In the last post, we posted a picture looking out our dining room window at the beautiful sunset. This view is from the opposite side of the apartment looking out our bedroom window in the morning. The sun is rising later and later making it more difficult to get out walking early but we rarely miss a day when our schedule permits. It’s what keeps us sane.

We see so many beautiful things on our walks. Japan just has a way with taking the smallest piece of ground and making it beautiul. It is something we really admire about this wonderful country.

The work continues to roll forward at a brisk pace! We do our best to keep up but often feel worn down. We joke that we go to bed exhausted but wake up only tired. There is no time to get sick but Steve found himself fairly sick for the first time in a year. It was during our interview week and so he was able to move everyone over to Zoom calls for a day. It was still hard on him to be up when he should have been in bed, but at least we eliminated the rigors of travel.

A normal transfer is five to eight missionaries arriving but our last three transfers have been 14-18 missionaries. I think I might have posted that by the end of November, 42% of our mission will be under five months in the field. That makes planning transfers tricky and complicated and takes a lot of time and prayer. This last transfer, with 18 coming and 20 leaving, there were only a small handful of missionaries out of the 75 companionships that were not affected by it.

We had the worst transfer of our mission in the October transfer. It’s easy to laugh about now but it was not too funny when it was happening. Steve left for the airport with the APs and Laurie was to get the other van from the Mission Office and follow in order to bring back luggage for 18 arriving missionaries. When Laurie arrived at the office, she discovered someone had taken the van. She was left without a ride to the airport. While discussing with the office missionaries what to do, the APs came walking in. Laurie was startled yet happy to see them. It turns out they had left all the train cards for the new missionaries so they had to turn around and come back. When Laurie walked out with the APs, Steve was shocked. He knew returning for the train passes would make him late but he wasn’t worried because he thought Laurie would be at the airport to greet the arriving missionaries. We had three flights coming in with missionaries (Philipines, Utah MTC, and Autralia)and sure enough, the first flight had arrived without anyone to greet them. After shipping all their bags, we loaded the carry on luggage into one van and headed back to the office while the APs took all the new missionaries home on the train, or so they thought they were heading home. While riding the train they began talking to some other passengers to practice their Japanese. Naturally, after seeing the missionary badges they asked why they were here and as they explained they were missionaries, headed to our office in Azabu, they were informed that they were NOT headed that way, but going in the opposite direction. They finally made it back to the office, got their new phones and then came to the apartment for dinner. As is the custom, before they leave for the hotel, Laurie gives them the reservation number for the rooms. She began looking for the number and then realized she hadn’t made a reservation. (She would like to explain that it was because for the longest time several missionaries were waiting for Visas and so we didn’t have a final count until a week before and then she was too busy to remember.) We panicked and Laurie began looking for rooms for 20 people (APs stay with them). This isn’t easy because it has to be rooms with twin beds – a rarity in hotels. We finally found one, not too far from where we usually stay but for a lot more money. APs left with the missionaries, discovering that there wasn’t enough money left on the train cards to get to the hotel because of getting lost earlier. The hotel was only a few two stops down the line from our apartment but the train was packed, and as the train arrived at their destination, four of the new missionaries could not make it through the crowd and to the door before it closed. The APs called to report that things were not getting any better and that they had lost four missionaries. By the time they gathered everyone back together it was getting late – around 9:30 and the people that are out on the streets by this new hotel are a little sketchy. They instructed the missionaries to walk single file, look straight ahead and finally got them to the hotel. They were all so good about it and we laughed at their adventures the next morning as they ate breakfast from a convenience store (our regular hotel serves breakfast) and rehashed the tale of the night before.

Every so often we try to have our Senior Missionaries over for dinner. This is just half of them. These are the missionaries that are called to serve in our mission as MLS, Office, and Military Relations, since we have four military bases in our mission. This time they surprised us with quilts they had made. Unbeknownst to us, they had collected the signatures of all of our missionaries on a small piece of fabric and then quilted them together to make two beautiful quilts for us. The quilts are the same but the names are different. We were so surprised and grateful. Because Laurie has quilted, she knows the hours that were spent making those quilts. What a treasured gift! We draped it over the back of the couch for a few weeks and then Steve hung it on the wall in our apartment.

We had Mission Leader Training in Korea the first week of November. There are twelve missions in our area, coming from Japan, Korea, Mongolia and Guam/Micronesia Missions. It is always wonderful to learn from the other leaders and be instructed by our Area Presidency but it is also difficult to take one week off in the mission. It makes for some stressful weeks as we returned and tried to catch up with everything.

This was the sunrise from our hotel window. This was our view every morning. We could see Seoul off in the distance but it was covered in a haze of pollution. The sun is red until it lifts above that haze. We flew in to Incheon Airport, which is on an island and our hotel wasn’t too far from the airport. It was a somewhat secluded spot. The tide change in Korea is 30 feet in some places. At the top right you can see the tide going out and by the time the tide is completely out there will be no water clear out to the rock in the distance.

We were able to attend a session at the temple in Korea. It was a beautiful temple and it was special experience being there together. Endowment rooms are very small and they pulled out chairs to fit us all in. It’s not quite as small as the Guam temple we attended last year.

The last night we went to a Korean restuarant for a real Korea BBQ. The meat was good but it was difficult to tell what the other food was. We were so thankful we are serving in Tokyo, Japan with such great food!

They like to reserve a partial day for a cultural experience, and give us a break from sitting for hours. Because we were so close to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) they thought we might enjoy visiting there. It was very interesting. We were able to look right over into North Korea. We didn’t get a lot of time there because with 30 people it is hard to do much.

This was the monument that explains it all. On one side is North Korea and on the other side is South Korea. They are trying to push them together.

Since returning home from Korea we have kept busy with Stake Conferences and visiting wards. The wards always request that we speak in Sacrament Meeting but lately they have been asking us to do a Missionary Fireside after church. Because members often travel from so far away, they have a lunch and then the Fireside. Recently at the Fuchu ward, they put us front and center while everyone ate their lunch and asked us questions to get to know us. It started out a little awkward but ended up being a delightful time. While there, Laurie was talking with one of the Bishopric Counselors and discovered he had served his mission about 23 years ago in Russia. He happened to serve in the Moscow Mission with Laurie’s nephew, Nathan. She was even more surprised to learn he had just returned home from Kazakhstan the week before where they had dedicated the first chapel in that country. Laurie’s brother and his family had lived there for almost ten years, in fact, Nathan was called from the little branch in Almaty to Moscow, Russia.

This last week we were asked to take part in a YSA Conference down near Yokosuka. YSA from all over Japan had gathered for the long holiday weekend. We were asked to teach two classes on Preparing to Serve a Mission. We weren’t sure anyone would show up with other classes involving dating and marriage but we had a very good turnout in both classes. As difficult as it is to fit these kinds of things in our already packed schedule, we find we are always grateful for the experiences.

It’s rare we take a Pday but this week we went with some friends, Yoshinori and Kimiko Soda. Steve met Yoshinori when he served a mission in Osaka 45 years ago. Yoshinori was a couple of years younger than Steve and they have remained in contact over the years. We visited the Akasaka Palace with them. It was a beautiful place.

This was where President Trump recently met with the Prime Minister. Laurie read in the news how she (the first woman Prime Minister) had three or four big Ford pickups parked out front. We have never seen a Ford truck in Tokyo. There were several pictures of President Trump and other dignitaries that have met here.

This annex is a smaller building behind the palace where they meet for Tea Ceremonies and dinners. It was beautiful! Even though you are in the middle of Tokyo you feel so much tranquility there.

Some of these Bonzai trees are 180 years old.

The Akasaka Palace is about a 45 minute walk from our house. We have walked that way many times to go to Keio University Hospital, so we knew of a road that is less traveled and so to avoid all the people we decided to return that way. You can imagine our surprise when we realized the entire street was celebrating the Gingko leaves changing. There were so many people the street was closed and every tree was lit up. It was beautiful!