Golden Week

This week is Golden Week in Japan. It is a series of 4 holidays closely spaced together. If workers take 2 days of vacation, they get off a week and a half from work. Families spend time together similar to our spring breaks. Children's Day is one of the holidays. Japan decorates with fish flags. This is a picture of a river near where we live. The flags are spaced along the walk making it look so festive. We often walk along the river. You can walk all the way to the ocean. Kobe has mountains and ocean. It is a beautiful green place. We had a large rain storm one day so the orange lights were flashing, warning people of flash flooding along the river. You should not walk on the path if the warning lights are flashing.
This week was also Golden Week for me because we had a Zone Conference with our entire mission. I was surprised at the overwhelming feeling of love that I had when I saw all these missionaries. I have been working with them for over a year. I knew almost all of their names. They are such valiant and excellent missionaries. We were given an assignment to speak. Fred and I were both crying and some of the missionaries too. It was a sweet reunion after such a long wait. Golden.
Saturday, Kobe mission received 8 missionaries from the United States. Fred has been repairing old bikes for the new missionaries all week. The mission has bikes left from missionaries leaving but they are in disrepair. These bikes are for missionaries that only have a short time in Japan. Fred has been changing tires, inner tubes, brakes, pedals, lubridating chains, and hand grips. He was able to fix 7 bikes this week. More to come....
We are expecting more missionaries, maybe even every three weeks. This is exciting for the mission. This really is GOLDEN WEEK!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 more days--Our mission is coming to a close

Image
10 more days-- our mission is coming to a close. What an amazing experience this has been!! We have seen God's hand in our life in so many ways. We feel the windows of heaven have been opened to us that there is not even room to receive it. We have grown closer to each other and closer to the Lord. We arrived when the sakura trees were blooming. Now, they are blooming again. Walking under the blossoms gives you a sacred feeling that you are somewhere very special. This is my favorite walking path. There is a lady who cares for these flower boxes every day. I have enjoyed seeing them on my way to the river walk. Today, I saw a miracle with the ward choir. They asked me to lead the choir when we first arrived. I have sang in many choirs, all of my life. I have never led a choir. We started out just singing hymns but eventually added more and more difficult music.  I wanted to sing "Let Us All Press On". This is a difficult piece sung by the Choir at Temple Square. I had hig
Read more

Enjoying our time here...

Image
We decided last P-day to go to Universal City. It was a fun and memorable day. The weather cooperated with a beautiful spring day. The adventure started even before we arrived by riding the train and then subway in Osaka. It was packed body to body, a full contact sport. When we got in the subway, we were jam packed. I was wondering if the door would close. Then we stopped at another station. An additional 5 people got on the train. We were absolutely smashed together. The people at Universal City all wore crazy hats. It seems the more outlandish the hat the more they enjoyed them. I loved seeing these little cuties. Our favorite spot was the Harry Potter castle and village. They have really strived to recreate the book. You walk through a forest before arriving at the village. We saw the flying blue car, Mirror of Erised, the talking pictures on the walls, the Fat Lady guarding the door, the Sorting Hat, Dumbledore's office and many more.  We would have bought some butterbeer but
Read more

Daruma Doll

Image
President and Sister Halvorson gave the missionaries a Daruma doll for New Years.  The Daruma doll is rich in symbolism and is a sign of good luck for the new year. The eyes are blank. Once you determine your goal,  you color in the first eye. At the end of the year, you complete your goal and finish the other eye. The Daruma doll wobbles but won't stay down. If you tip it on it's side, it uprights itself. This is symbolic of perseverance in striving toward your goal. You may falter but just pick yourself up and keep trying. President Russell M. Nelson, the prophet gave us a New Year's Message for 2023... Be Patient... Be Persistent.. Be Prayerful...
Read more