Elder Jason Sherrill: Japan Fukuoka Mission: Hello from Fukuoka!

The Assistants to the President

Well I have a little bit of news for everyone, I transferred up to Fukuoka this week! Transfers still aren't for about a week or so but I was emergency transferred up here to get trained on my new position in the mission. I have been called to work in the Mission Home as an Assistant to the President. It sounds really fancy but really it just means I develop trainings for the mission and go around giving advice, looking for ways the mission can improve, and serving others. I was pretty nervous when the call was extended to me because I felt like there was much stepping up to be done on my part, however just like before I know the Lord is always mindful of us and always willing to help us and qualify us wherever we have been called to labor.

View from new apartment!

Our mission home is located directly beneath the Fukuoka Temple. So not only do I get to see the temple daily now, I pretty much get to live and work right beneath it! Along with being so close to the temple as an a Assistant you get to work very closely with President and sister Egan which is probably what I am most excited about. They are the two hardest working missionaries in the mission. The experience and knowledge they have are just unparalleled. I feel like every time I sit down with them there is something new I learn. So needless to say I'm excited to work with them. Right now my current companion is Elder Strickland, who will be moving from the Junior AP (Assistant to the President) to the Senior AP as I finish my training. The current Senior AP and the one training me right now is none other than my beloved old companion Elder Colton! I was so excited when I found out I would get to work with him closely and be his companion as well for a couple more weeks until he transfers out somewhere in the mission field.

Also, some of you may be wondering why I am emailing on Saturday instead of Monday and that is because all the elders that work in Honbu (the mission home) have P-day on Saturday instead of Monday. So you can expect emails from me on this day in the future. Today for our P-Day we don't have much planned other than a couple lessons and a couple errands we need to run. We just recently started the whole transfer process in which we as Assistants and President Egan sit down and discuss the mission and all the missionaries. We then counsel and pray about which missionaries to move where and for who to do what. We have been doing it for the past couple of days now and it has been such an interesting and strengthening spiritual experience. Deciding transfers not only effects the missionaries but it affects the people in that area they have been called to serve. So in other words, it's kind of a big deal. However, as AP's we do not make any of the final decisions, we just counsel and pray with President Egan and he is the one who makes the decisions. Today we will be using a majority of our time to finish up the transfer process for this next transfer.

I was a little sad to leave Okinawa since I had been there so long but I am beyond excited for this new call to work in Fukuoka. All the lessons I learn here I know will help prepare me for so many things that lay ahead. Being called here was such a humbling experience and I know I will have to rely on my Heavenly Father more than every before as I seek to serve others and do His will. One scripture I really liked and kept sticking out to me this past week is found in 2 Timothy 1:7, it reads, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Even though I feel a little inadequate for the calling I have before me, I know Heavenly Father will help me become so much of a better missionary and person than I could ever become without Him. For His love and mercy I am so grateful.

I love you all and wish you a wonderful week!

Elder Sherrill