Fire Dancing, Transfers, Neighborhood Party, Memorial

Monday was a national holiday here.  They have a holiday every three months.  This one was Marine or Sea Day.  

We were so happy to have a special visitor.  A former elder and AP. It was great to see Brother (Elder) K again.

After our staff meeting, we went over to the Nagamachi chapel for their celebration.  They had a curry pot luck lunch and some activities for the children and a craft activity for the women.  The youth were doing a car wash to earn money for camp.

Cute little girls enjoying their curry lunch.

In the afternoon, we went out to Tagajo for their ward party.

Barbecue and Pizza!

And a send-off for some of our elders.  One going home and two transferring.

Catch your noodles as they go down the bamboo slide!

When it got dark, it was time for the fire dancing.  Then we walked down to the river to see the fire flies.

On Tuesday, we went to the airport to pick up 8 new sisters.  These are the trainers anxiously awaiting their new companions.  One of these sisters recently returned to the mission after being home recuperating for a few weeks.

What a great group of sisters!

They looked even better after a good night's sleep.

Thursday morning, it was time for training of new leaders.

Then in the afternoon, the returning missionaries came in for their exit interviews.

And bright and early Friday morning, it's back to the airport to say goodbye to 16 elders and one sister.  They returned to Japan, Canada, Tahiti, Australia, and 13 to the USA (Portland, Boise, Phoenix, Saint George and all the rest (9 elders) to the SLC airport).

This is quite a change to the mission dynamics to lose so many elders but gain some great sisters!

Then we went to lunch to celebrate another successful transfer.

How about this Eiffel Tower of onion rings?  I didn't get a photo of the hamburgers.  We all ate them up like we hadn't had a good hamburger for a long time!

Saturday was our neighborhood party at the park.  These school kids did a cute song and dance.  I may have found my new exercise routine!  

This little girl was loving her cotton candy!

Lots of good food too.  Noodle stir-fry, corn on the cob, pineapple spears, fried potatoes (french fries), cotton candy, soup, and shaved ice.  Oh yes, also some fried squid!

Some traditional music

And less traditional

And a few familiar faces!  We saw the neighborhood people we met at the Christmas party.

One tall, blond American kind of stood out in the crowd!

I even got invited to do the circle dance.  A couple more times around the circle, I would have had it down pat.

The day had started out wet and stormy, but it turned into a lovely evening.

We found different sizes of peaches at the market this week.

This is a photo of Brother Tomimatsu from the Tagajo ward who passed away recently.  After church today, we held a memorial service for him.  Many people mentioned how faithful he was to get to the church early each Sunday to prepare and pass the sacrament.

They put his photo on the chair where he always sat.  Such a sweet, friendly man.

We were happy to hear that our Bryan and Gabi have traveled safely to Brazil.  They will be living there for at least a few years!  We wish them well there!  How is it that I miss them more in Brazil than home in the US?

And Happy Fourth Birthday to our Chloe Paige!  Heather & Nate's middle girl.

Until next week!