August 3, 2003
Dear Family and Friends,
We have had an enjoyable week here in the Mission. It looks like the rainy season is finally over. Now we are experiencing unbearable humidity and heat. Mother used to say how much she enjoyed the seasons. I think weather-wise she thought she would get tired of one season all the time, and we feel like that too.
You have probably heard that Marie and Chris’ baby was born in Utah Valley Hospital on July 29. It weighed 6 lb.. and 4 oz. They sent us pictures of it and its really cute -dark hair, dark eyes and very healthy looking. They are naming her Alyssa Christine. As soon as Marie left the hospital, Chris took her and the baby to Cedar and they are now living in our house. We hope that Jen and Vanessa are hanging in with their expectant babies (and anyone else that we haven’t heard about).
You may also have heard that Marlene had some bad luck when she went down to Springville to get Spencer and Jocelyn on Tuesday. She accidentally rear-ended the car in head of her after she had turned her head to answer Jocelyn’s question. Luckily no one was hurt but Mar felt really bad about it. It happened near Lehi and her in-laws got her and the kids and took them to Ogden. She called Andrew at work to come home and help her settle her nerves. On the way home he got in an accident. Someone rear-ended him and pushed him into the car ahead. That just about did it for Marlene! Since they have no transportation now, Chris went to Cedar and got our car for them to use until they get theirs fixed. The insurance has totaled out the car Marlene was driving and they are waiting to see what the insurance plans to do with the other. Luckily, no one even got a scratch in either accident. If it wasn’t so serious it would almost be laughable. Marlene says neither her nor Andrew have had a wreck in 25 some years. I guess its time. We appreciate so much Marlene and Elaine helping with the kids and Sherry taking care of our fianances and house. Matt, we hope you and Jen continue to hang in there with school and work, we know it’s not easy starting in a new school, job and surroundings. Mike and Ness, we love your pictures and letters (especially Bo’s). Without everyones help we would be unable to serve this mission.Last Monday, Dr. Smith (Andrew’s uncle) and Dr. Johnson and their wives came to the mission to talk to all the missionaries about taking care of their health. They are medical missionaries with headquarters in Tokyo, and serve all the missions in Japan. Pres. Banks scheduled them for a day each in three areas of the mission and arranged for all the missionaries to come to those places. On Tues. they were here in Hiroshima and talked to the Missionaries in the morning. In the afternoon Pres. Banks asked Mom and I to take the Drs. and their wives over to the Peace Park and show them the exhibits of the Atomic Bomb. It rained hard all day, but we had an enjoyable afternoon. In the evening Pres. Banks took us out to dinner. I taught school with Dr. Smith’s first wife, JoAnn, when we lived in Lehi. She died of cancer a few years back and he remarried Sharon who is also a mental health specialist. The other Dr. is from Idaho Falls. They are really good people and we had an interesting time with them.
Tuesday we are having 6 new missionaries coming in the mission and Friday we will have 9 missionaries who have finished their missions and are returning home. It seems like that rolls around often, it’s a big week for the office staff but we enjoy seeing all the missionaries, saying goodby to the returning one’s and greeting the new one’s.
It has been fun to hear from most of you and what a great success the family reunion at Alan and Lori’s was. I think that was remarkable that so many of the family were able to attend. ‘Hats off’ to Alan and Lori for hosting such an enjoyable event and thanks to them for making all their facilities available at such a reasonable cost. We would love to have been there to see all of you but we’ll save up for next time.
Lots of love, The Ropers
Monday, June 23, 2008
July 26, 2003
July 26, 2003
Happy 24th! I think when the 24th of July comes, the summer was over. I hope everyone has had a great summer. We have felt the enthusiasm from many of you that are attending the Roper reunion (going on right now, in fact). That sounds like a wonderful occasion and a special thanks to Alan & Lori and all of the rest of you who helped put it together. I can’t help but think how pleased Dad and Mother would be to know how well the family is getting along and staying together. Alan really has an ideal set-up for such an event.
We also had an interesting 24th. It being Mom’s birthday, we had lunch with all the Mission Office staff. We ordered four huge pizza’s from Pizza Hut. We made salad and Birthday cake. When we were down to Costco’s in Fukuoka we got a case of Dad’s rootbeer (special request from some of the Elders) and some candy treats. We also had a watermelon and it was yellow inside instead of red. It tasted just like the regular melons but certainly looked different. Pres. Banks had to be out of town, but Sis. Banks invited us to their Apt. and we had a great time. I can’t believe how much food missionaries can put away! We just about slicked everything up. It was the Elder’s preparation day so we didn’t have to rush.
This week-end the Hiroshima Stake is sponsoring a special missionary activity in connection with the mission. Yesterday and today a large group of members and missionaries assembled at the Peace Park to talk to as many people as they could about the Church. Last night they had meetings in the Stake for the members on different aspects of Miss. work. They asked Mom and I to present, to some of the older couples, thoughts on Missionary service. We talked about such things as deciding to go, the mission call, financial considerations, what we had to do to get ready, describe our Mission assignments, some of the rewards we enjoy as missionaries, etc. We had four or five couples there and they had many questions that we tried to answer. It was an interesting experience. Members here are very missionary conscious.
We have two other couples here in the mission besides us. One couple is from Washington State, and the other couple is from here in Japan (Japanese). The couple from the US has been here about a year and Pres. Banks said yesterday that they may have to go home early because the Elder is in such poor health. They have been working mainly on activation, lining up people for the young missionaries to give the lessons to, etc. That has to be a disappointment for them if their mission is cut short.
The two Drs. from Tokyo have rescheduled their visit for Tues, Wed. and Thurs. Once again we have arranged for three conferences throughout the mission -to include all of the missionaries. We look forward to seeing the Smiths (Andrew and Marlenes, uncle and aunt. Then the following week we have 6 new missionaries coming in and 9 returning home. That is life in the Mission Office.
We are anxious to hear from you and a report on the reunion at Fillmore. We are especially excited about Marie and Chris’ baby and pray that all will go well with them as they have the baby Monday and complete their move to Cedar after Marie gets out of the hospital. We hope Jen and Vanessa are also doing well. Until next week, Saiyonara.
Love Gary & Shirley or Chichi & Haha
Happy 24th! I think when the 24th of July comes, the summer was over. I hope everyone has had a great summer. We have felt the enthusiasm from many of you that are attending the Roper reunion (going on right now, in fact). That sounds like a wonderful occasion and a special thanks to Alan & Lori and all of the rest of you who helped put it together. I can’t help but think how pleased Dad and Mother would be to know how well the family is getting along and staying together. Alan really has an ideal set-up for such an event.
We also had an interesting 24th. It being Mom’s birthday, we had lunch with all the Mission Office staff. We ordered four huge pizza’s from Pizza Hut. We made salad and Birthday cake. When we were down to Costco’s in Fukuoka we got a case of Dad’s rootbeer (special request from some of the Elders) and some candy treats. We also had a watermelon and it was yellow inside instead of red. It tasted just like the regular melons but certainly looked different. Pres. Banks had to be out of town, but Sis. Banks invited us to their Apt. and we had a great time. I can’t believe how much food missionaries can put away! We just about slicked everything up. It was the Elder’s preparation day so we didn’t have to rush.
This week-end the Hiroshima Stake is sponsoring a special missionary activity in connection with the mission. Yesterday and today a large group of members and missionaries assembled at the Peace Park to talk to as many people as they could about the Church. Last night they had meetings in the Stake for the members on different aspects of Miss. work. They asked Mom and I to present, to some of the older couples, thoughts on Missionary service. We talked about such things as deciding to go, the mission call, financial considerations, what we had to do to get ready, describe our Mission assignments, some of the rewards we enjoy as missionaries, etc. We had four or five couples there and they had many questions that we tried to answer. It was an interesting experience. Members here are very missionary conscious.
We have two other couples here in the mission besides us. One couple is from Washington State, and the other couple is from here in Japan (Japanese). The couple from the US has been here about a year and Pres. Banks said yesterday that they may have to go home early because the Elder is in such poor health. They have been working mainly on activation, lining up people for the young missionaries to give the lessons to, etc. That has to be a disappointment for them if their mission is cut short.
The two Drs. from Tokyo have rescheduled their visit for Tues, Wed. and Thurs. Once again we have arranged for three conferences throughout the mission -to include all of the missionaries. We look forward to seeing the Smiths (Andrew and Marlenes, uncle and aunt. Then the following week we have 6 new missionaries coming in and 9 returning home. That is life in the Mission Office.
We are anxious to hear from you and a report on the reunion at Fillmore. We are especially excited about Marie and Chris’ baby and pray that all will go well with them as they have the baby Monday and complete their move to Cedar after Marie gets out of the hospital. We hope Jen and Vanessa are also doing well. Until next week, Saiyonara.
Love Gary & Shirley or Chichi & Haha
July 20, 2003
Sunday, July 20, 2003
Dear Family and Friends,
Today Mom gave a talk in Sacrament Meet. on Eternal Marriage. She had some very good thoughts based on the teachings of Pres. Kimball and Pres. Hinckley. Bro. Kiribayashi (Dr.) translated for her and it went very well. She said she is relieved to have it over as she has been working on it for two weeks. Our other meetings were also very good today. In our High Priest group, we studied from Chapter 13 of Pres. Tailor’s writings on the Keys of the Priesthood. Bro. Gollaher gave a wonderful lesson in English and one of the Elders translated for him. He has had a lot of experience in the Church and a wonderful knowledge of the scriptures. It was an excellent lesson (and interesting to hear it in both Japanese and English).
Yesterday was an eventful day to say the least. We left at about 8:00 AM on the Shinkansen. When we got off the train in Fukuoka, we looked down at the street, there was from two to four inches of rain water everywhere. They said it had rained all night and the lower elevations of the city were submersed. When we came down the escalator to the main floor inside the station there was water everywhere! People were taking off their shoes, rolling up their pants/ladies holding up their dresses etc, and wading in ankle deep water. Some were trying to walk on their heels. Mom and I just couldn’t bring ourselves to take off our shoes and wade in that muddy, filthy water so we waded with our shoes on, after the water went down some, to get out of the train station and there was no place to go, water everywhere. So we just waited a while and finally they allowed a few taxis to come into the parking area. People were lined up everywhere to try and catch a Taxi. As luck would have it one of the Taxis pulled ahead of the others and we hurried over and jumped in and the driver agreed to take us to the Temple. One other lady came over and wanted to go too but when she found out where we were going, she backed off. We were fifteen minutes late for the Temple session but since we had made reservations ahead of time, they held up the session until we got there. We attended two very good sessions and were through about 2:30 PM.
We had plans to go to Costco to get some more supplies to bring home. We had the address but didn’t know how to get there. When we got back down town, two men took us under their wing and stayed right with us until they got us on the right bus going to the right place. We finally got there and filled our small suitcase and a big bag with our groceries, and then got back on the bus for Fukuoka Station. The bus got in a traffic jam and we were well over an hour getting back to the station. The water had all been cleaned out and with clear skies we had no problem with the rain. We got home about 10: PM. Mom said, “This bed looks wonderful. And I feel just like our older girls felt when we got back home from Samoa at 3:00 a.m., they patted their bed and said “ Oh, this feels so good”. (We got into San Francisco in the morning without sleep, drove all that day and most of the next night without stopping because the starter went out on our car and we were afraid that if we stopped somewhere on the Nevada desert, the car would kill and we couldn’t get it started again.)
We plan to feed the Office Staff on Thurs. for Mom’s Birthday. Sis. Banks has insisted we have it in their Apt., so that will be really convenient. We are going to buy Pizza (Pizza Hut Pizza, no less), and Mom is making salad and I will help with the dessert. We lugged a case of root beer home yesterday ( the elders favorite drink) for the occasion. We should have a nice time.
One of the main ways the Japanese advertise, is to have people standing in conspicuous areas passing out small packages of tissues (Kleenex) with the name of company and what they are advertising on the outside of the packages. I started collecting them and now have over 50 packages in my office. They would be handy to have at home but not worth the space in the luggage. Mom keeps trying to get me to quit collecting them because they’re running us out of house and home. Another interesting custom in Japan!
We thank you for keeping us informed and pray that you and your families will be well. So long until next week.
Love Ropa Choro and Ropa Shimai.
Dear Family and Friends,
Today Mom gave a talk in Sacrament Meet. on Eternal Marriage. She had some very good thoughts based on the teachings of Pres. Kimball and Pres. Hinckley. Bro. Kiribayashi (Dr.) translated for her and it went very well. She said she is relieved to have it over as she has been working on it for two weeks. Our other meetings were also very good today. In our High Priest group, we studied from Chapter 13 of Pres. Tailor’s writings on the Keys of the Priesthood. Bro. Gollaher gave a wonderful lesson in English and one of the Elders translated for him. He has had a lot of experience in the Church and a wonderful knowledge of the scriptures. It was an excellent lesson (and interesting to hear it in both Japanese and English).
Yesterday was an eventful day to say the least. We left at about 8:00 AM on the Shinkansen. When we got off the train in Fukuoka, we looked down at the street, there was from two to four inches of rain water everywhere. They said it had rained all night and the lower elevations of the city were submersed. When we came down the escalator to the main floor inside the station there was water everywhere! People were taking off their shoes, rolling up their pants/ladies holding up their dresses etc, and wading in ankle deep water. Some were trying to walk on their heels. Mom and I just couldn’t bring ourselves to take off our shoes and wade in that muddy, filthy water so we waded with our shoes on, after the water went down some, to get out of the train station and there was no place to go, water everywhere. So we just waited a while and finally they allowed a few taxis to come into the parking area. People were lined up everywhere to try and catch a Taxi. As luck would have it one of the Taxis pulled ahead of the others and we hurried over and jumped in and the driver agreed to take us to the Temple. One other lady came over and wanted to go too but when she found out where we were going, she backed off. We were fifteen minutes late for the Temple session but since we had made reservations ahead of time, they held up the session until we got there. We attended two very good sessions and were through about 2:30 PM.
We had plans to go to Costco to get some more supplies to bring home. We had the address but didn’t know how to get there. When we got back down town, two men took us under their wing and stayed right with us until they got us on the right bus going to the right place. We finally got there and filled our small suitcase and a big bag with our groceries, and then got back on the bus for Fukuoka Station. The bus got in a traffic jam and we were well over an hour getting back to the station. The water had all been cleaned out and with clear skies we had no problem with the rain. We got home about 10: PM. Mom said, “This bed looks wonderful. And I feel just like our older girls felt when we got back home from Samoa at 3:00 a.m., they patted their bed and said “ Oh, this feels so good”. (We got into San Francisco in the morning without sleep, drove all that day and most of the next night without stopping because the starter went out on our car and we were afraid that if we stopped somewhere on the Nevada desert, the car would kill and we couldn’t get it started again.)
We plan to feed the Office Staff on Thurs. for Mom’s Birthday. Sis. Banks has insisted we have it in their Apt., so that will be really convenient. We are going to buy Pizza (Pizza Hut Pizza, no less), and Mom is making salad and I will help with the dessert. We lugged a case of root beer home yesterday ( the elders favorite drink) for the occasion. We should have a nice time.
One of the main ways the Japanese advertise, is to have people standing in conspicuous areas passing out small packages of tissues (Kleenex) with the name of company and what they are advertising on the outside of the packages. I started collecting them and now have over 50 packages in my office. They would be handy to have at home but not worth the space in the luggage. Mom keeps trying to get me to quit collecting them because they’re running us out of house and home. Another interesting custom in Japan!
We thank you for keeping us informed and pray that you and your families will be well. So long until next week.
Love Ropa Choro and Ropa Shimai.
July 13, 2003
Sunday, July 13, 2003
Dear Family and Others,
It is time again to write. We have enjoyed communication with many of you this past week. We hope everyone is well, especially the new mothers-to-be. Pres. Banks said he saw on the Internet Friday that it was 103 in SLC. That sounds typical for this time of year. Here, we are still in the rainy season (two or three more weeks), but the temperatures seem to get warmer every day.
Yesterday, Bro. & Sis. Gollaher invited us and two more families in the Ward (a Bro. and Sis. Martinez an their three children from Brazil; the Hughes, a former missionary to Japan from Canada, who married a Japanese girl and their two little girls) to go to Hamada to the Iwami Seaside Park. It is located exactly across the Island from Hiroshima on the ocean on the other side. When we left Hiroshima it was raining and we wondered if we would be able to do anything but look at the ocean from the car windows. But we hadn’t much more than left when the rain stopped and that was the last rain we saw until we got back to Hiroshima.
The park located on the ocean had all kinds of facilities -swimming, volleyball, trails that led to different landmarks, picnic areas etc. Bro. Gollaher said that the Brazil Bro. was in charge of the cooking. You wouldn’t believe how much beef, pork, and sausages he had. They had a lot left over, so Bro. Gollaher bought the rest and they invited the Elders over for dinner, today. The meat Mom and I had was so tough we couldn’t chew it, but we enjoyed most of the rest of the lunch. Bro. Gollaher said that it was just like the picnics they had in Brazil while he was Mission Pres. there. While we were eating, there were several big hawks that would swoop down and try to steal the meat. They were huge, brazen and daring and we had to guard out plates or they would be gone. Before we left, Bro. Martinez would throw food in the air and watch the hawks retrieve it. Very interesting.
After lunch we all went down to the ocean to swim. It is against mission rules for us to swim (I didn’t want to, anyway) but Mom did get permission from Pres. Banks to wade along the shore. We took sunblock but I couldn’t see any reason to use it because we didn’t see the sun all day. Well, when we got home my face was bright red with sun burn. Mom used the sunblock and was in pretty good shape, except on her neck and where her thongs didn’t protect her feet from the sun. Seems I always have to learn things the hard way! The Japanese women are so particular about their skin color. Nearly every women wears a hat, has long sleeves and uses an umbrella so their skin won’t become darker, they like white skin. Sis. Hughs ( who is Nihon) told Mom last week that she guessed she wouldn’t go with us Sat. because she couldn’t be out in the sun. But a few minutes after getting home she called and told Mom she had changed her mind, and would be going. We got back home about 6:30 PM so it was an all day event, we were glad we went.
Last Sunday in High Priest Quorum Meeting, the teacher ask all of us our age and then wrote it on the chalkboard to use with his lesson. I thought it was interesting because I was the oldest at 69 and Bro. Hughes was the youngest at 29. Sis. Hughs told us that everyone told Bro. Hughs that they thought he was at least 40 (because he is a little bald). Sis. Hughs said she was 30 and everyone thinks she is about 18 or 20 and she said everyone was shocked that I was that old. Mom thought that was great The Japanese have this funny thing about age, and don’t mind asking people their age and then commenting on it.
Tonight we have a family of four that are being baptized here. They are from a Ward near here but don’t have a font and will do it here. It is a happy occasion when a whole family like that comes into the Church. We are planning on attending it. Mom is busy getting a talk prepared for Sac. Meeting next Sunday on Eternal Marriage. It will be good (I hope they don’t have so many on the program that everyone has to shorten their talk so they don’t run out of time).
Next Sat. we are planning on going to the Temple in Fukuoka again, for Mom’s Birthday. We will probably ride the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) so it won’t take so long. We would like to go to the Temple each month.
Until next week--- Gary & Shirley
Dear Family and Others,
It is time again to write. We have enjoyed communication with many of you this past week. We hope everyone is well, especially the new mothers-to-be. Pres. Banks said he saw on the Internet Friday that it was 103 in SLC. That sounds typical for this time of year. Here, we are still in the rainy season (two or three more weeks), but the temperatures seem to get warmer every day.
Yesterday, Bro. & Sis. Gollaher invited us and two more families in the Ward (a Bro. and Sis. Martinez an their three children from Brazil; the Hughes, a former missionary to Japan from Canada, who married a Japanese girl and their two little girls) to go to Hamada to the Iwami Seaside Park. It is located exactly across the Island from Hiroshima on the ocean on the other side. When we left Hiroshima it was raining and we wondered if we would be able to do anything but look at the ocean from the car windows. But we hadn’t much more than left when the rain stopped and that was the last rain we saw until we got back to Hiroshima.
The park located on the ocean had all kinds of facilities -swimming, volleyball, trails that led to different landmarks, picnic areas etc. Bro. Gollaher said that the Brazil Bro. was in charge of the cooking. You wouldn’t believe how much beef, pork, and sausages he had. They had a lot left over, so Bro. Gollaher bought the rest and they invited the Elders over for dinner, today. The meat Mom and I had was so tough we couldn’t chew it, but we enjoyed most of the rest of the lunch. Bro. Gollaher said that it was just like the picnics they had in Brazil while he was Mission Pres. there. While we were eating, there were several big hawks that would swoop down and try to steal the meat. They were huge, brazen and daring and we had to guard out plates or they would be gone. Before we left, Bro. Martinez would throw food in the air and watch the hawks retrieve it. Very interesting.
After lunch we all went down to the ocean to swim. It is against mission rules for us to swim (I didn’t want to, anyway) but Mom did get permission from Pres. Banks to wade along the shore. We took sunblock but I couldn’t see any reason to use it because we didn’t see the sun all day. Well, when we got home my face was bright red with sun burn. Mom used the sunblock and was in pretty good shape, except on her neck and where her thongs didn’t protect her feet from the sun. Seems I always have to learn things the hard way! The Japanese women are so particular about their skin color. Nearly every women wears a hat, has long sleeves and uses an umbrella so their skin won’t become darker, they like white skin. Sis. Hughs ( who is Nihon) told Mom last week that she guessed she wouldn’t go with us Sat. because she couldn’t be out in the sun. But a few minutes after getting home she called and told Mom she had changed her mind, and would be going. We got back home about 6:30 PM so it was an all day event, we were glad we went.
Last Sunday in High Priest Quorum Meeting, the teacher ask all of us our age and then wrote it on the chalkboard to use with his lesson. I thought it was interesting because I was the oldest at 69 and Bro. Hughes was the youngest at 29. Sis. Hughs told us that everyone told Bro. Hughs that they thought he was at least 40 (because he is a little bald). Sis. Hughs said she was 30 and everyone thinks she is about 18 or 20 and she said everyone was shocked that I was that old. Mom thought that was great The Japanese have this funny thing about age, and don’t mind asking people their age and then commenting on it.
Tonight we have a family of four that are being baptized here. They are from a Ward near here but don’t have a font and will do it here. It is a happy occasion when a whole family like that comes into the Church. We are planning on attending it. Mom is busy getting a talk prepared for Sac. Meeting next Sunday on Eternal Marriage. It will be good (I hope they don’t have so many on the program that everyone has to shorten their talk so they don’t run out of time).
Next Sat. we are planning on going to the Temple in Fukuoka again, for Mom’s Birthday. We will probably ride the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) so it won’t take so long. We would like to go to the Temple each month.
Until next week--- Gary & Shirley
June 22, 2003
Dear Family and Friends,
Again, we thank all of you who have contacted us this past week. We have received letters, e-mails and phone calls. We appreciate all the blessings that you are receiving as well as the many we enjoy.
Today was Hiroshima’s Stake Conference. It was held out in the Hatsukaichi Ward area, about 45 minuets south of Hiroshima. We rode out with Pres. and Sis. Banks in the Mission 3-seater van along with four Sis. who are working here in this area. The Conference was really good. We didn’t have a special visitor so they had several members talk, Pres. and Sis. Banks talked and the Stake Pres. Mom and I wonder why they always have Pres. and Sis. Banks talk and none of the other Stake Pres. members talk (I guess it is just the way they are used to doing things). Elder McCoy and Payne (the AP’s) translated for us. On the way home, Sister Banks was saying something about being tired a lot, Mom said ,”Yea, The other morning when Gary got up he said he felt like Last Years Birds Nest, but I say it’s better to feel like one than to look like one.” They all had a good chuckle out of that.
They arranged to have the Conference in a beautiful building that is no more than 3 or 4 years old. Inside it was all decorated in granite, with a spacious hallway with granite or marble steps on each side going up to the second floor where the auditorium is located. As we were coming down the stairs, I told Mom I felt like we were going to Cinderella’s Ball. Pres. Banks doubts that they charge money when charitable organizations use the building.
We have had four sick Elders staying here in the Mission Home. Pres. Banks says that it is requiring so much of his time taking care of the sick that he is getting behind in his other missionary work. Pres. Banks has asked the Church to more carefully screen the missionaries they send here and make sure they have no history of illness that might flair up during their missions. It is also very expensive for the Church to stand the cost of all the medical tests, etc. One of the Elders who has been here just a little longer than us returned back home in the States. Friday. I think he has been sick more days than he has been able to work.
Next week Pres. Banks has asked the two medical Doctors serving here in Japan (one of them is Andrew’s uncle Robert) to spend a day each in the different areas of the Mission, talking to all the missionaries about health concerns. At the meeting here at Hiroshima, Mom and I got roped into singing a special number in the missionary meeting that they will have here. A few weeks ago, when they were planning the Meeting here with the Drs.; Elder Betherds the AP volunteered the Mission Home missionaries would furnish a song. Two weeks later Elder Betherds was transferred. Mom tried to get the rest of the Elders together for the song, but it turned out to be such a hassle, that finally Mom and I agreed to take care of it. We are going to try to sing a special arrangement of Secret Prayer, accompanied by Sis. Banks. When you’re in the Mission Field you have to do the best you can with what you’ve got!
We have had a little problem in our apartment with mosquitoes since the raining season began. Mom had three or four bad bites. So yesterday we had one of the Elders buy us a little electric device that is supposed to get rid of the mosquitoes in our apartment. We hope it works like its supposed to. So far I haven’t had any bites, but I can remember how bad they were when I was here before. More than one morning I woke up with one or both eyes swollen shut.
I didn’t think I would ever really enjoy studying the Old Testament, but Mom and I are studying it now with the CES manuel that goes into depth on interpretation. It is really interesting and meaningful.
We were interested to learn that Lee and Dixie Morrell received their Mission Call to Hawaii to teach at BYU Hawaii. Things change so fast at home that we will have allot of catching-up to do when we get back.
I better close this letter now. Until next week,
Love, Gary & Shirley
Again, we thank all of you who have contacted us this past week. We have received letters, e-mails and phone calls. We appreciate all the blessings that you are receiving as well as the many we enjoy.
Today was Hiroshima’s Stake Conference. It was held out in the Hatsukaichi Ward area, about 45 minuets south of Hiroshima. We rode out with Pres. and Sis. Banks in the Mission 3-seater van along with four Sis. who are working here in this area. The Conference was really good. We didn’t have a special visitor so they had several members talk, Pres. and Sis. Banks talked and the Stake Pres. Mom and I wonder why they always have Pres. and Sis. Banks talk and none of the other Stake Pres. members talk (I guess it is just the way they are used to doing things). Elder McCoy and Payne (the AP’s) translated for us. On the way home, Sister Banks was saying something about being tired a lot, Mom said ,”Yea, The other morning when Gary got up he said he felt like Last Years Birds Nest, but I say it’s better to feel like one than to look like one.” They all had a good chuckle out of that.
They arranged to have the Conference in a beautiful building that is no more than 3 or 4 years old. Inside it was all decorated in granite, with a spacious hallway with granite or marble steps on each side going up to the second floor where the auditorium is located. As we were coming down the stairs, I told Mom I felt like we were going to Cinderella’s Ball. Pres. Banks doubts that they charge money when charitable organizations use the building.
We have had four sick Elders staying here in the Mission Home. Pres. Banks says that it is requiring so much of his time taking care of the sick that he is getting behind in his other missionary work. Pres. Banks has asked the Church to more carefully screen the missionaries they send here and make sure they have no history of illness that might flair up during their missions. It is also very expensive for the Church to stand the cost of all the medical tests, etc. One of the Elders who has been here just a little longer than us returned back home in the States. Friday. I think he has been sick more days than he has been able to work.
Next week Pres. Banks has asked the two medical Doctors serving here in Japan (one of them is Andrew’s uncle Robert) to spend a day each in the different areas of the Mission, talking to all the missionaries about health concerns. At the meeting here at Hiroshima, Mom and I got roped into singing a special number in the missionary meeting that they will have here. A few weeks ago, when they were planning the Meeting here with the Drs.; Elder Betherds the AP volunteered the Mission Home missionaries would furnish a song. Two weeks later Elder Betherds was transferred. Mom tried to get the rest of the Elders together for the song, but it turned out to be such a hassle, that finally Mom and I agreed to take care of it. We are going to try to sing a special arrangement of Secret Prayer, accompanied by Sis. Banks. When you’re in the Mission Field you have to do the best you can with what you’ve got!
We have had a little problem in our apartment with mosquitoes since the raining season began. Mom had three or four bad bites. So yesterday we had one of the Elders buy us a little electric device that is supposed to get rid of the mosquitoes in our apartment. We hope it works like its supposed to. So far I haven’t had any bites, but I can remember how bad they were when I was here before. More than one morning I woke up with one or both eyes swollen shut.
I didn’t think I would ever really enjoy studying the Old Testament, but Mom and I are studying it now with the CES manuel that goes into depth on interpretation. It is really interesting and meaningful.
We were interested to learn that Lee and Dixie Morrell received their Mission Call to Hawaii to teach at BYU Hawaii. Things change so fast at home that we will have allot of catching-up to do when we get back.
I better close this letter now. Until next week,
Love, Gary & Shirley
June 15, 2003
June 15, 2003
Dear Family and Friends,
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
This has been a really good Father’s Day and 45th wedding anniversary (June13) for us. We have heard from most of our the family. In fact last evening after we got back from the Fukuoka Temple, Elaine called. I got on and thought it was Marlene and said, “It was nice to hear that your school principal was being transferred”. Elaine said that wasn’t her principal, that was Marlene’s. And I realized that I was talking to Elaine, not Marlene. Anyway that how it goes for me.
We decided to celebrate our anniversary we would go to the Temple, yesterday we had a really nice trip but it made a big day for us. We decided to take the bus down and save about $200. on the trip. The only problems was that it took four hours down to Fukuoka and four hours back; while the Shinkansen (at 160 miles per hour) is only an hour each way. It was a really enjoyable day. We took a good lunch and just halfway through the trip the bus stopped for a ten-minute rest stop, each way. The scenery is so beautiful at a slower speed and from the highway, we also had a good front seat that helped our view. The bus station is right next to the train station in Fukuoka, so we just walked over to our regular streetcar stop and took the same one we usually do, right to the Temple.
They always act happy to see us at the Temple. They have to find an English speaking person to take us through that last part, so sometimes we are first and other times last. However with only 30 or 40 people in a session, either way we always get through quickly. Many of the oriental people we go through for only have a one-word name on the card. I hope the right people get those blessings.
Sis. Banks and I had dental appointments at the same time and place, last Thurs.; so Sis. Banks drove us over in the Mission car. Mom went over with us and went shopping in a nearby Dept. store while we were getting our teeth fixed. When we got through, Sis Banks and I went over to the store to find Mom. They were having a fantastic clothes sale (for Father’s Day) and Mom was right there in the midst of it. Sis. Banks got enthused about the Sale and wanted to shop so I went into another Dept. to look around at the electronics for about an hour and a good time was had by all. I do have another dental appointment for next Wed. They only do a little bit at a time, but the price is right and they seem to do good work, so I will continue on.
This morning in Priesthood Meeting, the lesson was from Pres. Taylor’s book, Chapter 11 about enjoying all of God’s creations and the enjoyable things in life. I couldn’t help but think about the beautiful scenery here in Japan. The bus ride we had to the Temple was absolutely beautiful. It appears that everything is landscaped because there is green everywhere, so many beautiful trees and flowers that look like they were put there especially for our enjoyment. Japan is truly a beautiful country. Mom says her very best meal is rice cooked with onions and green peppers; salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados and ranch dressing; tuna fish; cooked carrots, cauliflower and broccoli; and banana nut cake or pie for dessert. The vegetables are great and I also enjoy that meal.
We can’t get over how affluent the Japanese people are. Their standard of living is on a par with ours. Everything is modern, clean and well kept up. The people are very clean and especially well-dressed (better than most people at home). If there are poor people, it certainly doesn’t show.
It is time to finish this. Thank you for keeping us up to date on what is going on at home. Time is passing quickly and we are being blessed and having a great mission.
Love, Ropa senkyoshi’s
Dear Family and Friends,
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
This has been a really good Father’s Day and 45th wedding anniversary (June13) for us. We have heard from most of our the family. In fact last evening after we got back from the Fukuoka Temple, Elaine called. I got on and thought it was Marlene and said, “It was nice to hear that your school principal was being transferred”. Elaine said that wasn’t her principal, that was Marlene’s. And I realized that I was talking to Elaine, not Marlene. Anyway that how it goes for me.
We decided to celebrate our anniversary we would go to the Temple, yesterday we had a really nice trip but it made a big day for us. We decided to take the bus down and save about $200. on the trip. The only problems was that it took four hours down to Fukuoka and four hours back; while the Shinkansen (at 160 miles per hour) is only an hour each way. It was a really enjoyable day. We took a good lunch and just halfway through the trip the bus stopped for a ten-minute rest stop, each way. The scenery is so beautiful at a slower speed and from the highway, we also had a good front seat that helped our view. The bus station is right next to the train station in Fukuoka, so we just walked over to our regular streetcar stop and took the same one we usually do, right to the Temple.
They always act happy to see us at the Temple. They have to find an English speaking person to take us through that last part, so sometimes we are first and other times last. However with only 30 or 40 people in a session, either way we always get through quickly. Many of the oriental people we go through for only have a one-word name on the card. I hope the right people get those blessings.
Sis. Banks and I had dental appointments at the same time and place, last Thurs.; so Sis. Banks drove us over in the Mission car. Mom went over with us and went shopping in a nearby Dept. store while we were getting our teeth fixed. When we got through, Sis Banks and I went over to the store to find Mom. They were having a fantastic clothes sale (for Father’s Day) and Mom was right there in the midst of it. Sis. Banks got enthused about the Sale and wanted to shop so I went into another Dept. to look around at the electronics for about an hour and a good time was had by all. I do have another dental appointment for next Wed. They only do a little bit at a time, but the price is right and they seem to do good work, so I will continue on.
This morning in Priesthood Meeting, the lesson was from Pres. Taylor’s book, Chapter 11 about enjoying all of God’s creations and the enjoyable things in life. I couldn’t help but think about the beautiful scenery here in Japan. The bus ride we had to the Temple was absolutely beautiful. It appears that everything is landscaped because there is green everywhere, so many beautiful trees and flowers that look like they were put there especially for our enjoyment. Japan is truly a beautiful country. Mom says her very best meal is rice cooked with onions and green peppers; salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados and ranch dressing; tuna fish; cooked carrots, cauliflower and broccoli; and banana nut cake or pie for dessert. The vegetables are great and I also enjoy that meal.
We can’t get over how affluent the Japanese people are. Their standard of living is on a par with ours. Everything is modern, clean and well kept up. The people are very clean and especially well-dressed (better than most people at home). If there are poor people, it certainly doesn’t show.
It is time to finish this. Thank you for keeping us up to date on what is going on at home. Time is passing quickly and we are being blessed and having a great mission.
Love, Ropa senkyoshi’s
June 7, 2003
Sat. June 7, 2003
Dear Family and Friends,
The rainy season in Japan was supposed to begin on June 1. So far it has been a month without rain. (May seemed to be more like the rainy season. It rained several time a week.) We have enjoyed hearing from most of you during the past week. I believe we got Marlene back on track, but Ray’s e-mail keeps coming back ‘unable to send’. We are sorry that Jocie is down with chicken-pox. We hope she doesn’t have as severe a case as her mother, Marie had.
Today Mom and I walked downtown. We were surprised at how many women and girls were wearing the traditional kimono. It must be a holiday or special occasion. We haven’t seen many kinonos since we have been here. When I was in Japan before the older women wore kimonos as their everyday dress and the rest of the women and girls wore them most of the time. The Japanese people have become very Americanized in their dress. We like to walk through the stores and see what is on the market now.
Last week, two of my crowns came off. I talked to Dr. Kiribayashi (in our bishopric) and he suggested a Dentist friend of his so I got an appointment and went last Thurs. It was an interesting experience. Four young nurses prept me and the Dr. came in and went to work. He took special pains to get them on just right and I’m sure it will be a long time before those crowns come off again. All in all they worked on me for an hour and a half. I began to wonder if I would have enough money to pay the bill but as it turned out it was only 1800 yen ($15.25). The Dentist pointed out some other dental problems I am having and scheduled me again next Thurs. to do some more. I was impressed with the beautiful office and the up-to-date equipment he had. Matt said I should have waited until he finishes with dental school. By then I’m afraid I won’t have any teeth left to fix.
Last Wed. they had Zone Leaders Conference here. After it was over Sis. Banks fixed dinner for everyone, including us. She served ‘Okinawan Tacos’ (a plate of rice with tomato sauce and all kinds of toppings, topped off with fruit salad and an ice cream desert). It was a delicious meal and we all ate up in the Bank’s large living room. (I think there were about 25 of us there.) It always amazes me how much food missionaries can put away!
One of the new Assistants to the Pres. (Elder Betherds) that has only been here a short time was sent back into the field. He was an excellent missionary and is credited with many baptism’s, but he had some personal habits that got on their nerves. He always had to know what was going on with everyone, couldn’t keep his hands off the mail while Mom was trying to get it sorted and distributed, was highly opinionated and I think it bothered the Banks’ to go on all those trips throughout the mission with him. Anyway I’m sure that it is more profitable for him to be doing regular missionary work. Our new AP is Elder Papne. Elder Bethards is a zone leader now and we saw him and several of the other Elder’s that have worked here in the mission home, at the Zone Leader’s Conference.
Also, we mentioned about Elder Miyamoto going home to Brazil last week because of his injuries. Besides everything else, he missed his flight and had to stay over two extra days with the Elders in Kobe then to top it off he fell down stairs at the airport and hurt his injured leg even more. What luck! Now Monday, Elder Baba (a Japanese Elder) is being released to go home early because of some health problems he is having. Pres. Banks says that since he brought him into the mission home 25 days ago, he has slept 20. Elder Smith (Andrew and Marlene’s uncle) has been working with him during that time. He also has been an outstanding missionary and was one of the Zone Leaders. Pres. Banks really hated to release him.
We hope all of your families are well. It is always nice (for the teachers and students) to get school finished up in the spring. The kids here have a spring break and then its back to school. They go year around. We are enjoying ourselves here and it seems the time is going fast. Until next week, Sayonara.
The Ropa Senkyoshii’s
Dear Family and Friends,
The rainy season in Japan was supposed to begin on June 1. So far it has been a month without rain. (May seemed to be more like the rainy season. It rained several time a week.) We have enjoyed hearing from most of you during the past week. I believe we got Marlene back on track, but Ray’s e-mail keeps coming back ‘unable to send’. We are sorry that Jocie is down with chicken-pox. We hope she doesn’t have as severe a case as her mother, Marie had.
Today Mom and I walked downtown. We were surprised at how many women and girls were wearing the traditional kimono. It must be a holiday or special occasion. We haven’t seen many kinonos since we have been here. When I was in Japan before the older women wore kimonos as their everyday dress and the rest of the women and girls wore them most of the time. The Japanese people have become very Americanized in their dress. We like to walk through the stores and see what is on the market now.
Last week, two of my crowns came off. I talked to Dr. Kiribayashi (in our bishopric) and he suggested a Dentist friend of his so I got an appointment and went last Thurs. It was an interesting experience. Four young nurses prept me and the Dr. came in and went to work. He took special pains to get them on just right and I’m sure it will be a long time before those crowns come off again. All in all they worked on me for an hour and a half. I began to wonder if I would have enough money to pay the bill but as it turned out it was only 1800 yen ($15.25). The Dentist pointed out some other dental problems I am having and scheduled me again next Thurs. to do some more. I was impressed with the beautiful office and the up-to-date equipment he had. Matt said I should have waited until he finishes with dental school. By then I’m afraid I won’t have any teeth left to fix.
Last Wed. they had Zone Leaders Conference here. After it was over Sis. Banks fixed dinner for everyone, including us. She served ‘Okinawan Tacos’ (a plate of rice with tomato sauce and all kinds of toppings, topped off with fruit salad and an ice cream desert). It was a delicious meal and we all ate up in the Bank’s large living room. (I think there were about 25 of us there.) It always amazes me how much food missionaries can put away!
One of the new Assistants to the Pres. (Elder Betherds) that has only been here a short time was sent back into the field. He was an excellent missionary and is credited with many baptism’s, but he had some personal habits that got on their nerves. He always had to know what was going on with everyone, couldn’t keep his hands off the mail while Mom was trying to get it sorted and distributed, was highly opinionated and I think it bothered the Banks’ to go on all those trips throughout the mission with him. Anyway I’m sure that it is more profitable for him to be doing regular missionary work. Our new AP is Elder Papne. Elder Bethards is a zone leader now and we saw him and several of the other Elder’s that have worked here in the mission home, at the Zone Leader’s Conference.
Also, we mentioned about Elder Miyamoto going home to Brazil last week because of his injuries. Besides everything else, he missed his flight and had to stay over two extra days with the Elders in Kobe then to top it off he fell down stairs at the airport and hurt his injured leg even more. What luck! Now Monday, Elder Baba (a Japanese Elder) is being released to go home early because of some health problems he is having. Pres. Banks says that since he brought him into the mission home 25 days ago, he has slept 20. Elder Smith (Andrew and Marlene’s uncle) has been working with him during that time. He also has been an outstanding missionary and was one of the Zone Leaders. Pres. Banks really hated to release him.
We hope all of your families are well. It is always nice (for the teachers and students) to get school finished up in the spring. The kids here have a spring break and then its back to school. They go year around. We are enjoying ourselves here and it seems the time is going fast. Until next week, Sayonara.
The Ropa Senkyoshii’s
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