Missionary Life: Get ready for picture OVERLOAD. It has been a BUSY two months! Even though we have had an opportunity to travel to some outlying areas of our mission, Elder Welker and I continue to support the Fukuoka Mission by working in the office, and helping with many other tasks as needed. It has been a rewarding experience to contribute to the mission in a different way than we were used to.
Often on our way to and from the office we see these 'Mommy Vans'--moms riding with one or two kids on their bikes. If they have more than two kids, the oldest one is riding their own bike. They ride all over the city streets. Many of them use E-bikes and have that power assist to help with the hills. We asked this mother if we could take a picture and she graciously said yes. As soon as we held up the phone to take the picture both kids smiled and held up the traditional peace sign. It was so cute!
Covid 19 and the restricted movement for our missionaries has not stopped the forward march of the Lord's work. Our missionaries are learning more and more every day about how to carry out the work online. Our mission now has three active Facebook pages, one Instagram account, and one Line account. Our missionaries are posting uplifting Gospel messages daily and communicating with those who engage with the posts. They are finding people who are interested in learning more, and teaching the Gospel.
The missionaries were recently issued smart phones. Those will take the place of their tablets and their flip phones. This is Elder Ito preparing to send all the flip phones back to the company. The new smart phones make it very easy for the missionaries to work with all the different social media platforms.
Missionaries from foreign countries are still restricted from entering Japan. We continue to receive Japanese missionaries, and currently have about 45 young missionaries. We hope the travel restrictions will ease up very soon and we can get our number of missionaries back up to 150 or so. There are many of our evacuated missionaries who are hoping to get back to Japan, but are currently working hard in their temporarily assigned areas.
In the meantime, the Area Presidency instructed every mission in Japan to close down all vacant apartments. The cost of leasing so many empty apartments was very high, so that was done in July. As missionaries begin to come back, the Church will lease new apartments as needed. Elder Welker and I were sad to see our Kumamoto apartment be closed, but so grateful for the time we spent there and all the wonderful people we met there.
The Fukumori Family were our neighbors in Kumamoto and helped us so much with many complicated tasks like registering in the city, signing up for health insurance, getting our driver's licenses, understanding the mail that would come, and then helping us when it was time to move. We love them so much!
New missionaries continue to arrive and other missionaries complete their service and leave us to begin the next chapter of their lives. This means lots of hellos and goodbyes, and plenty of welcome and farewell dinners at the mission home. It is fun to participate with these amazing young people at these transition times.
We've spent a couple of P-days with the missionaries here in Fukuoka. One day we went to the Fukuoka Zoo which is right next to the temple and mission home. One day we did yoga and celebrated Sister Mack's birthday.
I continue to enjoy my balcony garden. Life in the city is fun to experience.
Japanese Culture: The last couple of months we have had the opportunity to get around the mission and see a few different areas. Our first excursion was to the Hiroshima area. We went to Miyajima island and saw the many tame deer that roam the island. We saw the Istsukushima shrine, but the huge orange Torii Gate that is partially submerged in water was covered with scaffolding and netting as it was being refurbished.
In the city of Hiroshima we saw the Hiroshima Castle and surrounding compound.
And we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Peace Park. It feels like a sacred space where so many deaths are memorialized, and the call for peace is broadcast to the world.
While visiting Hiroshima we stayed in the nearby town of Iwakuni. There we saw the famous Iwakuni Bridge and the beautiful iris gardens.
A second trip took place in June as well. We were able to go to Okinawa and see that gorgeous part of our mission. We got to have some fun with the Macks and the Butlers a couple of days prior to the zone conference. Okinawa is a wonderland of beautiful flowers, beginning in the airport that was full of orchids.
There is a beautiful peace park in Okinawa which we also visited. That is where I got my first view of the beautiful coastlines.
We found real Mexican food there! Okinawa is home to several US military bases and has a large population of US military members. So it feels a little more westernized there. Many signs are in English and they have excellent Mexican restaurants, not to mention several American restaurant chains--like the A&W pictured below. Here we are enjoying dinner with Elder Hayashi, Elder Takahashi, and Elder and Sister Butler.
We were able to attend church on Sunday in the Futenma Branch--one of the military branches. Masks and social distancing were in place. We attended a baptism which was a wonderful experience--one Marine baptized his Marine buddy.
We spent one glorious afternoon at the beach and in the ocean. The skies were blustery and the water was warm and the conversation was lovely. It was a perfect day.
The Okinawa Churaumi Acquarium was fascinating and beautiful!
With our time left in Japan drawing to a close, we have used our last several P-days to see as much as possible of this beautiful country.
- Kikuchi Gorge: A beautiful hike in the Mt. Also area. The river has the most gorgeous clear blue water!
- Yanagawa: A city not too far from Fukuoka that is famous for its canals and riverboats used to take tourists (like us) around the city. Hundreds of years ago the canals were used for irrigation of the farming village. Today they have been restored and are used to take people on little cruises around the town. The boat is powered by a man with a pole, who gives a history of the town (how I wished I could have understood him), and who also serenades the travelers with beautiful songs along the way.
We can't believe our 18 months is almost over and we will soon be released from our missionary service and return home to Utah. It has been an incredible experience and we want to make the best of the remaining days. There will be one final blog post in a couple of weeks.
Spiritual Thought: One of the most incredible blessings that Heavenly Father has given His children is ongoing revelation through our living prophets and apostles. Prophets and apostles are inspired to speak for the Lord, just like prophets of old. They teach of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, the need for faith and repentance, the importance of saving ordinances, the consequences of sin. They provide critical guidance for us in our day.
With so much chaos and so many conflicting voices in the world today, we know we can trust the prophets. Their teachings reflect the will of the Lord. "What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. (Doctrine and Covenants 1:38)
I truly believe that our greatest safety comes from strictly following the word of the Lord given through His prophets, especially our current Prophet, President Nelson. The Lord has warned of great consequences for those who ignore His prophets, and great blessings to those who follow them.
I'm so grateful that we have the technology to easily access the Prophet's teachings, and look forward to our next General Conference where we can learn more of what the Lord wants us to know.
I love you all!
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