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

Sunday, June 2, 2024

the one where he defended the carrot

"Boom, you looking for this?"

Starting with Monday we went to Kyoto and went to some of the most touristy places in my entire misson. There were SO many 外人 (foreigners)!!

We saw a cool castle and a big tower and then a bunch of gates...yeah I'm not very good at hyping this stuff up. But it was a fun day!

Tuesday we had DCM so we all met up and got lunch together! It was a fun start to the day and I always love seeing my district!

Friday we went to Umeda which is one of the busiest places in our area and held a sign that told people we teach English and we had SOO many people come up and talk to us! It was a fun way to do missionary work and a really nice change of pace.

Saturday we went to lunch with the Hemmi family! It was a blast and we went to this authentic Chinese restaurant. It was pretty good but some foods were definitely better than others. I spent most of the time just playing I spy with the daughter Maki and showing her other funny tricks I can do. It was a super fun time and they are really enjoying spending time with us. After that we had a couple lessons before eikaiwa one of which was with our friend Mima and he is super awesome! He is so elect and has been reading the Book of Mormon every day. We are really hoping he will want to get baptized! At eikaiwa the Hemmi family came along with some of our other friends. At the end of eikaiwa we always talk for about an hour which was a blast! While I was talking with some other people, I saw Maki had drawn a big monster on the whiteboard... now if you know me, you know that I am always down to play defend the carrot. So yours truly started drawing some stuff on the board and together we made a whole story with action, adventure, love, sadness...it was quite a good story if I do say so myself. I got a flick of it but it might be hard to understand...we were all over the place. Basically we had a blast and we invited them to come to church and Maki said she really wanted to come 👊😏

Spiritual Thought:

Mosiah 2:16-17

16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.

17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

"This is the service that counts, the service to which all of us have been called: the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save."

–Thomas S. Monson

I don't have much to add but it really is the service that counts! Its so important that we try our best to help others around us. There will always be children of God who can use our help.

Well thats all I got this week! Feel free to email me!

That's all, folks!

The most gas game of defend the carrot

All of the pics from Kyoto

Got some more with some of the boys

The thousand tori gates

The lookout from the top of the thousand gates

Tōji temple

Fire flick with all the boys 🔥

And the Golden Castle

Zone Conference Osaka Zone

Dog #59 😬😬😬 I'm slowing down...not by choice

Fire okonomiyaki

The guy that took us out

Sunday, May 26, 2024

the one with the 奇跡家族

"Boom, you looking for this?"

Well, starting with Wednesday (yeah, it was a short week), we went to a super touristy place called Namba and took a couple of flicks. We spent the rest of the day going around to shops around there and having a good time.

Friday, we had Zone Conference!!! It was super awesome, and we talked a lot about faith and being bold with the people we are teaching! It was super great, and we learned a lot!! That night, we went to dinner with a friend, which is like the 5th meal we've had with friends this week! It's been so much fun! Also, on our way to Zone Conference, we had a crazy miracle where this lady named Hemmiさん recognized us and wanted to talk with us. Apparently, she had been coming to eikaiwa before the pandemic but lost contact with the missionaries. We invited her to come to eikaiwa, and she said she would bring her husband and daughter! We had a really good conversation and she is so amazing!

Saturday we went to lunch with another one of our friends and then went to Osaka Castle with him after (a really famous place in my area). After that, we had a lesson with one of our friends and then had eikaiwa! It was a ton of fun, and we had like 15 people come this week! And our friend Hemmi came and she brought her whole family and they are SO kind! They loved talking with us and her daughter was really shy at first but I got her to warm up to me and I am now her favorite missionary 😏😏 We also invited them all to come to church and they seemed really excited about it!

Sunday, we had church, and the Hemmi family came! They loved it and had such a great time with us! We talked and we are all gonna get lunch next Saturday and I couldn't be more excited! They are such an awesome family, and I am so excited to see them progress!

Spiritual Thought:

Alma 26:37

Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now, this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

"But perhaps even more important than speaking is listening. These people are not lifeless objects disguised as a baptismal statistic. They are children of God, our brothers and sisters, and they need what we have. Be genuine. Reach out sincerely. Ask these friends what matters most to them. What do they cherish, and what do they hold dear? And then listen. If the setting is right you might ask what their fears are, what they yearn for, or what they feel is missing in their lives. I promise you that something in what they say will always highlight a truth of the gospel about which you can bear testimony and about which you can then offer more."

–Jeffrey R. Holland

I really don't have much to add... Holland said it perfectly. But, this was SUCH a good week, and it really made me grateful for ALL the people we talk to. I think this is such a good outlook on missionary work and just life in general.

That's all I got this week! Feel free to email me!

That's all, folks.

Osaka Castle!

Apparently he's famous or something

Got me a burger😏😏

These are the guys we ate with

Got me some Pizza😏😏

This is the guy we ate with

Same dude we ate Pizza with...he's pretty sick

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

the one in Osaka

"Boom, you looking for this?"

Well, starting with Tuesday, we went to a zoo which was dope and then got lunch at the HOOP! (It's like the coolest place in Japan) and then hit up this big sky tower and got to see a sick view.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were about the same. Lots of streeting and the usual gig.

Saturday, we had a big stake activity, and we went on a big hike with the stake! We went to Nara Park, which is one of the most famous places in Japan because there are hundreds of deer EVERYWHERE. I got a couple of good flicks, so you'll need to check that out.

Sunday I got to meet the ward and there are so many of them! We actually have kids in our ward, so that was really refreshing. One of the kids got baptized today, too, so that was so fun to see!

Monday was pretty regular but no P-day because Elder Soares of the 12 apostles pulled up to the mission! Monday night, he had a little devotional for all of the stakes, which was awesome to see!

Tuesday, he had a devotional just for the missionaries, and we all got to shake his hand and meet him. That was super awesome, and he had such a good devotional! He talked about so many things, so I don't even know where to begin, but it was so awesome!

Spiritual Thought:

This is a little bit of what Elder Soares said during the devotional with all of the stakes. (Parts of it are paraphrased)

"Trials and challenges are part of life.

We promised to turn our hearts to the Savior. (Talking about before we came to this earth, in the premortal life).

The Savior is the central part of the plan of salvation. He gave his life so we could change.

We can overcome our hardships when we turn our hearts to the Savior Jesus Christ. Because he went through all pain and infirmities that we could have gone through in this life, he is able to understand any circumstances that we go through in this life. He is able to give us the strength that we need. His bowels are filled with mercy for us. He is there to succor us from any trial, and then he can help us with any tribulations that we have in life. It's not easy, but with the savior, we can do it. He will help turn our trials into stepping stones for eternal life.

Trust in him. Invite him in our lives more. Inviting the Lord will bless us with the spirit to overcome these hard trials and challenges."

For all of the hardships in our lives, we have Christ. He went through all of our pains, with an eternal sacrifice, so that we could have an eternal life. Jesus is the Christ. He is our Redeemer, our Messiah, our Prince of Peace, and our King of Israel. Of this, I earnestly testify. Even in his name, The Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

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

That's all, folks.