July 2011 New Missionaries

This week, we celebrated 4 new missionaries coming to our mission! Sister Shimoji (Naha), Elder DeMille (Utah), Elder Hiruta (Tsukuba), and Elder Kobayashi (Sapporo). It was great to meet and get to know them! They will be great missionaries!

Left to right: Sister Shimoji, Sister and President Baird,
Elder DeMille, Elder Hiruta, and Elder Kobayashi.

The missionaires shared their testimonies on the train as they came
to the mission home. This is a picture of a couple they met on the train.

The new missionaires standing outside the Meito church with their trainers.

Sister Shimoji (left) and Sister Kumagai- Matsumoto

Sister Ziona Shimoji from Okinawa, Japan has four people in her family.  She loves her family and the church.  She enjoys playing tennis, playing with children and being in nature.  Playing tennis makes her smile and calms her and being a part of nature helps her feel Heavenly Father’s love.  She looks forward to a temple marriage and lots of children. She wants to study the Gospel and spend a lot of time together with her family.  Sister Mado Kumagai is from Hokkaido, Japan.  Her twin sister served at the same time in Sendai.  She has 3 adopted brothers.  She loves to draw and make sweets, giving away her great cinamon rolls and cookies.  She also enjoys playing with children.    Her family's faith and love have given her self-esteem and confidence that she wants to share with others.

Elder DeMille (left) and Elder Voss- Matsumoto

Toquerville, Utah, near the beautiful canyonlands, is home for Elder Joshua DeMille.  He enjoys music, hiking and camping.  His favorite thing is just having fun with the family and his friends.  He also likes to create knick-knacks.  He wants to be known as someone who is always headed up, always trying to be better.  He describes himself as fun, good natured, random, honest, stubborn and a good peace maker.  He has always loved the Gospel and sees evidence of God in everything.

Elder Voss's talents are memory, physical capacity and relating well
with others.  He is slow to get angry or upset and people have told
him that his personality has a calming effect on them.  He relates well
to most people and quickly develops trust and friendship

Elder Hiruta (left) and Elder Ikeda- Kariya

Elder Naohiro Hiruta is from Fukushima, Japan.  He is the only member of the church in his family, but his family supports him well and he loves them. He started swimming when he was five, so he could enter university because of his swimming ability.  He wants to become a teacher and contribute to society.  Elder Hiruta wants to give hope and power to the children he teaches.

Elder Ikeda is optimistic and slow to anger.  He can easily love people.
He has already had one great missionary experience where a friend was baptized.

Elder Kobayashi (left) and Elder Brown- Gifu

Elder Yuto Kobayashi from Hokkaido, Japan knows traditional Japanese dance, and performed on the university dance team.  He looks forward to an eternal family.  He is studying architecture and wants to design homes and cities.  He wants to own his own architectural company.  He is kind, calm, and optimistic.

Elder Michael Brown hopes to be self-employed at some point, but hasn't decided what he wants to do because there are so many professions he would enjoy.  He knows that one of the many benefits of serving a mission is the potential for growth and independence.