Relief Society Birthday Celebration

The Relief Society Presidency in our branch (none of whom speak much English) asked me to teach the sisters how to cook something for our Relief Society birthday party. It was a big challenge to find a recipe that had ingredients they could easily obtain here, that we could make and eat right there, that didn't need an oven- only a stovetop, and that, was sort of pioneerish.  The Relief Society President really wanted to eat something the pioneers ate.  She had a Mormon Cookbook in English and had the idea that those recipes were what the pioneers ate.  But most, if not all of them had ingredients that are not available here. 

So there was my challenge.  I remembered a chicken chowder recipe that I got from my sister-in-law and decided on that.  I practiced it at home and counted out how many servings we could get out of it.  I prayed it would go well, that I could communicate, and that the soup would taste good. 

I was really nervous when we showed up that Saturday morning and no one there spoke much English.  But we muddled through and then later two sisters that do speak English came.  I had them cut up all of the vegetables and the soup cooked while Sister Nomura taught a lesson on Unity.  The soup turned out delicious.  Several of the sisters brought things to go with it.  It was a fun activity. 

Cutting up the vegetables

How I love these, my Japanese sisters

Chicken Chowder.  Sister Endo brought the mochi.  It's pounded rice flavored with soy bean powder.  The two biggest products of this Shonai area are rice and soy beans.

Here's a better picture of the mocha (with only one bite missing 😃)

rice flour senbei.  They are like chips, but made with rice flour.  They brought different seasoning salts to sprinkle on them. 

jam sandwiches

If you would like to try the soup, you can find the recipe here. It is delicious!  Though I was nervous about how it would go, it ended up being a wonderful birthday celebration of sisterhood. 

Addendum to "Want a Good Laugh?"

Remember how, a while back, we ate, then drank bath salts?

Well, here's an addendum to that story.  I finally cleaned out my bag, and found this note in the bottom of my bag.  Sister Nomura must have given it to me with the gift, but I never saw it.  Oh, how helpful it would have been to see the note at the time.  It would have given the clue we needed that those delicious-looking tablets were bath salts, not giant sweet tarts:

I really need to clean out my bag more often!!

We Get a New Neighbor

We are getting a new upstairs neighbor.  We were so intrigued with the moving company.  They were extremely courteous and careful.  We wanted to share it with you.  First, they came to the door and told us they were working and apologized for any inconvenience. 

Ours is the door on the left.

They started by lining the stairs and walls with padding to avoid damaging the furniture or the walls or property.

Even though their arms were full, they always slipped off their shoes before entering the home.  That is Japanese custom.

So, America moving companies and Elder's Quorums (Mormon moving companies!) everywhere, there's some ideas for you!  Moving in the Japanese way!

The Last Snow

We went out on "seeking lost sheep" visits on Wednesday in Sakata.  It started to snow.  Some of the flakes were as big as quarters (look on my left shoulder.)  The snow was swirling all around. 
Last evening, we went to Sakata eikaiwa and I told one of our students- Hiroshi-  about the huge snowflakes.  He said it would be the last snow of the season.  He said, "It will be the last snow this winter.  I guarantee it."  "How can you be so sure?"  He just looked all-knowing and smug.  So, folks, I guess we have experienced our last snow in Japan.  That season of our life is over.  Just thought you should know.

* I wrote this this morning.  It is now snowing- hard!!!  So much for guarantees!  Ha! Ha! 

We Host Two Dinner Parties

We've recently hosted two families in our little apartment for dinner.

First, we had the Nomuras.  We have been to their home for both New Year's that we've been here.  They are faithful members of the branch.  Sister Nomura is our Relief Society president.   I forgot to take a picture before we ate, so it doesn't look too good.  We had glazed ham, baked potatoes, rolls, asparagus, green salad, and cake for dessert. 

A few weeks later, we had the Kadawakis and their daughter, Shiho for dinner.  Mrs. Kadawaki is our "boss" at the volunteer center.  We have grown to love these people so much.  We served enchilada casserole, veggies and dip, chips and guacamole, corn,  and pico de gallo, with Robert Redford for dessert.

We had such a fun evening with them.  After dinner, Elder Hinton shared a video and gospel message and invited them to learn more.  Mrs. Kadawaki said, "I don't know much about Jesus Christ, but I know you." That really touched and sobered us.  What a responsibility!  We are grateful to know these good people! 

Dinner Party at the Takahashis

We have been teaching Kozue's parents the gospel.  It has truly been a privilege to teach them.  Kozue and her parents recently had us and another couple in the branch to dinner.  They live about an hour from our home.  They prepared a 5-star Japanese delicious dinner.  It was a very fun evening.

I took a picture of this beautiful applique rug that Kozue's mom made.

This shows the spoon and chopsticks rest.  Those were little delicious treats.  The biggest one is marinated seaweed wrapped around a delicious piece of smoked and marinated fish.  Inside that cup was a delicious custard with shrimp, mushroom, and edamame.  So good!

Marinated and grilled beef steak (so rare in Japan!), Japanese potato salad with tofu, veggies, and a cooked veggie salad.

Japanese soup.  The greenery garnish was delicious- maybe the best "lettuce" I've ever eaten.  It was kind of spicy and delicious.

This picture shows the red bean rice.

The group with the delicious food.  I actually remembered to take a picture BEFORE we ate!  Isn't it beautiful?  We love these people: Sezas, Takahashis, and Kotonumas.

We went to a little bakery in our neighborhood and ordered a birthday cake as it was Kozue's mom's and Brother Seza's birthdays to take with us. We walked over there three times to get the order just right.  Boy, weren't we surprised when Kozue cut the cake and we saw that it was a white cake rather than the chocolate we thought we had ordered!  A very common phrase we say to each other is "We're in Japan."  It seems we never really know what's going on!  But, the cake was delicious, even if it wasn't chocolate.  Afterward, Kozue's mom told her that she had never had a birthday celebration before.  The chocolate tag says Happy Birthday to Brother Seza and Sister Takahashi . . . we think!

They also served this "jelly" for dessert. 

Birthday girl

Birthday boy

After dinner, we talked Mr. Takahashi into showing us some of his calligraphy.  He is a certified calligrapher.  It is a very difficult and huge honor to be certified.  There is a very stringent test.  He took it six times before he finally passed.  You can only take the test once a year, so that was over a six year period.  In the first picture, he is showing the one character he missed in his fifth try.  His teacher had taught it to him wrong, so he got it wrong.  That one little character caused him to fail.  He was most discouraged.  But, he persevered, and finally passed the next year. 

At the end, Elder Hinton shared a video and a message from the Book of Mormon.  We loved our evening with these dear, dear people!  Thank you and Happy Birthday!

An Inspiring Conference

We were so privilieged to attend a mission-wide conference in which Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke to us.  He came to Japan for a few days and did mission conferences, firesides, and a multi-stake conference.  We listened to a fireside from Tokyo on Sunday night(which was broadcast throughout the entire country), then he came to our mission on Tuesday.  He spoke about how important a mission is in one's life and how a missionary can NEVER go back to what he/she was before the mission.  Either he/ she will be much better, or much worse.  He talked about using every minute of every day to the fullest while on a mission.  He shared his feelings from his own mission and says he doesn't remember a day in the 56 years since he came home that he doesn't think about his mission.  He entertained questions from the missionaries. It was just a wonderful conference and we felt just like the people in the Book of Mormon did when Christ was leaving them. We didn't want him to quit.  But he had a train to catch, so he had to go.  We were so grateful for passable roads and for the opportunity to sit at the feet of an apostle of the Lord. 

Where's Waldo?  Can you find us?  This picture was taken after Elder Holland left.  It is our entire Sendai Mission.