2012 Shimai Taikai

Shimai Taikai (or for those of you who speak English, Sisters' Conference)  A delight for every female in any mission.  It was a feast!

From left:  Sisters Rogers, Yamada, Eguchi, Shimoji, and Ishihara

We feasted on the spirit, on words of inspiration and wisdom from President and Sister Baird.

Sister Baird shared Romans 10:15--And how shall they preach, except they be sent?  as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach to gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!  She reminded the sisters of how their feet walk miles, ride miles, stand to bear their testimony, rush to serve, and more.  Truly, these sister do have beautiful feet.

She talked about the spirit, and how blessed we are to feel it in our lives.  She shared a story that Sister Holland told.  She was living in a big city and was called to work as a stake missionary.  It was scary for her.  One day she finished reading the Book of Mormon while she was riding on a bus.  She felt such love for it and felt the influence of the spirit as she completed the book.  There was a man sitting next to her, and she just looked at him and said, "This book is so true."  He asked what it was, and as she told him about it, he wanted to read it.  He ended up joining the Church.

Elder Ellsworth and Elder Ito taught us that when we prepare to teach people, our goal is to help them feel the spirit.  And for practice, we thought about the good traits of our companions and asked what we could do to help our companion feel the spirit.  True conversion comes through the spirit.  Through the spirit, we can know the things our investigators (and companions) need.

Sister Baird gave one of the sisters a timer and asked her to set it for 7 minutes.   She could then share one thing that had changed her life for good on her mission, or a favorite teaching moment, or one of the greatest tests she had on her mission and how she overcame it.  We then enjoyed 7 minutes for each sister there to share her heart and testimony.  It was wonderful.

Then Sister Baird shared her testimony of how the mission has changed her life and what a blessing it has been to her.  She has had many experiences that have confirmed to her the love of the Lord.

President Baird then taught us, about faith in Christ, about what John meant when he said "I have need to be baptized of thee," about covenants and the Atonement.  He taught us the doctrine of Christ.  And he left us with his testimony:  "I love this Jesus.  For his complete obedience, example, sacrifice, patience, because he first loved me and loves me continually.  ....Our purpose for being here is to bring others to Him (Alma 18:8)."  And we felt the truth in his words.



We feasted on each others love, joy and friendship, and sharing our hearts,

Sisters Adachi, Hunt, and West

Sisters Fujisawa, Stott, Takatsu, Eguchi, Thayne, and West

Sister Urano and Sister Barney

We feasted on being creative and visiting while we created.  Tables set up in the dining room were loaded with everything one could possibly want to decorate cards, scrapbooks, bookmarks, and photo albums.  We all brought our photos and went to work.  But that was just filler between the great conversation and love that was shared among the sisters.


And we feasted on delicious food.

Around table from left:  Sister Fujisawa, Ishihara, Shimoji, and coming
back on right, Sisters Adachi, Thayne, and Eguchi

Again from left:  Sisters Matsuhashi, Rogers, Thayne, Stott,
Takatsu, Baird, Silva, West, Hunt, and Yamada

Sisters Silva, Hunt, West, Yamada, Urano, Barney,
Matsuhashi, Rogers, Thayne, and Stott

It was wonderful and, as you can see, a bit of fun, too.

Seated in front from left:  Sisters Hunt, Adachi, and Thayne
Seated on sofa:  Sisters Eguchi, Thayne (maybe), Yamada, Rogers (we are pretty sure that's her), Takatsu, and Hunt
Standing:  Sisters Ishihara, Shimoji, Fujisawa, Baird, Stott, Silva, Barney and Matsuhashi

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.

How to Get a Missionary's Attention--Recipes Included

If you are a parent reading this blog post, using this post will definitely get your returned missionary's attention.

If you are the wife of a former missionary, you can melt his heart and send him down memory lane.  

If you are a returned missionary and just want to recall some special times from the Japan Nagoya  Mission, you might want to go down memory lane by cooking up one or more of the following great recipes that Sister Baird used to feed you, while you were in the Japan Nagoya Mission.  

If you are none of the above, but want some really good eats,  try one or more of the following.  

This recipe is probably Sister Baird's most famous.  New missionaries coming into the mission have even heard about it and have asked for the recipe on their first day.

           

                             
Sister Baird's Famous Syrup

1/2 C. butter

1 C. buttermilk (in Japan I put 1 T. lemon juice in the measuring cup and then add milk, let it sour for about 4 minutes.)

2 T. light Karo syrup

1 tsp. baking soda

1 ½ C. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla (add after you have removed from heat)

Bring to slow boil and stir constantly for 7 minutes.

Remove from heat (add vanilla)

Make this in a deeper pan; the baking soda makes it foam up.

          Sister Baird's Favorite Waffles

2 C. flour (in Japan I have to add a little more)

1 tsp. salt

2 C. milk

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 C. oil (canola or vegetable)

2 eggs –separate, put yolks into batter and whip egg whites and fold into mixed batter.

You can mix together with a hand mixer.

Cook in waffle maker

Or you can enjoy:

                    Sister Baird’s Favorite Pancakes

Dry:

2 C. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

Wet:

3 C. buttermilk

2 eggs

2 T. vegetable or canola oil

Mix together (don’t overmix)

Pour out pancakes on hot oiled skillet

This lasagna is to die for!

                                 Nagoya Mission Lasagna

Brown:

1 kilo (2 pounds) of hamburger (approximately)

1 onion chopped

Cottage cheese mixture:

3 cups of cottage cheese (or 3 small Japanese cartons.)  Japanese cottage cheese is really dry so you might want to rinse and dry American cottage cheese.

1 egg

1 T. dried parsley

Other ingredients:

1 Large bottle Prego Spaghetti Sauce (67 oz.)

Mozzarella Cheese (shredded, just over 2 pounds)

Lasagna Noodles (I use the Barilla, LaCollezione, Lasagne all’Uovo  they are no cook and they are GREAT!  Or you can use cooked regular lasagna noodles)

In a 9 x 13 pan put a little Prego sauce on the bottom then layer:

Noodles

Meat Mixture

Cottage Cheese mixture

Mozzarella Cheese

Prego

Repeat—(for the last layer save a little mozzarella cheese for the very top)

Bake at 350 degrees for around 45 minutes to an hour.  Let sit for around 10 minutes before you cut it.  This way it will come out in pretty pieces.

(Things I’ve learned:  don’t use too much meat, do use enough cheese)

  Chicken Enchiladas

1 family size (26 oz.) Cream of Chicken Soup

1 to 1-1/2 C. sour cream

1 can diced green chilies (7 oz.)

½ tsp. garlic salt

2 C. diced chicken breasts (can be more if you like it meaty)

Heat through and thin with a little milk.

Heat 10 flour tortillas

Put mixture in tortillas (not too much)

Sprinkle with Colby Jack cheese

Roll up and place in 9x13 pan

(Prepare pan with Pam spray on bottom, then spread a small amount of the chicken soup mixture with a rubber spatula on bottom, this will stop the tortillas from sticking to the bottom of the pan or drying out.)

When all the tortillas are rolled and in pan, top with remaining mixture and sprinkle more grated cheese on top.

(Be sure to cover all the tortillas with mixture or tortillas will dry out and be hard)

Bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubble—about 20 minutes.  Yummy!

Brownies to die for--even better with a scoop of ice cream:

            Sister Baird’s Brownies

2 cubes butter (melted)

1/2 C. cocoa

2 C. sugar

4 eggs

1½ C. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Mix together by hand (not mixer) don’t over mix. Put in greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for around 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting

3/4 C. softened butter

6 Tablespoons powdered unsweetened cocoa

2 C. powdered sugar (I always use more of this)

1/4 C. milk

Cream butter and cocoa, then add some of the powdered sugar. Mix at low speed adding milk then the rest of the powdered sugar. Beat until creamy (it will be quite thick and a lighter brown). If the icing is too thick to spread add a little more milk. If it’s too thin add a little more powdered sugar.

Spread on cooled brownies.

And finally, 

                              Sister Baird’s Peanut Butter Bars

3/4 C. butter                            3/4 C. peanut butter

1/2 C. sugar                             3/4 tsp baking soda

2 C. brown sugar                     1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs                                      1 ½  C. flour

2 tsp vanilla                             2 C. oats

Additional peanut butter

Chocolate frosting

Using a dough hook, cream butter and sugars.  Add eggs and beat until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and peanut butter.  Mix dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture.  Spread on large cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until very lightly browned.  When cooled spread a thin layer of peanut butter on top.  Frost with chocolate frosting below.

                                                   Frosting

Beat together:

2 T. softened butter                4 T. cocoa

1/4 C. of evaporated milk       3½ C. powdered sugar

1 T. vanilla

                         \

Sister Baird’s Favorite Cinnamon Rolls

Let foam up:

1/2 T. yeast

1 ½ C. warm water

1 tsp. sugar

Add:

4 eggs (beaten)

1/2 C. sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 C. canola or vegetable oil

1 C. evaporated milk

1 C. hot water

7-8 C. flour  (add 1 cup at a time until dough is soft, I like my dough just barely sticky)

Knead for 10 minutes.  Oil bowl lightly with canola or veg. oil.   Put the dough in and flip it so both sides are slightly oiled.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and lid and put in warm place to rise, approximately 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Punch dough down, let it rest for 5 minutes.  Divide dough in half.  Roll out on floured counter with floured rolling pin into rectangular shape. 

Spread with cinnamon/sugar, butter mixture:

3/4 C. softened butter (really soft but not melted)

1 C. sugar

1/8 C. cinnamon

Rollup.  Cut into 1 to 1 ½ inch rolls.  Place on greased cookie sheet and cover with sprayed (PAM) plastic wrap (don’t pull it tight just lay it over).

Rise again for 15-20 minutes

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (they will be barely browned)

Icing:

1/4 C. softened butter

About ½ bag of powdered sugar

Thin with the left over evaporated milk

(I like my frosting quite thin, not thick.  I frost the rolls about 4 or 5 minutes after they come out of the oven so some of the frosting melts down in.)

Hooray! Four Great New Missionaries, June 2012

The only thing better than getting new missionaries is watching them baptize.  We got four wonderful new missionaries this time.  Please meet:

Elder Ludlow, Elder Romero, (President and Sister Baird),
Sister Rogers and Sister Ishihara

 In case you can't read kanji, the sign at the right says this group of missionaries are all fabulous.  (Just kidding--about the sign, not the missionaries.)

Do think there are any butterflies in stomachs right now?

How can two sister missionaries who have traveled all day
 look so beautiful?

Dinner for four tired missionaries and off to bed.
Elders Kervinen and Ellsworth, AP's on left.

Next morning, they are all rested and ready to start training, but not before we get to be treated to a violin/cello rendition of "If You Could Hie to Colob."   

It was truly subarashii.

Sister Rogers and Elder Ellsworth, one of our AP's.

Sister Ishihara, left, with her new trainer, Sister Shimoji.
Notice the tissue (and if you have good eyes, you'll see a few tears
in Sister Ishihara's eyes.)
First, the spirit told President Baird to make these two companions.
Second, these two told President Baird that they were good friends.

Sister Inori Ishihara's parents and oldest brother all served missions.   She is from Okinawa, Japan and plays the French horn and flute.   She likes touching people's hearts by being bright, friendly, and optimistic.   She has received many blessings from prayer.

Sister Shimoji is a very happy, cheerful person.  Sister Shimoji listened to 
General Conference and as they talked about serving a mission, 
she felt inspired to go.  Even though she got a good job, 
she quit it to serve a mission.

Sister Inori Ishihara's parents and oldest brother all served missions.  

She is from Okinawa, Japan and plays the French horn and flute.  

She likes touching people's hearts by being bright, friendly, and optimistic.  

She has received many blessings from prayer.

Sister Rogers, left, and Sister Hunt

Sister Rogers comes to us from Brisbane, Australia and has two sisters  and six brothers.  She loves musical instruments and plays piano, violin,  guitar and sax.  She also plays basketball, soccer, and has a black belt  in Taikwando.  She will audition at the Queensland Conservatorium of  Music after her mission.

Sister Hunt loves to work. She also finds that music energizes
 her mind and spirit. And she enjoys a sincere conversation.
 While she loves to read, she finds that reading the scriptures
consistently is simply a feeling that can't be replicated
 with other literature or philosophy.

Sister Rogers comes to us from Brisbane, Australia and has two sisters

 and six brothers.  She loves musical instruments and plays piano, violin, 

guitar and sax.  She also plays basketball, soccer, and has a black belt 

in Taikwando.  She will audition at the Queensland Conservatorium of 

Music after her mission.  

Elder Ludlow, left, with Elder Schade

Thousand Oaks, California is where Elder Matthew Ludlow  calls home.  He enjoys basketball and football and loves competition.  He hopes to eventually become a chiropractor.

Notice Elder Schade's huge smile.  It makes a lot of people happy.
He loves being out of doors and also plays the piano.
He knows from experience that prayer is a powerful tool.

Thousand Oaks, California is where Elder Matthew Ludlow 

calls home.  He enjoys basketball and football and loves competition. 

He hopes to eventually become a chiropractor.  

Elder Romero, center, with his trainer Elder Dinkel on left,
and Elder Gates on right (a threesome!)

From the great city of Provo, Utah, we get to have Elder Jose Romero.
  He is the youngest of 7 children and says his mother is an
incredible woman.  Elder Romero loves to rock climb, hike, bike,
 canoe and swim.  He loves a physical challenge, but he especially
 loves getting to know people better when he spends time with
 them outdoors.  He has had many wonderful spiritual experiences
 and is grateful for leaders who have taught him great things.

Elder Dinkel has a great smile that shows his enthusiasm for 
the work.   He knows lots of words and loves to use the big ones.  
Not everyone gets to train two people at once.

At the time of this blog post, Elder Gates has only been 
in the mission for  three months.  His trainer, Elder Dinkel 
says he's already very good with his kanji, takes part 
in lessons effectively, and is willing to share his great 
musical talent.  But the best thing is he is perfectly obedient. 

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.