Easter Week 4-18 - 4-24-11

This was our first transfer week. How does that effect us? We are not going anywhere. Well, it is amazing how attached one gets to missionaries. They are all so kind and full of love for all people. It was hard to let some go, but it was easy to meet new ones that will be our friends instantly. Monday we spend some of the day with the missionaries while they emailed home. Christensen Shimai went to a basket weaving class with the Relief Society Sisters and Christensen Choro was hungry and went shopping for food. We had family home evening with investigators, Tobias and missionaries. We played games, had a spiritual message and chocolate chip cookies we baked 9 at a time in our, smaller than a toaster oven, oven.

Back row: Tom, Kurakawa Choro, Kohei, Nishio Choro, Amousu, Tobias

Front row: Johnson and Barraclough Shimai, Fukino, Bess, Inamori Choro

Tuesday, we went to the District meeting and received an award from the Zone Leaders for achieving the goals made for this transfer period of 5 Baptisms! Great job! We then joined the other district and made Chinese dumplings. That was a fun activity and tasted really good. They even made Christensen Shimai dumplings with rice flour so she could eat them. That night we team taught a shimai with the Tsuboi Choro. She wants to get baptized, but is still working it through with her mother.

Back row: Farb, Lyon, Buckingham, Inamori, Baba, Triffitt, Kurakawa, Maeda and Nishio Choro.

Front row: Johnson, Barraclough Shimai, Tom, Bess, Harada and Yamada Shimai.

Chinese dumplings and background music.

On Wednesday, we prepared for the new semester of Eikaiwa. We printed material and made 8 dozen and bagged 5 dozen cookies for Eikaiwa. Cookies at 9 every 10 minutes took quite a while! We attended Eikaiwa. Christensen Shimai did an excellent job with her lesson and recieved pickled bamboo sprouts from Sueyoshi Kaneo. Also, Fujimoto Junichiro brought her some maps of Kumamoto that are in English. The missionaries received their transfer calls and we lose Kurakawa, Farb, and Triffitt Choro from our districts. They will be greatly missed, but we will make new friends tomorrow!

Eikaiwa group that stays for games. At least half of the group leaves because they work early.

Thursday, we took Kurakawa Choro to the bus and tried not to cry as he is going to Takasu to be a District leader/Trainer for Ushiro Choro who is a new "Bean" fresh from the MTC. Poor Choro will be very tired for his entire training period as Kurakawa Choro doesn't stop.

We picked up Kim Choro from the bus stop and visited a 63 year old member in the hospital who broke his leg when he crashed on a bike. This was Matsunaga who baptized in March. The hospital was like walking into one of ours 30 years ago! Matsunaga-san has to stay in the four man room for 5 weeks while his leg heals.

On the way to the Bus stop!!

Kim Choro, a Korean born, Hawaii raised until 15 and then moved to Utah. A student at UVU.

Has never had Roast Beef. Tom promised him one while he is here. Costco, here we come!

That night we taught an English class to Nakagawa Azusu and her three daughters,Karin 16, Kokoro 14, and Hanna who is 10. They want to learn gospel terms and phrases to help the girls when they serve a mission. It was a fun lesson and evening.

Friday, we went to Yatsushiro with the Zone Leaders to pick up a bike for an investigator, Amousu from Benin Africa. It had been out in the weather all winter so it was rusty. When we tried to take it apart with the few tools we had, we had a problem. Inamori Choro ran across the street and borrowed tools we could use. It went faster then. On the way back we bought a tool kit and oil. We were suppose to team teach a different shimai that evening with the Tsuboi Choro so we hurried. We delivered and put the bike together and started home to drop off the Zone Leaders.

Yatsushiro Shimai apartment, 4 Choro trying to make a bike small enough to fit in the trunk.

As we were coming to a back up at a light Christensen Choro turned left to take a short cut. Yes, one of the "Christensen Shortcuts" pointed out by the 3 Choro in the back seat. He forgot to look to the left side of the car and ran into a motor scooter that was passing. The man on the scooter was scraped up some. A few scratches on the scooter and 2.5 hours spent with the police infestation, it took 4 of them to figure things out. No charges and no chance of anyone sueing anyone.

Thank goodness Kim Choro speaks very good English and Japanese so he could translate as Nishio Choro took charge of everything for us.

We did not made it to our appointment and Christensen Choro got another lesson in patience. Also, maybe he will learn to listen to the "Quiet" promptings of his companion who advised that we did not have enough time to deliver the bike and make it to teach in Tsuboi that night.

We did go to sports night but just watched. There was a new man from Morocco there. Tobias brought him. He is a big person, but the little Japanese gave him all he wanted in soccer in the church recreation hall.

Adile and Tobias and a tall Japanese member.

Saturday, we had an Eikaiwa and Transfer planning meeting and then with the Shimai went to where Li Gang worked since he has not been to church for a couple of weeks. The place he works is where people come to have English conversations and eat and relax. He was glad to see us and we enjoyed ourselves. We found a Canadian man named Nicolas and a woman from the Philippeans, Corrine, who wanted to learn more about the church and got Li to commit to come to Church in the morning.

Corrine, Barraclough, Johnson Shimai, Bess, Tom, Nicolas and Li Gang.

A plate from Tonga, Tobias gave it to us Thursday before Christensen Choro took out his first scooter.

Sunday Li made it! We went to 6 hours of church today plus choir practice. Tobias was made assistant Ward Mission Leader today. We are tired tonight.

Every week we find more blessings as we serve the Lord. Even in times of trouble we have been in the keeping of our Father-in Heaven as we have been comforted and led to the right answers at the right time. There have been "angels" put in our way many times and we are so grateful for these blessings.

As we read and study our scriptures we find more answers to help not only us but others as they need help.

Love,

Christensen Fufu (Couple)

P.S. Jeffery Choro from Glenwood is a new "Bean" working with Lyon Choro in Shimizu. We met him last night and he is going to be a great Choro. Lyon Choro is his Trainer. Lyon Choro is one of the best. We'll have pictures next week as we are having a Zone P-Day at the Bowling Alley tomorrow.