Stepping Out Everyday: Blog #55

 Hello all,

Elder and Sister Nelson continue to take lots of steps out their door to various places and activities. At the end of the day, we ask each other how we are feeling, and so far, the response has been in favor of continuing to walk. (Not a lot of other options) However, one day, when we managed over 14,000 steps, we were both done. That day, we decided to tromp around and take cherry blossom pictures. Apparently, there is a lot to see and, in Elder Nelson's case, take pictures of. We figured this would be our last chance to see the beautiful blossoms here in Japan, so we walked and walked. Hope you enjoy the pictures. 

For FHE this last Monday, we had the young elders and sisters over for spaghetti and meatballs. And the meal was a hit. Afterwards, we watched a conference session and sent them home with happy tummies. The elders brought some Japanese snacks to munch on during the session, and they downed quite a few of the easter basket chocolates I purchased for their baskets this weekend. If you put it out, it will get eaten. All three of our elders are from the Philippines, and they love chocolate. We love having them in our tiny apartment. 

On Tuesday, we were back at the temple. Taking the train is getting easier. Elder Nelson has the route pretty firmly cemented in his brain, and mine is getting close. Just 4 trains and a little over an hour, and you are there. We chose to come directly home afterwards to hopefully not get stuck in the rush hour crush on the trains. That was a much better decision than last week's. It wasn't raining either, so that made it pleasant as well. 

Elder Nelson taught his first Family History introductory class at the post library on Wednesday. He had a few people show up. Some have a bit of experience and others have none. His next class is this Wednesday. This time, they are supposed to bring their computers and try things out for themselves. There are lots of things to learn, and some of them are excited to get started. That evening, we were invited for dinner at the Guisinger's home, and it was a wonderful visit with them. They are members of our branch. Sis Guisinger makes the best sourdough bread. I hope she will teach me before we leave. 

Thursday, we planned a big commissary shopping trip. A twenty-minute walk there with an empty wagon and a twenty-minute walk back with a very heavy, somewhat unwieldy wagon. Not so bad because going home was all downhill. We stocked up on everything we will need for the rest of the week. 

On Friday, we had district council meeting at the Yamato building. We are currently only taking sandwich fixings for the young elders and sisters. We packed up a large jar of peanut butter, several small jars of jam, and Wonder Bread for them. They had fun making their own sandwiches.

After our meeting and lunch, we had a member meet us, and she took us and two of the sister missionaries to a Single Mother's Food Bank called a Boshikai to drop off several large bags of donated food from the members in our branch and the Yamato ward. Most of it was staples for cooking. The staff cooks meals for single mothers and their children so they don't go hungry. Some of the sweet children were peeking out the window at us, as the curious little people that they are. I'm sorry we can't take pictures of them. The workers were very appreciative of our donations, and it was a "feel good" moment for all of us. 

Saturday was a very busy day with a branch breakfast at the park on Camp Zama followed by our volunteer opportunity with the Red Cross for Kodomo Matsuri (Children's Festival). We had a spin-the-wheel activity for prizes, including some yummy, homemade cookies. Yes, they were made by Sis. Nelson. I tried to make them small, which was a challenge, but the kids loved them no matter the size. A lot of children came and the weather was perfect. That night, one of our YSA, Hosea,  offered us a ride to a local ramen place for dinner. We enjoyed talking to him and catching up on his busy life. He hopes to get married later this year. His fiancee is currently doing basic training in Texas with the Air Force. They are both from Samoa. 

Sunday was a stormy day, and we had hoped to have a family over for breakfast and a conference session. They canceled at the last minute, but the food did not go uneaten. The young elders and sisters came in the afternoon for a conference session and enjoyed breakfast for dinner. The cinnamon rolls were large and delicious. We all enjoyed hearing the words of our prophet and other leaders. The missionaries also enjoyed the coloring sheets and candy. One of them reminded me, "We might be big people, but we are still like little kids." I think that is quite true. 

Our daily activities keep us very busy, but we are enjoying all the "work" there is to do here. Our calendar stays very full, and we are grateful for every opportunity to serve our branch and community. We rely on our Heavenly Father to give us the strength to do it all, and we are finding joy all along the way. 

Love to all,

Elder and Sister Nelson

                                                                

Another busy but rewarding week, and we walked almost all the way!

We are so blessed with the health and strength we need here to fulfill our missionary purpose.

Week 54 How many steps did you get this week? How many is too many?

We had a pretty good mix of good and bad weather. Typical for springtime here, just a little colder than normal. That delayed the blooming timeline for all the cherry blossoms (Sakura) that Japan is famous for. By the end of this week, everything is in full bloom and beautiful. 

Monday we caught a ride with our Red Cross friends up to Camp Fuji to participate in a "open house" for the freshly painted and updated Chapel and USO lounge. It has been locked up and under a remodel/update mode since December. They had a good turnout and we got to see our friend Chaplain Walton and a few others. It was cold that day and even snowed a little bit. We enjoyed a lunch break and then ventured back to our Camp Zama base. It was nice to have a ride; however, we don't like being dependent upon rides as we are now.  Later on Monday evening we had a few of our YSA over for some good old grill cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Elder and Sister Melton joined us later and brought a "Unicorn" card game that we played together.  Long day for us. 

Tuesday was our go-to-the-temple day, but this time we took a bus, then a train, then our feet to get there. We had to leave earlier than we normally would and carrying our Temple Clothes bags and lunch made it a bit more challenging. And it was raining.  It was our first venture riding the bus to the train station.  Not too bad, just had to factor in the time.  Working at the Tokyo Temple is always an uplifting experience and we enjoyed it.  Afterward, we were too hungry for our own good and elected to get some dinner BEFORE traveling home. We did and it was great; however, that put us going home on the train about 5:30pm --along with about a million other people.  It was the most crowded train experience we have had to date.  We caught a picture of a guy pushing his way on the train before ours. When we finally boarded our train, we both were packed in tight.  Sister Nelson said she felt like a "Weeble" with both arms pinned to her side, all she could do is just roll with the crowd... We eventually made it home.  Another long day. 

Wednesday we skipped out on our usual volunteer duties to attend our Zone Conference. We would never want to miss one.  This time, you guessed it, we went by bus and train.  It wasn't too bad of a trip, we just had to leave earlier than we normally would.  We enjoyed a good experience seeing all of the young missionaries in our Zone and being spiritually fed by the APs, STL (Sister Trainer Leaders), Zone Leaders, and our Mission Leaders.  A lot of great messages. Lunch was an interesting Japanese variation on a hoagie sandwich. Elder Nelson took the Zone Picture as usual and once that was accomplished, we packed up and headed to the train station.  When we factor in the extra time to ride and the extra effort to lug our stuff around with us, we are pretty done when our day is over.  DUN spells "done,"  

On Thursday, we got up early so we could get to our 0700 showtime to help set up for the twice monthly newcomers orientation on Camp Zama.  Instead of a 5 minute ride, it is about a 20 minute walk, which is always "more fun" when it rains. We helped set up and helped welcome a relatively small group of new people to Camp Zama.  The people at Army Community Service like us and we enjoy volunteering to help them whenever we can and the newcomers is a regular gig for us now.  Elder Nelson is also the Red Cross briefer for that event.  And, usually, afterward, we both sit at the Red Cross table at an Information Expo set up during the lunch hour.  We did have a special experience of sorts as the Camp Zama chapel started coming to that and setting up a Religious Services table.  They did that this time and the Assistant Zama Chaplain asked us if we wanted to put a Book of Mormon out on his table.  YES YES YES.  We had done so when we supported the NAF Atsugi Chapel folks.  Another "Tender Mercy" and door opened up for us this week.  And, Sister Nelson had a photo op with Milo, as service dog who comes each time with a gentlemen that works at Camp Zama.  Our usual gig with Celebrate Recovery was canceled, so we called it an early day.

Because we had Zone Conference this week, we did not have our usual District Council and Lunch with the young missionaries of our district.  We actually had NOTHNG on our calendar Friday,  So we declared it a "Catch-up Day" and did some deep cleaning in our apartment, did a bunch of laundry and got a ride over to NAF Atsugi with our Red Cross friend Charly.  She wanted "Taco Bell" and that is where Taco Bell is.  We took advantage of having a ride and loaded up at the commissary, made a run through the Exchange store on NAF Atsugi and got a package that came for us at the Atsugi post office.  Being able to do all of that by car was a huge blessing.  Once we got back to our apartment, we decided to try a local restaurant that we had never before tried...and was only about half a block away from our apartment. It is just a little "ma and pa" size place that has a simple menu and only a few tables.  But they served up one of our favorites, "Katsudon."  Yum.

Saturday was a big day,  We planned a while back to take the YSA group from our branch to go see a Japanese baseball game. Elder Nelson got some group tickets and we rounded up enough to go see the game.  We had been to see the Tokyo Giants once before and really enjoyed the experience.  So we met up at the train station and made our way to the Tokyo Dome about an hour's trip away.  The Giants were playng the Hanshin Tigers who are from the Kobe area of Japan (southern Honshu).  A fierce, long standing rivalry made for a good game, but unfortunately our team lost, but only by one run.  We enjoyed the experience of baseball in Japan, including getting a Tokyo Giants jersey and a not so great version of a hotdog... we think our YSA folks enjoyed the game and afterwards we all made our way back to home by train.  We got home about 7pm. and it was the end of a nice, but long day.

On Sunday we had an offer for a ride to Church!  Getting to church without a ride is now a bit of a journey...bus, train, and walk or taxi.  And about an hour.  We made it to church, enjoyed a good Fast & Testimony meeting and Sunday School.  And we even got a ride home!  Since we were not worn out yet and the weather turned out to be decent, we took a nice long walk back over to Camp Zama to see the Sakura which had finally blossomed,  We probably walked and walked a bit further than we should have, but we got some nice pictures. (over 14,000 steps) Alas, somewhere in all the walking and photo taking Elder Nelson's glasses vanished.  He has not found them yet, even after retracing his steps this Monday morning,  He has a spare pair, so no real worries.  

We continue to serve, walking a bit more than we are used to, but managing so far. We are grateful for our health and strength that enables us to continue our missionary service here.  Thank you for all the prayers on our behalf.