Fukuchiyama District Conference - March 2011

This past Sunday we held District Conference for the Fukuchiyama Member District. It was attended by about 100 members from the Toyooka, Maizuru, Fukuchiyama and Nishiwaki Branches. Elder Aoyagi of the Seventy presided. Here are some of the children from these branches.

Group picture on Sunday afternoon. Not all in attendance are pictured as this taken after the main session and lunch. The Sunday meetings were held in the Nishiwaki District Center.

Toyooka Branch Primary Children - Aug 29, 2010

Here are some of the wonderful primary kids in the Toyooka Branch. We visited the branch on August 29th and particpated in the meetings there.

Weekend Baptisms in the Fukuchiyama Member District - March 2010

Brother Kishida was baptized in the Toyooka Branch this weekend. Brother Kishida's daughter Keiko Johnson and her family flew in from Utah to be at the baptism and Brother Johnson (son-in-law) perform the baptism. Sister Kishida has been a member for nearly 40 years and was one of the first members in Toyooka. This past year or so Brother Kishida has been studying the gospel diligently and was taught by several missionaries that served in the branch. It was a very special and long awaited baptismal service. The end of last month, Elders Shepley and Everts challenged Brother Kishida, who has had some health concerns, to fast and pray so that he could be baptized on March 20th. He accepted the commitment and we were able to witness a wonderful baptism on that day. Brother Kishida is looking forward to attending the temple and being sealed as a family and doing temple work for his family.I cannot emphasize the importance of the work we do among part-member families. Creating eternal families is central to our purpose as missionaries. We are gathering the blood of Israel. Is there not a better place to look for that blood than in a home where the blood already exists? We have seen an increase in baptisms among spouses, children and parents of members. These are truly answers to the prayers of faithful members. Many have prayed and been faithful for years in hopes of seeing their loved ones come unto Christ. We must be mindful of these people and patiently work with them and their loved ones to help them come unto to Christ.
Toyooka Branch members after the baptism.

The Furutani Family, a wonderful family in Toyooka, will be moving to Yamaguchi Prefecture next week. We are so sad to see them go. Brother Furutani has served in the District Presidency for several years. This weekend we had the chance to say goodbye one more time and get this picture with their family. We love their cute girls who always brighten up the church whenever we visit.Sister Miyagaki was baptized in the Fukuchiyama Branch. She was found and taught by Elders McGuire and Solomon.

Members of Fukuchiyama Branch attending the baptism at the river. Second baptism at this river in the past month!

Fukuchiyama Castle from the car on the drive to the river.

We love the Fukuchiyama District and the wonderful members there!

Toyooka Branch Conference - 2009

Sunday we had a nice trip to Toyooka for their Branch Conference. This is a wonderful little branch and we always enjoy visiting them. The conference was uplifting and the Spirit was felt. The Primary sang several songs and the theme of the conference was Eternal Families. Sister McIntyre and I both had the chance to speak. After the meetings we had a lunch and spent some time writing testimonies in copies of the Book of Mormon to be given to friends. We also had the chance to visit some families in their homes. The week before we held the Fukuchiyama District Conference in Fukuchiyama and Nishiwaki. Next Sunday I am visiting Nishiwaki Branch with Elder Ishii of the Seventy. We are spending a lot of time in the mountains of the Fukuchiyama District this month!

Last Week of November 2008 Summary - Zone Conferences, Toyooka Branch Conference, Thanksgiving

Everytime I go to Toyooka, these big carp just jump out of the river and scare me!Below- Sisters Wade, Ise and Painter at our Thanksgiving gathering at the mission home. They made the meal. We are all grateful, it was delicious!Thanksgiving Week was Zone Conference Week for the Kobe Mission. We held two combined Zone Conferences this week, one in Mikunigoaka and the other in Ibaraki. For both of the conferences, Sister McIntyre cooked turkeys and Sister Painter made some turkey a la king gravy with the meat. We had pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and of course rice. Feeding over 100 missionaries with our limited resources was not easy, but they all had plenty to eat and it tasted like an American Thanksgiving! Our conferences focused on Preach My Gospel chapters 10 and 11. Teaching skills and helping people make and keep commitments.

On Saturday evening Sister McIntyre and I travelled to Kawachinagano in the Sakai Stake to conduct a Fireside workshop on the importance of families.

Then early Sunday morning we were off to Toyooka for branch conference. See the detailed entry and pictures below. After returning from Toyooka on Sunday night we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner as a family and the missionaries in the Kobe district. The missionaries invited some of the their investigators, including a whole family of four, over our home for the dinner and we had a chance to fellowship and teach them. As always, a busy but wonderful week in the Japan Kobe Mission. Yes, the church is true and alive and well here.

Our meal Sunday night at the mission home after Branch Conference in Toyooka.

Toyooka Branch Conference - November 30, 2008

Sunday we attended the branch conference for the Toyooka Branch in the Fukuchiyama District. Sister McIntyre and I spoke as did Branch President Fujikawa and District President Tada. It was a wonderful conference. Sister McIntyre also taught a short lesson in Primary and spoke in the combined R.S. Priesthood meeting. Here are some of the sisters with Rika after conference and lunch. We love this branch. There are so many wonderful faithful families there. There is always a wonderful spirit in the meetings. I recently assigned two additional Elders to serve in this branch. The members are trying very hard to share the gospel. There were 7 non-members at branch conference and a total of 54 people in attendance. Average attendance is usually somewhere in the 30's. The branch set a goal to have over 50 attend and they exceeded that.

Above- Many of the branch members. By the time we took the picture, some people had left. Through the efforts of the branch presidency and home and visiting teachers, there were several people in attendance that had not been to church in a long time. One couple came for the first time in ten years. Some members brought their non-member parents as well. The missionaries serving here are Elders Kunihiro, Jones, Sorenson and Andrews. I suspect we will see some wonderful people coming to Christ here in the near future.

Here we are with the primary kids and youth. This is the future of the branch and I think it looks wonderful! I can imagine the day when these youth become missionaries and begin having families of their own. They are being raised by wonderful parents who teach them the gospel. We just love this branch, as we do all the branches we serve.

After the conference and lunch, Sister McIntyre and I travelled and visited two part member families with Presidents Fujikawa and Tada. We were able to visit the Kishida family and Nakashima family. It was wonderful to visit with these kind families. Both fathers are not members, but wonderful men who support their families and wives and have a positive impression of the church. The Nakashima's have a son serving in the same mission, Sapporo, with Erika. My counselors also visited families in the branch with other members of the branch presidency. It was a wonderful day.

The purpose of conference is to strengthen, inspire and increase the faith of the members. This was accomplished.

Toyooka Sunday Visit

Toyooka Branch

Mission Presidents preside over the Districts in their mission. In case you do not know, districts are made up of branches of the church (not wards). While some stakes have branches, districts do not have wards. A District President leads the district under the direction of the Mission President. Each branch has a Branch President (who functions very much like a Bishop in a ward). In the Kobe Mission, in addition to 5 Stakes, we have one District (The Fukuchiyama District) that I preside over. Fukuchiyama is made up of 4 branches (Toyooka, Fukuchiyama, Nishiwaki and Maizuru). The Kobe Mission also has one lone branch (the Shingu Branch) that is not a part of a Stake or a District which reports directly to the mission. One of the missionaries assigned there always serves as Branch President under the direction of the Mission President. Next week we are taking a trip to Shingu. (See my last entry)

Today, Sister McIntyre and I visited the Toyooka Branch and presided at the meetings and were the only two speakers. It is about a three hour drive to Toyooka so we left early in the morning to make the morning block of meetings. There were about 30 members in attendance. A little less than half were primary kids and youth. It is actually a strong little branch with a good core of solid families. We enjoyed the meetings and visiting with members. After the block of meetings, we had a pot luck meal (Shokujikai) with everyone at church. This is one of those great traditions I enjoy in Japan. They are really nice in the smaller units and it really has a family feeling and allows the members to bond and strengthen each other. And the food is usually really good. We did not take a picture of the whole branch as we will be be back in a month or two for a Branch Conference, but Sister McIntyre and I took a picture outside the little church. A "less active" member owns the land and let the church build on it. We hope he becomes "more" active. "Less active" is a kind way of saying "inactive" in Japan.

Some of the families I want to remember there are the Tada's, Fujikawa's, Murata's, Furutani's, Terada Shimai, Hasegawa Kyodai and Nakashima family. The Nakashima's have a handicapped boy who is Aaronic Priesthood age. His older brother is serving a mission in Sapporo. The handicap boy is named Kota. He is a deacon, but he cannot hold the trays or pass. One of our missionaries (today is was Elder Magidman from Brazil) pushes Kota's wheel chair around with him while he passes the sacrament. That way Kota can be a part of passing the sacrament even though he cannot hold the tray. At the end when the deacons take the sacrament, Elder Magidman gentle puts a piece of bread in Kota's mouth (and does the same with the water). It is a tender thing to see.

I challenged the members to all write their testimonies in a couple copies of the Book of Mormon with their family picture. I told them to give it to a friend or relative and that if they did not feel they had the courage to do that right now, to give it to the missionaries so they could give it to someone. I told them we would check back with them when we return for conference.

On the way to Toyooka, we pass this Carp (Koi) farm. They have big fish there! I took a picture of one jumping out of the water. I missed a shot of another in the bushes, but hope to get a picture next time through.