Special places and people

This was a busy week with the Mission Presidents' seminar and Area Review.  Fortunately, there was some relaxing time and one of these was for the sisters to go to Mt. Takao for a special lunch.

There are many sweet statues around Tokyo that have little caps and jackets.  We weren't really sure what they represent until one of the Japanese sisters looked it up and she said it represents a reminder of  how important it is to love, protect, and care for children.

There are many beautiful bridges and trees at Mt. Tako

waterwheel and entrance

Here is the "tea house" where we had lunch minus any tea

It was a special group of sisters to spend a special afternoon in their company.

Another day we went to Kamakura

That evening we had a wonderful dinner and listened to a famous koto player.

Port of Yokohama--the largest port in Japan

This shrine area was constructed in the 8th century AD

Lunch in a shabu-shabu restaurant.  You cook your own food in the boiling pot in front of you.  We had very thinly sliced Kobe beef which was very tender along with lots of vegetables.

The big Buddha again with little Carol standing in front.  One always smiles and the other never smiles--see if you can guess which is which.

Beautiful gardens at Hesadera near the big Buddha overlooking the town of Kamakura.

The grounds of the temple are home to hundreds of small Jizō statues, placed by parents mourning offspring lost to miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. These statues remain in place for about a year, before being removed to make way for more statues; it is estimated that some 50,000 Jizō statues have been placed at Hase-dera since WWII

Gold statue--actually a wooden statue covered with gold leaf

The town of Kamakura and the bay filled with wind surfers if you look really closely.

Gary and Carol standing by a  beautiful pond and garden at Kamakura

Some more of the flowers at Kamakura

This was the weekend before in the rose gardens in Yokohama with our friends and fellow missionaries--Dave and Barbara Hansen (area medical adviser from Rexburg, Idaho), and Orion and Judy Wood (public affairs from San Francisco area). 

Kamakura

This is the cute little place that Carol went to with the sisters.  Everything was cooked over charcoal right at your table.  Believe me, this isn't how we normally eat.  We eat rice but no beans because beans are very expensive here--like $5 for a can of chili or refried beans.

You might recognize a few people in this picture except that you usually see them in suits and ties.  The ones on the bottom in front of us are Adam and Carey Aalders.  Adam is the director of temporal affairs for the area and is from Australia.  We heard some very inspirational messages from great leaders whose main concern is serving God and Christ the best they can.  It was a time we will never forget.