Missionary Life: Well the time has finally come for us to wrap up our missionary service here in Japan and head home to embark on a new chapter. (Actually this blog post is being posted about a month after returning home--that's how crazy life got the moment we landed.) We spent the last couple weeks of our mission trying to fit in everything we could.
We visited an area where Elder Welker served during his previous mission called Kitakyushu. It was beautiful. During his mission he served in Kumamoto, Kitakyushu, and Fukuoka. During our mission, we served in Kumamoto and Fukuoka, so this was the only area I had not seen.
We went to City Hall to check out of the city and cancel our health insurance. A very interesting and LONG, yet orderly, process. So grateful for the office Elders who came with us to help with translation.
We spent good times with the office Elders.
We trained the new missionaries to take over our office duties--including President and Sister Mack! Sister Mack will mainly be taking over the Office Secretary duties and Elder Cruz will mainly be taking over the Financial Secretary duties. Bless them.
We spent any time we could with the young missionaries. I don't know if there is a happier group of people than missionaries!
We had a goodbye dinner with the departing missionaries. Tonkatsu!
We spent time with our friends, Brother and Sister Oba. They took us to their favorite ramen shop!
A dear friend, Kyoko, taught Sister Mack and I how to dress in a kimono and how to tie the obi (belt). Kimonos are so beautiful, but so complicated to dress in. Kyoko's mother-in-law, who is in her late 80's, dresses in a kimono every day. It is just part of her tradition. Kyoko said it takes about 45 minutes to get dressed that way. I ended up buying two kimonos and assorted accessories to bring home with me. If anyone wants to dress in one, I would love to help you!
We said goodbye to our trusty little mission car. Toyota Corolla. It got us everywhere we needed to go on very little gas. That arrow sticker on the back is an indication that we were new drivers. We were able to use our international driver's licenses for one year, but then we had to take the Japanese driving test and obtain a Japanese license. At that time we were required to place this sticker on our car to warn others that we were newbies!
Finally our day to leave was upon us. We met at the mission home around 5:30 am. The office Elders surprised us by coming to say goodbye. Oh how we love these young missionaries and President and Sister Mack.
We boarded our plane with a heart broken in two pieces--one part looking forward to being reunited with our beloved family and friends at home, and the other part looking back with gratitude to our friends and experiences in Japan.
Because of COVID, only a couple members of our family were able to visit us in Japan. We hope to return someday with as many as we can to introduce them to the beautiful people and beautiful country of Japan. Goodbye for now, Japan!
Spiritual Message: My spiritual message for this final mission blog post is one of gratitude to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for the opportunity to serve a mission. Dave and I both feel like we received so much more than we gave. I testify that is the way the Lord works. When we keep our covenants, including the covenant to consecrate our time and talents to build the Kingdom of God, He blesses us beyond what we deserve. I pray for the help I need to continue on this covenant path. I know it is the way to peace, purpose, happiness, and eternal life.
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