Letter and Pictures!

If you click on the letters, they will get bigger so you can read them.

Captions by Elder Hogewoning.
6-6-09 Here another pictures at the groundbreaking. From left to right: Sister Tsutsui, Sister Yamamoto, Brother ??? (I should know that by now. How lame!), Kaoru, Asagi Konomi, Elder Young, Me, Takemori Tatsuya. They let us and our investigators, Fujimara Kaoru and Takemori Tutsuya, get in on the fun. The three on the far left are Marugame Branch members. Everyone is really excited about the new building which should be done Feb. '10.
6-6-09 Raw fish and avocado...It really wasn't that bad. Elder and Sister Naka made us a lot of good food that night. I ate it all by the way if you were wondering.
6-6-09 From left to right: Sister Naka, Elder Naka, Me, Arai Yuka, Elder Young. We had a lesson with Yuka (first name) Arai (last name) in Takamatsu (about 30 mins by train from Marugame). We talked to her about baptism and showed her the font in the Takamatsu building. Afterwards, the Nakas, senior missionaries working with less actives in Takamatsu, graciously hosted us all for a lovely dinner.

We just made a baptismal date with Yuka last Thurs 7/16 for her birthday 12/13/09. Yay! (7/20/09)

5-12-09 The field is white...

*Where it is italicized, Corey wrote some Japanese characters, which I'm guessing mean "me" because I know what Elder Hogewoning looks like in Japanese, and the characters he wrote are too short.

Pictures from Elder Hogewoning

My dad got a letter from Corey today, and there were some pictures. Hope you enjoy! (Captions are by Elder Hogewoning.)

4-29-09 This is at the mission home. President Isa just told me I was going to be serving in Marugame with Elder Young. What a night?!?
6-1-09 The Marugame castle is a really beautiful place.

6-7-09 This is me at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Marugame chapel. It should be done early next year.

No time, again!

Just wanted to let you know, I did get a very short e-mail from Corey at the beginning of the week, which basically said something like, "Yes, no, yes, yes..." answering a couple of my questions, but that was it.  Sounds like he's pretty busy as am I.  This is my last week of EFY though, so after this I might have more time to update this willing that Corey writes more.  

Thank you all for your support, love, and prayers.  We both really appreciate it!

6 weeks in

Well I'm over 6 weeks in and every 6 weeks is transfers.  I'm still in Marugame but Elder Barrus replaced Elder Young.  They are both great and I'm so fortunate to be able to learn from both of them.  It's also nice to have kind of a fresh start with a new companion with new ideas.

I gave my first talk in sacrament on Sunday.  It was really nerveracking but I got through it all right.  I had to speak for 10 mins but it flew by.  I stumbled through the scriptures I shared but everyone was quick to praise me afterwards anyway.

Lots of love,

Elder Hogewoning

No time!

Corey didn't have time to write an e-mail this week, and I'm super busy at EFY.  Til next week...

I have already been here for a month?!?

It's weird to think I have been in Japan for over a month now.  I have learned a lot but there is still so much to learn about being a missionary.  I ate some sushi for the first time yesterday at lunch after our branch's block.  It was pretty okay.  Our branch is about 40 to 50 attending members.  There are about 10 people from the states too.  Sorry I'm out of time again. :{  I wish I could write more.  There is so much to say but I don't even know where to start sometimes.  Anyway lots of love, Elder Hogewoning

This week...

This week was pretty hard.  We had some appointments fall through but I know Heavenly Father is helping us and will provide a way to do what He has asked of us.  I am excited that Christina decided on going on a mission.  It will be fun to swap stories.  I got my first haircut in Japan today.  It took a long time but it was free so I can't complain.  I hope all is going well but I took a lot of time writing family so now I don't have any more time. Sorry.  I know everyone is dying to hear from me and see pictures.  Sorry I'm so busy.  Thank you for your prayers and support.  Lots of love, Elder Hogewoning

I only have five more minutes.  I think I'll just write about this buffet that we went to today.  It was really cool.  There is a grill right in the middle of your table and all of this meat you can choose from.  You pick what you want and then grill it yourself at your table.  They also have salad, fruit, sushi, rice, soup, noodle, soda, ice cream, slushies (kind of like slurpies),  cheesecake and soft serve.  There cotton candy machine was broken today though.  (Yes they really do have a cotton candy machine. That wasn'ｔ a joke.)  I liked the melon slushies the best. No I didn't try any sushi.  Maybe some other time.  Sorry I couldn't write more.  Thanks for all the love and support. Things are going well.

Lots of love,

Elder Hogewoning

Mail from President Isa

We got a letter in the mail today from Corey's mission president, and this picture.

It cracks me up that Corey's taller than his mission president, but I was kind of guessing that he would be. And taller than most people over in Japan anyway.

They already told us that his expected release date is March 1, 2011.  

Anyway, finally one picture!  That's all for now!

I'm actually in JAPAN

I am in Marugame, Japan on the island of Shikoku. My trainer is Elder Young from Australia. I can't even remember much from my final days in MTC. We did get to go out to the field for our last two gym times. We played a game of softball on our last day. Other than that, I can't remember anything from my last week of the MTC. It was a very long plane ride from LAX to Narita in Tokyo. When we were flying over Japan it wasn't the urban sprawl I was expecting. Narita is pretty far away from Tokyo (three hours I think). Anyway it was all rice fields and golf courses with a few pockets of houses here and there. We got on another plane to Hiroshima and I slept the whole way there. I guess the airport is in the mountains and it was a cool landing from what the others said. I slept through it all. President Isa and his assistants picked us up at the airport. We had a meal and went to bed. We had all been up for over 24 hours with all the flights. We got to sleep a little on the flights but we were all beat by the time we got there. I slept on a futon but I probably could have slept on a rock. We got to go to the Peace Park in Hiroshima the next day. It was a pretty "heavy" experienve as President Isa put it. While we were driving around Hiroshima it felt like I was just in downtown San Diego. It was a really weird feeling That night I found I was going to Marugame to work with Elder Young. Everyone said he was really funny. He is pretty funny. I missed one of my trains on the way to Marugame so I had to wait another half hour. I finally got to Marugame and met Elder Young. We are still getting closer. I guess I just had different expectations about missionary work. The first couple of weeks have been hard: not really knowing the language, trying to take in all kinds of new stuff, and trying to work hard when I feel so tired all the time. Things are going better. It's all about my attitude. God is definitely help me through it. Sorry I don't have more exciting news. I try to give some more details about being a missionary in Japan next week. Lots of love, Elder Hogewoning

Corey's in Japan!

I just wanted to let you all know that Corey made it safely to Japan. My dad got an e-mail from the mission secretary saying that he made it there and his p-day is Monday, which means I'll probably get e-mails from him on Sunday because of the time difference. He left for Japan on Monday. He didn't call home from the airport or e-mail, so I'm very anxious to hear from him next week and then get a call from him on Mother's day!

Also, you can still use dearelder, but there will now be a charge. I'm not sure how much it is. And here are two addresses, one for his mission home/office and the other for where he is right now:

Corey's Current Residence:
Kagawa-ken Marugame-shi
Nakabu-cho
4-4-5 Plaza Haitsu #101
Japan

Mission Home:
Japan Hiroshima Mission
1-11-26 Hikari-machi
Higashi-ku
Hiroshima-shi,
732-0052 Japan

Thank you all for your prayers and letters! I appreciate it, and I know Corey appreciates it more. I know he wishes he could personally write you all, and I know if he had the time he would. Until next Tuesday...

The new beginning

I'm sorry I ran out of time last week. Sad story but anyways...
I'm leaving for Japan next Monday!
I am so grateful for all that I have learned here and am ready to help the people of Japan. There have been a couple of talks about charity over the last two weeks so I am trying to strengthen my love for the Japanese people. I have decided I need to have four things to be successful when I get to Japan: obedience to all of God's commandments, love for the people I serve, faith is God's promises, and be able to express my sincere testimony.
If I am obedient I am promised so many blessings. I also have to have faith that God will fulfill His blessings to me. I also need to have faith in myself because sometimes I'm too hard on myself. I need to love the people. If they can't understand my words they need to be able to feel my love and desire to help and serve them. I have something they need and they need to know that I want them to have it, not out of duty but rather because I love them that much. I have been thinking about those who are back home that need this gospel too. I love them and want to share what I know with them. Jesus is my Savior. He suffered for my sins so that I don't have to suffer for them. He restored His perfect gospel and church through Joseph Smith. He loves all of us.
Lots of love
Elder Hogewoning

Just so you know...

I got a letter from Corey today, which said,

"After I finished e-mailing you and Dad, I was writing my general e-mail. I had one minute and was wrapping it up when the computer logged me out saying the session is timed out. I logged back in and only had a minute. It was only time to write down your address, but I didn't have any time to send an explanatory e-mail. Tell everyone I'm sorry. It was a really good e-mail for only having 10 minutes too."

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy that. I've heard of that happening, although for Corey it was a first. Until next Tuesday...

No E-mail :(

I just thought I'd let you know I didn't get an e-mail from Corey today. I'm not sure why. He did send me a personal e-mail, but he didn't send one for me to forward like usual. I'll have to ask why. Maybe he didn't send it in time. Who knows! But he's alive and well! Less than 2 more weeks in the MTC!

MTC, General Conference Edition

Hooray for general conference. I wrote so many notes and wish I had more time to review them all. I couldn't help but notice how much was talked about having faith and staying positive through the tough times. It's weird how many times the economy was referenced and I have no idea how bad it actually is. You don't need to tell me; I rather not know. It doesn't really matter what the conditions in the world are. Everyone needs the gospel in times of prosperity or scarcity. The Sunday morning session of conference was so powerful. Elder Holland and Elder Monson's talks had so much power.
Last week Elder Hoffman and I taught a real investigator at our teaching appointment. I could feel the Spirit helping us teach. I wish I could have explained thing better, but I did my best and that is all I can do.
I can't believe I have less than 3 more weeks here in the MTC. I try not to think about it so I can stay focused on what I am learning. At the same time, that is what I am learning everything for, so it helps when I focus on it too. I hope everyone is doing well. Sorry I don't write more. Everything happens so fast and I can't remember it all. Happy Easter!
Lots of love,
Elder Hogewoning

Less than 4 weeks

Elder Johnson spoke at last week's devotional. He is a convert to the church and now he is a Seventy. He is so excited and fired up about the work which was a great example to me.
The temple brings me so much joy. I love going to the Provo temple every Tuesday.
Last Wednesday I was able to help someone that had some concerns through the mormon.org chat system in the Referral Center. He has been taking some lessons from the missionaries but he had some concerns.
I practiced teaching lesson 1 with Elder Coffey last Wednesday. That was cool. This week is lesson 2 in Japanese for the first time. How exciting!
I move to a different room and then back to my old room this week. Our district was in flux this week. Elder De Menezes got his surgery yesterday and had his mission change from Hiroshima to SLC South. He is way excited though. Two of the kohais moved up to our group since they know some japanese already. They both moved into our district. Unfortunately one of the elders in our district went home yesterday. We were all sad to see him go. All in all we now have 10 people in our district.
Yesterday I played an awesome game of basketball. I played on a team with Elder Stephen and Elder Coffey. We rocked.

Lots of love

Pictures, FINALLY!!!!!!

Pictures and captions from Elder Hogewoning:
A couple of great elders: Elder Clark and Elder Bonham. These two were amazing examples to me as senpai. They spoke Japanese a lot and were always warm and friendly.
Hey, look, it's me.  What is going on with my shoulders?
The epic tripanionship, America's finest.
The best district I ever had.
Just the elders.
What a beautiful backdrop for a temple.
It's Elder Hoffman on our first day holding up the Book of Mormon in Japanese.
Elder Stephens taking a picture of me taking a picture of him on our first day at the MTC.
That's Elder Coffey's room.  He lives just down the hall. PS That may or may not be Elder Coffey.  Another amazing first day photo.
(I love how Corey drew a map of his hallway on the back of the picture just to show us how close he and Preston live to each other.)
There's where I live.  It is simple yet stylishly functional.  You can't really see the desks, beds, or mirrors, but that trash can is pretty awesome.

Just waiting...

We're waiting for the next group of missionaries going to Japan to come. They'll be here tomorrow. I feel like I'm on a plateau. I need to keep moving forward and have patience with myself. I'm still learning and it is okay if it's a little slower sometimes. Teaching in Japanese last Thursday was a good experience. You realize how much you know and how much you don't. We were able to teach about God and prophets but that was pretty much it. It takes a lot of time to explain concepts when you have such a limited knowledge of the language. This week we'll hopefully get further into Lesson 1. Last week Elder Perry spoke at the Tuesday night devotional. He spoke about companions. He talked about how Alma and Amulek were great companions even though they didn't know each other before hand. That is just like me with my future companions. I won't know them but we can still have a great experience together. Elder Perry had a life long friend in his first companion, Elder Toleman. I hope that I can have great relationships with all of my companions. Sometimes I lose sight of Japan. It is so easy to get caught up with the daily schedule and learning Japanese. It is all for that single purpose of inviting Japanese to come unto Christ. I got to attend the Draper Temple dedication on Sunday. President Monson mentioned the missionaries in the dedicatory prayer. It made me feel amazing. Whenever someone prays for the missionaries it means so much more since I am a missionary now. I completely lost my train of thought... Anyway I think about all of you a lot. Help the missionaries out with referrals. They need the help.
Lots of love,
Elder Hogewoning

Senior Statesmen

All of the sempi left yesterday and today really early in the morning. I'll definitely miss them. Some of them were great examples to me and they will be great missionaries. Now we wait for the next group of Japanese missionaries that will come in next Wednesday (not tomorrow). So this week we just think about how little we know and how unprepared we are to help the next group of missionaries. It's weird to think that we are the examples now. I feel like am a learning so much so fast. Some of it sticks but some of it just flies right over my head. I wish I knew more; I just need to keep working hard and be patient with myself too. My companionship got shaken up on Sunday. Elder Stephens has been assigned to a sempi that has to stay to have surgery. That leaves me and Elder Hoffman in our own companionship. I loved our "tripanionship" but it is tough trying to juggle three opinions. I tried to always be the peacemaker but I felt like I wasn't providing enough input. I can already see why we are commanded to go two by two instead of three by three. I really want to improve on setting goals, especially goals to learn more Japanese. I feel like I could be learning faster if I set some specific goals and really focus on them. I love getting letters. The surprise ones are always exciting but ones from family and best friends are still the best. I love all of them though. They really buoy me up. I'm sending some pictures next week which is so terribly exciting (ha ha). I've never really been good at taking pictures and recording things in my journal. Last week was kind of bumpy but I know it will make me and my district all the stronger. I'm halfway to Japan but it still seems so far away. It will be here sooner than I think...

Lots of love,
Elder Hogewoning

It's all a blur

So I don't really feel like writing right now but that is what diligence is: doing what you're supposed to even when you don't feel like it. I got 5 letters last Friday and a package which was pretty exciting. The letters were from Christina, Dad, Marty/Kelsey, some people from the Grossmont institute, and the La Mesa 1st ward teachers quorum. The package was from my first cousin once removed, Leah. She is my great-aunt Dorthy's daughter. I got lots of food. Between my companions and I, we have quite a stash. I think we're set on junk food for the rest of our MTC stay. I love my district and my teachers, especially Brother Tsuchiya. He is really diligent in all aspects of his life, yet he still feels like he should be doing more. I can kind of relate to how he feels. The elders that came in 6 weeks before us (seniors or sempi in Japanese) are leaving this Monday and Tuesday. I can't believe we are already going to become sempi and have to set the example for the kohai (juniors) that come in a week after the sempi leave. I will definitely miss them. We are going to be doing all day Eigo Danjikis (English Fasts) on Wednesday and then every day starting on Friday (except for Sundays and Tuesdays). From 7:00AM to 9:30PM we'll be speaking Japanese. It's pretty intimidating, but if we have faith and try our best our ability to speak will grow rapidly. I'm blanking on what else to write about. I need questions or prompts or something. Lots of love, Elder Hogewoning

Corey's MTC District

Corey wrote, "From left to right-Elder Hoffman, Elder Stephens, Elder Burnette, me, Elder Devey, Elder Pomerleau, Elder McCarthy, our teacher Brother Tsuchiya Sisters in front: Sister Weatherby, Sister Sawada, and our other teacher Sister Lew This is my MTC district, 27H. Everyone is awesome. I love all of them. We are a little smaller than other districts (usually 12 instead of 9), but it's nice."

Week 3 (e-mail from Corey)

Hi everyone. Thanks for the letters and the love. I wish I could write to all of you, but I just don't have enough time. I thought a lot about family this week, especially Mom. A couple of inspired talks in meetings really helped me. The first wasn't really a whole talk, just a small portion. Elder Garn of the Quorum of the Seventy was last week's devotional speaker along with his wife. He said to begin comments that his wife lost both her parents by the age of 16. I felt blessed that my family situation wasn't and isn't that difficult. Even though my family isn't with me, it is still nice to know they are there. The other talk was during mission conference on Fast Sunday. Sister Breinholt talked about her family and her grandparents who were married for over 80 years. I am so grateful for the family I have and look forward to the family I will have in the future. On Thursday, Elder Stephens, Elder Hoffman and I taught lesson 1 again in the Training Resource Center (TRC). There is a mock investigator that we get to teach. Even though the investigators aren't real, we all still felt the Spirit. The three of us elders all felt the Spirit guiding us thoughout the lesson. We were all really stressed about the Japanese language task before the lesson, knocking on a door and talking with the person about their family. Our teacher, Tsuchiya sensei, encouraged us to pray before the lesson rather than to frantically continue practicing. It really calmed me down before and during the language and lesson portions of the TRC. Anyways the food is fine and I am eating quite well. My companions (yes I have 2) are great elders. They love to work hard and obey the rules. I don't know what I would have done if I had any other companion that wasn't so diligent. Thanks again for all of your support and love.

Elder Corey Hogewoning

Week 2 (e-mail from Corey)

Things are still going great. I'm learning so much Japanese grammar and vocabulary every day. Last Tuesday was great. The elders in my district all went to the temple together. It was a really cool experience. You are all learning the gospel and Japanese together every day, but there is just something special about going to the temple together. When we got back we ate dinner and headed to the Tuesday night devotional. The speaker was.....(wait for it)...... Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. What an amazing experience. He told us to always be positive. He also told us that all of us can have success in baptizing no matter where we are going or what any one back home might have told us. My companions and I were able to teach the first lesson in our teaching appointment at the Teaching Resource Center (TRC). Every week we teach a lesson. Starting week five we teach in Japanese. I know if I keep working diligently, I'll be ready. Our district has done a few Eigo Danjikis (English fasts) during some of our class time and a few meals. It is so frusterating not being able to say what you want to say but it is definitely great motivation to learn faster. I been working on having more meaningful prayers this week. It is kind of hard to do because I am praying in Japanese and I still don't know a lot of words or grammar. My favorite thing to do during our 5 50 min gym periods is to play 4 square. I gets pretty intense. When people get too intense or upset I usually try to leave. No need to get upset over a little game. Anyway thanks for all of your love and support. It keeps me going when I get down on myself, but I going to stay positive like Elder Ballard suggests.

Lots of love,
Elder Hogewoning

First E-mail from Elder Hogewoning!!!!!

Hi. I just got your mail today. I haven't read it though. Thanks for sending my patriarchal blessing and line of authority. I hope you all are doing well. I have already done so much in 1 week. I have preparation days on Tuesdays so that is the day to check your email. I see Elder Coffey and Sister Wells a lot. They are both in my branch and zone, but neither are in my district so we don't have class together. I saw Aunt Dorthy yesterday. She was ecstatic. It is only the second time I've seen her, but she thinks the world of me for going on a mission. I have two companions Elder Stephens and Elder Hoffman. Both are from Utah, Cash Valley and Layton respectively. Elder Hoffman's companion didn't show up last Wednesday. None of us know why but whatever the reason we are a threesome. There is so much going on all day. From personal, companion, and language study to class with Brother Tsuchiya and Sister Lew, we are always doing something. I am constantly trying to read different chapters from Preach My Gospel and learn Japanese. I have all of my Hiragana characters down (by sight at least, I haven't even tried to write them yet). I started on Katakana yesterday. Elder Coffey just walked in and is doing his laundry behind me. Anyway I have been feeling a little overwelmed but I'm working through it. It snowed a lot over the weekend (I guess a lot is very relative since I'm not used to snow) but it has been melting since it has been a little warmer the last couple of days. I only have 30 minutes of email time and I can only write letters on Tuesdays so don't be sad if you don't hear from me more. I got a card from Grandma Dee on Thursday or Friday last week (I wish I had my journal with me right now). Yes I have written in my journal everyday so far. It's not much since I don't have to much time at the end of my days, but it's something. Please don't distribute this email address until I tell you you can. Love you all.