The Best 2 Years: Elder Jace Thompson in Omaha/Japan

Monday, February 12, 2024

the one with a gas spiritual thought

"Boom, you looking for this?"

Monday, we met up with some other missionaries and went to a pub (don't worry not of all us had alcohol). They had a bunch of fun things to do so we started with toppling some pins (bowling) and then endulged in the classic game of billiards (pool) and then finally entertained ourselves with some micro archery (darts) 🧐

Tuesday was our last district council this transfer! It was a lot of fun and we went to a really good tonkatsu place together!

Wednesday we ate lunch with one of our friends and then went on exchanges! I was with Elder Carlson, who is 6'8" and an absolute stud! It was a really fun day, and I learned a lot about him and missionary work!

Sunday, we ate dinner at a member's house with Makoto and lots of other ward members! It was a lot of fun and they had so much food! It was good because it was fast Sunday and my comps and I ate A LOT of food 😋

Miracle Monday, we streeted for like 4 hours and talked to tons of people! Not too much happened, but it wasn't a P day because transfers are really weird and crazy this time around.

Spiritual thought:

Ether 15:24-30

24 And it came to pass that they slept upon their swords that night, and on the morrow they fought again, and they contended in their might with their swords and with their shields, all that day.

25 And when the night came there were thirty and two of the people of Shiz, and twenty and seven of the people of Coriantumr.

26 And it came to pass that they ate and slept, and prepared for death on the morrow. And they were large and mighty men as to the strength of men.

27 And it came to pass that they fought for the space of three hours, and they fainted with the loss of blood.

28 And it came to pass that when the men of Coriantumr had received sufficient strength that they could walk, they were about to flee for their lives; but behold, Shiz arose, and also his men, and he swore in his wrath that he would slay Coriantumr or he would perish by the sword.

29 Wherefore, he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake them; and they fought again with the sword. And it came to pass that when they had all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood.

30 And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz.

"If your eyes are always on your shoelaces, if all you can see is this class or that test, this date or that roommate, this disappointment or that dilemma, then it really is quite easy to throw in the towel and stop the fight. But what if it is the fight of your life? Or more precisely if it is the fight for your life, your eternal life at that? What if beyond this class or that test, this date or that roommate, this disappointment or that dilemma, you really can see and can hope for all the best and right things that God has to offer? Oh, it may be blurred a bit by the perspiration running into your eyes, and in a really difficult fight one of the eyes might even be closing a bit, but faintly, dimly, and ever so far away you can see the object of it all. And you say it is worth it, you do want it, you will fight on. Like Coriantumr, you will lean upon your sword to rest a while, then rise to fight again."

— Jeffrey R Holland

FRODO: I can’t do this, Sam.

SAM: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened.

But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.

FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam?

SAM: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

Sorry, there was a LOT to read, so I'll keep my thoughts short... Sometimes life is gonna be REALLY hard. But that's what makes it a good story. We need to have the hard times to fully enjoy the good times. Sometimes, it might not feel like it's worth continuing on, but we in the Church of Jesus Christ know that "it's worth fighting for." So for all of you that are struggling, hurting, or if you "have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or can’t even see the path from where you are now," (2019–A:67, Russell M. Nelson, We Can Do Better and Be Better) " Keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever." (2016–A:124, Jeffrey R. Holland, Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You)

Well, that's all I got this week! Feel free to email me! :)

Apparently, other people don't like making funny faces...

Studying with the boys

23-20

Service with Rocky 兄弟

Serving with the boys

Travel blocks are hard to beat

Last district council!

District lunch

Gotta hit the .5 with Eve 姉妹

も一つc

Exchanges and we went to a REALLY good indo curry place

Back at it with the strawberry parfait

Service on Saturday!

Lots and lots of weeding

Met this guy on Sunday! He is a member from the Philippines

and got come Japan about a month ago!

Sunday, February 4, 2024

the one with the hat trick

"Boom, you looking for this?"

Starting with Monday, we had a pretty crazy day! We met up with the whole district for District P Day and went to a good chicken restaurant for lunch. After that, we went to a planetarium, and it was a lot like the curiosity museum (if you're from Utah). We ended P day by getting some ice cream, and then we all went back to our areas. When we got back, we left for Kobe because Elder McMaster was getting emergecny transferred! So after we dropped him off, Elder Hall and I got a new comp! It's Elder Perkins, and we've been living together for about a month, so it didn't feel very weird. This is now my third trio since being out...hence the title of the email.

Wednesday, we had another party with Takuya! This time we ate yakiniku, which is just cooked meat...we had a big stove in front of us where we would cook the thin strips of meat and then eat it straight off the stove. It was super good and we ended the party with more card games!

Friday, we had our game night again, and an entire family came! We met the husband on hello talk, and he brought his wife and their 3 young kids! It was an absolute blast, and we are hoping that they will come every week!

Sunday was stake conference! We all went to Kobe, and it was awesome! We got to meet up with a bunch of missionaries that were there, and it was a blast! That took up most of the day, so not much else happened on Sunday.

Spiritual Thought:

1 Nephi 1:1

I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

"Suffice it to say that of all the titles God has chosen for Himself, Father is the one He favors most."

-Elder Holland

In this email, I want to talk a little bit about fathers. To begin, I want to give my dad a massive thank you for everything he's ever done. Since being on the mission, I have had a lot of time to think back on all the good memories I've had with my dad. I'm so grateful for all of the time we spent camping, going to AF Events, conferences, late night trips for food, shooting (followed by amazing gringas), and hundreds (maybe even thousands) of stories and so many other things. I'm unbelievably grateful I had someone like you to look up to and learn from. It's because of you that I am the person I am today (and the reason I found the greatest music genre of all time 🤘🎸).

We all have our amazing fathers to be grateful for. And the best of all of them is our Heavenly Father. I love that quote from Holland because it shows how truly important fathers are. We learn so much from them, and we should never take them for granted. I can't wait to be a father myself, and we learn from so many apostles that we need to prepare now for the titles we will have later in life. So I hope each of you is doing all that you can now to be the best husband, mother, grandparent, wife, father, (and so many more) in the future.

Well, that's all that I've got for this week! Feel free to email me!

first day as a trio

Sick sunset after basketball

The perfect sign for my first area

More pics of b ball night

Some of the friends we met!

Super fun day!!

Elder McMaster's last day in Nishinomiya

Another party with Takuya! This time we are eating yakiniku

Go Fish goes hard🔥🔥

Monday at the Planetarium

Dinner at this chicken place

Walking over to the planetarium!

More stars...

This place be feeling like the curiosity museum

Elevator pic goes crazy...just like the MTC

More pics of p day

Stopped at a コンビニ for some ice cream

Mirror pic

Sunday, January 28, 2024

the one with Ismail

"Boom, you looking for this?"

Starting with last Monday, we went to what's called the tower of the sun for P day! It was really cool, and we went with all of the Nishinomiya missionaries. I have lots and lots of pictures of it on the album, so go check it out to see what it looks like!

Wednesday, I went on exchanges with Elder McMaster, and we had a blast! We spent the whole day bouncing around from one way of finding to the next and tried pretty much everything we could think of, which was pretty fun.

Friday, we had our game night as per usual, and it's been so much fun. One of our friends, named Yuta, comes every week, and him and I play ping pong for almost the entire time. He is really good so when I get home imma be cracked at ping pong.

Saturday was sooo long, but it was good! We started out with service in the morning, which we do every Saturday. Then we had a lesson with Ismail, and we put him on date for baptism!!! It was such a good lesson about the plan of salvation and it was great! I told him that transfers were on February 19th so either me or my comp would be gone by then so I asked if we could try and do a day before that and he said the 18th would be perfect! So, hopefully, things go well, and I can see him get baptized before I'm gone! After that, we went to some basketball courts and played basketball with all of the Nishinomiya missionaries and met lots of new friends! We then rushed back to the church for eikaiwa and then had some meetings after so, dinner didn't happen until 9:00. But it was such a good day, and I was so happy for Ismail!

Spiritual thought:

Moroni 10:32

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

"My brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—that’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life. Indeed it is only with that reassurance burning in our soul that we can have the confidence to keep trying to improve, keep seeking forgiveness for our sins, and keep extending that grace to our neighbor."

- Elder Jeffrey R Holland

Since being on my mission, I have learned A LOT. But ever since getting to Japan, I have learned so much about love. In our mission, we have a saying, "High Love, High Expectations." Our mission President, Sano会長, shows so much love to every missionary. Because he loves us so much, he has very high expectations. But it's very easy to live up to these expectations without it feeling burdensome because everyone simply wants to make president proud and happy because we love him. The mission culture here is absolutely amazing because it's all built upon love. And our lives are all bulit upon God's love for us. He loves us so much more than we can possibly fathom. And if we reciprocate that love back to God, everything he asks us to do; every commandment, standard, prompting, etc, will never feel burdensome to follow. And when we follow the commandments God has given us, we will not only see his spirit and blessing pour out upon us, but we will be able to bless the lives of others around us.

Well, that's all I got this week! Feel free to email me this week!