Visitors: 
Congratulations to Sakata Branch on its 30th Anniversary
Sakata Branch will always hold a special
place in my heart. It was 24 years
ago, on 16 December 1977 to be exact, that I first arrived in Sakata on a local
train from Ichinoseki, with changes in Kitakami, Yokote and Shinjo. I was not happy to be here because my
previous branch, Ichinoseki, was where I felt my testimony of the Gospel and
appreciation of the Japanese members had first started to grow strong.
Sakata was not a strong branch in those days. There was talk of closing it and
combining it with Tsuruoka. There
were only three active members—two sisters and brother Adachi. We went to Tsuruoka on Christmas Eve
for their party because our branch was too small! But on Christmas Day, a Sunday, �������o���@was baptized.
It was the first baptism in Sakata Branch in a very long time. Though few, there was a good
spirit.
My
companion, an Elder David Jones, was a hard worker and very artistic. Our district leader, �R��i���V�@from Okinawa was a lot of fun. His companion, Elder Paul Rosa, would
later be a classmate at Brigham Young University. Although the people would change during my short four months
there and Elder Doug Colbert would replace Elder Jones, we had an active branch
and two more baptisms, including �����^��Z��@whom
Elder Jones and I were honored to share the Gospel with.�@�@My short four months in Sakata gave me the
opportunity to meet many wonderful people, share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and
strengthen my own testimony. Even
now, sometimes my own testimony is weak and I must think back to the good
spirit which helped me and others grow during my time as a missionary in Japan.
The pictures on this page show me now and then. In 1988, my work brought me back to
Japan, first to Matsudo and now to Kobe.
I married my wife Kathryn in 1984 and we have three daughters Laura, 16,
Rebekah, 14 and Susannah, 12.
Laura and Rebekah are now attending high school in the United States and
Susannah graduates from �_�ˎs�������q���w�Zin March.
David Staples
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