Last Email (7/15/2020)

    Hey everyone I hope you have all had a great week as I did. This week has been really busy and the time has flown. It’s hard to believe that this will be my last email. Great things are happening here and a few of our friends are progressing well towards their baptismal dates! I’m so excited for them and am so happy that I was able to be a part of their conversion experience. Over the last 2 years I have learned what it really means to be close with God. I’m so thankful for this time that I have had in coming closer to him and helping others do the same. I know that God loves each and everyone of us and that we are his treasure. The people of Hokkaido have in turn become my treasure and will always remain so. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you soon! I’ll talk with y’all in a few days. Until then I will continue to do my best over here.

 

Love,

Elder Harvey

Last Zone Training Meeting (7/9/2018)

 Hey everyone I hope you have had a great week! I have been super busy but have seen many miracles. Two people we have been teaching have accepted the invitation to be baptized and we are working hard to help them prepare to do so. One person I found in Wakkanai got baptized yesterday! I also got to meet with someone I taught who has since been baptized. In all it has been a really great week. I learned a lot about doing all we can to see miracles! I know that the Lord rewards those who serve him with their all. Sometimes we might not see the blessings we want but the Lords ways are better than our ways and he will give us the blessings that we need. I hope you guys all have a great week and continue to feel what the Lord does for you, his love and concern for you, and feel the support he so willing gives to you.

 

I love you all and hope you all have a great week.

Love,

Elder Harvey

He is there! (7/2/18)

Hey everyone sorry about last week. I overloaded with pictures and videos so I will send those again separately. These last 2 weeks have been way awesome! I had 3 companion  exchanges where I learned a lot from some amazing missionaries. To be honest so much has happened that I don’t even know where to start. We have had a lot of big events happen in these 2 weeks. One of the big ones is we found a new family, with whom we have become really good friends with. It’s a mom and 2 daughters. We found her while housing around 11am! Just goes to show that when we work with the spirit we can accomplish all things! They are a way great family and the Mother is shooting to get baptized on July 21st! She is a really amazing person and has really been prepared by Heavenly Father. She even told us that she didn’t mean to come to church yesterday but found herself parking at the church without realizing it. She is now really committed to finding out more about God. She also has made great relationships with the members. She even went to the relief society’s activity. She also came to our activity which we threw.

We decided to put together an origami party for the ward which was a huge success! The only failure was my pound cake, I used WAY too much butter. Instead it came out like German pancake pound cake. Though I got quite a few compliments so apparently it turned out better than I planned? Anyway it was a great activity to which about 25+ people show up. We had a paper airplane obstacle course, ninja star shooting range, and frog kart. In other words Mario kart kind of game using origami frogs. In the end it was a blast!

We also found a less active member who lives right by our apartment.  When I was on splits one of the elders had previously worked in Hakodate and knew her from there. She originally lived there but has since married and moved to Tomakomai but we didn’t have her address or record. Luckily he knew her, so we went and talked with her and her husband and was fed dinner. Really nice of them. She also said later that it was the first time her husband had ever talked with missionaries. Since then our relationship has just gotten better and she even came to both the origami party and relief society activity!

Those are just a few of the really big highlights of the two weeks.  Really a lot has happened and all of it is thanks to the Lord. I have come to see in the little and big ways he prepares the hearts of his children and then gives them the chance to come unto him. I love being able to be that person that gives them the chance. I truly feel like I am on the Lord's errand and can feel his strength and power sustaining me and those around me. I hope each of you can come to know in a very real sense that he can sustain and help you too as you let him.  Learning how to do that though is one of the most important yet most difficult things we must do. It will make all the difference for us and our loved ones. I love all you guys and hope you have the Lord's help in your lives every day.

Love,

Elder Harvey

Paths Crossing (6/25/18)

Harvey Choro's e-mail account was not working and so he was unable to send his message for the week, so I am adding in pictures sent from another.  A returned missionary from 35 years ago - an American living in China - was passing through Tomakomai and got together with Elder Harvey and company, along with a number of members the visitor had taught 35 years ago.  Thank you Brother Oakeson.

T-minus 5

Hey everyone! This week has been crazy awesome! So much has happened that I don’t even know where to begin. We had our first District Training Meeting this week which went really well. I learned a lot about the importance of members being involved and how the Lord's kingdom is built for unity and oneness of heart. As missionaries and members come closer to a oneness of heart miracles will occur. English class was also really cool but I spent it with the Branch President going over an origami party activity that we are setting up. The planning is going really well. 

The next morning at around 11am we found an amazing family that wants to come to church. Unfortunately this last Sunday was stake conference in Atsubetsu so they couldn’t go but we had an appointment with them instead which went really well. They still want to come to church and we have a follow up appointment. Really great people. 

That same day we visited two less active ladies which went really well. We gave one of them a Book of Mormon which she didn’t have. She only had the old translation which was amazingly difficult or so I hear. It went really well and we were able to read with her and talk about hymns with her nonmember husband. With the other sister we were fed weird Japanese foods which I will include at the bottom. We also had our first lesson with the woman who came to church last Sunday. We had 3 members there who pretty much did all the talking for us. We just taught and they answered her questions. One of the best lessons I have ever had on my whole mission. 

Then on Saturday we had our second lesson with a different sister who we gave a Book of Mormon to last time we met with her. In just a week she had already read up into 3rd nephi! It went really well and a member was able to answer a lot of her questions. 

Then Sunday was stake conference which was great! We heard a message over broadcast from Elder Rasband. It felt truly fitting that the last message I would hear from an apostle in Japan would be from him. Before I received my mission call I heard a general conference talk by him about how missionaries are called. In that talk he said the only one he got right was a call to Japan Sapporo. At that time I felt a confirmation that I was needed there. Now at the end he talked about how the Lord's Plan is perfect and families. The next chapter of my life. Truly a blessing of direction in my life. 

I was also able to meet a bunch of members and missionaries that I know. I also met brother Kairi that I taught in Eniwa. I had the privilege of teaching him most of the missionary lessons. I watched him change a lot in 3 weeks as he came to church, read the Book of Mormon and prayed. Now I met him again and he got baptized last night. I got to see how the gospel truly affected his life and helped him change more and more. I have felt so much love for him and have come to be his brother. When I first met him he had a hard time smiling, now he has a great smile of Joy! 

I hope you all have had a great week and continue to see miracles in your lives!

Elder Harvey

The beginning of the end (6/11/18)

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great week! With this last week it officially starts the beginning of my last transfer as a missionary. It has gone by so crazy fast! I finally had a transfer that I wasn’t really expecting. In the mission we had to close an area and I was expecting the worst in our area closing. To my surprise though a town that has been open since I first got to Japan called Otofuke closed. And me and Elder Swan stayed! This is the first time I stayed with a companion other than my trainer! I’m really happy about it! I’m looking forward to an amazing transfer of miracles in Tomakomai! 

This week has been great! It was my birthday this last Monday and as per our recent usual we went fishing. I only caught one fish....though it was the biggest fish we have yet to catch and a new kind of fish. It’s called a greenling. Apparently you can only catch it in the northern pacific area. It was really cool. We also had a great week and have been feeling the hand of the Lord in our lives so much more abundantly. We can see the blessings on the horizon! I’m really happy that I can be out here at such an amazing time. This last Sunday we also got an investigator to church and it went really well. It was really crazy as we only met her at the city hall for about 2 minutes. Other than that we had no face to face contact with her.  She said she felt something like an awakening when she first met us and LOVED church. It went so well and the members did a great job making her feel welcome. Also our mission president and his wife were there out of the blue. An already extremely nervous day became more nervous as I had to leave the investigator to go translate for them. Though all worked out for the best in the end. Truly a great miracle! I hope you all can see the daily miracles that occur in your lives as well!

Love,

Elder Harvey

Exotic Foods! (6/4/18)

Hey everyone this week has been a crazy one! This week we had Zone conference which was great! We learned a lot about loving members and those around us and the impact that can have. Truly a kind word here or there, a small favor, a smile, or any other kind of thing that can bring a smile to someone's face is truly an important thing. As we look to spread this kind of love we will also see more joy and happiness in our own lives. A tried and tested formula to a happy and fulfilled life! We also were able to meet with a few people which was really great! We went out to dinner with a few new friends of ours which was a lot of fun. This week I ate a lot of interesting new foods like, raw horse meat, wasabi marinated octopus, and chicken heart! We also ate some American classics but hard to find things in Japan like normal birthday cake, red velvet cake, and PIZZA! It was all delicious! Even the chicken heart. Though while eating heart might be a little tasty, trying to make ours and the hearts around us a little bigger is a much tastier reward. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love Elder Harvey

Fishing for Friends (5/28/18)

Hey everyone this week has been an interesting one. This last Monday was a busy one! We got fed to all you can eat barbecue, went to Utonai Lake, gave a bunch of stuff away to people from the old senior missionary couples' apartment, and went fishing again. This time we went with a less active boy named shouma. It was a ton of fun and he loved it! I also found a pin that said "child of God" in Japanese so of course I bought it. :) 

The rest of he week was also really great, we had a lot of things happen. We saw a lot of miracles that made this week an amazing one. We found a Malaysian guy who loves Christ by taking a wrong turn, were able to meet a bunch of less actives, got a few more appointments made for this week, and so many more miracles.  Truly when you count your every blessing the light begins to shed forth and you can always find things to be joyful about. Likewise when you count your every sorrow the fog of darkness spreads blocking out the light that is constantly there. We have a choice between seeing the light and blocking it out, the important thing for us is to decide which one we want and then strive for it. 

This week we also completely cleaned out the old missionary couples' apartment. This makes the second apartment I have closed on my mission by going to an area where the senior couples leave. Maybe I just have bad luck or maybe I'm the one trusted most to get it taken care of. I have yet to figure it out haha! 

The fishing activity has expanded tremendously over this past week. We are going today and this time bringing about 5 more people.  So our numbers have doubled and within that group we have another less active, two members and an investigator. Should be a blast! Luckily our numbers of poles got doubled too by some very kind members. This Sunday we also had Branch conference which was great. I learned something really important too. Our Branch president was talking about the last words of Ether. The way the scriptures end in Japanese is doudemo yoi amen which basically means it matterth not, amen. The order got changed a little bit in the translation but that isn't important, what is important is the message it holds. He was talking about showing our love and the love of God towards others. It does t matter how we show love, how others accept our love, or anything else.

So long as we show it and do what Christ wants us to, it matterth not.

Truly as we strive to do what's right and help others be saved in the kingdom of God, it won't matter how good the cookies looked, or how long of a letter or message you wrote but that you showed love and did your best to do what Christ wants of you.

I hope you all have a great week, I love you!

Love,

Elder Harvey

Mission Conference (5/21/18)

Hey everyone! This has been a crazy week! I hope you all had a great week as well. This week I was all over the place. I returned back to my old area Eniwa for a day and got to see a lot of my old friends from there. It was really great to be able to meet with them and talk about the Gospel with them. Truly I felt blessed as the timing of our day worked out perfectly to run into people on the street that I would not have otherwise have met had I gone to their house. Certainly the Lord was guiding us. 

The next day was Mission conference! Elder Renlund of the Twelve Apostles visited with us and gave us training.  It was an amazing experience and I learned a lot. We followed that up by mission training by our mission President as well. We had Lunch together with everyone which was a blast because I was able to meet all of my friends throughout Hokkaido. Truly a special opportunity.

Then a number of the missionaries had a special opportunity to attend a devotional by Elder Renlund that night. There were members from all over Sapporo so I was able to meet a lot of members from my past areas. Even one of the sisters I came to Japan with was there.  She just happened to pick the right day to take a trip to Japan. It was a really great day. Pretty much that entire day I was at the Atsubetsu church. Certainly a once in a life time kind of deal. We also had a great week other wise and met with a few friends and gave the sisters in our ward Mother's Day gifts. It was a great week.

Love y'all

Elder Harvey

(Zach is in the center of the first row of those standing)

Fishers of Men? (5/14/18)

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a great Mother's Day! Truly all of our mothers are some of the greatest blessings in our lives.

This last Monday was really interesting. Very close to where we live is the port of Tomakomai so we decided to go fishing! We all geared up and set up our poles, we were super excited to catch something though we were unfruitful this time. We are looking forward to challenging again though, This time we will emerge victorious!

Then on Tuesday we spent the day having to go down to Muroran and back which ate up a lot of our time. I was able to meet a really cool recent convert here who we brought to English class. He's a really cool kid! Wednesday was really cool too, we were able to have a lesson with a really cool new person that we were able to meet. We also traveled really far along the beach and everyone there seemed to see us foreigners with amazement. Thursday was also really busy. We were able to make an appointment with someone the next day which was also really nice. Friday was splits and I went back down to Muroran. While there I learned some Japanese sign language which was really interesting. Saturday was making it back here, going to a lesson, then to service, studies, and then English class again. It was a busy day with a bunch of really cool encounters with people. Sunday was also really great, the members were really happy too. It was a good Mother's Day and we were able to get some things done. It was a good day. 

I hope you guys all have a great week this week too! This week is going to be busy, busy, busy. I will be out of my area for more than half the week! It will be a little strange. I love you guys!

Love,

Elder Harvey

Golden Week (5/7/18)

Hey everyone this week has been great! This week was Golden Week which meant everyone was on vacation. That made it both fun and not so fun as we were meeting people who didn't even live in Tomakomai. I even met a friend of mine from Wakkanai! We were just biking down the street to go back home when I hear someone yell "Haabii!" We then turned around and I found out it was my friend. It was truly a miracle that we happened to cross paths at the perfect timing! We also have been able to make a few new friends through talking with people on the phone and going to our local food court and starting conversations with people. It was really interesting because we kept getting a lot of stares from passing by girls. I always felt kind of lucky that we were talking with someone whenever they would stop to try to talk with us but then give up. I realized it's kind of weird being approached by other people, especially when you think of why they are approaching you sometimes. Something I learned was how to approach people more naturally and make it less weird for them which really helps people feel more comfortable and open up more.

I hope you guys all had a great week! I hope you all have an amazing Mother's Day!

Love y'all

Elder Harvey

From Zero to Hero (4/30/18)

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic week! For the missionaries in the Frozen Chozen Japan Sapporo mission it was transfer week! Unfortunately I had to say goodbye to my beloved Wakkanai. I have absolutely come to love the people there and the place itself. I was able to grow a lot there and learn a lot about myself while I served there. I was also sad to think that I would no longer see the ocean, Thankfully though that is not the case. I am still ocean side! I almost made it from the northern most point to the southernmost but didn't quite make it all the way. Instead I made it to the amazing place of Tomakomai! I thought it was really funny to be called here right after serving in Wakkanai. As a mission we have a mission song and the only two areas that are mentioned are Wakkanai and Tomakomai. It goes a little something like this "from the icy shores of Wakkanai to the Ainus in Tomakomai". I thought it was really cool that I actually got to live out that part of the song.

Also I am opening the area! Meaning that I am starting from 0. Though I have faith that before I leave and before this area gets closed down due to numbers (unfortunately it is inevitable) that we will build this area to hero status! My new companion is Elder Schvaneveldt (Swan) and is amazing! He has moved all over the place. He has lived in Japan, Costa Rica, Utah, and New York. He is actually a cadet from West Point! I am super excited to have army by my side! I also live in an apartment with two other Elders. Elder Hammond (who was here before) and Elder Jenson (who just moved here).

I have already seen so many miracles while I have been here! I am super excited for this transfer and to preform the Miracles that God is eager to preform. I hope all of you guys can see the miracles in your lives as well! I love you guys, have a great week!

Love,

Elder Harvey

Scavenger Hunt (4/23/18)

Hey guys, I hope you all have had a great week! This week has really flown by fast, a lot has happened. To start off we went down to Asahikawa...again. This time was just for splits. Also we had an awesome District activity that Monday! We had a city wide scavenger hunt which was really fun! We had some really crazy things to find like 10 taxis in one photo, somebody named Kobayashi, and a Lamborghini! It was tons of fun and I was paired with one of my favorite Elders in the mission, Elder Takano! We found just about everything on the list but nobody could find the Lamborghini. We even went to the travel office in the Asahikawa Eki and asked them to call various toy stores to find one. We then found out that not only did no store have one, but that a lot of people had come in asking these various stores! We made it seem like they had become a hit item all of a sudden, I just hope that they didn't order a bunch of them just to find they aren't so popular anymore, Haha!

Then I had splits which went pretty well. What was really sad though, was that because I couldn't bring bikes down my companionship didn't get to ride them. A few hours into proselytizing and we get a call from the other Elders... some random teenager ran into the other Elders (specifically the person who was riding the bike which belonged to the Elder I was splitting with) and ended up destroying the back tire of the bike. Then they rode off and ran away. In the end they were able to get a new tire for about 30 dollars.

The day we got back was also an interesting day as we were able to suddenly meet some friends at the Library as we were walking back from the train station to our apartment. Certainly some Heavenly coincidences. We also had an investigator of ours bring an entire lunch for her dance group and the church members here after Church.  Recently a friend of hers died and it seems like we were the only ones who sent any words of encouragement. At that time she was feeling rather depressed and that's when our text came. We sent a scripture from the Book of Mormon. She seemed to have really have been touched by that.

I hope all of your guys' weeks have been fantastic!

Love y'all

Elder Harvey

 This tricycle was 3000 dollars! 

For these pictures we had to get a 7-11 a Lawson and Seicomart combini(convenience stores) all in one picture.

Special Wakkanai Ice cream we got from an investigator. 

Miracles Inbound (4/16/18)

Hello Everyone.

I hope you have all been well. Things have been busy as ever. We had to go down to Asahikawa which always makes things that much busier! We had a wonderful Zone conference which was a highlight for sure. The day before we had Zone activity which was nice. We played a combination of scattergories, are you smarter than a deacon, and whose line is it anyway. The highlight of it was the whose line is it anyway! Some really great acting there. It was kind of funny because for some reason we were doing it all in English so some of the Japanese missionary's English was hilarious!

During this Zone conference we talked about a lot of things. We talked about dust mites and dignity, how we've changed, faith and more. But to me the message that stuck with me most was about motives. We talked about coming to really love the Lord and examining ourselves. Up to now I don't think I've ever truly examined myself before. It was mostly about examining our motives and trying to become more in line with the Savior's motives. As we do so we will find dramatic changes in our lives and will continuously find more joy. I was able to learn a lot about learning who I am and was able to apply it. It was a really great exercise and I learned a lot, I would highly recommend it to everyone.

Some other highlights are some big miracles that happened on Saturday!  We started off the day by going to an appointment with an investigator. She wasn't there. So we go to the Library for studies and find 2 less active members inside! We already had an appointment scheduled for 12:30 that same day and we were able to get the other less active member to come as well! Then, right as we finished talking with them we get a call from the investigator who wasn't home apologizing for not being there. We told her we were still close by and she told us to come over! Truly a series of blessings that came in the Lords time table! We were also able to meet with a few other people and make some appointments with new people. Once again we are going down to Asahikawa but I'm excited for when we get back! Miracles are on the way!

I hope you all can see the daily miracles in your lives and continue to find joy in the miracle of your family and friends!

Love y'all

Elder Harvey

Soya Misaki! (4/9/18)

Hey guys! This week went by super fast! We spent a lot of his week trying to find new people to teach. It has been really awesome! I also got to go to a bunch of places in Wakkanai that I've never been to before! To name one, I went to the Northern most point in Japan on Monday! It was crazy! We went with one of our investigators, who we also met with a lot this week, and one of the sisters in our ward. It was really fun! Right now we are on a train to go down to Asahikawa until Thursday. Kinda nice though because our heater just broke! Haha We also had general conference the past 2 days which has been great.  It was a little lonely watching it with only my companion and I.  Though I guess that happens every year because we watch it in English.

It was great to hear all the amazing messages given and all the things that I was taught. I'm also looking forward to restudying them! About half way through Conference I really just wanted it to end already so I could start reading them over again! I know that as we follow President Nelson's council to do so we will strengthen our testimonies and come closer to heaven! I'm looking forward to being able to continue to change!  To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.

I love you guys!

Elder Harvey

Northernmost point of Japan where you can see Russia.

The Life, and the Legend (4/2/18)

Hello Everyone. I hope you had a great week! Mine was, once again really busy! This week on Thursday an old missionary came back to Wakkanai. He served here about 2 years ago and was already out of the mission by the time I first got here. He is a legendary missionary that is still being talked about from time to time. His name is Youza. He was an absolutely amazing missionary that everyone looked up too.  We had a chance to eat dinner with him and he's a way awesome guy. He just graduated Tokyo University, the best college in Japan. He has come up because he got married this past week! Woohoo!

Other than that a lot has happened. We have been able to meet with a lot of less active members and friends who are interested in our message. We also ended up playing a lot of ping pong this week too.

Our branch president absolutely loves ping pong so it helps bring him and our other friends - haha! We also were able to make a bunch of new friends this week. We have been really trying hard to make time to go out and find some new people to teach. It's really easy to just fill yourself with busy work, but we have been trying to use our time a lot more effectively. In all it was a great week!

This last Sunday was awesome, unfortunately General Conference for me is a week late but that gave us a fast Sunday on Easter which was really awesome. We had 2 less active members here this day as well. It was really cool to be able to really focus on the resurrection of the savior and how we know he really Lives! That one fact has so much importance in our eternal lives. It was a moment of eternal glory and meaning. Because he Lives, we will conquer death, because he lives, God is truly our Father in Heaven, because he lives, his teachings really lead back to God, because he lives, we can have eternal Joy with Him.

I love you all and hope you have an awesome week!

Love,

Elder Harvey

Busy, busy, busy! (3/26/18)

This week has been really awesome! We have been able to meet with a lot of people and talk with them about God. It was really great to see people's eyes light up as they saw what this all meant for them and their families! It is great to see just how much we can gain from the gospel and the blessings that come with that knowledge. I hope everyone has had a great week and will have another awesome week following!

The snow here is starting to melt which is really nice. I hope we will be on bikes soon! In this week we have walked all over the place. I feel like I've gone over our entire area land wise in just this one week! This next week is also going to be very busy but I am looking forward to it! This week we had a less active member come to church for the first time in a number of decades! It was great and he really felt the spirit! I love how church, no matter where you are in the world, can be such an amazing place!

I love you guys and hope you all have an awesome week!

Love

Elder Harvey

Transfers! (3/19/18)

This week has been awesome! I said goodby to one of my absolute favorite companions Elder Gonzalez, he got transferred down to Hakodate! Which means I'm still up here in Wakkanai! I got a new companion from Oregon. His name is Elder Shum. He's way awesome and was trained by one of my past companions Elder Smith.

This week we spent a lot of time saying good bye to people right before Elder Gonzalez left. We even met people that I had never met before! It's absolutely crazy just how many people we have up here to teach! So of course this week has been a lot of getting Elder Shum used to the new area and going around setting up appointments! In all it has been a great week and we were able to have a few lessons too!

Things are going great here as usual! I hope you guys are all having a great week too and continue to see the Love of others in your lives!

The train ride down and back from Asahikawa took forever. Literally took all day. Unfortunately that morning I had to say goodbye to Elder Gonzalez as he took a bus. He got on the bus at 6:30 in the morning and arrived at Hakodate sometime around 10:00 at night. I felt so bad for him. Anyway I love you all and hope you continue to have a great week!

Love

Elder Harvey

Finally made it back!! (3/12/18)

Hey guys! I hope you all have had a great week. This week has been awesome for us! It felt so great to be back in Wakkanai with all the people I have come to love so much!

This week we were able to meet with a lot of our friends and had a lot of great discussions about the gospel. It was great to see how these people have come to learn more about Jesus Christ and their Heavenly Father while I have been here. We also met with a few less active members and got to see their testimonies start to rekindle. It was great when we showed up to one less active member and he instantly asked us to come over again to teach him this last Friday! He has such a sincere desire to know God and to feel his love. Before we could even think to ask when to meet again he had already set a date for our next appointment! I absolutely love being on the Lords errand. I know that God loves each and everyone of us and is helping us walk back towards him. He is right by our side every step of the way! I hope you guys all have a great week and are preparing for General conference! I can't wait! Oh and this week is transfers so I will be sure to tell y'all any changes.

Love,

Elder Harvey

Here are some pics of some dessert we made for a ward pot luck.  

This was my breakfast.  Take out the granola and that's what we had under the chocolate. It took way more time than first anticipated. 10/10 will not make again as a missionary. Though it was delicious the yogurt was plain yogurt with strawberry or blueberry jam mixed with raisins kiwis and banana. All in all it was a hit. Might do it again after the mission.

Snow!!

Did I mention that it snows a lot here?