Melton-Japan-Mission

The past couple of weeks have been a uniquely spiritual time, while at the same time very busy and exciting. On the one hand we listened to all the sessions of General Conference and celebrating Holy Week for the past several days. On the other hand we have kept very busy with the missionary work in serving others. Because of the time differences, watching the conference at the times they are actually held is a little more difficult, so everyone has a little more flexibility.  With many events and activities filling our time, we found the best way was to watch the sessions of the conference every evening when we returned to our apartment at the end of the day. Over five days we watched each session, and found that it gave us more time to discuss and think deeply about the messages we received from our church leaders. With this time of reflection, while also being in the Lords service, we found the conference to be more meaningful and spiritually uplifting. The following week we ent...

The weather is getting nicer but there is some rain and sometimes cooler days. We have been transitioning from heavy coats to lighter jackets and rain boots. Flowers are blooming in many places. The grass is changing from yellow to small patches of green. It's Springtime!  Beautiful cherry blossom trees are in full bloom with thousands across NAF Atsugi and Camp Zama. It was a wonderful view at the Camp Zama housing area where we both "ran/walked" in their evening Cherry Blossom 5K run. We both liked the bright green t-shirts they gave to the participants so we couldn't resist.  We even momentarily thought that once we paid our $20 dollars and got our shirts, we didn't really need to do the actual run.  Brian has been in these "fun runs" before but it was Donna's first time. We went at our own pace, which was consistent but not like a race. We had a good time and saw Elder and Sister Nelson, who greeted us as they volunteered for the American Red Cro...