

Elder Naylor

ネイラー長老

waiting to meet my new companion in Takabata

Our most important news . . .

Been a big week here . . .are you ready for this?? we have a baptism coming up this month!!! May 24th, our investigator, O-san, is preparing to make his sacred covenant with our Heavenly Father and enter into the waters of baptism. We are SO excited for him. He is a miracle investigator....showed up randomly in front of the church one morning several weeks ago and from then on he has been hearing the lessons and progressing so well. The members are building good relationships with him and he loves coming to church. This will be the first baptism I will actually see in Japan so far! I am beyond excited. This will be a life-changing event for him.

In other news, transfer calls came this past Saturday, and it looks like things are gonna change a little bit around here.

First of all, my companion, Elder Ch, is transferring up to Nagano! He has been serving here in Fukuroi for 9 months, and all the people here love him and are really going to miss him. He has been a great companion and I have learned so much from him. I am really going to miss him, too.

farewell sushi

And then comes the scary part. I am getting hit with a double-whammy this transfer as I am going to become a trainer as well as a new district leader. Goodbye to all free-time!! Hahaha. I am both nervous and pretty excited. My new companion is going to be brand-new, fresh from the MTC....still have no idea who it will be. I find out on Wednesday. I`ll let you know how it goes!! This week is probably going to be fairly overwhelming.

We have been seeing a lot of miracles in Fukuroi lately. Right now we are teaching 17 investigators, and they are all becoming wonderful friends. I am really coming to love these people. I hope that I can continue to see success in this area after Elder Ch leaves, as he has been the primary drive behind us having so many good experiences. It`s going to be extremely busy from here on out, but I like being busy.

our district in Fukuroi

I want to let you all know that I am so grateful for your love and support. I have been so blessed with amazing friends and family. I am grateful for my Father in Heaven, who never stops pouring out blessings on me. I testify that this, the work of salvation, is the best work we can ever be involved in. It is such a great work.

I love you all so much!!!

Peace and love,

Elder Naylor

ネイラー長老

fishtailing at the Nagoya castle