Sayonara

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!

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!

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.