Weddings, family, and mochi

Missionary Life: Missionary life has been a little atypical the last couple of months. First, we had a WEDDING in our family in November! Our Mission President allowed us to go home for the wedding and it was WONDERFUL! Our oldest son, Brandon, married his sweetheart, April. April has been part of our family for quite a while now, and we are thrilled that it is official. We had so much fun participating in this happy event, and spending time with our family and friends!

After a quick trip to Utah for the wedding, we returned home to Japan and then we had our second visitors--my mother and our daughter came to see us--so we were able to introduce them to many people and things we love here....

• Suizenji Park:

• Reclining Buddha and Temple:

• Old Town Fukuoka:

• Canal City, Fukuoka:

Japanese Culture: Mochistuki: traditional mochi-pounding ceremony in Japan. This is a ceremony/activity where they use a special polished rice and soak it overnight and then steam it. It is then placed in a big mortar and pounded with wooden mallets to form a glutinous mass. Then it is formed into different shapes, the most common is a small flattened ball shape. It can be eaten in many different ways. Sometimes it is filled with sweet red bean paste or ice cream (my personal favorite), it can be added to soups, it can be dipped in soy sauce or sugar. Mochi is a symbol of good fortune and is traditionally sold and eaten around the New Year.

In December, our good friend, Sachiko San, took us to her Jr. High school to watch and participate in their Mochitsuki. Such a fun day! The students and teachers were so kind and encouraged us to participate.

Spiritual Message: Since the recent marriage of our son, I have been reflecting on the amazing blessing of eternal families. It is hard to express the gratitude I have for our Heavenly Father's plan of happiness for all of us, His children. He has promised us that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, if we obey the laws and ordinances of the gospel, we will have eternal life....WITH OUR FAMILIES. This is the greatest gift He could possibly give us, and Jesus Christ has made it possible--because They love us. They only ask that we follow the plan by making, and then keeping our covenants. By keeping those covenants, we can be happy in this life and we can look forward to a glorious eternity with our loved ones. Alma 7:16 says...."whosoever doeth this (is baptized) and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life..". My heart is full of gratitude for this promise.