______
NEWSLETTER
ANNUAL FOR ALL RETURNED MISSIONARIES OF THE NORTHERN FAR EAST MISSION MARCH 2010
FRIDAY
APRIL 2, 2009
2009 REUNION
1750 SOUTH 1500 EAST
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH84115
EDGEHILL LDS CHAPEL
6:30 P. M.
FULL COURSE JAPANESE FOOD BUFFET,
ALL NFE MISSION RETURNED MISSIONARIES, WHO SERVED IN JAPAN and KOREA, FAMILY (INCLUDING KIDS & GRANDKIDS), AND ANY FRIENDS/GUESTS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BRING ARE INVITED
HOW MUCH? Still just $7.50/PERSON!!
Please R.S.V.P. intent to attend to:
James R. Howell, Jr., Association Treasurer, by phone to 801-582-8443. Or mail to 1919 Yale Ave., Salt Lake City, UT84108 or e. mail Jim & Jane atr e. mail Webmaster Summers at
WEBSITE:
MapContact:Webmaster Wayne | Send Email
Gene Till's RM's are invited!
"Come & Enjoy the 200+ that will be there. Maybe you'll get lucky and find an old companion"
ASIA NORTH AREA PRESIDENCY
CHANGED
Elder Gary E. Stevenson took over as
President;Elder Yoon Hwan Choi, became 1st
Counselor; and ElderKoichi Aoyagi, became 2nd
Counselor.
Elder Choi is a native of Korea and Elder Aoyagi
is a native of Japan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SHIRLEY Y. TONG, IS 2009 UTAH MOTHER OF YEAR.
SOMEKOREA
JAPANMISSIONS
REALIGNED!
SEOULWEST MISSIONABSORBED
BY DAEJEON & SEOUL!
HIROSHIMAMISSION ABSORBED
BY KOBEFUKUOKA!
Here’s the scoop from Tokyo PBO Director Don Rich:
Attached is a letter issued under the signature of the Area Presidency just a week or so ago. I believe it adequately explains what is being done and the reasons behind it.
February 4,2010
Dear Brethren:
Under thedirectionoftheFirstPresidencyand the QuorumoftheTwelveApostles,we,theAsiaNorthAreaPresidency, announce to you that some of the missions in this area will be merged effective as of July 1, 2010.
These missions are being merged to accommodate the worldwide growth of the Church. This change, however, will bring us to a new phase of missionary workinthisarea,andtheexpectationisthatthedeclinednumberofmissionarieswillcausetheretobeunitsthroughouttheareawithoutassignedmissionaries.Butwetakethisas anopportunitytorealizeourdesiretoshiftourmissionaryeffortsfrombeingmissionary-oriented tomember-oriented,theidealmethod.Weseekagreaterunderstandingforandahigherlevelofcooperationwiththemissionaryworkfromleadersandmembers alike.
Themergerwillhappeninthefollowingmanner:
1.The HiroshimaJapanMissionwillbedividedandmergedintothe FukuokaJapanandKobeJapanMissions.Asaresultofthis, theHiroshimaStakeandYamaguchi
Districtwillbecomeapartof the FukuokaJapanMission;andtheOkayamaStake,TakamatsuDistrict, andMatsuyamaDistrictwillbea partoftheKobe JapanMission.
2.TheSeoul-WestKoreaMissionwillbe dividedandmergedintothe SeoulandDaejeonKoreamissions.
WiththefirstPresidencyandtheQuorumofthe TwelveApostles,wewouldliketoextendourheartfeltgratitude andrespecttothewonderfulleaders, PresidentandSisterYoshiakiIsa,whohaveledtheHiroshimaJapanMissionwithgreatdedicationanddevotioninharmony withtheLord’swill.
Sincerely,
AsiaNorthAreaPresidency
Gary E.Stevenson
YoonHwanChoi
KoichiAoyagi
3RD TEMPLE TO BE
CONSTRUCTED
IN
SAPPORO!
Pres. Thomas S. Monson announced the wonderful news at the beginning of the October 2009 General Conference.
Don Rich, Director of the PBO office in Tokyo, indicates search for property is still in process. When further developments occur, they shall be made known.
The 1st temple in Japan was dedicated by Pres. Spencer W. Kimball in 1980.
The 2nd temple in Japan was dedicated by Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley in 2002.
LOCAL MTC’S
IN KOREAJAPAN
DISCONTINUED
The MTCs in Japan and Korea have been closed.Korea was closed in December of 2008, and the last session for the Japan MTC was November 2009. All missionaries from Japan and Korea are now being sent to the Provo MTC for their training. The Church felt there were not enough missionaries going through these MTCs to justify keeping them open.
The missionaries going through the MTC in Provo now get to see just how large the Church is and that they are not the only missionaries in the world. It is hard to visualize this concept when you only have 10-30 in your session. In Provo, they see hundreds of missionaries receiving their training.
Doniel G. Rich
Director for Temporal Affairs, Asia North Area
BUILDING & REMODELS
The Asia North Area has been affected by the world-wide economic downturn. Therefore, construction of new buildings has been substantially reduced, as has remodeling of existing buildings.That said, two buildings have recently been completed and have been scheduled for dedication in March.
The leased facilities in Marugame had continued to decline to where it was unsafe for members to continue to meet in the building. The Church owned a piece of property in a good location, and received authorization to construct the first P100-1 to be constructed on that property. This type of building will seat up to 100 and is designed for a single unit. The building can be expanded as needed to accommodate growth in the future. This is also the first building in Japan that is not a multi-story building. Rather, because the property is sufficiently large to handle parking, it is a one story building that looks and feels a lot like the buildings we are accustomed to having along the Wasatch Front, only much smaller in size.
The Church-owned, purchased building in Kawasakiwas demolished and a new multi-story building constructed on the same site. The building is a slightly modified standard plan currently being constructed in the area, designed to house at least two units, with a possibility of three. Mechanical 3-tier parking is available for the members that will hold 24 vehicles, with additional 16 parking spaces available in front of the mechanical parking. This should be sufficient to handle growth in that area for some time into the future. It also saved a substantial amount of money by not having to purchase property in that area to construct this building.
Most of the construction being done under the current economic conditions are additions to existing buildings for additional classrooms and elevators. Here again, however, the number of these we able to do each year is limited.
There is nothing to share on the property for the Sapporo Temple, as we are still trying to acquire a piece of property for the temple. We know how excited members of the Church are on this, but there is simply nothing to share with you at this moment.
Doniel G. RichDirector for Temporal AffairsAsia North Area
NEW CALLINGSFROM
JAN. 2009 - FEB. 2010
2009
1/25/09 Eric C. Evans TokyoSouth Stake Pres.
4/4/09 Hirofumi Nakatsuka Area 70
4/ 4/09 Katsumi Kusume Area 70
4/ 4/09 Chikao OishiArea 70
4/ 4/09 Hee Keun OhArea 70
4/ 4/09 Duck Soo BaeArea 70
5/31/09 Yoshikazu YokoyamaTokyoStake Pres
6/30/09Sherman K. MargettsFukuoka Miss Pres
6/30/09 W. Steve AlbrechtTokyo Mission Pres.
8/ 1/09 Gary E. StevensonArea President
8/ 1/09 Yoon Hwan Choi Area Pres. 1st Couns.
8/ 1/09 Koichi AoyagiArea Pres. 2nd Couns.
9/13/09 Kazuya SakurabaAsahigawa Stake Pres.
9/20/09 Hiroaki Hirose Kanazawa Stake Pres.
2010
2/ 7/10 Eiji Suita Osaka Stake Pres.
3/1/10 Masa & Faith Watabe Area Exec/Asst. Sectys.
NEW WEBSITES
TO HELP
CONNECT WITH
MOREOF
FATHER’S CHILDREN
Dear Wayne,
We received this e-mail and were so excited to check out the new English Class web site, goeigo.org Thought others might be interested in what is going on. This is great! We are home now. The missionaries are now Attending the MTC in Provo. It is a marvelous opportunity for them to see the church and missionary program in full force.
It will give them a vision of the Church they have not seen before. We were so sad to leave, but very excited to see what Is happening in Japan. Much work to do and many are needed! We hope to return as soon as we are able.
Jim and Denise McArthur
From: Kent Gilbert [mailto:
Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 7:03 AM
To: Denise Mc Arthur
Subject: Fasting for Missionary Work
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As many of you may be aware, the Tokyo Mission is, together with our stake, is piloting a number of initiatives designed to expand and extend missionary work in this area. The initiatives include web-based advertising and other web-based services as noted below. These initiatives, if successful, could make a significant difference in how the missionaries spend their time and the number of people exposed to the important doctrines of gospel of Jesus Christ. In that regard, we would like to invite you to join us and the Tokyo Mission in fasting on behalf of the missionary work in Japan generally and specifically that these pilots will be successful in bringing more people to the knowledge of the Savior.
As part of this effort, we would also like to encourage you to invite friends and coworkers to visit This site allows people to find a close English class in any of our churches throughout Japan. It also showcases free weekly English video lessons that can be easily shared.
These lessons are synchronized with the new standardized English curriculum taught throughout this and other missions. We also invite you to check out the and websites.
Through this, we believe we can share a valuable service with the community and help the church come out of obscurity in Japan. We also believe that as people enter into our churches and feel the Spirit there, they will naturally have the desire to learn more.
Regards,
Eric C Evans, Jeffrey A. Siebach, Mitchell A. Mason Tokyo South Stake Presidency
CURRENT TEMPLEPRESIDENTS
SeoulPres. Jun Jong Chul Nov. 2006
FukuokaPres. Asao Miyashita Nov. 2009
TokyoPres. Toru Hotta Nov. 2009
Two new mission presidents:
Pres. Toru Hotta,70, and wife Sis.Sachiko Tagawa Hotta are from Nagoya Stake, Gokiso Ward. They were Sapporo Mission parents. In addition, Pres. Hotta has been on a District Council, stake president, bishop, ward missionleader, temple worker, and for his profession regional CES coordinator, and Nagoya Region Institute Director.
Sis. Hotta has been a seminary teacher, ward and stake Relief Society President, and teacher in Sunday School.
MISSION PRESIDENTS JULY 2010
KOREA(2 New with asterisks)
Kenneth W. Jennings,Jr.Pusanto 7-2011
Yong Hwan Lee Soul to 7-2012
Craig Palmer Burton Seoul Westto 7-2010
*Mark C. FurnissDaejoento 7-2013
JAPAN
Sherman K. MargettsFukuokato 7-2112
Yoshiaki IsaHiroshimato 7-2010
William A. McIntyre, Jr. Kobe to 7-2011
Scott O. Baird Nagoyato 7-2013
Lee A. DanielsSapporoto 7-2011
Reid TateokaSendaito 7-2011
Steve W. AlbrechtTokyoto 7-2112
Pres. Craig Palmer Burton will be released after his
full regular 3 year mission.
Pres. Yoshiaki Isa will be released July 1, 2010 after 2
years instead of a 3 year mission whenthe Hiroshima
Mission is absorbed into the Kobe and Fukuoka Missions.
GROWTH STATISTICS
Japan Korea
2009 2010 2009 2010
Stakes 29 29 17 17
Wards 163 163 9493
Branches 125 125 4846
Districts 14 14 66
Membership 123,245 124,216 81,25182,770
Missions 7 7 44
Temples 2 2 11
Area 70’s 5 5 22
Guam & Micronesia Membership 7,222. No Area Authorities now.
CURRENT AREA 70’s
Tetsuji IshiiJapan 5/2007
Satoshi NishiharaJapan 2008
Katsumi KazumiJapan 2009
Hirofumi NakasukaJapan 2009
Chikao OishiJapan 2009
Duck Soo Bae Korea 2009
Hee Keun OhKorea 2009
RELEASED AREA 70’s
Pita F. HopoateGuam 5/2005
Kazuhiko YamashitaJapan 2001
Toru HottaJapan 4/2004
Ben KikuchiJapan 4/2004
Koichi AoyagiJapan 2008
Called to 2nd Quorum of 70 2009
Hwan LeeKorea 4/2004
Yoon Hwan ChoiKorea 5/2007
Called to 1st Quorum of 70 2009
YAMAGATA SHIBU
EXPERIENCESSOUGHT
FORHISTORY
Sis. Yoshiko Maloney, 1st member of Yamagata Shibu,
is working with TetsuoOishi & Kenichi Niwa Kyodais to compile a history of the Yamagata Branch to be published this October.
Anyone who served in the branch or knows someone who served in the branch is sincerely asked to communicate with Sis. Maloney who now lives near Washington, D.C..
Please share your journal entries or just recollections you have or have heard about the members, missionaries, investigators, events, experiences pertaining to the branch.
Please be serious about this historical endeavor.
Please spend some time and assist by communicating your own memories and also those memories of others you have heard.
Or, merely share with Sis. Maloney any names of companions or others you remember so she may follow up with them.
Sis. Maloney’s contact info is ,
2009 REUNION DRAWS 174!
Visitors from Nihon included Satoshii Nishihara who gave his recollections through interpreter Mark Riddle, andShinsei Takara with 4-5,000 ancestral names.
Bro Jensen and Family put on a super feast including misoshiru.
There were8 or 9 first timers or hisashiburi sankasha. Wonderful Pres. Dwayne N. Andersenfaithfully was with us with his new companion – an oxygen tank – which substituted for Sis. Peggy Andersen who did not attend.
Vaun Andrus reported his father Pres. Paul Andrusand mother Francesare 85 and doing as well as can be expected.Paul & Francis Andrus’ daughter LaVerna also attended.Pres. Andrus sent all the NFE a wonderful e. m.
Association President Lou Erickson did an excellent jobconducting and V. Garth Norman, NFE PA 9/56, was railroaded into being our new 2nd VP.William C. Lewis, replaced Randy Taylor on the Activities Committee and agreed to assume 2nd VP after Garth Norman.
One kyodaiand shimaifromJapanasked if we knew of anypotential husbands for another 60 yr oldsingle shimaiaccompanying them.
A Good time had by all
SEOUL KOREA MISSION
Our mission had 134 baptisms in 2009. We currently have 70 missionaries, 8 Koreans, and 12 Sisters.
The Seoul West Mission will be merged into the Seoul Mission on July 1, 2010. Suwonwill become a part of the Daejeon Mission.
Happy New Year! Kyungin means “white tiger”, which symbolizes strength and jumping. Let's make this yearwonderful and jumping!
Let's make our goals double, make our works double and make our prayers double. And our Lord will bless us double. How wonderful it would be to be blessed double.
Yong Hwan Lee, President of KoreaSeoulMission
This last conference President Eyring taught us about being prepared…[P]reparation begins a long time before the moment when we will need that help.
In order to help us prepare for the New Year, President has given us new Mission Standards. President Lee wants us to double up this year, and he has given us these standards to help us raise our vision, and spread the gospel among the wonderful people of Korea!!
Your brothers in the work and in the Gospel of Christ, Elder 권오준 and Elder Hosler
A few things I learned on my mission:
I came to Seoul for a reason. There have been many times where I wondered what I was doing here, if I am a useless missionary, etc. When I was a new senior I felt like that a lot.
1. But in my first transfer I met an investigator I had meta couple of times at my workplace in Utahbefore my missionand because of that we had instant 정. There were many times while we taught her when I felt like it was the Lord who sent her to my workplace those 2 times and that I had been sent to Korea just to meet her.
Even if it was only to meet that investigator, I know that the Lord has had a specific purpose for me in Korea.
2. People treat me the way I treat them, and they treat the gospel the same way I treat it. When I am genuinely happy and excited about my message when I 전도… people realize how important it is to me, and to them.
3. I don’t need to be perfect at Korean. One day a sister in my ward called. She just had a random question. But after I answered her she suddenly said, “You know...you don’t have to be perfect at Korean. Even though your mother is Korean, you weren’t taught when you were younger.”
I didn’t even know I was stressed over that. But it hit me so hard that I got a couple of tears. I don’t need to be perfect at Korean, and I’m not. The spirit comes first, and then Korean.
4. Missionaries are angels. Joseph Smith said that there are three types of angels, and one type is missionaries. Members have always opened up to me and tend to look for counsel as well, even if it’s the first time visiting them. Remembering that they consider us angels helps me to try harder.
5. I can make miracles. In the Daejeon mission they did a program called “make-a-miracle” where they would pray and work for a specific miracle - as specific as a girl in a pink shirt ready to hear the gospel. I believe that by praying in specifics and working with that prayer in mind, God will grant me my miracle.
6. My favorite scripture is 2 Nephi 4:26; 34. When I try to remember how much the Lord has blessed me, that is when I am happiest. The Lord has been very merciful allowing me to serve a mission, and I will always be grateful to Him for that. I know He lives.
Sister Gina Walker
KOBEJAPANMISSION
Pres. William A. McIntyre, Jr. reports 2009 convert baptisms tripled in the Kobe Mission from the previous year. “The increase was primarily from street contacting and housing, but we saw a good increase in part member families and Eikaiwa related baptisms as well.”
“This year is off to a great start. Working closer with the members is paying off. Referral and part-member baptisms have increased in the first two months of this year.”
Pres. McIntyreobserves mission consolidation is influenced by decrease in available young men from baby boomer families in North America. Multiple companionships in each branch/ward area will be no longer except in large cities. In fact, some will not have any.
Logistics, expense of mission homes, etc. cannot be justified in some cases. “The day for members in Japan to step up their missionary efforts has truly come!”
The idea missionaries in Japan are only going to plant seeds is a myth. They are called to and can gather the elect, baptize, and establish the Church. The Sons of Mosiah were laughed at but they were successful. Japanmissionaries and members can unite and retain members.
“I have found many so called ‘active’ members and leaders in Japanhad periodsof inactivity in the past. Like all Japanese members must learn the importance of the gospel in their lives.”The thought Japan converts will not remain faithful is another “great falsehood.”
Temples are built where the faithful reside. Pres. McIntyre sees even 4th generation Japan saints serving mission. A temple in Sapporo will be built.
He declared Pres. Eyring’s prophecy “Tell your sons, daughters, nephews, nieces andmembersof your wardsand stake called to Japan that you can and will baptize in Japan! For they thatbelieve they can, usually do”will and is being realized.”
The Kobe Mission will make assimilation of part of the HiroshimaMission smooth and adopt many “good things Hiroshima Mission Pres. Asa started.”Both missions are dedicated followers of Preach My Gospel.
“We must not look backwards.” It’s about the one, and “we must notsitidleandwatch andwaitforthe prophecies tobefulfilled regarding Japan. Wemust askourselves what weshouldbedoingtofulfillthe prophecies regardingthis land,andthengodoit.”
JAPANSENDAIMISSION
This past year 84 elect people entered the waters of baptism. We made it 93% of the way to our ambitious goal to double our baptisms. Using any method of measurement, 2009 was a great year.Eighty-four people represent the equivalent of an entire new branch.