Farewell Lunch with Our Friends at the Volunteer Center

After our final morning at the Tsuruoka city volunteer center, we all went over to this nice restaurant for a farewell luncheon.  These dear people treated us to a delicious and very Japanese lunch. 

One of the ladies was a real character.  She wrote out words to a song and gave them to everyone.  I think she wanted us to sing it, but the setting didn't allow that.  Anyway, she was cute to make these for everyone. (Pretty sure I couldn't have sung along anyway!)

Some others in the restaurant were dressed in Japanese finery, so I had Ken take a picture of them.  I was always fascinated to see women dressed in beautiful kimonos.

Here is our Japanese lunch: flavored rice with black sesame, tskumono, dipping sauce for the tempura, miso soup, chicken, pork, and vegetable kabob, vegetable and shrimp tempura on a green salad, Japanese salad, sashimi (raw fish) and raw shrimp with wasabi and an edible flower. It really was delicious.

This  lady was a fabulous photographer and often brought pictures to the volunteer center to show us.  She is nearly 90 years old and quite the talker.  She kept Ken on his toes.  She would talk and talk to me, too, but I never could understand a word.

The one on the right was a fabulous seamstress/crafter.  She made a lot of jewelry and gave it to us that I brought home and gave to family members as gifts.

The one in front left is Kadowaki san- our dear friend that you have seen on here many times.  She is in charge of the volunteers at the volunteer center and organized this luncheon for us.  The one in the middle on the right is over 90 years old but still comes to volunteer every week.  She is an amazing seamstress.  They had her do all of the intricate handwork at the volunteer center.

The elders at the time: Jensen and Matthews and two of the younger volunteers.

Dessert was this pudding with burned sugar topping.

We will miss these dear people who always treated us like royalty.  We served there each Wednesday morning for our whole mission.  Most weeks we went home with a small gift from one of them.  They were generous and kind.  There is not a single one that spoke any English(except the elders, of course,) but we learned to communicate.  They appreciated us and we appreciated them.  Our service there was a highlight of our mission.