Returned With Honor!

(Elder Mumford is released from his 2 year missionary service, by President Shafer; and received a copy of the following letter, from the Mission President.)

Dear President Shafer,

Elder Martin D. Mumford returns to his family, having served a highly successful mission in the Tokyo Kanto area of Japan. Elder Mumford has truly been a great missionary. He has served in 6 different areas of the mission and has had 12 different companions. Elder Mumford was district leader in both the Kunitachi and Koiwa Districts. He was a great motivator of of other missionaries.

During his mission, Elder Mumford served as as a trainer to a new missionary-Elder Remington. This is our most demanding and most important position and one we only give to our very best missionaries. As a trainer, he was outstanding. As a trainer, he taught by both his example and his teaching. Indeed, he was very effective. If only we would have had more missionaries like Elder Mumford.

I have heard Elder Mumford bear his testimony in both English and Japanese and have listened to him read from the Book of Mormon in both English and Japanese. He is very fluent in the Japanese language. Because of his hard work, he has become very proficient in both reading and speaking this difficult language.

Elder Mumford has been a missionary everyone loves to be around. He has a quiet and humble, yet powerful spirit that endears him to both other missionaries and the members and he has also been one of the hardest workers in our mission. Because he has been exact in keeping the mission rules, because he has worked so hard and because he speaks Japanese so well, the members have loved him wherever he has gone. Elder Mumford is talented, works hard, and gives all he has to serve the Lord. He is capable of doing and becoming anything he sets his mind to do. He has learned how to serve faithfully and well and will be a great blessing to the Church wherever he goes.

I believe he has laid a foundation for the rest of his life, and will be a wonderful husband and father. We thank Elder Mumford for his contributions to our Mission.

As Elder Mumford returns to your stake, I recommend him for Church service. He will be an active instrument in bringing success. May the Lord's blessings be upon you and your stake.

Warmest Regards,

President W. Steve Albrecht.

President- Japan Tokyo Mission

(Click on certificate to enlarge.)

We Are Dead!

When a missionary completes his 2 year service and returns home, the other missionaries say he is "dead" or he has "died." The companion at the time of his "death" is known as "the one who 'killed' the returning missionary.

Now, as a tribute to Elder Mumford's honorable "death," here is a fun song, written by the "late" Elder Cook, and the now "dead" Elder Mumford.

We Are Dead

(By Elder Mumford and Elder Cook)

(Sung to the tune of “Be Our Guest” from “Beauty and the Beast”)

We are dead, we are dead,

We don’t have to go to bed

At 10:30; now 6:30

Is our sleeping time instead.

We can date, not too late.

Did she leave, or did she wait?

Temple marriage, baby carriage:

They are starting to sound great!

Have our own mobile phone!

It’s ok to be alone.

When we’re done, we’ll have some fun

Or so they’ve said...

So let’s get in our car and drive out really far!

We are dead, we are dead, we are dead!

[Japanese Accent]

[No more dendo. Play nintendo!

This is missionary end-o]

Now let’s go back and find our future newlywed!

So we’ll just pack our bags

And put away our tags.

We are dead, we are dead,

Go home because we’re dead!

We are dead, we are dead, we are dead!

Welcome Home!

(Nicholas The Bear, joins in welcoming Elder Martin Mumford back home!)

(The Mumford Family display their welcome posters at the Portland airport, while waiting for the arrival of Elder Mumford .) (Click on any image to enlarge)

This will be the first time that Seth Robinson (Mallory's husband) will meet Martin.

Madison anxiously awaits the arrival of her big brother.

Three missionary moms gather with much emotion, as they wait to see their sons again after 2 long years.

(Wendy Draney, Karen Mumford, Cherie Petersen)

Here they come!

(The 3 missionary moms push past everyone and run to be the first to hug their sons!)

First hug with Mom

The three Tokyo Missionaries, have returned to Portland!.

Elder Martin Mumford, Elder Jaysen Draney, Elder Jacob Petersen.

Reunited with family once again!

Well Done!

Even the cats are happy to see Martin again!

The End Is HERE!

Elder Mumford writes his very LAST e-mail, dated July 27, 2010:

Dear Everyone,

This will be the last email! I don't have anything epic planned, but I just want to make this short and sweet.

1. Updates on investigators -

We commited everyone once more to baptism, and 2 of them attended a recent baptismal service, to see what it is like. But alas, no dates as of yet. This week we are going to try again, especially with Yoshida for a specific date.

Inoue is doing very well, and is coming to church and keeping commandments, but his main issue preventing him from being baptized is 'he has high blood pressure'. Which we're still not completely sure whay that is an issue, but he insists that if he didnt have high blood pressure he would be baptized immediately. Well, we're trying to work with him. He already believes that this church is true, and believes that it was restored through Joseph Smith. We feel that there must be something else keeping him back.

He's 55, and his only living relatives are his father and sister. Having just recently moved to Tokyo he may be feeling alone, and perhaps joining a christian church might offend his father or sister. Im not sure, but we are going to try and help him this coming week to overcome that.

(Elder Mumford catches a ride with one of the members. And yes, they drive on the left side of the road in Japan, with the steering wheel on the right of the dashboard.)

In any event, things are going great.

Tai Un is also thinking about baptism, he too came to the baptismal service, and liked it. We're meeting him on friday, and FINALLY we have been able to get a chinese speaker with us when we teach! So no more confusion and misunderstanding, he'll be able to understand exactly what baptism is, and be more capable of deciding whether that is what he wants to do. It's been kind of tough, we've mostly been taching through showing him the Kanji for japanese words he doesnt understand.

These are from a box of crackers that a Jaoanese member gave the missionaries. Ironically, there was no letter "L" in the box.

2. My last week's schedule - kind of strange, I STILL dont feel like it's going to happen yet. But my planner is rapidly running out of days, and at some point it's going to catch up to me.

Saturday - CLEAN the abominable apartment. Get out and bring the gospel to the last few people of my mission.

Sunday - Say goodbye to all the members, probably meet with all the English Class students to say goodbye, and set up the last details about the area for the new missionaries coming in.

Monday - Go to Shinjuku (the transfer location), Elder Merrell picks up his new companion, and I gather with all the returning missionaries and we all go to the Honbu. We have interviews, where President Albrecht gives us tips on how to have a great life. Then we have the returning missioary testimony meeting. In the past this was open for members and others to come, who may have known you, but because there were far to many coming, it is now only for President and Sister Albrecht and the returning missionaries.

(Elder Williams prepares to say "sayonara" to Elder Mumford)

Tuesday - Wake up, enjoy a honbu breakfast, then go to airport. Get on the plane, Say goodbye to Japan as it dissapears over the horizon. SLEEP, wake up, summarize all of my life goals and expectations. Start writing letters to all the people in Japan that I need to stay in contact with. Arrive in America. SEE YOU ALL AGAIN!

*NOTE- In this next section, Elder Mumford is referring to the following poem, which he sent home from his first area. We recently re-sent it back to him again, in his last area:

As I sit looking through the window;

A tear still in my eye.

I see my family, and friends I love,

As we say our last goodbyes.

The ride is long and tiring,

As two questions plague my mind:

Do I want the life that lies ahead?

Or the one I left behind.

I climbed down from the plane,

And stared longingly at the beach.

When a man turned me the other way;

And said, "Elder, go find and teach!"

Two years is much too long

For going door to door.

In my reflections, I thought to myself:

Hey, there really must be more!

I sit reflecting once again,

As this day is my last.

I say,"Lord, this isn't fair!

Two years go much too fast!"

As I sit looking through the window,

A tear still in my eye.

I see the Elders, and friends I love

As we say our last goodbyes.

The ride is long and tiring,

As two questions plague my mind:

Do I want the life that lies ahead?

Or the one I left behind?

(Author Unknown)

Elder Mumford looks out the window, and ponders the question: "Do I want the life that lies ahead, or the one I left behind?"

Also, thank you for sending that poem to me. I do remember writing it down, but I dont remember the author. I think I just took it directly from a quote that my trainer had. But yes, it is very true. I like how open ended the final question is, because I think that I take it a little differently than most people.

In the beginning, it asks, do I want the life that lies ahead or the one I left behind?

Which at the beginning of my mission, I took to mean, 'Do I want my normal, comfortable life, or do I want the mission life?'

To which I had a lot of mixed feelings. I loved being a missionary, and I didnt have that much of a problem adjusting. Although I was very frustrated, what I was learning surpassed anything from my previous life, about myself and about how the world works. I eventually came to describe my previous life as 'full of unrealized potential'. Where I could have done so much more, and could have accomplished great things, but just didnt know how.

(Do I want the path that lies ahead?)

And as I mentioned before, often times the mission serves as a way to show you how to realize that potential, even with intense limitations. We are very limited people. We're even limited a lot in missionary work - in that we can't really spend time with people being 'just friends', if we are not 'friends in the gospel'. We cant invest the time of becoming good friends, and getting to the point that people will want to hear us and will honestly consider what we say to be true or not. But we do have the power and authority, and God's help to do so. Which help I have not had before (namely because I didn't know how to get it --- once again, an unrealized potential).

(Or the one I left behind?)

And now, at the very end, I can reflect on that poem. And I answer the last question very differently.

'Do I want the life that lies ahead, or the one I left behind?'

And to this question, I can answer 'The one that lies AHEAD!' :) And the reason I say that is because I interperet it as 'do I want my life BEFORE my mission, or AFTER it?' And I will wholeheartedly reply AFTER.

Going on a mission is not to make yourself a better person. It's by no means about me, and a mission will not nessecarily make you a better person. You and you alone are the one who changes yourself, but the mission gives you a great opportunity to do so. So even though this 2 years wasnt about me, I can look back and realize that the greatest impact I have ever made on one person out here, has been on myself. It's a refining fire.

And so now, Im ready to take life as it comes to me and deal with it in the best way possible. Im ready to make every single year of my life better than the one before. I will get home, and basically unpack all the things that I put away. Restart from zero, but this time with the priorities in the proper order. Ill be ready to embrace the things that I gave up, and some of them I won't want to take back. But most of them Ill want to make better and turn them into a driving force for the rest of my life. That's what I have gained from this time here.

(Elder Mumford crosses the bridge to his new life)

And now the rest of my life is in front of me and I can move on with that tremendous boost and momentum from my mission. What it did for me was basically take me, a rather lazy, unmotivated person, and get me moving on the right path, for the right reasons. And now that the weights have been lifted, and the limits broken I can run towards my goal that much faster. It's really just been 2 years of giving me the power and pointing me in the right direction.

So Im very excited to resume where I left off. The course is a little bit different than before. But it's altogether in the best direction I could have hoped for.

I want to thank all of my family, and especially extended family who have written to me, sent pictures or gifts, or who have kept in touch with my parents this whole time. I appreciate the overwhelming support, and Im sure that Mom and Dad also appreciated it. I need to thank those who have prayed for me, or prayed for my family while I have been in Japan. There is a power that comes from other people, and I have had many moments in Japan where I think I have felt that. I also need to thank those who have their own children or relatives who are on missions, who have encouraged others, or supported others to go on a mission. It is NEVER easy to be a missionary, no matter where you end up going. But it is never easy to be a normal person for that matter, and the lessons that you learn (if you learn them), will set you up to have that much more of a jump start as a normal person when you get back. Thank you for supporting missionaries everywhere in the world. It is a life-changing experience.

(Sayonara! From the Land of The Rising Sun.)

Im looking forward to seeing you all. Ill be able to talk about it more this summer, when we meet again as families.

I hope that everyone has a great week! See you soon!

-Elder Martin D Mumford

-TOKYO JAPAN

The End Is Near!

(The Mafia Men- (AKA Elder Bryant, Elder Mumford, and Elder Williams) prepare for the upcoming "death" of Elder Mumford... "Missionary Death", that is. When a missionary goes home, they call it "death." and whoever is the companion serving with the "dying" missionary, is the one who "kills" him.)

Now for Elder Mumford's second to last e-mail, dated July 21, 2010:

Dear Everyone,

This will probably be the second to last email Ill be sending from Japan. I wanted to say a few things:

First:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mom and Madison!!! Sounds like you both had a fun time! I cant believe that Madison actually went skydiving! Anyways, Im not going to send much at the moment, but Im going to bring Mom, Dad, Madison, and Mallory's presents with me home. (If possible Ill try and squeeze them in the package).

Madison must be enjoying Summer Break, and proably mom is happy about turning 38 (again) :)

(Elder Mumford is surprised by the size of the birthday cake, sent by Elder William's Family.)

Second of all, some points of thanks:

1. Sister and President Albrecht are very thankful for the presents you gave them, the CD and the engraved oil vial.

2. Elder Matias really loved the CD and the gifts that you gave him,

3. And also Elder Williams wanted me to thank you for the CD.

Im going the try and give away as many of the CDs as I can to anyone who would enjoy them. Thanks for the wonderful music supply that you have been steadily adding this whole time.

Also the reason that Im emailing on Thursday today, is that we are going to Maehama today with a member. We're going to Disneyland!!! But, of course we cant actually go INTO disneyland as missionaries, but we're going to go around it and take some pictures. Should be fun! We switched our P-days so that our entire district (10 people) could come. Im excited.

(Mickey and Minnie in Kimonos, at Tokyo Disneyland.)

Although, from what I hear the only difference between American Disneyland and Japanese Disneyland, is that people dont scream at all on the rides. So it's the same, but completely silent. Weird.

So thanks to Elder Merrell we have not been having any rain. He calls himself the 'Human Sponge' because no matter where he goes, it never rains. It maybe drizzled 1 or 2 days this transfer, but all in all the 'Tsuuyu' or rain season completely and toallty missed us this year. Only Tokyo escaped. The rest of all of Japan got completely doused, and there was flooding and major damage done. So props to Elder Merrell!

(Elder Merrell is unable to get water, no matter how hard he tries.)

But that's not to say it's not hot. IT IS BURNING, FIREY - "INSIDE OF THE SUN" HOT. I've got a heavy deep line where my 'Missionary Tan' is. Not quite as bad as the 'tie tan' in some missions (where it's so hot that it still gives you a tan through your shirt, except for where your tie is) :) But I do have some serious 'watch' tan. Kind of strange, but Im sure that will go away eventually.

(Elder Mumford shows off his missionary tan lines)

Also, We got the death package. Elder Merrell loved the 'with Sympathy' card that you sent him.

(Ahhhh, I'm going to die soon!)

(We sent Elder Mumford a "death" package, to help him prepare for his "missionary death." It included a sympathy card for Elder Williams, (since he is the one who will "kill" him) black balloons, a recipe for "funeral potatoes, and green jell-o, " etc. and a CD of hymns, with titles such as "Sing We Now At Parting," "Lord, Dismiss Us With Thy Blessing," "Now The Day Is Over," " The TIme Is Far Spent", "Does The Journey Seem Long," etc.)

Actually, it turns out that 3 members of our district are going home this transfer. Me, Sister Ascerson, and Sister Shimomiya, so We're going to use the black baloons for the last district meeting. :)

Video:

Click on the "PLAY" arrow above, to see the ULTIMATE dessert, enjoyed after a recent district meeting.

We're having all miracles down here. There are many sisters getting baptized soon (taught by the Koiwa Sisters). One this Sunday, one next Sunday, and one the next. After that we (the Elders) have 2 people who are really considering baptism, and are both going to pick a date next week.

1. Tai Un (the chinese 19-year old student),

2. Inoue (the 55-year old... person).

They both want to recieve baptism, but are not sure about setting aday, so they are going to give us theri answers next time we meet them this week! So there are a lot of miracles coming up. We're meeting with tons of people and they are all making thier way towards their new lives.

(Elder Mumford and Shingo- a guy they met on the street. Shingo likes menga a lot, and so does Elder Merrill, so they get along well.)

Thanks so much everyone for the great support these 2 years. I have really appreciated all the communication and care that has gone into this time. It has made a big difference for me :) Ill have to tell you all about it when I get there.

Elder Merrel has gotten a plethora of packages recently, and so have I, so we have been abundantly blessed this transfer.

To be honest, right now the one thing I want to do most is sleep, but thaty will probably change once I actually get there. In any event I plan on hitting the ground running and taking off from there. There is so much that needs to be done! After I get 1 full day of rest Im sure Ill be ready and back up to start the rest. As long as there is an alarm clock somewhere in the house that I can use, Ill be happy. Thanks for everything!

(Elder Mumford: Going down the "elephant slide" - ready to "hit the ground, running!")

I love you all, Ill see you soon. Hope you enjoy this week, as busy as it may be. Have a great time!

If there is one thing that Ive come to learn, its that you have to enjoy the JOURNEY along the way, and life will be so much more rich and meaninful.

Elder Martin Mumford

TOKYO, JAPAN.

Words Of Caution, From A Wise Old Missionary.

Elder (Napoleon Dynamite) Mumford shares some sage advise, written in the ever popular, ENGRISH language. All photos below, taken by the camera of Elder Mumford. (Click on any image to enlarge)

And now, exerpts taken from the e-mail of Elder Mumford, from Japan, dated 7/12/10:

Dear Everyone,

We had a GREAT week! Ill have to tell you all about it.

But first, to answer some questions/comments:

1. I recently got a letter from Uncle Bill, and I wanted to thank him very much for that. Also both Grandmas sent me a letter, for which I have not yet had time to respond. (To be honest, I may just thank them in person in a few weeks :) But I wanted them to know that I really appreciate them.

2. Im excited to get the very last package. When I thought about it, I realized that any packages in the next week might make it, but if sent next week I probably wont recieve them in time. Im also getting a larger box and starting to fill it up for my 'Final Package' home. It will also contain Nicholas the Bear :)

3. As for missionary items, I seriously doubt anyone will want my bike :) It's been thoroughly trashed over the past 2 years, and I just pray that it will last for a few more weeks. As for shirts, next week I will be dry cleaning a few of the best ones, and doing the best I can, but I think Ill only take home with me the cleanest 2 long and short sleeves. They have gotten really, really grey and spotted. Ill take what I think Ill use, and send home whatever I dont need right now, but might need later. Everything else Ill just throw away or give to the other missionaries.

It was fun to hear about the stories from home, including Lupin getting stuck in a tree. Glad to hear that the cats are as genki as ever. Actually, about the cats, do you remember that cat pillow that you gave me last year for my birthday? The one with Tuna and Lupin with the book of mormon? Well I think Im going to actually give that to Elder Merrell, because he would like to use it the rest of his mission whenever he goes on exchanges with someone. It makes a great joke :)

Alright, so this past week we have been teaching a lot of people. Right now our primary focus is on these 4;

1. Yoshida - he is seriously considering baptism.

2. Inoue - he is 55, but is very shy and so has a hard time coming to church or other events, but wants to meet with us whenever he has some time, because he too is also very interested.

3. Wakizaka - really cool guy, he thinks that there may be something applicable in what we say, so he would like to hear from us one more time. We're hoping that he will understand where we are coming from, and try to get an answer for himself.

4. Tai Un - chinese, he doesnt really speak Japanese and no English, so it is really really hard to communicate with either us or the members. However, he likes meeting with us and loves coming to church and other activities. He's 19.

(Japanese Version of The Armor of God)

Some other interesting stories, we called a person who had ordered a 'together forever' DVD while in America. It turns out he spoke great English, and while he was in America for several years, he actually had a lot of mormon friends. In fact he watched 'the best 2 years' with one of them. We thought that was really funny.

(Japanese Version of The Armies of Helaman)

We are planning really effectively for these last 3 weeks or so. Im really glad to have had the opportunity to be with Elder Merrell this last transfer too, because I am learning a lot from him. We often talk about what we want to do in the future and hopefully we'll be able to coordinate something after he gets home as well.

This has been a great memorit.. memorable? English is so wierd.

This has been a great experience for me. It has made me appreciate so much more of life, and realize just what I need to do in the future.

Just today, we gained a great appreciation for the miracle of a garbage disposal, as we cleaned out the sludge that accumulates when nothing but pure water can get through. (everything else just piles up in the sink hole until it clogs) :)

Things I have come to appreciate:

1. GARBAGE DISPOSALS

2. Carpet

3. Beds

4. Standing up showers

5. CHEESE

6. Privacy

7. Free time

8. The Internet

9. Freedom

10. English

(Reflections of a Japan Missionary)

Things I will never forget:

1. Melon Pan

2. Good Ramen

3. My Purpose here in Japan

4. The People I Met

5. The People I Taught

6. The People that cared about us

7. The Ability to focus on other people without having to pay attention to myself/money/food/job/school/entertainment

8. The Miracles

9. The Japanese Culture, the most unique on the earth

10. Being A Missionary

VIDEO: Click Play to view.

And speaking of that unique Japanese cultrure, click play to view:

But that in no way means that any of those things will have to end. I strongly believe (as I mentioned last week), that all the power and energy and focus and joy that comes from being a missionary should never stop. If anything, once I return the horizons will be expanded, and all of that same power and energy can be applied to everything else in my life. It's like having a dam holding back all that water, you learn how to be effective in converting it into power because there is only the smallest opening. But then when the floodgates open and the potential is that much greater, I think I can do so much more than ever before because of what I learned here.

(To Infinity, and beyond!)

So, besides 1 and 2, I think all things that Ill remember will be more than just 'remembering the good times', but will be an active part of my life;

3. My Purpose in America will be very different, but it will be just as, if not more important. Ill always remember that.

4. I will meet more great people in my life, and they will teach me

5. I will have the opportunity to help and teach those people in return

6. I will meet more people who will care about me

7. I can use that focus even after my time in Japan. Ill never stop focusing on other people.

8. There will be many many miracles to come

9. Someday I want to help the Japanese people agian, and much of what I have learned about the Japanese Culture has given me all the more edge to help them in the future.

10. Being a Missionary - I will never be a full time missionary in quite the same way again. But I will be a normal person, and as a normal person, without the limits, I can do more than ever before. Ill never forget being a missionary. I will always attribute the greatness in the rest of my life to the changes that occured while in this service. And I am determined to take that, and make the rest of my life so much more great because of it.

(Turtle shaped melon pan. (Melon flavored bread)

So all in all, I am excited to see what happens here. Ill see you all in a little bit. I cant wait to talk to you then.

I hope that everyone has a great week, have fun!

Love,

Elder Martin D Mumford,

TOKYO, JAPAN