People deny the fact that there are fundamental truths created by an all powerful and loving God,

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Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:31:20 +0900
Subject: Re: Feb 10
From: mitchell.sotto@myldsmail.net
To: reckdjm@hotmail.com

I`ve been out a year already! Ah! Shinjirarenai (unbelievable). It`s going way too fast! It`s actually kind of a scary thought that I`ll be leaving this life after a year. Better work hard! We have our Tenkin (transfer) call tomorrow so I`ll let you know next week if I get transferred or get a new companion!

I did get to go to the Snow Festival in Sapporo! It was awesome! There were a lot of gaijin (foreigners) there but they were all russian I think haha. Either that or I just don`t understand enlish anymore :P

I took a lot of pictures and it was really awesome. They built a snow board jump and slope in the park for boarders to do tricks off of. It was awesome! I`ll probably send my SD card in the near future.

No way! I actually got assigned to give a talk in sacrament meeting for next week on Baptism and the Sacrament. I`m pretty excited :) Tell me how yours goes!

We may go see a little bit of the Kitami Snow Festival as well today so I`ll get more pictures! Also thank you for explaining the meaning of the Kitami symbol. I see it quite often but had no idea what it is haha.

Aww Princess died? I hope Lucky is still around when I get back! He`s getting pretty old so we`ll see what happens, but either way he was a great pup :)

I hope Jill is doing alright! I`ll pray for her! It really is amazing what daughters of God sacrifice to house God`s children. What a sacred calling :)

I`m so excited to meet little Owen and all the other kids when I get back! Tell them I love them when you see them!

I`ve been thinking lately how much the Boy Scouts would help the youth of the church in Japan if they had such a program so easily available, but it`s a little sad to hear that about the Boy Scouts. It`s amazing how things can change. I was reading in the Liahona about that. The world is slowly changing to believe that we as humans decide everything and there isn`t actually right or wrong. People deny the fact that there are fundamental truths created by an all powerful and loving God, Our Father in Heaven. There are fundamental rights and wrongs, and that truth is slowly being lost. Sad but also exciting. The Lord is hastening His work and He will soon come in His power and Glory. Even though times will get tougher, it`s nice that we can look forward to that day with hope :)

It`s always very fun to see the mission calls and such :) Invigorating. 

You and dad both went on missions didn`t you! You really do know what I`m going through! Sometimes I feel like I`m the only one in the world who is going through trials and such, then I step out of my pity box and into reality and realize that everyone is in the same boat haha. We`re all learning and growing (particularly through our mistakes). When I think about that I have a desire to help others more and not think about my own complaints and discomforts. And the greatest thing of all is that Christ knows us perfectly. That`s so comforting to me. I have someone who knows what I`m feeling and knows how to comfort me. That someone happens to be my Lord, A God, my Brother, and He is preparing success and happiness for me if I`ll just trust in him :) God`s plan is so cool! =D

Now for an experience from this week. We have a friend in the ward who was baptized about a year ago and is preparing to go on a mission. My companion and I both had the thought while we were walking to a place we were going to go housing that we should help Ma-kun out with his mission prep because it`s probably hard. So we wanted to meet with him. A couple days later he Teamed up in a lesson with us and afterwards said he was struggling with something lately so we went to the church and talked with him for a while. He`s been having some trouble with something lately and so has been wanting to talk with us. Everything turned out pretty well and he went home a lot happier that day.

The interesting thing that my companion pointed out to me is the fact that we had been feeling the prompting to meet with him all week. We just wanted to help him out with any struggles he might be having, and it turns out he had been having a struggle and wanted our advice.

It`s pretty simple, but definitely the Spirit`s guidance. The Lord guides His servants to those who need help. Those who are humble and prepared to receive the Lord`s help. It was a testimony builder to me :)

I think that`s about it! Thank you so much for everything you do for me and everyone in the ward and in the whole wide world! You and dad have been a real light in my life :) I love you and I`m excited to see you again after a year!

Bye Bye!

Elder Mitchell Perry Sotto