Good Morning!
I hope you all have recovered from your Halloween Candy hangovers and you're as excited about Thanksgiving as I am. The weather here has been crisp and beautiful. We've been traveling this week and the mountains of Japan are breath-taking. They have apple orchards in Nagano. The abundant, huge beautiful hanging apples made the lyrics of a primary song go through my head;
Autumn day, autumn day, God gives richest gifts today. Look on every side and see pleasant things for you and me, apples red and apples yellow, round and juicy, sweet and mellow, load the trees till they bend over and their branches brush the clover, Child, be glad with all that lives, But forget not God, who gives.
Hair salon names: 'Roo moon'(?), 'Posse Cuts' and 'Hello Beauty'. I saw a place called 'Hair Salon', I about fell out of the car!
Some quick updates:
Had another meeting with the Yakuza on the freeway. This time it wasn't as bad as the first, but still scared the stuffin' (in honor of Thanksgiving!) right out or me! For those of you that don't know who the Yakuza are, they are the Japanese Mafia and they like to try to make you hit them on the freeway, they act like real 'turkeys'! Thanks again for you prayers.
We have spent the last week with a General Authority from Korea, Elder Chio (he gave the 'Rowdy Boys' talk in the Priesthood session of conference awhile ago). They have stayed in our home and traveled with us. This is probably the thing I was most nervous about before coming, entertaining General Authorities. I feel better now. They were delightful and we learned so much from Elder and Sister Chio. She goes by Sister Chio in the church, but in Korea she goes by Sister Koo. Women in Korea don't change their last name to their husband's surname when they marry. Their 18 year old son, Soon Yoon was with them. He was great! He sat through 3 days of meeting for 7 hours each. That was hard for me! Then more meetings for the next 2 days. We found a little Korean restaurant and I had real Kim Chi (sp?) for the first time. I liked it a lot! I love Korean food!
We had transfers last week. It's always exciting to get our new missionaries and have that first impression of them. It's hard to let the ones you have grown so close to, leave. We lost three this transfer. Elder Da Silva had an early flight so Scott, the A.P.'s and the other 2 leaving took him to the airport (50 minutes away). When they returned we had breakfast. Sister Kobashi didn't look so good. Everyone gets so nervous when they are going home. I asked her if she was okay she said she was just a little car sick (maybe Scott's driving?). Elder Furukawa came in freezing, he didn't feel well and had the chills. We got in the car to head first to the airport again, then come back to the Shinkansen (bullet train). Sister Kobasi somehow got in the back seat of the van, (a bad spot for car sick people!) and Elder Furukawa in the middle row seat by the window. Pretty soon it was evident that Sister Kobashi needed some kind of container. She was sick. After I asked what I could do to help her, she asked if we could roll down the windows, it would make her feel better. So we did. Well, remember Elder Furukawa? He has chills and is freezing to death? He's by the window. I literally think he was turning blue because he was so cold. I know it's usually a good thing to see the humor in bad situations and this almost made me get the giggles. It was a little humorous. We sent off poor freezing Elder Furukawa at the airport and then ran to the train station to deliver car sick, Sister Kobashi. We waited for awhile then Scott said it was time to go up to the platform. The train came in, I looked at the clock it was 1:45, Sister Kobashi's train was at 1:55. She started to get on. I asked Scott about the time, he told me she knew what she was doing. The doors closed, all the time we were all waving and smiling at each other, then she must have realized it was the wrong train because she tried to open the door (not a good idea when your on a moving bullet train) they wouldn't open, 'thank' goodness. My last image of her was her standing there, trying to frantically pry the door open and the train pulling away. All the while Scott was still waving and smiling, calling "bye-bye"! I was just sick! We'd put her on the wrong train! I worried about her all day. We called her mother later and she said she had made it fine, she had just arrived home a little early. Wow! And people trust their children to us!!
While we were in Nagano with the Chio's, we went to visit a family there. The father, Brother Musashino, was one of the first to join the church after the war. He is now blind and bedridden. His wife has Alzheimer's and is bed ridden. Their daughter and her family lives with them. When we arrived their daughter who is Sister Takatsuka and her four children greeted us. We went into the little room probably as big as my exercise room, very small. Her mother lay in a hospital bed, she wasn't coherent. The blind father was in his futon (thin mattress pad) on the floor next to her. Their sweet daughter was so happy and kind. Here she has four little children, ages 9,6,3 and 5 months, to care for and two parents that need constant care. Her husband is a ski instructor and works at the convenience stores in the summer (he's less active now). I couldn't believe her positive attitude. They were all kind and happy. As we sat there in that tiny room, I watched as Elder Chio talked to them. I learned a new meaning of "ministering" to people. I looked at the beautiful, flawless faces of those little children as they listened. I remembered my own little grandchildren at home and thought of their flawless faces. I couldn't control my emotions. There sat these humble, wonderful people, in such challenging circumstances, and still the feeling in that home was beautiful. It was evident that they were so 'thankful' someone had cared enough to come and visit, even a General Authority had come to tell them how much the Lord loved and cared about them. It was so sweet. When we left, Sister Takatsuka and her children had prepared sweet potatoes to send home with us. We saw them at church yesterday and the children had drawn pictures for us. Sora, the oldest child(9), drew a picture of himself as a missionary with a tag that said 'Missionary Sora'.
As I meet the members here, I hear of their struggles with many different issues; rebellious children, health issues, financial pressures. Most of them are not close in proximity to each other. It's hard for them to support one another in that way. So many have expressed family concerns to me. I was thinking of how we could help. Maybe have some kind of training from our area leadership. I just couldn't think of how we could address it all. It seemed so overwhelming. Then the thought came into my mind "If they will seek help from the Lord through prayer and scriptures, He will put into their minds the things they need to do". I thought of how often when I have been wrestling with an issue, that something I read, or someone I talk to, seems to give me an idea or answer. I know He is in the very details of our lives. He knows us. He helps us when we seek Him.
We were in Ueda Saturday night for a fireside (not far from Nagano). There are 12 active members there. They had 33 at the fireside. Elder Chio was the speaker. Afterward he asked people to share their thoughts. One that spoke was Sister Nakazawa. She's the District Relief Society President for the Matsumoto Zone and lives in the Ueda Branch. She said she had been praying for a pianist for the Branch. She would ask every missionary that came if they played the piano. No one did. She said she altered her prayer and prayed for a missionary to be sent there that played. One night as she was pleading again with the Lord, she said He told her "I've already provided a piano player. It's you." She answered "I don't know how." He responded "You need to learn." She got on the internet and purchased a book, 'How to learn to play the piano in 30 days'. She was learning! But she still couldn't play the Hymns, they were to difficult. She was reading the Liahona (Japanese Ensign Magazine)one evening and saw that they had a 'Simplified Hymns' book. One of the office elders ordered it for her. She began playing in May. She is now the ward pianist. I wish you all could meet her. Feel of her gigantic spirit and faith. She is so beautiful. She fed me my first Japanese Sushi. Oh how I love her.
There are a hundred other things and people I'd love to tell you about, but I'll save it for a future email. At this Thanksgiving time, I am remembering that 'God, who gives'. I want to tell you the gratitude I feel for; My family. My friends. Your love and support. Your examples. Your faith. Your prayers. These members. These Missionaries. My Savior.
Love to you all
Sister Baird, Bonnie, Mom or Grandma
Cultural tip of the week: There are a million bikes here. You have to be so careful when you drive, they come out of nowhere. Last week we had 2 missionaries crash, Elder Hooton fractured two ribs, Elder Brown had a bad case of road rash. A third, Sister Wilcox, got hit by a car and went under it! All three accidents in two days! Miraculously all of them are fine, except the painful ribs of course.
Many elderly people still ride bikes. I mean 70 to 90 year olds! I saw a sweet little woman in the park who must have been close to 80. She could hardly walk, but she got on her bike and peddled away, her dog on a leash running along side. I could NOT do that! I'd run over the dog and then do a somersault over the handlebars! Amazing!!!!
I hope you all have recovered from your Halloween Candy hangovers and you're as excited about Thanksgiving as I am. The weather here has been crisp and beautiful. We've been traveling this week and the mountains of Japan are breath-taking. They have apple orchards in Nagano. The abundant, huge beautiful hanging apples made the lyrics of a primary song go through my head;
Autumn day, autumn day, God gives richest gifts today. Look on every side and see pleasant things for you and me, apples red and apples yellow, round and juicy, sweet and mellow, load the trees till they bend over and their branches brush the clover, Child, be glad with all that lives, But forget not God, who gives.
Hair salon names: 'Roo moon'(?), 'Posse Cuts' and 'Hello Beauty'. I saw a place called 'Hair Salon', I about fell out of the car!
Some quick updates:
Had another meeting with the Yakuza on the freeway. This time it wasn't as bad as the first, but still scared the stuffin' (in honor of Thanksgiving!) right out or me! For those of you that don't know who the Yakuza are, they are the Japanese Mafia and they like to try to make you hit them on the freeway, they act like real 'turkeys'! Thanks again for you prayers.
We have spent the last week with a General Authority from Korea, Elder Chio (he gave the 'Rowdy Boys' talk in the Priesthood session of conference awhile ago). They have stayed in our home and traveled with us. This is probably the thing I was most nervous about before coming, entertaining General Authorities. I feel better now. They were delightful and we learned so much from Elder and Sister Chio. She goes by Sister Chio in the church, but in Korea she goes by Sister Koo. Women in Korea don't change their last name to their husband's surname when they marry. Their 18 year old son, Soon Yoon was with them. He was great! He sat through 3 days of meeting for 7 hours each. That was hard for me! Then more meetings for the next 2 days. We found a little Korean restaurant and I had real Kim Chi (sp?) for the first time. I liked it a lot! I love Korean food!
We had transfers last week. It's always exciting to get our new missionaries and have that first impression of them. It's hard to let the ones you have grown so close to, leave. We lost three this transfer. Elder Da Silva had an early flight so Scott, the A.P.'s and the other 2 leaving took him to the airport (50 minutes away). When they returned we had breakfast. Sister Kobashi didn't look so good. Everyone gets so nervous when they are going home. I asked her if she was okay she said she was just a little car sick (maybe Scott's driving?). Elder Furukawa came in freezing, he didn't feel well and had the chills. We got in the car to head first to the airport again, then come back to the Shinkansen (bullet train). Sister Kobasi somehow got in the back seat of the van, (a bad spot for car sick people!) and Elder Furukawa in the middle row seat by the window. Pretty soon it was evident that Sister Kobashi needed some kind of container. She was sick. After I asked what I could do to help her, she asked if we could roll down the windows, it would make her feel better. So we did. Well, remember Elder Furukawa? He has chills and is freezing to death? He's by the window. I literally think he was turning blue because he was so cold. I know it's usually a good thing to see the humor in bad situations and this almost made me get the giggles. It was a little humorous. We sent off poor freezing Elder Furukawa at the airport and then ran to the train station to deliver car sick, Sister Kobashi. We waited for awhile then Scott said it was time to go up to the platform. The train came in, I looked at the clock it was 1:45, Sister Kobashi's train was at 1:55. She started to get on. I asked Scott about the time, he told me she knew what she was doing. The doors closed, all the time we were all waving and smiling at each other, then she must have realized it was the wrong train because she tried to open the door (not a good idea when your on a moving bullet train) they wouldn't open, 'thank' goodness. My last image of her was her standing there, trying to frantically pry the door open and the train pulling away. All the while Scott was still waving and smiling, calling "bye-bye"! I was just sick! We'd put her on the wrong train! I worried about her all day. We called her mother later and she said she had made it fine, she had just arrived home a little early. Wow! And people trust their children to us!!
While we were in Nagano with the Chio's, we went to visit a family there. The father, Brother Musashino, was one of the first to join the church after the war. He is now blind and bedridden. His wife has Alzheimer's and is bed ridden. Their daughter and her family lives with them. When we arrived their daughter who is Sister Takatsuka and her four children greeted us. We went into the little room probably as big as my exercise room, very small. Her mother lay in a hospital bed, she wasn't coherent. The blind father was in his futon (thin mattress pad) on the floor next to her. Their sweet daughter was so happy and kind. Here she has four little children, ages 9,6,3 and 5 months, to care for and two parents that need constant care. Her husband is a ski instructor and works at the convenience stores in the summer (he's less active now). I couldn't believe her positive attitude. They were all kind and happy. As we sat there in that tiny room, I watched as Elder Chio talked to them. I learned a new meaning of "ministering" to people. I looked at the beautiful, flawless faces of those little children as they listened. I remembered my own little grandchildren at home and thought of their flawless faces. I couldn't control my emotions. There sat these humble, wonderful people, in such challenging circumstances, and still the feeling in that home was beautiful. It was evident that they were so 'thankful' someone had cared enough to come and visit, even a General Authority had come to tell them how much the Lord loved and cared about them. It was so sweet. When we left, Sister Takatsuka and her children had prepared sweet potatoes to send home with us. We saw them at church yesterday and the children had drawn pictures for us. Sora, the oldest child(9), drew a picture of himself as a missionary with a tag that said 'Missionary Sora'.
As I meet the members here, I hear of their struggles with many different issues; rebellious children, health issues, financial pressures. Most of them are not close in proximity to each other. It's hard for them to support one another in that way. So many have expressed family concerns to me. I was thinking of how we could help. Maybe have some kind of training from our area leadership. I just couldn't think of how we could address it all. It seemed so overwhelming. Then the thought came into my mind "If they will seek help from the Lord through prayer and scriptures, He will put into their minds the things they need to do". I thought of how often when I have been wrestling with an issue, that something I read, or someone I talk to, seems to give me an idea or answer. I know He is in the very details of our lives. He knows us. He helps us when we seek Him.
We were in Ueda Saturday night for a fireside (not far from Nagano). There are 12 active members there. They had 33 at the fireside. Elder Chio was the speaker. Afterward he asked people to share their thoughts. One that spoke was Sister Nakazawa. She's the District Relief Society President for the Matsumoto Zone and lives in the Ueda Branch. She said she had been praying for a pianist for the Branch. She would ask every missionary that came if they played the piano. No one did. She said she altered her prayer and prayed for a missionary to be sent there that played. One night as she was pleading again with the Lord, she said He told her "I've already provided a piano player. It's you." She answered "I don't know how." He responded "You need to learn." She got on the internet and purchased a book, 'How to learn to play the piano in 30 days'. She was learning! But she still couldn't play the Hymns, they were to difficult. She was reading the Liahona (Japanese Ensign Magazine)one evening and saw that they had a 'Simplified Hymns' book. One of the office elders ordered it for her. She began playing in May. She is now the ward pianist. I wish you all could meet her. Feel of her gigantic spirit and faith. She is so beautiful. She fed me my first Japanese Sushi. Oh how I love her.
There are a hundred other things and people I'd love to tell you about, but I'll save it for a future email. At this Thanksgiving time, I am remembering that 'God, who gives'. I want to tell you the gratitude I feel for; My family. My friends. Your love and support. Your examples. Your faith. Your prayers. These members. These Missionaries. My Savior.
Love to you all
Sister Baird, Bonnie, Mom or Grandma
Cultural tip of the week: There are a million bikes here. You have to be so careful when you drive, they come out of nowhere. Last week we had 2 missionaries crash, Elder Hooton fractured two ribs, Elder Brown had a bad case of road rash. A third, Sister Wilcox, got hit by a car and went under it! All three accidents in two days! Miraculously all of them are fine, except the painful ribs of course.
Many elderly people still ride bikes. I mean 70 to 90 year olds! I saw a sweet little woman in the park who must have been close to 80. She could hardly walk, but she got on her bike and peddled away, her dog on a leash running along side. I could NOT do that! I'd run over the dog and then do a somersault over the handlebars! Amazing!!!!
7:25 AM |
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