Sakura = cherry blossoms

After a lengthy process, I finally have a Japanese driver's license, complete with an imbeded iris scan and two passwords. It took almost 3 days to get it along with $98.50, but what a relief - one day for getting my U.S. license translated into Japanese, one day for making a formal application, and one day for taking the written and driving tests. None of the staff at the Department of Motor Vehicles spoke English so it was good to have Elder Hill get his at the same time. During the driving test you had to prove that you were a confident driver with a knowledge of Japanese regulations. You also had to demonstrate your skills in driving through narrow places. One was called the crank and consisted of 3 ninety degree turns on a road with about an extra foot on each side of the car. The road was raised about 4 inches above the surrounding area so that it was not difficult to tell if you dropped off the edge. They also had soft weights suspended on ropes marking the edge of the road where the front bumper must pass as you turned. If the car touched the weights you failed and were invited back to try again later. There was also a very tight s-turn with the same narrow spacing as the crank. The turns were sharp enough that as you started into the turn you could no longer see the road near the front end of the car. It would have been a nail-biting experience except I was too busy to bite my nails. Elder Hill and I were the only two who passed out of the seven foreigners who came to take the test that day.

The Tohoku area of Japan is beautiful in spring and everything is in full flower. We can only share a small sampling but thought it would be fun to include two photos of Magnolia trees (or at least we think they are Magnolia trees). They are a little different than the tree that we had in our yard in Missouri, but we still think they are probably magnolia trees.

Each magnolia flower is nearly as large as a baseball and are either dark pink or pure white.

Some of the most cherished flowers of the Japanese people are cherry blossoms (sakura). In Sendai there are literally thousands of trees--in the forests, in private yards, along city streets, and in parks. They all seemed to come into full bloom this week so people were everywhere just looking at the cherry trees. On Saturday morning we arrived at Mikamine Park well before 7:00 A.M. to find many people in the park admiring the trees, walking their pets, or sitting under the trees having their breakfast.

There must have been at least a hundred trees in this park, all loaded with blossoms.

We spent an enjoyable half hour walking among the beautiful trees and then it was back to work. Although this is Easter weekend, for us it was also General Conference. Because we're fifteen hours ahead of Salt Lake City, we can't watch the live sessions unless we begin at 1 A.M. So, the broadcast is translated into Japanese and we watch it on the following Saturday and Sunday. It was great to hear Elder Holland recount and consider the events that happened nearly 2000 years ago and to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, our Redeemer, who though his atonement and resurrection gave us the blessing and hope of eternal life with him.

We have another busy week ahead of us and then in two weeks it's transfers again. We're doing well and hope that you are too. We send our love.

The End of March 09

Winter here seems to be gone. We have a few very windy days, but the average temperature is about 50 degrees in the day time and 35 degrees at night. All of the plants are springing to life, with green foliage and numerous early spring flowers everywhere. We don't change to day-light savings time so the sun comes up shortly after 5:00 a.m. Nearly every day this past week we've gone out early for a half hour walk and I've photographed a few of the plants as we walk.

Panseys seem especially popular and come in many colors. The gardeners are already at work when we go out. The have peas that are more than 6 inches high, onions at least that tall, and red table beets that look like they are ready to eat. Of course there are many kinds of green leafy vegetables that we can't identify.

Cabbages are popular both for decorations and as vegetables. I've included a few of the white or purple ones that are growing in the flower gardens.

We've had a busy and varied week that has included zone conference, an audit of the mission financial records, the dedication of our enlarged ward building, and some of general conference. I've also worked on getting my Japanese driver's license. The emphasis is on "worked." It took half a day to get an official translation of it into Japanese and another half day to fill out the forms to take the written and driving tests. Because I began driving before driving was taught as a formal class, there were many questions about how I learned to drive. How much did it cost, how old was I, how many questions were on the exam, what maneuvers were part of the driving test, and did I get my license the day I finished the test? That was 55 years ago so my answers were a little vague. I think my license cost $2 but I made the mistake of telling the examiner that it was necessary to receive my license by mail because they didn't have copy machines or instant photo processes. That resulted in another 20 questions - like - did I pass and what was my score and which questions did I miss? Finally, just as the office was closing we were rushed to the cashier and the photo machine. Then, we were told that we could come back on the afternoon of April 8th and they would give the written test and watch while we drive the obstacle course. Hopefully after 3 half-days and $100, I'll be the owner of a new license.

Our zone conference was great, and I survived the financial audit. Of course there were some suggestions for improvement, but nothing major.

Last summer, a sister missionary fell off her bicycle and destroyed her elbow. She's had 3 operations and has been in the hospital since the beginning of 2009 for the third operation. She's going home on medical leave for physical therapy. We've been settling her expenses so that she can leave. We wish her the best as she strives to restore the ability to bend her elbow. Young missionaries on bikes get banged up more that we would like, but not like this young lady. Her accident has been a major and serious problem.

The flowers on this bush are just outside the door to the mission home. They look like large roses and have a very nice, gentle odor.

The Nagamachi Ward building was dedicated today in an enjoyable service that followed the end of the regular block time. The Sendai Stake doesn't get to watch general conference until next week-end because we are 15 hours ahead of Salt Lake time and it also takes time to have a Japanese version prepared. Because we can watch it in English on the internet, we've seen most of the Saturday sessions and will watch the Sunday sessions on the ends of each day this coming week.

We hope that all is going well for you and we send our love.

Kakunodate

On March 25, 2009, while out checking on missionary apartments, Pres. & Sis. Tateoka and mother & I took an hour of p-day. We went to see a samurai village in the mountains in the northwest corner of our mission near the city of Akita. Although it was a very cold, blustery day in the mountains, it was great to catch a glimpse of life in Japan from about 350 years ago. This is an iron emblem in the architecture of the gates surrounding a samurai mansion.

During this feudal period of Japan, the master lived in Akita and his samurai retired to Kakunodate when they weren't being wariors. They really lived a double life, one as a fierce fighter and one as a skilled craftsman who earned a living for himself and his family by developing a trade.

Their trades apparently were highly varied, ranging from art, to carpentry, to metal working, to farming.

Judging from their armor, they were small people, but from their reputation they were fierce fighters. If the feudal master called for war, off they went.

Their homes would have been palaces in that time period and they spent great amounts of time constructing and caring for them. Some of their descendants still live there and open them to the public. Here is one where the thatched roof is thick and highly maintained.

The yards were full of stately trees and stone decorations like this one.

They had nice utensils, home decorations, guest rooms and more, but the rooms are extremely cold during winter.

This is the spring in one of the yards, just waiting for family members to come for a drink. Even in winter it was not frozen, and the outer surface is covered with algae.

Here's the heating system - a box of sand and a container of charcoal.

Their winter boots looked inviting, but I don't think they would be very comfortable in the snow.

It was an enjoyable hour and then we went on to check on more missionary apartments. With about 40 apartments in our mission we never stay caught up.

We are really enjoying our many experiences and are still rejoicing for the baptism of Junya that was held in our ward last week end. That makes nine for the missionaries in our ward since we came. We have been making progress with the Matsune couple whose picture we posted earlier. We thought that they might be the next baptism. However, Susumu was promoted this week and they left almost immediately to move to Tokyo. We will get their address and send a referral to the Tokyo Mission as soon as we can. They are too valuable to lose. It was sad to tell them "goodbye." We went by their apartment on our way home from church and the movers were finishing loading their truck.

All in all, life is great. The gospel is such a blessing and brings such joy into the lives of those who accept it. We thank Heavenly Father many times daily for our membership in His church and for the blessing of our family. We know He is mindful of each of you and the trials you face. Trust in Him and He will take your burdens upon Him.

Moving Day!!!!

This is Junya. He is one of our favorites. He is an Eikaiwa student that has been coming for quite awhile--two years, I think. He is a very nice young man and we love working with him.

These pictures are in the old building we've been using while our building was being added on to.
Charlie is sitting in the back and Ito san is up front. Chiba kun is the young man facing front and the one going out the door is Hamamoto kyodai, the young man who's been helping us to learn Japanese. Both of them are recent converts. Chiba was baptized just before we came to Japan and Hamamoto kyodai was baptized about 6 months before.

Dad tried to take an outside picture of the building, but there is a fence very close. There are two identical buildings and the one at the far end by the bicycles is the one we used. They will be torn down and replaced by a parking lot.

This is yesterday (Saturday) which was moving day. We were moving all of our things back over to the church. That is Sister Tani waving. She is one fantastic missionary. Oh that all missionaries could be like her. The man in the yellow rain suit is our former stake president.

This is our chapel. All of the building from the little overhang by the front door, to the left, is the new addition. We got a new steeple and then a few parking spaces under the upstairs part that was added.

This is a close up of the front of the building. It is so nice to be back in our own building. We were only here 5 weeks when we were moved out. We have been attending church clear across town--about 40 minutes by car, since July 1st. So, by the time we go home from our mission, we'll have been half of the time in the Kamisugi Chapel and half of the time here in the Nagamachi Chapel. It's only 15 minutes to our chapel.

Everyone was so excited to be back today. We had a very good attendance at church. We were excited that the Matsunes came to meeting. I had invited them but wasn't sure if they'd come. In fact, Nezele told me her husband couldn't come, but they both did and stayed the whole block. After church, we had a potluck lunch and they also stayed for that. All in all, it was a great day.

Dad is feeling a little under the weather today but was determined I should post. Sorry it isn't up to his usual great stuff. We are so grateful to be here. We love being missionaries and we love the Japanese people--and all of our missionaries. This week is transfer week, so there will be changes. We've loved this group of office elders so much. It will be hard to have them change, but the new ones always end up being wonderful as well. Life is good and we thank Heavenly Father each day for His loving care of us and all of you.

This is the inside of our chapel. We are excited with the new chairs! Our old chairs were awful. The chapel will seat about 200 people.

It's beginning to feel like spring in Sendai. We took this picture today (Mar 10, 2009) overlooking the foothills that surround the south and west side of the city. The trees haven't started to leaf out yet, but the buds are swelling, the grass is starting to green in a few sheltered places, and some of the ferns in the woods are sending out the first fronds.

Many of the plants, like this varigated bush, didn't lose their leaves and now they add their color to the spring landscape. Spring in Sendai seems to be characterized by strong winds (sometimes 30 mph or more), and more freqent rain.









This is also a picture taken today of the first bulbs at the mission home to send up their flowers. This is a fun time of year as the days lengthen and the plants begin to grow. Most of the gardeners have been busy planting and small green vegetables are neatly lined up in rows. Some of them are still covered with fabric to protect them from the mild frosts that linger.

We seem to be getting busier each day. We're starting the circuit of working on missionary apartments. Hopefully we won't find too many like this. We do, however, find lots of small problems like the picture below. I'm learning to take my tools and have found a few good hardware stores where I can get parts to fix them.

The missions in Japan & Korea are going to iMOS, the internet version of mission operating system. This morning we participated in a 2 hour internet meeting held by computer managers in Salt Lake City. Ruth begins converting our mission records immediately and the finances will follow over the next several months. I'm sure that we'll still be working on this conversion when we finish our mission. We are also implementing bar-coded temple recommends in Japan and have just converted from land-line phones to cell phones during the past 2 months.

In addition to all of the office activities, we are trying to be more invloved with members and in teaching the gospel. The Haginaka family, shown here, speak English and we greatly enjoy them and other members of the ward. We are teaching 2 Eikaiwa classes each week and a few of our students are listening to the missionary discussions. One young man has a baptismal date for March 22. He knows the church is true and is struggling to give up his tobacco habit.

We located a Japanese tutor who comes weekly for a 90 minute lesson and our ability to understand and to speak is slowly improving. We look forward to the day when we can truly carry on a real conversation. We now understand what it would be like to be illiterate. Our time here is going by rapidly so we must maximize our efforts. We are enjoying our experiences and it seems that more of our work days are turning into 14 hour efforts to get things done. My health has improved dramatically since we've been here; it's better than it has been for several years. We count our blessing and truly appreciate the opportunity to serve.

We send our love and hope things are going well for all of you.

Love,

Mom & Dad (aka Ruth & Dale)

Snowy, windy February in Sendai

February has been the cold and snowy month in Sendai. It makes us appreciate our winter boots and kerosene heater. This is a photo of the hedge between our apartment building and the mission home and office. We continue to have a few small earthquakes, not enought to do any harm, but enough to rattle the windows.














I've done more snow shoveling than I'd planned, but the exercise is great. February has shown us the windy side of Sendai. We've had quite a few days of winds of about 30 miles per hour. We didn't know that it could blow so hard until just the past 2 or 3 weeks. However, the locals in our English class tell us that spring is coming soon. Some of the bulbs are up about 3 or 4 inches so maybe they're right.

We greatly enjoy working with the young missionaries who live in the honbu for a few transfers. We just get to know them well and then they are transferred or they finish their missions. This is Elder Fukuda, a delightful missionary who speaks enough English that we have a good time together. He translates our documents and makes the phone calls to people who don't speak english. He's our newest assistant to the president.

These are Ruth's Valentine flowers and I wish they had come from me, but they came from a ward member. The chocolates came from a family who came for dinner and a gospel discussion. Both gifts made a great valentine day for Ruth. By the way, in Japan it's the girls who give the valentine gifts.

This is Kaori Kusaka and her daughters who came and had lunch with us. They speak English! We have about a dozen families in the Nagamachi Ward who can speak English and we enjoy to visit with them at church and have them come to our home. After the beginning of the year, we applied for a tutor at the local community center and we've now had two Japanese lessons from a very kind and polite lady who comes to our home for a 90 minute Nihongo lesson each week. It is very helpful to have a tutor and maybe we'll learn to communicate better before our mission is finished. We continue to teach 2 English classes each week and to help the young missionaries with teaching discussions when possible.

We are anxious to get back into our building (the Nagamachi Ward). We have been driving to Kamisugi twice each week--once to Eikaiwa (English class) and once for church. We only have two more Sundays and then our building will be finished and we can move back in. We are counting the days. We'll have to take a picture (when they take down the protective screen they've had up) of our pretty remodeled building and post it next time.

We love and appreciate all of you. For those of you who don't know, Lori and Michael have moved back to Idaho. They are just a few minutes from Nate, Leslie, and their girls and fairly close to Ann and Glen. We are excited for all of them, and for us when we get home.

Please post and share your news with all of us. It really is a nice way to tell us all.

Snow in Sendai

Yesterday was our first real blizzard since we've been here. The snow went sideways in the wind and we received about 5 inches. This morning we woke to clear skys, but a liberal dusting of snow. Here are a few pictures










Our parking lot was icy as was everything else around.

The water tanks above us on the hill were highlighted in the bright morning sun.

This is what the roads looked like after the snow plow had cleared the way. It wasn't like that yesterday afternoon when we went down the hill to Kamisugi to teach our English class. Cars were slipping in all directions as they tried coming up the hills.

There are traditions for snow just like other activities. Before going in at night, they lift the windshield wipers into the air. This keeps them from being stuck to the window and allows them to clean the windows without the wipers being in the way.

Homes in our neighborhood took on a clean neat appearance as this dusting of snow highlighted them.

I've talked about this before, but never cease to be amazed. This street marker identifies several blocks in the neighborhood. They don't use street names when writing addresses. Instead, it is like cutting a flat cake and naming and numbering each piece as you go. The largest piece has a name, the next smaller ones have names, then several blocks have a number and finally your house has a number. We're slowly getting used to the system and are beginning to be able to find the location of a house.

There is flowering beauty even after a snow storm. The cyclamen plants are surviving the winter weather and are still producing flowers. When the snow is gone, they'll bounce back up and look beautiful, if past history repeats itself.

Even the geranium that we've watched all winter is still hanging on, though losing a little ground with each cold spell or snow storm. We're watching it to see if it produces new leaves when the weather begins to warm. We're at the cold point of our winter and the average daily temperatures now begin to climb.

We've had another busy, but productive week. Elder Gary Stevenson came to visit our mission and meet the missionaries. On Wednesday evening when he arrived, he interviewed all of the elders that work in the office, then we were priviledged to enjoy dinner as Tateokas hosted him and Sis. Stevenson. Elder Stevenson was a mission president in Nagoya a few years ago and is well acquainted with Japan. He gave some outstanding messages on Thursday and Friday as he met with the missionaries. We ended up with many pages of notes as we met with him on Thursday.

One of the young men that we met as Shun's home on New Years Day, came to a ward activity on Saturday evening where the the missionaries were able to teach him a discussion and then he came to church today. We met a family last evening who both speak English. She's a member but he isn't. He teaches and does research at Tohoku University, the largest university in this part of Japan. His research is on fluid mechanics and I doubt that I'd understand much of what he's doing if we got into a serious discussion. He was very friendly and easy to talk with so hopefully he will let us join the young missionaries to teach him the gospel.

We were delighted that Emma was baptized on Saturday and congratulate her. We wish her well as she gets the cast off her arm in the next few weeks.

Dad thinks I need to put my two cents in. We start transfer week "again" tomorrow. Those 6 weeks go by like lightening. It will be a busy week as we have eight missionaries going home and 5 coming in. There will be lots of changes and some of them will be in the office. We dread that as we've loved serving with these fine elders. They are a joy to work with and are so diligent--yet full of fun. This will be our 7th transfer since coming to Japan. Time really flies when you are having fun. We definitely love being missionaries. It's the greatest thing since sliced bread!

The gospel is wonderful (subarashii) and Iesu Kirisuto is our Savior and Elder Brother.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, etc., etc.