December 2011 Finishers

Tonight, we said good-bye to six great missionaries. Sister Tsukino, Elder Kekauoha, Elder Sorensen, Elder Jackson, Elder Carr, and Elder Santin. We love them so very much and miss them a lot! They have been a great blessing to this mission!

Sister Nozomi Tsukino's mother is a convert to the Church and served a mission.  She is strong in her faith and a wonderful example.  She loves to sing and has performed at missionary firesides.  She also love to cook.  She would love to learn English, Korean and sign language better, and even learn more languages.  She is positive and optimistic.  Most of her baby blessing was about her serving a mission, and she has a strong testimony. Elder George Kekauoha had this said of him:  "He is a very relaxed Hawaian who knows when to work hard and when to have fun." Elder Luke Sorenson is from Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan, but he is also a US citizen.  He has a huge extended family cheering him on. He likes biology and learning other languages.  He likes to keep things clean and to cook.  Returned missionairies have inspired him to serve because they were polite, kindhearted, responsible and had direction in their lives.  Elder Marcus Jackson, says one missionary who served with him, is very funny, smart, and speaks English and Japanese fluently.  Before his mission, Elder Jackson loved to go to the temple. Elder Michael Carr is from Heber, Utah and he loves music and art.  He plays several instruments.  He also enjoys computers and new technology. He wants to learn as much as he can and then find a job that will help him continue to expand his knowledge.  He is a good listener, is obedient and respectful. Home for Elder Adriano Santin is Sao Paulo, Brazil.  His mother is from Japan. His talent is math and numbers, and he's very good at memorizing.  He enjoys reading, good movies, and spending time with his family.  He doesn't take things personally or get mad at people.

From left:  Sister Tsukino, Sister Baird, President Baird and in
front of him, Elder Kekauoha, then from back clockwise,
Elder Carr, Elder Santin, Elder Jackson, and Elder Sorenson.

One last picture before departure of the December Finishers!

Many members from Fukutoku Ward gathered together at the Komaki Airport to surprise Sister Tsukino and say good-bye one last time. It was very touching to see the support of these strong Japanese members!

The Elders wave good-bye as they go together to board the Shinkansen.

More Labels

Some transfers, especially the one after the Tsunami in 2011, were so large, all of the names wouldn't fit in the label area.  This post is simply to add those names so that you can find yourself.

So if your name is below, simply go to the blog called "April 2011 New Missionaries," and there will be your wonderful picture, and maybe even something about you (that hopefully, is true).  Once again, we welcome any additions or changes you might want to make.  Send an email to japannagoya.mission@ldschurch.org, and we will make changes and corrections.

Scaduto
Kinnison
Mechaileh
Gordon
Jackson
Roberts
Holden
Miura
J. Eguchi
Christensen
Cragun,
Kekauoha
McGahan
Prince
Shaver
Shimamoto

October 2010 New Missionaries

This week, we welcomed 5 very nice elders into the mission! Left to right: Elder Pedersen (Utah), Elder McClellan (California), Elder Augusto (Brazil), Sister and President Baird, Elder Flint (Australia), and Elder Bardzinski (Australia)! It was great seeing their faces and meeting them for the first time! We know they will be great!

A picture of the missionaries with their trainers in the Meito church.

Elder Augusto (right) and Elder Jorgenson- Suzuka

Elder Julio Augusto is from Curitiba, Brazil.  He is the 8th Elder Augusto in his extended family.  He enjoys singing and has a great voice.  He also likes soccer and technology.  He wants to build robots and will study mechancial engineering.  He is a happy person, a quick learning and a hard worker.

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.

Elder Flint (left) and Elder Valentine- Fukuroi

Elder Jake Flint is one of several great Australian missionaries, coming to us from Brisbane.  Elder Flint loves to read, play basketball, study physics and play classical music on the piano.

Elder Christopher Valentine looks forward to marriage and a great family after his mission.  He loves music and playing the saxaphone.  He likes bringing people happiness, so he knows a mission is the perfect way to do that. 

Elder McClellan (left) and Elder Warner- Ueda 

Elder Thomas McClellan has three younger brothers in his family.  He is from Los Gatos, California.  Before his mission, his favorite things to do were soccer, badminton, drawing and making memories with his brothers and friends.  He has a goal to live to 100, just to say that he did it.  While he’s living that long, he plans to build a McClellan Family castle. He also plans to send a “hello” three years and five years into the future, then see how far off he was.  He describes himself as calm and calculated, yet somehow still spontaneously fun.

Alpine, Utah is home to Elder Brett Warner and he loves to act, to show people who his is and what he can do.  Elder Warner recently lost his mom to cancer, and he hopes to serve and help others as she did. He is a very loyal friend and loves to learn.  During the trial of his mother's cancer he grew closer to the Savior and found Him as a friend.

Elder Bardzinski (left) and Elder Stachowski- Nonami

Elder Steven Bardzinski is from Werribee, Australia. Elder Bardzinski is a twin and his brother is serving in Equador.  He loves Japanese music, graphic design and photography.  He was an exchange student in Japan before his mission. One of Elder Stachowski's former companions says he is very smart.  He enjoys chess, is kind, and knows how to do what he needs to do.

Elder Pedersen (left) and Elder Jackson- Toyama

Hurricane, Utah is home to Elder Christopher Pederson, and he enjoys reading and cooking.  He loves to study the ancient world and history.  He enjoys singing and is working on becoming a public speaker. Elder Marcus Jackson has the advantage that his mother is from Japan and his father speaks Japanese.  He is from West Point, Utah but has also lived in Japan.  He enjoys calligraphy, piano, listening to music, going to the temple and making food.  .