The Journey Continues
It is the time of graduations and doing new things as we journey through life. Reflecting on old friends and meeting new ones we can cherish the time we have here. Though our time is dwindling here in Japan, we are continuing with our work as Military Relations Missionaries (MRMs). We look for opportunities to serve and support those who are in the branch. Meeting new people is always interesting. All of these experiences are part of the journey.
The Relief Society had an activity which was hiking Mt. Takao and families were invited. Sister Melton was looking forward to this for a while since Elder Melton had already been there. She went to this outing with Sister Matsuba and Sister Thompson with her two children. After meeting at the Ebina train station they all headed out about 7:30 am. After arriving they took a cable car ride, which is one of the steepest in the world. The families who participated had a great view from the top of the mountain. In all there were five families (15 persons) represented. Sister Melton was very tired from not only the hike but also the hour long train ride there and back. The experience was a triumph and we all felt we had accomplished something good.
Sister Melton stands at the hightest point of Mt. Takao A 450 year old tree on the path up Takao.
(Right) The distant view is the skyline of Tokyo
Zone conference was like a small reunion with former District members. There were two zones meeting at the same place and day but different times. One Zone started in the morning and both Kanagawa and Kanagawa 2 Zones had lunch together. We had lunch with the MRM couple from Yokosuka, the Dawsons (who replaced the Allens), and President and Sister Tueller sat with us. Zone Conferences are about every 6 weeks and is one of the few times we get to interact with our Mission President. Then our zone started after lunch. Sister Dawson said we should send them our list of things that we want to do before we go home from the mission and they would look to see if there was something that perhaps they would also like to do.
The Dawsons (third and fourth from the left in front) are in Yokosuka and are part of the Kanagawa Zone 
We were early for a coffee cart event and stopped by the Red Cross office to help our director bring the cart with beverages and snacks to the Fleet and Family Office. She was not there but was still in Korea for training. Though she didn't expect us to do the event ourselves, after a few text messages we were ready and prepared to do it on our own. After all, we had already made the lemon bars so it was no trouble to take the beverages and other snacks over to the headquarters building. The following week we brought chocolate chip cookies to the clinic coffee cart. Sarah, the Red Cross director, was appreciative of what we did while she was away.
Since it was Memorial day, we brought little American flags to the Mission Wide Zoom meeting which is just before District Council. For the mission montage photo our district used the flags as props. The topic of the zoom meeting was about eating healthy foods. Sister Tueller spoke about especially trying different colors of vegetables and emphasizing avoiding sugary foods. Next, Elder Maughn continued in the same line of thought explaining which drinks are better for hydration. again avoiding sugar. Funny thing was that the Singleton's brought lots of different American cereals with milk to District meeting to let the missionaries take home. Most of the cereals would not fall into a "healthy" category. (But still colorful)
One day we were able to help correlate with a new member who was moving. We got in touch with the Elders Quorum President and gave him contact information. He was able to get a group together in a couple of days to help out the member. We were contacted by (MRMs) Elder and Sister Peterson from Point Loma in San Diego. They informed us of a family, the Vincents, in route to Atsugi, and gave them our contact information. We also got a phone number and in just a couple of days we arranged a ride for them to church on Sunday. While Sister Melton was in a Washi craft class, Elder Melton would send out emails and go for a run. Another time she was taking a Basic Life Support (BLS) course through the Red Cross. Elder Melton can find a way to fill his time constructively.
Washi paper is a type of special paper made in Japan. Sturdier and more durable than regular paper, washi paper also comes in a variety of bright, beautiful patterns and designs. (Sister Melton made the blue box)
(Below) Props for infant CPR and First Aid in BLS
There is a large library building in Yamato called Sirius. We pass it every week and wanted to see what it looked like inside so we finally did that. It was very impressive with 6 floors and the third floor was dedicated to children. There was even a separate play area. This has been on our list of things to do as we are winding down on our time here in Japan. Another item was going back to Hakone to see the Open Air Museum and get some souvenirs. There were mostly statues and other buildings like the Picasso Museum. One of our favorite parts was the outdoor hot spring for putting your feet in. Another interesting structure was a tower of stained glass. Some of the paths were narrow going up and down steps. A young Japanese boy about 2 years old was hesitant to go up as we were going down and the parents waved us by. He then said Sumimasen to us and we said Konichiwa. They were smiling at us just for communicating at our two year old level.
An original Picasso working with broken glass and back lighting 
We have a favorite Japanese pancakes place that we returned to. Because we arrived after 10:30 am when breakfast was served, we had to order from the desert menu to get the desired fluffy pancakes. Another place we finally got a round to going to dinner at was a Honten Crab restaurant. It has lunch and dinner and closes in between. We get there a little after 5 pm and there are no cars in the parking lot. We were not sure if the place was opened for business yet. It was ready for business so we went in and enjoyed the private service. We were the only ones there for a short while. It was very traditional but they also offered us forks if we wanted them.
Brunch at Musashino Mori Cafe Dinner at Honten Crab
The Hunter family at Seminary Graduation in Tokyo
Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a Dr. Seuss book that comes to mind. In our early years we probably didn't think that we would be in Japan. Here we have been for over 18 months now. We look forward to our return (not for over 3 months) yet we feel that we still have a lot of work to do. There is a phrase that has been around since before we were born. "It's the people that count". As we continue our journey, we are grateful to encounter so many different people. We feel that often people are put in our path for a purpose. We hope to be able to do our part in God's purpose for us. May God bless you in all that you do in your journey.
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