Growing in Japan
Many things grow in Japan. Different flowers, vegetation, and children develop here. There is also growth in spirit, in relationships, in knowledge and more. As missionaries we are also learning and stretching our abilities. We are growing in different ways while here in Japan.
We are usually asked a question at the beginning of the Jkaiwa class. One time the class was asked what we would do if tomorrow was the end of the world? It's a dramatic question with different thoughts. Some individuals thought about contacting family or spending time in nature. Other thoughts were about having favorite foods or playing a favorite game. Overall, the feeling is that there is no sense in worrying or being in a panic, even though that would also happen, but we should enjoy what we have.
The preparation day (P-day) for the younger missionaries is on Monday unless there is a temple P-day. Then Mondays are the same as other days and Tuesday is a special temple P-day. This is the time to catch up on writing letters to the President and phone calls to family. They can also do cleaning and have some free time for enjoying the area they live in or take a special trip to a local attraction. For our mostly American group now, except for one Japanese and one Filipina, they agreed to go to the Costco that is near our apartment to do a little shopping and have pizza. It also happened to be the day before Sister Mahilum's birthday. Sister Melton made the Sister's favorite chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. It surprised her when they came to our place for a couple of games. They have a Mission-Wide Zoom meeting every Monday at 6 pm and directly after that there is a District Council meeting.
Lunch at Costco with Sister Melton, Elder Melton, Sister Mahilum, Sister Southwick, Elder Inumaki, Elder Martin, Elder Weibell and Elder Bone
A birthday surprise for Sister MahilumAnother meeting we attend is Zone Conference (ZC) which is about every 6 weeks. This time was special since we didn't meet in the locations associated with our zone. All of the zones went to the same location in Yokohama. Pictures were taken by the water in a couple of spots as Sister Tueller told the history of the beginning of the church in that area and how it grew. The first four missionaries to Japan from our church arrived in Yokohama on August 12, 1901. The Japanese Quartet. They were Heber J. Grant (then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), Louis A. Kelsch, Horace S Ensign, and Alma O. Taylor. None of them knew any Japanese or the culture. This year marks 125 years since dedicating Japan for preaching the gospel. The building we met in is on the "Bluff" of Yokohama which is where there is a plaque with images of the first missionaries who brought the gospel there.
The next district council meeting was based a lot on what was talked about by President Tueller in ZC. We reviewed a talk by Elder Christofferson called "Come to Zion". Three pillars that define Zion are 1) Unity, 2) Righteousness and 3) No poor among them. We discussed how we could focus together on goals as a district in applying these pillars. A difficult task but worthwhile. Since the timing of the meeting is not conducive to serving a meal, we decided to bring small snack bags. Elder Melton chose to hand out Hostess Ding Dongs and Sister Melton opted for healthier options like fruit, peanut butter crackers and nuts.
As we work towards bringing the Young Single Adults (YSA) together, we planned a bowling and pizza night. As many from NAF Atsugi are deploying, this would be a last effort to bring these sailors together for interaction and fun before they depart. We were happy that this event was the biggest we had seen in a long time. There were men ranging from 19 years old to 28 years old. Only one had been participating in the game night on a regular basis before this event. We were able to have the missionaries there which brought our total to 8. Though none of the sailors that we invited attended, we will still continue to reach out to them. Elder Melton had an interaction with one of these deploying sailors while they were at the gym and learned more about his job. We also learned from the Dawsons, who are our new counterparts at Yokosuka, the names and emails of the Military Service Member Group Leader's for these Navy members on the ship that is deploying.
A fun night at the Atsugi Bowling Center with some YSA
One Sunday night we had a member join us for dinner in our apartment. She and her son moved out of base housing since her husband retired. However, the son is finishing his last month at a Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) high school. They are staying at hotels waiting for graduation. The son recently received a mission call to the Philippines which is where his mother's family is from. Another young man that is graduating also received his mission call to Brazil. We feel blessed to be able to associate with these families in our branch. More recently we went to the Spanish/Portuguese testimony meeting and fellowshipped with food provided by some members from Peru. Elder Melton bore testimony in Spanish which he feels rusty at but has been improving. The spirit is always there.
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Sister Diana Platt, Sister Melton, soon to be Elder Ethan Platt and Elder Melton
A group photo documenting the attendance of the Spanish/Portuguese testimony meeting in Atsugi
Elder Melton attended a stake priesthood meeting with an interesting approach. It was geared towards the young men, but everyone found it interesting. Five rotating classes with each of the presenters talking about their careers and how it related to the gospel. These included an LDS Chaplin (who happens to be in our branch), the Temple University President for Japan, a USAF OSPREY pilot, an employee of Google and a software engineer. It really gave everyone, especially the youth a greater appreciation that they can achieve their professional goal and remain faithful in the gospel.
A few missionaries were able to join us in a service project associated with the base. We joined the efforts of the Public Affairs Office in building good relations with the community in Ayase. This is done with picking up trash along the streets nearby. In the past we have invited or sponsored missionaries to the food court afterwards but since we are in Threatcon Bravo, there are restrictions on Atsugi. Instead we went to a place they had not been before that is just outside the gate. It is called "Rock n Roll Burrito". It hit the spot and the missionaries enjoyed it.
We were able to join a branch temple trip for youth baptisms. This is a way for us to support the branch and do our family history work. Elder Melton was a witness and helped with the confirmations. We gave out several names for the youth to help us with doing the work. Afterwards, we joined some of the youth and the Carlsons for lunch at a place in Roppongi called Shake Shack (just like in the states). We sat outside since it was warm but the wind was a battle to keep paper from flying everywhere. The day before was nice weather and we had a chance to find the "Godzilla Head" in Shinjuku. On the hour it grumbles and blows out smoke from its large mouth. We think we are getting the hang of riding the trains around Tokyo now.
We finally got around to eating our personalized
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