メリディアン
日本語
帰還宣教師から
From Returned Missionaries
03/18/2008
L. Dwight Pincock
Dear Wayne (Northern Far East
Mission Website Webmaster),
Just wanted to include a short response between calls today in response
to Carl's remarks about his father, Clarence Katwyk. I was serving in
the Tokyo North Branch when the new building was under construction. As
was the case, the full time missionaries joined with the labor
missionaries on part of their P- day to assist in the work. We spent
considerable time rolling paint on those block walls and assisted in the
pouring of concrete in the parking lot . On the day the big pour for the
parking lot was to begin, we were all in place, but as the convoy of (
mini concrete trucks arrived ) as compared to the size of trucks we were
accustomed to in the US, Brother Katwyk took a look at the consistency
of the mud and told the driver that the mix was not what he had ordered.
He had ordered a six bag mix and what they sent was inferior and he was
not about to accept it. For anyone who knew Elder Katwyk, they would
know that he looked like Goliath to those short Japanese drivers, and
his booming voice reinforced his determination.
Since I was supervising elder at the time, I had the responsibility to interpret the need for the trucks to return to the plant to make the necessary changes before he would accept it. In the normal line of authority way of doing things, we had to talk to the project supervisor, then he in turn had to speak to the plant manager etc. We finally turned the convoy around and some time later, Elder Katwyk received the mix he wanted and we went to work. Under his all watchful eye, the Church did not receive any inferior materials or shoddy workmanship. He was a man for all seasons when it came to giving his all to the building program of the church. But as booming as his voice on the project was or his intimidating physical size, there was a heart equally as big, and his love of his missionaries was unequaled.
Ironically, when we were back over in Japan as JMTC President from 2004 to 2006, a sweet young sister came to the book store in the temple annex one day when I was there. In visiting with her, learned that she was there from the US to learn more of the orphanage she had come from so many years before. Yes, it was your sister Carl. That same little baby sister we remember as missionaries being brought to the job site by Sister Katwyk , beaming with the pride of a loving and deserving mother. We had a wonderful visit, and couldn't help but choke back some tears of joy for this special (tender mercy moment ) in our lives.
Another of those great building supervisors was Elder JD Larson. After I was transferred from Tokyo North to Okinawa Naha Branch, it was my special privilege to work again with another Supervisor, Elder JD Larson in the building of the Naha chapel at Sogenji. It was a miracle to see a man from Salt Lake City Utah unable to speak Japanese to teach a crew of young labor missionaries with very limited English capacity, the skills of the building profession. That chapel was started and finished in about 10 months. It, along with the others of that jidai, still stand today as a monument gift to the Lord of sacrifice and a lot of testimony building hard labor given humbly by crews of labor missionaries.
ai o komete ,
L. Dwight Pincock, IFR (In-Field Representative), Missionary Dept
Editor's Note: Dwight, an employee of the Church Missionary Department, is first contact for mission presidents in the Asia and Asia North Areas of the Church.