As a closing entry to this blog, we would like to post our testimonies. Included are the two talks we prepared when we reported to our home ward in Midway in February of 2013. I have to admit, however, that although my entire talk was given, I didn't leave any time for Jim to give his! I got so caught up in the "missionary spirit" of things, that I never paid any attention to the time. After my lengthy talk, there was still a musical solo by Sherry Omans, and then Jim gave just a small pittance of what he had prepared. This is one event I will have a hard time "living down." Hopefully, Jim will have future opportunities
to share what all he wanted to say.
My talk:
Konnichiwa! When
we lived in Hawaii, the people giving talks in Church started
out by saying “Aloha, and the audience would respond likewise.
When we got to Japan, we found that the speakers started out with
“Ohaio gozaimasu” or “konnichiwa,” and the audience replied
back with the same. I'm thinking maybe we need to start something
here in Midway. Maybe we could start our talks with something like,
“Howdy!
When
my mother passed away 2
years ago this May, we began to talk about the possibility of our
serving a Senior Couples Mission. However, I was the more reticent
of the two of us as I just wasn't sure this was for me. By August of
that year we drove to Maryland (and beyond) to visit our daughter and
new grandson. We tried to take in many of the Church historical
sites—Winter Quarters, Nauvoo, Palmyra, and Kirtland. At
every stop, we heard nothing but praises and excitement from every
senior couple serving at these sites. We were then convinced
that this was what we both wanted to do, so we submitted our
“electronic papers” in October, got our call the first week in
November, and reported to the MTC on December 5.
Sure,
we were prepared to miss our kids, our grand kids, and our friends;
but with the modern inventions of Skype and Vonage, we were able to
see and talk to everyone just as if we were next door. You will find
that you can remain close with your family and friends despite
however far away you may be sent.
First
of all, I would like to comment about the MTC.
I am ever so grateful that we decided to spend the 11 days there
and not commute back and forth despite the proximity of Midway to the
MTC. By staying there 24/7, we were totally
immersed into the missionary spirit, which overwhelmed us
beginning on day one! It's just amazing to be daily surrounded by
over 2,000 young missionaries and hundreds of workers, all there on
the Lord's errand! The young missionaries constantly were opening
doors for us old folks, and the spiritual atmosphere was present in
whatever we were doing. We found out that those of us who were on
our first mission were in the minority;
more couples were there, preparing to serve their second, third,
fourth, etc., mission. One couple, the Clarks, who were in our
district, “won the prize” for being there for their eighth
mission! Now that we have completed our first, we can easily
understand how people will choose to go and go again. It is truly
the best thing Jim and I have done together during our 46 years of
marriage.
Once
we arrived in the mission field, we were initially struck by
the profound LOVE
that President and Sister Albrecht had for us. They loved us
from the get-go and never lessened that despite any challenges we may
have given them. I quickly noted, too, how strong their love was for
each and every other missionary in the field. The
missionaries felt this love from them, and it was contagious.
It always tickled me to hear the elders end a telephone conversation
with “I love you, man” or to see them give the typical missionary
hug and again say “I love you.” These were big, strong, male
missionaries, but not too big or to tough to be able to express their
sincere love for one another. We felt the same
love for us and all the missionaries when President and Sister
Budge arrived. They, too,
displayed such unconditional love, that it was really a great example
for us to follow.
Thus,
we were blessed to serve under two
sets of presidents and wives, and both sets TAUGHT
us greatly. They taught by their wonderful examples
of love, patience, endurance, and commitment; and they taught
literally when they
conducted conferences--whether they were mini-zone conferences, zone
conferences, or all-mission conferences. We gained a deeper
understanding of the gospel as we listened to them teach us various
precepts. We were very blessed,
too, to be in the Japan Tokyo mission as it seemed to
be a crossroads for general
authorities coming to visit other missions in the Far East. We were
so very blessed to sit just a few feet away from Elder Oaks,
Bishop Stevenson (former
North Asia President and now Presiding Bishop of the Church), Elder
Clarke, Elder Ringwood,
and other leaders of the North Asia Area. All of these men blessed
our lives and those of the missionaries present at these conferences
when they expounded upon gospel doctrine. We
noted in particular that each of these these general
authorities took the time after the meetings to shake
hands and say a personal word or two to every single one
of the 180+ missionaries present! I'm sure many of these young
missionaries will remember this personal handshake for a lifetime! I
might add that it was a very special experience to have Elder
Oaks' wife address the missionaries, because she did so in
Japanese, having served her mission in Sendai, Japan, years ago! I'm
sure this meant a great deal to those sisters in the audience!
One
thing we had not anticipated prior to accepting a call was the
FRIENDSHIPS
that would be made and treasured for a lifetime. I guess I had tunnel
vision as I just thought it would be just us and the mission
president and wife as the only senior
couples. However, we were
very blessed to have six senior couples serving along with us. Two
of these were military relations couples, two were proselyting
couples, one couple served as member & leadership services, and
the sixth couple served in the temple.
The
two couples serving the military
wards and branches worked with the American families stationed
in Japan with the Air Force, Navy, and Army. In addition to that,
they served the military community
by volunteering at the post office, the Thrift Shop, and the Red
Cross. One couple serving in member/leadership assistance had the
advantage of the the husband having served his
mission in Tokyo. Consequently, in addition to their
assisting the American military ward, they also assisted the Japanese
ward, which met in the same building. Furthermore, they made great
strides in making friends with the Japanese community by inviting
families in their apartment complex or the Japanese who attended
English classes to come to their Halloween
and Christmas open houses. They have also been giving
lectures at retirement homes
on life in America or Idaho or whatever! These couples were truly
serving the Lord, His faraway wards and branches, and His Japanese
sons and daughters who have yet to learn of Him.
We
developed very deep and lasting
friendships with these couples. We not only got together at
each of the conferences, but
we also went on outings
together, exploring the beautiful and historical sites Japan had to
offer us. Since the mission attended the temple
every six weeks, we would all go as couples, sometimes spending the
night prior at a nearby hotel. We all had so much
in common—age, for one—and grand kids to brag about,
testimonies, love of the gospel, love for the Japanese people, and
the latest “miracles” occurring in the mission, etc.. We truly
developed the most wonderful bonds between us.
We
also met on the first Monday evening of the month at the PBO,
Presiding Bishops Office in Tokyo for FHE.
There we were joined by those other senior missionaries or full-time
employees who worked for the Church in Japan at the PBO. Those, too,
are friendships we will cherish forever. The wonderful thing about
the Church is that so many of the people are either FROM
Utah—and we will see them again—or
they have ties to Utah and we will see them again!
Another
thing I found as a pleasant surprise was the deep FRIENDSHIPS
we forged with the YOUNG
MISSIONARIES. Not having served a mission before, nor
having had any idea of how a mission office operates, I had not
expected to get so close to so many young missionaries. Although
both presidents worked from their home office most of the time, we
continually had five elders working
in the mission office—a commissarian (who did purchasing and
apartment rentals), a recorder (who handled all the baptism data and
other reports), and three assistants to the President. So daily, we
interacted with these strong,
handsome, yet spiritual--and very often humorous--young men! What
a delight it was to be in their presence daily! Oh, how we came to
love them all! And how we felt a void when one would return home or
be transferred!
Serving
in the office also put us in the “missionary
crossroads,” so to speak, as elders and sisters were always
coming through there—either during transfers, or for conferences,
or to pick up packages, etc. We came to know and love so many of
them and can only hope that they will ALL choose to go to BYU after
their missions! Working in the
office by itself also brought us true joy as we knew we were
serving the Lord by assisting His work in His mission. We were
pretty much in the office daily from 9
until 5 – or later – and enjoyed every minute of it. We
had no official P-day, as it were, but were free to come and go
and/or take time off at our own discretion. Jim will go into a
little bit more detail about what we actually did.
Our
circle of FRIENDSHIPS also
grew as this time while living in Japan we made numerous friends
among the JAPANESE. When we
lived in Japan 40 years ago as a young military couple, almost all of
our acquaintances were just like us: Americans! But this time was
wonderfully different! First of all, we attended the Japanese
ward right next to the mission home. The ward members were so
kind and gracious to us “gaijins,” stangers, and greeted us
warmly, even if they didn't speak English. Many did speak English,
and that was a blessing! Many of the YSA
had gone on English speaking missions or had attended BYUH. So it
was these young adults who did the translating
for us so that we could understand Sacrament meeting. As for Sunday
School, since there were a number of Philippino members in the
ward, the ward also offered an English Gospel Doctrine class. Jim
and I were two of the three teachers, and a fellow from Sri Lanka,
who was married to a Japanese sister, was the third teacher. In RS
I wore the ear piece again while one of the YSA sisters translated; and in Priesthood, Jim sat next to one of the High Priests, translating directly for him.
A
number of the Japanese members had us to their homes for dinner, and
others even took us out to dinner. With a little knowledge of
Japanese, their little knowledge of English, and a dictionary,
we managed to get along pretty well!
we managed to get along pretty well!
A
very enjoyable and worthwhile assignment we had was to TEACH
Eikaiwa, or English Conversation, classes on Wednesday nights.
Most of the 30 or so people who attended were nonmembers—Japanese,
Korean, Philippino, Chinese. This program sponsored by the mission
is a great contributor to eventual baptisms.
I believe for the year 2012 that over 20
percent of the mission's baptisms came from such people who
had started out in these Eikaiwa classes. The elders and sisters
would teach the beginning and intermediate classes, while Jim
and I taught the advanced class, which was mostly just
conversation. We really formed some deep friendships with a number
of the older people (a retired French professor, a banker, and a
businessman) who hope to come to Utah and see if everything here is
as wonderful as we painted it to be! What an experience it was to
discuss each other's culture every Wednesday night.
Another
set of surprising FRIENDSHIPS that I made was with the early
morning “taiso” (or
exercise) group. For most of the year, they meet in the park at 6:30
a.m. and do a series of NO IMPACT exercises for 30 minutes. Although
they didn't speak English and I spoke just a little Japanese, I think
they came to appreciate my attendance to their morning regimen. A
couple of funny sidelights,
however, occurred. First of all, the one dear Japanese friend I
became very close to gifted me a new
tee shirt when she noted I wore the same one over and over
again. Shortly after that, the women in the group collected a bunch
of 2nd-hand tee shirts for
me to add to my wardrobe that was lacking in exercise wear.
And
then, another time when the Albrechts
were leaving and were given a bushel of potatoes,
Sis A passed them on to me to distribute to whomever. Anyway, long
story short, after passing out 8-10 potatoes to everyone at taiso one
morning, the next morning I was bestowed with all kinds of gifts: a
backpack, a fanny pack, hand towels, a purse, candies, you name it!
Warning: Be careful when
giving gifts to the Japanese as they will repay you doubly!!!
Seriously,
the friendships formed this time will be ones we will cherish for a
lifetime. How grateful I am that we were able to get to know these
wonderful, friendly, gracious people so well this time around!
They
say that when Japanese tee shirts with English writing begin to make
sense, you've been in Japan too long. Well, if that's true,
then we should still be living there. They also say that if you bite
into a sweet roll and it's filled with red beans—and you don't mind
it!--that you've definitely been there too long. Well, I guess it
must have been time for me to return as I was beginning to think anko
– or red bean filling -
wasn't all that bad after all!
wasn't all that bad after all!
We
are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives. God and his
Son, Jesus Christ, have given us a wonderful Plan
of Happiness—a plan, which followed now, will give us
happiness in both this life as well as in the life afterward. It is
our responsibility as members to share
this plan with others. That is why we have missions
throughout the world—to share God's wonderful plan and to bring
happiness to the lives of others.
It
is so exciting to hear of
the young people in our ward being
called to serve missions. We are so excited for them as we
know what they are in for: the
best time of their lives so far, a time of growth, and a time of
service to others. But this wonderful “secret
formula” for a good time, growth, and service need not be
kept for just the youth alone. The same wonderful experiences are
out there for senior couples and senior sisters as well.
When
we reported to the High Council a week ago, Sister
Dance asked me this question, “What would you say if a
couple asked you if they should go on a mission?” I told her I
would respond unequivocally, “Go!
It's the best thing you could ever do at this point in your lives!”
So, I say the same to all of you who have yet to consider
this opportunity: “Go! Serve the Lord, serve his children
wherever they may be, further the Work, and grow your testimony even
further in the process!
You
will never regret having done so! I promise you that!
JIM's talk that he didn't get to give thanks to my going overtime!!!
I,
too, would say Konnichiwa to commence my talk but, having served my
first mission in Germany for 2 and ½ years, I found learning
Japanese extremely difficult; as a matter of fact, when I would hear
Japanese spoken, I'd think in German...and I haven't spoken German
for about fifty years now!!!
Both
Dixie and I would like to thank not only our ward for coming today,
but also members of our family, friends from other wards and work
places, a few young missionaries with whom we served in Tokyo, and
especially President and Sister Albrecht for being here.
Though
our planned eighteen month mission was cut to only fourteen months,
we loved every day we served.
As many of you already know, the mission was cut short because
Dixie's breast cancer returned as a form of invasive cancer.
Tomorrow morning her treatments commence, and we know she'll be
blessed with health and recovery. (Discuss
the blessings of the persistent radiologist.)
By
the way, don't let any potential medical issue ever deter you from
serving a senior mission.
We
loved our mission so much as a matter of fact that, after the October
General Conference which lowered the missionary age requirements, we
told President Budge that we would extend for as long as necessary
until the “bubble” of new missionaries had slowed down; our
mission of approximately 175 elders and sisters will be increasing to
about 250 missionaries soon.
Although
we were called as the office couple of the Japan Tokyo Mission, we
spent our first three months at Yokota AFB in the Tokyo area as the
military relations couple serving the American branch there. We
worked with some of the less active service members there at Yokota
and supported the branch and the two young elders there as best we
could. It was a truly rewarding experience for both of us. We
worked with so many truly dedicated members of the church there.
Those members were a credit not only to our church but also to our
nation as well.
Three
months later, when the office couple who trained us returned home to
Salmon, Idaho, we moved into our spacious 400 square foot
apartment...exactly (according to my wife) 150 steps to the mission
office. Though our apartment was small, it had all the necessities.
President and Sister Albrecht had even made sure all the senior
missionary apartments had king size beds instead of the futons on
which the young missionaries (and most of the Japanese population)
sleep on. Dixie and I enjoyed the
king size bed so much we are now in the process of replacing our
queen size bed with a new king size one.
In
her talk Dixie mentioned that I would briefly discuss what at least
some of our responsibilities were: She was the mission secretary
and, as such, really handled most of the mission's paperwork. She
sent out welcome letters to the newly called missionaries, maintained
lists of both departing and arriving missionaries, typed and mailed
release letters to the missionaries' home stake presidents, bishops,
and parents, requested flights from SLC for the returning
missionaries, and basically did anything the mission president asked
of her. She worked harder and was much busier than I.
However,
I maintained a petty cash account of about $5,000 from which I paid
missionaries who had lost their Missionary Support Funds credit card
(It might be interesting to mention here that the cost to maintain
one young missionary in the Tokyo Mission is approximately $1179
monthly.),paid utility bills which were not on auto-pay, recorded and
managed the automatic utility payments for the 85 or so apartments,
prepared and printed the weekly and monthly financial reports for the
PBO, and talked with the missionaries when they called with questions
of any kind; one elder called to ask me how much money (in yen) it
would cost to send a letter to the mission home...some were more
difficult than that, however.
Assuming
the financial responsibilities for the mission was quite daunting for
me. (For one, President Albrecht is an accountant!!!) I wasn't sure
I would remember everything I had been taught by the senior
missionary I replaced. It was at this point that I truly felt the
first mini-miracle of my mission. I
want you to know that I was truly blessed and that the things I had
been taught I actually remembered.
Other blessing and miracles were
to follow, too. About forty years ago Dixie and I, together with our
two small boys, lived in Iwakuni, Japan, for two and ½ years where I
was a Marine Corps search and rescue pilot. The mission president at
that time was President Kan Watanabe; we had even had President and
Sister Watanabe for lunch in our home. One of our first thoughts
after receiving our call to Tokyo was: Do you think President and
Sister Watanabe are still alive, and where might they live? That
question was quickly answered. They were alive and at 80 and 85 were
serving as missionaries in our mission in Tokyo, primarily assisting
the elders and sisters in teaching older investigators. It's
difficult to express the joy and love we felt for them after so many
years.
Yet another miracle we
experienced actually involved proselyting. One of our Eikaiwa
students (the retired French professor Dixie mentioned) invited us to
his home for an evening of discussion with several other younger
people, among whom was a young student from Cambodia (Seylene Duong)
who was earning her master's degree from a Japanese university in
Tokyo; her Japanese was flawed, but her English was perfect. Dixie
and I both had the same feeling: Give her the one Book of Mormon we
had brought. We gave her the BofM and asked her if she would
like the missionaries to visit and explain the gospel to her. She
accepted the invitation, and the missionaries commenced teaching her
in Tokorozawa, the city in which she lived. Dixie was in email
contact with her constantly during her lessons. After she decided to
be baptized and was being interviewed by one of the zone leaders, the
ZL asked her who she would like to baptize her; she responded
immediately: Sister Galbraith
Another “quick lesson” was given about the Priesthood, and I
subsequently baptized and conferred the Gift of the Holy Ghost on
her. Though she is now experiencing some difficulties with her
testimony, Dixie still emails her, and we both hope and pray that
Seylene will return to activity in the church one day.
Although
not assigned as proselyting missionaries, we never-the-less let no
opportunities to discuss the gospel escape us. Three of our best
Japanese friends whom we met at the Wednesday night English class
were Yuichi, the retired French professor I just mentioned, Imanishi,
a retired business professional, Okomoto-san, a retired banker.
These three gentlemen had a profound effect on Dixie and me. We also
had a very positive effect on them as well. Yuichi and Okomoto-san
are now attending our English gospel doctrine classes regularly, and
Imanishi is planning to visit us here in Midway, possibly later this
year. Although all three are Buddhists, they recognized something
special in our church. Yuichi especially had a genuine respect for
the young missionaries ; he was simply unable to understand how
talented and poised they are. Of course we all know why: It's
simply how we are raised in the gospel.
DISCUSS
THE FAMILY IN IWAKUNI...Time Permitting
Our
own blessings have been life-long as well. Many years ago I crashed
a helicopter, was severely burned, and nearly died. At 17, our
oldest son was killed in a traffic crash in Virginia where we lived
at the time. And now Dixie is facing yet another bout with cancer.
Some who don't understand would ask where are the blessings in these
circumstances. It's simple: I survived, we know without a doubt
that we'll be reunited again with Brian, and we know that Dixie will
be blessed; when President Nelson set her apart as a missionary he
promised her health and strength while serving. Don't let petty
things cloud your testimony or dim your belief. Ours is a gospel of
blessings.
