Still Walking and Moving Forward
Whether its our own children, grandchildren, Young Single Adults (YSA), the young missionaries, other members of the Branch, or the people at Atsugi, we keep learning that all are alike unto Christ. Whatever our background may be throughout the world, people understand that family is a building block that we trust in and support.
After Jackie's visit in our last entry, these last two weeks we had visits from both our other daughters, and their families. Katrina's family came first for a week. After the Wahlquist family recuperated somewhat from the time change, we started out hiking the Totoro Park (reference to Totoro from Ghibli studios). It was a first test for Rose who broke her foot just before leaving the states. She was given a boot to wear and hung in pretty well. We also went to a Cat Cafe. Interesting how there are a lot of pet cafes in Japan where people can interact with different pets and animals.
The grandkids loved going to the Enoshima Aquarium where they saw not only the aquatic life, but also a dolphin show. We traveled to Kamakura again to see the Giant Buddha and the Otter/Owl Cafe. We also did a lot of walking at Asakusa known for a major shrine where you could pull your fortune. You could get one for good luck right away, or bad luck which you could tie to a string to be left behind. Elder Melton got one that said good luck in the not too distant future. The area is also known as a major shopping area which we took advantage of. The grandkids were also fascinated by going to a Yakiniku restaurant where you grill your own meat.
Kamakura and the Great Buddha 
Feeling the Love in AsakusaA special treat we learned about are Japanese pancakes! We found a restaurant and they were the fluffiest pancakes we had ever tasted. A new favorite, we highly recommend them.
A break for Katrina and Tyler was a stay at the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo. We played with the grandkids at the swimming pool while Katrina and Tyler went to Shibuya to have photos taken wearing kimonos. This was followed by going to the Tokyo Temple to see the visitors center.
Visiting the New Sanno...
...and the Tokyo TempleBut by far the biggest event for the grandkids was celebrating Sterling's 7th birthday at Tokyo Disney. It was a long day though so that when we got home, everyone was pretty wiped out. So, the next morning we had birthday cake for breakfast followed by packing to return to the states. We discovered that we were missing grandkids passports. A small prayer can do wonders to help you calm down and think clearly. We remembered that we left them in a drawer at the New Sanno. Calling the hotel we learned they had them safely tucked away. One of the things we continue to see in the Japanese culture is honesty and if you lose something, there's a huge chance you will have it returned if you just remember where you misplaced it. Fortunately the New Sanno was on the way to the airport so we were able to stop by and pick them up.
It was cool that they all loved Japan and kind of sad to leave us. Rose even mentioned that she might want to serve a mission in Japan. There was a little bit of a breather after Katrina and family left. Sunday there was no church meetings as it was designated as time to listen to General Conference, which was held the previous week but delayed here due to the time difference. However, after having promised for awhile, we attended the Catholic Mass on base which was recognizing the second Sunday of the Easter Season. Afterwards, Chaplain Cook asked if we had ever attended a Catholic Service. Donna said she attended regularly when she attended a Catholic High School. Brian said he attended a midnight mass in Madrid when he was a missionary. Chaplain Cook is a very humble guy and said he can't top Brian attending the Gold Standard of masses.
...with a Little History of the Chapel ItselfNext was Diane's family turn. When they arrived they needed sometime to adjust to the time. We caught up with them the next morning at a pig cafe. This was followed by more site visits to Takeshita-Dori Street and Shibuya. The two of us stayed again at the New Sanno and we tagged up again with Diane's family for dinner at a restaurant near their hotel. I guess we have stayed at the New Sanno enough that they actually had two pillows with our initials embroidered on them. It was a nice surprise though we passed on buying them.
Again, everyone loves Disney, and we must say the parks are much nicer than what we are used to in the US. This time we again went to Disney Sea, which we visited with Jackie just a couple of weeks before. It was a fun day full of memories. At one point John and Diane went to explore on their own while we spent time with our two adult grandkids, Austin and Brooklee. Although it was short, it was a wonderful time and a lot of memories were built. That evening we would return home, they would go on to Kyoto and Osaka for a few days before returning to the US.
One thing that was fascinating during this last month as we were traveling with all three of our daughters was how recognizable we are as we wear our name tags. As missionaries we continued to do that throughout, and everywhere we went there would be at least one person who would call to us. There was even one family from our hometown of Herriman, although part of a different stake. It is a constant reminder to be mindful of who we are and who we represent.
In other news: We were excited with a few small but positive steps with our YSAs! Over the last month two of the inactive YSAs accepted Brian's friend invitations on Facebook. One of them suddenly showed up to church on Sunday, even bringing a friend. The Spirit seemed to be with us as things seemed to line up. That morning the Relief Society provided pastries before church which these two young sailors loved, eating several of them. Elder Melton volunteered late in the week to give the Sunday School lesson, which had a very powerful impact on these two men as we discussed Exodus 14-18 and showed three videos from a discussion with Elder Todd Christofferson. Others noted that the two appeared emotionally moved. Both will be deploying next month so we hope to maintain contact.
We also were excited to find the two young men from our small branch that we taught the temple prep course to, both received their mission calls. One will be serving in Brazil and the other in the Philippines, which happens to be where his mom's family is from. Both will be reporting to the MTC in July. We are happy that we had some small part is this process.
A few other significant items these last two weeks: we are working to locate an expanded list of YSAs. We had been working with those up to age 26, and that has now expanded to age 36. We are busy inviting those we know and tracking down those we don't know.
The American Red Cross recognized our efforts at the base's annual volunteer recognition ceremony. Though we don't seek recognition, it was still a nice boost for us. A few people we have worked with in other organizations came up to us afterwards with heart felt thanks and hugs.
These last two weeks has been filled with a lot of fulfillment and joy. We're amazed at how the Lord will place people in your path at just the right moments when you least expect it. This is a reminder to trust in the Lord and He will guide you. He knows when the timing is right. We have learned that sometimes when things get frustrating, the Lord just wants us to keep trying to move forward. If we do so, we will see the blessings and the Lords hand in what we do.
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