All the Latest

I have been remiss.  I have gotten behind.  I have been busy.  I have not kept up with my blog.  I AM sorry.

So here's a little attempt to share a few of the things that have been happening.

We made it through another set of transfers.  We are getting better and better at this.

We had company from America.  Jesselah McGrath, not family but like family, and one of our dear young single adults from Lee's bishop days, was able to come to Japan.  We loved having her here and it helped us get out and do some really fun things.  We squeezed a lot of things in on Preparation Days and still were able to get our work done.  Our dear friend, Sister Kondo, even took Jesselah to Kiso Valley for one big day.

We had sushi, of course.

We took Jesselah to the monkey park, along with Hailey Mowen, who we home teach.  They loved it and we loved being there again.

We have learned that there is a hierarchy among monkeys.  May I introduce you to the boss.    He was fascinating to watch.  One time a monkey was in his pathway, and he picked him up by the ear with his teeth and flung him out of the way.  When other monkeys wanted to go past him, they waited until they felt it was safe, then ran a wide path around this guy as fast as they could go, to make sure they didn't bother him.  

Ahh, life is good when you are a kid.

These little guys were so fun to watch.  They played and fought and wrestled and just had a great time together.

Jesselah and some little friends.

We know (from experience) that if you establish eye contact with the mature monkeys, they don't like it.
They will snarl and sometimes even reach out with their arms as if to attack.  If you are very close when this
happens, it can be really scary.  But apparently the babies aren't quite so picky.  Hailey and this little
guy are getting to know each other.

Finally, he just reached out and took hold of her sleeve.  But a few minutes later,
one of the bigger monkeys did the same thing.  She wisely moved away and he let go.

We stopped to see Zengo-ji (ji is the word for temple) in Matsumoto.  It is on several acres.    It was just closing as we arrived, but there were still quite a few people.  We wanted to look more closely inside, so may go back again.  It was very interesting.  It looks like it is very old, and it is a massive building.

The trees are very old and held up in many places by poles.
But every tree has such character.  They are beautiful.

These statues represent  various attributes and virtues.  

This is just one of the shrines on the large site.

We couldn't resist getting a picture here, since I grew up on a dairy farm.
We think this may have been some kind of monument.
Maybe it is dedicated to all cows, or to milk.  We couldn't tell.

There were memorials and shrines dedicated to everything imaginable, and if you don't believe me,
check out this sign next to one of the monuments.

There were numerous shops around the temple area with everything you could
possibly want to buy.  Shopping displays in Japan are so colorful.
Look closely.  You'll find Jesselah, and see that they take Visa and Master Card.

We took Jesselah to Shirakawa, a beautiful "city from the past" filled with the most beautiful thatched roof homes and buildings.  More coming on that.

And we side-tripped to a 1-kilo fairly steep hike to see 13 waterfalls. More coming.

We also went to Toyota Museum.  More coming.

We had other plans, but there just wasn't enough time.

We attended a couples conference with President and Sister Baird.  Highly spiritual and motivating, wonderful conversation (I crave all of the above!), great people to rub shoulders with, and the thrill of watching "Wicked," all in Japanese.  Delightful and amazing.  I'd go again in a heartbeat.  Costuming was stunning, breathtaking, out of this world.

The Matsuhashi's.  They are the only other couple serving in the mission.
They have done wonders in the ward they were assigned to,
including holding a weekly dance class and starting a choir.
We love being with them.  Japanese people are so kind and gracious,
and the Matsuhashi's are no exception.

And this is President and Sister Baird.  How we love and appreciate them!
What an honor it is for us to know them.  They have been so very good to us,
a true blessing in our lives, a constant source of inspiration.

Stay tuned for more.

And here are a few more fun beauty shop names:  Psyche Beauty News, Pola the Beauty, and my favorite of these three:  Cat and Perma.  Do you think maybe they meant Cut and Perm?