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This picture was taken in the Sannomiya Branch in Kobe. Ben and I had fun today revisiting all of these pictures. |
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The missionaries put on a skit for the members of the branch. Elder Markham is wearing a grass skirt made out of newspaper. |
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At some point in 1966 Elder Markham, left, was transferred to Asahikawa. His companion was Steve Booth. They are with a new convert. |
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The missionaries lived in the chapel in Asahikawa. Notice the paper windows on the second floor. And yes, again, this is the chapel |
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In the winters, this building became very cold. Ben told me that at one point the snowdrifts were high enough that they could leave the chapel from the second floor by climbing out the windows. |
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While in Asahikawa, Elder Markham came across this shop and posed. He assured me he was being funny. |
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Elder Markham worked hard to learn Japanese. Some of those books are 20 steps away from me at this moment. |
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A sister in the Asahikawa Branch made this ninja outfit for Elder Markham. This came home with Ben and was a favorite Halloween costume for our boys for many years. |
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Members gathered to say good-bye. The missionary behind him is Elder Booth. Notice the man second from left. |
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I asked Ben what he was eating, and he remembered exactly: chicken katsudon! The white cord belongs to a headset; he listened to as much Japanese as he could. |
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The mission president assigned Ben and Kelly as companions. They are shown here on a boat traveling between Honshu and Hokkaido. |
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This picture and the next were taken on Ben's birthday in 1967. Benny is a slang reference to a Japanese bathroom facility. |
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Apparently everyone thought this was hilarious. |
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In this picture, Ida Mar is holding her second grandchild, Michelle, who was born six months before Ben returned from his mission. |
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Stephen was Ben's oldest nephew. Ida Mar sent this picture of him on a tractor that she had given him for Christmas the year before. |
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I asked Ben about this picture. He knew this was a child of a member family, but he couldn't remember any more details. Considering the child is probably now a grandparent, it's ok. |
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This 1967 picture was taken of Okayama Branch members. They were playing a game Ben described as being similar to Red Light Green Light. Ask me if you need more details. |
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I'm sure lunch was delicious. |
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Steve Wilson, also from Spanish Fork, arrived in Japan in 1967. The mission president asked Elder Markham to show Elder Wilson around Tokyo and then take him to the station for his departure to his new area. Ben will be taking a copy of this photo to lunch with Steve and Kelly in a few weeks to remind Steve how eager he was to get going. Several elders from the Northern Far East Mission meet monthly for lunch in Orem. |
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This picture was taken at a missionary conference in Osaka. Elder Crabb is on the left, Elder Wilson, center, and Elder Markham on the right. |
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Elder Markham played in a game of softball. I thought he was tagging a base, but he was sure he was pitching. |
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Elder Crabb took this picture, not intending to show the ball heading to the catcher. |
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Elder Markham's last area was Hiroshima. |
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A few of the pictures and slides I scanned in this weekend were of tourist sites, such as this castle at Okayama. |
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This is one of my favorite pictures. President Hugh B. Brown visited the mission in 1967. The Vietnam war was underway during this time, so Elder Brown flew into Okinawa. Just behind Elder Brown is Elder Hinckley--you can see his head. The mission president, President Komatsu, is right behind him. Ben was the zone leader from Hiroshima, but he had served in Fukuoka where the conference would be held, so the mission president had asked Ben to make the arrangements for this conference, which is why he's shown shaking hands with Elder Hinckley. The next time you have an hour, ask Ben about this picture. There are wonderful stories associated with this, and you might see him cry a little. The milk story comes out pretty early, don't miss it. |
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This picture is of Elder Markham with Elder Noonchester, the district leader, who had just baptized this family. |
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You recognize Elder Crabb on the front left. Elder Markham is in the second row near the right. Behind him is Elder Ken Killion. If you can believe it, Elder Killion is also from Spanish Fork. |