Farewell Dinners with Special Friends

A couple of months before we went home, our friend Kozue told us to be prepared to be very busy the last month of our mission. She said everyone would want to do things with and for us.  Boy, was she right.  We had many invitations to dinner and other events.  I am still regretting that we had to turn some of these down. We were just swamped at the end and didn't have time. I feel so bad.  But we did go to some of them.

The Nomuras took us to dinner at an all-you-can -eat pizza/ pasta place. It was yummy.

Sometimes I look so much like my dad.

The Kobayashis had us over for a royal  farewell feast.  It was actually the night that we got stuck in the ditch.  We were stressing the whole time whether we would get back to town in time. 

Sister Kobayashi is an amazing cook.  She always brought delicious food to the branch parties.  This evening she cooked a feast for a king.  She made little individual meatloaves smothered in a delicious gravy, individual pasta gratins, loaded green salad, carrot salad, fruit, potatoes,  a mushroom dish that was delicious, soup, then a dessert.  I was so full, I thought I would burst.
I didn't.

Then the Abe family had us for dinner.

They also served pasta gratin, tempura, Japanese egg salad,onigiri (rice balls), and soup. 

It also was delicious. 

After dinner, Sister Abe presented me with beautiful cloisonné necklaces she had made.  She had me choose one for me and each of our daughters.  I was so very touched. They are beautiful and all handmade by her.

The Abe Family

Just Take a Chair

It's a little bit embarrassing to share this, but I  will. 

I guess most know by now that when we were first called on our mission to Japan, I was not happy.  I was very scared.  I'm not very adventurous by nature, and going into the unknown was scary. I had many worries about how I would survive in a very foreign country with very foreign customs and traditions.   I remember saying to Heavenly Father, "Why would you call me to a place where they sit on the floor all of the time.  I can't sit on the floor!"  His answer:  "Just take a chair."  It was just that simple and just that clear.  "Just take a chair." 
We had traveled to Japan fifteen years earlier, and I knew their customs.  Most homes don't have couches or chairs (and if they do they are very low to the ground).  Their living rooms are void of furniture except for a low table in the center of the room- much like a low coffee table.  Because there is no central heat, only the room you are actually in is heated in the winter, and that not very well.  So there is a small space heater underneath the table.  Over the table is spread a heavy quilt.  Everyone puts their legs under the table and covers their legs with the edge of the quilt.  There are often thin cushions around the table to sit on.  The floor is made of tatami mats- woven, delicate mats.

That is the Japanese way.  That is Japanese hospitality.  That was not going to work for me. 
So, one of the first things we did was borrow a folding chair from the church (with the branch president's permission) and put it in the trunk of our car.  We had only been there a few days when a sister in the branch called and asked us to come for Ken to give her a blessing.  We stopped by the church on the way and got the chair.  It stayed in our trunk the rest of the 18 months. 
We didn't have to use it very often.  But when we got to a home and found no place to sit, Ken would excuse himself and go out to the car and bring in the chair and often a towel to put on the floor first to protect the tatami from the chair.  Everyone was very gracious about it.  It is the Japanese way to be very gracious.  One lady that we met with often even asked where she could buy a chair like that so she could provide it for us instead of us having to provide it ourselves.  We assured her there was no need.  They would always put the chair near the warm table and put a cushion on it, making it as comfortable as possible.  It was humbling and embarrassing, but why shouldn't I be humbled when they are all so humble and so giving?
So, on our last Sunday in Japan, we returned the chair to the branch building.  I took a picture to remind me and now you that when the Lord asks us to do something, He provides the way for us to accomplish the thing He has asked us to do.  The chair is a symbol of our mission to Japan.  Just take a chair.

Tire in the Ditch

After enjoying our soba/ tsukemono lunch with Shiho, we headed out into the country to take a birthday gift to Grandpa Sugawara- a less active member in the branch that lived out in the country.  It was a beautiful drive, but I had a strange sense of foreboding the whole day.  I just felt insecure with all of the rain- recognizing the water all around the roads in Japan.

When we got to their home, Ken started to pull into their makeshift driveway.  Japan has open ditches everywhere- mostly alongside the roads.  People put pieces of wood or metal or concrete over the ditches to create driveways.  As he pulled in, I suggested we might want to back in or just stay on the side instead.  It is Japanese custom for people to come out when you leave and watch you pull away and bow to you.  It is always a bit less awkward if you can just pull away and not have to back and turn, with them bowing the whole time.  It was especially difficult to do so in the Sugawara driveway.  We had been there many times.

So, Ken backed and approached again.  But he couldn't see on my side of the car (remember the passenger side is the left side) and missed the "driveway."  Just as I screamed, "There's a ditch!" the tire thunked into the ditch.  We were stuck.

Yep.  We're stuck. The back right tire was up in the air a bit.  Not good.

It is times like these that we display our true characters.  Ken calmly helped me out of the car and over the ditch.  Then he stood there and thought for a few minutes and we discussed what to do. He then calmly went into action.  He attached the car jack right behind the left front tire.  Strattling the ditch, he jacked the car to its maximum height.

It was hard work using the jack while strattling the ditch.  While he was working, a postman came on his scooter to deliver the mail.  Though he wasn't a lot of help, he refused to leave until we were safely out of the ditch.

I found a concrete block in a nearby shed.  Ken put that down in the ditch (it was heavy!), then found boards to put on top.  The concrete block reinforced the rather flimsy boards.  We hoped they would support the weight of the car.

He then had me sit in the back right seat to lower that tire.  He gunned the car.  It was barely high enough for the tire to clear the board and get onto the concrete. I can't even begin to tell you what a great feeling that was when the tire grabbed the board, then the concrete.  Blessed relief!  A half-inch lower and it wouldn't have worked!  We were blessed that day.  It was another harrowing experience, but we truly did feel blessed to get out with no damage to the car or to us.  We simply put the boards back and Ken hefted the concrete block out of the ditch and put it back in the shed.  We got the gift for Brother Sugawara out of the back seat, and made our visit- singing happy birthday like nothing had happened..  The Sugawaras never knew!  A couple of months before this, we happened onto a car in this same predicament.  It was in town, near the church.  Ken and many others helped the lady who was stuck.  Working together, they lifted the car out and she went on her way.  But we were out in the country and only the postman saw our predicament (good for embarrassment, but bad because there was no one to help)  But I'm sure this happens often with all of the open ditches.  It is one of the things about Japan that really bothered me.  I can't imagine raising children in that kind of environment.  I commented on it often as we would drive. "Why don't they cover all of these ditches? They are a real safety hazard."  I didn't know we would end up in one!  But we are grateful it wasn't worse and that we could get our car out.  We are grateful for inspiration on what to do, and for Ken's physical health to complete the very difficult tasks.  We know we were helped and blessed.   

Soba and Tsukemono with Shiho

On Saturday, May 6th, we had an appointment with our friend Shiho.  It was Golden Week, so Shiho was off work all week from her regular job(many people have this week off from work.)  Each year, she spends Golden Week working  at a restaurant/ tsukemono store.   The restaurant is very busy every year during Golden Week because vacationers come to the nearby very famous shrine- Hagurosan- to tour. They then go to the nearby Soba Restaurant/ Tsukemono store for lunch.  She invited us to come out there (it is about 1/2 hour from Tsuruoka) and see her while she was working.  It was a great cultural experience. 

As you can see from the screenshot on my phone, we went out at lunch time (it's about a half-hour drive from our apartment) in the rain.  It was a beautiful drive.

Shiho with Elder Hinton.  Her job is to sell soft serve edamame or soy bean ice cream cones.  Many Japanese people love this treat- ice cream with little bits of soy beans in it.  Ken and I aren't fans- but we did try it.

On the property is a tsukemono factory (it is behind the store.)  (One of the less active men we worked with for awhile worked here.)  Tsukemono are pickled vegetables of every kind.  At this restaurant there was a tsukemono bar or buffet where you choose from many different kinds of tsukemono This is my plate.  They all had a different flavor.  All were good.

The other specialty at this restaurant was soba or buckwheat noodles.  We didn't have these very often, but I think they were my favorite kind of Japanese noodles.  They were sort of like whole wheat spaghetti.  Sort of.  I brought a package of the dried noodles home with me.

Soba is served in a broth or soup.  You can choose what flavor broth you would like.  But since we didn't know much about it, choosing was a "shot in the dark."  We chose different kinds, but both were delicious.

The tsukemono bar

Each tsukemono had a descriptive lable with it, but we couldn't read them.  So, like we did so often in Japan, we just chose what looked good.

The business consisted of a restaurant and a big store that sells mostly tsukemono.  They have many samples out for you to try.  We tried a lot of them.

You can see it is a large store with mostly just tsukemono.

We would have purchased some, but we were headed home soon and knew we wouldn't get through a package before we left.

How we love sweet Shiho.  She calls me her American mother.

The drive to our next destination was gorgeous in the rain/ overcast sky.

Stay tuned to see how this lovely day took a bad turn for the worse!

I Teach Music Conducting at Relief Society

On Saturday, May 13th, Shin and I were in charge of the weekday Relief Society meeting. She asked me what I could teach.  I volunteered to, with hers and Sister Hirayama's help with translating, teach music conducting.  It was kind of a culminating event for me.  On this mission, I found myself using every. single. skill I had ever developed in some way or another.

Over the years, I have learned all I can about conducting music.  I attended the Church Music Workshop every summer for many years, taking as many classes as I could- learning from the masters. 

But I hadn't conducted much at all on the mission.  I did put together and "lead" a choir, but I did so while accompanying on the piano.

So, this was the one skill I had that I hadn't used much.  I chose parts from the church's conducting course, just really giving an introduction to the joy of leading music.  My goal was mostly to generate enthusiasm for music and share the joy and uplift we can get from the hymns.  It was really fun!

After learning conducting, we enjoyed a luncheon together.

I made a big ramen chicken salad.  Though the flavors and ingredients are very Japanese, they had never tasted anything like it and I think really enjoyed it.

Shin brought these adorable individual molded gelatin salads and Miki brought a Japanese favorite- mochi.

It was a small, but really fun group.  We all had a good time.

One Bite at a Time

I have spent many, many hours the last couple of weeks trying to catch up on this blog.  Just like eating the proverbial elephant, I took a small bite here, then a small bite there.  I would work on one post for awhile, then for sanity's sake, switch to another, then another.  Just like when you eat a Thanksgiving feast, it's nice to take a bite of turkey, then potatoes, then salad, then stuffing, etc,  It made the meal so much more delicious. It was a long meal, but eventually I wrote and rewrote and checked and edited over 30 posts.   I have the posts scheduled to post every day at 6:00am for the next month.  Some you may be interested in, others maybe not.  It has been a delicious journey. It truly has been a feast of Thanksgiving.   It has been so fun to look into faces that we miss and love and to have some perspective on experiences from the end of our mission.  I have laughed right out loud and cried with tears streaming down my face . . .and everything in between.  Then, what a joy to blog about what has happened since returning home and to see the good life we lead here and to feel the joy of family.  For me, this has been a delicious feast.  I hope you also find some enjoyment in this very large meal!  Bon appetit!

Sakura, Round 2 Pink Heaven!!!!

Where did I leave off on this blog?  Oh yes!  Pink heaven.  Wow!  That seems like forever ago.  But I have so enjoyed looking at these beautiful pink pictures. 

The second variety of sakura blooms a few weeks after the first.  It's my favorite: more complex blossoms and pinker.  Enjoy these pictures of pink heaven:

We actually went to this little park in Tsuruoka twice as the lighting wasn't great the first day for pictures. 

It was just the perfect spring day.  We then walked over to take a picture of this.  People fly these on and before boys day- May 3rd.  The top one represents a waterfall and then below that they put on as many fish as they have boys in the family.  It is fun to drive around Japan and see the fish flying.