A Beautiful Adventure

 There is always change going on everywhere. It can be the seasons or meeting new people. That makes life an adventure. Admiring the beauty along the way is a blessing. Recently, was transfers for the missionaries and we have two new Sisters and one new Elder in the Atsugi district. We look forward to working with them. Although it is always hard to see someone leave, it is a growing experience for all.

A brother from the Yamato (Japanese) Ward, Brother Sakuma, helped us with translation when we went to the Kanagawa Driving Center. We paid for and took a written test. It is usually a four hour experience when going to the driving center and Brother Sakuma was kind enough to endure it with us. The test is 10  true or false questions which were fairly easy. We wait for the results and then get a QR code to schedule the practical driving test which is two months out. (Figuring out the scheduling is another couple of days experience.) As we waited our turn to take the test he treated us in the small cafeteria to a snack. He has such a beautiful outlook and spirit. Afterwards, we covered his lunch at an Italian restaurant nearby. It is a blessing to have assistance as we go through this journey.

While picking up packages for us and the Nelsons at the post office one day, the worker asked when we would come work for them (as a volunteer) again. We said it was on our schedule in a couple of days. We enjoy the easy going time and like to take treats to share. This time instead of making something ourselves, we saw a group of youth having a bake sale to raise funds for a community project. We love supporting those types of activities. The post office workers enjoyed the cookies and brownies. One of the enlisted workers is going to PCS this week and return to the states. He will be missed as he has always been so friendly and helpful. 

We went on a bus trip to Yokohama for a sumo tournament. It was nice to not have to drive and we stopped at a kobini (convenience store) before getting to the arena for some snacks. I love the sights in Yokohama. We rode on and an air cabin gondola with the Nelsons and had a wonderful time exploring before the sumo event. During the sumo wrestling we had nice seats. It was very entertaining with singing and pageantry. There were even a couple of comedic sumo wrestlers at first. The tradition and ceremony was interesting. It included throwing salt in the ring before each match to ward off evil spirits. The ritual lasted longer than the actual match. I believe we can check this off of our bucket list unless there was someone visiting that wanted to see it. Then we would go again.

Our 6 year old grandson loves the Minecraft game and on one of our video visits he asked us if we saw the Minecraft movie. Evidently, his family watched it on the opening day. Well, the theater on base gets the new releases a little later so we went to watch it and a lot of families were there. The kids were so excited in the theater and were saying lines altogether loudly making the whole experience lively.  

Since we are preparing to teach two seminary classes soon, we wanted to get a feel for where to go and who the students are. They meet at the Zama High School in a classroom where a member of our branch teaches Japanese. We were able to observe another substitute teacher. The early morning is going to be the hard part since class starts at 6:30 AM. 

The district leader asked us to teach a lesson on effectively teaching the plan of salvation. It went well as we emphasized the teaching part. There was an exercise on taking a few gospel topics and liken them to life. We showed a video about Ammon teaching Lamoni. At the end we did a "mogi"which is role playing with each other. The scenario we gave was a friend asking why Jesus Christ is part of the plan and how do we know it is real? These could be real questions from people in Japan or other places. First, to teach a principle, you need to have faith and believe in it yourself. I am impressed with the amount of faith I see in these missionaries. 

Elder Melton also had an opportunity to teach a priesthood lesson on President Nelson's last conference talk about having confidence in God, which led to a great discussion where everyone shared their thoughts. There are many opportunities to share with others. We share our baking abilities with different groups such as the missionaries or people working at NAF Atsugi. We brought cookies to a Safety Fair while supporting the Red Cross. There is also a lot to learn. We have been training and observing for NMCRS. We observed a class called Budgeting for Baby. Sister Melton is using her sewing skills to make a baby blanket and other projects. Also, there is a lot of online information for onboarding with the USO. Whew! Sometimes we need a nap in between volunteering.

Even though it gets difficult to remember all the names of people we meet, we enjoy the connections. Living each day in the moment is awesome. Of course we plan and prepare but we also approach each day as a new one to honor our role as a missionary. We are truly grateful for the beautiful people we encounter and all that we are learning. Thanks for your prayers and we also pray for you. 

Pretty azaleas near shopping area in Zama.

         Yokohama

       Sumo fans                                    

                                                                                                            Preparing for a match

Getting autographs

                                                                                          Zama HS seminary class

Last District meeting before transfers

A late picture of meeting the Lunds on Easter Sunday