ADVENTURES CONTINUE

Sometimes it seems like we are just on an extended vacation.  This week it looks like (from the photos) that all we do is have fun.  Actually that may not be far from the truth.

Giving out Blankets

We were able to go to a couple of nursing homes and hand out lap blankets this week.  It turned out to be a fun experience and reminiscent of my days in the Relief Society at the care center near our home.  The first facility was a critical care unit with many residents:

And then we visited this really nice facility and distributed the blankets to some of the day care patients.  They were all excited to get them, especially after they found out they didn't have to pay for them!

Lunch with the District

This week after district meeting we ate lunch at an Indian restaurant.  These places are quite popular in Japan and really tasty as I have told you before.  We usually have the big pieces of  "nam" which is like a huge piece of fry bread and a bowl of curry to dip them into.  They are usually served with a salad and a drink.  Here we are with our food:

Mock Stained Glass!

On Thursday at our children's English class we did a "mock" stained glass project.  These paints are labeled as "glass paint" at the dollar store and we did them on plastic sheets.  It was a fun project and they are doing a little nicer version of them in our branch for the upcoming Christmas party.  But here are the ones we made at English class:

And the some of the finished projects waiting to dry:

Climbing the Hills Above Ishinomaki

On Friday Sister Usui and her daughter Taeko asked us if we would like to go to a nearby mountain (really a big hill) and see the views from above the city.  We drove most of the way up (being the wimps that we are) but ended up with beautiful views on all sides.  Here we are at the top with more wind than we really want:

The beautiful river below:

 

Ishinomaki below us:

And finally going back down to the car:

Chusonji National Treasure

Then on Saturday we spent the morning with the Thomas'--a missionary couple who work in the mission home office.  They are leaving soon since their mission will be completed and we don't get to spend much time with them because their p-day is on Saturday and ours is on Monday.  But we had a rare Saturday with not much to do so we asked them if they would like to do something together.  They came up with this WONDERFUL idea to go to the Chusonji National Treasure about two hours from here.

There is a temple with lots of gold leaf (no cameras allowed), many shrines, and beautiful grounds.  There are also little shops along the paths and places to have a bite to eat here and there.  AND to make things even better, the fall leaves were out in full view everywhere.  It was really a treasure.  Here are some pictures:

 

 

Sister Thomas and I next to a small shrine:

 

A house with a roof of hundreds of flowers:

More fall foliage:

Three old men:

We took so many pictures because it was so beautiful!

A grove of bamboo.  The trunks are about 3-4 inches in diameter and they are so sturdy because they are thick and have a huge root system:

And the same grove looking up!

Me and the color:

And Calvin the wannabe samurai:

Japanese Pampas Grass

Last week I asked about a paint-brush like plant along-side the road.  Stephen Howells always comes up with great answers to my plant questions.  This time he identified it as Japanese Pampas Grass or "susuki" which means autumn in Japanese.  I also found out that this "weed" is used to make window shades when the tops and bottoms are cut off and the stems are sewn together.  It makes those shades that roll up and down.


Goodby Fall

Autumn is fast leaving Japan.  We had some high winds today that probably blew off most of the colorful leaves. The temperatures are dropping, and I am pretty sure winter is right around the corner! 

And by the way, Happy Thanksgiving to all!  We are thankful that you are reading this and want to keep in touch.

TO BE CONTINUED -- Part 3

Another week and more tries at getting a Japanese driver's license.  Monday was try #1:  not successful.  Wednesday was try #2:  not successful.  But Calvin, ever the optimist, thought he was getting closer.  Friday was try #3 for the week:  SUCCESS!!!  Yes, Calvin came back from the driving test with the coveted blue ticket--symbol of a passing score! 

We decided to celebrate by going out to dinner.  We chose a nearby restaurant that we had been to a few weeks ago for lunch.  But this was dinner so we were interested to see what a few extra yen would give us.  We were not disappointed:

In addition to the regular buffet, we got shabu-shabu.  This was a large pan of water on a hotplate on our table.  We went to the buffet and got meat and veggies to cook in the water.  Then we got small bowls of sauces for our cooked food.  YUM!  This was in addition to the buffet:

This main buffet has a large selection of veggies, tempura, salads, pastas, sushi rice, noodles, salmon, etc. etc.  Then there is a smaller buffet of rices, soups, and curry.  And another is a dessert buffet (including ice cream) and your choice of many drinks.  Anyway, the whole thing is reasonably healthy but really tasty.  Many of the dishes are very Japanese-style.  We ate till we were stuffed.  Maybe worth the five tries at getting the license!

So now we can look forward to getting reimbursed the $300 it cost to get the license!


Still Fall

We can't help but notice that in the States it looks like winter has set in (albeit a little early).  What with hurricanes, nor-easters, and snowstorms it certainly looks like winter.  But here in Ishinomaki it is still fall.  The temps are generally in the low 60's or upper 50's but the lows are only about ten degrees lower.  It has rained quite a bit lately but even the rain is not all that cold.  No sign of frost yet.

All around us, we see that things have changed from the deep greens of summer to the muted colors of autumn.  And there are even a few brilliant colors around:

And a pomegranate tree nearby:

And why do Chrysanthemums always look so much better in the fall?:

Also, along the roadside there are these small paintbrush-looking plants everywhere.  Any ideas what they are?:

And finally, a fall craft project we did in English class.  I looked all over for paper lunch sacks and finally BEGGED the cashier at the local grocery store for some of the ones they used that were under the counter!:

From Fall to Christmas

As I said, it is still fall, but our Relief Society is in the Christmas spirit.  Yesterday we had an activity making angels and Christmas wreaths.  Here is what we did:

And:

Up close view of these wreath made of styrofoam rings and small squares of fabric:

Actually a really fun time was had by all.  The wreaths are not that big (eight inches or so) but a great project. 

Lesson Learned

One lesson I learned from the projects we have been doing lately is that we are all different.  When we did the paper sack puppets, I had cut out all of the pieces and had the kids glue the pieces onto the sacks.  Yet, every puppet turned out different.  Each had it's own personality (one even used the hair as a beard!) but each turned out great.

Then when we did the angels in Relief Society, the same thing happened.  Every angel was different.  And the wreaths:  so different as you can see.  Yet we began with the same materials.  The first (sample) wreath was rather plain--just green fabric but from there everyone had their own ideas of what to do. 

So maybe that is how it is with life.  We are all different.  Not better.  Just different.  We all have our own personalities.  Yet a wise Father in Heaven knows us all.  Our children are not the same.  They are each different.  We have a set of twins (about 11 years old) in our children's English class.  They look a lot alike but they are definitely different.  They wear different clothes; they wear their hair different; they have different personalities.

I also have started buying some kokeshi dolls here in Japan.  They are only made in this region of Japan but each is carved individually and hand painted so each one is different.  They are not terribly expensive because they are abundant but each is unique in its own right. 

We had a lesson in Relief Society today about being kind to one another.  In the lesson it talked about judging others.  I began thinking about how funny it is that we sometimes judge others when we are all different.  How unfair it is to judge when we are not on equal ground.  And how wonderful it is that we are NOT the same. 

Blanket Update

Just thought I'd let you know about the blanket project.  All 50 of the large blankets are finished or are being finished (actually there are very few that have not been finished I think).  In addition, there were about 50 smaller lap blankets done.  Everyone was excited to see the project so successful and some even were a little disappointed that there weren't more blankets remaining. 

There are only about ten larger blankets that are finished that don't have homes yet but we are hoping to give those out during the Christmas season.  Also the smaller lap blankets are in the process of going to nursing homes. 

It was a great project. 

TO BE CONTINUED, Part 2

So here is an update on last week's "to be continued."  Otherwise entitled, "Two out of Three Ain't Bad!"

Relief Society Activity

So this week we had our Relief Society fleece blanket activity.  I would label it a big success!  On Wednesday we had a great turnout:

For a Relief Society who only sees a turnout of 8-10 sisters per week, we had about 10 show up!  A few were not members or less actives which made it all the more sweet.   We each worked about an hour and a half on our own blankets and then several of the ladies took home more to work on and give to others who could use some uplift.

At the end of an hour and a half, this is how it looked:

Later in the day a couple of more ladies came to learn and pick up some blankets and then on Friday evening we also scheduled a time but only one person showed up.  But even at that, she was able to complete two blankets by today and took two more.  Also at Relief Society today (Sunday), several others took blankets to crochet and having begun with 50, we are now down to just twelve!  And several of the sisters are planning on doing more so this should be easily finished! 

I have also been able to do several lap blankets and so that is even more rewarding.  Everyone seems in the spirit of giving. 


BAPTISM!!!

Today was Abe san's baptism and it seemed perfect in every way!  Our day began early when Calvin picked up Elders Watanabe Kan and Van De Graff from the bus station at 6:30 a.m.  They are the missionaries that first taught Abe san in Yokohama.  We were so excited because Elder Watanabe Kan is eighty years old and a legendary missionary in Japan and Elder Van De Graff is serving in the Tokyo Mission and got special permission to come and perform the baptism which he started on last January!  Abe san really wanted them to be present and somehow this miracle came to pass.  They rode the "overnight bus" (which I swore I'd never ride again!) to get here!

Anyway, we went to Church and every meeting seemed so wonderful.  In fast and testimony meeting everyone was talking about their own baptisms and how wonderful it was that Abe san was getting baptized.  About an hour after Church we left for Tagajo, an hour away, where we were to have the baptism at 4:00 p.m.  This is Abe san and Elder Van De Graff before the baptism:

Here we are (all the missionaries) with Abe san and his sister-in-law who came from Tokyo for the baptism:

I may have mentioned this before but his sister-in-law is actually his deceased wife's sister.  She is a member and in fact her husband was a member of the 2nd Quorum of Seventy a while back.  She spoke after the baptism and it was fun to hear her side of the story since she was instrumental in getting Abe san to listen to the lessons.  She said that he was visiting them and was pretty upset (nine months after losing his wife in the tsunami) wondering what his purpose in life was.  That's when she got him to listen to the missionaries.

The members of the branch are fantastic.  We usually have 30-35 attending sacrament meeting.  The baptism was an hour away and there were about twenty at the baptism!  Even the members of the stake presidency were astounded I think.

 

 

At the close of the baptism, they asked Abe san to say a few words.  He gave a wonderful account of his conversion and his testimony.  Maybe too good.  The stake president asked him to speak in stake conference in two weeks!

 

Afterwards we came back to the Church and a few of us ate dinner:

 

 



It was so fun to just sit and talk and we also listened to Brother Watanabe in our branch sing.  He has a wonderful voice and it was a treat to listen.  All in all what a great day!


Drivers' License Still to Be Continued

Yes, unfortunately Calvin went back to the driving test and FAILED again!  But apparently this is fairly normal.  Some of the people there said it was their sixth of seventh time taking the driving test!  Stay tuned.  Next try:  tomorrow!

Other Random Happenings

Yesterday we were able to go to Onegawa about a half hour away and help our branch president.  He now works for the Church as an employment specialist and they were participating in a arts and crafts type of festival in Onegawa where he works.  This is a city hit hard by the tsunami and the booth they had had nothing to do with employment but "herbs"!  Basically it is getting their faces out there and showing that they want to be part of the community I think.   We helped serve some herb tea and crackers with a pesto sauce on it.  But here are some pictures from the festival.  First, the opening exercises (kids on drums):

And ribbon cutting:

And some of the arts and crafts:

This picture made by a student made of SMALL pieces of paper glued together to make a picture:

A young person's depiction of before and after the tsunami:

And Calvin next to some HUGE chrysanthemums:

Next some playdoh sculptures that our English class kids made of different foods:

I mostly wanted to show you this picture because it includes such things as sushi with fish eggs on top, onigiri (rice balls), snail, and a few other interesting edibles!

And finally this picture:

When we came to Church this morning (9:00 a.m.) this man was up in this tree pruning the tree.  After Church he was still working on it (1:00 p.m.).  Many trees in Japan are immaculately trimmed and this was FOUR HOURS later!  Then as I went by him I noticed two things:  one) there was quite a bit of trimmings on the ground, and two) as far as I could tell, he was ONLY using his hands (gloves on) to trim the tree.  Maybe there were some scissors or something somewhere but not when I was looking.  No electric devices or large loppers, not even small devices or small loppers!  This is when I realized that I would NEVER made a good gardener!

Well, enough said for this week.  We are tired but very happy. 

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

I have been waiting (somewhat patiently) on three continuing stories and hope they will all have happy endings soon.  But in the interest of having to say something this week, I decided to post these three "to be continued" stories this week.

Story #1:  Driver's License

When we came to Japan nearly a year ago we had international driver's licenses which we got with no problem from AAA and only about $15 apiece.  But those licenses expire a year after we got them so Elder Sakamoto has been going through the process of getting a Japanese license these past few weeks.  I have never driven here and didn't see the need to get one (who needs another crazy American driver on the roads of Japan?!). 

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Ishinomaki driver's license place only to be told that since we were not real residents we needed to go elsewhere for the license.  First, we were sent to Sendai (an hour and a half away) to get a translation of our information.  After about a half hour wait and a few dollars less, we left for Izumi (about 1/2 hour away) for a 1:00 p.m. appointment.

Once there we saw lines like these:

Look familiar?  Visions of DMV?  Well, luckily that wasn't our line.  We got in a much shorter line only to be told that we didn't have a paper stating that we were residents of Ishinomaki.  We were sent back to Ishinomaki (our town) to go to the government center to get the paper and were told to come back the next day at 1:00 p.m.  Okay.  So we went to the city building (an hour away), and a few minutes later left, paper in hand, and a few dollars poorer.

Next day:  Back to Izumi (an hour away) at 1:00 p.m.   What?!  This time we didn't have Calvin's passport, only a copy?  Apparently they recently changed the law to require the real thing and not a copy.  So off to the mission home (1/2 away) to retrieve our passport which was being stored there.  Instructions were to go back to Izumi the next week at 1:00 p.m.

The next Monday:  Back to Izumi (an hour away again!) at 1:00 p.m.  Good news!  Calvin had all the proper paperwork.  Just pay some more fees and come back the next day for the written and driving tests.  It could have been worse.  Others waiting took a longer time than we did:

So the next day:  Calvin took the written test and aced it!  Only ten questions, but hey, an ace is an ace!  Then pay more fees and off to the driving test which looked like this:

A half our and then:  What Calvin FAILED the driving test?!  Make an appointment and come back next week?  After a couple of hundred dollars and a lot of time . . . TO BE CONTINUED


Story #2:  Relief Society Blanket Project

Last spring I had this idea to do a blanket project.  We happened to be with Elder Halvorson who is in charge of humanitarian projects here in Japan and he told me if he could do anything for us, to let him know.  (He asked for it!)  It was then I told him about a project I had been thinking about.  I wanted the branch to get involved in making fleece blankets (them learning to crochet around the blankets), they would be able to keep one blanket and then we would make others for less actives, non members and even people living in the temporary housing units or nursing homes or hospitals.  It would be good for the sisters here because they had all been impacted by the tsunami and it would give them a good service project.

Elder Halvorson thought it was a great idea and told me to email him with the details.  It didn't take long to realize that I could not purchase fleece in May.  I would have to wait until fall.

So a few weeks ago we went to the fabric store to find out they had just received their shipment of fleece.  I talked to the Relief Society president and told her about my idea.  She was excited and said maybe we could do 50 blankets!  Quite a stretch for such a small branch.  Then I emailed Elder Halvorson and ran it past him.  He replied quickly and said he thought it was a great idea and I could have double the amount of money I had suggested!

So off to the fabric store (they were right in the middle of town and had been impacted by the tsunami--much of their store was ruined) and bought lots of fabric:

Luckily they were already cut in a size that was just right for a nice-sized blanket.  And I am sure we made these ladies' day!

Since then we have organized the fabric, gotten matching yarn, and put the holes around the edges so we can crochet:

I made a few samples and the project will get started this week on Wednesday morning and Friday night . . . TO BE CONTINUED


Story #3:  Abe san

Last March or so we came to Church and met Abe san.  At first we didn't even know that he wasn't a member of our Church.  He was probably in his mid 50's, wore a nice suit and brought with him a well-marked and tabbed copy of a triple combination.  It may have even been the next week that we cornered him again at Church and asked him if he was interested in having the missionary lessons!

You have to realize I guess that we were fairly new to the area and didn't know all of the people yet.   At least that is as good an excuse as any!

So from then we began teaching him.  He had already had all of the discussions in Tokyo earlier in the year and has a sister-in-law and her family who are members.  We had weekly meetings with him except when his work became to busy that he couldn't meet with us, which wasn't that often.  He seemed to love hearing the lessons but always said he wasn't really sure yet about making any commitments, but at the same time he had given up coffee, tea, alcohol, and  read the Book of Mormon 4 times (!).  Plus he was attending weekly Institute classes.

Finally, around June he said he wanted to talk to his four daughters (his wife was killed in the tsunami) about getting baptized and hopefully  get their blessing.  This went on most of the summer but they live further away and only two returned back here and he talked to them and they said they respected his decision.  The other two he wanted to talk to face to face but finally a couple of weeks ago he was talking to them on the phone and told them that he wanted to get baptized.  They basically said they felt it was his decision. 

The next Sunday (last week) in our lesson he told us he was ready to be baptized!  Yesterday we had the district leaders here and next Sunday he is scheduled to be baptized.  All of us with the district leaders:

And Abe san and the sister missionaries filling out the forms for baptism:

And I forgot to mention that he works at a nursery-type store and worked on Sundays because it was one of their busiest days so he would come to sacrament meeting during his lunch hour on Sundays.  But then a month ago announced that he had talked to his boss and gotten permission to have his day off on Sunday!  This is a HUGE thing in Japan to be able to get Sunday off at that kind of business!  So ever since he has loved coming to all the meetings and even staying after.  So after next Sunday TO BE CONTINUED . . .


And a Continuation of Last Week:

This week at district meeting I made Halloween treats:

What's Halloween without popcorn hands and peanut butter eyeballs?!


In Conclusion

TO BE CONTINUED next week!