Fred and Paula’s Most Excellent Adventure

10 more days-- our mission is coming to a close. What an amazing experience this has been!! We have seen God's hand in our life in so many ways. We feel the windows of heaven have been opened to us that there is not even room to receive it. We have grown closer to each other and closer to the Lord. We arrived when the sakura trees were blooming. Now, they are blooming again. Walking under the blossoms gives you a sacred feeling that you are somewhere very special. This is my favorite walking path. There is a lady who cares for these flower boxes every day. I have enjoyed seeing them on my way to the river walk. Today, I saw a miracle with the ward choir. They asked me to lead the choir when we first arrived. I have sang in many choirs, all of my life. I have never led a choir. We started out just singing hymns but eventually added more and more difficult music.  I wanted to sing "Let Us All Press On". This is a difficult piece sung by the Choir at Temple Square. I had hig...

We decided last P-day to go to Universal City. It was a fun and memorable day. The weather cooperated with a beautiful spring day. The adventure started even before we arrived by riding the train and then subway in Osaka. It was packed body to body, a full contact sport. When we got in the subway, we were jam packed. I was wondering if the door would close. Then we stopped at another station. An additional 5 people got on the train. We were absolutely smashed together. The people at Universal City all wore crazy hats. It seems the more outlandish the hat the more they enjoyed them. I loved seeing these little cuties. Our favorite spot was the Harry Potter castle and village. They have really strived to recreate the book. You walk through a forest before arriving at the village. We saw the flying blue car, Mirror of Erised, the talking pictures on the walls, the Fat Lady guarding the door, the Sorting Hat, Dumbledore's office and many more.  We would have bought some butterbeer but ...

 We took a trip to the opposite side of our mission on the coast of the Sea of Japan to help some missionaries in that area. While we were there, we stopped to walk through Izumo Taisha, one of the most ancient and important Shinto shrines in Japan. The exact time that it was built is not known but records from 950 AD describes the shrine as being one of the highest buildings exceeding 48 meters tall. In the year 2000, remains of enormous pillars  were discovered and has lent credence to the shrine being so tall. This is a replica that was in a museum of what the shrine might have looked like so many years ago. The top shrine was the house of God. People can be seen climbing the stairs toward God. In some ways, this looks like the covenant path from our church. Man makes covenants to follow God. As we keep the commandments, we improve and come closer to God. Through Jesus Christ we can be forgiven and stay on the path to return to God. It is rare to see a Japanese flag flying....

What have been up to? Lots. We drive all over our mission fixing apartments, bringing missionaries to new areas, anything the mission president needs.  We love being able to see beautiful Japan on the way. We teach English Connect for Missionaries three times a week. We teach English Connect training once a week at district councils. One of the missionaries told me that "Sister Allan is changing the mission one pumpkin loaf at a time." I thought this was funny as I do bring treats to the missionaries along the way. I don't even want to think about how many pounds of butter, sugar, flour, and chocolate chips I have gone through during this mission. I've burned out one mixer and working on the second. We removed old rusty mission bikes from a church parking lot. I love the Japanese bridges. This is a performing monkey that just happened to be at a rest stop on one of our drives across the country. He really loves his stilts. When his trainer took them away from him, he ...

 As we approach the close of our mission, I begin to reflect what I have learned through this experience. I kept a 'spiritual thoughts' note in my phone. Whenever the spirit spoke to my heart, I wrote it down. I am amazed at the inspiration that I have received during this time of our mission. I have kept a journal and a scripture notebook. These are reminders of all the Lord has blessed me. This mission has been priceless. I will be ever changed for good because of it. One of the most important blessings is the strengthening of my testimony of Jesus Christ and my desire to follow him. My testimony has been strengthened by many mission/zone conferences, personal study of the  Savior, music, and prayer. It is hard for me to express my testimony but the words of this song reflects my feelings. Savior, Redeemer of my soul, Whose mighty hand hath made me whole, Whose wondrous pow'r hath raised me up. And filled with sweet my bitter cup! What tongue my gratitude can tell, O grac...

For our P-day (preparation day), we went to the knife stores in Sakai. We found a 5th generation blacksmith, Mizuno Tanrenjo. He creates knives the old fashioned way by forging carbon steel, heating it until it is red hot, and then hammering the metal out thinly. We got to see the workshop. The blacksmith was working with a blade and hammer when we arrived. We did not get to see the whole process but there were pictures taped to the wall so I took a few pictures of the pictures. I feel it is only fitting to make a moral to this experience. We are in the hands of the master blacksmith. God allows the fires of life to burn out our impurities, soften our hardness, and then he can mold us into the person we are meant to become. Mizuno-san also makes ceremonial swords for the sumo tournaments. This is Fred by some of the swords. We bought a vegetable knife which I am so excited about. We have been using a vegetable knife for several months. We found it while cleaning out a missionary apartm...

President and Sister Halvorson gave the missionaries a Daruma doll for New Years.  The Daruma doll is rich in symbolism and is a sign of good luck for the new year. The eyes are blank. Once you determine your goal,  you color in the first eye. At the end of the year, you complete your goal and finish the other eye. The Daruma doll wobbles but won't stay down. If you tip it on it's side, it uprights itself. This is symbolic of perseverance in striving toward your goal. You may falter but just pick yourself up and keep trying. President Russell M. Nelson, the prophet gave us a New Year's Message for 2023... Be Patient... Be Persistent.. Be Prayerful...

This week I have been compiling the mission history for the Japan Kobe Mission. These memories are kept on the records of the church. Every 6 weeks, I create a newsletter for the mission. It includes baptism pictures, new missionaries, and returning missionary pictures. It has a message from the president and zone conference summaries. I include things like bicycle safety, 2 week menu ideas, ways to manage stress, ideas for talking to strangers, and even a recipe. These newsletters have dual purpose. They are for the missionaries now but they also serve as a review for what is happening in the mission.  We are also collecting conversion/baptism stories from the missionaries. It is so inspiring to read the miracles that are occurring in people's lives as they come unto Jesus Christ. I have been collecting these memories over the year so I can have a memory for each person baptized. I can imagine that this will be a treasure to someone many years down the road when they read about th...

The mission allowed me to return to Utah for the birth of my new grandson. These precious moments are some of my most treasured moments of my life. The ability to be there with them was an amazing blessing.  Holding this new baby and sharing those first moments can never be recaptured. I am so grateful that senior missionaries don't have to miss out.  This is one of my highest highs. Five days after the baby was born, Fred's brother died. I was in his home a few days before his death. I got to talk to John and Kelly before John left us. I also helped lift his body onto the gurney after his death.  I felt the deep sorrow for the death of John, for his wife Kelly, and for their three daughters. Fred joined me in Utah for the funeral and some family time. This was one of my lowest lows. Kimberly, Mom, and I decorated Mom's tree while we were in Utah. My three year old granddaughters really stuck with the project for over an hour. At the end of our decorating time, ...

Fall is covering the mountains. Temperatures are 50-65 degrees. So beautiful!!  We have received 17 new missionaries. I make "cookies to go" for the new missionaries and their companions.  Some missionaries have to travel up to 5 hours to get to their new locations. It is nice to have cookies for the road. I end up going through a lot of butter and sugar. Thank heavens for Costco! Last cookie is a mix because I ran out of frosting. We opened our last apartment for a little while. There were 13 apartments when we arrived. We now have over 40. We have become very efficient in preparing new apartments.  We are now traveling once a week for apartment inspections. This is particularly fun because we get to see more of Japan and work with these awesome missionaries. Some apartments are older and need repairs. Others need furnishings updated. Fred is using a lot of his repair skills on this mission. Who knew that these things would be needed?  We also teach English Connect ...

Last weekend, we were invited to Nagano to meet with Elder and Sister Wada. Fred was the first missionary to introduce the gospel to Elder Wada 42 years ago. Elder Wada now serves as Area President for the North Asia and a General Authority for the church.  Elder and Sister Gunson, another missionary instrumental in Elder Wada's conversion, also met with us. We went to the area they first met, the old location of the church building, and the new church in Nagano. They even found the apartment that they lived in so long ago. Members are instrumental in helping friends join the gospel of Jesus Christ. We met three couples that were originally in the ward 42 years ago. I was impressed with their faith and dedication to the gospel after all of these years.  One of the sisters came up to me, grabbed my hand and began talking to me in Japanese. I couldn't understand what she was saying but I felt her love.     We had five camera crew filming interviews and a...