🙃 Wow this is crazy 🙃

 I've never felt emotions this strong. Everything is so happy and sometimes so sad, so exciting and sometimes so boring, all things are so much stronger than before and I am so grateful for both the good and the bad. 

Elder Johnson only has one more Sunday and I am so sad that he is leaving. But it's also so happy, I'm listening to him talk to his family right now and it is so full of joy. If you are a girl who's single and is looking for someone to marry who will be worthy of you and your family I think Elder Johnson is a pretty great candidate. He'll be at BYU in the fall. 

We had Zone Conference this past week and Elder Johnson bore his testimony since it was his last one. He spoke about the Joy that we feel from serving the gospel. This past week we had lots of struggles in our journey to fulfill our missionary purpose to invite others to come unto Christ. One of our friend who was going to be baptized we almost lost contact with because of her mom, our other friend who was supposed to be baptized hasn't been responding too well to our messages. It has felt like our friends who were growing the closest to Christ have began to slip away. It's very sad, we've begun to feel how Heavenly Father feels for these friends, His children, and seeing them not come to Him hurts. But it's also the most joyful thing I've ever done. As long as I am obedient and work my hardest I know that this is where God wants me to be and that these are the experiences He wants me to have. There is nothing I would rather be doing than serving the Lord.

This week through many sources I was lead to the teachings of one of our old prophets, President Kimball, I want to share something I learned from that! God's power is limitless. God has given us that power and authority to use to bless others and to direct His church. But if God answered all of out prayers the way we wanted, then there would be no point to this life. I'm sure a mother who's son is being tortured and was eventually murdered prayed for her son, I'm sure his friends prayed for him too, but if those prayers had come to pass then Christ's sacrifice for the Atonement would be lost as well. We would all be granted happiness in the present time, but when judgement day comes, I believe that we would find ourselves sorely unprepared. So life isn't perfect, often prematurely people die, God's truth is rejected by many, others hurt us or lie about us, typhoons come, people we love leave,and we all experience personal struggles that nobody else can understand. Those things hurt, those things can make it seem that God is blind, that He doesn't see us or that He doesn't want to help us. But I testify that God sees and knows you more than you know. We are blind to the things He knows. He has perfect eternal vision, and in that vision all those who seek to follow Him with all their might will live with their loved ones and Him in never-ending happiness. I testify that you chose to come here. In the Premortal life God helped you see through His vision, you saw the challenges you would experience in this life, all the hard things that you would experience and then you chose, of your own free will, to come to this Earth. We knew something then that we can only begin to know now and that is the true power of God. Through Him one day it will all be OK. So I'm grateful God allows hard things to happen. I'm grateful that He gave his only begotten son to die. I'm grateful that because of that sacrifice that caused God himself to weap and the Earth to tremble, I can be comforted. I can begin to see why these things happen and what I need to learn from them. I know that Jesus Christ died for me, and because of that I know that He died for you too. 

The (shorter) Long Plates:

 I got hit by a car, all is well.

 A kid broke my ankles while I was riding my bike, pretty much all is well, I'm healing.

 We were planning a hype exchange where we were going to go to Miyako Island and get stuck there from the typhoon but it got cancelled.

 Zone Conference was so fantastic I love our new mission president so much!

 Elder Johnson got a killer haircut that was apparently also a massage.

 All of my missionary friends are leaving me. 

 We are getting so many new missionary friends I'm so excited.

 I got some nice shoes for $30, I love Japan.

 Japanese is maybe japanese-ing.

 Curry with potatoes that aren't potatoes I'd so much better than curry with potatoes that are still potatoes.

 I love volleyball!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLOTTE AND ADELINE, YOURE MY FAVORITE NIECES EVER (until I get more nieces) 

 Good luck Matthew!

 Also I forgot 

OK last thing, living life is great. I love living so much, but living life for a purpose is so much better than just living. Chose what purpose you live for. Chose Christ, families, learning, and serving others.

I love yall!!! 

Sometimes you just gotta dwell in a tent for a bit.

Elder Rasmussen

I feel like we should expound on the getting hit by a car..So he and Elder Johnson were getting ready to bike home for lunch.  And always before they leave they say a prayer.  It was Jared’s turn to say it and he was literally closing the prayer when he stopped and added “please help us to make it home safely”.  So, they are on their way and come around a corner and the front part of his bike is hit.  Had he been going faster his leg would have been hit and possibly hurt, had he been going slower he would have hit the side of the car and possibly thrown.  An answer to his prayer!  He said he didn’t even hit the ground and I immediately thought of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 84:88, “… I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”  It is quite something to know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers and to know that my son is His son and that he was in His hands.  I am so grateful that Jared can serve Him.  Jared, I’m so grateful for your joy in His service and your example to all of us of being faithful and obedient. 

 I love you! 

Mom