Small Miracles

Elder Mario Harper

I feel as if there has not been a major miracle on my mission, but I feel that it was in the small ways that I saw many miracles.  In these last few weeks, there were some interesting events that happened.

Towards the end of my last transfer, I realized that my companion, Elder Boss, had not yet met with some of our investigators.  In order to have a chance to meet, we made and sent out invitations to a festival that would be happening in our area.

The night of the festival was a sudden downpour.  Because of the intensity of the rain, we could not ride our bicycles and trains were stopped.  We thought about just giving up on the activity, but as we prayed, we decided to try and go through with it.  A member came to pick us up and we were able to go.
 

Although we were an hour and a half late, because of trains and road conditions all of our investigators were also late and we had a chance to meet all of them.

That night we had a phone call from a potential investigator who was able to come to the church.  In some form or another, we were able to meet in some strange circumstances many of our investigators and potential investigators and make plans to meet again.  I saw much of God’s hand not only directing us but also our investigators.

I know that God loves his children and desires their success.  I have come to learn that this is His work.  

September 2010 New Missionaries

This week, we welcomed in a large group of 13 new missionaries! Elder Ward (Massachusetts), Elder Van Campen (Utah), Elder Hollister (Colorado), Elder O'Kelley (Washington), Elder Skankey (Arizona), Sister Masuda (Hokkaido), Sister Clark (Colorado), Elder Jessop (Utah), Elder Ikeda (Tokyo), Elder Larkin (Nevada), Elder Numakura (Yokohama), Elder Horne (Utah, arrived a couple days after), and Elder Kervinen (Finland, actually arrived a couple weeks earlier). We are so very excited for all of them to be a part of this mission! We know that they will be able to accomplish many miracles! This is the first group we had get on the train straight from the airport to the mission home and preach the gospel the whole way in. It was a very great experience! They all did fantastic! We are excited to see them grow and become great missionaries for our Father in Heaven!

A picture at the Meito church with all of their new trainers!

First morning in the mission home with President and Sister Baird.

Sister Clark (right) and Sister Wada- Matsumoto

Sister Ana-Lisa Clark came to us from Kawasaki, Japan, but she
has lived in Colorado, California, and Utah.  Sister Clark loves volleyball,
ultimate frisbee, dancing, games, walks, traveling, reading, piano and singing.

Sister Sachiko Wada's home is Tokyo.  She was sealed to her family
when she was 1.  Sister Wada has done gymnastics and hula.
She wants to become a nurse.  She is decisive, energetic, has a sense of
responsibility, and is a good finisher of what she starts.
She strengthened her testimony by working in Young Women's.

Elder Hollister (right) and Elder Larson- Shizuoka

Elder Taylor Hollister hales from Colorado Springs, CO and has six sisters  and two brothers.  He plans to major in Military and Strategic Studies and be a career military man.   Las Vegas, Nevada is home to Elder Dustin Larsen.  Elder Larsen plans to become a doctor after his mission.  Sports are a favorite for Elder Larsen and he loves competition.  He is also organized, strong-willed, and likes to make people happy.

Elder Horne's trainer is Elder Insch, below.
They will work in Okazaki.

Murray, Utah is home to Elder Ryan Horne.
  Elder Horne speaks highly of his family, especially a father
who teaches patience, love and reverence by example
and a mother who teaches him about the gospel all the time.

Elder Geoffrey Insch hales from Morgantown, West Virginia.
Elder Ward says he has the best mother in the world, and
he would be happy to turn out just like his father.
He loves to make movies and has used the video camera he earned
money to buy to make many movies.  He is prone
 to help people solve problems and use humor to diffuse tension.

Elder Ikeda (left) and Elder Harper- Kasugai

Elder Akihiko Ikeda, from Tokyo, Japan, enjoys just walking and thinking.  But he also loves to be matched up with good basketball players so that he can improve his skill in that sport.  His goal is to go to BYU and maybe even play basketball. Kaysville, Utah is home to Elder Mario Harper.  His mother is from Japan and his father served a mission in Nagoya; they met while at school in Utah.  Elder Harper dreams of becoming a scuba diver, but he instead does research, gives lectures on economics, and goes to opera and symphony recitals, and any musical event.   He sings and plays trombone.  Some day he hopes to get a  Nobel Prize or laureate in physics or economics.

Elder Jessop (left) and Elder Tsuchiya- Kanazawa

Elder Terry Jessop has 4 younger brothers; 3 of them are triplets.  He grew up in the small town of Fielding, Utah and loved it.  He wants to become and MD or dentist and have a large family.  He is caring, has high self-expectations and likes to do things right.  He had a sacred experience in the Sacred Grove and knows the Church is true.

Sakura-shi, Chiba is home to Elder Hiromasa Tsuchiya.  His parents both converted in their 20's and served missions.  He tries to share the Gospel while playing basketball with his friends.  He is cheerful and good at making friends and hopes to become an accountant.  He has a very strong testimony of prayer.

Elder Kervinen (right) and Elder Fujii- Nanao

Elder Niilo Kervinen is only the second missionary to come to Japan from Finland.
He is from Rovaniemi.  Elder Kervinen wants to teach English or Japanese,
become a good dad and trustworthy priesthood leader.

He plays the trombone and likes to draw and paint.   Hokkaido, Japan is
home to Elder Shinsuke Fujii.  He comes from a family of 7.  He enjoys
exercising and all sports.  He is also good with musica and loves to perform.
He plays several instruments.  Elder Fujii loves teaching and working with children.
He loves talking and laughing with others and will do whatever is asked of him.

Elder Larkin (right) and Elder Palmer- Matsumoto

Elder Jordan Larkin comes from a family of missionaries. He has two siblings. 

He and his siblings are adopted, and he has two very most wonderful parents. 

Just ask him. Elder Larkin is a swimmer and really enjoys being in the water. 

His goal is to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost and thus feel great about 

what he does. He grew up in Las Vegas and feels that there is Zion in 

Las Vegas. He wants to be married in the Las Vegas Temple.

TO ZION! TO ZION! HURRAH! HURRAH! FOR ISRAEL!

Elder Matthew Palmer comes from Cottonwood Heights, Utah.  His father sings in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  He has an older sister who founded the Chandler, AZ Children's Choir, and another who sings with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.  Elder Palmer enjoys skate boarding, plays guitar and piano. He has thought about becoming a doctor.  He has compassion for people and is good at putting himself in other's shoes. He loves reading the Book of Mormon.

Sister Masuda (right) and Sister Kobashi- Fukutoku

Sister Iyo Masuda is from Hokkaido, Japan.  She likes to cook, serve others, and talk with them.  Service brings her peace.  She is optimistic, cheerful and a good listener. Sister Megumi Kobashi is a third generation member of the church, and she is from Osaka, Japan.  She got her testimony from her grandparents, and she really loves her family.  Sister Kobashi enjoys cooking and went to a technical college in making cakes and other delicious things.

Elder Numakura (right) and Elder Fujii- Gokiso

Elder Diaichi Numakura comes from a family of five, and he is setting the example for his two younger brothers.  When he returns from his mission, he will study accounting at school.  He loves karaoke as a hobby and his goal is to learn English.  Elder Numakura is from Kanagawa, Japan. See more about Elder Fujii above.

Elder O'Kelley (right) and Elder Freeman- Toyohashi

Elder Kenneth O'Kelley hales from Bremerton, Washington.  He plans to become an
electrical engineer and hopes to have 5 boys--his own basketball team.
In addition to sports, he loves history, psychology, sociology, physics and math.
He is good at scheduling, getting things done and problem solving.  He was baptized
a few day after President Hinckley died.  He wants to share the joy
he received by joining the Church.

Elder Hoyt Freeman, from Pleasant Grove, Utah, loves playing brass instruments.
He also enjoys dating, soccer, running, board games, camping,
biking and fishing.  He also loves to learn, and is interested in
landscaping, law, and languages.  He loves talking to people and enjoys
working hard.  He has a strong testimony and has always planned to serve a mission.

Elder Skankey (right) and Elder Da Silva- Fujieda

Elder Bryce Skankey came to us from Yuma, Arizona, but he has lived in lots of states and Okinawa.  After working hard on his mission, he plans to study Astronomical Physics and then get a PhD and hopefully work for NASA.   Elder Julio  daSilva is from Pernambuco, Brazil and has an older brother.  Elder daSilva was baptized at 14, and his brother was baptized five years later. His parents are not members.  The family loves to go to the beach and often spends time there.  Elder daSilva has also lived in Heber City, Utah with the Petersen family,  who he loves like family.

Elder Van Campen (right) and Elder Fredrickson- Inuyama

Elder Benjamin VanCampen is from Morgan, Utah, and his mom is Japanese.  He plans to go to BYU-Idaho, majoring in psychology when he gets home and work as a Japanese tour guide at the Grand Canyon.  He loves sports of any kind, but mostly football.  He also loves singing and dating.  He says he is goofy, fun loving and laid back, but he plans a strong finish to his mission. Elder Kyle Fredrickson hales from West Valley City, Utah.  He comes from a family of 9 and enjoys listening to music and reading.  He plays piano, trumpet, and French horn.  He has been in jazz and concert bands, pit orchestra and Univ. of Utah marching band.  He likes to communicate with people and make them laugh. He has always planned to serve a mission and loves the Gospel.

Elder Ward (left) and Elder Da Silva- Komatsu

Elder Geoffrey Ward is from Medfield, MA, but has also lived in Florida,
Utah and Japan.  He enjoys rock climbing and wants to compete
in that sport.  He also enjoys singing and reading, and has worked
as a lifeguard.  He is easy going and has a sense of humor.  He loves
service projects and physical labor.  He loves to show his testimony.

See more about Elder Da Silva above.

A Relief Society Angel

Sister  Anna-Lisa Clark

Sister Akahane, a part-member sister from the Matsumoto Branch who serves as the visiting teaching coordinator of the Relief Society, is in my opinion, the very kind of angel spoken of by prophets who goes about doing good.  She is the most active visiting teacher I have ever seen, visiting numerous less-active members, always with a gift of a food item in hand, often things she grows or makes herself.  She takes us with her by car occasionally and we too never leave empty hearted or empty handed.  She give us great meals at her home, jars of homemade jam, and bags of fresh huge apples.

My last week in Matsumoto, she took us to visit a non-member friend of hers whose name came up when we did fulfillment and follow-up with her.  Her friend welcomed us warmly and we had a great visit.   It turns out she had already read a good amount of the Book of Mormon that she had received from Sister Akahane.  I was impressed with how willing she was to get to know us because of the influence of Sister Akahane’s friendship.

That same week we visited a less-active sister who has at times heard and believed negative things about the Church.  Sometimes she was really hard-hearted, but as we worked with her, showed love and bore testimony, things improved.  When we last visited her, we were surprised as she pulled out the Book of Mormon, listened more attentively than ever, said she had been reading and even shared with us her conversion story.  We were wondering why she seemed so changed when she brought up a recent visit by her visiting teacher where they discussed recognizing the spirit and she had begun to think back on her experiences and had begun to find things that seemed like inspiration.  How grateful we were for those visiting teachers, one of which was our local ministering angel, Sister Akahane.

Sister Akahane’s husband (non-member) is a woodcarver by trade.  He carves all kinds of things, including statues and things for temples and shrines.  Lately Sister Akahane has been learning a little herself.  Knowing that transfers were coming up and that between me and Sister Mimaki I was the one most likely to go, she made and painted a little wooden pendant, carved in the shape of a flower, and gave it to me as a special gift.

What an honor!  I will treasure it as a reminder of her faith and example.  I pray it can help me remember her testimony that she shared so freely in word and in deed.

Inochi no Michi, August, 2010

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Dear Elders and Sisters of the Nagoya Japan Mission

My career as a human performance scientist and management consultant has been guided by the doctrines of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. From as far back as I can remember, I have thrilled at the words written in the Doctrine and Covenants section 58 verses 26-29.

For behold it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward. But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with a doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.

The pronouncement from Deity that we are agents and that as such we should choose, for ourselves, to do many good things, is very exciting! In these words our loving Father in Heaven points to limitless opportunities for us to learn, grow, serve and become his wise servant. We have the whole world before us along with all of its resources so that we can make of our lives anything we choose! Our Father does not stop with these words of opportunity, he goes further to remind us that as His offspring, we are beings of power! The power is in us—both to choose and to act—to bring about much good. Even the final verse, which seems to be somber warning is really liberating guidance—a reminder to dive in with full purpose of heart, to act energetically and enthusiastically.

Along with these verses from the Doctrine and Covenants, the parable of the Talents as taught in Matthew 25:15-30 reminds us of the eternal law of stewardship. If we are good stewards over few things, the Lord can make us masters to rule over many things. As missionaries learn to keep apartments clean, they learn essential principles of stewardship that allows the Lord to bless them with comfortable and beautiful homes in their mature years. Being a good steward of the mission schedule prepares young men and women to perform well in school and career. When we choose to act as faithful stewards over small things we prepare ourselves for greater opportunities.

Elders and Sisters, because Sister Baird and I love you, we want for you all the choice blessings our Father has reserved for you and all that he has promised you in your patriarchal blessings. Learn now that you are agents—actors and that you are imbued with power. Learn now that when you act with energy and enthusiasm in your righteous choices God will bless you with peace, love, prosperity and success in both time and eternity. May He bless you to that end is our prayer for you,

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

President Baird

It Was A Sweet Experience

Elder Mckenzie (left) with unidentified sister and Elder Heaton

Written by Elder Mckenzie

Thanks for all your love and support in the Nagoya Mission.  I really appreciate your sacrifice to be here.

I wanted to tell you about Yamazaki Yuya.  He is 11 years old.  He is like a comedian, so funny.  I first met him on an exchange with Elder Heaton.  We talked to him on the street. Later on the sister missionaries met his dad, who is less active, housing.  Because of that, they both came to church.

From then on, we started teaching Yuya and we set a baptismal date.  Eventually it was time for him to get baptized, and we scheduled an interview on Saturday.  Because of circumstances we had to get Elder Tolman and Elder Tsutamori to come from Ueda.  But when the time for the interview came around, Yuya didn’t show up.  So we searched everywhere for him.  We went to his house, to the park where he plays soccer, the park where we taught him and the sisters even went to his school.  He was nowhere to be found.  This was on the Saturday before his baptismal date.

On Sunday morning, he came to church and he still wanted to be baptized.  So we got Elder Beal and Elder Sorenson to come from Suwa.  They did the interview.  Sister Wada and Sister Nakatsuka helped make the program, and we cleaned and filled the font.  With a lot of help from everyone, we got it all together.  

The best part was his dad got the Priesthood and got to baptize his son that very day.  It was a sweet experience.

August 2010 New Missionaries

We welcomed in our first group of 4 great elders! Elder Voss (California), Elder Brown (Australia), Elder Cruz (Brazil), and Elder Rust (Indiana)! They all looked great and ready to go to work. It was so great to talk to them and get to know them! They are a great group!

Left to right: Kathryn Baird, Whitney Baird, Sister and President Baird
Elders Voss, Brown, Cruz, and Rust

The elders on their first morning in the mission home!

Elder Rust and Elder Valentine- Fukuroi
Elder Ryan Rust (right)  hales from Evansville, Indiana. His parents are both teachers. Elder Rust wants to become a doctor. He loves to be in nature, usually on a bike or ATV. He also has a black belt in karate. 

Elder Christopher Valentine was born at Misawa AFB in Japan.  He has lived in several places throughout his life.  He is the elder brother in his family, with six younger siblings.  

Elder Brown (right) and Elder Stachowski- Nonami

Elder Michael Brown (right) is from Australia. His family (4 boys) enjoys sports and outdoor activities. Elder Brown loves to read. He is a hard worker and also enjoys studying the scriptures.

Elder Benjamin Stachowiski is from down under, Castle Hill, New South Wales, Australia.  He has also lived in Poland, New Zealand, and the UK.  He loves to learn and considers reading a hobby.  He has been a DJ and loves sports.  Electrical Engineering is his field of study. 

Elder Voss (left) and Elder Kutney- Toyota
Chico, California is where Elder Adam Voss (left) calls home. Both of his parents served missions. Elder Voss's greatest dream has been to serve a mission, but other goals include a good education, marriage, and earning Shadan rank in Danzan Tyu Juijitsu. He wants to share the peace and happiness the Gospel has brought into his life with others.

Elder Terrance Kutney hales from Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Elder Kutney says nothing beats reading a good quality book except reading the scriptures.  He also loves rugby and loves to follow politics.  He plans to go into International Relations. 

Elder Cruz (right) and Elder Jorgenson- Suzuka

Elder Andre' Cruz (right) comes from Sao Paulo, Brazil and has one younger brother and sister.  Before his mission, he loved to play soccer and be with friends. After his mission, he wants to go to school and work hard so he can get married.  

Elder Jacob Jorgensen calls Mesa, Arizona his home.  He comes from a close and loving family and has four great sisters.  Elder Jorgensen loves drawing, piano, cross country and track, and academics and he is a hard worker.  He has looked forward to serving a mission all of his life and would have chosen Japan because he has many Japanese friends. 

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