It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

With December comes a number of activities.  It was transfer time again for the mission and, It's starting to look like Christmas around here.  We said goodbye to Sister Williams and Sister Wharton (sort of in that she went to Yani).

One nice things is that the missionary home came with a tree and most fo the trimmings.

 Saying goodbye to Sister Wharton (here with her comp Sister Freed).

 Enjoying a meal at a little restaurant we found called The Broccoli Grill.  It was a great hamburger place.

On December 4th we welcomed to the Navy Air Wing 5 to MCAS Iwakuni.  They have been moved here from NAS Atsugi and were returning from a 3 month deployment on the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).

The air wing retuned just in time to spend Christmas with their families.

We had a great opportunity to go to Hiroshima for a Bi-Zone training meeting.

 Missionaries on a train.

Geri and I received service awards from the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society for having each reached the 600 volunteer hours mark

Fall Has Arrived

With Fall comes the opportunity to watch General Conference.  This is always a great couple of days, feasting on the words of those called to lead us.

With Fall comes the changes in the neighbor's garden.  This is a woman in her 70's(?) who is out there working almost everyday and has the most amazing garden.  It's not a huge garden, but boy is it productive.

And P Day finds us back at Kintaikyu (Bridge) with the missionaries from out Zone, Sister Olivarez and Sister Williams

 Elder Namoa will teach a first discussion to anyone who will listen!

 There is a story about the white snake and how it helped a farmer that makes this snake a national treasure in Iwakuni.

 The cormorant bird that was used for fishing on the Kintai River.

 The Sisters of the Iwakuni Zone (plus a visitor); Sis. Struempler, Visitor, Sis. Freed, Sis. Olivarez, Sis. Williams and Sis. Wharton.

With this transfer period we said goodbye to Elder Namoa, who is headed to Nagasaki and welcomed Elder Hauck.

 The new Elder and his new bicycle.

We held a daddy "baby shower" for new dads through the USO and had a special guest author, Heidi Murkoff.  Good fun, with food, door prizes and a Q and A session.

 She was a big hugger, so I had to fend her off, quoting the mission rules!

As a District, we got to help Sister Williams celebrate her birthday.

 Sister Wade brought us manna from New Mexico on her recent trip back to the States.

On October 31st we had the opportunity to travel to Fukuoka to participate in the Mission Tour where we received training from Elder Yamashita of the Quorum of the Seventy and Asia Area President, and Brother Ashton of the Sunday School General Presidency.

On the way there we stopped at rest stop at the Kanmon Bridge, a suspension bridge crossing Kanmon Straights, a stretch of water separating two of Japan's four main islands, Honshu and Kyushu.  It is among the 50 largest suspension bridges in the world with a central span of 2,336 feet.  As you can see, it was a beautiful morning.

This is the ward building in Ube where we hold Zone interviews.

Another Free Food Friday (but this time on Thursday was enjoyed by about 120 Marines and Navy personnel.

 Mac & cheese, dirty rice, pulled pork sliders, chicken wings, biscuits, and corn on the cobb, with lots of desserts.

Every Tuesday night we have a Survival Japanese language class taught by the Elders and Sisters.  It is good fun.

Considering the frequency of bicycle repairs among the missionaries, I thought this might be a good alternative to their current style of bike.  This is called a PapaChoro bike.  This is a seriously rugged bike, and it has 8 gears!

It is nice to know that you can find that Alabama fans come in all ages and in all locations.

His older brother (standing on the left) said "Hi" to me the other day at the food court.  I said "Hi!" back to him and went on to get my drink.  A moment later as I was walking back he saw me again and said to me, "I forgot to ask you, are you the President?"  A thought for a moment and replied, "Not anymore."  He thanked me and went on.  The only explanation I can think of is that he had seen on TV where President Trump was visiting in Japan.  I was, same age, clean shaven, and wearing a dark suit with a red tie.  Ergo, I must be the President.  Too funny!

On Saturday we had a change to get a Beatles fix here in Iwakuni.  The were play a documentary at the performing arts center in Iwakuni on the early Beatles, from their first forming as a band, through their touring years.  It was produced by Ron Howard and was good fun.

They just opened a new grocery store near us.  I guess this is where you get your daily glass of dairy.  You had one job...

So far, a great start to the Fall season!

The Passing of My Sister

On the morning of September 19th I received a message from a close friend of my sister Sharon Drew Dunn who lives near her in Meridian, Idaho.  Paul Peebles let me know that she had passed away during the night.  She had not been feeling well and he took her to the hospital on Sunday evening.  They evaluated and gave her some treatments to help her with her congestive heart failure, but didn't feel she needed to be admitted.  Paul called her the next morning, but no answer so he went over to check on her and found that she had passed during the night.

That is the sad news, but I chose to not focus of that but to focus on the love and joy she brought to everyone.

Sharon, and my other sister Vicki Moniz, and I have a very different relationship.  We actually didn't meet each other until we were adults and had families of our own.  The long and short of it is that my biological mother Norma Mae Woolsey, was married to their father John Drew, before she was married to my father, Elmer Struempler.  I was unaware of this previous marriage and children until I was a senior in high school.  In a conversation with Norma late in the summer of 1976 I was able to get enough information to be able to locate both Sharon and Vicki.  Sharon was in Williston, ND, and Vicki was in Eva Beach, HI.  About a year later I was able to meet Sharon face to face for the first time and, lets just say, it was a long overdue family reunion.  I met Vicki face to face in 1979,  Since that moment, my two sisters have been an important part of my life.  They have been a blessing that I would not have even dared to dream of.

If you ever saw the three of us together, you would immediately know that we were related.  We have tried our best to make up for lost time.

Now comes the time to say goodbye to Sharon.  It is a sad time, but also a joyous time, knowing that she has now joined her sweet husband Mike who left us a few years ago.  I know that she is happy to be with him again, together in the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father.

Here are just a few pictures that I have pulled up of such a wonderful sister, mother, and wife.

 She loved the slots!!

In addition to her siblings, she left behind 4 wonderful children that any mom would be proud to call their own.  My thoughts and prayers go out to them as the mourn the loss of their mother.

I would be remise in the honoring of this great sister, if I didn't say a huge thank you to her close friend, neighbor and brother in spirit, Paul Pebbles.  After Mike's passing, Paul was a rock and a support to Sharon, and a comfort to me knowing that there was someone really close by who cared for her like family.  Thank you Paul for all that you did.

At this time I say goodbye to my sweet sister with the absolute assurance that I will see her again as we are rejoined as a family in the Celestial Kingdom with our Heavenly Father and our brother Jesus Christ.