Greetings "Minasan" (everyone) This week was a mix of this and that, volunteering, baking, driving, celebrating, and serving, all with some sunshine and some rain.  In Japan, we think of distance in terms of how long it will take to get somewhere, not how far away (kilometers) it is.  Then we consider whether riding the train or driving is easier (less stressful).  Our courage to drive somewhere improves as we get more comfortable navigating, traffic patterns, and staying on the proper side of the road.  Kim actually did the drive to Tokyo this week when we went to the Temple.  We actually have been to a few places often enough now so we don't really need to rely on Siri (Apple Maps).  

We did quite a bit with the Red Cross this week.  We watched over the office for one afternoon.  I actually gave the Red Cross portion of the Camp Zama Newcomers Briefings and we helped out at the big "Friendship Festival" hosted by Yokota AFB.  It was another "open-post" event that thousands of Japanese attended to get a closer look at Jets, American Food, and more... We helped for a little while before making an afternoon drive to the Tokyo Temple annex building where there is a Distribution Center/Store. Elder Nelson had to pick up a white jacket that we ordered for our Tuesday Temple service day.  

Nearby the Tokyo Temple is the New Sanno Hotel. The New Sanno is a very nice hotel that is owned and operated by the DoD for military guests.  In Korea, there was the Dragon Hill Lodge.  In Hawaii, it is called the Hale Koa Hotel.  We had dinner at the New Sanno a few weeks back, but the stores were closed, so we walked over after picking up my jacket and checked out the Navy Exchange store located in the hotel. We would like to stay the night there sometime, but one has to book a reservation weeks ahead of time. 

Speaking of Temple service. We both have acquired our own clothing to wear...and this past week we were grateful to have comfortable shoes to wear for what otherwise is a long day on your feet. We enjoy our weekly Tuesdays at the Temple and seeing all the missionaries. This coming week our own Zone and District missionaries will be at the Tokyo Temple. 

Sister Nelson did quite a bit of baking this week; however, first, we had to restock the flour, sugar, chocolate chips, etc at the commissary.  She has mastered the art of baking in a relatively tiny oven with nothing but Japanese buttons and instructions.  We did make a COSTCO run --we got a little lost on the way, but we finally got there... it took a good thirty minutes although it is technically only 5 miles from our apartment...  Anyway, as interesting as COSTCO is, we decided that the Commissary is considerably cheaper (and easier to get to).  We have three choices too!  

Our District Council meeting, (when we meet up with our district missionaries) was a day earlier this week and the time was later, so we didn't bring lunch, but two of our young missionaries had birthdays so we came bearing cupcakes and ice cream.  Gathering with these young missionaries is always uplifting and inspiring for us. It brings us a lot of joy to share something fun with them that they can't do for themselves.  

For our PDAY excursion, we made the train trip into the Tokyo area to see the Meiji Shrine and surrounding grounds.  On the way, Sister Nelson found an old favorite in one of the vending machines... Iced Cocoa...yum.  The Meiji Shrine was built to honor one of the previous emperors and is both historic and beautiful.  We walked the grounds, got some nice pictures (see FB), and then wandered over to the adjacent Harajuku area and found a Mcdonalds.   Sister Nelson had a "Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich." Taste wise...McDonalds is McDonalds; however, we were surprised that it was actually cheaper than the US. 

Sunday was church meetings at Zama Branch and our weekly trip up to Camp Fuji.  We have that drive down to a science now.  It is quite a pretty drive, about an hour long.  The drive back is often an hour and a half back because of traffic.  Still, it is not too bad and the scenery is beautiful. We had no one come to our church service this time. Our marine from last week was doing field training, however, we did meet up with a couple of local USO volunteers.  Did we mention that we are now official USO volunteers too!  It makes for yet another opportunity and way for us to contribute to the community and meet people.  We are also making good progress in our relationship with the Camp Fuji chaplain toward getting better publicity for our weekly Sunday services.  In missionary work, faithful, prayerful patience is a virtue and a necessity. 

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