Baptisms

I haven't mentioned much about baptisms, which is the goal of every missionary.  Japan doesn't have a huge number of baptism, but in the past couple of months, there have been five in the Meito Ward where we attend church.  It's been really fun, because the missionaries who teach these people are the missionaries we work with, and the people who join the church come to our ward.

The first one in this group was an older gentleman, possibly in his 70's.  The second and third were young men, both about 20.  One of them had been taking lessons for over a year, so it was pretty exciting when he finally decided it was time.  The other joined rather quickly for a Japanese person, learning about the church and joining in about a four-month period.  His father is a Buddhist Priest.  Both are so cute and really add to the fun that the young single adults have together.  There's quite a large group of them.

The fourth one was Ing, a darling girl who has moved here from China.  She was introduced to the church by one of our favorite people, Liu, who is also from China.  She is always happy and out-going, and since she also speaks English, I get to talk with her often.  She is managing the weekly English classes that are taught at the church for free.  We have a children's class, a beginner's class, and an advanced class.  Lee and I teach the advanced class and really have some great discussions.  It's a lot of fun and our students are so good to us and enjoyable to get to know.

Two old geizers on the left, then Elder Hara (our awesome commissarian), Ing (about to be baptized),
Elder Clark (our recorder and the one who will baptize her, also from Cache Valley like me)
Elder Ellsworth and Elder Schade, our two assistants to the president.  We love these people.

Sister Yamada on left (one of the sweetest, most patient and loving missionaries ever),
Ing, Sister Takatsu (just about to finish her mission) and Liu (You can look at
Liu's face and see the love she has.  She is a joy to know.

We always have lots of people come to the baptisms.  So many good people.  

Then last week, we were very involved with the baptism of Yuri.  We first met Yuri several months back when she came into the mission home asking for our opinion on a letter she had received from a friend (male friend.)  She seemed nervous, but really wanted our input on the underlying meaning of something he had written.  We tried to help her the best we could, and the friendship began.  She began taking the lessons, then stopped for a while.  But after a month or so, she started taking them again, and decided to join the church.  Her English is excellent.  Her family lived in the US for about three years. Yuri was only age 2 to 5, but they have encouraged her to keep studying, and she's very bright.  Her dad bought her a lot of good English story books.  She shared one with me that I liked so much I ordered it to be sent home so my grandchildren could enjoy it.  Yuri is now translating from Japanese to English at church for us.  And last week, because of transfers, Lee and I couldn't teach our English class for the four 12-year-old girls, so Yuri went and did it for us.

This is Yuri.  I got to speak at her baptism.  In Japan, the baptized individual also speaks,
and she did a fabulous job.  Elder Clark baptised her, and  Elder Hara helped teach her with Elder Clark.
She was also taught by Elder Berrett and Elder Koesashi, but Elder Berrett ended his mission and went
home and Elder Koesashi got transferred.

From left:  Sister Yamada, Sister Adachi (both amazing missionaries and women), Sister Barney, Liu,
Yuri, Elder Clark, Elder Hara, Elder Schade, Elder Ellsworth, and Elder Olsen, our new recorder who
has now replaced Elder Clark.

Yuri and Yours Truly

Liu, Keizen, (recent convert whose father is a Buddhist Priest) Yuri, Elder Kervinin (now a returned missionary, but he came back to visit from Finland, and was here for the baptism--one of my favorite missionaries and was an
assistant to the president, so we got to know him pretty well) and Yoshiki (recent convert).

Do You Have Some Leftover Pottery?

Lee and I have been three times to Seto, a city near here famous for it's pottery.  But we have learned that it isn't the only place.  I'm sure there are several other places in Japan where pottery is big.  There is a town called Tokoname near the Nagoya airport where the skyline is filled with old smoke stacks from the brick kilns of yesteryear. (In one period, there were 3,000 active kilns, which means 3,000 active smokestacks.) They have made so much pottery, they have a Ceramic Park Research Institute there.

So what did they do with leftover pottery and ceramics?  They helped build the city with it.  It is very hilly there; very little seems to be on the "level."  So they needed to make all the hillsides secure from erosion.  Pottery was the answer.  You can walk around quite a large area, and you are reminded that this is a pottery town, no matter where you look.  The street, the walls, the fences, the homes, the decor.

Take a look:

Sidewalk.

A closeup of on of the many old chimneys.  Sister Barney, Sister Kondo, Sister Hara.

Pottery and ceramic shops abound.

Now how is this for a fun retaining wall.

I could have looked at these all day.

Not sure what these little disks were used for, but now they are a wall.

Note the rice bowls between the "posts."  

This is a "miscellaneous" wall.

I should have asked Sister Kondo, but I didn't.  What do you think?
Sake jugs?  I can't think of what else these could be?

Aren't these little guys cute?  Makes you want to take a nap!

I like her!  She has a kind face.

These guys should be in a story book.  Maybe they are!

A modern kiln.

Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil.

Maybe these used to have corks in them, and you could take the cork out when you were thirsty.

This was my favorite sidewalk.

We had to share this picture.  Behind me was a car parked in front of a home.
The only way it could have gotten there, unless it was lifted in by a helicopter, was
to drive on this 'road."  I straddled it so you could get a feel for how wide the road was.
All I can say about the narrow roads in Japan is "Amazing!"

Ceramic chopstick rests, made to look like lotus root,
(which, by the way, is delicious).

More chopstick rests.

Beautiful old kiln with smokestack.

How I look when I'm mad.

Even ceramic table and stools.

Now this is a pot with character.

How I look when I'm happy.

I've been tempted to start a chopstick rest collection,
but decided against it.  But they have so many darling
chopstick rests here.

Even "The Thinker" made it to Japan.

Koi in the pond, and this is probably a fountain in the summer.

A Japanese mailman.  Ours looks just like him.  

Japanese Onsen

Ever wonder what a Japanese Onsen is like?  I really didn't.  I just knew I wasn't going to go to one, because that's where people bathe....together.  It's where, while the women and men are separate, they can often see each other.  It's where I didn't want to be.

But then I found out not all Japanese Onsen's are like that.  Some are completely private.  You can go enjoy a nice relaxing bath by yourself in complete privacy.  Now they had my attention.  Oh, and by the way, there is an onsen, and there is an ofuro.  An ofuro is where you take a bath in regular water.  Onsen water has to have a certain percentage of minerals and natural hot spring in the mix, though it can be supplemented with regular water.  It doesn't have to be totally naturally heated from an underground heat source.

Our dear friends, the Morita's, offered to take us to a very nice, very reputable onsen which is also a very nice traditional Japanese hotel.  Brother Morita, by the way, was in the stake presidency--until he took us.  Just kidding.  He was released a few months ago because the entire stake presidency changed.

What a relaxing treat.  It was on the coast about an hour from Nagoya.  We spent about 45 minutes in what I would call a nice hot tub with a view of the ocean, and then all met up together and enjoyed a few minutes in some massage chairs, also with a view of the ocean, before going out to lunch.  Kind of nice.

So sit back, relax, pretend you are nice and warm, (which may be easier to do in your house than in ours) and enjoy these photos Lee got of a nice Japanese onsen.

I loved this beautiful vase, by one of many windows overlooking the ocean.

The entry of the hotel.

The ceilings--Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)

Part of the spacious lobby.

Fine artwork abounded.

The Morita's showed us around the hotel first.  We had arrived earlier than most people, so
we were able to see some of the Japanese hotel rooms.  Everything right on the floor.
We had to bend low to get through some of the doorways.

Very pretty, and very Japanese.

Here we are, minus my sweet photographer.  From left:  Sister Barney, our amazing Sister Kondo,
Sister Hara (darling ward member with a two-year old and a baby), Sister and Brother Morita.
These people are just dear to us; they will always hold a special place in our hearts.

This is on the bottom floor--just a place to relax during your stay.

Another nice art piece.

This is on the second or third floor--just part of the hallway between rooms.

You are looking at two sides of the same table.   Note that the chairs
are really just pads, not legs, right on the floor.  The table
is a bit over half of coffee table height.

Entrance to an onsen area.  Really.

Same place, around the next corner.

This is an outdoor onsen.  What is interesting to me about it, is across the way about 40 feet was another one.
One side is for men, and the other for women.  So if you use these outdoor onsens, you can
see across to the other onsen.  Not my style.  But I guess there are enough Japanese people who
aren't bothered by it.

I loved the art work all around the hotel.

And this, this is where I got to enjoy a nice soak.

A place to sit outside if you like.

And look at that view.

I stared at this intricately carved wood gate for
quite a while.  How long did that take to make?

This is actually Ise Bay, the big bay you seen on the map
with Nagoya at the top.

This is the corner of the onsen where you soap down and rinse
off before you get into the onsen.

Sister Kondo and me enjoying a view of the ocean
and one of the best massage chairs I've ever experienced.

Front of the hotel.  About five stories high.