Holy Week: Service and Contemplation

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 entered into Holy Week, and we're excited with the greater emphasis on the whole week and its significance to the world.  Elder Melton recalled many years ago, serving his first mission in Spain, how Holy Week was highly celebrated.  Although over the years we knew of the time between Palm Sunday eventually leading to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, traditionally the focus in the US seemed to be on Easter Sunday, and in someways on the distractions of Easter Eggs, gathering of friends and family, and the welcoming of new life as we transitioned more fully into the Spring season.  

This year we took a more deliberate approach reading scriptures and studying scholarly resources about what happened each day during the last week of Christ's life on the earth.  It was as if seeing anew how that week played out, the similarities (and differences) between each of the four gospels, and perhaps even a better appreciation for all the parties involved.  It felt that once Christ rode into Jerusalem, the path was set and there was no turning back. Before his arrest, he taught some of his most powerful sermons leading to his sacrifice and atonement.  Even on the day between his death and resurrection, we saw more clearly how everything he did in the spirit world was but a continuation of the mission and work he had done throughout his life.

On Good Friday we attended an Easter Concert at the temple. There we were able to not only worship through music and talks, but meet old and new friends. We met two young missionaries who are cousins, and found that one was a close friend to our niece's son in Bountiful UT. The other was told to look for us as his mother moved to our Stake back home and saw our name on the board with our mission listed as the same as his.  

Sundays' sacrament meeting was a program of hymns and narration.  Similar to our own studying over the last week, the program followed through each day of Holy Week.  By coincidence, Elder Lund who serves as the Church's General Sunday School President and his wife were in attendance.  We were able to meet with them for a few minutes afterward and found people we knew in common.  But more importantly was the spirit they brought to everyone they met.

Beyond the beauty of the Gospel message we felt throughout the past two weeks, we were still very busy with the activities tied to our hands-on work in the mission. Several activities included demonstrating basic CPR to children at the annual Kids Fest, helping young kids decorate Easter eggs with their parents, and supporting an all day open base event for Japanese citizens who were able to see the wide range of both American and Japanese aircraft, and participate in numerous fun activities and events.  

We again supported a coffee cart for medical personnel at the clinic, volunteered time at the Post Office, read stories to children at the base library, worked in the base thrift store, collected old clothes for refugees and helped clean the NAF Atsugi grounds in preparation for the open base event later that week.  A highlight was sponsoring several of the younger missionaries onto the base to help with some of our projects. Each time, these young elders and sisters were praised for their willingness to work and serve. We continually told the missionaries the Christ-like service they provided was valuable in our efforts to raise awareness of who we are as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

New opportunities continue to arise. We have been training with the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society on how to provide interest free loans to enlisted folks and their families, and making baby blankets for new mothers. Interesting enough, one of the applicants even asked us about our beliefs when he noticed our name tags. We have also been finally approved to coach youth sports (a long process) and will start coaching coed soccer in June.

The first few months of our mission have been focused on mainly developing relationships and looking for ways to volunteer to be of service. We think we are now reaching a pinnacle as we are involved in many organizations across the base, with a couple (USO, medical clinic) still in the works . 

Still we find time to learn of the culture and heritage of Japan. This last week we visited the Ghibli museum, a world renowned anime company.  For us it brought back memories of our kids growing up loving these films. We visited Tokyo's Shinjuko National Park as the cherry blossom season started to draw to a close.

So much going on, sometimes when we feel like we're wearing down, the Lord has sustained us...and we love it. We also appreciate everyone's prayers on our behalf which help sustain us as well.

Love,

Elder and Sister Melton

  Shinjuko Park #1

Shinjuko Park #2

Materials for Baby Blankets!

Dinner after cleaning NAF Atsugi

Showing kids CPR

                                              

Kids Practicing CPR!

Coordinating with USO Rep

Kids Fest - Taiko Drums

Ghibli Museum Patio

Ghibli Museum Fountain

Ghibli "Wild Robot"

Red Cross Egg Decorating

     NAF Atsugi Springfest 2025

                                                        

                                                             Japanese Display at NAF Atsugi Springiest

Easter Morning with Elder and Sister Lund