Week #28 Not as busy...finally

 Week #28 Not as busy...finally

Yay, for a week where our schedule let up a bit, and we weren't running around with our hair on fire. (considering my lack of hair, that is a problem.) It was nice to step back a minute or two and find the bottom of the laundry basket. Our washer and dryer combo are small so large loads are not happening. And even when it's a smaller load, it takes a very long time to dry. Yes, we have used the drying rack a few times. Not quite as bold as many Japanese who hang all their laundry out on their apartment balcony. Things dry eventually, but with the humidity, it probably takes as long as my dryer. Real missionary world problems. 

So we started off our week NOT listening to General Conference because they asked us to use next weekend as our conference weekend and listen to it all at once rather than getting up at 1am to watch it. This way we can watch it at normal people's hours. Lots of good shares on FBook coming out of Salt Lake City about the conference, and we look forward to hearing it all this weekend. We did make a trip to Camp Fuji where there are apparantly quite a few training units there right now but not any that want to attend a 4pm sacrament service. We shared our peanut butter cookies and brownies with about 8 of the Marines watching a movie in the USO lounge. No leftovers is the goal, and they took care of what we brought. 

Our Monday found us helping out at the Red Cross office on Atsugi. It was very quiet and uneventful, which is the way we like it. We're glad we can man the office while the full-time representative is away, but we certainly don't want any crazies while we're there. We hurried home to make dinner for the young adults and Elders coming for FHE, but alas, only the Elders made it, so we called it feeding the missionaries and had a nice time. 

Tuesday, we were back at the temple. Often, we meet folks who are traveling and also come to attend the temple, and this week was one of those. We met a couple from Holladay, Utah. Then we see if we can make a connection of some kind. Coincidentally, we determined that the fellow was the brother of our good friend from when we lived in Leavenworth, KS, Kathi Martin. They insisted that we try to connect by FaceTime with her and so we had a fun chat in the courtyard of the Tokyo temple. Small world when you add the military connections to church connections sometimes. 

Wednesday was my stay-at-home day while Brad tromped off to Tokyo to have his stitches removed from a questionable mole. I dropped him off for his ride at 6:20 a.m., and he didn't get back until about 3 p.m. I'm used to being alone, but it was weird not having him around. He is my missionary companion, after all. So that day, I finished some projects myself, and all was well with the mole. 

Thursday was District Council and lunch with the young missionaries. This week, it has cooled down a bit, so we served Taco Soup with Fritos, cheese, and sour cream. It was well received by all. It was also transfer week, and we had to say goodbye to Elder Williams. He returned home to California. He was the district leader, and we will miss him. He was a deep-thinking and clever elder. We hope he enjoys BYU Hawaii. 

That evening Elder Nelson taught his first photography class at the library. The mission has asked us to use our talents as a way to share the gospel with others. That can come in any form and so Elder Nelson chose to share his love for photography. He is meeting and getting to know new people and being an example of a disciple of Christ. He has two more classes to teach with them. 

I attended the Red Cross Volunteer Appreciation party, where I had bowling alley pizza and homemade brownies. I also earned a Red Cross sweatshirt for my hours this month. Now, if it would just get cool enough to wear it. 

We rounded out the week with more service to the Red Cross at the Fire Prevention Open House event. It was held outside so the fire crews could show off their skills, and it rained the entire time. Firemen don't mind, they have on waterproof gear. The rest of us stayed under the canopies and handed out Red Cross swag. We also had a CPR dummy for adults to try out their skills in chest compressions. Then, they could put their name in for a free CPR class. There weren't many people that day, but we had fun meeting those who came. We even got to try holding and shooting water from an actual fire hose. It's an amazing amount of water and very powerful. 

Each week goes by so quickly here. We love working with so many different people and serving our hearts out. Starting to feel like we haven't ever done anything else. We love it here and are grateful for the love and support we get from home. Who knew being a disciple of Christ could be so fun? 

Love to all, 

Elder and Sister Nelson