Week #21 Typhoon maybe

This past week was influenced by the weather.  This time of year is very warm, humid, and subject to Typhoons.  Like anywhere else, people do their best to model, predict, and if necessary prepare for any extraordinary weather -- hurricanes, tornadoes, and in Japan, typhoons.  So this week, we watched a big typhoon form south of Japan and started moving in our direction. And, we had a few small earthquakes thrown in for good measure.  The typhoon-tracking people had this storm heading for the Tokyo area, impacting much of what we planned and did (or didn't do). 

Early in the week, we had a nice FHE in our home with our young adults and missionaries. Sister Nelson made spaghetti with all the usual stuff -- salad, bread, and an awesome dessert.  We played a little bit of UNO and then shared a special message.  Presently, we have only have one member coming, but he always brings his friend who is not a member.  The elders also joined us this week. She is a real sweetheart, but isn't very interested yet in religious things; however, she likes coming and we do our best to always provide a friendly and uplifting environment for her. Like many of the people we meet, we hope that someday, the spirit will touch them when they have. been prepared enough to see, feel, and respond to the Gospel light,  Much of what we do is about being a good example and "letting our light so shine that people may see your good works..." 

On Tuesday we had our temple day.  It was an interesting day because it was the first day that a new temple endowment presentation was implemented.  Change comes from time to time, but the underlying purpose and Gospel underpinning everything does not.  Even with all the "scurrying about" that all of our fellow temple workers had to do to adapt, we still felt, and can always feel, that special spirit that permeates the temple.  We love our "Temple Tuesdays."

Meanwhile, back to the typhoon that continued to spin and move towards us.  The government, the US Army and Navy, and our mission all began to suggest and implement the precautions should this storm be realized in our area. We saw several "be (or get) prepared" messages come through social media and by Thursday, some events had been canceled or delayed.  Our weekly district council (and lunch) with the missionaries became a Zoom meeting and we were told to stay in our apartments on Friday.  We had planned to take our one YSA to the temple Friday to do baptisms and we had to cancel that because Friday was forecast to be the day the Typhoon would be the worst and we might not be able to even get into Tokyo. 

While getting groceries for our lunch, which would later get canceled, we bought some extra water and a few other things...just in case.  Also, the mission had us (all the missionaries) practice the procedures for walking to our emergency evacuation location and calling the emergency message system to report our status and get a message from the mission office.  (We did that once before in April or May.) To prove you made it to the right place, you have to walk there and take a selfie to send in.  

The Bon Odori festival at the NAF Atsugi (Navy) base scheduled for Saturday got moved to Sunday and our plans to attend were dashed as Sunday we already had a full schedule. We had volunteered to help but we had to un-volunteer unfortunately.  The storm was still coming and we were ready and many of the normal activities and services at Camp Zama and NAF Atsugi were closing early.  The trains and even the expressways were going to be limited or out of service on Friday...the big day when the typhoon would land.  And we had our flashlights ready to go! 

We helped at the Red Cross at Atugi get ready for the big event...putting snack bags together, we also did some last-minute grocery shopping, and we tried to find a puzzle(didn't find one) for our day at home.  Friday we dialed into our Zoom district meeting, but other than that we took the day and did some house cleaning, laundry, read, and otherwise enjoyed the day and watched the weather reports. I am sure the storm was a bit more intense along the actual coastline, but all we got was a lot of rain from the outer bands.  By Saturday, the storm had moved on and it was a beautiful day.  Because the storm was very large and could have had a significant impact all the preparations and cautions were appropriate. We count it as a great blessing that this typhoon did not slam into Tokyo with all the force that it could have had.  

Being prepared for what might come is always that way.  Emergency preparedness or spiritual preparedness requires faith, trust, and obedience.  Sometimes we can immediately see the need and sometimes we do not; however, to be caught unprepared when we actually experience something significant is much worse than being overprepared for something that doesn't turn out to be as bad as it could have been.

We look forward to a more normal week.  We also look forward to this season of HOT and HUMID to change to fall... but I think we still have a few more weeks to go before that happens.  We did have a couple of exciting family events this week.  Our grandson Jace, (now Elder Nelson,) is in the Mission Training Center getting ready to go to the Philippines. And we welcomed Holly Hope Mabb into the world as our newest granddaughter.  

Have a wonderful week

Elder and Sister Nelson.