Beautiful Fall 3 -9 Oct 2011; 35 year anniversary week!

What a great Week! We attended our first District meeting with the new missionaries. S. Okada Choro is our new District Leader and Abe Choro's companion. Stirland Choro came up from Kagoshima to be Fontanet Choro's new companion. These four Choro are in Omuta. We have the best Mission ever!
We had an earthquake this week of 4.4 magnitude. The epicenter was about 40 kilometers north and east of us, but still in the Kumamoto Prefecture. It woke us up about 1:37 am. It lasted quite a while and we swayed a bit more than we have before but all is well and we were able to go right back to sleep.
We were able to do some fall clean up and prepare for the winter this week. We are going to bubble wrap our windows and bought the bubble wrap to change the single pane windows to double pane, we will let you know if it works. We bought a hot carpet to go under the rug in the living room. It is electrically heated. Warm feet this winter! While cleaning the "Outer darkness room" and rearranging the furnishings in the bedroom and front closets we found some curtains which we took to the Maui family to use on their front sliding door. They just fit. This is how we spent our 35th wedding anniversary. It was a lot of fun to visit with Maui Shimai and the children.

Domesticated? Great help!

Playing four square at sports night.

Li Gang came to Church last Sunday and then to Sports night and spent all day Saturday at the Church with us listening to General Conference! The Saturday morning session reinforced exactly what we shared with him on Friday night as he asked questions. He has finally quit his job and is humble and asking questions. We love him so much and want him to be happy. The Lord truly answers our prayers as we humble ourselves and listen for answers. Li has taught us to be kinder and more Christlike. We learned so much listening to Conference and feeling the Spirit.

The Privilege of Prayer J. Devn Cornish; Tom's Favorite talk was on prayer. Learned we need to pray more and have more faith that the prayer will be answered. Bess had several favorite, Elder Dallin H Oaks talked about there being no middle ground, either you are on the Lord's side or you are of the world and on Satan's side really struck a chord. Can't wait to read the November issue of the Ensign. Sunday after Conference we had a suprise birthday party for Tagawa Shimai. She thought we were coming up to the apartment for a meeting to plan our Eikaiwa Halloween party. She was quite surprised to see the Shimizu and Tsuboi Choro already up here. We had given them the key and had them come up early and bring the ice cream that had been stashed in the church freezer. We have such a tiny fridge there was no room in ours.

The surprise party. Tagawa and Blau Shimai, Hill, Oobayashi, Iino, Takaku and Ichikawa Choro, Ito Shimai and Clements Choro. (Ichikawa Choro has been a member just one year!)

Three happy Shimai.

Japanese orange. You can peel them without biting the skin. (Mandarin)

Rolls filled with sweet red beans. Yummy.

One pear peeled and cut up in a gallon size bag. They are really big.

We love you each one.
Grandpa and Grandma
Dad and Mom
Tom and Bess

We get to spend Monday the 10th of October at the Temple. It is a holiday and they open the Temple on Monday holidays.
PS We finally got the package Friday the 7th. Tom just kept saying Happy Anniversary!! Perfect timing.

Transfer Pain and Gain! Sept 25 to 2 Oct 2011

Waiting for our Zone Leaders who are having their weekly call from Honbu.

Oyamas, Ito, Itu, and Masuda Shimai, DeFreitas, Iino, Hill, Christensen and Clements Choro.
Mt Aso bound.

Valley view from the road to Mt Aso.

The crater. The surface was an azure blue color. In May the color was brown. It changed colors because of all the rain.



Some Church members from Fukuoka that were are Mt Aso. Iino Choro in background.

We then traveled to the Farmland Resort for ice cream.

Tom found his cow at the Farm.

We traveled next to the Shirokawa Fountainhead. It flows 60 tons of water a minute. Pure and clear, good to drink.

Oyama Kyodai and Shimai.

Masuda Shimai with Oyamas, Clements and Iino Choro in background.

Springs.

Bridge with calm water on one side and turbulent water on the other.

Tom's phone at the bottom of the spring. He lost it as he leaned over to look under the bridge to find out why the water was so turbulent on the other side.

Fishing for Tom's phone. And we are not to look like tourists?

Masson Choro with his prize fish. The phone still works! Now we understand why the big, ugly, indestructible cell phones. Waterproof too!

Five Volcanoes in one picture.

Petting Farm. Clements and Christensen Choro watching a rice paddy being harvested.

Ito and Itu Shimai with a horse.

Masson Choro and his favorite goat.

Harvesting rice.

FHE and chocolate oatmeal cake. So good!

True table tennis for FHE.

Yo Choro, our District Leader and his bad rabbit. Yo Choro was the best! Too bad they have to die.

The two Districts picture together. Matsuhashi, Itu, Christensen, Tsutamori and Ito Shimai.
Fontenet, Kwon, Masson, Hill, Clements, Yo, Abe, De Freitas, Christensen, Oobayashi and Iino Choro.

Making crepes and rice krispy treats for Eikaiwa. Bess, Itu Shimai and Masson Choro.

Playing "London Bridge"at Eikaiwa. Two Eikaiwa students, Bishop Koide, Mark-san, Fuduta Kyodai and Iwayama Kyodai. They love these simple games.

Ito Shimai and Masson Choro going to Okinawa.
I Nephi 3:7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

It was hard to let Ito Shimai go!!

Itu and new companion, Blau Shimai.

O0bayashi and new companion, Clements Choro.

Goodby to De Freitas Choro. Going to Saga.

Tagawa Shimai getting off the bus ready to go to work. We are so glad to get her. Taralee met her sister at University of Utah where she is a missionary.

The new Team at Kumamoto: Oobayashi and Clements Choro, Blau, Tagawa, and Itu now Ito Shimai.

Neki, Yo, Zaico, Triffitt, Anderson, Watanabe, Lemon Choro, Barraclough and Johnson Shimai.
Yo, Zaico, Lemon Choro, Barraclough and Johnson Shimai all went home.

Alma 29:9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do ^anot ^bglory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.
These wonderful missionaries are certainly instruments in the hands of God!!

Okamura, Yoshizawa Shimai and Sister Margetts at the Mission Home. Sister Margetts is so full of fun!! Wish we could show you the horse head video!

The Office Staff, Assistants to the President and the Elders who are returning home.

Barraclough and Johnson Shimai with Bess. My mommas?

Our Mamas are going home. They were so much help when we got here!


Moth at Fukuoka. Lots of interesting insects.

We played Balloon Stomp at Sports night Friday.

We had a great week. We are happy to see so many successful missionaries return home to start their lives and excited to make new friends of their replacements.

Love,
Grandpa and Grandma
Dad and Mom
Tom and Bess

Fall is Here!!!!!! Sept 19 - 25, 2011

Temperatures in the 70s during the day and 60s at night. What a welcome relief. One more very busy week. The Stake put on a Relief Society Program most of Monday with mini workshops, a program, and a display of hand crafted items.

Chinese dumplings at the Koidais. Gluten free!!

That night we went with Oobayashi and Masson Choro, Ito and Itu Shimai to Bishop Koidai's home to have dinner and receive instructions on what he wants us to do to help the Nagamini Ward. He said he needs our help teaching the ward members not to judge and to learn to be member missionaries.
3 Nephi 14:2

• 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

We are not sure how to do this, we are praying for guidance. Since we started praying to love others unconditionally we have enjoyed other people more and have found good in everyone. It has been fun to take goodies to lots of people and make friends.
At District meeting on Tuesday the lesson taught by Elder Yo was to not judge people. The Lord works in mysterious ways, but this is a knock on the head! Elder Yo taught us to not judge at first appearances, but to see everyone as a child of God.
Matthew 7:1 & 2
1 ^aJudge not, that ye be not ^bjudged.

2 For with what ^ajudgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what ^bmeasure ye mete, it shall be ^cmeasured to you again. We think this maybe be important!

The mean looking man in the middle is actually a friend of Yo Choro's. A good man!

Lunch time activity, De Freitas Choro making an animal of the handwipes.

Tom, Bess, DeFreitas and Masson Choro( like that face?)

Iino and Clements Choro, rabbit and duck

Ito Shimai's baby chick.

Iino, Clements Choro, Itu and Ito Shimai.

Oobayashi and Yo Choro, Tsutamori and Matsuhashi Shimai. Yo Choro dies Thursday and goes back to Korea.

Fontenet, Hill, Kwon and Abe Choro.

Wednesday and Thursday we got to travel the Kagaoshima Zone and judge the missionaries apartments as to their cleanliness? We try to be fair. This is the only time we will go to Kagoshima as the Sakamoto Fufu will check them until they go home. We trained the Sakamoto Fufu on what was expected and gave them the forms. They will do a great job and the missionaries are going to love them. The missionaries there are the best, but then we say that where ever we travel!



A little of Kagoshima scenery.

Edwards and Stirland Choro. Their Sendai apartment was Celestial and the ice cream was on sale!

Cleaning the air conditioner/heater vents. Good Choro!

C. Williams and Ushiro Choro of the Kagoshima apartment, Celestial, and they move into a new apartment next transfer.

Hattori and Yoha Shimai of Taniyama. Celestial! Inspection only took 15 minutes! Baskin and Robbins!!

Friday we helped with the Stake Service Project. It was along a river by the bay. We cleaned up the trash that had been multiplying for some time. It was hard work, but the members from ages one to 70 were there to clean up this place. The City employees were very excited. They said we accomplished half of what they need to do this fall. Everyone worked hard and enjoyed serving others.

Tom and Bess, tired, but it was fun to play in the plants and dirt.

Tobias Sopu and Tom shooting the breeze? Notice the bird?

Notice the dragon flies in the center of picture. Tons of them everywhere.

DeFreitas Choro, Bess and Tom relaxing waiting for the group picture.



Some of the Nagamini and Kumamoto Ward members.

Friday night we jointed with Tsuboi Choro for a lesson for Mayumi and then we attended a baptism for Miyose, a 20 year old man. What a great day! Then we bagged Sports Night and had a movie night on our computer. We watched the missionary DVD, The District, complete with intermissions every 5 to 6 minutes.

Masson Choro and Miyose.

We were able to attend the temple on Saturday and serve the dead. We love to attend the Temple. It is fun working the English section and helping the Japanese with their English.


Traffic in Fukuoka was horrible. Tom is a very patient driver, now.

Cruise ship docked in Fukuoka.

Sunday we attended Tsuboi Ward with Sister Kawabe. She is doing so good, but her children are not coming yet. The Sacrament meeting speaker was Elder Tashiiro. We were praying for the gift of interpretation of tongues when a lady came and sat behind us and translated for us. Prayers are answered. It was a good meeting and we met a new investigator, Aki, that looks and acts like a member. It was her first Sacrament Meeting and what a good one for the first. Bess got a bad headache and did not attend the Nagamime Ward, but Tom and the Choro were able to give her a blessing so she could be up to taking the missionaries to Mt. Aso on Monday. We will share picture of that next week!

President Spencer W. Kimball has explained the relationship of following the will of God and of performing the ordinance of administration for the sick: “We are assured by the Lord that the sick will be healed if the ordinance is performed, if there is sufficient faith, and if the ill one is ‘not appointed unto death.’ (See D&C 42:44–48.)

This is how pears come packaged. Just thought you would enjoy this!

Love you all!
Mom and Dad
Grandma and Grandpa
The Christensens, Bess and Tom