Christmas Memories of the Mission

I remember Elder Loris and others in the Naha region coming over to my bean apartment (Naha South) for a Christmas party. Spencer had hung lights around the window and brought out the Christmas music. Most of the Elders, however, were more focused on the picture of Mariah Carey in that tight red outfit on the cover of the CD. That evening, Solen and I went on splits. Into those dense neigborhoods we went to share the Gospel on Christmas Day. We didn't have any success. Being beans, most people had no clue what we were even saying.

I never had trouble with homesickness at Christmas time. If I had served my mission in New England where every home is draped in snow and wreaths adorn every door, it may have been a different story. But Christmas for the Okinawans was pretty much just like every other day of the year.

In December of the next year, I was in Kadena. Gifts were arriving for me in the mail from home and each was marked with instructions to not open anything until Christmas Day. So I obeyed. But a week before Christmas, I got a transfer call (it was a Christmas gift from President Pope) and instead of loading up the honbu van with a bunch of unopened boxes, I opened everything early for easier packing.

So my second Christmas found me in Okinawa-shi. Elder Clark adorned a Santa-suit, and the entire district hit the bikes for an evening of caroling. He looked absolutely ridiculous with the bike helmet squashing his Santa-hat down around his ears. The people who spotted us out on the road thought so to, as evidenced by their smiles and pointing.

When I returned home from the mission, I had changed a lot, obviously, as most missionaries do. I was surprised to find out that my mother planned on having a Christmas as usual, lavishing far too much money on each of her children, myself included. I was expecting one gift from my parents and felt this was quite reasonable now that I had grown up. So I was somewhat embarrassed to find myself smiling pretty for the camera as I opened gift after gift on Christmas morning around the tree.

If I Could Go Back and Change Three Things

1. I would kill myself, if necessary, to master the language. That would've required me to actually be more assertive in conversation. That would've had me looking like a fool a lot more often, but that would've been the road to fluency.

2. I would not be so uptight. I would relax more. I would live more in the moment.

3. I would take about 3,000 more photographs.

The simple things of the mission...

I saw a commercial yesterday for Fed Ex in which a number of business executives were having a board meeting and discussing finances from the comfort of massage chairs. It reminded me of when we (Glass, Chesnut, Johnnie, and I) would go to an electronics store in Itoman on P-Days and sit in massage chairs and watch TV that was completely unintelligible. It caused me to reflect that is was the simple joys of living in Okinawa that made the mission not only bareable, but enjoyable. Like the bike trips around Itoman, the late night talks with friends, and the speculation about whose companion would be sent home early first.

Fished

The other day, in a conversation with someone totally kankei nai to the mission, I said, "We set up a time to meet when I was in town, but then he totally fished me." I had to stop, backtrack a little, and explain what "fished" meant.

"You see, once I was a missionary in Okinawa Japan where there were a lot of people who fished . . ."

My wife, a linguistics major, tells me English is unique in that it is more adaptable than any other language, and thus has the most tango of all the languages. It fascinates me to think of how the senkyoshi usage of "fished" came into being. Obviously it stemmed from a need. The closest equivalent I can think of to "fished" is "Stood up". But "stood up", to me at least, has a more romantic disappointment connotation. Senkyoshis needed a more platonic way to express being "stood up" . . . . because , let's face it, it was a daily occurrence. And thus "fished" was adapted to suit the need.

The Japan Fukuoka Mission Alumni Site's Missionary Vocabulary section has an entry for "Fished" though the definition only reads, "see Spoked".

I kinda wish everyone used "Fished" the way we did, that way I could say it as often as I want.

Cosmos and Moonbeam

Solen and I were tracting one night in Kadena as our companions were off elsewhere doing the work of the Lord (we hoped). Okinawan nights were always so dark, and this night was no exception. We knocked on one door and were startled when an American opened it up. He came outside, got in our personal space, shut the door behind him, and proceeded to give us a hard time. It was the typical "bible-bashing" kind of stuff.

I was taken aback, not because I couldn't answer his questions, but because I always stumbled through my words when tracting out Americans. It was an unusual and uncomfortable situation for me. He, no doubt, interpreted my lack of gumption with weakness. He fed off of it.

But then, to our surprise, the door opened again and a woman with half of her head shaved said, "Jake! What are you doing? These guys go to my church. Come on in, guys."

Jake suddenly looked very embarrassed, "Oh man! I just wanted to have some fun with them."

Jane, the woman, was unknown to me. I was not attending the military branch in that area. She was inactive anyway. We entered the home where two other men were hard at work on the couch playing Sega.

Jane led us to a table and we sat down and began talking. A little while thereafter, two more people arrived at the house: a man and a woman, whom Solen and I nicknamed Cosmos and Moonbeam, respectively.

Cosmos sat down on the couch to get in on the Sega action. Moonbeam joined us at the table for the discussion. When she realized that religion was the topic, she piped up, "I don't really get into any religion right now, but I am finding a lot of joy playing Dungeons and Dragons."

As our discussion about God continued on, Cosmos, still sitting on the couch, leaned toward us and said, "You know, the gods of the elves and the dwarves are a lot like the gods of the Native Americans."

Uh-huh...................

Solen and I left not long after that, thankful to have been able to prove that there is escape from the Twilight Zone.

Itoman's New Chapel

Sometime in 2006 I received an letter from Kishimoto Shimai from Itoman which contained only this chirashi. Let's face it, I couldn't read it. I gleaned it was about an open house for a new building on March 18th and that was pretty much it. Even the location eluded me. From the picture it looks like a temple, but since there were no temples in Okinawa I figured it was a new stake center or something. Then much more recently when I was locating chapels on the Japan Dendobu Google Map I noticed that the Itoman Chapel was not in the same place as I remembered it. I didn't put the chirashi from an Itoman member and a new Itoman Chapel location together, though now in retrospect it seems very obvious. Well the mystery was solved on the Japan Okinawa Facebook Group when Emmit Ricks talked about the new chapel which he saw during his recent trip back to Okinawa. He also posted photos.

His exact words were, "The new Itoman Chapel is amazing. It is like 5 stories tall and looks like a temple. I'll post a picture or two. It isn't at all in the same place it was. It is right by the only McDonald's in Itoman."

I was a little surprised to find out that even with this beautiful new building Itoman is still a branch. Ricks said there were about 40 members in attendance on the Sunday he was there (about ten more than when we were there) and the Branch President asked him to give a talk on the spot. Glad to know that despite staggering progress, some things never change.

Okinawa Dendobu Google Map

I created a Japan Okinawa Dendobu Google Map marking all the apatos, chapels, other points of interest, and current kikan senkyoshi locations.

At least that's what I want it to be. I tried to find all the apatos I could . . . which was a three, and I found a bunch of the chapels through the meeting house locator on lds.org, but I could only find eight: Nago, Ishikawa, Okinawa-Shi, Futenma, Shuri, Naha, Oroku, and Itoman (I'm pretty sure the Itoman chapel is not in the same place as when we were there).


View Larger Map

Marker Color Key:
Blue for Choro Apatos
Red for Shimai Apatos
Green for Chapels and Other Church Buildings
Pink for Points of Interest
Purple for current Kikan Senkyoshi locations

The map is set so anyone can edit it. I appreciate your help in making this as comprehensive as possible.

At the very least put where you are currently living . . . only if you're willing to part with that info. Thanks!

What a long strange trip it's been...

The views expressed in the following blog are Tanner's, and only Tanner's. They do not represent the views of the other contributors. If you find my opinion of you or your service unsettling, feel free to email me your concerns to me at kohlglass@gmail.com

Cheers,
Tanner

First of all, thanks and kudos to Glass for starting this blog; it will be great to reminisce a little and hear what you are doing now. This is Tanner, but you can call me Tanner. I served under the Karl Pope regime from Dec. 1994, until he left in June-ish of 1996. I then served under Pres. Peacock as part of the Japan Fukuoka Mission. I maintained my Ryukyu identity, however, by leading the Okinawa liberation front. I was trained by Johnson in Itoman. I learned a great many things from Johnny, such as how to fall gracefully on ones face off a balance beam 3 inches off the ground, and that it is, indeed, possible to forget to put on a tie before leaving the Apato. Johnny and I shared our apartment with Chesnut and Glass. Chesnut was very influential during my tenure as a missionary, and was a shinning example of member missionary work, and maintaining appropriate member-missionary relationships. From Itoman I transferred to Shuri where I killed Matsuoka. Matsu and I had many adventures fending the local hooligans off his bikes, we were rarely successful. He was, however, able to exact his revenge shortly before he died by stealing his bike back. If I remember correctly, he heroically cheered me on as I made a grab for the bike and rapidly rode away. Luckily for us, one of the miscreants had converted his basket into a back seat, so Matsu was able to ride victoriously back to the apartment in true Okinawan style. Matsu and I shared our apartment with Davis (the great Teflon protector) and Koga. Matsu died and was replaced by Baine, and Lowe replaced Davis. Those were good times. Baine and I worked like mad, unencumbered by trifles such as the ability to speak Japanese. Shortly there after, I was transferred to Oyama to be twice cursed with a dump of an apartment and to work with the Gunjins. I served with Field, though spent little time with him. Hunter had received his first bean, Elder Yancey, and since Yancey redefined the term “lemon” and Hunter was my district leader, we spent quite a lot of time on splits. Grant, who I served with for only a few months, replaced Field. I was transferred from Oyama to Okinawa shi to serve with Clark. We were in the same apartment as Cline and Wood. Clark either transferred out, or died, I can’t remember which, and I became Woods companion to serve, yet again, with the Gunjins. Hunter transferred in with his second bean, Estes, when I was made Wood’s companion. Estes, apparently, tried to out-do Yancey in the lemon department, and succeeded. So, as it turned out, I spent very little time with Wood, but rather went on splits with Hunter. From there I was transferred to Naha to serve with Denning. This was a good time for me as a missionary. I had a great companion and I shared the apartment with two good friends, Glass and Hodson. All good things must come to an end, however, and Tokuno replaced Hodson. Forever will Glass have my respect and admiration for his patience with Tokuno. I fear that Glass was the recipient of all the frustration that Denning and I caused little Tokuno to feel. Remember the time we put that roach on his futon? I didn’t know that a male that has been through puberty could squeal like that. Harmon transferred in to replace Denning. I had a good time with Harmon, though I lost count of how many times he assumed he knew where he was going and ended up on the wrong side of Naha.


After the Mission I attended California State University, Fresno where I received a BS in Biology. I then attended grad school, where I received an MS and PhD in Entomology (study of insects). My research deals mainly with the evolution of insect societies. I am currently a Post Doctoral Fellow at Utah State University.


I was married shortly after I returned from Okinawa to Annette Elvester. We now have 4 girls (beat you by 1, Cline) Ciera (8), Chloe (6), Brooke (3), and Autumn (1.75).

David Tanner
1130 West 400 South
Logan, UT
84321
commander.svimes@gmail.com

The Long Road

It's been a long time. Or as the Japanese would say, "Hisashiburi desu ne?"

I had a wish in the MTC that on the day I arrived home, I would sneak up behind my parents at the airport and say, "Hisashiburi, ne," in my deep and sonorous RM voice. They would turn around, begin sobbing, and embrace me.

It didn't turn out that way. Even if I did get the chance to try it, they wouldn't have known what "hisashiburi" meant anyway.

Oh, the dreams of a young man! How they shatter all to pieces after that first round of housing. But, let's start at the beginning.

I served in the Japan Okinawa Mission from November 1994 to September 1996, not including my stay at the MTC. I served under President Pope. My MTC district consisted of Elders Hodson, Krikava, Solen, Wahlquist and five other who went to Sendai. There were no Shimatachi in our district; therefore, our baser personality traits were not hindered whatsoever by the need to act respectably in mixed company. But let me go on the record by saying that Elder Cline was a good, little boy.

I entered the mission field and was assigned to Elder Spencer in Naha South. After a while, he transferred and I became companions with Tanaka. Then, a greenie from the JMTC arrived and my apartment went three-man: Tanaka, Cline, Torikoshi.

That was stressful. I was young and living with two native speakers. But I transferred about two weeks later and found myself in Oyama with Norton. Glass and Solen were there, too.

Oyama was a dream apartment; therefore, I nicknamed it the Oyama Dream. It had rats, cockroaches, and geckos. But I did get a good deal on my car insurance.

Glass left; Hollibaugh entered. Solen left and Stewart entered. Norton and Stewart went home together, leaving the entire area to Hollibaugh and I.

Hollibaugh transferred out a few weeks later and Field came in. We had a great time together. We even visited a local brothel. Of course, we didn't know. We were just knocking doors. We got out of that situation as soon as we could.

A day before my Hump Day, I transferred from Oyama. I was grateful for that transfer. My gunjin investigators were falling apart. One confessed to a recent act of adultery. Another's husband had returned from overseas with his one adulterous confession. And yet another began telling very creepy stories about being visited by demons.

I went to Kadena to serve with Iida. In the apartment were Hansen and Solen.

Iida and I proselyted in the Yomitan region. After he transferred, I became companions with Sue.

Kadena was my own personal crucible. I underwent the most severe trials there. So when I transferred, I rejoiced inwardly and boarded with honbu van as glad to get out of there.

I went to Okinawa City to be with Wood. Clark and Didier were there, too. Okinawa City was the complete opposite of Kadena. The three Elders I lived with there completely saved my attitude. When Tanner transferred into take Didier's place, it got even better. Wood, Clark, Tanner - what a great bunch of guys.

It was short-lived, though. I transferred two months later and went to Yonabaru to serve with Solen.

Yonabaru was the pinnacle of my mission. Solen and I tracted the heck out of that area with little result, but we worked hard and it felt good.

It was in Yonabaru that the President spilled the beans to Solen and I about the impending merger with Fukuoka. He and his wife showed up at our apartment on a Slump Day to pick up a box of supplies that had been erroneously delivered to us. I'll never forget the moment when the President said, "Well, I guess I can tell you now. The mission is going to be closed."

The Yonabaru Apartment was one of the first of many apartments to get the axe. Solen and I both tranferred out together. No one came to take our place.

I went to Shuri, but contined to cover the areas that had comprised the Yonabaru Proselyting Area. I served with Mikesell, first. Brimhall and Komene were in the apartment, too. When Brimhall went home two months later, Mikesell transferred out and Komene and I took over the entire Shuri/Yonabaru areas. I died not long after that. My days as a missionary were over.

I went home to Maryland, spent a few months trying to figure out what life was going to be about. I eventually went to college, earning first a BFA degree in art and design from a school in Maryland. Then, I went to graduate school, earning my MFA in painting at East Tennessee State University.

I married Nancy Powers on October 17th, 1998, and now have three girls: Bekah, Leaf, and Fern. Those are the nicknames, actually. The real names are Hannah, Laurel, and Frances.

I have never fully recovered from my mission. Okinawa has a way of lingering in the shadows of the mind. I am quite alright with that, too. As inauspicious as Okinawa is, I am glad I am one of the few people who got to serve my mission there.

The Strange and the Unexplained

I imagine each missionary on Okinawa experienced something which has never adequately been explained. The years have passed and still no resolution is to be found. The nature of missionary work on Okinawa is just like that. I have a story which has boggled my mind ever since. Here goes:

In the Oyama Proselyting area, which consisted of the western half of the city of Ginowan and even a little bit of Chatan in the North, Norton and I were visiting a kind couple in a rather costly-looking house not too far from the apartment. Their spiritual progress was non-existent, but we visited about once every two weeks, just to prepare the "playing field," so to speak.

After Norton transferred, I continued to try to see them, but they were never home. Eventually Elder Field became my companion, yet still they were never home.

I noticed that their property was beginning to deteriorate, as if no one was around to care for it. I peeked in through the windows one day and could see that everything inside was in proper order. Furnishings, TV, odds-and-ends on the coffee table -- it was all still there.

We continued to try to catch them at home, until one bizarre day when Field and I saw a small van backed up to their door. The back doors of the van were wide open, the front door of the home was wide open, and someone was removing their furnishings bit-by-bit and shoving it all in the van. I looked into the home. Nothing was boxed up. The remote controls for the TV were still sitting on the table! Everything was being removed piecemeal. It was one of the most unusual things I ever did see.

I can't remember if I knocked or called out, but some man wearing a one-piece work suit approached. I asked if the family was present and he responded, "We're cleaning. "

Cleaning, indeed. I left and never went back.

Periodic Fits of Natsukashii

I've noticed that once, maybe twice, a year, since coming home, I start getting really natsukashii for Okinawa. During these times I find myself flipping through my journals, googling people I've lost contact with, and calling or emailing those I am still in contact with. The idea for this blog came during one of those "episodes" and has been percolating in the back of my mind for a while. One night, about two weeks ago, percolation reached a full boil and I found myself unable to sleep as my mind grew unbearably curious as to what became of those I considered close friends but haven't heard from since I left the island.

So I got up and started doing searches for "Karl T. Pope" figuring this might be a good angle of attack, since I hadn't done searches on the President's name before. This lead me to the Japan Fukuoka Mission Alumni site which has a section for Okinawan missionaries, which was a treasure trove of contact information. Somehow, I'm not sure why, I then did a search on Facebook for Jason Matsuoka, figuring he, of all the senkyoshis I served with, would probably have a Facebook . . . and I was right. From his profile I found a number of Kikan Senkyoshi, as well as the Japan Okinawa Mission Facebook Group.

This highly productive night has born much fruit. Since then I've had 2 hour+ phone conversations with, Norton, Cline, Bacon, and Gepford. I've exchanged emails with McQueen (now Gaskill), wrote on Solen and Mastu's wall and I've chatted with Coon (now Domacilio) and Sauve.

I'm hoping this is just the beginning. It's definitely given me a lot of fodder for the blog.

In parting, here is a video that will hurt you so good.

Glassy Boy

My name is Kohl Glass (sometimes David Kohlhepp Glass, sometimes D. Kohl Glass, and sometimes just Glassy Boy) and I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Japan Okinawa Mission, under President Karl T. Pope between July 1994 and July 1996. I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo Utah on July 6th. My MTC district was Field, Bacon, Holt, Hollibaugh, my companion Gill, and me. Lowe and Turner were also going to Okinawa with us at the same time but were in another district. We arrived in Okinawa on September 8th 1994. My bean area was Itoman and my trainer was Iwaasa, but only for a month and Iwaasa died and I got Chesnut. In the Itoman apto I lived with Matsuoka, Sones, Grant, Johnson (Johnny) and Tanner. On March 9th 1995 I transferred to Oyama to be comps with Solen in the apato with Norton and Cline. On May 30th 1995 I transferred up to Ishikawa to kill Gepford. Whitman replaced Gep and later Chesnut came in and we became a three man companionship for a month, then Harmon came in as Chesnut’s bean. Then Chesnut was replaced by Tokita and later Whitman went home, I got Iida and Koga replaced Harmon. On January 17th 1996 I transferred from Ishikawa to Naha Higashi and became comps with Krikava, in the apato with Quackenbush and Hodson. Then Quackenbush went home, Krikava transferred out, Naha Higashi went two-man, and Hodson and I become dodes. On March 28th Hodson and I closed the Naha Higashi apato and transferred to Naha Minami apato with Jenkins and Denning. Then Tanner replaced Jenkins and Hodson was replaced by my bean, Tokuno, and Denning was replaced by Harmon. On July 1st 1996 President Pope went home and the Japan Okinawa Mission became the Japan Fukuoka Mission. Then on July 18th I went home to Mesa, Arizona.

A week after getting home I met my wife Christa. She was one of those annoying little youth guides at the Mesa Temple that I always tried to avoid. I was there on a date and she approached us and asked us our names. She recognized my name because she was dating a friend of mine who was about to leave on his mission and had told Chris all about me. Because of my non-exemplary grades in high school I began attending Mesa Community College. Chris and I dated a bit off and on but ultimately felt like it wasn’t in the cards for us, so we decided to just be friends . . . though I was still very much in love with her. When she was 18 she was diagnosed with an acute form of IGA nephropathy, a kidney disease. Shortly after, her kidneys failed and she went on dialysis for three years. In 1998 I took a semester off from MCC and backpacked Europe for three months where I decided to study filmmaking at BYU. So I came home, graduated with an AA from MCC and in 1999 I got into BYU’s film program. In the summer of 2000 I got an internship working on a film in SLC which allowed me a month and a half to go back home to Mesa AZ. A week after my return Chris received her first kidney transplant from a deceased donor. Shortly after that we got back together and a month later I asked her to marry me. I put my studies at BYU on hold and I moved back to AZ for a year and a half while Chris finished at up at ASU. In 2002 we moved back to Provo so I could finish school. In 2003 I wrote and directed the “Award Winning” short film The Promethean which you can see here. In December of 2003 I graduated from BYU and in the summer of 2004 we moved back to Mesa so I could teach filmmaking classes at MCC. Teaching didn’t agree with me, or at least teaching at MCC didn’t agree with me, and I only taught for two semesters. I got a part time job as an early morning shelver at Barnes and Noble and worked on my projects the rest of the time. In 2005 Chris’s kidney disease attacked her new transplanted kidney and she had to go back on dialysis. In July of 2006 she received another kidney transplant, this time from my brother, Mitchell. In that same month I completed my short film Der Ostwind which played at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and is available for download on iTunes. Right now I’m just writing screenplays, networking, and trying to get projects off the ground full time with occasional freelance work on the side. It gives me time to ponder the good old dendo days and wonder what it all meant.


Other things of note: We don’t have kids yet, due to my wife’s health conditions, but hope to adopt someday soon. I haven’t kept up my go by any means . . . except if you count watching Japanese movies and anime. I teach the 5 and 6 year olds in Primary. The only senkyoshi I’ve kept in contact consistently over the years have been Tanner and Tokita, with periodic emails from Wahlquist. There are so many other missionaries we served with that I’ve wondered about and would love to talk to again.

I was chatting with Coon Shimai (now Domacilio Shimai) via Facebook the other day and she asked me if I still use Star Wars in scriptural analogies. Those of you who knew me on the mission, know that I was a pretty hard core Star Wars fan. Well . . . I felt so betrayed by the prequels that I have a lot of disdain and bitterness in my heart towards Star Wars now. I’m not a Star Wars fan any more . . . but fear not, I’m still plenty geeky.

Contact Info:
kohlglass@gmail.com
(480) 612-7058
Facebook Profile
www.eventidecreative.com

Just Smile

We the Willing 
Led by the Unknowing
Are doing the Impossible
For the Ungrateful.  
We have done So Much With
So Little For So Long
We are now Qualified
To do Anything
With Nothing.

I have this quote (at times attributed to Mother Teresa) written on the inside cover of my first Missionary Journal, and I think it is very apt. It's just the kind of platitude needed to edify one to gamon through the confusing, trying, glorious, surreal crucible that is being a senkyoshi in Japan Okinawa.

This blog is for tracking down those we served with, remembering the good old days, and trying to figure it all out.

If you would like to contribute to the blog, please let me know. All are welcomed and encouraged to participate.