The Sendai Mission

Lake across from the Morioka chapel, Sendai Mission

Beautiful swans with blue on their beaks! (to match my fingers!)

We hit the road again this past week. Had five zone conferences in five days. The Sendai Mission is the largest of the missions in Japan, being 10 hours by car from the north to the south. If you have a map handy...we took the train to Hachinohe where President and Sister Tateoka picked us up and we drove 3 hours to Aomori.

Aomori zone Sendai Mission

This a seaport town and their weather comes off the Siberian peninsula...brrr! It was so cold and windy and the snow came down sideways! One of the concerns here is keeping these dedicated missionaries from getting frostbite in the winter!
(and we left Tokyo with a blazing 73 degrees the day before)

Outside our Tokyo apartment window...compare to...

Outside the hotel in Aomori

Next stop was Morioka, which was a five hour drive because the freeway was closed so we took back roads. The chapel in Morioka had a beautiful lake across the street with many lovely swan and a large flock of ducks.

Ducks and Swan...so pretty

The Sendai zone was next and we had a great time with these amazing missionaries and their very hardworking Mission President and his wife. One of the APs said he was from Washington too...yes, here is a picture of Elder John Edwards from Moses Lake, WA with his companion Elder Fukuda. He was baptized in Moses Lake when he was 16. Both of his parents teach at Moses Lake High School! We had never met, but he knows some of our kids and we know many of the same people. What fun! He is an incredible missionary!

Elders Edwards and Fukuda

Our next stops were Koriyama and Nigata. Nigata is on the far west of Honshu on the Sea of Japan. It was a very inspiring week and we had a fabulous time!

Always on the lookout for great signage! Aomori store front!

The Seoul Mission

The Browns, Chos, Biesingers (office couple from West Jordan) and Meads in front of the first chapel in Korea, built in 1937 and purchased by the church in 1957. It is now the mission office with a nice chapel right next door. Behind it is a Buddhist temple, where chanting can be heard at all hours!

We traveled to Seoul, South Korea this week to visit the Seoul Mission. Elder and Sister Mead are here from Provo, where he taught family counseling for many years. We four travel as a team and present mental and physical health guidelines and helps to the missionaries in each mission once a year. We have 11 missions and so we travel on an average of once a month. Meeting with these wonderful missionaries and their inspired Presidents and wives is the highlight of our responsibilities here in the Asia North Area.

We had two wonderful days of zone conferences and got acquainted with some outstanding missionaries. President and Sister Cho (pronounced "Joe") were very kind and gracious to us. It is such a joy to see these missionaries in the hands of such outstanding people as the mission presidents and their wives. It is certainly a stressful and overwhelming job that they each handle with dedication and joy. Truly they are all amazing!

Sister Min offers a portuki. Elder Brown said it was "not bad"

Missionary group from 3 of the 5 zones in Seoul

One of the things that has been difficult in South Korea has been the food. It is either too spicy or too strange for the western palate. This trip however, we were introduced to bulgogi, which was a hit with the Browns. Small slices of meat (I did not ask what kind) simmered in broth with a few mushrooms and garlic added to the bowl of rice made for a great lunch.

This is rice and beans rolled in a lily pad and steamed. Our traditional dinner had 14 courses!

Yes, baby squid...crunchy little delicacy

Sister Min (President Cho's wife...in South Korea, the women keep their maiden names) was eager for each of us to try some of the Korean specialty dishes. Sister Mead and I tried to be polite and taste everything, but I did call a halt to the baby squid called portuki.
The visit was a fine success, the church is true and and the missionaries are hard at work in South Korea!