Surprise Mission Tour

Last Friday we had a surprise Mission Tour. One of the general authorities of Brasil, Elder Godoy the first councelor in the Brasil area Presidency and his wife Sister Godoy, visited our mission. We were advised a week in advance. Which was short notice in comparison with the last one, which we had a month to prepare. So, I had to scramble to get my hair trimmed. Wednesday morning, Sister Dias (the President´s wife) called me and asked me to prepare a musical number to sing on Friday. It was short notice, but I managed. I sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," I added a Portuguese translation, and corrected the translation so that it would have a better meaning. It was fun. There wasn´t time to find an accompanist so I sang a'capella. It went well. The conference went well, and I learned a lot. Right before the conference, Elder Godoy had a meeting with the leadership of our zones. We got to have a small training, a little more intimate, with Elder Godoy. It was very rewarding. The thing now is to put everything that I´ve learned into practice. Which is a little challenging. Also, today I made sushi with the help of my district and some members. It was delicious. (good sushi filling - tuna[from a can], cream cheese, garlic, and carrot. also deep fry it like tempura.)

Recently, I´ve been thinking a lot about the importance of obedience. Especially obedience to the commandments. I started thinking about obedience because of something I read in the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, as well as something I read in the book "Jesus the Christ." There was a scripture I read in Alma, somewhere in the first 1/4 of the book that made me think a lot about the importance of keeping the commandments. Unfortunately, I left my notes at the house, so I´m not sure exactly where it´s at. The part in Jesus the Christ led me to a reference in the Pearl of Great Price in the Book of Abraham 3:25. Which says the following,

25And we will ^aprove them herewith, to see if they will ^bdo all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

It refers to the importance of obedience to God's laws during our life. Our life is a test. Our success in the life depends on our obedience to God´s commandments and His gospel. If we truly live the commandments and apply them in our lives, we will be greately rewarded in the kingdom of our Father. Life is kind of like the olympics, and the three kingdoms that God has prepared for us are like the medals Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Let's all aim for the Gold and do our best to be obedient to will of the Father. Remember,

Alma 34:32-33
32For behold, this ^alife is the time for men to ^bprepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of ^cthis life is the day for men to perform their ^dlabors.

33And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many ^awitnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not ^bprocrastinate the day of your ^crepentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the ^dnight of^edarkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

The prophets have spoken, and still to this day speak. Let´s do our best to earn our great reward. I hope you´re all well.

Love,
Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Graça

I went to Teresina this past week after Carnaval for another leadership training. It was good, I learned a lot. I was able to meet up with some really good friends also.

God´s mercy is not something we can earn, nor is it something that we deserve. But it is His to give us freely. No matter our circumstances, mistakes, sins, and difficulties, He is always waiting to receive us. Our Father in Heaven sent His Only Begotten Son into the world to suffer and die for us.

John 3:16
16¶For ^aGod so ^bloved the ^cworld, that he ^dgave his ^eonly begotten ^fSon, that whosoever ^gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have ^heverlasting ⁱlife.

17For God ^asent not his Son into the world to ^bcondemn the world; but that the world through him might be ^csaved.

He suffered every kind of pain and affliction, felt every heartache, every guilt, and took upon himself the sins of the world, so that we might be saved.

Alma 7:11-13

11And he shall go forth, suffering pains and ^aafflictions and ^btemptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will ^ctake upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities.

13Now the Spirit ^aknoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the ^bflesh that he might ^ctake upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

We truly don´t deserve what our Savior, Jesus Christ, did for us. But because of His love, He extends His mercy to all those who repent and believe on His name.

Alma 7:14

14Now I say unto you that ye must ^arepent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.

Mosiah 26:30

30Yea, and ^aas often as my people ^brepent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.

As we may all be aware of, there have been disasters happening frequently all over the world. The most recent in Japan. These are all signs of the second coming of the Messiah. We all need to take a look at our lives and see if we are living in harmony with the gospel. We all need to repent of our sins so that we might be lifted up in that great and terrible day. In the book of Alma we learn the importance of repentance.

Alma 34:32-33

32For behold, this ^alife is the time for men to ^bprepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of ^cthis life is the day for men to perform their ^dlabors.

33And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many ^awitnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not ^bprocrastinate the day of your ^crepentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the ^dnight of ^edarkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

Let´s not procrastinate our repentance. Because tomorrow we too could die or lose a loved one. I testify to you that the Atonement, the sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ, allows us to be clean from our sins. He lives, and will come again. I love you my dear ones.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Carnaval Slums...

Unfortunately, carnaval isn´t the best time of the year. For a lot of people, maybe, but as a servant of the Lord, no. It´s very famous, and one of the main things that Brazil is known for. Unfortunately, we´ve been told to stay in our houses from 5pm until the next day. So, our days to work and share the gospel are shortened. We have lunch appointments with the members, and then we work until we get home at 9. My area here in São Luís is HUGE! It takes a while to walk from appointments. Unfortunately, they´ve not been so steady lately as the have been in the past. I blame Carnaval. But, there is always hope for tomorrow. Actually the day after tomorrow, which is the day after carnaval. Fortunately, we have a lot to take care of at the house. On a good note, we made yakisoba and katsu today at Waldemar´s house.

The world is interesting. It´s morals and values decrease everyday, little by little. People forget or turn away from God, and forget that He is unchangeable and constant. God´s life is infinite, while we have our mortality. Many people like to use the excuse or say that God changes or that laws that applied anciently don´t apply today because the world changed. This is not true. Our Father in Heaven is a God of justice. He will not say to some the importance to keep the commandments and then to others that they don´t need to. God doesn´t change, nor will He. What is wrong or evil will always be. What is good and inpires to do good is of God. I know that God lives. The Book of Mormon is true, and there is no possible way that it cannot be. I love you.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

Pre-Carnaval

So, February is ending, and this year Carnaval is in the beginning of March. Unfortunately, this holiday isn´t the greatest. Crime and accidents increase dramatically, so we´ll be in our houses earlier than normal. My first carnaval, I was in the CTM in São Paulo, so we didn´t really notice any difference because we were all studying a lot. The CTM is one of the safest places in São Paulo as well. But here in the field, it´ll be different. It´s kind of weird because this year I´m hitting the events that say "this time next year you won´t be here for this."

Lately, we´ve been working with an awesome family. We´re trying to help them have better family relations and help to show them how the gospel can truly help them. What´s amazing is to see how perfect God´s plan is. Families are truly central to our Father´s plan of happiness for us. It´s difficult for one person to join the church by themselves because they don´t have the support they need. And unfortunately it leads to them leaving the church. Our families are given to us so that we can be successful in this life. Doing things alone is difficult. But, when things get difficult, we can also remember the Savior, and that we are never alone if we trust in Him. I hope you all have a great week. I love you.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

As Torres Gêmeas

Well, it has been a very wet week, which has kind of been the norm lately. My companion and I are the tallest pair in our mission. It´s pretty cool. Everyone thinks Americans are tall to begin with, but a Brazilian and a Japanese. Yes we´re very tall and everyone comments about it. It´s pretty funny. If you think I´m tall, you should meet Elder Gonçalves and our mission president (they are both taller than me...) Thats ok though. We had our Zone Conference this past week. The only missionaries that haven´t changed since October are Sister Lúcia and I. We´ve been here for a while, but that´s ok. I like São Luís. Time is going by faster and faster everyday. It´s hard to keep track.

I read a talk given by President Uchtdorf recently, that humbled me. He talked about pride and how pride, when we think of ourselves as better than others, is a sin. Sometimes we are self-righteous, egoistic, and even esteem ourselves as better than others. More physically fit, more intelligent, more beautiful, and even more spiritual. How do these things make us better than others? In the eyes of our loving God, we are all His precious child. No one is better than another, each one of God´s children is worth more than any human or mortal mind can conceive to understand. So, let´s all be more humble. Instead of looking down on someone, think to yourself, "What can I do to help them?" Let´s all look for ways to serve our neighbor. I know that the Lord loves us all individually, and that we can all return to His presence if we repent of our sins and humbly follow the gospel. Let´s not be prideful. It´s just another tool of the adversary to lead us away from God. Because pride is sin, it stains us, but it stains us in a way, that if we are not aware, we will not be able to tell that it is staining us.

The stain of pride reminds me of my white shirts. My shirts started out brilliant, but after time of not carefully washing, they become a little more yellow everyday. Until one day I realize that my shirts are turning yellow, and I need to do an intense job of bleaching my once white shirts. When we repent, it´s like bleaching a yellowish white shirt. But we need to carefully wash our shirts or repent of our sins (in this case the sin of pride) frequently. There are many things that I need to work on to become a better person. I know that the Lord lives and that He loves us. He is our loving father, and we are His children. I pray that we can all better ourselves a little more everyday. I love you and hope you are well.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

p.s. a link to the talk given by President Uchtdorf

http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/pride-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng

O Dia Dos Namorados (or Valentines Day)

Feliz dia dos namorados!!! (actually, the literal translation is day of the person you are dating aka girlfriend/boyfriend) Or you can say Happy Valentine's Day. The only thing is that Valentine's day here, I believe, is in May? I don´t remember exactly, it´s during some other random part of the year. I think it happened during my time in Teresina.

So! As far as news goes, I have a new companion and his name is Elder Gonçalves. Just so you know, he´s taller than I am. People here comment on my height quite a bit already, and now we are two giants walking the streets and preaching the gospel. He is from Bahia, but not really, actually he was born and raised in São Paulo, and has lived in Bahia these last 5-6 years. I´m really happy to have him as a companion also, and in this great area to boot!

Unfortunately, last week, I was sick and I think I lost more weight.... don´t worry I´m not dying and just so you know, I´ll be taking the anti-worm pills on Thursday. So all will be well.

These are some scriptures, that I think are really important for me currently. They are in the book of Alma chapter 29 verses 1-2.

1. O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the ^atrump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

2. Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and ^acome unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

So, I want you to think about why the prophet Alma had such a desire. If you think about it, you´ll realize that he truly knew the importance of The Gospel. His desire was to share the gospel with everyone because he knew how important it is. Only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can truly be saved. I hope we can all truly have this desire to share the gospel with others. I hope that we can all truly understand the gospel and see why we need it, see why our loving Father in Heaven gave it to us. I hope we can truly understand why our Heavenly Father sent His only Begotten Son to atone for our sins and die so that we might live. If we can understand better these things, we too will have such a desire to share the gospel.

I know this gospel is true and it is the only way for us to return to live with our Father in Heaven. I testify to you that The Book of Mormon is true and reading it will lead to a greater love for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Savior lives, and He will come again. If we are doing our best to live the gospel we will be prepare for when He comes.

I love you my friends and family.

-Elder Samuel Chiba

Perseverar!

Unfortunately, this week has been slow, but we did have an awesome activity and a baptismal service. My companion Elder Bezerra and Sister Hallman will be transfered tomorrow and two others will arrive to replace them in our district.

So, the activity was a enactment of Lehi´s dream of the Tree of Life. (you can read about the dream in 1 Nephi chapter 8, 11, and 15 http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/8?lang=eng. http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/11?lang=eng,http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/15?lang=eng)

So, the activity was really cool. We had everyone blind folded ánd brought them to a rope. If they continued on the course of the rope the whole until the end, they were able to reach the tree of life. But, if they got lost or led astray by others they ended up in a room of darkness. (It was the sisters´ idea) What we need to learn from this is the fifth principle of The Gospel of Jesus Christ. The principle of endure to the end (or in Portuguese 'perseverar').

The Gospel of Jesus Christ when applied to our life is like a race. So there are 5 principles and ordinances of the gospel, and the race has 5 miles. So, The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the following: Faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism for the remission of sins, Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End.

So, let´s imagine that we have faith in Jesus Christ. Good, we´ve finished the first mile. When we have faith in Christ, we continue forward and repent, completing the 2nd mile. Then we are baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, thus completing the 3rd and 4th miles. Is that enough? We continue forward a little while, but stop going to church and/or seminary, stop reading the scriptures, stop praying. Were the first four miles worth the effort if we don´t finish the race?

Just like in Lehi´s dream. If we continue forward following Christ and His gospel (or the rod of iron) we can make it to the end and enjoy the fruit and glory of our work. Sure, we will be tired, and maybe feel like we want to give up. There will also be trials and difficulties. But if we rely on the Savior and trust in Him and what He promisses we can make it to the end. We can complete that 5th mile and inherrit eternal life.

I implore you to hold to that which will lead you to true happiness. Let us endure to the end. I know that He lives. His gospel is true. If we follow it we will be able to enjoy eternal happiness. I love you.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba