Wk 15 Japan is getting very warm/humid indeed.

There has been plenty of rain and warm temperatures this week. We were told we are officially in the rainy season, but when it's not raining and the sun is out, it's very warm and humid. Maybe it's so you appreciate the rain? Either way, there is lots of greenery around and all the beautiful flowers. Hydrangeas growing wild on the side of the roads will never get old for me. 

We are still working on getting past the in-processing to volunteer at the medical clinic. This week, we had TB tests and N-95 mask fittings.  Have you ever been fitted for an N-95 mask?  It was an interesting process of wearing a mask and a hood over our heads. Then, 5 different sugar sprays were administered inside the hood to see if we could taste the sweetness while breathing, talking, and bending over. I'm not sure if that is a Japanese test for fitting or an industry standard, but we both now know the exact size of the N-95 masks. 

We continue to meet on Monday nights with the single adults from the branch and/or investigators and missionaries. Last week, we put together a charcuterie board for snacks, and the missionaries just sat at the table and at it all up. Needless to say, I think they liked it. There aren't very many single adults right now because most of them are out to sea, aka underway with the Navy, but there will be more once they return in October. We love having them in our tiny apartment. We even bought 4 folding chairs on Amazon Japan to help with the limited seating. 

Tuesdays are temple days for us and this last Tuesday was a special one. Our mission leader and his wife, Pres, and Sis Node, are finished with their 3-year assignment, and so they wanted to do temple sessions with all of their elders and sisters. This happened over two different Tuesdays, and this time, it was the elders and sisters from our Zone as well as another Zone. All of them came to the temple, making about 70 altogether. The session was very full, and it was so good to see them all together. There was a lot of hurrying and scurrying in the temple that day to accommodate them all. We love our Tuesdays in the temple. 

That evening, we had dinner with a couple serving a medical mission here and a brand new couple who just arrived to serve at Yokota AFB. It's always fun to get together with "old folks" like us. Sorry, I forgot to get a picture. 

This week we also paid our "old people's" national insurance for Japan for the year. You pay for it at any convenience store called a Konbini. (like a 7-11) Along with the national insurance, we are now officially "covered."  We can be seen on the base, so we won't ever need to use Japanese insurance, but it is required for everyone living here on a visa other than the military. Such is life in Japan. 

We had district council with Italian Subs as requested by Elder Melton, whose birthday it was. They all chowed down on them and then fudgy brownies and ice cream with a candle. Transfers are in about 10 days, so our district may see some changes. Elder Melton will be going home to Michigan, and then we will see what other changes are made. Elder Nelson and I like to say that it's nice not to have to transfer and get used to another companion. 

Saturday was a Red Cross event day for us. Starting off at Atsugi, helping with the organized triathlon. It was a small group of about 30 people and we cheered them on and handed out water and snacks. I think most of the snacks were consumed by the little children waiting for mom and/or dad to finish the race. The temperatures were cool, and it's always fun to support a run, bike, swim event. We also met a few members from Yokosuka, a neighboring Navy base.  

That evening,  Camp Zama had its Independence Day celebration with food tents, entertainment, a helicopter take-off, an awesome colorguard, and fireworks. Fortunately, it didn't rain, but it was overcast, which kept it quite pleasant for the event. We volunteered at the First Aid tent handing out snacks and water to all the Japanese first responders who were assigned to the event. There were not a lot of serious incidents, so it was pretty quiet. The cooler temperatures helped. They finished with a very nice fireworks display, and that's about all the celebrating for the 4th of July we will be seeing. 

Sunday brought another great day at church. Brad was able to ordain one of the single adults, Hosea, to the office of elder. He is a young soldier in the Army who works as a food inspector. He is such a great guy. He is hoping to go to the temple soon. He is from American Samoa. We love Hosea. 

Also, per the request of one of the Marines at Camp Fuji last week, I managed to make Monster Cookies for the first time. Fran (my stand mixer) and I stirred together a double batch, which included 3 cups of peanut butter, 9 cups of oatmeal, 6 eggs, sugars, choco-chips, and M&M's. Fran handled it well, and my little oven baked them 6 cookies at a time. Some of the dough made it to the fridge for later baking. 

We concluded the week at Camp Fuji and delivered the aforementioned Monster Cookies. The sweet Marine, Luke, said they were just like his mama makes so that was a happy moment. We had a nice service with him and another Marine. Brad gave a great patriotic message, and we sang the Battle  Hymn of the Republic. 

As we were just packing up to leave, another young Marine came in and asked about the devotional that we put on our flyer after sacrament services. His name is Will, and he said he has been having a really hard time lately. He was just hoping he could hear a message that would help him. He has a new baby girl and wife back in NC and is really missing them.  We shared our testimonies, invited him to continue to pray, and taught him a little about the Book of Mormon as a source of faith and hope. He asked us if he could have a copy, and we gave him one with a flyer indicating some specific things he could read.  We told him that God was mindful of him and could be there for him. It was a sweet experience. He said he felt so much better. We will likely never see Will again as he is returning back to Okinawa on Friday, but he has our number and the QR code if he wants to hear more from missionaries. 

Elder Nelson and I have been praying that the Marines at Camp Fuji would hear about our services and have a desire to join us. In our minds, we thought we were praying for members of the church to join us to take the sacrament. What we are learning is that Heavenly Father is mindful of all his sons and daughters and will send them our way to share the hope and joy that the gospel offers, members or not. We feel honored to have been blessed with the opportunity to share with all those who come and join us. Planting seeds that may one day blossom into faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel.