#25 A week of extraordinary events

An extraordinary week for us, but we were not quite "out of the woods" as much as we thought.  Our health is a bit more tenuous than we thought; however, we keep driving on.  For missionaries, even senior ones like us, our health and energy are so important. We have been blessed with good health most of the time, and for that, we are very grateful.

Monday we had planned to head to Tokyo in the afternoon and spend the night.  We had to be at the Tokyo Temple Annex bright and early Tuesday for our mission-wide devotional with Elder Quinton L. Cook.  We had also been asked by the Senior Missionary Couple that takes care of finding apartments to come and look at the furnishing from a unit that was being closed down to see what might be worth using for the new MRM couple that will be arriving near us in November.  So, we left earlier that day and drove first to Hachijoji to where the old Mission HQ/home was before driving into the area in Tokyo by the Temple and new Mission HQ.  We took a quick tour, offered our opinion, got a picture with Elder and Sister Nagata, and went on our way. We had a room reserved at the New Sanno, which was nice; however, this time our meal at the hotel was awful...would have rather gone out and found a ramen someplace...way overpriced too, 

Tuesday morning was special and a mission highlight for us.  Our entire mission came in for this special devotional with Elder Cook.  So, that meant a mission picture. Our first time seeing and being in a photo with ALL the missionaries.  We gathered in the cultural hall (gym) for the picture and then waited... And what do we do while we wait for a General Authority? We sing. That was special too.  After our picture, we filed into the chapel and we were blessed to hear comments and testimonies from our Mission Leaders (The Tuellers), Elder, and Sister Palmer (Elder Palmer is in the presidency of the Seventy). Sister Cook, she told us how special Church hymns and music are to testimonies...then, she led all of us in singing a hymn...but her way, sort of in a round. (Elder Cook mentioned that he is never quite sure what she is going to do, and he just lets her do her thing!)  Then Elder Cook spoke to us. He shared his personal experiences with Japan. He also shared some special testimonies and prophecies that have been made about Japan and how Japan is growing and changing as foretold.  Then he shared his very powerful and personal witness and testimony of Jesus Christ.  Words can't really describe it.  The spirit was very very strong,  Finally, he pronounced an Apostolic Blessing on us,  Wow. what a morning,  

The rest of Tuesday for us was serving in the Temple as we do each week.  Always a highlight for us. We also enjoy our association with the other Temple workers and Senior Missionaries we see each week.  

On Wednesday we took a bunch of pictures of our furnishings and apartment to show Elder and Sister Nagata what kind of stuff the new MRM missionaries might need... I have shared some of that in this blog with you all -- don't get too excited.

Wednesday's highlight was supporting the 9-11 run held on the Atsugi Navy base.  A variety of groups had signed up for 1-hour slots to run or walk with the American flag around the base in commemoration of 9-11.  We helped our friends from the Atsugi MWR office from noon to when the event finished around 6pm.  We also had a good visit with our Friend Chaplain Grady (Atsugi's chaplain). The last group that ran that day was a group of Sailors, that had all been selected to become Chiefs (Senior NCOs). They ran in formation and returned in time for the colors to be lowered for the day at NAF Atsugi command headquarters.  We really enjoy the moments of patriotism we experience at Camp Zama and NAF Atsugi.  We ended our day with the Camp Zama Community Club's Mongolian BBQ...one of our favorites.

It is now Thursday.  Sister Nelson is not feeling well.  She is trying to get in to see the doctor now. Her phone consult fell through but she got an in-person appointment for Friday.  She had a haircut appointment and then we got our "token" badges activated!  We will need those to allow us to help in the Zama clinics (this has been a LONG TIME coming).  Sister Nelson stayed home the rest of the day and I worked solo at the Red Cross office for a while and then later helped at the Celebrate Recovery activity we support each Thursday.  

Friday came.  Doctor's appointment.  Sister Nelson has pneumonia. There is some goodness in finding out the "why" of not feeling well.  She got some antibiotics and was directed to go home and stay home for 24 hours as she might have been contagious... after the drugs worked for 24 hours, it was safe to go out, if she felt better.  We stayed home the rest of Friday and ordered Domino's pizza delivery.  We had to cancel a planned event we had looked forward to.  Elder Cook was giving a "Japan-wide" fireside broadcast that evening and we invited a family investigating the Church to come and watch it with us.  We felt bad about canceling, but Sister Nelson was actually sick. 

Sister Nelson was, by this time, really tired of staying home, so the minute her 24-hour restriction was over on Saturday morning, she was off to go help with another community event, promising not to cough on anyone!  My job was to deliver an "emergency" Betty Crockers Brownie Mix to our young elders. (I also washed and cleaned up our mission car) We took it easy the rest of that Saturday, in the hopes that we could have a full and busy Sunday.

Sunday we both went to Church, we enjoyed a nice Sacrament meeting and then we taught a Sunday School lesson about the Sacrament to the family I mentioned earlier that is investigating the Church. That went very well, and they, the Goodson family, are special people.  We went back "home" and took a short power nap before packing up for our weekly trip to Camp Fuji.  On the bright side, Mt Fuji was out from under the clouds, it was a beautiful day and we had a good visit with our Marine friend Jason.  But, we still have not seen any Marines wanting to come to our Church services...we will continue to have faith and carry on.  

On Your Mark, Get Set...Not So Fast.

 Our Blog Week 24

After many things were canceled last week, we were ready and waiting to have a great, busy week. Well, it began that way, but then some type of bug changed our pace again. 

We didn't make it up to Camp Fuji because of all the rain we had. We were wondering if all the roads up and back would be safe as there had been a lot of landslides. Those are typical in Japan when too much rain takes over. That's the first Sunday we have been home on a Sunday afternoon for quite a while. We decided to start watching The Chosen, which so many have raved about. We are enjoying it, and watching it at our own pace is nice. It has compelled us both to reread the New Testament. Having both finished the Book of Mormon, we decided to tackle the New Testament. I haven't read it since my seminary teaching days.  We are both enjoying it. 

Monday was Labor Day for all those in the US, but it was just another day here. We didn't take a P-day last week, so we did that on Monday this week. We checked out a nearby mall, Aeon Mall. It was very nice, and Brad found two ties for $6.70 each. He likes to refer to them as his polyester, washable missionary ties. I found a new scarf, and then we sampled the Baskin Robbins ice cream. We didn't try any of the unusual flavors. Next time. On the way home, we stopped for take-out pizza for the Young Adults and missionaries who joined us for  FHE (Family Home Evening). We played a fun card game that Elder Williams shared with all of us. It's called Tori Dori. The Sisters shared a great message with us, and we all enjoyed time together. 

Tuesday was our regular temple day. One of my favorite days because I don't have to plan anything or make or bake anything for anyone. Don't get me wrong, I love doing all of those things but sometimes it's nice to have a break. We are able to both attend the temple and do our individual assignments, and we don't even have to plan them.  Another missionary couple, Elder and Sister Yamada, made us a box lunch to eat on our drive back home from the temple. (usually about 90 min drive) Why do sandwiches taste so much better when someone else makes them?  It was a great day all around. 

Wednesday started with a dental cleaning for Kim. I don't know if the dentist here is not as aggressive as my dentist at home or if I'm just getting better at my dental hygiene, but I got an A+.  That's my favorite grade. After coming home, I started feeling very achy and tired. I chose to stay home from a Red Cross event on Atsugi for Suicide Prevention Week. Brad attended without me, and when he got home, he said it was too weird going to things without me. I felt the same way last week when he was sick.  

Thursday dawned with me still feeling achy and tired. My companion told me to rest that day. Something I'm not very good at, but the way I felt, I didn't argue too much. Brad again attended an activity that evening without me with the base chapel. So much for being a missionary couple. 

Friday, I was encouraged to go to the doctor to get tested for whatever. They don't have Covid tests that you can buy at the drugstore here. The nurse tested me for COVID-19 and both Influenza A and B. All came back negative. I felt a little better and figured we would move on from the sick thing. 

Saturday and Sunday, the bug reared its ugly head again, and I was down and out. Consequently, I stayed home for both days and hoped for better days. I am now starting to feel better. I am not sure what virus hit me, but I am happy to say Sayonara to that. 

This week is dawning bright as long as we both avoid any more sickness. Being sick does have a way of making you appreciate your good health. 

I hope you are all enjoying the impending fall weather. It is one of my favorite times of the year. It is still a little hot here, but we are looking forward to seeing the fall leaves soon. The drive to Camp Fuji has the potential to be beautiful. 

Love to all, and may you stay healthy and safe. 

    

   

Week #23 -- Well, let's just cancel that!

This past week was one for the books.  Almost EVERYTHING we had scheduled and planned on was canceled.  Why?  Because we didn't shower?  Because we lost our friends?  No.  We had a week of Typhoon-ness, COVID (not us), and flooding threats and landslides.   Say what?  Yes.

Monday was somewhat normal, we spent time on Atsugi helping both the Chapel and the Red Cross. We always enjoy going over to the Navy installation. And we had a nice FHE with our young adult and a couple of the missionaries.  We took them to our favorite Sushi-go-round restaurant. 

Meanwhile, Typhoon Shanshan started moving north... 

Tuesday, one of our favorite days, we went to the Temple to do our shift.  After our shift, we were supposed to connect to a Zoom conference that would begin the Mission Tour by the Asia North Area presidency. That included a day-long Zone Conference on Wednesday and some other events we were supposed to attend or tune in to.  Well, as fate would have it, our Mission Leaders came down with COVID, self-isolated, and then suddenly the Mission Tour --and all the associated events were canceled. 

So, our Wednesday calendar was empty. (Meanwhile, the storm kept moving north). We decided to go to the temple and actually attend an endowment session (to experience the new changes). We did, and we enjoyed it, and the rain started... nothing serious yet, in our area, so we braved the rain and enjoyed a nice dinner. 

Typhoon Shanshan landed in southern Japan and created a lot of havoc...we just had rain...lots of rain. So the scheduled service event we planned to support on Thursday was cancelled because of the torrential rain that began falling in our area. Our mission leaders started getting concerned about the deteriorating weather.  The weather alerts started suggesting an increased risk of flooding and landslides...  We did support our weekly effort at Celebrate Recovery.  

Another unintended consequence of Zone Conference being canceled was having the weekly district council put back on the calendar, except we had already committed to the Red Cross for Friday...so we missed our lunch with the missionaries... And the rain continued... By late Friday, a number of local communities suggested some people evacuate (not us) or at least keep an eye on the local conditions (for floods and landslides).  The missionaries were all advised to stay home... We checked on our local area missionaries and offered to bring them some food (and maybe some cheer), so we made a commissary run and took them all their favorite cold cereal... And we stopped at McDonalds on the way home...

The rain remained relentless so our planned event on Saturday was also canceled! Yikes.  We stayed home, like most everyone else, cleaned up our apartment, and ordered Dominoes pizza (Yes, we have that in Japan--and it's really pretty good)

We regrouped for Sunday and hoped the weather would improve.  Sunday, we did make it to Church in the morning, but the rain was having a big impact on the roads and was especially severe up in the mountainous areas (Camp Fuji).  We decided that it probably would be wise to not risk that drive and we missed our weekly trip to Camp Fuji.  

We stayed home the rest of Sunday and hoped for a break in the weather. And we started watching "The Chosen."  It's Monday, the sun is shining and most of the Shanshan foul weather has moved on...at least until the next Typhoon (we still have another couple of months for the season). 

We hope this next week will get us back to a more normal routine. We did manage to review our emergency procedures and we were able to help the young missionaries this week.  So, all in all, we made the best of it.