This was a day we had all been anticipating for a month – the visit with Elder Cook and Elder Palmer. We were informed that we should be lined up and ready by 8:30 a.m. for pictures. We were asked to be reverent and in place so that we didn’t spend too much time preparing for the photo. That is a very difficult thing to do when you have almost 140 missionaries that love each other and rarely get together. It is difficult to quiet them and sometimes even get them to go back to work because they just love being together. Steve came up with a great idea to get them in place and then sing hymns until Elder Cook and his group arrived. That turned out beautifully! We got everyone in place and then we started to sing hymns. Not only did that keep everyone from visiting, it brought the Spirit into the room. As they sang hymns together we looked at them and felt so honored to be serving in the Japan Tokyo South Mission with them. They definitely are those valiant souls saved for these latter days. As they were singing Called to Serve with gusto we both felt overwhelmed with emotion.

We sang for a good 15 minutes before Elder Cook arrived. We welcomed their group, sat down for pictures and then after pictures Elder Cook said he wanted to greet each of them individually at the chapel door as they entered for our devotional. He shook hands with each one of them. Elder Palmer, from New Zealand, and his wife, also accompanied them and shook hands with everyone. Sister Palmer asked Laurie if they had done an earlier Mission Conference with us because she felt like she looked familiar. Laurie reminded her that we had been trained by them in the MTC the end of June and that was probably why we looked familiar.

Our meeting was full of the Spirit as each person spoke and we all came away spiritually uplifted. Elder Esplin instructed us to speak of Christ often throughout the day. He shared an Ethiopian saying, “Fish discover water last” and likened it to those of us who have had the gospel our whole lives. We sometimes don’t realize what we have because we have always been immersed in it. Sister Palmer shared her conversion story in England. On a cold rainy day, she and her mother had gone to visit her grandmother. Two sister missionaries knocked on the door. Her mother, feeling sorry for them, invited them in and listened to their message. When the missionaries asked if they could return they were informed that they didn’t live there but in another place a bit of a distance away. A few weeks later there was a knock on their door, two members of the branch had come looking for them. Sister Palmer spoke of how those two sisters never did know that her family was baptized and that down through the years several of them have served missions, married in the temple and continue to live the gospel. She helped the missionaries understand that everything they do has meaning and influence, even if they might not see it in their short time in Japan. Elder Palmer spoke of Elder Henry B. Eyring’s prophecy about Japan and admonished the missionaries to have faith over fear as they go about their work.

Sister Cook used to sing in the Tabernacle Choir. She lead the missionaries in a hymn, dividing them up and having them sing different parts. She is so enthusiastic that it is hard not to catch it from her. If anyone was sleeping, which I doubt, she definitely woke them. Elder Cook ended the devotional in challenging the missionaries to commit friends to read the Book or Mormon, pray, or whatever they might be teaching and then always promise blessings. He told the story about being a young bishop in the San Francisco valley and was asked by the missionaries to come visit with a family they had been teaching. They had committed the family often and promised blessings and the family had progressed well. When friends and acquaintances discovered their interest in the church they began to send all kinds of anti-Mormon literature. Because the missionaries had committed them and promised blessings, their testimonies of Jesus Christ and His gospel were firm and they were not swayed by the literature and push back they were getting. At the end of his talk he told us that the Lord gives the Twelve special sacred experiences so that they can testify of Him. “I humbly testify with all my heart that I know the Savior’s voice and I know His face. He lives and guides His Church. You are His servants and there are so few of us.” The Spirit in the room was strong, some missionaries were wiping away tears and we all hated to even move after the closing prayer. We wanted to just bask in the powerful feelings we were experiencing.

Six Week Cycles

Our lives are made up of a six week cycle. During the 1st week we welcome new missionaries, train them, and introduce them to their new companions and send them off. We then meet with the group of missionaries completing their missions, share a meal together, have a testimony meeting and then take them to the airport. The 2nd week is filled with Follow-up training for those who have been in the mission field for two transfers (or three months) and we also hold our Mission Leadership Council which consists of our assistants, zone leaders, and sister training leaders. The 3rd week is zone conference week. We have six zones so we combine two of them on each of three days. We provide training and hopefully some inspiration. Weeks 4, 5, and 6 we drive all over the mission to interview each of our missionaries. Steve interviews each of them and Laurie talks with their companion. It isn’t an official interview but the missionaries seem to view it that way. She also usually gives them cookies or some other treat so they usually like this half of the interview schedule better. In each of weeks 4, 5, and 6, we meet with two zones at the Tokyo Temple and enjoy a temple session with them. The Japanese saints are so kind to provide this session in English since most of our missionaries speak English much better than Japanese. It is always heartwarming to hear them struggle to pronounce the English words they must say to accommodate us. Each time we feel so grateful for their sacrifice for us.

Planning for all of these events (and the meals associated with them) takes more time than one would imagine. Throw in additional blessings like visits from Elder Cook last week, this week Elder Jackson from the Missionary Department, visitors from the stakes and wards, preparing talks for stake conferences and Sacrament Meetings, reading 130-140 missionary letters each week, answering calls and texts, and emails and it makes for a very full schedule. As Steve often tells people who ask, “We fall into bed every night exhausted but with smiles on our faces.”

In an earlier post we shared how Laurie had COVID which required us to cancel our Mission Tour about two hours before it was to start. We had the rescheduled Mission Tour this week. Elder J. Kimo Esplin (born in Hawaii) and Elder Christopher H. Kim were our visiting authorities. We started Monday night with a Mission Wide Meeting over Zoom, followed by a meal at our home. The next three days were spent traveling to different areas in our mission and participating in Zone Conferences presided over by Elder Esplin. On Wednesday, Sisters Esplin, Kim, and Laurie met with all the Elders and allowed them to ask any question they would like. They ranged from how to study the scriptures, what attracted us to our spouses, to what should they look for in a spouse. Sister Esplin warned them about getting a high maintanence wife – one that needs a lot of money for nails, hair, eye lashes etc. Laurie said, “Steve calls those a trophy wife. They are just there for show.” Sister Esplin added, “and they tarnish quickly.” Steve, Elder Kim and Elder Esplin fielded similar questions from the Sisters of the Mission. Elder Esplin also had another meeting where he spoke to everyone in our mission that has been here less than six months. That was about 1/3 of our mission! We have a very young mission.

One of the places we had a Conference was Yamate, located in Yokohama area. It is the place that Heber J. Grant came in 1901 and it is very close to that chapel that they went into a grove of trees and dedicated Japan for the preaching of the gospel. There is a beautiful monument in front of that church depicting this occasion.

As we traveled to each of the areas and participated in all the meetings we were once again reminded of the amazing missionaries that we get to serve with here in Tokyo, Japan. Our hearts were about to burst as they shared their thoughts and testimonies about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our mission has set a goal, for the last quarter of the year, to find 71 people who God has prepared to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have only had 29 baptisms this year and we know that it will take a lot of hard work and a lot of faith but we also know our missionaries are all in with their faith and their desire to work hard. They realize that in order to obtain this goal they will need daily miracles and they have committed to be more obedient in order to receive those miracles.

Between rain and a busy schedules our morning walks have been less frequent but when we go out we are thoroughly enjoying the cooler fall weather that has arrived. We dip down into the 60s at night now. The other evening as we were enjoying dinner we looked out the window to see a beautiful sunset. We haven’t seen a lot of those and knew we had to catch it on camera.

While driving around with the Esplin’s (who were Mission Leaders here in 2018-2021) they told us of the tunnels that go under Tokyo. They said when they lived in Kichijoji they would take the tunnels and drive for 20 minutes undergroud to get to the airport to pick up the new missionaries flying in. With all the earthquakes in Japan it could be pretty scary going down into those tunnels. After a busy week we were driving home late at night, after our last Conference, and we zigged when we should have zagged and ended up down in the tunnels under Tokyo, adding 30 minutes more to our travel time. We felt uneasy the whole time we were down there. There was steam coming off the lights, giving the tunnel a creepy, eerie feeling which made Laurie even more nervous.

If you have read our earlier blogs you will know that when we arrived in our mission we had been having many strong impressions about what we needed to do to further God’s work here. Two things we had felt strongly about were having our missionaries serve more and to also have them use their gifts and talents more in their service. If they serve with the members it is even better. The members have a difficult time introducing their friends to the gospel but if they created opportunities to serve with their friends, along with the missionaries, the missionaries could take it from there. We continue to hear stories of the many opportunities they are having to serve. They love serving and it gives them a sense of purpose because we are not in an area that has a high number of baptisms (yet!). One area of missionaries found a large group of elderly people who clean one of the largest parks in Tokyo area every week. (They don’t pay people to do that here. It is done on a volunteer basis.) They volunteered to help and I think at first the Japanese people were skeptical that they would show up. They were so happy when they did and when they continued to do it week after week they began building trust that we are not some weird Christian sect – we are normal people who want to serve others. They told the missionaries last week how thankful they were for their service. They said they are a breath of fresh air because the young people in Japan are changing and they don’t really care about these things so it’s so nice to have some young respectful people who do care.

Today we attended the baptism of Tom-san in Nakano. The elders found him about one months ago. He is from China and from the moment he heard about the gospel he felt something. The missionaries also felt his sincerity and his desire to learn more. Today at his baptism he invited two of his friends that work with him. We were talking with them afterwards while Tom-san was getting dressed. Cho, one of his friends had several questions. He didn’t believe that babies should be held accountable so Steve shared with him from Moroni 8:8-9 where it reads that it is solemn mockery before God to baptize little children. He had also heard that “Mormons” don’t allow their children to go to school until they are 20 years old. He described reading a book about a woman who was homeschooled until age 20 (possibly the book “Educated” by Tara Westover.) Steve told him that all of our children had gone to school and that it is a matter of choice, not a Church mandate. He later met with missionaries for a lesson. After several more of these kinds of questions, the missionary said, “I think most of what you have learned about our church may be incorrect.” He replied, “I am seeing that now.” It was wonderful to be there, participate in that event and to have the opportunity to share our testimonies with others.

In 1981, while serving in Osaka, Japan, Laurie became companions with a ‘green bean’ named Tokie Hiyama. She was unlike most Japanese. Where Japanese people like to carry around umbrellas all the time to guard from any sun at all, Hiyama Shimai loved the sun. She had a great sense of humor and so she played a lot of jokes on Laurie and the Elders and Laurie played a lot of jokes on her. In fact, Laurie got to serve again with her at the end of her mission. When we visited in 2018 we were able to have a quick lunch with her but Laurie lost her contact information after that. Since we arrived in Tokyo we have been looking for her when we visit wards, hoping to catch sight of her and reconnect. When Elder Cook was here he had a dinner honoring the great pioneers of Japan. We sat by a sweet couple who had served as Mission Leaders in Fukuoka (34 years old at the time) at the same time we were serving in 1981. Laurie mentioned that she was looking for Tokie Hiyama and three days later she got a call – this sweet woman had looked until she found her! She attends the Nakano Ward that we attended today for the baptism. It was so fun for Laurie to reconnect with her again.

Last but not least, we were excited to get new couches this week. Naturally, our apartment was designed by an architect or interior designer so it was very beautiful . . . but sometimes not very functional. The couch had nothing to lean back on and the place you sit was so deep that you couldn’t bend you knees because they were on top of the couch. The fabric was uncomfortable with little poky fibers in it and it smelled bad from the fabric or stuffing. It was difficult to have gatherings because everyone had to sit so awkwardly. They decided to replace them so we returned home from a Zone Conference Thursday to find our new set. We love it and are so grateful for those who take care of us and try to make us comfortable.

We continue to love the opportunity to work with the great missionaries in the Tokyo South Mission. It is a stretching and growing experience but we wouldn’t trade it for anything.