On September 1, 1901, President Heber J. Grant and his three companions climbed a hill in Yokohama and dedicated the land of Japan for the preaching of the gospel. Elder David A. Bednar came to Japan to help commemorate this event on its 125th anniversary. While here, he also visited with our missionaries and missionaries from the Tokyo North Mission. What a privilege that was for our missionaries! They spent about thirty minutes singing hymns, lined up for the photo, awaiting his arrival. Elder Bednar was so gracious to meet our sweet little Sister Apino, the sister who is healing from her stroke. We were able to take her out of the Rehabilitation Center that day, and she was surprised when we pulled her from the group and took her to a room to meet privately with Elder Bednar. She was so touched.

About three weeks before his arrival, Elder Bednar sent some pre-work for our missionaries to read – it included several talks he had given. He spent three hours talking with our missionaries, allowing them to ask him questions. He in turn questioned the missionaries about what the Spirit had taught them as he spoke, or while others shared their thoughts and questions. Afterwards, we received a letter expressing how pleased he was with the preparation and participation of our missionaries.

We couldn’t fit all of our missionaries in one picture (and we are still growing), so we took a separate picture with the younger missionaries and then with the Senior Couples we serve with. We feel so blessed when we look at these pictures! What amazing people we have come to know through our service here; people we will cherish forever.

Steve spent a Saturday morning with Elder Bednar and the Stake, Temple, and Mission Presidents from Japan, Micronesia, and Guam, for Priesthood Leadership Training. It was a powerful spiritual experience to be with so many key holders and to be taught by an Apostle. While he was busy there, Laurie took advantage of some free time and spent it with her former missionary companion who lives in our mission.

We finished up our interview weeks and then decided to visit Kofu Ward. Kofu is the furthest area from our office, and we visited Kofu in November of 2024 but hadn’t been back. We try to visit a different ward each week and felt it was time once again to visit Kofu. Kofu is located in beautiful Yamanashi-ken, where Mount Fuji is located. It had been raining for three weeks in Tokyo, so we didn’t have much hope we would be able to see Mt. Fuji. Laurie booked a hotel by Kawaguchiko Lake, and we looked forward to just having a change of scenery. We drove out Saturday after meetings in the morning. We met Elder and Sister Maughan in Fujiyoshida. They are a wonderful couple serving in Kofu, and we wanted to spend some time with them. They also know the area well and wanted to show us around. Because it was raining, the usual large crowds were nowhere to be seen. They took us to Kitaguchi Hongu, Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine, and also the Herb garden. Many of these places are famous because one can see Mt. Fuji in the background.

The trees were enormous and almost feel sacred to be around. Thinking about what has occurred in the span of time they have been here is awe-inspiring.

These were two trees that grew together. We learned that ropes are tied around the trees to show they are sacred. It shows that a divine spirit lives in that tree. At the temples, you can pay a small fee to draw a random fortune strip. If the fortune is bad, you tie it to the rack and ‘leave the bad luck behind’ so the gods can take care of it. If it is a good fortune, you can take it home with you.

Normally, Mount Fuji would be visible behind this pagoda, but because of the clouds, it couldn’t be seen.

One of the many pictures taken at the Herb garden. We chose to go there because of the rain – most plants were indoors, and they had a lovely tropical section that caused Laurie to really long for Hawaii.

Our hotel was about one hour from the Kofu chapel, but it was a beautiful drive through the mountains. The bishop in that ward is Bishop Yanagita. His wife, Midori, was Laurie’s missionary companion in Osaka 45 years ago. They invited us for dinner after the meeting. Each week they drive 1.5 hours one-way to the church. Their home is in Yamanakako, right at the base of Mt. Fuji. We gathered there with the Maughans for a lovely dinner.

This is a blast from the past – Sister Pieper and Sister Naito – now Sister Tueller and Sister Yanagita. We spent Monday morning with the Yanagitas as they showed us around the area they live. It was such a beautiful day that Steve had a sunburn that peeled for days.

We were delighted Monday morning when we woke to see this beautiful sight out of our hotel window. After weeks of rain, we felt this was God’s tender mercy. It was such a beautiful morning that Steve sunburned his head pretty badly, and it peeled for a week afterwards.

Our sweet little sister missionary, who had suffered a stroke, returned home this past transfer. She is still in a rehabilitation center but at least close enough that family can visit. She took so much of our time and attention, and so it is only natural that we miss her a lot.

Our mission continues to grow as we receive large groups of missionaries. We are so sad when those we have grown to love leave us to return home but, miraculously, it just takes a few hours and we are feeling the same love for the new missionaries. It is almost like having a new baby, when, despite not knowing them well at all, there is an instant connection of love. That is one thing we both feel God has truly blessed us with – the ability to love our missionaries so deeply.

We continue to hear from the missionaries who have returned home, and to our delight, some are getting married. There are several of them who are in relationships with another missionary from our mission. Steve said it will be easier to keep track of them if they all marry one another.

Life is good and speeding by quickly. We finally broke our 35-day streak of rain in Tokyo, and it is wonderful to see the sun again. After living in Hawaii for so many years, we just need our sun! God continues to bless us with great health and also the strength and stamina we need to keep up our busy schedules.