The Branch Missionary Open House

Our little branch put on a major missionary effort- a missionary open house.  It was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, May 21st, 4-8 pm.  In preparation, Ken and the Elders passed out a lot of invitations door to door. It was difficult, and reminded Ken of his mission when he was younger and how hard that rejection is. 

The branch members worked hard preparing for the event- hoping to help people learn about us, about Jesus Christ, and to feel the spirit as they walked through the church.

On Tuesday evening before, many branch members gathered to create and hang posters explaining our beliefs. 

Many were there most of the day on Saturday as well, making everything look just right.

In this corner, people could read about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel.

This display taught about the sacrament and the Book of Mormon.

The Kobayashi's taught about family history in  this corner of the chapel.

Many sandwiches were made(by Imi- on the left) (potato salad sandwiches and ham sandwiches) and bagged Japanese-style with a brownie I made.  People could stay and eat there or take their bag with them.

The Sugawara's were in the Primary room.  They taught about Primary and Family home evening.

In the Relief Society room, there were posters explaining what Relief Society is and then there was a cute craft people could make if they chose to.

Our wonderful leader- President Endo.

Imi displaying the craft- little pin cushions

Sister Endo and me.

Dear Sister Hirayama- my faithful friend and Relief Society interpreter.

Cute Elder Mitchell (you saw his worn-out shoe in a recent post.)

My dear friend, Imi

I love Sachiko.  She is the Primary President and faithfully meets with our one child in the branch each week in Primary. 

The sisters made this one for me.

It was wonderful to have children come.  They loved the craft.

As well as the fun game the Sugawara's had for them in the Primary room.

President Endo explains about the sacrament to some visitors.

The Relief Society display

The display on Family Home Evening held each week at the branch. 

Primary

People making the craft

Learning about family history with Sister Kobayashi

Bags of candy for the kids.

It was a great evening and I think everyone who attended went away better than when they came.  We hope it helps bring them closer to Christ.

* The elders reported today at church that they have three new investigators now as a result of this open house. . . and maybe more to come!!

A Visit to Wisteria Island

Sound like a fantasy?  It kind of was.  There is a little town north of here called Fujishima, which translated literally means Wisteria Island.  A dear sister in the branch called us to let us know that Fujishima has a Wisteria festival each year and it was going on all week.  So, we headed out there to check it out.  We took our stash of eikaiwa advertisement posters and placed them in several convenience stores on the way and the way back.  We actually found that the festival was over, but we found the public square where it is held and saw the beautiful wisteria.  It was so beautiful and the fragrance was heavenly. 

I took a picture of the poster advertising the wisteria festival.  It clearly says that it will be on through May 15th.  We were there on May 13th, but the festival was over.  This kind of thing happens a lot in our Japan experience.  We get wires crossed and never do find out what happened. 

But even though there was no festival, the wisteria was in full bloom and we enjoyed walking around under the beautiful bowers.  The perfume was so strong it was intoxicating.

I wish I could blog the smell!

The bowers surrounded a public square.  There was much activity in the square that afternoon. 

A favorite sport here is grand golf.  Older people love this game and you see it played all over.  It's a cross between croquet and golf.

After our Wisteria Island visit, we delivered many more eikaiwa advertisement posters in the surrounding area.  We then went to dinner at a cute little place that Imi and Hiroyuki had told us about.  We both had Katsudon.  It was delicious and they were delighted to have Americans come.

This was the beautiful garden in front of the restaurant.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Wisteria Island!