Minasan Konnichiwa!!
How are you guys?!! Oh my gosh theres so much to tell you, but I dont (sorry for the bad typing these keyboards are way strange) think Ill be able to say everything I want to say - hopefully its not true haha. Anyways so we got to Tokyo via Korean Air. It sounds like the stewardesses had nuts and bolts in their mouths when they talked, it was interesting.... Then we landed in Tokyo and when we checked in at the All Nippon counter they told us that they couldnt take all of the bags because the plane was too small? I didnt really get it but oh well: they had to send my 2 bags by delivery to get there on thursday, so Im glad I was obedient and put extra garments (or g`s as we call them, jk) in my carry on along with an extra shirt and toiletries. So I dont remember the flight from to Tokyo to Hiroshima at all (and apparently its common among the missionaries haha) and we got to Hiroshima in heavy rain. We then met President Isa and the 2 assistants: Oleskey and Campos (hes from Recife, mom!) along with Elder Webb, the financial secretary of the mission. We ate dinner at the mission home (up til then Hiroshima looks just like Curitiba by the way) and Sister Isa made us some authentic Japanese food. It was yummy but I was too tired to enjoy it. After collapsing for the night we did a bunch of orientation on wednesday, and blah, blah, blah, it was thursday morning. On thursday I met my trainer: Elder Hogge. Hes from California, and about the same height as my the rest of the Japanese - which I wasnt surprised to see were at least a foot shorter than me... haha. Hes great, its his first transfer as a trainer so were having fun. We went out proselyting around the mission area while we waited for the bags then headed off to our apartment. This is where it got interesting. So the first thing I noticed was that the door was only about 6 feet high, and considering Im about 6 ft 4 in, that was kind of a problem. the I noticed that we had rice paper doors and windows in some rooms, and tatami mats (straw mats) in two of the rooms. And that the doors followed the same short pattern. After a brief inspection of our apartment I noticed that it wasnt just those things: everything is smaller! The doors, the shower, the washing machine, fridge, windows, mirrors, toilet, sink - everything is built for a person thats only 5ft 6in tall!! Im still getting used to it all, but Im doing ok, considering I only bumped my head once hahahaha. But its really cool, we sleep on futons - thick blanket-looking mattresses that you put away when not using. So far my favorite thing to eat here is called okonomiyaki. Its noodles, eggs, (once I had squid in it) some type of meat, cabbage, and this thin pancake looking thing on top - its soooo good! Oh so we went out looking for bike places but we couldnt find anything. They kept telling us that the one we needed was only going to arrive next year. It was only friday night after praying and searching that we found this bike shop which was closed the day before who are delivering the bike this week!! It was a miracle! I had the cahnce to meet the members too, and this family gave me (the sumikawa`s) a loaner bike and a bag (because we still havent found a bag). This ward is amazing. Everyone is way into missionary work, and were looking forward to have great things happen in Hatsukaichi. So you know youre in Japan when you harvest rice. Yeah, thats right we harvested rice on saturday to help one of the members. It was so fun! It was hard to work, but theyre so nice, its incredible. We went to Church yesterday (we only watch GC next week cuz of the time difference) and it was raining all day! We decided to go out and look for some former investigators about 30 min away. Up a hill. In the evening. In pouring rain. On our bikes. It was the toughest thing yet, but when we made it up the hill we were blessed for our sacrifice. We found this former investigators brother, who lived in Salem, OR and is a protestant. He used to go to Church but after being unwelcomed hes still looking for a place to worship. And thats where we come in haha!! He was so great and it was truly a blessing to find him last night. Remember: sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven! Anyways, i gotta go, I love you tons and theres plenty of pictures about all this. The mission is awesome, its hard, but I love it!! Miss you guys, take care!
Mourao choro
Minasan Konnichiwa!!
Como estao voces?!! Oh meu senhor tem tanta coisa pra te falar, mas eu nao (desculpa pelo datilografo horrivel esses teclados sao muito estranhos) penso que vou poder falar tudo que eu quero falar- espero que nao seja verdade haha. De qualquer jeito entao a gente chegou a Tokyo via Korean Air. Parece que as aeromocas tinham porcas e parafusos nas bocas delas quando elas falavam, era interessante.... Ai a gente aterrisou em Tokyo e quando a gente apresentamos no guiche do All Nippon eles falaram que eles nao podiam tomar todas as nossas bagagens porque o aviao era muito pequeno? Eu nao entendi mas tudo bem: ele tiveram que mandar as minhas 2 bagagens por entrega pra chegar lah na quinta, entao eu estou feliz que fui obediente e botei outros garmentes (ou G's como chamamos eles, brincadeira) na minha mochila de carregar tambem com uma outra camisa e coisas de higiene. Entao eu nao lembro o voo de TOkyo pra Hiroshima nada (e aparentemente eh normal entre os missionarios haha) e chegamos em Hiroshima chovendo bastante. A gente encontrou o Presidente Isa e os 2 assistentes: Oleskey e Campos (ele eh de Recife, mae!) tambem com Elder Webb, o secretario de financas da missao. Tivemos jantar na casa da missao (ateh lah ai Hiroshima parece com Curitiba, a proposito) e Irma Isa cozinhou comida Japonese autentica. Foi muito bom mas eu estava muito cansado pra gostar muito. Depois de colapsar pra noite fizemos um monte de orientacao na quarta feira e blah, blah, blah, era quinta de manha. Na quinta eu conheci o meu treinador: Elder Hogge. Ele eh da California, e ele eh mais ou menos a mesma altura que o resto dos Japoneses- que eu nao estava surpreso de ver que sao mais de um peh menor que eu... haha. Ele eh otimo, eh a primeira tranferencia dele como treinador entao estamos divertindo. Saimos fora fazendo proselitos por volta da area da missao enquanto esperamos pelas minhas bagagens ai fomos pro nosso apartamento. Aqui foi onde ficou interessante. Entao a primeira coisa que eu percebi foi que a porta era soh 6 pes de altura, e considerando que eu sou 6 pes 4 polegadas, isso foi um pouco de problema. Ai eu percevi que temos portas e janelas de papel de arroz em alguns quartos, e as esteiras de tatami (esteiras de palha) em dois dos quartos. E que as portas seguiram o mesmo modelo de altura. Depois de uma inspecao breve do nosso apartamento eu percebi que nao era soh aquelas coisas: tudo eh mais pequeno! As portas, o chuveiro, a maquina de lavar roupa, geladeira, janelas, espelhos, privada, pia - tudo eh construido pra uma pessoa que eh 5 pes e 6 polegadas de altura!! Eu estou acostumando com tudo, mas estou bem, considerand eu bati a cabeca soh uma vez hahahaha. Mas eh muito legal, a gente dorme em futons- uns colchaos que parecem de cobertor grosso que voce guarda quando nao estah usando. A minha coisa predileta de comer aqui eh chamado okonomiyaki. Eh pasta, ovo, (uma vez eu tive lula nisso) algum tipo de carne, repolho, e esse fino bolo em cima - eh taaaaoo bom! O entao a gente foi procurar por lugares que vendem bicicletas mas nao consiguimos achar nennhum. Eles ficaram falando pra gente que a bicicleta que queremos soh iria chegar ano que vem. Soh era sexta feira de noite depois de orar e procurar que achamos essa loja de bicicletas que estava fechado o dia anterior que estah entregando a bicicleta essa semana!! Foi um milagre! Eu tive a chance de escontrar membros tambem, e essa familia me deu (os Sumikawa's) uma bicicleta emprestada e uma sacola (porque ainda nao conseguimos achar uma). Essa ala eh maravilhosa. Todo mundo ama trabalho missionario, e estao esperando por coisas otimas acontecerem in Hatsukaichi. Entao voce sabe que voce estah no Japao quando voce colhe arroz. Sim, eh certo colhemos arroz no sabado pra ajudar um dos membros. Foi tao divertido! Foi trabalho dificil, mas eles sao tao bons, eh incrivel. Fomos pra Igreja ontem (nos soh vamos assistir a Conferencia Geral proxima semana por causa da diferencia de tempo) e estava chovendo o dia inteiro! Decidimos ir pra fora e procurar por uns investigadores antigos mais ou menos 30 minutos daqui. No topo do morro. De tardezinha. Na chuvarada. Nas nossas bicicletas. Foi a coisa mais dificil ainda, mas quando conseguimos chegar no topo do morro fomos abencoados pelo nosso sacrificio. Achamos um irmao de um investigador antigo, que morava em Salem, Oregon e eh um protestante. Ele ia pra igreja mas depois de nao for bem-vindo ele ainda estah procurando por um lugar pra ir pra Igreja. E eh onde nos entramos haha!! Ele foi tao otimo e foi verdadeiramente uma bencao de achar ele ontem a noite. Lembrem: sacrificio traze as bencaos dos ceus! De qualquer jeito, eu tenho que ir, eu amo voces bastante e tem muitas fotos de tudo isso. A missao eh maravilhosa, eh dificil, mas eu amo isso! Tenho saudades de voces, tomem cuidado!
Mourao choro
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Called to serve the Lord as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hiroshima, Japan
Map of Japan (for a complete map of where he's been, look at the bottom of this page)
Elder Victor M.S. Mourao
Called to serve the Lord as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hiroshima, Japan
Hiroshima, Japan
Map of Japan (for a complete map of where he's been, look at the bottom of this page)
Our Elder's address:
Elder Victor Mourao
Japan Hiroshima Mission
Tottori-ken Yonago-shi
Nishifukubara 3-6-27
Mezon Pineru 201
683-0805
JAPAN
Japan Hiroshima Mission
Tottori-ken Yonago-shi
Nishifukubara 3-6-27
Mezon Pineru 201
683-0805
JAPAN
You can write him an email at
Victor's time
Hiroshima |
Elder Mourao's favorite scripture: Alma 32:42
"And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst."
Thanks for reading Victor's blog!
Mission pictures
Where Victor's been!
Dramatic Growth
"Under the inspiration of the Lord and the courageous action of Joseph Smith, the first Latter-day Saint missionaries ever to serve beyond North America brought the restored gospel to the British Isles in 1837. Heading that first group of elders was Heber C. Kimball, who set a great example for all newly called missionaries. Humbled by the responsibility and fully aware of his limitations, he poured out his heart in prayer."
'O, Lord,' he cried, 'I am a man of stammering tongue, and altogether unfit for such a work; how can I go to preach in that land, which is so famed throughout Christendom for learning, knowledge and piety; the nursery of religion; and to a people whose intelligence is proverbial!'
"But rising from his knees and accepting his duty, he said, 'The moment I understood the will of my Heavenly Father, I felt a determination to go at all hazards, believing that He would support me by His almighty power, and endow me with every qualification that I needed' (Life of Heber C. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1945, p. 104). Surely God responded to the faith of that young elder, because Brother Kimball and his companions were endowed, 'with every qualification' they needed."
-Jeffrey R. Holland
'O, Lord,' he cried, 'I am a man of stammering tongue, and altogether unfit for such a work; how can I go to preach in that land, which is so famed throughout Christendom for learning, knowledge and piety; the nursery of religion; and to a people whose intelligence is proverbial!'
"But rising from his knees and accepting his duty, he said, 'The moment I understood the will of my Heavenly Father, I felt a determination to go at all hazards, believing that He would support me by His almighty power, and endow me with every qualification that I needed' (Life of Heber C. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1945, p. 104). Surely God responded to the faith of that young elder, because Brother Kimball and his companions were endowed, 'with every qualification' they needed."
-Jeffrey R. Holland