The Lord's Vineyard . . . a field of miracles

Hey peeps,

So Elder Ch and I have been implementing some crazy plans to ensure all the investigators in our zone get baptized and progress within this amazing gospel. We have three districts in our zone but unfortunately there are only two zone leaders, so we had to go on some companion exchanges to get to the Kariya and Toyohashi district meetings this past Friday, and then we just had to call the Toyota district leader and talk to him by phone. We have a lot of investigators with baptismal plans in our zone right now and we`re committed to making sure their baptismal dates don`t fall through, so Elder Ch and I have come up with some ways to focus on the most important aspects of the investigators` progress through the gospel, focusing especially on the importance of prayer and development of a solid relationship between the investigator and their Heavenly Father. 

As I have mentioned before, many people in Japan don`t have an initial belief in God, so we don`t have much of a foundation to build upon when teaching people. But all human beings have an innate desire to find happiness, and the Gospel is the perfect way to find that. We have seen some wonderful miracles of late, and I wish I could describe in detail some of the things we have seen. I`ll will attempt to share some of the highlights, though.

Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men. Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day. Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work; 

For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store . . . Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you . . . (Doctrine & Covenants 4:1-7) 

The other day, Elder Ch and I were riding our bikes and we stopped a man on the street who looked way sad. Asked him how he was doing, said he was mourning loved ones who had passed away, and then all of a sudden he stopped a girl who was walking past us at the same time. We ended up talking to both of them and found out that the girl had actually attended church before back in Nagoya, and she knew exactly who we were. They both then took off, giving us no chance to talk further, but we took note of the apartment building that they both lived in (stalker status, I know). 

A few days later (yesterday) we decided to come back to the apartment building and just knock on all of the doors and see if we could find these two contacts. Practically no one was answering any of the doors, and we feared we would miss out on both of them not being home while we were there. We didn`t find the older man, but we eventually found the girl, and after talking for a bit she said we could come back with the sister missionaries next week and that she would love to hear more. Legit.

We have an investigator named Miki who is scheduled to get baptized on August 31. She is the daughter of a member in the ward here, and she has a strong desire to get baptized. She is very, very sick, and the story of her recovery at the hospital from an even worse sickness several years ago is a miracle in and of itself. The doctors performing the surgeries on her at the time, after she came out of the operations alive, said that she was the first person at that hospital to have ever survived that particular procedure. She and her mother both believe that the fact that she is even alive right now is a testimony of the existence of God. I love meeting with her, she just has the most sincere spirit and love for her Heavenly Father. Some aspects of the Gospel are somewhat scary to her, however, and so we are working to overcome some of those obstacles before her baptism at the end of the month. I am confident she will.

Roger Bannister did the impossible!

As I mentioned before, Elder Chand I have been working hard to achieve the goals for our zone this month and next month. Specifically, President Yamashita has set a mission wide goal for every single companionship in the mission to have a baptism next month. We have been working hard for this, and at our current pace, our zone is very close to achieving this. Elder Charlton and I have been telling our missionaries about the story of Roger Bannister breaking the 4-min. mile, and how even though that was seen to be literally impossible at the time, once it was done, then other people were able to follow suit shortly thereafter. We have been relating it to how we as a zone can help the entire rest of the mission achieve the goal the President Yamashita has set for us and thus help lead our mission to success in this aspect of the work.

SO much stuff happened this week, but I have no time.......suffice it to say that this part of the Lord`s vineyard is a field of miracles, and we are reaping gladly. I love it out here!

Thank you so much for everything!

Peace and love,

Elder Naylor

ネイラー長老

Our zone: amazing and hardworking missionaries

Hello everyone!

Elder Ch is a great companion. He is from Colorado and has a background in building robots and stuff. Way smart guy. We have been seeing some great things together here in Okazaki. Being a zone leader is so busy but so fun. We are constantly on exchanges to go help out other areas in the zone. 

The other day we had to go on an emergency trip up to Toyota right after our zone training to talk with their investigator who had just called the Elders during the training and cancelled his upcoming baptism. We had a long talk with him but unfortunately he really was not ready, so his baptism has been postponed until he can work through his problems. It was way sad, but I am definitely glad we went. 

We have three districts in our zone divided over four areas (Toyota, Okazaki, Kariya, and Toyohashi) and 18 missionaries (this is the smallest zone in the mission). Putting together the training for our zone was way hectic this past week, very busy and somewhat stressful, but also quite rewarding. It was a special zone training that President Yamashita also attended, and it had to be 3 hours long, so Elder Ch and I worked our eyes out to make sure it was an uplifting and motivating experience for the whole zone. I think it was a big success, we have already been seeing some changes in the zone to make things more effective. Our zone currently has about half of the baptismal prospects in the mission, despite being the smallest zone, so I am naturally so impressed and happy to be once again working with such amazing and hardworking missionaries. Our goal now is making sure that all of these investigators actually follow through with their baptismal commitments and, even more important, progress smoothly through the Gospel after their baptism. Our big focus right now is true conversion. 

We are seeing some great miracles.....for example, one companionship in Kariya has a Chinese investigator who was scheduled to be baptized on the 24th of this month, but then he had to fly back home to China and would be there for quite some time, thus postponing his baptism and putting it in jeopardy. But then through the faith and hard work of those missionaries, he actually called them to say that he would return home way earlier than expected so that he could receive baptism on the scheduled date and be able to stay and go to church after that. It was fabulous news!

We also have a new investigator from Armenia! His name is Mike and he speaks fluent English, French, German, Russian, and Ukrainian (no Japanese, haha). He is only 28 years old but he is a crazy smart physics researcher working for Toyota. His specialty is lasers. He is currently helping develop a new system of ignition for cars using lasers to replace electric spark plugs, which supposedly is safer and more effective. He described it to us and I didn`t understand at all (way too smart for me)....it was rather humbling to see that his English was better than mine, despite it not being his first language, hahaha. He is a way solid investigator though, and has a lot of great questions. He said that he is a scientist, and therefore has to doubt everything (I bet you would get a kick out of that, Dad, hahaha) but he is still way interested. He asks deep questions about our doctrine, but you can tell that he is not trying to poke at or offend us, but he actually wants to learn. We looked forward to seeing him at church yesterday but the typhoon kinda got in the way of everything.

we get some crazy weather here

The typhoon hit pretty hard, caused a lot of damage and flooding. The wind was blowing so hard that it literally shook the church building during sacrament meeting, and so they sent everyone home after the meeting was over (only 1 hour of church), haha. Lucky for us missionaries, we ride our bikes to church, so that was probably the wettest, windiest, and funnest bike ride of my life, haha. Pretty intense seeing all the tree branches flying everywhere and almost getting knocked off our bikes. We were just fine in the end. We never got the command from the mission headquarters to stay inside though, so Elder Charlton and I decided to stay out and work after church that afternoon and evening. It was legit because we met some great people. The storm calmed down a bit so we were just fine. Last night we had an amazing conversation with a man who had parked his car right in front of the church and was just sitting there taking a break, ended up getting his contact info and everything. It was a nice end to the evening.

it will wait for me!

You went to see Godzilla without me? I am SO offended. Hahaha. "With a horrible grimace and a terrible smell he pulls the city high-tension wires down..." (name that song, I know you know it). I have seen the ads for it all over the place here in Japan (to be expected) and even tried to read some of them (reading Japanese is still rather difficult). I couldn`t understand everything perfectly, but one of the phrases expressed more or less: "GODZILLA IS RETURNING TO JAPAN!!!" I thought it was funny.

This past week was great. I love you guys, thank you so much for everything. You are the best. This is all so true, and I love this work so much.

Peace and love,

Matt

Thanks for the love!

teaching O from Argentina

Sorry I don`t have a ton of time this week but I will just fill you in. Life is good here in Okazaki right now. I have passed off most of the Brazilian investigators to Elder Sch and Elder Sh, and now have transferred over to work with Elder Ch with our own separate pool of investigators. It`s good to have my bean Elder Sch back in the apartment, we always get a kick out of each other, haha. 

This week is gonna be way rough, we are planning a bunch of training meetings to train our zone (it`s always hectic like this at the beginning of the transfer) so we`re gonna be super busy every day. I am looking forward to working with everyone though!!

I love you guys so much! Thank you so much for everything :) The fireworks in Japan are GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eric and Joe are always in my prayers. You guys are too.

I will be thinking of you on your anniversary on the 17th (have it written in my planner!). Don`t forget, Dad.

You guys are all the best! 

Love always,

Matt

I will finish with a cool story . . .

HELLOOOO!!!

So we had transfers this week, and it looks like things are gonna change up a little bit. I will be staying in Okazaki, but my companion, Elder A, will be transferring away. I am now together with Elder Ch, the other zone leader (we are no longer a split companionship). The two new missionaries coming into our area are two of my favorite people in the mission: Elder Sh, who has just served as Assistant for the past four transfers and will spend the last six weeks of his mission here, and his new companion, my beloved bean from Fukuroi, ELDER SCH IS COMING TO OKAZAKI!! They can`t keep us apart for long!!! I will really miss Elder A though. We have had some very powerful experiences together and seen some people`s lives completely changed for the better as a result of the amazing Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for the time we have had to serve together.

Our yakusokusha, Fernando, came to church with his family yesterday!!! It was his first time and he LOVED it. I may have mentioned it before, but the Okazaki Ward is large (for Japan), and there is a small group of Brazilians who attend regularly every Sunday and sit in the left front corner of the chapel together while we missionaries provide translation into Portuguese. Elder A and I have sat there every Sunday to translate. I have come to know and love the Brazilian members here so much. It can be hard for them here in Japan, and I admire their diligence in keeping the faith and staying optimistic about difficult lives. Our Brazilian investigators are wonderful. We have three baptisms coming up for Ariana, Alexandro, and probably Fernando on August 17th. Please pray for them!

with Fernando and his family

Unfortunately with the new transfer I won`t be privileged to teach my Brazilian investigators much longer. I will be spending the next week with Elder Sch, passing off all the investigators to him and teaching him the area so that he and Elder Sh can take over teaching them. Then I'll be working with Elder Ch and his pool of investigators. It will be sad, but I know Elder Sch (my awesome bean) and Elder Sh (former AP) will take great care of them, especially helping work through the baptisms of Ariana, Alexandro, and Fernando.

It is very hot and humid here. Like swimming in a hot spring.

Dad, to answer your former question, we don`t get cars as zone leaders. Only the assistants have cars. And thank goodness, because I'm terrified to try driving in Japan.....it`s dangerous enough on a bike, haha. Since we travel to other areas several times a week for meetings and exchanges, I have gotten very, very well acquainted with trains. The train system in Japan is good and efficient.

Okazaki rice field

I don`t know if I mentioned it but my MTC companion, Elder B, is also leading a zone over in Shizuoka (my last zone before this one!). I love getting to talk to him more often now.

I will finish with a cool story. We were traveling back from Toyota to Okazaki this past week, waiting for our train. One train came that was not the one we were supposed to take, but I suddenly felt like we should take it anyway, instead .... my reasoning was that maybe that train would get us home faster or something, I dunno. The other missionaries said not to get on, it was the wrong train, but we got on anyway, just before the doors closed. Next thing I know, I look up and I'm staring straight at one of my investigators from my last area (Fukuroi), standing there with a big grin. His name is B, and we'd been unable to contact him before I left Fukuroi and came to Okazaki. We greeted each other loudly and after chatting for a bit, he said he hadn`t been able to meet with the missionaries for a while, but he was on his way home (this was a Friday) and he promised me that he would go to church on Sunday and meet with the missionaries again. We had a really nice chat and we were both super surprised and grateful to meet and talk again. Then we had to get off at the next stop and walk home. It was a really cool experience. I was grateful for the subtle but unmistakeable guidance of the Spirit in that encounter. I will also be able to follow up with Elder Sch when he gets here to Okazaki tomorrow :)

snapped on a Sunday
Okazaki Ward

I know that this Gospel is true, and I love it with all my heart. I love you all too. Thanks for everything!

Peace and love,

Elder Naylor

ネイラー長老

family night with the Ks

Love the Brazilian people! and Japanese fireworks are EPIC

Hey peeps,

This past week was quite a rush, especially considering all the air that rushed out of our bike tires as we tried to get from place to place. Several days were spent wrestling with our bikes.....changing tubes, changing tires, messing with the brakes.....the dirt from the bike and chain grease still hasn`t fully come off of my fingers, haha. But things are all good with our bikes again, for now at least....

who moved my bike??

So the current situation is this. We have three people who have decided to be baptized next week (all Brazilians): Ariana, Alexandro, and Fernando. Shakespeare has appeared to drop off the grid, so we have been unable to work with him or even contact him. And some very unfortunate events led to our three yakusokushas (investigators with a scheduled baptismal date) being unable to come to church this past week, so their baptisms are delayed. We try to visit them as often as possible but they live an hour away by train and unfortunately we are not made of money, haha. But we call them all the time to see how they`re doing. I hope they will continue in faith, but it's hard to make changes sometimes.

teaching Fernando and family

The Portuguese is still coming along. Like I said last week, I feel like a new missionary trying to learn a new language all over again, haha. Still working on the Japanese but I am fairly fluent--by now to the point that I can devote a little more of my language study to Portuguese than Japanese. It`s a lot of fun. My companion has been helping a lot. And I have been especially blessed by the Lord in my language efforts.....there is absolutely no way that I could possibly learn languages like this without the guidance of the Spirit. I am so grateful.

Elder Ch and I have been busy working out some of the issues going on within our zone right now. Very eye-opening as we try to come up with solutions to various problems regarding other missionaries, their investigators, etc....I enjoy this kind of work, though. We have been guided a lot in our efforts to work things out with people. It`s good stuff.

rooftop part in Gamagori

Last night we went to a fireworks festival with some church friends, one of the best nights ever. One of the members owns a house down in Gamagori, a hillside town right on the coast and a popular vacation spot. It's a three-story house with a balcony on top, and we had a BBQ up there a beautiful view of the fireworks in the evening. EPIC!!.....Japan is famous for exotic and complicated fireworks shows. One of the climactic events was this ginormous fireball that shot up into the sky and let off an explosion that shook windows and set off car alarms. It was like the explosion of the Death Star in Star Wars. They lit that baby off three seperate times last night, and it was pretty wow.

The work is going great here. I love Japan! We are still seeing miracles, from finding random people on the street to having people randomly show up to church. The work is hastening here in Japan and across the world as the Lord prepares His children everywhere to hear this amazing message of peace and love. We invite everyone to experience the love of our Savior, which is beyond all human comprehension.

I love you all so much, for realllll. You`re amazing!

Peace and love,

Elder Naylor

ネイラー長老

TYPHOON: okay, but confined to the apartment

HEYYYYYY

How are things back home? Crazy stuff going down over here in Japan land. We had a typhoon last week, Elder Andrade and I have three baptisms coming up within the next few weeks, emergency companion exchanges, lots of miracles, lots of good stuff. And plenty of food.

We`ve been seeing so many miracles lately. Elder A and I have really felt the guidance of the Lord in our work, and as a result we are seeing people really start to progress. It is such a joy to work here with these people.

Due to the typhoon that came through this past week, unfortunately we were confined to our apartment for a day at the order of the mission headquarters. Went completely crazy, so needed to get out. Luckily, it was only one day and the next day we were allowed to leave and go out to work again. Still plenty of rain though, I don`t think I will ever be thirsty again.

Elder Ch and I had to go do some emergency companion exchanges this week to help out some other missionaries in our zone, and thankfully various matters have been more or less resolved. I was so grateful to the Spirit for guiding us in figuring out exactly what to do and what to say in order to help our friends out.

I am sorry that I don`t have too much time to say everything, but I can testify from my heart that the Lord is watching over this work and that He loves us all so much. I can feel the love of God touching the lives of everyone that we meet, from people who rudely reject us on the street to people who readily and gladly accept the invitation to be baptized. God watches over and loves every single one of His beloved children. That is a knowledge that I am immensely grateful for and can never deny.

Okazaki bridge

I love this Gospel so much. I know that our Heavenly Father is there. And I am so grateful for these truths that we hold so dear.

Thank you so much for everything!!!

Peace and love,

Elder Naylor

ネイラー長老

TYPHOON!

It's TYPHOON SEASON! Time to get wet!!

how do you like our new look?

Elder A and I are currently the world`s largest pair of raisins as we ride around Okazaki on our bikes in deluvial downpours currently sweeping across central Japan. Fun fact about Okazaki: no flat roads. Think Pittsburgh x 2. It`s all pretty and 'at, but with each squeak of my starting-to-get-rusty bike brakes, I foresee the impending doom of my almost 1-year-old bike as we work ourselves over these beautiful hills. 

New news for the week, we have another baptism coming up! Looks like well be having one baptism this month and another next month! Our first investigator, Shakespeare (that is actually his name!), will be getting baptized later in July. He is way excited. And then our friend Fernando will be entering the waters of baptism next month! We are so excited, these two guys love hearing about the gospel and we love teaching them.

I spent a lot of time on trains traveling around the Nagoya area this week. Elder Ch and I had to do some companion exchanges, coordinate interviews for the missionaries in our zone with the mission president, and attend a stake missionary coordination meeting at the mission headquarters. Basically my money fell out of my wallet from all the traveling. I learned a lot though. We`ve had to take care of various issues going on within our zone right now, and it`s been both tough and rewarding. I really enjoy working with all these other missionaries.

I have re-embarked on a personal study of the life and mission of the Savior. I am once again reading the book Jesus the Christ and studying scriptures about His life and mission. I love learning about Christ. It always puts a new perspective on my life and helps me to see my real purpose and meaning here on a mission, and even just here on Earth. I love my Savior so much.

The ward here in Okazaki is wonderful. The church members are very kind and they love missionaries. So far this is the biggest ward I have seen in Japan, with about 120-150 active members at church each week. It`s a busy ward and there is never a dull moment, which we love! People are always taking us out to eat and asking us to help them out with stuff. I love being busy! And I love the people here.

I don`t have too much time, but suffice it to say that life is good and missionary work is even better. I hope you all are staying safe and cool back home in America land. HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!! I LOVE AMERICA!!!!!!!

Peace and love,

Elder Naylor

ネイラー長老   

Japan loves fireworks festivals, all summer long