We fly to Japan

What a crazy, joyful, scary, whirlwind it has been the last couple of weeks! The week after the MTC we spent in Salt Lake City attending the medical portion of our training. It was amazing training. The Church has many, many resources to assist the nurses and other medical people out in the field. I'm grateful for all they have in place to assist me as I work with others and we strive to keep the missionaries as healthy as possible.

After our medical training it was home for one night to pack and out at 4 am to catch our 7 am flight. We had just a little bit of luggage (imagine trying to pack for 18 months!), and all our bags were packed right up to the weight limit!

We flew from SLC to LA, then LA to Tokyo (12 hour flight), and then Tokyo to Fukuoka (2 hour flight). Overall it was a 24 hour travel day with all flights and layovers. 

                    

These were some of the sights we saw when we landed in the Tokyo airport. The thought that came to mind was... "we aren't in Kansas anymore".  Japan is an amazing place. Very clean and organized and the people are always professional and polite.

We were picked up at the airport by Elder and Sister Bailey, and Elder and Sister Rickard. They are two other senior couples working here in the Fukuoka Mission office. We were so grateful to see people who spoke English! They loaded us and all our luggage into a big van and then we all met President and Sister Mack at a restaurant for dinner. It was great getting to meet everyone and having our first taste of the delicious Japanese cuisine.

The next 3 days were spent at the mission home--watching General Conference, getting some training, and working with President and Sister Mack on a couple of mission projects. We also got to meet and work with the office Elders--Elder Sagane and Elder Galbraith--and the Assistants to the President (APs)--Elder Ricaldi and Elder Johnson. They are such amazing young men--so smart, loving and dedicated. I caught a picture of President and Sister Mack at the end of one of their long days. They are fantastic people and work so hard each day to make sure the missionaries are taken care of and the work is going forward in the best way!

The mission home is located in the lower level of the Fukuoka Temple building and is situated in a beautiful setting up against some hills. There is a zoo and a botanical garden located next to the temple. The darker section is the mission home and mission office, and the lighter section is the temple.

Went for a walk each morning and saw some fun sights.

I have to keep pinching myself to see if this is real. We are so excited to be here and to be a part of the missionary work that is taking place here in Japan. We look forward to getting to the city where we are assigned--Kumamoto--and meeting the people and missionaries there.