The Work Moves Forward

This week was a pretty good week, with a small  exception.  On Monday the PMO Master Sergeant let me know that they will not renew our 30 day vehicle pass, meaning that we will have to sign our car in each and every time we come on base.  They will not recognize the rental agreement that we have with the Church for the car as a legitimate rental.  Even though I have a letter from the Church documenting our lease, because it does not look like a Hertz rental contract they will not accept it. It is an inconvenience, but we will move on past this and the work will move forward.  I guess from a positive point of view, I will get to know the people in the guard house at the gate over the next year.

Sunday, we met an new investigator, Bro Huang.  His story is amazing.  He was riding by the building on the train and when he saw it, something told him that he should stop and visit the Church.  He met with the Elders and has committed to baptism on December 24th.  He is so excited about learning about the Gospel.

We had our P-day on Monday and decided to go visit a local popular tourist site known as Miyajima and the Itsukushima Shrine, best know for its "floating" tori gate. 

The Itsukushima Shrine was designed and built on pier-like structures over the bay so that it would appear to be floating on the water, separate from the sacred island, which could be approached by the devout.  The original structures are about 1400 years old but like many structure here in Japan, have been rebuilt many times.

 At high tide, the water covers this area.  At low tide you can walk out to the O-tori Gate

The site is also famous for the wild deer that have the run of the island and absolutely no fear of humans.  They are cute, but also a bit of a pain.

We are fortunate that a place this beautiful is only about 29 miles north of us.  It is considered one of Japan's three most scenic spots,

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 Shopping always an option.

 One of my favorite foods, nikomon, a soft roll with a port center.

 Amazing gardens a Koi ponds

 Mikasanohama - Entrance of the shrine area

Six hundred volumes of Dai-hannyako Scripture were introduced from India by a Chinese monk names Sanzo.  It is believed that touching these sutras will bring you enormous fortune.

 Tengu, with wings and long noses, have been considered to possess supernatural powers since ancient times.

 The Three Evils, See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Speak No Evil. 

Our current candidates for the Presidency could learn a lot from this.

The 5 storied pagoda built in 1407


Henjyokutsu Cave.  In this dimly lit cave are the sand and the principal Buddhist icons of the 88 temples of the prestigious pilgrimage route on Shikoku.  Worshippers believe that they are given the same blessings as people who make the pilgrimage to all the temples on this route.

 Tourist groups are always fun in Japan. 

These are not prisoners, but are students on a field trip.

Saturday was date night and some things never change, no matter where you are!
(Not my actual date, but a person who helped us buy tickets!)

The work is moving forward in this area.  We continue to work with the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, and the Red Cross.  We were able to meet with a part-member family this week and establish a good relationship with them.  We will have the opportunity to present to them the Resiliency and Reliant Family Program.  This is a program developed buy the church to help military families deal with the variety of unique situations that military families face such as frequent relocation, separation due to military deployments, and other issues associated with military life.  We are excited about this opportunity to present this program and get to know this family better.

Thursday night we met with an English class that meets out in town, along with the Sister missionaries.  This was the same class we met with 2 weeks ago.  It was fun again to see the class singing hymns both in English and Japanese and also for the opportunity to teach them briefly about Family Home Evening and the importance of the family unit.  Sometimes we don't get to see the impact of teaching opportunities, but at the same time, we get to plant the seeds and hopefully they will take root and grow.\.

Today was a good Sunday with a great testimony meeting.  There was another investigator who has been in contact with one of our Young Single Adults who is an return missionary.  He has committed to baptism the end of this month.  Exciting times!

We had 3 in attendance this evening at our YSA FHE.  Sister Struempler/Mom/Grandma does a great job in making sure they have homemade treats, and these young Marines are not bashful in enjoying them.  They seem to enjoy the time with us and the lessons given, we just wish we could reach more of them.  We are having a YSA activity on Thursday evening.  Hoping more will show up.

Tonight ended with a call from Stake President Hunt.  He extended to me an assignment to serve as a member of the Stake High Council.  It is actually an assignment rather than a calling because obviously I already have a calling that takes precedence over all other callings at this time.  I was not really surprised because I had already heard that it was common for a Senior Couple Elder to serve on the local Stake High Council.  I am happy to serve in any way that I can.

Looking forward to another week of opportunities.