Fred and Paula’s Most Excellent Adventure

  We had a beautiful funeral for Fred's mother on Wednesday.  It gave us the opportunity to gather with many of our family members.  These are our three children, Laura, Kimberly, and Jeffrey.  We are so grateful to be able to be together especially before we leave for Japan.  We have been counting our blessings as we celebrated Thanksgiving here in Utah. Blessings of not leaving for Japan yet... Serving in Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission in the Church Family History Library.  We have been reading journals and church minutes for 6 hours a day for 6 months.  When would I have ever done this? I wouldn't.  I have been blessed as my understanding of the past comparing to the present has helped me to see the growth of the Church and the people. I have developed an appreciation for those who have gone before. We have attended many mission conferences, devotionals, sacrament meetings, and classes.  We have been spiritually fed. We have been able to attend the temple every week whi

  Fred's mother passed away on Wednesday after a 14 year battle with cancer.  She is an example of strength and courage in the face of uncertain trials.  We will greatly miss her sweet spirit, practical council, and her love that she shared with everyone. We recognize God's hand in allowing us to be here before departing to Japan for the remainder of our mission. The time we have been able to spend with the family has been important to us.  The funeral will be on Tuesday where we will celebrate her life.  God knows all things.  We see God's hand throughout our life the preparation for this mission. We lived in Japan 24 years ago. We have studied Japanese years before our call. Fred has continued to study since his mission. I have been studying for the past 4 years after receiving a prompting to learn Japanese. We have spent the last 6 months going to Spanish Fork almost every Saturday to spend time with our family.  These have been precious moments. In hindsight, we see one

 JAPAN HAS OPENED IT'S BORDERS TO INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND STUDENTS!! We have heard from our mission president that this includes missionaries.  Now, we  only have to wait to receive our visas.  This could be quick or very long.  The news states there are 370,000 applicants waiting to come to Japan.  This week in the scriptures I read... "...according to the own due time of the Lord." 1 Nephi 10:3 Things happen in the due time of the Lord. We are sitting in a hybrid state waiting to go to Japan. It's easy to think if I fast and pray harder, if I talk to the right people, if I watch the news closer, I can speed up the process.  I need to relax. The Lord is the one who needs us in Japan to do His work. He will make sure it happens when it needs to happen. He has heard our prayers and pleading. He knows of our desire to serve. In the meantime, he has given us a wonderful mission giving us opportunities to serve and allowed us to live near our family where we can spend

We had a wonderful experience with the Kobe Japan Mission this week. Fred wrote our blog today because this experience has everything to do with him. On Friday morning at 4:30 (7:30 p.m. Japan Time) we had a fireside with Elder Wada of the Quorum of the Seventy and the Area President for Japan. The fireside was for the Japan Kobe missionaries and friends that they are teaching. Elder Wada talked about the “Leap of Faith,” using as examples from the Book of Mormon of Lehi’s family journeying into the wilderness and their struggles obtaining food after his son, Nephi, broke his bow. He also used excerpts from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where the “Leap of Faith” is portrayed. The stories were powerful and made me think about my faith. Almost exactly forty-one years ago, I was having my own struggles as a new missionary in Nagano, Japan. I was cold (the 1998 Winter Olympics were held in Nagano), struggling with a difficult language, and frustrated with the seemingly very little su