April 2011 New Missionaries

This week, we welcomed an astounding amount of new missionaries into our mission! 22!!! It will be such a great blessing for this mission and the people in it. There were a lot of missionaries, but each one of their beautiful testimonies shine! We are so grateful to each of them for choosing to serve a mission. We feel blessed that it is the Japan Nagoya Mission that they were called to.

The next morning for the new missionary orientation, all of the new missionaries gathered at the Meito church. It was quite a scene to see all of the missionaries sitting shoulder to shoulder as an army for our Heavenly Father. Even their bags with their starting materials were lined up along the wall inside the office! What a scene!

All of the new missionaries and their trainers piled in for a group picture in front of the Meito church
before heading out to their first area!

Elder Cruz (left, trainer) and Elder Scaduto (Tokyo) - Takaoka

Elder Raffael Scaduto is very genki, happy, positive and delightful. He has
a great testimony and was truly obedient. A great missionary!

Elder Andre' Cruz is friendly and outgoing, and can be relaxed or strict when appropriate.  
He can be very strict with himself.  He lived for a while in Provo, Utah to study English.

Elder Rocha (left) and Elder Duarte (trainer) - Fujieda

Elder Frederico Rocha (pronounced  Hosha, for all you non-Brazilians) is from Sao Paulo.  Elder Rocha has been an exchange student in the US.  He loves to play soccer, travel and surf.  He is studying Business Administration and wants to be an executive. Elder Danilo Duarte enjoys soccer, playing piano, church dances, and hanging out and talking with friends.  He plans on college and, of course, marriage after his mission.

Elder Kinnison (Tokyo, on left) and Elder Gordon (Tokyo, trainer) - Kanazawa

 Elder Christopher Gordon, from Spring, Texas, knew that if he put his trust in the Lord,
things would work out.  He came to Nagoya from Tokyo full of faith
and ready to serve wherever he was called.  He went back to Tokyo with the same attitude.

Elder Marshall Kinnison was very excited to teach the Gospel and teach the
Japanese people.  He was a very obedient missionary.

Elder Hollister (trainer) with Elder Matson (right) - Kasugai

Boise, Idaho is home to Elder Joshua Matson.  He likes Tai Kwon Do, ballroom dancing and Brazilian Martial Arts.  Elder Matson has written a book that he plans to publish when he gets home.

Elder Taylor Hollister likes most sports, and wrestled at the
Air Force Academy before his mission. He is hard working,
competetive and likes cleanliness.  He planned to get lost in the work
on his mission, and has done a good job of that.

Elder Horne (trainer on left) and Elder Mechaileh (Tokyo) - Okazaki

 Elder Michel Mechaileh felt blessed to be in the mission, whether Tokyo or Nagoya.
He was so happy to be in Japan at all, after the tsunami.  He loved being in Nagoya.

 Elder Ryan Horne wants to raise a righteous family, and help others 
through the medical profession.  He loves to play piano 
and racquetball.  He tutored math, reading and piano before 
his mission.  Love constrains him to be a missionary.

Elder Jackson (trainer, left) and Elder Farnsworth - Nonami

Elder Peter Farnsworth comes from a family of 9 amazing people, and he is from Lindon, Utah.  It is common to have 25 people for Sunday dinner, all family. All of his brothers and his father have served missions. Elder Farnsworth is planning to get a master’s in Emergency Service and work as a firefighter, eventually becoming a Physician’s Assistant.  Elder Marcus Jackson wants to become a dentist.  He says he has a fun personality and hates to upset people.

Elder Jessop (trainer, left) and Elder Kerksiek - Hamamatsu

Herriman, Utah is home to Elder Axel Kerksiek.  He is the youngest of 9 children,  and has lived in seven countries for at least two years each.  He loves astronomy and astrophysics, is fascinated by machines, and plays the piano.  He loves to laugh and make others laugh, but he is also kind and understanding.   He puts others ahead of himself.

Elder Terry Jessop's favorite sport is tennis.  He also enjoys boating and piano.  He looks forward to having a large family and serving a mission with his wife. Someone who knows him says he is the kind of person who does whatever he is asked, and does it as soon as he can.  He is dependable, very service oriented and cheerful.

Elder Kekauoha (trainer, left) and Elder Danielson - Okazaki

Santa Monica, California is home to Elder Broderick Danielson.  Elder Danielson
plays the piano, and tenor and soprano saxaphones.  He was in marching band,
jazz band, pep band and wind ensemble.  He has been a good student with good
grades and he is a good communicator.

Elder George Kekauoha is from Hawaii, but has also lived in Maryland and Japan. He says his family is the greatest!  He enjoys gardening, yardwork (Wow!), building, playing piano, guitar and ukulele, and sports.  A few of his many goals are to have a farm, an eternal family, and time to serve others.  He enjoys talking to people, and knows he can do anything he puts his mind to.  He loves the feeling of having the  Holy Ghost with him.

Elder Kervinen (trainer, left) and Elder Gish - Ichinomiya

Elder Zachary Gish, from Highland, Utah, loves to snowboard.  He plays the guitar
and writes music and likes to learn random facts.  He is also interested in mythology.
He loves classic cars and wants to restore one someday.  His goal is to become a dentist.

Elder Niilo Kervinen is a social person and a team player, is positive and optimistic.  
He also knows that studying the scriptures is the most powerful tool to get 
to know God.  He is serving a mission to show gratitude to God for his blessings.

Elder Kutney (left) and Elder Roberts (Tokyo) - Seto

Elder Justin Roberts was mature and so focused on his mission.  He was completely happy
to be in Japan and part of the Lord's work.  He felt he was exactly where the Lord
wanted him to be and found great joy in the work.  He had great goals for his mission
and worked hard to make them happen.

Most of Elder Terrance Kutney's goals revolve around the Gospel.  He hopes that whatever job he has will actually help or improve people's lives.  He says he is level headed and gets along with most anyone.

Elder Madsen (Tokyo, left) and Elder Holden (Tokyo, trainer) - Ueda

Elder Jared Holden felt such great love for the people.  He was willing and ready to
go and work.  He savored everything he learned while he was in Nagoya and
developed a love for the Bairds and a greater love for the Gospel.
He said, "I'm on a mission, it is hard, and I love it."

Elder Nathan Madsen, from Boise, Idaho, came to us just before going home,
but worked for success.  He felt he learned a lot about missionary work and felt a lot of love.

Elder Miura (Tokyo, left) and Elder Ogaki (trainer) - Suwa

Elder Tsubasa Miura was very grateful to have served in the Nagoya Mission
and was sad to go.  He was willing to serve wherever he was and do his best.
He said that he experienced a lot of things that were meaningful.

Elder Shunya Ogaki will continue his studies in 
early childhood education after his mission.  After he retires, 
he wants to serve a mission with his wife.  He says he is usually quiet, 
but he is good at talking with people. 

Elder Otahara (trainer, left) and Elder Eguchi (Tokyo) - Ueda

Elder Junpei Eguchi was determined to serve and do his best.  He said
he wouldn't forget the Bairds and this mission, and his goal is to be like the Savior.

Elder Koudai Otahara is blessed to have 10 people in his very faithful family. He loves talking with people, especially foreigners using a different language. He also enjoys music and dancing. He is outgoing and happy.

Elder Chubak (trainer, left) and Elder Christensen (Tokyo) - Ogaki

Elder Russell Christensen was so excited to serve the Lord in Japan.  He came
with a love for the people.  He knew of Heavenly Father's love for us all
and was ready to work and share all he knew.

Elder Austin Chubak, from West Valley City, Utah, fit with the area and people here and
loved his time here.  He hoped to go home with the peace of mind that he did exactly
what Heavenly Father wanted him to do.  He felt he grew a lot while he was in Nagoya.
He was a great blessing to the people here.

Elder McGahan (Tokyo, left ) and Elder Pearson (trainer) - Fukuroi

Elder Trevor McGahan was very teachable.  He let everything that he learned in
Nagoya seep into him.  He was an excellent missionary and enjoyed the time here.

Lehi, Utah is home to Elder Michael Pearson and he is the sixth of seven children.  
Missionary work is big in his family.  His grandfather wrote the original discussions for the church.  
His parents run a website for missionary moms.  Everyone in his family plays a musical instrument.

Elder Reynolds (trainer, Tokyo) and Elder Shimamoto (Tokyo) - Kasagai

Elder Yuki Shimamoto was genki and very good as a missionary.
He was willing to work very hard.

Elder Michael Reynolds, from Elwood, Kansas, loves learning languages, music
and exercising.  He was ready to make a huge impact when he came to Nagoya.
By the time he left, he said he had seen many miracles and gotten to know
some of the best people he had ever known.

Elder Prince (Tokyo, left) and Elder Ring (trainer, Tokyo) - Takaoka

Elder Jordan Ring, from Saratoga Springs, Utah, loves art.  He loves to teach and
hoped with all his heart to share the Gospel of joy and salvation with many people.
He  really was genki and happy and felt like he learned how to put the missionary
principles into practical application.  He had the ability to learn from whoever was around him.

Elder Keven Prince felt the Lord strengthening him as a missionary.  He tried to follow exactly
what the Lord expected of him.  He was ready and obedient on his mission.

Elder Shimajiri (left) and Elder Ito - Inuyama

Elder Yoshiya Ito's home town is Hashimoto, Wakayama, Japan.

He has three older brothers.  Elder Ito majored in Spanish and culture,
and studied Spanish art history in Leon Spain as an exchange student.
He also loves to play basketball and soccer and is interested in sports management.

Elder Naohiro Shimijiri also comes from a wonderful family of 10.  He and two siblings are members of the church.  Elder Simijiri’s dreams are to share love and humility and be a good example.  He is good at focusing on one thing at a time and getting it done. Elder Correia, left, and his trainer, Elder Skankey Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil is home for Elder Nicolas Correia.  He loves to listen to music, read the newspaper, enjoy a bike ride or drive a car.  He is also interested in politics.  Elder Correia plans to study business administration.    Elder Bryce Skankey enjoys soccer, technical help with theatre, and looking through telescopes.  He is optimistic and proud to be a geek.

Sister Shaver (left) and her trainer, Sister Wilcox - Takayama

Sister Maricella Shaver comes to us from Orem, Utah.  She enjoys reading, writing and cooking.  She loves the ah-ha moment when she figures something out and is able to fully understand it.  She will decide what to focus on for college after her mission.  She says she is extremely shy, but gets along well with people and loves talking to them when she gets to know them.  She was blessed to be sealed in the temple with her family when she was eleven.

From Provo, Utah, Sister Marie Wilcox comes from an amazing family who love education and science.  She has already graduated with a degree in biochemistry and finds she loves organic chemistry.  She is a talented seamstress, plays piano, organ and trombone.  She picked up Japanese by watching Anime in Japanese while she was in bed for two years with an illness.  She is hard working and humble enough to ask for help when needed.  She learned from her illness to submit to Heavenly Father's will.

Elder Cragun (Tokyo, left) and Elder Wilden (trainer, Tokyo) - Fujieda

Elder Aaron Cragun came to us as a new missionary.  He was excited but nervous about the
language.  One of his goals was to leave areas better than he found them.
He learned much while he was in Nagoya and he worked hard.

Elder Alexander Willden, from Cedarburg, Wisconsin, likes guitar and song writing.
He was a little sad when he went back to Tokyo.  He loved being in Nagoya, but he
probably enjoyed Tokyo every bit as much.  He felt very blessed as a missionary and learned
a lot about himself and his Heavenly Father.  He knew he was meant to be in Nagoya.

Elder Wilson (left and trainer) with Elder Hilyard - Kanazawa

From Bountiful, Utah, Elder Chad Hilyard loves soccer and music.
He has played guitar and drums and sung with the concert choir.
He especially enjoys singing religious music.

One elder in the mission says Elder Samuel Wilson is easy to talk to, friendly,
and a solid kind of calm, keeping hope and faith even when things are bad.

He played football in high school and enjoys reading.