"Elders,.....Elders....."

Elder Kevin Gottfredson, Sept. 7, 2012

In the Nagoya East Zone Meeting, Elder Gottfredson shared an experience where the appointments and plans and backup plans for one evening all fell apart.  After considering what to do, while tempted to stay in the apartment, instead they decided to go out and do some finding activities.

Elder Gottfredson is on the right.  He is with his trainer, Elder Palmer.

He and his companion decided to grab some English Class chirashis (fliers) and go out on the street.  They planned to stuff some mail boxes, hand them out to people they passed on the streets, and to just talk to anyone they could.

That night they were waiting for a light when they heard someone calling, “Elders….., Elders….”  They turned to see two women running toward them.  They said they had been looking for the missionaries for quite a while.  They have moved here from the Philippians and had been trying to find the missionaries or the church since they had arrived.  They were so glad to see the missionaries, took a chirashi and used it to find where the church was.  They were there the following Sunday.

 

These missionaries were doubly rewarded for overcoming the temptation to stay in.  That night they put some chirashis in mailboxes and for the first time in Elder Gottfredson’s mission, someone called and is currently a very strong investigator.

January 2011 New Missionaries

Tonight, President and Sister Baird went and picked up 2 new elders at the aiport. Elder Tanida and Elder Gottfredson! They are both wonderful young men. We cannot wait to see the wonderful things they will be able to accomplish!

From left:  Elder Orme (AP), Elder Insch (AP), Elder Tanida, Elder Gottfredson,
President and Sister Baird,
Outside the mission home on the first morning.

From left:  Elder Gottfredson, Elder Tanida, President and Sister Baird

Elder Tanida (right) and Elder Freeman - Ise

Elder Takahiro Tanida is the only member of the Church in his family, but he loves them greatly and is very proud of them.  He is from Akashi, Hyogo, Japan, and was baptized in 2009.  After reading the Book of Mormon eagerly, it filled him with the spirit of God.  He is always willing to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"If there would be a "face" to this mission, it would be Elder Freeman.
He is just a wonderful example of what a missionary should be like."
(Quote from a great missionary who worked with Elder Freeman.)

Elder Gottfredson(left) and Elder Palmer- Nanao

Colleyville, Texas is home to Elder Kevin Gottfredson.  Elder Gottfredson
lived in Fukuoka while his father was a mission president.  He is 
a good cook, taking simple ingredients and combining them to form a 
more complex food that is enjoyable.

Elder Palmer has been called "a wonderful musician," by another elder.  

That elder also went on to say, "Elder Palmer was one of the 

best missionaries!  He was a miracle worker."