A Scary Trip Over the Mountain For a Wonderful Conference

On Thursday, February 2nd, we had a special conference in Sendai.  Elder Whiting (a member of the 70 and our area president who lives in Tokyo) came to speak to us.  We had to be there by 9:30am, which meant leaving here before 6:00am.  Ken had a terrible cold and felt miserable.  It was a terrible day for driving.  We have to drive over Mount Gassan to get there.  Mount Gassan is called suicide in the winter here.  Now we know why.

I took this picture because it documents that we could see the sun for a moment.  We couldn't see the road, but we could see the sun!

This is not a blurry picture.  This is a white-out.  At times you simply didn't know where on the road you were.

It got better as we got on the other side of the mountain, but still very treacherous road conditions.  It was white-knuckle driving!

We got there just barely in time.  We were both frazzled and exhausted.  But we soon were so grateful to be there as the conference was so wonderful and inspiring.  Poor Elder Whiting had a terrible cold, but he still taught with power and the spirit.  The conference went all day, with a break for lunch.  It ended at 3:00pm.  The way back was even worse.  The snow was coming hard in Sendai and driving conditions were terrible.

The windshield was covered with ice and the snow coming hard.  We took a much-needed break and went to Costco in Yamagata.  After that, it was better for a little while.

At times it would clear and we could see pretty well.

But then the windshield and the wiper blades started icing up.

We were looking through a thick sheet of ice.

You can see the ice on the windshield as we enter this tunnel.  The tunnels are welcome, blessed relief when the snow is coming hard.  There are several in the mountain area.

There simply was no place to pull over and clean off the ice.  So we just kept going. We were grateful that Ken's side was more clear than mine.  When we finally stopped at a toll booth, I jumped out and started scraping.  The ice was over an inch thick and very difficult to get off.  The wiper blades both had thick blocks of ice on them.  Ken has made friends with the toll booth operators.  This one came out of his booth and helped us clean off the ice.
When we finally reached Tsuruoka, we were so very grateful.  I had noticed a marked change in Ken from how he was on the way over versus how he was on the way home.  Ken grew up in southern Utah and has never really driven in winter conditions much except when we were at BYU.  Winter roads are one of his worst fears.  On the way over, he was anxious, scared and how he usually is in those conditions.  But on the way home, he was calm and peaceful.  I commented, as we drove into Tsuruoka, that knowing him the way I do, I was very surprised at his calm.  He explained that, while at the conference, he had the strong impression that our missionary work in Tsuruoka is not finished- that we still have much work to do.  That assurance gave him peace and calm.  He compared it to when Abinidi in the Book of Mormon has to answer his accusers and he is very calm.  I said, "Ya, but look how things turned out for Abinidi."  We hope we don't have a burning ahead!  When we got home, before we even got out of the car, we said a prayer of thanks.  We most definitely were guided and protected that day.

Now that you've lived through the drive with us, let me share a little of what made it worth it to go.  I'll share just a few of the notes I took at the conference:

This is Elder and Sister Whiting

He talked a lot about enjoying, not just enduring our mission.  He said missions should be hard.  That is what changes us- going through hard things.  It is a privilege to endure hardships for Jesus Christ.  He said we have to "receive the Holy Ghost" over and over again.  He said every morning we should start our day by saying, "I am going to receive the Holy Ghost today."  He said to not be afraid to act when we feel we should.  If it just our own thoughts, the Holy Ghost will stop us if it is wrong.  Our missions are not sacrifices.  They are offerings.  He told the missionaries to be the kind of missionaries their mom thinks they are.  He said when you go back home, some will try to pull you back to what you used to be.  Don't give in to that.  You've given too much to go back.   Move forward.  He said to always keep your eyes fixed on the prophets.  Groom and dress yourself the way they do.  He told the cutest story about going to buy a suit in Hawaii when they lived there.  They found one they really liked, but then he noticed it had three buttons instead of two.  He said to his wife, "I've never seen the prophet wear a three-button suit.  I'd better not buy it."  So they left without it.  Shortly thereafter, they got the Ensign magazine.  On the cover was a picture of the prophet in a three-button suit.  You'll notice in the picture above that Elder Whiting obviously then went and bought a three-button suit.    His point was to keep you eye on the prophets.
Well, that gives you a small taste of what we heard.  There was much, much more.  It is such a privilege to sit at the feet of an especial witness of Christ.  It is one of the great blessings of serving as a missionary.  We are so excited to go back to Sendai to hear Elder Jeffrey R Holland later this month.  We pray for better roads that day!