Merry Transfers and a Happy New Year, Jan.1, 2013

Wouldn't you know it!  Six weeks came and went again, and we had transfers.  Another great group, going and coming.  I'm sure glad we get new missionaries in, because otherwise transfers would just be too sad.  Just look at this group of returning missionaries!  Who would want to tell them goodbye?  It was hard.

Seated from left:  Elders Finlinson, Berrett, Gottfredson, Rocha, and Correia
Standing from left:  President and Sister Baird, Sisters Shimoji and Stott

Elder Shane Berrett

Can you tell Elder Berrett loves children?

Elder Berrett, left, and Elder Dinkel
(Working on solving the world's problems.)

One of Elder Berrett former companions said he is always upbeat and cheerful.  Even if he complains, he doesn't really mean it.  He is easy to be around.  Whatever ward or branch he served in, he gave special attention to the children and they always loved him a lot.  He knows how to make other people happy.  He also has a soft spot in his heart for dogs.

Elder Kevin Gottfredson

From left:  Elders Koesashi, Gibb, Gottfredson, and O'Hara

See the concern in Elder Gottfredson's eyes?  This place needs to go.

Elder Gottfredson is a very hard working missionary who has the ability to keep going, even when in pain.  He is good at math, and is also ambidextrous.  This exhibits itself when he goes wake boarding; he can do it regular or goofy.  But it also shows up when he shoots skeet.  He can hold the gun in either his right or left hand, and shoot well.  He has been know to shoot out the bulls eye of a target more than once.














Elder Nicholas Correia

Elder Correia is friendly, polite, hard working, and determined.  Elder Correia has already had the experience of teaching seminary.  He could do it really well now that's he's had missionary experience.  When he gets home, Elder Correia plans to study mechanical engineering and possibly teach English as a part time job.  

Elder Correia looks happy to give these two dogs a little love, and
they look like they are in heaven with him.
Elders Baker (right) and Finlinson in background.

Does Elder Correia look better in this, or a missionary suit?
I'd say the missionary suit "suits" him best.

Elder Frederico Rocha

Elder James and Elder Rocha (right)

Elder Rocha is peaceful and organized, very friendly, affectionate, and enjoys serving.  He doesn't like to sit still.  Since he was a child in Primary, he has looked forward to serving a mission. He is nice to everyone he meets.  He is very good at soccer and everyone thinks he has a beautiful accent.





















Sister Ziona Shimoj

In front from left: Sisters Shimoji, Eguchi, Yamada, and Takatsu
Behind:  Elders Koesashi, Ellsworth, Ito, and Clark

Sister Ishihara and Sister Shimoji (right)

Sister Shimoji is one of the most friendly people you will ever meet.  She is warm and happy, and has a gift for making friends.  Her eyes usually sparkle with joy.  She is also a talented teacher and finder, and has a special ability to love children.  Everywhere Sister Shimoji has been on the mission, she has left behind many new and dear friends.

Sister Stott in front, Sister Fujisawa behind,
and Meito Ward member Sister Yoneda standing.

Sister Lauren Stott

Sister Stott and Sister Thayne

Sister Stott has the distinction of being one of very few missionaries who got to open an area, and she opened two of them.  She is a hard worker and very organized.  She loves her companions with all her heart.  She is also very talented at fixing things, especially things that require a needle and thread, or some good food to make them feel better.

Elder Alex Finlinson

Just in case you wondered, Elder Finlinson is the one on the left.

Elder Finlinson on left, with Elders Heo, Macdonald, and Hilton. 

Elder Finlinson is a very quick learner.  One missionary called him a kanji master, because he knows so many kanji. His Japanese language was also very good.  One of his former companions said he was always obedient, that he always tried to follow the handbook exactly, and that he got up on time and studied hard.  He also learned to work through pain and keep going.











And on the happy end of things:

Here is our new commissarian, Elder Hara, waiting at the airport for our new arrivals.

And we got one more picture at the dragon.  We are waiting for a snake, but will we want to take a picture by him?  Stay tuned!  Meanwhile, what a great-looking group!

From left:  Elder Tsukamoto, Elder Wilson, Elder Ockerman, President and Sister Baird, and Sister Breck

This group did a fabulous job of dendoing on the train.  They handed out 5 copies of the Book of Mormon,
10 pamphlets, got contact information of one man who would like to know more, and one new person
will be coming to our English class!  From left are:  Elder Clark (recorder), Elder Hara,
Elders Schade and Ellsworth (APs), Elder Wilson, Elder Tsukamoto, Elder Ockerman, Sister Breck,
and Sister Whitney Baird, daughter of President and Sister Baird--here for the holidays
and thrilled to be again involved in missionary work.  She was recently released from the Kobe Mission. 

And here are our new missionaries, with their new companions:

Sister Tianna Rae Breck

Sister Breck on left with her new trainer, Sister Fujisawa.
They will be in Shizuoka.

And they will be a threesome, with Sister Hunt, right.

From Pleasant Grove, Utah, Sister Tianna Rae Breck is one of four children in her family.  Sister Breck would really like to work for the FBI as either a translator or accountant.  She likes to travel, and would especially like to work in Japan, England and Korea.  Speaking five languages is also a goal.  She is creative and loves to sew, and make gifts for others.  And reading is a passion for her.  She is also positive and optimistic, often seeing what happens in positive ways.

Sister Fujisawa dreams of becoming a teacher because a teacher made such a difference

in her life.  She has completed four years of college.  She looks forward to

sharing the Gospel with everyone she can.  She can feel God's spirit and wants

to share all she learns through the church.

Elder Trevor Ockerman

Headed to Fukui are Elder Ockerman, left, and Elder Baker

Meridian, Idaho is home to Trevor Shawn Ockerman.  He has three older siblings and a younger brother.  Elder Ockerman loves soccer and would like to be on BYU's soccer team and become a professional athlete.  He would like to be a role model to others.  Mechanical engineering is also in his future.  He loves all sports, and loves to learn new things and strive to be the best at what he does.  He is good at making friends of all ages.  He knows that the more righteously we live, the better our life will be, in every way. Elder Baker says he is outgoing, but can also be quiet at the right time.  He loves to learn and immerse himself in work, so he feels that will be a big help on his mission.  He has a strong testimony of the Gospel.

Elder Jacob Tsukamoto

Elder Tsukamoto, along with his trainer Elder Sanderson, will be working in Fuji.

Elder Jacob Tsukamoto was born in Hiroshima, Japan, but he grew up in Kaysville, Utah.  His father was born in Nevada, and his mother in Japan.  His two brothers both served missions in Japan as well.  Elder Tsukamoto is a rugby player at BYU where they won the National Championship.  He is studying exercise science, hoping to become and oncologist.  He has joined ROTC, hoping to get his medical training with the Army.  Music is a passion for Elder Tsukamoto.  He plays piano, trumpet, and guitar, and he loves to hike, backpack and camp in the mountains of Utah.  He is a good listener and likes to help others and set a high example.

Elder Sanderson said he is serving his mission because, "The prophet has asked every able young man to serve.  I am happy to serve the Lord and share the eternal insight I have with others.  I am looking forward to bringing the Gospel to the people of Japan."

Elder Andrew Wilson

Ueda is the destination of these two great missionaries,
Elder Wilson on the left, and Elder Shimohara

Elder Andrew Wilson calls Burke, Virginia home.  He has grown up in a military family, and his father is retired from the Air Force.  Elder Wilson has lived in 7 different states.  He has one older brother.  Elder Wilson's goal is to finish the computer engineering major he began at BYU.  He wants to work in augmented reality and, of course, start an eternal family.  Elder Wilson is a fast learner and a hard worker. He says he is a logical thinker and is very competitive.   Elder Wilson's parents joined the church when he was three.  He says the truthfulness of the Gospel has slowly distilled upon him and his testimony has steadily grown.

Elder Shimohara loves movies and TV.  He has some movies that he can quote.  He especially loves action, drama and mystery, in both books and movies. In college he was on the archery team, and in high school he was offensive tackle in football.  He says one of the best things about coming on a mission is really learning to connect and talk with other people.  He really enjoys doing that.

New Missionaries, August 2012

No matter how many times we get new missionaries, we are always amazed at the quality and goodness we see in each new group.  This group was not just "no exception;" this group seemed exceptional!  Here they come now:

President Baird with Elder Ellsworth, AP,
Elder Ito, AP, and Elder Koesashi, Commissarian
All waiting patiently.

Elder Berrett is
our Recorder and is usually very busy at the
airport as our videographer.

Our first great missionary, Elder Hilton

Tired and happy to be here.
Elders Hilton, Ahuna, Gillespie, Doll,
and Sister Thayne

That special moment--Elder Gillespie
meeting President Baird.

Elder Gish, getting his first of many hugs.

Elder Perkins, excited to get started.

The first "teaching."
Elder Gish, Hilton, Doll, Ahuna, and Sister Thayne

The famous picture at the Dragon.
From left, Elders Hilton, Doll, Gillespie,
Sisters Thayne and Baird, President Baird,
Elders Gish, Ahuna, Macdonald, and Perkins

We are hungry.  We are tired.  But we are smiling.

Of course, we ate.  This is Sister Baird's famous Lasagna.  See her recipe in this blog.

First train trip in Japan.

We proselyted.  We can do this!
Our three missionaries are Elders  Koesashi,
Macdonald, and Doll.

You never know--this guy may get baptized.

        And after a good night's sleep and several hours of training, we met our new companions:
(All new missionaries are on the left.)

Sister Thayne with Sister Yamada

Sister Anna Mari Thayne calls two places home:  Naha, Okinawa, Japan and St. George, Utah.  She has one brother who was also a missionary in Japan.  She got her associate degree from Dixie College just before coming on her mission.  She enjoys baking, hiking and running, among other things.  She is outgoing and friendly.  She has come to realize that no matter what she does in life, nothing can help people more than the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that is why she decided to serve a mission.

Sister Yamada's goal is to have a happy family. She enjoys talking with people
and is cheerful.  She works very hard and doesn’t give up until    

she finishes her task.  She also enjoys baking and is very active.  She 

has a strong testimony of prayer and loves the scriptures.

Elder Ahuna  with Elder Matson

Elder James Ahuna is the youngest of six children.  All of his siblings 

have served missions and been married in the temple.  His family has traveled 

and performed around the world, doing missionary work by sharing their talents in 

Hawaiian song and dance.  Elder Ahuna would like to get a degree in finance and 

become a financial planner in Hawaii, which is where he is from.  

He also wants to continue using his talents to share the gospel.  He plays piano 

and ukelele, does the Samoan fireknife dance and Navajo Indian 22-hoop dance, 

sings and plays drums.  He is friendly and outgoing and is good at saving money. 

One missionary who Elder Matson trained said that Elder Matson is the most obedient 

missionary that he knows.  He reviews the rules and focuses on being 

completely obedient.  He cares what he does, plans well,  is very dedicated, 

and prays like a champion.  This missionary said he really admires Elder Matson.

Elder Doll with Elder Sarager

Elder Brian Doll hails to us from McLean, Virginia.  He has one younger sister.  Elder Doll loves bowling and has bowled in a league since he was 11.  He also likes basketball, and loves to learn new things.  He is well-balanced and enjoys being a leader.  He was shocked when he got his call to serve in Japan because it had never crossed his mind, but he wants to share the joy he has received from the Gospel, and to be an example to his family.

Elder Sarager likes to plan and be prepared for things.  He doesn't like

 "winging it."  He is also a curious person and likes to know the "why" of things.

Elder Gish (left) with his trainer, Elder Gauthier

West Jordan, Utah is home to Elder Braydon Gish.  He is the middle child of five, 
and his sister is serving in Russia.  Elder Gish's biggest goal is to please his Savior 
and make it back to live with Him.  He wants not only to be a good missionary 
while on this mission, but for the rest of his life. He enjoys basketball, football and tennis, 
and just talking with friends and their families.  He appreciates the good friends 
he chose to have and has talked with them a lot about scriptures 
and understanding the Gospel.  


Elder Gauthier feels that if a missionary works hard and obeys with exactness, 
he can't fail in anything he does.  He is friendly and enthusiastic.

Elder Gillespie with Elder Sanderson

Elder Mark Gillespie calls Colorado Springs, Colorado home.  But his father is
a Colonel in the Air Force, so he has lived in other places.  Elder Gillespie wants
to help people as part of his career.  Since he enjoys science, he wants to become
a surgeon.  He also wants to become a better pianist, read all the great books,
and perhaps write music.  His first hobby, though, is reading.  He says he is a confident,
outgoing person and has known the Gospel is true for as long as he can remember. 

Elder Sanderson enjoys playing a military simulation sport called airsoft.  

He likes it because it involves many scenarios and requires cooperation with 

teammates.  In fact, he plans to own his own military simulation store and 

arena after he graduates from college.  

Elder Hilton with Elder Heo

Elder Charles Hilton is from Glenview, Illinois.  He has two older brothers
who are great examples to him.  He would love to get into BYU's
animation program after his mission and eventually work for Pixar.  He loves to draw.
He has done it all his life and it has become his greatest talent.  

Elder Heo wants to major in hotel management at BYU Hawaii 

and then become an executive for a cruise ship company.  He is looking forward 

to having his family join the church and hopes that will happen soon.

Elder Macdonald with Elder Takabori

Gilbert, Arizona is home for Elder Kyle Macdonald.  He comes from a close family who enjoys being together.  He is the middle of five chidlren.  His dad taught him to love all sports, including basketball, baseball, scuba diving, sailing, and snow skiing.  He also plays the piano.  Elder Macdonald is on a full ride scholarship at Arizona State University with plans to go to medical school.  He is fascinated with neurology.  He is ambitious and hard working, learns quickly and loves all types of foods.  He especially enjoys learning about the Savior.

Elder Takabori is competitive and likes a challenge.  His favorite game is chess.  

He wants to improve himself mentally, physically, spiritually and socially. 

Elder Perkins with Elder Ludlow

Elder Perkins is from Mesa, Arizona.  He has three sisters and one brother.
He enjoys writing short stories. He says that writing is fun for him because
it is pure creation.  He says his only weakness is to bullets.  And he has a strong
testimony of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.  Before he left on his mission,
 he shared the gospel with a close friend and she was baptized.

Elder Ludlow likes interacting with other people, taking charge of a situation,
and solving problems.  And when he is not busy doing those things, he can
also enjoy snowboarding, wakeboarding, packpacking, hiking, fishing, 

hunting and the beach.

Is there any better sight than a group of great missionaries?

And off they go to their first assignment!

November 2011 New Missionaries

Tonight, we welcomed 7 new amazing missionaries into our mission! Sister Adachi (Kanagawa), Sister Hunt (California), Sister West (Idaho), Elder Okajima (Machida), Elder Schade (Utah), Elder Heo (Korea)
and Elder Hara (Fukuoka). It was great to see the excitment in their faces as they got
off the plane and headed out to preach the gospel for the first time!

Everyone stopped to give a HOIZA pose at the Golden Clock in Nagoya Station.

First Day at the Mission home with President and Sister Baird.

Elder Okajima (left) and Elder Shimajiri- Nakatsugawa

Elder Shuto Okajima, from Tokyo, Japan comes from a family of six,
and all are active at church.  He likes to listen to music because it helps
him be calm and have a positive attitude.  He has liked cars since he was a child.

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 enjoys sports, especially basketball and track.  He joined the Church at 23 years old, and is anxious to share the Gospel with others.

Elder Heo (left) and Elder Hiruta- Kariya

Elder Dong Ho Heo is from Changwon, Korea, and is the only Korean serving in the Nagoya mission currently.  He says his life changed in 2009 when he joined the church.  Elder Heo smiles all the time, is outgoing and loves to meet people and talk with them.

Elder Hiruta wants to have a happy family and be sealed in the temple.  He knows the scriptures are true and has grown from studying them.  He looks forward to testifying to his children of missionary work, and he knows his mission will set the example.

Elder Schade (left) and Elder Boss- Suwa

Elder Eric Schade loves to make people laugh, even though he calls himself a bit shy.  He is easy going and easy to get along with.  He is from Heber, Utah and enjoys soccer, snowboarding, wakeboarding, hiking and music.

Elder Alexander Boss is from Midway, Utah and has 3 brothers and 3 sisters. He enjoys sports and did track in high school. He also likes music, reading and travel.  He has been to over 30 countries with his family.

Elder Hara (left) and Elder Ito- Inuyama

Elder Shintaro Hara comes to us from Fukuoka, Japan and comes from a family of five.  He is the youngest and has two older sisters.  His hobby is boxing.  He also enjoys reading, and read 600 books in five years.

Elder Ito` says he is an extrovert.  He loves talking to people.  He is honest and obedient and has been to church every Sunday since he was a baby.  All three of his older brothers were missionaries, and he noticed how their missions made them better men.

Sister Hunt (left) and Sister Clark- Okazaki

Sister Mariah Hunt loves to play the piano.  It is an important part of her life.  

She is also artistic and loves to draw the human form.  She is from Folsom, CA.

Of Sister Clark, one missionary said, "If there would be a sister AP, I would vote for her."  

Sister Clark attended BYU before her mission and discovered a passion for languages

 and music.  She is majoring in Linguistics.

Sister West (left) and Sister Nishimuro- Matsumoto

Sister Chalese West, currently from Rigby, Idaho, attended Utah State and was on the track team.  Her favorite race is the 200m, but she does others as well.  She is a reader, and especially likes C.S.Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein.  She also loves swimming and water sports.  She plans to graduate in either wildlife science or rangeland management and then go to graduate school.  Her dream job would be to study cougars or other predators.  Sister West says she is shy, but is determined and works hard to excel.  She has a testimony strong of the Savior. Sister Nishimuro loves music, especially singing and she also likes to draw.  Her goal is to become an elementary school teacher and her dream is to have an eternal family.  She tries hard not to be judgmental and has lots of friends.  She loves the Church because it makes people happy.

Sister Adachi (right) and Sister Saito- Shizuoka

Sister Miho Adachi is from Kanazawa, Japan and she has five people in her family.  She has had experience in child care and loves to use paper to create greeting cards.  Her goal is to have a happy family.  She hopes to teach nursery school or kindergarten after her mission. Sister Saito loves the children’s hymnbook because it clearly teaches the Gospel.  She wants to learn a language fluently.  She looks forward to a temple marriage and having children.