Shonan

(A cool sign, captured by the camera of Elder Mumford)

Each time Elder Mumford sends a batch of photos home, there are MANY, MANY pictures of buildings, or statues, or signs that he found interesting. Sometimes it's a curious example of architecture, or a close- up of a highly detailed hand rail on a stairway. There are usually so many of these types of pictures on his photo card, that there is not room enough to post them all. So here are a few photos from his architecture collection, interspersed within his e-mail from the week, beginning November 23rd, 2009:

(Complex Neon Lighted Sign)

Dear Everyone,

Sorry, this week is going to be more like a bonus because Im emailing on Monday. Anyways, transfers have happened.

1. I am now in SHONAN area, which is actually kind of close to my bean area, yokosuka.

2. My companion is Elder GOES from Brazil/California. He is on his 3rd transfer, just like Elder Remington. Also, Elder DRANEY, my MTC companion is going to be in our district! So this should be fun.

I still miss Kunitachi a lot, and its going to take a few days to adjust to Shonan after spending so much time in my previous area, but Im looking forward to all the things we will do in the days to come.

(Cool sculpture)

Some last updates about Kunitachi before I turned it over to Elder Remington and Elder Kondo;

- Nakamura-san came to stake conference even though he had the flu a few days before and couldnt make it to English Class. He likes church a lot and he took the Book of Mormon this time. He had already read 60 pages of the 'Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith' text, which someone had given him last Sunday. Kind of random. He says he has TONS of questions, but we cant seem to set an appointment with him to answer any of them. I suppose if anyone needs help, he needs your prayers that he will come to understand the importance of meeting the missionaries, instead of studying on his own.

(Detail from the bottom of a Japanese birdhouse.)

OK, so some things about Shonan. I havent met any members yet, or investigators or anyone else so all I have to go off of is what Elder Goes has told me. We have 2 fairly large cities within our area. If you look on the mission map, Shonan is the area with two huge bulb-things with a tiny road that connects them. From the sound of it we never go to the big bulb, and stay exclusively within our little bubble near the ocean. It is kind of exciting because Elder Fukuda, Elder Morris, and Elder Frank have all served in Shonan, and have all had great things to say about it. This is going to be so much fun.

(A 4 story McDonalds)

Elder Goes is originally from Brazil, and spent 10 years in California, so he speaks fluent Portugese, Spanish, and English. We also have a LOT of Pourtugese, Spanish, and English-speaking investigators, which means that I need to figure out how to bear my testimony in more than just 1 of the 3. That should be fun. He worked in In and Out burger for a long time in California :)

(Curious Architecture)

The apartment is HUGE, possibly the biggest I have ever been in in all my mission. However today we need to shop because there is literally no food. (We opened up the fridge and theres about 3 packs of Natto, some Kimuchi, and a half-bottle of mayonase).

This is also the largest area I have ever served in. We have a huge wall-to-wall map of the lower half of the smaller bubble. Essentially to ride our bikes from one end to the other (the long way) would take more than 5 hours.

(Detailed roof of a temple)

Also I hope my bags get here, because I told them to go to 'Shimomia' when really the city is called 'Shinomia' (The Kanji is very different, but over the phone it sounded strikingly similar).

(Interesting Archway)

So, it looks like Ill be spending the Christmas and winter in Shonan this year. Should be lots of fun! From what I hear there are about 50 people in the ward and they are all very nice and like the missionarie. :)

We're going to see if we cant work some miracles here. We already met an interesting man last night who loved history, and loved to talk about Europenan and American history (including religious history). So that was interesting. He actually talked to us (more AT us than to us) at the door for more than 30 minutes. He was a fun little grandpa.

(Creatively covered roadway)

We email every Tuesday, so there should be no problems at all. As Christmas gets closer Im going to email you with the details of the phone call :) Anyways, that's all I know at the moment, so Ill tell you more next week as I figure it out.

(Unusual Building)

I hope everyone is doing well and exceeding all expectations at whatever aspect of life they are currently applying themselves in. (did that sentence make sense?) Im excited to hear about everyone's lives and glad to see pictures. I also sent a package just barely, so within 1-2 weeks you should get a new batch of pictures. Gomen, (sorry) its not quite as many as last time, but it should keep you busy for a little while at least. It also includes my 3-transfer newsletters, so enjoy!

To everyone, I wish good luck! Have Fun!

-Love, Elder Mumford,

JAPAN, TOKYO, SHONAN.

Scenes from Kunitachi

VIDEO: Click "Play" below to view.

Click on the "Play" arrow to see a Japanese Parking Lot.

Here is Elder Mumford's e-mail from Kunitachi, dated November 18, 2009:

Dear Everyone,

Im sitting in the library on a blissfully rainy winter afternoon. It still reminds me of Washington, except Washington is more of a drizzle. :)

(Elder Mumford and his companion prepare their rain gear for Japan's rainy season.)

Anyways, its great to hear from everyone. We just got the letter with the sidewalk chalk missionaries, and I thought that was very creative! Sounds like a lot of fun! I think if we were to try drawing on the streets of the city here, the police would probably arrest us for disturbing the peace and distracting people from their jobs :) Well have to try it sometime.

(These Elders, serving in Russia, found a creative way to incorporate their artistic talents into missionary work.)

(Note from Missionary Mom: The Mumfords are making another CD-- all hymns this time, using music that was recorded by Martin prior to his mission. But one song was recorded just a couple of months ago, and with Martin in Japan, he could not be included in the recording. So I played and recorded the guitar part for him on that one song. Madison felt this was blasphemy to record HIS guitar part for him. So I had requested permission from Martin to record the guitar part. Here is his response:

That sounds like an incredible CD, cant wait to hear our songs again. Also for the record, I thank Madison for being the guardian of my guitar rights over there. However seeing as I cant really help out with that while in Japan, I sign over those rights to play whatever you please on the guitar in my name (so long as its not cheezy). Thanks though, Madison :)

(The Mumford Family Musicians. This picture was taken just before Martin left for the MTC in August 2008.)

(Click here to listen to a sample of the Mumford's Music.... Also available on i-tunes, LimeWire, AmazonMP3, and lala. Search for The Mumfords)

OK down to some business;

1. Thank you so very much for the Halloween package, and other packages. I am always exceptionally happy to get them :) I will be sending a package tomorrow with a whole bunch of stuff, the 3-transfer newsletters, and pictures. As for Christmas, anything that you sent last time is also acceptable. Music, pictures, ties, socks... things missionaries can use :)

2. Travel plans. Still quite a distance away, but all options sound nice.

(Martin's release date is the same time as a family reunion in Utah. Here are some of the options we are exploring:)

(1) Martin would fly into Salt Lake City, rather than Portland and then drive with family to Utah Reunion- already in progress. Could be good to see everyone again right away.

(2) Martin would fly into Portland, take a taxi home (Family won't be there, we will be in Utah for the reunion.) What a coincidence, on my list of things to do upon returning, one of them is 'sleep for 3 days'. This might be OK, but I wonder if I would want to be alone for my first 3 days back. Im still not sure.

(3) Mom doesn't go to reunion, but stays behind in Portland, to pick up Martin, and keep him stocked in Pizza until everyone else returns from the Utah reunion.) If its not too much of a pain for you to take care of a son that you thought had left the house for good, this might be a good option :)

Ill keep thinking about it, and if I change my mind Ill tell you. Probably number 3, but IM not sure. Im not going to worry too much about it until Christmastime anyways.

OK, Kunitachi:

We have some miracles. We began to teach 3 new people in 3 days. Essentially this is the biggest breakthrough that has happened since I came here. We are very excited about;

1. Oobayashi. very spiritual person, thinks that Joseph Smith is probably right, and that our testimonies are definitely true. He wants to feel the spirit, and now is reading the Book of Mormon, but he sais he doesnt understand any of it.

2. Nakamura. He came to English class after 10 years break. Says he just retired and needs religion now that he has free time. Wants to come to church from now on (forever, every week). Turned down the book of mormon because he wants a triple instead. Unfortunatley, he doesnt see the need to actually meet the missionaries and hear from them. He wants to learn about the church simply by coming to church on sunday and participating. We're working with him to eventually hear the lessons from us. Very nice man.

3. Kiichi. We met him forever ago, and he agreed to take us on a tour of his Temple. So we went this last sunday, and it was HUGE. It was essentially COnference Center size, with a airport-looking international department. He took us around the various floors and showed us all the interesting statues and exxplained some of it.

Afterwarsd, we taught him a short lesson, and he was very interested to read the Book of Mormon. He kept flipping throught it and was really intersted. So we're gooing to try and meet him in 2 daays to discuss a little more. :)

So it has been a crazy week.

Anyways, I think were going to be kicked off the computers soon, so I got to wrap this up.

Thank you everyone for your love and support. Have a great time!

-Elder Mumford,

TOKYO, JAPAN

Kunitachi Times!

Trainers In Training: (Elder Mumford is standing far left)

The missionary trainers take a quick snapshot, prior to meeting their new "green beans" (new missionaries, fresh from the MTC)

(Click on picture to enlarge)

Here are excerpts from Martin's e-mail dated November 12, 2009:

Dear everyone,

It's a nice cold day in Kunitachi. It finally cooled off (just last week we had some blisteringly hot days) to its rightful temperature. Cold. Or at least that's what I feel, coming from Washington. I love the cold. Ill take the winter anyday over the summer :) Maybe I should have gone to Sapporo :)

Also, we recieved in our Fruit Basket this month, a huge box of 75 swiss miss American Hot Chocolate packets! So we are warming our icy hands each night upon our return. Right after we recieved it I got the package containing all that hot chocolate from home. Never fear, we will find some way to use it all. Im confident in our ability. :) It's always welcome.

(Elder Mumford prepares for the cold, rainy season ahead.)

(And at any moment, Elder Mumford will open the trench coat, revealing a secret stash of Books of Mormon)

Second of all, I knew this day would come, but I didnt think it would come for a while. Its the day when every single person that I ever knew got married. It is strange, but also really fun to see all these invitations and all these people I knew now married. That's going to be a whole different world when I get back. Oh well, it had to happen sometime! Congradulations to everyone that has been married in the intervening time of my departure and return. Sound like a blast.

A Japanese Marriage Procession (See video below)

VIDEO:

Click "PLAY" to view.

Questions:

Do you ever get any treats from the members in Japan?

In answer to your question, yes the members in Japan tend to spoil the missionaries. See the above mentioned fruit basket. Every month the members collect this huge pile of delicious food and put it in a box so big we actually need someone to help us take it home. We are very well stocked on food. In fact we are having to think of clever ways to eat all of it, especially all the fruit (since that expires eventually).

Also, thank you for sending the pictures of events at home. They are a constant joy!!

Tell us about the carved wooden bear that we keep seeing in photos you send home:

Here is the story of Nicholas the bear;

So there was once a missionary named Elder Neilson. Elder Nicholas Neilson. He was very tall. He had this huge, carved-wood bear on his desk. One day on companionship exchanges I asked him about it. He said he had recieved it from someone who had died in a previous ward. I think they were distributing all the man's posessions and the ward members decided to let the missionaries pick something, so he chose this bear.

However Elder Neilson was going back to America in a few weeks, and this bear was exceptionally large, bulky, and heavy, and thus inconvenient. So he gave it to me. And I have transfered with it wherever I went from then on. And in honor of the late Elder Neilson, I named him Nicholas the Bear.

(Nicholas the bear, keeps making an appearance in each batch of photos sent home by Elder Mumford)

But the story gets better: In Kunitachi a member came to our apartment to do a cleaning check. While there he saw Nicholas on my desk and got really exited. He asked, where did you get this bear? Apparently it is an authentic Ainu relic of some sort. (Ainu tribes were the original inhabitants of japan, sort of like Native Americans). So this bear suddenly became a lot more interesting. And now you know... ... ... the rest of the story!

Im probably going to send it home some time BEFORE flying back. It will be far easier to get it out in a package than a suitcase ;) Anywasy thats the story behind Nicholas the Bear.

Ok, investigators...

1. Oobayashi. Still not an investigator we set up a lesson, but he cancelled it last minute :(. We will try again sometime.

2. Recently - Sister Kusakabe. She has been coming to church every week without fail for 7 years, and even has a visiting teaching assignment and a testimony. She has heard all the missionary lessons twice, and been interviewed for baptism twice but every time she says the last question is hard. 'are you willing to make this covenant?' No other concerns that we can see besides that one part. Very wierd.

We dont know why she hasnt been baptized yet, but we're going to try and meet sometime to hear what's going on.

And thats it.

Thank you all for your loving support and prayers. Kunitachi is a smashing area. I would love to stay here for the rest of my mission if possible. I know great things will happen here.

Anyways, good luck, have fun, enjoy life wherever you may be.

-Love,

Elder Mumford,

TOKYO JAPAN.

Dream Team Reunited!

The "Dream Team" is reunited once again, during a recent mission conference.

(Elders Gerber, Morris, Haight, and Mumford.)

Here is Elder Mumford's e-mail dated November 7, 2009:

Dear Everyone,

It sounds like everyone had a fun Halloween :) Over here we had a Halloween party with our English class, and the Kunitachi primary all came dressed up in little costumes.

Recently we have been changing our focus. For just about 3 months now we have been focusing on trying to meet the old, dropped investigators again. We have made calls and left messages, fasted and prayed repeatedly through that time to try and meet them, we have some results:

1. Ichikawa family. A really nice couple who likes the missionaries. We are meeting them tomorrow for a lesson! :) The wife has some interest in the gospel, the husband doesnt, but they both listen. They have met several times before, but still have not yet accepted the invitation to either read the Book of Mormon or try praying. We are going to try again.

While this is a very small change, it is the biggest one we have had so far. We hope they will feel the spirit and realize that what we say is not just 'nice' or 'good morals and manners', but actually important.

However our focus is going to change now. We are going to stop spending time calling so many former investigators, especially if they have already been called dozens of times with no response over such a long time. We pray that they will have the courage to contact us when the time is right, but we have to move on.

So now we are even more focused on finding new people. We meet several interesting and fun people each day, such as:

1. An 80-year old mathematician who gives research reports all around the world.

2. An old man who wants us to do his funeral when he dies.

And many more that I forgot already. However, fun people aside, there is really only one person that can make my day, and that is someone who actually wants to meet with us someday. We found one person;

1. Oobayashi-san. He's about 40, and has a family. We met him on the street and he listened to what we said. We shared our testimonies with him. He seemed interested and when we asked him if he wanted to hear more someday, he said YES. This is the first YES I have heard in a long, long, LOOOOOOONG time, and so we were very excited. He said that while we talked, he felt a 'good feeling'. :) He gave us his phone number.

We have called him twice, and will keep calling until we can get ahold of him. He is our ray of hope. I feel like we were supposed to be there at that time.

So miracles are still happening in Kunitachi. Thank you everyone for your prayers and thoughts and support. Kunitachi is fully prepped and ready for an investigator. The ward is great, we have all the time in the world to meet, everything is in place for when someone comes with interest.

And when that day comes they very may eventually make it down that road that leads to baptism and becoming closer to God. I hope so. Even if I dont get to see that day while Im here or even while Im a missionary, I feel confident that someday there will be a change here. The Lord would not send missionaries to a place where he didnt have a work prepared for them. There is someone who is just waiting for us, and we have to figure out where he is and what time he's not busy. I know we can do it.

(Elder Mumford is anxious to taste the fruits of his labor.)

I know that this church is true, because I have tried the promise of the Book of Mormon myself, which ANYONE who tries it will also find a similar answer. (Click here to see the promise.)

Alright, on a more practical note...

- Just so you know I may be fixing my bike brakes this transfer. They are getting a little bit metal-on-metal. That should be about 6$ to 50$ depending on the shop (so I have heard), which I have with me in my wallet now in personal. Just so you know what Im spending all this on :)

Requests:

1. Haha, the "stick-on mustaches" would be a great for the next district meeting :)

(Do you think the missionaries in his district would look better with a mustache?)

2. One or two more pictures of the cats. (love the pictures of the family too, keep those coming as well if you like) :)

3. I really cant think of much, but Ill start thinking about it now so the next email I can actually request something. In the meantime just send anything and whatever you like. Ill accpet happily.

4. Im preparing another package, and if possible I will include the 3-transfer newsletter. Wierd, but all 3 are in Kunitachi! Also Its going to be a rather big package, so I'm going to try and buy a standard size box at the post office. Lots of fun things members have given me :) Plus lots of pictures of course.

Thank you everyone, We reallly apprecaiate the fact that so many people around the world (and in temples) are supporting us in prayer.

Thanks! Have fun everyone!

Love,

-Elder Mumford

-Tokyo, JAPAN