Change comes with the warm Guam breezes as President Masaru and Megumi Okuda arrive in Guam the end of June, assuming the duties and responsibilities as the new President and wife of the Micronesia Guam mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where they will serve for the next three years.
Prior to coming to Guam, President and Megumi Okuda, parents of three children, lived in the Moran View Ward, Rexburg Idaho North Stake. President Okuda previously a temple ordinance worker, was a professor in the Computer Information Technology department at BYU-Idaho. As a young man, President Okuda served a mission in the Micronesia Guam Mission. Former church callings include stake president, stake presidency counselor, high councilor, bishop, seminary teacher, and elder’s quorum president. He was born in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan, to Yoshiharu Okuda and Atsumi Okuda.
Sister Okuda, previously a service missionary in the temple office and a temple ordinance worker, served a mission in the Japan, Nagoya Mission as a young woman. Former church callings include stake Relief Society presidency counselor, ward Relief Society presidency counselor, ward Sunday School teacher, and seminary teacher. She was born in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan, to Masakatsu Fukuda and Tsuneko Fukuda.
Wishing to serve many missions as senior couple missionaries after their retirement in a decade or so, they told of their surprise when they were called to be mission president. Though feeling humbled with this call, Sister Okuda says she is very excited to be serving as a missionary again much sooner than anticipated.
Dedicating their spare time to religion, morning walks and service, President and Sister Okuda focus on spirituality. “What we both enjoy the most is just being in the service of God and feeling Heavenly Fathers love. When you have served and feel that great love of the Savior, you naturally want to share it.”
Having previously served in the Micronesia Guam mission, President Okuda has an idea of the challenges he will face as mission president. Along with the need for frequent travel, he says he will need to overcome the barrier of physical distance with the missionaries and the leaders in the districts by fully utilizing all resources God has provided at this time of pandemic. He wishes a day will come soon that he and the missionaries will be able to visit and minister to members living on those islands that have been closed since the beginning of the pandemic.
The mantle of mission president has settled on him as he assumes his new duties, and he feels peace and excitement about this new calling. They can’t wait to meet all the missionaries and members in person to know each of them personally. He states how they want to “bring the love of the Savior, conveying the love we have for all these people we will meet.”
President and Sister Okuda met with all the Micronesia Guam Missionaries though a very down to earth and candid zoom meeting the morning of June 30th, assuring his love for them, that as their leader he is there for them, and touched on mission guidelines. He lovingly expressed the importance of communication and trust within the mission.
“We read about Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon and Bible, but how would you feel if you actually meet him? That’s the kind of meeting I would like to have with the missionaries and the members,” said President Okuda. He states that “we have faith that the growth of the Church and the depth of the conversion of the members will accelerate in a way that we’ve never seen before. We are looking forward to seeing the miracle come to the people in the Micronesia Guam mission. The Lord works in a miraculous way, in a way that we never could imagine. I have faith that things are going to work out and that the Lord will direct us.”