Happy Golden week!

Hey!
How is everyone?! Hope that you had a good Easter season this year, and I just can't believe how fast April went by - I don't even know where this transfer went. It seems like only yesterday when I was called to come here to the Honbu (mission office).
Recently there hasn't been much progress with our investigagtors. We've been finding people (including a college student whom we taught lesson 1 in a park half an hour after meeting him in a train, haha!), but most of them don't seem to be wanting to progress. So we're going back to the drawing board and just focusing on those who want to do the things we're inviting them to do. I think it's good, and it's something our leaders have been talking about. That, and not doing "aggressive contacting". Which means chasing people down the street, or trying to cry repentance down the road like a maniac. It really sunk into me that we do cry repentance - by helping people make and keep commitments (quoting Preach My Gospel), and that as they change their old ways, and draw closer to the Lord, we're fulfilling our purpose as missionaries. Like for example: remember Goto Lisa? (I met her on the train my first week in the area). Well, she has been meeting with the missionaries in her own area (but she still likes to call us here, and meet with us in Hikari) and she has been praying everyday (for a lot of reasons, many of which, if I share, would take waaaaay too long, sorry). She initially said that she couldn't be Christian, but now she is slowly realizing that Heavenly Father does love her. That He knows her. That Christ atoned for her. And last Saturday we gave her a blessing. She said, she didn't know why, but her eyes became swollen with tears. Before we performed the blessing, we prayed and got a strong confirmation that she would be cured. I even told Elder Barrus "get ready to get zapped" because the Spirit was so strong. It was amazing. We felt the hand of the Lord there.
And speaking of the Atonement, I've been thinking about that a lot lately. And especially how grateful I am for it. I can feel it as I repent and try to do better. I'm far from perfect. I should be doing things better, but Heavenly Father understands that I'm trying, and through the Atoning Sacrifice of His only Begotten, I can feel the Spirit. I can be guided and become an instrument in his hands. Even though I often feel like part of Bob the Builder's "My first tool kit", I'm grateful for all the miracles that we've seen - all because of the Atonement.
And I've been able to see the changes in other people's lives as well. Yesterday I had the opportunity to perform the baptism of one of two investigators (of the Sister missionaries), 16 year old Tanaka Mariko. It was amazing to see the changes in their lives as they drew closer to Christ, by praying and reading the Book of Mormon.
I can really tell you, and say without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ is the Savior of man kind. That He atoned for each one of us. That He loves us. That through His atonement we can be happy. I'm grateful for the opportunity to gain a personal witness of the Atonement and to use it in order to grow closer to my Heavenly Father. I'm grateful for the Gospel and the restoration of the Priesthood, which unlocks the power of the Atonement to all those who seek it. It's true. I love.
I love all of you and hope for your safety, health, and joy through this life. I hope that we may all become closer to our Savior, and I pray in name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Victor M. S. Mourao
Japan Hiroshima Mission

Elder Mourao got glasses!

Konnichiwa!!

Hey everyone, how are you? Everything's good here, and it's starting to get warm... and muggy, very, very muggy.... haha. It's good, we saw some good things this last week, and I'll share them with you.

The mission has been slowing down a little from December. Baptism and confirmation numbers are a little low, and as a mission, we've been wanting change, but especifically what needed to be changed, we didn't know.

The last Tuesday President Evans, of the Area Presidency came to visit our Mission for a couple of days, and we had the opportunity to listen to him, and learn from him and his experience. It was even more exciting to learn from revelation what we needed to do in order to see success in the mission.

We learned about BOLDLY going forth in declaring the Gospel. And that in order to be bold you just have to open your mouth and God will give you what you need to do. I learned it from experience just yesterday, where I asked a man at the bus stop if he lived in the region and we ended up talking for 20 minutes on the bus! It was great! He actually started by asking me what we did and we talked about his work, life, and although he didn't have much interest, we at least know where he lives, haha!

Then Pres. Evans talked about how we must boldly preach, and not aggressively preach. There's a big difference. And if we just naturally talk to people, and show genuine interest in what they do, they open up to us. It's a change that's need amidst the fast announcement of "hellowearemissionariesoftheChurchofJesusChristandwehaveanimportantmessageaoutfamilieswon'tyoulisten?ok,thanksforyourtime,seeya!"It's pretty much like a robot, and I'm excited to try things out this way instead. It's frustrating when you work your butt off, and nothing happens. But it's where faith is tried that big miracles come in.

And it also starts with small and simple things. We can't expect a big sign out of Heaven that says "it's true listen to them!!" Remarkably, no matter how many baptisms you see, whether it's a big family or one high school student, they each have to individually receive a witness of the Gospel by trying it out themselves. There's no other way. There's no other way to strengthen faith unless you do something. It doesn't even necessarily have to be a big challenge or trial, as long as you're showing the willingness to act. That action is the measure of your faith. And your faith is the measure of your miracle.

I love this Gospel and everything that it does for us. Sure, life is hard, and a lot of times it seems like we will never have a way out. We have unsurmountable odds against us sometimes. But remember that God is on your side! HE watches over you no matter where you are. He loves you and cares for you very deeply. Life isn't meant to be easy. If it was, it wouldn't be a probationary time. But, we have a special promise that endures as far as eternity, and that gives us hope and strentgthens our faith so that we can hold out just a little longer. Then overcome and repeat the same process. It's truly a refiner's fire. It's so true and I love it.

I love you guys and pray for you. I hope all is well and that each and every day your testimony is strentgthened. Christ lives. He is our advocate. He is our best Friend. He will help us. I know so. In His sacred name, I say these things, amen.

Love,

Elder Mourao

Kiseki

Konnichiwa!!
Hey everyone, how's it going?! So how about that General Conference! It was amazing... We're so blessed to be able to hear the voicce of modern day revelation through a living prophet of God. I was very humbled and priviledged to be able to hear Elder Holland's account of the atonement. It strenghtened my testimony for sure, and the Spirit felt as we listened to it confirmed once more that Jesus is the Christ. That He lives and atoned for us individually. What an amazing truth!
Well, this week has been kinda slow but a couple of things happened that I'd like to share.
On Friday we got called by the CES President downstairs telling we had someone that wanted to talk to us. His name was Mr. Nagamine. He has been living in a park for about 5 days now, since after a fight with his wife, and losing his job, left the house. We immediately taught him, and he told us about his difficulties and challenges. He was able to come for all the sessions of conference and we've been helping him come closer to the Savior and we're seeing the changes in him as he continues to read the Book of Mormon and pray. He is an extremely humble man, and is ready for the Gospel, being guided to the Church by Heavenly Father. It was a wonderful experience and truly humbling to know that God is truly preparing people! Well, I gotta go today. Thanks for all the messages and letters, and I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I love you and miss you, and I know that this is the work of the Lord. I'm humbled and feel richly blessed to be a part of it! This Church is TRUE!!!
Love,

Elder Mourao
PS: Cleiton and Eline will be getting married this friday!!!!!

Hey guys!!

Hey guys!
Konbanwa everyone! Sorry it took me forever to write today, some of you were probably expecting this - most likely night not, it's late back home anyways haha. But anyways, we worked through our p-day for some odd reason and so we're just finally having a chance to e-mail. We didn't do any of the stuff that we were supposed to do today, but we did get an answer to our prayers.
This last week was good. In the last 72hours we contacted people from: Indonesia, Nigeria, Sweden, China, Vietnam, Brazil, Peru, England, Middle East (I'm pretty sure he was from Iraq), and taught and contacted in 4 different languages. Welcome to Hiroshima - more specifically, Higashi Hiroshima.
In this jumbled mess we were able to find 3 investigators, contact 49 people (good, solid, testifying opportunities - 35 in just one day) and eat all you can eat Italian food - yes, in Japan. It was a really good week, but it's somewhat frustrating to have to worry about two completely different things at once. One is obviously, missionary work. It's what we do, it's why we were called to be missionaries. I've learned that it is one of the greatest blessings one could receive, the opportunity to help others come unto Christ and see the changes that the Gospel brings to their life. It's something really special, and we're trying our hardest to find to prepared, teach and baptize them. And really, talking to people is fun - I wish my Japanese was better but it works when I need it to, so I'll keep working on it.
The other aspect and the one which is most tiring is helping other missionaries fulfill their calling to the best of their ability: here at the HONBU.
It's a really special experience, and one that I am grateful for. There have been numerous insights and much revelation received that makes my job easier, and helps me help others more effectively. However, we have so much to do that it's frustrating to have to leave with so much undone... Especially when my companion doesn't like what he does, forcing me to not be able to finish the things that I have to do. Plus having the mission mom giving me these tiny little useless chores each day adds on to an already seemingly insurmountable workload.... Sorry I'm venting, but it's frustrating when we can't get anything done but one job overflows and interrupts the other, and then both ruin preparation for the whole week, making it so that we can't work as effectively.
However, as I think about this, it brings to light the importance of prioritizing and organization. What should I do first? What needs to be done? What things could I do away with, and still effectively fulfill my calling? Those are questions that are always on my mind, and the more I think and seek Heavenly Father's help, the more I become aware of how much He guides me and guides this Mission. Not only at those times, but especially in the crucial moments when we need the guidance of the Spirit in order to help someone progress in the Gospel.
I had a really special experience yesterday that I would like to share. From the previous missionaries, we have a potential investigator named Kiwaki Erica. Her parents are from Peru, and they have lived in Japan for quite sometime. They don't really speak Japanese though, and before, they were worried about how to approach them. Well we met them as they were leaving their apartment yesterday, and as I talked in my limited Spanish, I started to talk about the things we believe. They knew somewhat about us, and asked a few questions. But as I jumped into lesson 1, the Spirit just overpowered the porch and I felt as my heart was just burning with the Spirit. All of a sudden I caught myself saying things in Spanish that I had never know before. The Spirit was so strong, and at the end, as I asked if it was okay for us to come back, the father said, 'is it okay for me to come to your church? I'd like to talk to you some more. Can I come anytime? Where is it?' That was truly an amazing experience, and we're hoping that they can come 'listen to a prophet's' voice this next weekend at General Conference.
Then also, we met with Cleiton and Eline, the brazilian couple we're working with, and we had an amazing day today. Pres. and Sis. Isa, along with my companion, accompanied us to the various places we needed to get information about their marriage, and we figured a lot out. We fasted to be able to help them get married as soon as possible, and Cleiton said that if they can get a couple of things done on Friday, they might as well get married this week, since the witnesses will be there, and get it over with. It was truly an answer to our prayers, and we were also able to answer a couple of their concerns about baptism. It was amazing to be guided in such a way. In other words, as bad as sometimes is, we're being blessed and I need to repent from all my murmuring ;). Father in Heaven is blessing us abundantly, and opening many gates where some doors close. I love this work. I love this Gospel. Jesus is the Christ. He is our Savior and Redeemer. This is His Gospel. And it has been restored to Earth by a living prophet. What a blessing it is to have a living prophet on Earth today to guide and direct us through modern revelation. It's TRUE!!
I love you all, and pray for your health and success.
Love,

Elder Mourao

Cherry blossoms and picnic!

The weather turned a bit cold lately but it turned out to be a really nice day today and so we went as the Office staff and President and Sister Isa to go see the Cherry Blossoms and a cool Buddhist temple on a picnic today. It was really pretty and I've got some photos. Today I have to make it short because I have a million other things to do, but I always think about you guys and I pray for Heavenly Father's blessings upon you.

This is a part of Victor's email. He hasn't had much time to write an email that's blog worthy but I did want to share the pictures he sent. Here's a little part of his email we got 1 1/2 weeks ago about what he's doing now:

Yep so I've been in the Honbu (mission office) as the baptismal recorder for a week now. It's really good, I really like being here, even though it has been quite hectic in the past few days. It's so nice to be able to work together with the great missionaries that work here, and I'm looking forward to the miracles we'll be experiencing in the Hikari area.

He's very excited about meeting a lot of Brazilians in Japan! That's how he gets his Brazilian food! YUM!

-S.