April 6, 2015

Wow! I cannot believe I have already been in Japan for 6 weeks! Or a transfer, it is already starting to feel like home! But definitely not more than 1047 Rockbridge road!!

We had such an amazing easter week and saw so many miracles and had so many great experiences. This was probably the most wonderful Easter I have ever had, being able to focus on Christ so much more, and know what this week was truly about. I studied all week about his life and what he did for us each day on this last week of his life, and It was amazing to come closer to him every single day! He truly loves us so much, and went through such terrible things to bring us more happiness in our lives and to help us become better people through his atonement!

Last week was way good, we worked our little hearts out to get as many people to church as possible on Easter and with the four Elders we had 9 nonmembers there! 9!!! Last week we had only one! It is amazing to see the Lord progressing his work every single day and seeing the miracles that come from working hard and obeying the Lords commandments as well as the mission rules!! I love this gospel so much, and am so grateful for Jesus Christ!

This week we went to a sakura park and just spent time there, it was BEAUTIFUL! But sadly they are dying already :(

I am having so much fun here, the members here are sooo kind and loving and really want to help this work progress as well! It is so great to see there excitement over missionary work! I just love this work!

Not to brag or anything...but here we go...I am the record holder for whack a mole at an all you can eat place here in miyazaki. Hold your applause please. I really couldn't have done it without the love and support from my parents my whole life. I also want to thank all of my friends who helped me accomplish this feat as well. Cheers. the old record was 69 and I got 138...doubled...

I love this work and I love easter and I love UK basketball even when they lose...the dummies....

Hope everyone is doing well,

Love

Elder Krebs

*FOR FAMILY:

This week really has been amazing and I feel like I have grown so much closer to the Lord and learned so much about him as I truly focused on studying his life and his sacrifice. And I just couldn't get over how thankful I am for his sacrifice for everyone. He loves us all so much and knows us all individually!

This week was also by far the hardest of my mission so far, our mission president gave us a goal to get 2 investigators at church and 2 new baptismal dates. And on sunday we had no baptismal dates, and all day I had faith that we would get them that day. And then all of our lessons fell through and no one could meet and we weren't able to get any, I just felt terrible that we weren't even able to come close to his goal. And I really just had to reflect on whether I was working as hard as I could and what I could improve on. It was really trying but I felt like I grew from the experience, I was just relying on my trainer a lot, and he has a hard time putting himself out there to commit the people to be baptized or to do things such as that. And I just realized that I can't rely on him to do everything, I have to be bold and do those things as well.

Yesterday we went on splits and I went with a second transfer elder hahahahahah it was SO FUN! Neither of us speak Japanese well so we just bore our testimonies and tried to invite them to stuff! We got 3 new investigators in ONE DAY! It was amazing to see the miracles from our faith in the Lord to help us accomplish our goals that we had set out. We taught an awesome lesson to this kid who has been playing basketball with us every week and coming to our english class. He is pretty much fluent in English and is going to college in Arkansas in a year! he is way cool, so we just decided to text him and see if we could teach him about our church, and he was all about it, we taught him about prayer and about the spirit! He recognized the spirit as we prayed with him and said he felt really calm, happy, and warm and he wanted to learn more and be able to know that God existed!!! It was such a great miracle and the spirit was soooo strong there!! I just love this work, the lessons like that make up for how hard last week was.

I love this work,

Love.

Elder Krebs

March 29, 2015

Hello everyone!!!!

This week was phenomenal!! I loved every second of it, I have been just on a spiritual high from Elder Nelsons training and trying to apply his teachings to my life!!

This week was way way way fun! On Tuesday I got to go on splits with the zone leaders which was way way amazing! They are both stud missionaries and such amazing examples! The Elder that I went with was Elder Bullock, it his last transfer in the field, so he has 2 weeks left on his mission! We went out to the beach to find some new people and to invite people to the sports activities that we have been setting up, and watching him do missionary work was something else. He was such a good example of what a good missionary should be like. It was such a great learning experience, we just talked with people and became friends and they become so much more willing to talk with us. They think the foreign white dudes are cool, so they wanted to talk with us. And they are always blown away that we speak Japanese. Well at least he did, I am still learning. But we met a lot of great people and had so many amazing and funny experiences hahahahaha

Our eikawa is one of my favorite things that we do. It is the free english class that the missionaries put on, it is so fun! Especially since me and another Elder, our district leader Elder Jameson, get to teach kids eikaiwa!! It is a stinking blast, all these little kids are just crazy, they are running around we just sing lots of songs and try to go over something like colors or animals or something along those lines. It is a blast!!!!

Funny story, we have a man in our ward who is Indonesian! His only name is risky, just risky. How sick is that? Our district leader asked him if he could have another name what it would be and he just looked at him and said "Business" hahahahahah we were dying. He is so awesome!

These week we got a ton of sports activities set up, we are trying to really focus on getting a better image for religion in Japan. Japan does not have good experiences with religion but the view is getting better more and more. They are starting to understand the importance and need for religion. So on Saturday we set up a ping pong tournament and had some kids come as well as a basketball game on Saturday! It was a blast!! It was so good to play basketball! We had one kid who is just so cool, his name is Akio and he stayed with us all day, he is so great!

I love this work so much, the work is progressing so well!

I just want to end with my testimony on this Easter week.

I know that Christ truly lived on this Earth, he taught and he testified, he was perfect in every possible way. He was our perfect example. I know that he suffered through things that we could never possibly imagine in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross at Calvary, he loves each of us individually, he knows each of our problems and all of our needs. He wants us to be better, he wants us to take advantage of his atonement and to be changed through his power and his sacrifice. I love Jesus the Christ with all of my heart, and am so grateful to be able to dedicate my whole life to him over these next two years.

I love you all so much!!

Elder Krebs


I almost forgot!! It is Sakura season here in Japan! The BYU-tiful cherry blossoms stinking everywhere!! We have gotten some great pics with them that I will send along!!

Love you all

HOPPY EASTER! (get it hoppy #StillFunny)

Me with a prince charming we found in the mall last p day as well hahahaha

companions that cook together preach the gospel together :)

...So I just barely got a call from one of the counselors in our mission presidency who lives in our area so we know him really well! He just called and said that they don't want missionaries wearing lighter suits while teaching and doing missionary work as much anymore, so he wants me to only wear my light grey one for mission meetings and things like that...and then he invited me to go suit shopping with him today, he wants me to buy a new suit with him hahahahahahaha it was a funny conversation he is an awesome guy. So I may be buying a new suit today I don't know how much money is in my account! I took out that two hundred to buy random things I needed like sweat pants to sleep in and a rain suit, so I have about a hundred and fifty of that left (haven't bought my rain suit yet, there is an old one that was left in our apartment that I may steal) But just so you know! I am not sure exactly what the counselor wants but I guess I am going on a shopping spree with him today ;) whoot.

Love you tons,

Elder Krebs

March 23, 2015

OKAY! Starting this off and being blunt, NO ONE TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT UNLESS UK WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP! OR IF THEY LOSE (which they wont) It makes it sooooooo hard to focus, I just start thinking about whether or not Tyler Ulis can dunk yet (; or if Willie Cauley-Stein has gotten any sick new tattoos....Go Cats! I am excited they are doing well! Just send me a championship shirt ;)

This week has been busy! We were able to do missionary work Monday through Thursday! We saw a lot of miracles, we found this amazing man who I think I mentioned in my last email, he is from Nepal. He has been so prepared for the gospel, we taught him four lessons in five days! When we met him on the street he wanted to meet again, we didn't have to ask and he wanted a copy of the Book of Mormon. In the lessons he would ask us all these amazing questions about Christ, and we were able to testify about him. We were able to help him recognize the Holy Ghost and how it feels to him as well as how it can help him and guide him. We watched the Restoration video with him, and after he said he felt just so warm and that everything in him was moving, he said he felt the Guidance from the Lord. It was so amazing to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ change someone, at the end of the last lesson he said he wanted to be baptized!!! But he is moving to Tokyo, I am so sad to see him leave. But I think it is such a blessing that the Church is the same all around the world. The missionaries in Tokyo will teach him the same thing we would here and the same doctrine!

So on Friday we went up to Fukuoka (A four and a half our bus ride) because we had a big Ipad training with Elder Nelson. It was amazing to get to hear from an apostle of God! The Spirit he brings was so amazing. The whole mission is so excited to get Ipads and progress the work of the Lord in different and more effective ways! We should be getting them in about a month, they are going to be so amazing and sooo useful!

Then the next day after that we went to a District conference, and spent all that day in Kagoshima, it was a way fun trip! I felt so spiritually edified and I feel as if I grew a lot and learned a lot!! We stayed in other Elders apartments those two nights and there were 8 of us in an apartment that is made for 4 at a max. It was nice and tight! Way fun ;)

I love this gospel, and I love all of you so much! I hope that you are all planning on going to Church on Easter! Or on inviting someone! It will be such a great experience!!

Love you all,

Elder Krebs




Family Email -

Can you believe I have been in Japan for a month already???? It goes by so fast! I have loved every minute and have grown so much and I hope I am changing for the better! I am doing a 40 day fast right now, I am not saying anything mean about anyone and not singing any worldly songs! I want to focus on the work 100 percent! I don't want to be distracted by worldly things! And I want to have the spirit of the Lord with me and I know that will come through being kind and positive to everyone!

I am also trying to find things in every missionary I meet to emulate so that I can improve to become the most effective and faithful servant of the Lord! There are so many amazing missionaries in this mission, and they have amazing faith and amazing work ethic that I want to emulate so that I can see miracles as they do! I want to be the greatest missionary I can be, and use the strengths I have been given as well as strengthen other things in my life and in my missionary work!

I know this Church is true, I have seen this gospel change lives already and bring people that comfort and peace that I am blessed to feel every single day. It is through the Lord that all of these things come to pass! How great of a blessing is that! I challenge you all to bring someone who is less active or not a member to church on Easter Sunday! That is the only birthday present I want! Share the gospel!

Love you all so much, I pray for all of you every night!

Love,

Elder Krebs

March 8, 2015

Wowzers!!! What an amazing week, it was sooo busy and went by sooo fast!!! I can't believe how fast it went!! We had so many things to do with preparing for Kouta's baptism and we had a zone training all day with the mission president on Friday which was amazing!! Then on Saturday we had a futsol activity for three hours and then we had Kouta's baptism, it was such a beautiful night, I don't know if I have ever felt the spirit like that before. Seeing him be baptized and then recieving the wonderful gift of the Holy Ghost the next day was such a beautiful thing. You can just see the light of Christ in his eyes and the joy he feels in joining this Church. I know that the Lord has truly prepared him for this his whole life, and I hope that I am able to see that light and happiness enter many peoples lives over my mission. That is the real goal is to bring them happiness through this perfect gospel, and seeing someone accept our message and want to be baptized is such a testimony to me that this truly is the Lord's work and he loves everyone so much!

So that was probably the miracle of the week, getting to see him Baptized we were also able to learn a lot, we didn't get to do as much missionary work as normal but it was still a good week of finding people and talking to them about the gospel!

Honestly the joy I find in being able to have one person talk to us about their beliefs and find out more about them is so much, I feel so blessed to have this wonderful calling from God to be one of his representatives and be able to talk often about this perfect gospel.

We had a funny experience this week hahahahahahahaha we had found this amazing lady who wanted to talk to us about the gospel and she talked to us for almost an hour on the street. So we went to visit her at her house, and we learned that along with her interest in the gospel she also just had an interest in having someone to talk to hahahahahaha needless to say this little grandma talked to us for an hour and we left with some disgusting vegetable juice and a bunch of Christmas lights, it was quite the experience hahahahahahahaha as soon as we walked out of the apartment I just started busting out laughing she is so sweet, and really does have an interest in the gospel but she would go on 20 minute long tangents and we would just sit there listening me not understanding a word she said and my companion just smiling and nodding it was a great experience :)

I love this work, and I hope everyone is doing well, I encourage you all to try and bring a friend to church on Sunday, if you are already a member. If not a member you should attend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Easter Sunday, I promise that you will feel Christ's love and that you will be able to feel a happiness and spirit that you never have in your life before.

I know this gospel is true. With all of my heart.

Love you all,

Elder Krebs

March 1, 2015

Wowowowowowowowowow! I love it here so much, I could not have asked for a better first week. I have learned so much and have gained so much faith and knowledge in our Savior Jesus Christ! So I came into my first area on Thursday....MIYAZAKI! It is a beautiful city on the East coast of Kyushu farther down south. It is such a beautiful area, I live in an apartment with 4 Elders one of whom is one of the older missionaries from my Zone from the MTC, it is very nice having someone I know here. My trainers name is Elder Crawford, he is AMAZING!! He is a hard worker and we are always going never wasting time which is perfect, he does a great job of letting me practice my Japanese and work on my Nihongo skillzzz while we proselyte. I just can't get over the fact that I am in Japan already, it is so beautiful and EVERYONE is so nice, I love the people so much even when they say no to us they always say sorry or excuse me after they don't get mad at us. They are truly so nice and amazing. The thing that stands out the most though here....their bathrooms. If the Japanese have one thing figured out it is their bathrooms, the one in our apartment is absolutely beautiful *insert heart faced emoji* we have a bidet toilet that has a heated seat *one hundred heart faced emoji's* it is so nice. And our shower is amazing as well, I love it here!!

We have really seen a ton of miracles here, they have been truly amazing and strengthened my testimony of the Lord! The work really is progressing here in Japan and is moving at such a good pace, the Lord's hand is everywhere in this work! One of the miracles we have seen is while Elder Crawford and I were riding home for dinner an old man rang his bell and had us ride over to him, he started to tell us that he was a less active who hadn't been to Church in 20 years and now he wanted to come back, he was so happy to see us and was telling us that now that he has more time he wants to see the missionaries and come back to church. How amazing is that????

Another miracle is our investigator Kouta, he is getting baptized this Saturday!!!! He is so excited and has a strong testimony of the Church, his mom is a less active who has recently come back to Church, so he started taking the lessons again, he is a 22 year old. He is so great and really believes the things that we are teaching him! We love meeting with him! Funny story with him hahaha we were at the mall going to grab dinner with him on Friday night so that we could talk with him about how he is feeling about his baptism coming up, my companion and Kouta were talking about whether or not he believed in the Church, I wasn't paying too much attention as I usually can't understand when they are talking Japanese hahahaha but right after Kouta said he believed the Church was true I was looking at a Japanese KFC which has chicken more like Canes than like KFC back home and I just said Woah Chigau!! And chigau can either mean that something is different or just that something is wrong so right after he said the Church was true I basically said you are wrong hahahahahahahaha they both just started dying laughing and I had to explain that the Church was true and that KFC is just different than in America hahahaha.

I really feel good about my Japanese for where I am right now, I feel pretty comfortable talking with people but it is just hearing that I have a lot of trouble with, the speed that they talk at is really hard to understand plus my vocab isn't the best right now. But it gets better every day and I feel the Lord really blesses me every day with the language, my companion is really good at Japanese he is at transfer 12 right now, so 6 weeks times 12 is how long he has been in the field.

I love it so much here, I love the people, I love my companion, I love my district and my area and my ward. This is truly where the Lord wants me to serve and I feel so blessed to be able to be here. I am working as hard as I can, I don't want to have any regrets after my mission. This is the Lord's work and is so important so there are no excuses to slack off ever!! I love this work and I love this Church.

Hope everyone is well, love you all!

Elder Krebs

ps. Loving the Japanese food, but we are going to an all you can eat pizza place for Lunch...lessgo

February 25, 2015

I am in Japan!!! We arrived in Fukuoka after over 24 hours of traveling last night at 9:45! It was a good day, I sat next to an amazing member on my 10 hour flight from Portland to Japan! He was a bishop in the Philippines and worked for the Church family history program! He told me lots of great stories and we were able to talk about the gospel the whole flight!

As soon as we arrived at the mission home we went to bed, it was one of the best nights of sleep in my life hahahahaha I was so tired and just so out of it from all the flights and everything! But I am in Japan and I love it, Gustafson Kaicho seems amazing, I have really loved getting to know him and his wife.

First thoughts of Japan, it is soooo beautiful here in Fukuoka, the temple is right above the mission home which is gorgeous. The food is yummy, or at least what we have had so far I really enjoy it! But the best part...the Japanese have really nailed the bathroom the shower was so nice and like preset to a perfect temperature and good pressure and the toilets are just fantastic...heated seats and everything they really treat us right ;)

Love you so much, I am so excited to serve the Lord!!! We start proselyting in 2 hours then dinner, then we meet our companions and learn our new area!!!! This Church is so true, I have felt the Spirit since I have arrived here and I am loving everything about this beautiful country!

Love,

Elder Krebs

February 19, 2015

Holy Cow!!!!!!! 4 days left in the MTC I cannot believe I have been here for over 9 weeks already! It has been such an amazing experience and I feel like I have learned and grown so much. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had in the MTC to grow and learn so much!

My testimony of this gospel has increased ten fold. I truly do know that this is the Lord's work and I know this because the spirit has testified to me and because I have seen the tender mercies and miracles of the Lord every single day here in the MTC. There were definitely hard times here, like learning how to speak Japanese....but the times I struggled in lessons or in speaking Japanese I don't remember I remember the good times and the blessings and miracles I have seen as well as the constant spirit I have felt here!

This week has been really fun, we got a new group of Nihonjin(native Japanese) that moved in with us so instead of two in our room we have five. It has been so great getting to speak to them and work on my Japanese with them. And it is way fun to work with them on their English. We were going through the Alphabet and I was singing the song and we got to LMNOP and they had a little bit of trouble saying it that fast hahahahaha...I just told them it was one letter and moved on ;)

Yesterday was wacko, we got to teach two lessons. Be traffic hosts for all the new missionaries entering in. And then My companion and I helped with one of the new missionary training activities that night! It was so much fun to do all those things and to serve and help!

I am going to be so sad to leave my companion Elder Vanalfen! He is a stud and is such a great Elder who is going to be an amazing missionary! We have had so much fun this past week teaching and have had some really funny experiences together! But don't worry we still have a 14 hours of flying where we get to sit next to each other ;)

I got my FLIGHT PLANS! I leave Monday at 3 AM :(( We go straight from Salt Lake to Tokyo, but our branch president said we should have a pit stop in Portland in between that! I am so excited to get to Japan and teach all those amazing people!!

I love this gospel so much, I love the MTC and everything it has helped me with, I haven't loved every second but those times that were hard were the things that made me grow the most. I feel as if I have changed a lot in the MTC and I can't wait to transition to the next phase of my mission!

Love you all more than Mom's home made cookies,

Elder Krebs