Manami's Graduation

Manami Sato has become a good friend of mine and Dan's. On Tuesday evening we attended her graduation ceremony from seminary.
Manami receiving her diploma.
These were some beautiful flowers given to her by some other friends.
Friends; Hiromitsu, Koki, Manami and Dan

Florida Bunch

These are my cute nieces and nephews that live in Florida. They are my oldest sisters, Lisa, kids. Holly, Eric, Brett and Ingrid. Can you tell Ingrid is the character in the bunch!

Goodbye Bob and Karen

We said goodbye to Bob and Karen this morning and this is what the weather was like as they left. What a huge change from last week! We are so happy that Bob and Karen were able to come over to visit us. We had such a wonderful time with them and made some great memories. Thanks Bob and Karen for everything that you brought for us and that you brought back for us! We are so lucky to have parents like you!

Zuiho Onsen

On our day off, our Pastor and his wife took me, Dan, Bob and Karen out for the day. We visited a very cool Kaleidoscope museum, had a beautiful Japanese style lunch at Zuiho Hotel and later went into the onsen (hot spring). We ate a delicious ramen lunch and after went to the onsen. Bob and Karen had never been to an onsen before; they really enjoyed it. It was the perfect way to spend our last day with Bob and Karen before they left. We are so thankful to Hisashi Sensei and Junko Sensei for taking us.
This was a snapshot of the beautiful lobby which over looked a forest of Bamboo trees. It was very peaceful.
The whole hotel had a continous stream of running water that went throughout the entire 3-story lobby. There was even an indoor waterfall and Koi pond. It was incredible! The onsen was even better!

Sunday Morning

This morning we all went to the Shingakko church for the morning service. It was very interesting for Bob and Karen to be a part of a church service that was all in Japanese. Our Pastor spoke for 1 full hour. It was long, luckily, Bob and Karen had a translator. I'm sure they have never sat through an hour long sermon in the states! After the service the whole church got together to take a picture, then had lunch together in the dining room. It was really nice.

Blooming Plum Trees

The Plum trees were begining to bloom at Matsushima. Aren't they beautiful!

Matsushima Mainland

Here are the four of us once we reached Matsushima. Here we are at the moon watching temple.
Nobuko-san, our Japanese teacher, took the four of us to Matsushima. We have been to Matsushima four times now and each time we see something new. We really enjoy going there and seeing these beautiful rock islands. Everytime I see them, it just amazes me and makes me wonder how trees can grow out from rocks that are located in the ocean.... Just one of the beautiful rock formations.
This is the famous Godaido Temple, located on it's own island. It was built in 800 AD.
This is the famous red bridge people can walk across to go from one island to another.

Riding the Ferry

We took Bob and Karen to Matsushima on Saturday. We decided to start from a sea port called Shiogama and take a one hour ferry ride over to Matsushima. It was really great. We got to feed the seagulls, take pictures of the islands and ride on a very cool looking ferry. Click on the pictures to see a bigger version; you will understand why, when you see the big pictures!!!

To go or Not to go

We thought we would let you know that we will be heading back to the states in August. After much prayer and thought, we feel like we are being led to go back. We aren't sure what state we will end up in, but wherever we go, we will be happy! Thanks for all your prayers

Chinatsu's Going Away Party

One of my students, Chinatsu, will be moving to another prefecture (state) next month, so yesterday instead of having class, we threw her a going away party. It was wonderful! One of my students showed up in her Kimono and brought along her Koto. It is huge! She played music in the background while the rest of us prepared food and got everything ready. We ate Okonomiyaki. It's a mixture of cabbage, flour, egg and pork, topped with mayo and another sauce. It was a hit! Everyone liked it, including Bob and Karen.

Tokuko-san playing the Koto, a tradional Japanese instrument.
Masayo-san, Hiromi-san, Noriko-san, Chinatsu-san (she's the one leaving), Miho-san, Michiyo-san.

Wednesday Tea

We decided to have another Tea Party for Bob and Karen since my students enjoyed the last party so much. On Wednesday 12 ladies showed up and we enjoyed a morning of sweets and tea. It was wonderful to welcome these ladies into my house again. Bob and Karen enjoyed meeting everyone and were really blessed! I was too!

Imperial Palace Gardens

On the last day in Tokyo, we met up with Tomoko and her fiance, Uwe. We grabbed some Starbuck's coffee, then headed to the Imperial Palace Gardens. It was a beautiful day while we were walking around the gardens. I even had to take off my jacket I was so hot. It was wonderful to spend time with Tomoko and Uwe. Bob and Karen really enjoyed seeing Tomoko again and meeting Uwe. We ended the afternoon with some lunch at an Italian resturant, then went to their church at 2:00pm. It was so nice to hang out all together!

Ueno Park and Zoo

It was really fun to visit all of the different sites in Tokyo, but for some reason I just LOVED visiting the Zoo. I hadn't been a zoo in many years and at first I really wasn't all that interested in going, but once I entered the gates and saw the animals I was hooked. I couldn't stop snapping pictures and looking at all the animals. I was like a kid! I really had a fun time.

Asakusa in Tokyo

All of us relaxing at a coffee shop.

Visiting Sensouji Temple

This is a five story pagoda

The streets were full of people. We bought lots of souvenirs and had a great time looking around.