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