FHE At Harbourfront Theater

Elder and Sister Inouye planned a special FHE for all Asia area and temple missionaries at Harbourfront.  It was special indeed.  The Inouyes had invited Sister Naomi Tai to tell the story of her grandmother, who survived WWII.

Through video and testimony, we learned how Sister Masao Toma had hid from the enemy in a cave with her unconscious husband and two young children.  She would quietly go looking for food, sometimes without success.  At a time she was discouraged and considering suicide, she had a dream in which she heard an angel ask why she was not trying to live.  She began to pray, and then a dream came to her in which she saw her young children grown and looking like missionaries.  She then made a promise to the Lord that if she and her family could live, she would endure any hardships in her life.
Her husband regained consciousness, and shortly after, they returned to their home because the conflict was finally over.
Her faith and prayers helped keep her family safe and alive.

Sometime later, Masao was taught the gospel by sister missionaries.  She felt something familiar in their message, and she joined the church.  Her husband did not until later, but eventually became the Branch President in their area of Japan.
He died suddently, leaving her with a large business debt to pay.  She had little money, so she and her children often went hungry.  When there was no food, they would sing hymns to take their minds away from their hunger.
She would wake at 4:00am to find any work at all, in order to put food on their table.

This caused her to question the Lord as to why her family was suffering so much, and she began to lose her faith. Then she remembered the promise she had made to the Lord when her family was hiding in a cave.  After that, she did not doubt ever again that the Lord loved her, and she spent her life serving others in anyway she could.

Years later, her children each served a mission as she had seen in a dream.
It took her 30 years, but she eventually completely paid her husbands debt.

Macao Toma was a remarkable woman, and when she passed away in her 70's, there were hundreds attending her funeral because she had touched so many in her life with her loving and faithful service.

Sister Toma had many hardships in her life, but she was a woman of great faith, and endured them as she had promised many, many years earlier in a cave.

She has left her family a tremendous legacy.

President and Sister Tai