"Missionaries Are a Treasure of the Church"

Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita of the Seventy spoke at the Sunday afternoon session of the recent General Conference.  His address, "Missionaries Are a Treasure of the Church," struck home and reminded us of the important work that Elliot is doing in Oklahoma and Texas.  Elder Yamashita started his remarks with a great story of a young missionary whom he met in Japan:

One night a number of years ago, a newly called missionary named Elder Swan and his Japanese senior companion came to visit our home. Fortunately I was home, so I invited them in. When I greeted them at the door, my eyes were drawn to the coat that Elder Swan was wearing. Without thinking, I said to him, “That sure is a nice coat you are wearing!” However, it wasn’t a new coat, and it was rather faded. I assumed that the coat was one that a previous missionary had left behind in the missionary apartment.  

Elder Swan immediately responded to my words, and it was completely the opposite of what I had been thinking. In halting Japanese he replied, “Yes, this is a good coat. My father wore this coat when he served as a missionary in Japan over 20 years ago.”  

His father had served in the Japan Okayama Mission. And when his son was leaving to serve a mission in Japan, he had given his coat to him. This picture shows that coat that two generations of Elder Swans wore in Japan.   [You can see the picture at 1:25 of the video, after the jump.] 

I was touched when I heard Elder Swan’s words. And I now understood why Elder Swan wore his father’s coat while he was proselyting. Elder Swan had embarked on his mission having inherited his father’s love for Japan and its people.

Elder Yamashita shared the story of his own conversion and baptism, and then offered the following advice to young men and women in the Church preparing to serve missions:

So I speak to my sons and to all of you preparing to serve missions. It is necessary to bring three things with you on your mission: 

1. A desire to preach the gospel. The Lord wants you to search for His sheep and seek them out. [Ezekiel 34:11.] People all over the world are waiting for you. Please go quickly to where they are. No one strives harder than missionaries to go to the rescue of others. I am one of those rescued.
2. Develop your testimony. The Lord requires your “heart and a willing mind.” [Doctrine and Covenants 64:34.]
3. Love others, just like Elder Swan, who brought his father’s coat and his father’s love for Japan and its people with him on his mission. 

And for those of you who don’t know how to prepare to serve a mission, please go and see your bishop. I know that he will help you.

The full text of Yamashita's address can be found here.  And after the jump, you can see a video of his address.

The World Report features stories on Joplin and Japan

The October 2011 edition of The World Report, a semiannual report of news events around the world pertaining to the Church, was released yesterday.  It includes reports on two topics that we have covered on Elliot's blog, the tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  It's good to see missionaries featured in both videos.  With introductions from the website, here are the videos.



Church Provides Relief to Devastated Joplin, Missouri: A string of tornadoes swept through the Midwest on 22 May 2011. Local leaders organized relief groups and hundreds of volunteers to help with cleanup.





Japan Earthquake Relief Efforts: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to help in the effort to rebuild Japan since March’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. One recent effort includes the donation of a new industrial-size ice maker to fishermen in a small village near Sendai.

Missionaries continue to provide service in Japan

I love stories of missionary service, and there have been many such stories in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.  A pair of recent reports (here and here) document the service rendered by a group of 80 missionaries who helped to restore a Shinto shrine in Tagajo, right outside Sendai.

The Yawata Shrine had been devastated by the tsunami with cars washed into the grounds, the shrine flooded, and sacred relics scattered and destroyed. Eighty missionaries from Tokyo spent the day clearing out the debris and salvaging the shrine's treasures.

Their service did not go unnoticed by local religious leaders.

When Moriyasu Ito at Meiji Shrine saw the pictures of the service project in Tagajo he was overwhelmed and contacted the Church, which has had a long-standing relationship with the shrine. A priest who has responsibility for international affairs at the shrine, he has studied at BYU and lived with an LDS family in Provo, Utah.

He exclaimed, "Even we have not done anything to help the shrines in Tohoku. We want to know why the Mormons have done this."

At the invitation of leaders of the Mejia Shrine in Tokyo, missionaries and their leaders had an opportunity to explain why they render such service.

President William S. Albrecht of the Japan Tokyo Mission introduced eight missionaries who had worked on the project. Each of the missionaries spoke before a group of around 50 priests and employees, describing the feelings they had while working at the Yawata Shrine. Warmth, gratitude and happiness were a consistent theme in their remarks. During a question-and-answer session, Meiji priests asked why the missionaries chose to go on a full-time mission. The missionaries discussed their personal motivation for taking time out of their lives to give service to Christ.

Sister Cindy Grames, a full-time missionary who directs Public Affairs in the Asia North Area with her husband, Elder Conan Grames, explained, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has great respect and appreciation for Meiji Shrine and its clergy. The Yawata project was an opportunity to strengthen the bonds between our two religions as well as lend a helping hand to a friend. The Shinto religion epitomizes the culture and beauty of this great nation. We were pleased to help."

Deseret News: "Mormon missionaries return to Sendai to help Japanese rebuild"

The Deseret News recently posted a story documenting the return of Church missionaries to Sendai, Japan.  We've posted several stories about the impact of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami on missionaries serving in the area (here, here, here, here, and here).  It's great to see that conditions have improved to the point that missionaries have been allowed to return.

Interestingly, the story features Elder Patrick Hiltbrand, a missionary from Idaho who was previously featured in an msnbc.com news blog story.  The Deseret News story tells of Elder Hiltbrand's return to Sendai:

Thursday, three months after being trapped on the second story of an LDS Church meetinghouse while water from a massive tsunami consumed the city below him, Hiltbrand returned with others from the Sendai Japan Mission to help rebuild this community.

"It is a weird feeling to realize the last time I was here cars were piled up on top of each other," said Hiltbrand, who is from Pocatello, Idaho. "It feels good to be able to serve people and help people where I was able to see what happened to them."

The first order of business for the returning missionaries has been to provide much-needed service to the devastated region:

The first day back in Sendai, the missionaries attended a mission conference. The next day they did what they had wanted to do since the earthquake and tsunami; they returned to the disaster zone and started cleaning up.

Thursday was their second opportunity to service tsunami victims.

The story tells of another young American missionary's experience in returning to Sendai:

"It is good to get into the areas that have been damaged and to come and help people," said Elder Blake Ovard of St. George. "It is good to restore and take care of some of the damage that has been done."

He added, "We are thankful to be back and doing what we can do. We could do this everyday and be happy with it."

Watch a related video after the jump, courtesy of KSL News.

Missionary news from around the world: Japan and the Ivory Coast

The Church posted two news stories recently about missionary service in Japan and the Ivory Coast.  Here are brief excerpts and links to the stories.

Japan

We previously posted about missionaries in Japan and how they were affected by the earthquake and tsunami and associated problems at nuclear plants (here, here, here, and here).  In a recent story, the Church reports that some missionaries will return to areas of Japan that had been evacuated:

Six weeks after a 9.0 earthquake and devastating tsunami hit Japan, some missionaries that were previously removed from the Japan Tokyo and Japan Sendai Missions will return to areas now considered safe within those missions. These missionaries will be transferred in the near future, with other missionaries likely returning as conditions continue to improve.

Missionaries will return to areas located a significant distance from the region most affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Those returning to the Japan Tokyo Mission will be serving in areas to the south and west of Tokyo, while those returning to the Japan Sendai Mission will be located at the northern tip and western side of the island.

We're sure those missionaries will be glad as their missionary service begins to return to normal.

Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast has been hit with political strife in recent months, leading to the suspension of all missionary activities in the country.  The Church reports:

A disputed presidential election has led to widespread violence in the Ivory Coast during the last few months, leaving hundreds of people dead. There are no reports of deaths or injuries among Latter-day Saints in the country, and all missionaries are reported safe.

The Church moved all missionaries who are not native Ivorians out of the Ivory Coast in December. Non-Ivorian missionaries have been evacuated to the nearby countries of Benin and Togo, with the mission president operating from Togo. Ivorian missionaries have been given temporary leave to return to their homes or to stay with local members until it is safe to resume missionary activities. 

We're glad to hear all the missionaries are safe and will watch for further developments on this story.

NBC News blog: "Quake gives new meaning to a young man's mission"

Thanks to Lisa Peacock for spotting this follow-up story about the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.  (Lisa's son Justin is on a mission in Mexico.  He and Elliot, who were in the MTC at the same time, are pictured here, and you can find Justin's blog here.)  It's another NBC News report from Kari Huus, a senior reporter for msnbc.com.  She tells the story of Elder Patrick Hiltbrand, a missionary from Pocatello, Idaho, who is serving in Japan.  Elder Hiltbrand and his companion, Yuji Aiura, experienced the earthquake and tsunami up close and personal.

Dressed in the standard issue white-shirt-and-tie, he and his “companion” Yuji Aiura — Mormon missionaries always travel in pairs — had arrived by bicycle to a small restaurant in Tagajo, a river town about two miles from the ocean.

They were discussing the power of God with two local Japanese when the shaking began. They ignored it at first says Hiltbrand — there are so many small quakes in this region — but not for long.

The growing fury of the rumbling drove them to take shelter under a table. Then they decided to run outside.

“There was a loud bang and everything was moving in every direction,” Hiltbrand says. “Cars were rocking on the street.”

When it stopped, the two missionaries jumped on their bikes and rode to check on their apartment, then headed to the Mormon church in Tagajo, dodging newly created crevices and open manholes.

But the earthquake was just the beginning of their troubles.

Any illusion that the disaster was over quickly passed as traffic built—with cars heading inland toward Sendai. Then police and fire vehicle sirens began blaring tsunami warnings.

Hiltbrand and Aiura climbed to the second story of the church, a building that is raised 4 to 5 feet off the ground.

The watched out the window as the water level rose rapidly, aided by the river that wraps around the town—and sucked their bicycles into a torrent, along with cars and debris.

Water began pouring through the church’s mail slot in the door of the first floor.

“From the second floor it sounded like a waterfall,” said Hiltbrand. “I went downstairs, and as I watched it coming in … the glass on the door shattered and water came pouring in.”

When the water subsided, Elder Hiltbrand and Elder Aiura made their way to Sendai with the aid of a local church member, arriving some 24 hours after the earthquake.  We're glad to hear they came through unscathed and undaunted by the experience.

For his part, Hiltbrand is itching to get back to the disaster zone.

“I really want to be in Tagajo helping people,” he says. “I have many friends in Tagajo and I don’t know how they are. I don’t know how they will clean it all up and I want to help.”