We thought the longer we served the more we would get into a routine and our schedules might seem a little more set but we are learning that is not the case.

Interview weeks always tend to be busy weeks for us with a lot of traveling, early morning starts and late night endings. Because we were going to Guam for a Mission Leader Seminar for the Asia North area, it was necessary to squeeze three weeks worth of interviews (137 missionaries) into two weeks. We also tried to squeeze in dinner with the Senior Couple Missionaries, picking up a new Elder from the Philipines, picking up a new Military Relations Couple at the airport and the Shimai Taikai. (Sister’s Conference)

Shimai Taikai

We have wanted to have a Sister’s Conference for some time but it is difficult to work it in to the schedule. When all the STLs (Sister Training Leaders) were at our apartment a couple of months ago we decided to just set the date. Sumsion Shimai loves to plan events but since we wanted her to focus on her mission we took some of her amazing ideas and moved forward with them. The Senior sisters in the mission rallied around to help Laurie. Sister Low made 50 cute little fall baskets for favors that everyone helped fill with chocolate almonds and chocolate raisins. Sister Burnett took on the clothing exchange part, Sister Nelson and Thueson, who are Military missionaries, provided us with “hard to get” items so we could all make a large pot of soup and a favorite dessert bar. Add a salad bar to that and we had many happy Shimai! We couldn’t have pulled it off without all the husbands who worked tirelessly to set up everything, cut up fruits and vegetables and things for the salad bar and then served us. They worked so hard while all the Sisters spent time learning, playing and eating. We remind ourselves almost everyday how lucky we are to have the wonderful, faith filled missionaries that we have been blessed to serve with. People always told us they will feel like our own children and we can testify that Heavenly Father has just filled our hearts with love for each of them.

Weekend in Kofu, Yamanashi Ken

Kofu is the furtherest area from the Mission Home, about 2.5 hours drive. Kofu is a very large city surrounded by mountains – a lot like Salt Lake City. The missionaries love serving in Kofu because there are so many farmers who share their delicious peaches, grapes and other wonderful fruits. On most days you they can view Mt. Fuji out of their apartment window. It is just a beautiful place! We had wanted to go there since we arrived but things were just too busy. Since we were almost half way there with interviews in Hachioji, we decided to just keep on going. Senior Missionaries had been living there until March of this year. We have requested the the Maughans (friends we haven’t met but know because of our children) will soon receive their formal call to serve there. Now that we had a few reasons to go, 1) check to see if the apartment was in good condition, 2) interview the missionaries serving there and 3) speak in church that Sunday we pushed forward.

Even though we were busy the whole time we were there, it was wonderful to have a change of scenery from the busy bustling streets of Tokyo. The first night we arrived late and were looking for a place for dinner. On google we discovered a place nearby that looked to have the best looking burgers. We walked there only to discover it was a vegetarian restaurant with veggie burgers. After failing to find anything closer that looked good we went Vegetarian for the night. We took a few walks in the morning and late evening around the city, checked out the Kofu Castle ruins and enjoyied the brisk fall weather. The leaves are just starting to change and even though it was a rainy weekend we managed to get a quick and short glimpse of Mt. Fuji off in the distance.

While preparing to go to Kofu, Steve reached out to Bishop Yanigata. We’ve have heard stories about his dedication to the gospel, traveling 1.5 hours to be the Bishop of the ward, feeding the missionaries etc. He asked if we would each take 15 minutes to speak in his ward that Sunday. We have spoke often (always in Japanese) at several wards in our mission but never been asked to speak for that long. When he expressed concern to Bishop Yanagita that we might not be able to speak for that long in Japanese, Bishop Yanagita volunteered his wife’s translation services. While speaking to him, Bishop Yanigata brought up the fact that his wife had served in the Japan Osaka Mission. When we inquired about when she served, we discovered that it was at the same time we had served and that Sister Yanagita and Laurie had been companions. The world is so small when you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. God seems to weave our lives in and out of each others lives.

Guam

We left for a Mission Leader Seminar in Guam late Sunday night, after having our flight delayed twice. By time we arrived in Guam, bused to the hotel and got ready for bed it was 2:00 a.m. Since many of us were on the same flight, the Area Presidency decided to delay the start time by one hour, allowing us to get some rest.

Once again, we were busy most of the time there but it was nice to have a change of venue. One of the first things we were please to see was trash cans. That is a rare find in Japan due to the event of a cult putting sarin gas in a garbage can in a subway trash can in 1995. Several people died and over 1,000 became ill. In Tokyo, you carry your trash around with you and dispose of it when you return home. Sometimes that can be so frustrating but Tokyo still remains a very clean city. The difficult thing for us in Guam was that when we entered the bathrooms the toilet seats did not automatically pop open, the seats weren’t warm and the comforts of a bidet were missing.

We were very homesick for Hawaii as Guam has the same plants and humid climate as Hawaii. But it isn’t Hawaii. One of the Mission Leaders who had lived there for six years said that Guam is a mix between Hawaii and Tijuana, Mexico. The buildings and homes are more run down and it seems like someone with a pressure washer could start a lucrative business there. We were able to connect with friends Mattie and Aubrey Sorenson, (Mattie was a roommate of our son Cody) who live in Guam and had time to chat with them around the pool one evening after our conference was over for the day. As we listened to their stories about planning and directing FSY for Guam and the surrounding island this summer we had many laughs. It’s difficult to bring youth from islands with no running water and electricity to a nice hotel in Guam. Add to that all the different languages spoken. But Mattie and Aubrey pulled it off. I think they are moving soon just so they won’t ask them again for next year.

We were in the Conference everyday except for Wednesday when we toured around the island by bus, visited the museum, had a BBQ lunch at a beach park and then returned to the hotel for personal time, right when it began to rain. One interesting tidbit we learned at the museum was about a Japanese soldier, Shoichi Yokoi, who hid in the jungle when U.S. forces retook Guam in 1944. He hid with two other soldiers in a cave and they lived off their fishing and eating roots, sometimes killing a cow they found. The more they heard civilization (they didn’t know the war had ended), the deeper they went into the jungle. He was sure that he would be missed and they would come looking for him. His two companions died in a flood, leaving him all alone for over 7 years before a hunters found him in 1972. He begged them to kill him because he didn’t want to return home to Japan in shame but he was welcomed with a hero’s welcome after hiding out for 28 years in the jungle of Guam.

That afternoon we spent the afternoon at the beach even though there were spurts of rain and lots of clouds. The temperature seems to be a constant 85 degrees. The Philippine Sea is on the west side of the island and the Pacific is on the east side. Our hotel was on the west and the beach was calm and flat. You could walk out about 75 yards out to coral and the water, which is a very warm temperature, would come to your chest. It was so nice to just be outside, smelling the sea air and feeling the salty breeze on your skin. The five hours of free time rejuvenated us and prepared us for more learning the next day.

The Conference was so wonderful. We learned several things we need to change but also several things that we are doing correctly. We were all able to attend the Guam Temple on Thursday evening which was a special experience. We departed for Tokyo Friday night, arriving late to our apartment that we truly missed.

Visitors

We feel so blessed that our Hawaii friends have not forgotten us. The Nikoras happened to be in Tokyo to watch the All Blacks Rugby game down in Yokohama. We were so grateful they took time to stop in and say hello.

Miracles Continue

The miracles continue in our mission because of the faith and diligence of our great missionaries. They range from people just walking into our church because of the feelings they felt while passing to seven baptisms on the Sunday we flew to Guam. It is so rewarding to be part of this great work, of gathering Israel and to hear about the miracles our missionaries experience everyday. Two missionaries had fifteen minutes between appointments and decided to just knock on doors close to the church. A young man answered the door, they spoke with him briefly because of time constraints, and left him with a handout about the church. Four days later during church a member came to find them in Sunday School to let them know someone was outside that wanted to see them. You can imagine their surprised when they saw this young man and his mother who had come with him to church.

Missionaries in another area met a couple of people on the street and set up and appointment to meet them in a few days later at the church. After teaching those same friends a couple of weeks, they were standing in the foyer of the church when an older gentleman, whom the missionaries didn’t know, walked in and the friends started talking to him. When the missionaries asked how they knew this gentleman they learned their friends had run into him the first time they had tried to find the church. This older gentleman was the one who had given them direction when they couldn’t find it. Turns out the gentleman in the foyer was a member and had been inactive for over 25 years. He shared with the missionaries that he had the desire to return to activity in the church.

A set of Sisters were at the church when two people walked in inquiring about the church. Another set of Sister felt inspired to leave their early morning studies and walk to a near by park. They found a woman there and visited with her while her children played. She expressed interest in the gospel, showed up at the church a few days later to watch General Conference and cried often as she listened. She felt she had ruined her life with some of the decisions she had made but they assured her that God loved her. The stories just go on and on of how God is blessing the work to go forth.