When Ken served his mission in southern Japan forty years ago, his favorite food was okonomiyaki. It was the food he was excited about tasting again when we came on our mission. But though okonomiyaki is made all over Japan, it varies greatly from region to region in both ingredients and taste. Even the cooking method varies. So we thought even if we found it here, it probably wouldn't be the same as we are quite a bit north of where he served.
One morning Ken had to run to the post office to mail a letter. On his way home, he passed by a little restaurant. He thought the kanji on the sign said "okonomiyaki" so he went inside. Sure enough, there was a Japanese chef cooking it on the big grill. It looked like what he had had as a young missionary. He talked to the chef and found out that he came from southern Japan. So he cooks okonomiyaki in the style that Ken learned to love. Of course, we had to go right over and try it that day for lunch. It is only about a fifteen minute walk from our home. It was delicious.
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| A little girl and her mother enjoying okonomiyaki |
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| Happy Elder Hinton |
4 comments:
It is the little things that count, isn't it? It is usually things that just come out of the blue sky, unexpected and so appreciated. I think Heavenly Father is so tickled to have you and Ken there, serving him. We are so proud of you!
That is such a sweet story of a tender mercy! Small things like that make such a big difference! You and Ken are awesome and doing so much good - Heavenly Father is letting you know how much he loves you!
We went back on Saturday night. The chef remembered us and brought extra food for us to try. Ken overheard him telling one of the other customers, "Those people pray over their food." I guess he saw us when we were there before. I don't think he thought Ken could understand him, but Ken leaned forward and asked the customer, "Do you want me to pray for you?" They all had a good laugh.
I love that Ken gets to serve again in Japan. You can just see it in his eyes how much he is loving this experience. I hope I get to try Okonomiyaki some day!
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