Wk 18 "Time keeps on tickin', tickin', tickin'...

 Hello friends and family,

Wk 18 has come and gone, and we await a new week. It's Sunday night, and we are just getting home from our trek to Camp Fuji. Still a ghost town up there, but a new unit comes in this week, so we may see some faces next week. Brad was sad that Mt. Fuji hid her face today and we only got a tiny little glimpse of her. It is decidedly cooler there than it is here in the Kanto plain. Triple-digit temps with humidity are not my favorite. One tends to want to stay inside when it's this hot. Otherwise, you are soaking wet very soon after venturing out. 

We started a dinner FHE with the singles this week and started at instead of 7pm. That helped us have a little more time for some fun and games. This week was tacos, and no matter how much I make, they always eat it all. Then we all played UNO attack and had some good laughs. We only have a few singles because the rest are all at sea with the Navy.  But if someone brings an investigator, the missionaries will come. We had a good group. Those "at sea" will be back in Oct or Nov. 

This week, we spent much time manning the Red Cross offices on Zama and Atsugi. Both offices are in transition, and not many folks like volunteering there. Now that both offices have new field reps, we should be there less often. We will volunteer with the Red Cross at the Bon Odori Festival this Saturday. And yes...we will dress up in our yukatas (traditional summer kimonos) Watch for pictures next week.

We were given another opportunity to share some time at one of the orphanages here. This was a different one than the one we went to last time. We had two groups with ages ranging from 3-12. The 3's mostly just want to play, and so we did a lot of that. The older kids like the relay races we planned. They all loved the fruit snacks we gave them at the end. One sweet little girl asked if she could have one for her friend who couldn't come. Of course, the grandma in me wanted to give her a whole box for the entire orphanage. Sorry, no pictures of the kids...not allowed, but I got some posed pictures of the young elders and sisters who helped us with a few of the things we played with. This orphanage wants us to come back later in August.

We had Zone Conference on Friday and enjoyed some great training from the Mission leaders. My favorite quote from Pres. Tueller was, "Everything we do matters."  Sometimes, one needs to be reminded of just that. When you volunteer at four different events in one day and fall into bed that night, it's good to know that what you do matters. It makes it much easier to do it again the next day. 

On a very steamy Friday afternoon/evening, we helped with our first USO event. It was a barbecue for the single soldiers here at Zama. We donned our new USO t-shirts and did our best to keep all those hungry soldiers happy with hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, kabobs, and all the trimmings. Brad was one of two grill masters outside in the heat. Because it was so hot, we both went home soaking wet. We peeled off our clothes and put them straight into the wash. Humidity is like that. Not a fan. Need a fan. 

By Saturday, we needed a day of nothing. We did have to do all the weekly things, like washing and cleaning, but it was nice to have a day to re-group. Sometimes, we try sightseeing, but it's too hot right now. We will get back to it in the fall. 

We are staying healthy and happy as we find new ways to serve the people in our community. We love it when we make connections with folks who understand what it's like to serve in the military. We loved the experience we had for 30 years, and it's fun to be back experiencing it in a little different way. We are finding joy in serving those who serve. Life is good here in Japan. 

Love to all.