Quiet Rescue

As I work on the mission blog, I get to share some stories written by missionaries.  Sister Baird asks missionaries as they are leaving to share stories that are special to them, about their missions or their lives.
Here is one story that touched me, and it was written anonymously.  I thought is would be OK to share.

She saved my life, not in an amazing moment of rescue, but by slow teaching and love.  I avoided a path that I believe would have resulted in death.  I met Jane when I was 16.  I couldn’t find a job so I told the women in Relief Society I would do odd jobs for them.  She heard that and hired me.  She had a house cleaning company and we went around together, just the two of us.

She had had a pretty hard life because of the decisions she had made as a teenager.  I saw in her one of my possible future selves.  I was 16 and I just wanted to be different from my three goody-two-shoes older siblings.  I was willing to do whatever that took.  But she showed me what was down that road.  I started to see the consequences of my actions before I made decisions.  I saw that this path would end with drugs, disease and even death.  Those who try to toe the line between good and evil don’t realize that the line is moving—you just don’t notice as darkness deepens and then you are entrapped and it’s too late.  Jane told me all about it, supported me, talked me through decisions and helped me see what would make me happy, the real kind of happy.

She asked me why I wanted to serve a mission.  I said, “Because my patriarchal blessing says so.”  She said, “That’s not a reason.”  So I thought about it and realized that a mission is not about me.  It’s about God and serving others.

Jane has since then returned to some of her old problems.  I once told God that at the judgment bar I would stand between Him and her.  That she was good.  He could punish me in her stead.  I would suffer for her.  That is when I understood a small fraction of the Atonement and Jesus Christ’s love for us.  She made me who I am in many ways and it is definitely thanks to her that I am here on a mission today.

Goin' Fishin'

Have any of you read the story book, Ping, to your children or grandchildren?  Check it out of the library and read it to them.  It's a fun book about cormorant fishing.

Last Friday night, I was very excited to go see, in real life, what I had read to my children and grandchildren dozens of times.

Here's our group, right after viewing the fishing.  Sister Baird is in the center of the front three.
You can easily pick out the missionaries, Elder Ito and Elder Ellsworth.
In front of Elder Ellsworth is Megumi; her daughter is left of Sister Baird.  They are dear friends.
There are a couple of oldies with white hair and the rest of the group
is pretty well Baird Family, visiting from Utah.

Cormorant fishing is a traditional fishing method in which fishermen use trained cormorants to fish in rivers. Historically, cormorant fishing has taken place in Japan and China from around 960 AD. and recorded from other places throughout the world.

 Though cormorant fishing once was a successful industry, its primary use today is to serve the tourism industry.

The man with the bird has just had him empty his gullet and is putting him in a basket.
Fishing has ended for the night.

I think this little tourism thing is pretty lucrative.  Sister Baird insisted on paying for us to go, so we aren't sure how much it cost. (Thank you, Sister Baird!) But we are guessing it wasn't cheap because very little in Japan is.  There were 8 boats lined up at the shoreline of the river.  We walked on to the boat and, of course, removed our shoes.  Then we walked along a small aisle between the outer edge of the long, thin boat and a low table in the middle.  We kneeled, then sat with our legs under the table, facing the people across from us.  Each boat could handle 40 people, so in that one trip, there were about 320 people who went to watch the cormorants.  The boat had a roof above us, from which they hung lanterns (and from which we noticed several fairly healthy-looking black spiders playing like they were lanterns.


Our boat pushed off and was taken down the river about 400 yards to get into position to view the fishing.  A man standing on each end of the boat had a long pole, and they pushed us along in the shallow river.  

Soon, along came the fishing boats, also long and narrow.  There were four men in each boat, and there was a fire burning in a basket on a long pole in the front of each boat.  They use a fire to attract the fish and hit the sides of the boat to keep the birds active. The man in the front is fairly close to the fire basket, so he wears a fireproof hat and bamboo skirt.

Because cormorant fishing is a daily activity for nearly five months of the year, the fishing masters begin each day by selecting ten to twelve healthy cormorants for the evening’s activities. When the birds are selected and the boats are prepared, the six fishing masters draw ropes to determine the order in which they will fish.

When the cormorants catch the fish, they are brought back to the boat using ropes attached to their bodies. When they are back in the boat, the fishing masters slightly squeeze the birds' throat, and they open their mouth to let the fish, still alive, fall into a basket.  Each bird can hold up to six fish in its throat. The birds are prevented from swallowing the fish because of a ring tied around their necks. The cormorants, however, are still able to swallow smaller fish. Though the ropes are strong, the fishing masters are able to quickly break them if a bird’s rope gets caught beneath rocks, ensuring the bird will not drown.

This can sound like cruelty to animals, this tying a rope around the birds and putting a ring around their necks.  Someone told me that once the birds are caught to train and use for fishing, they are treated like household pets.  They are well-fed and live for about 15-20 years as they work for the boatmen.  That same cormorant would live about 5 years in the wild.

PS:  I keep forgetting to add beauty shop names.  Here are three more:  Brunt Cut, Love Buzz, and Jank Hair.

Kyoko

I have been waiting for President Baird to finish writing this story and for permission to share it.  It is in the mission blog now, and I am sharing it here.  It is such a sweet story, and gives a feel for how missionary work goes.  I love this story!

Kyoko Yaguchi Conversion Story

Written by President Scott O. Baird

The conversion story of Kyoko Yaguchi is inspiring and instructive. Kyoko’s story helps missionaries to develop the faith to find by:

1. Illustrating the power of multiple finding methods

2. Demonstrating ways the Lord leads people to the missionaries and

3. Proving that no effort is wasted.

By considering sweet Kyoko and her experience, missionaries can learn from and duplicate a marvelous experience that will help to bring about the prophetic promises regarding missionary work in Japan.

Kyoko in Kimono

In early 2012, Kyoko Yaguchi was 14 years old. She was schooled in the art of traditional Japanese dance. Traditional dance requires discipline and grace and Kyoko developed both. At a first introduction Kyoko appears to be much older than her 14 years. Her grace and composure project the image of an older and more mature young woman.

Sister Baird and I joined the missionaries in a lesson with Kyoko when a concern arose which threatened her baptismal date. Members wondered if our missionaries might be pressuring Kyoko to receive baptism and suspected that her parents might also feel the same way. A member called me to express the concern. I asked a few questions and learned that Kyoko had attended church 7 or 8 times. Her mother regularly attended with her and her father acted as chaperone to each lesson.

I asked the parents and the member to join us in the lesson. We started the lesson by explaining that baptism was the mechanism by which we enter God’s Kingdom. Because it is God’s Kingdom the standards for entry are high. We taught that liking the missionaries and wanting to please them was not sufficient reason to be baptized. We explained that God had outlined the standards for receiving baptism in the Doctrine and Covenants section 20 verse 37. We opened our scriptures together and read, stopping at the end of each phrase and asking someone to share their understanding of the phrase. We first read “all those who humble themselves before God”. I asked Kyoko’s mom what she thought that standard meant. She gave a thoughtful and insightful answer.

We moved to the next phrase, “…and desire to be baptized.” This time I asked Kyoko directly. “Do you desire to be baptized?”

She gave a direct answer, “Yes.”

“Will you please explain to me why you desire to be baptized?” Her answer was simple but clear. Both her mother and the member were satisfied from her answer that Kyoko was not being pressured but that she was making a well considered choice based on her budding faith. We continued by reading and discussing each phrase. Many of our questions were directed to Kyoko’s mother; occasionally we sought a response from either Kyoko or the member. In conclusion we spoke about the gift of the Holy Ghost and read together John 14:26 and talked about the spirit being able to teach us all things and being able to recall all things to our memory. We then asked Kyoko, “You are scheduled to receive baptism on March 3. Do you still want to be baptized on that day or would you prefer to wait?”

“I would like to be baptized on March 3.”

“Mother, how do you feel about that?” I asked.

“I don’t want to postpone my daughter’s baptism. Her father and I support her in this choice and will do all we can to help her to honor the choice she makes today.”

“Member, how do you feel about Kyoko’s desire to be baptized on her appointed day?”

With tears of emotion, having been moved by the spirit, the member agreed that postponing her baptism would serve no useful purpose.

With everyone united in opinion we shifted our attention. I spoke to Kyoko’s mother. “Sister Yaguchi, you say that you and your husband support Kyoko in her choice. I have two requests for you and the family, is that okay?”

“Of course.”

“It would be a great support to Kyoko if all the family could be present for her baptism and later, her confirmation. Will you all join us on those days?”

“Of course!”

“Second, after her baptism, the missionaries will teach Kyoko all the lessons over again from the beginning. It would be of great help to Kyoko if her family participated in those lessons and had a clear understanding of the things being taught. Will you do that?”

“Of course.”

These invitations are simply following the suggestions in Preach My Gospel p. 167. Bullet point number three suggests teaching recent converts and asking them to introduce other people you can teach. The final bullet point recommends inviting people to baptismal services. Both of these suggestions were useful with Kyoko’s family. When Sister Baird and I went to Kyoko’s baptism there were her parents seated near the front of the chapel. We had a wonderful visit with them and invited them to our home for a family home evening. They gratefully accepted. Again, when she was confirmed, her parents and her older sister were in attendance and were warmly welcomed by the members.

Kyoko’s baptism

Elder Andersen and Elder Koesashi

Kyoko and her family participating in Family Home Evening.

Standing: Sister and President Baird, Sister and Brother Allen

Seated: Elder Rust, Elder Koesashi, Michiko, Shoko, Kyoko, and Ritsuo Yaguchi.

If the story of Kyoko’s conversion ended there it would be a wonderful story, but that is not the end. Our very wise missionaries continued to follow the guidance on pages 167 and 172 of Preach My Gospel. Page 167 suggests asking for referrals. Page 172 recommends an activity to help members to make a list of names. The missionaries pressed forward. They are trustworthy missionaries who know their purpose and who “act in the office in which they are appointed.” They helped Kyoko make a list of names.

One name on Kyoko’s list was one of her friends, a young man in her school class, Shotaro Furukawa. Kyoko invited Shotaro to a lesson with the missionaries; he accepted. When the missionaries got to the end of the first lesson, they did exactly as they are taught and they invited Shotaro to be baptized. He accepted. 

The missionaries knew there was still a permission barrier looming so they studied a handout they had received in specialized training on how to get permission. They scheduled an appointment with Shotaro’s mother, a single parent raising two children, Shotaro, age 15, and his younger sister age 9. When they met her, they praised Shotaro’s mother for being such a great parent, pointing to Shotaro and his desire for good things as evidence. They shared some of the teachings of the church, focusing on For the Strength of Youth as an example of things they had been teaching her son. They explained to her that her son believed the things the missionaries taught and that he wanted join the church. They explained that joining the church meant being baptized. They then asked Shotaro to share with his mother his own feelings about the things he had been taught and his desire to be baptized.  At the conclusion, Shotaro’s mother said she simply could not refuse her son permission to be part of so great an organization and she signed the baptismal record that the Elders had prepared. Shotaro Furukawa was baptized 22 April.

 Shotaro’s baptism

Shotaro with Elder Koesashi and Elder Rust

Again, a great end to the Kyoko story??? Not yet.

The missionaries, sensing an opportunity asked Shotaro’s mother, Sister Furukawa, if she would like to see for herself some of the things the church taught. They explained that the following Sunday would be the church’s General Conference, that prophets of God would speak there. They invited her to attend. She came, along with Shotaro’s younger sister.

Sister  Misako Furukawa and Shotaro’s younger sister, Aoi.

After the conference the missionaries asked Sister Furukawa how she felt. She confessed that she had been touched by the talks and the focus on families. She concluded, “I may want to join this church myself!” Sister Furukawa not only attended Shotaro’s baptism but she spoke from the pulpit—providing the introduction of her son to the congregation. She and her daughter became investigators and are preparing to be baptized on 2 June.

Furukawa family at Shotaro’s baptism with

Elders Koesashi and Rust

Because of her peaceful and composed nature, a shy 14 year old Kyoko was able to win permission to be baptized for herself. She influenced her father, mother and older sister to become investigators. One of her friends became and investigator and has already received baptism. That friend’s mother and younger sister also became investigators and will soon receive baptism.

No one connected with this story thinks it is over. The progress of Kyoko’s parents is slow but it is steady. There are yet other friends to reach out to and an ever widening circle of influence and people to contact.

So if we don’t know the end of the story yet, at least we know how it started. A young girl interested in English class connects with the missionaries and finds something far more than she ever dreamed. In a great story about faithful missionaries and the hand of the Lord, even the beginning of the story has a surprising twist. That first young girl interested in English class was Kyoko’s grandmother. Thirty years ago Kyoko’s grandmother wanted to study English and met the missionaries. She didn’t join the church but thirty years later when her granddaughter was interested in English, the Grandmother shared her own experience and told Kyoko to find the missionaries and they would teach her English.

The first section of chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel is entitled Developing the Faith to Find. The first paragraph promises missionaries that God will lead them to people who are preparing to receive the Gospel or he will lead such people to the missionaries. Kyoko’s story demonstrates how the Lord will lead people to the missionaries including using English class and relationships with existing and new members. As missionaries follow and become more skilled in multiple patterns of finding outlined in Preach My Gospel, they will be able to exercise a greater measure of faith in the Lord’s promise.

The final section of Chapter 9 is No Effort is Wasted. One sentence stands out, “Even when people do not accept the opportunity to learn the gospel, your service and words are evidence of God’s love for them and may plant seeds that future missionaries and members of the Church will harvest.”

I think of those two missionaries of 30 years ago whose names I do not know. 

They must have worked hard.

They must have had faith.

They must have been tried. They may have questioned the value of their effort. There may have been days that they felt like they were wasting their time here. There were probably days they thought no one would hear or accept them. Perhaps one or more missionaries wrote in their journal about a middle-aged woman they hoped would become an investigator who told them she had no interest in religion, she only had interest in English class. On that day, perhaps, they thought they had failed. Little did they know that they were planting a seed that would grow into a great miracle 30 years later.

Elder Ringwood promised our missionaries, “Two missionaries who follow the spirit and give everything they have all day every day will be blessed with a miracle every day of their missions even if they don’t see it personally.” The story of Kyoko and her conversion helps missionaries in the Japan Nagoya Mission to understand and believe in those words. It helps them to develop the faith to find. It gives them peace that their efforts will bear fruit—even when they do not see it.

I Love Flowers

On our Kiso River Valley tour, there were a few other things I don't want to forget.

First, the flora and fauna.  I love flowers.

Lee enjoyed seeing the first ever electric generation plant in Japan, still up and running. 

And this shows the pin stocks (pipes that deliver high pressure water to the turbines, to help generate electricity).  We are sharing this in honor of EPIS.  We love all things power generation.

And I must comment on the brooms.  Here they are hanging from entrances of 400-year old homes, but these brooms are everywhere else in modern-day Japan.  I see them on trucks of people who do yard work.    I see people using then in their yards and on their walks.  I see them in stores, for sale.  They must be effective, but it's hard for me to imagine they can be as good as the brooms we have in the US.  Aren't they cute?

Lee also was looking for, and found, the oldest all wooden bridge in Japan, spanning over the Kiso River.

And we enjoyed not only the beauty, but the coolness of several waterfalls.

And I almost forgot a few names of beauty shops:  Hair Make Equipe, Samsom & Delilah Hair (Now that gives one food for thought!), and Pigtail.  Love these names!

Erika

This is Erika.  She has been in our ward, but tomorrow morning she will fly out to the MTC in Utah, and then back to Sendai to be a missionary.

Erika welcomed us with open arms when we arrived.  She asked many times if she could help with anything. She offered to translate things for us.  She even offered to help me learn the language.  She made little treats for us to make us feel wecome.

She is already a missionary.  She has been serving as a ward missionary, and she is the best ward missionary I have ever seen.  She shares the Gospel with many friends and makes herself available to go teaching with other missionaries frequently.  She gives her all.

She helps with everything she can, every chance she gets.  So she is often involved with projects and parties and other events that take time and effort to organize.  She plays the piano beautifully.

She is always happy, always kind to everyone, and always dressed modestly and appropriately.

She is humble, but beautiful, sensitive and caring.  She is always thinking of others.  That is why everyone who knows her, loves her.  Tonight there was a surprise party for her.  There were 40 people there, and more came in later.  Someone had made a video with photos of her doing different things in the ward, and people telling her goodbye.  Then they sang a goodbye song to her, and many were crying.  She will be missed in this ward and a godsend to wherever she goes on her mission.

In short, she is amazing.

I have grown to love and admire her, and I know she will be a superb missionary.  And when she gets back, she will be a superb wife and mother.  I even have her husband picked out, but I haven't told her.  I've never had much luck with match-making, so this time I will just wait and see what happens after the next 18 months. It would be fun if I got it right for once, but we will see.


Beauty shop names:  Earth, Hair and Make, Hair Plain, and She Cut.