Time with the fam

Well, the days of my family's visit are flying by and I haven't posted about it for a while. Since we are running around all day and several people are sharing computers it is more difficult to have a chance to blog.

Mom has been working hard to remember the names of my friends. She has little notes written that she studies as we go from one place to another-being distracted by the sites outside the window as we go. Dad is amused by the names of cars. Paul wants to know all about things about which I haven't a clue-construction, cost of electricity, etc. Shonda is taking it all in and trying to remember the things I taught her on her last trip and over the years to share with her husband.

Yesterday was shopping in downtown Osaka while I went to a school board meeting. (Paul and Melissa Ewing tagged along to help be the tour guides in my absence.)


Dinner at the Hawaiian Hamburger place. (Have to take a break from the Japanese food sometimes:)


Mobleys in the cosmos

Wednesday was my Gospel song and English Bible study. Since Paul, my talented brother-in-law, is here I put him to work teaching us a song. At the end he also sang a couple of songs for us.












Tuesday night was sukiyaki dinner with the Ewings.









Monday was a trip to Tsu for a missionary prayer time with Pastor Steve Newman from our NAB church in Lodi, CA. Even though it was their first day in Japan, Paul and Shonda came and Paul & Paul led us in a time of worship.







I guess I have a couple of pics from before Shonda and Paul got here that I haven't shared either. Dad took a good series of pictures of some people harvesting rice near my old apartment in Kyoto. We went their last Friday to meet the pastors I had worked with and do a little sightseeing. I'll post the rice harvest another time. Here is our crab lunch, Pastor Aoki and his wife with Mom and Dad, Mom at the rock garden...


























And one more of an English class. This group is an incredibly entertaining group. Even though they don't really speak much English, we all seem to be entertained by each other! (I do a lot of translating for Mom and Dad in this class:)

Finished Desk

Dad finished the last drawer of the desk while Mom and I made dinner the other night.


It will never be this cleared off again!!

Wednesday was baking class. Since Mom was here we made "Joy's Lemon Squares," Mom's recipe that I found in the Whispering Oaks cookbook submitted by Jean Ewing! Mom told the ladies that it was actually Grandma's recipe. And, we found them to be very sweet so enjoyed the English breakfast tea directly from London from Mrs. Kihara.

Mom made pot holders for each of the ladies and we showed them the prayer quilt she made with her group at West Center. It was a fun morning!

A busy weekend

Mom and Dad's jet lag is getting better, they are staying up after 9PM making it more difficult for me to get around to blogging at night since we are talking so much! Here is a recap of our weekend...

Saturday afternoon, Komyo Church Kids' Club... singing, games, snack and story





Sunday, putting together an Ikea desk (Dad is now really impressed with Ikea:), baking cookies, and church...




And Monday, a choir concert (and dinner:)!!

Day 2 Choir Practice

Today we started the day with a walk in the park and a little relaxation. Then we spent the afternoon at Gospel choir practice getting ready for our concert on Monday. Here are a few pictures to tell the story...



Relaxing with the computer and a book.




For one song in the concert we divided the choir in half and are each singing a different song. The group I am in is singing a song in English and three of us are doing sign language along with it. This was our practice before rehearsal.



Mom got in on the action of my favorite part of rehearsals!



Practicing the encore.


It's been a good day!

They've arrived

The day I for which I have been waiting for months finally arrived, my parents came to Japan for their second visit. As I was waiting for them at the airport I was beginning to think they had to go back to the plane and get their own luggage off! Apparently, the line to go through customs was really long. Thankfully, all they had to do was say hello and the customs guy said thank you and handed their passports back. I made them stay up until 9PM. They made it but fell asleep within seconds of their heads hitting the pillow. You know Dad is tired when he goes to bed when an NFL game is on in the next room! So, here they are having dinner in my dining room. I will try to have more interesting pictures from now on!



The next most anticipated day is the 19th when Shonda and Paul arrive!!!:)

What's that truck?

So, how do you move all of your stuff into a 5th floor apartment without using the stairs?

I found out today! Being from Madison, SD where only one building is over 5 floors I did not know this answer. This afternoon I was doing some work around the apartment and had all the windows open because it was so nice. I heard a truck out front which is not unusual in the middle of the afternoon. However, it seemed to be idling for a long time, then moving a little, then idling. I couldn't figure out what in the world was going on so came into the office to look out the window to find out.

That is when I saw these two trucks...



Recognizing the logo on the side I realized someone was moving into or out of my building. Since the truck appeared to be full I deducted that someone was moving in-smart one, aren't I?!

Then the noise started again and I watched the truck with the basket rise up to the 5th floor where more movers were waiting on the balcony to pull in all of the stuff!


It sure took them a lot less time to get all of the stuff moved into the apartment. I suppose it saved a little on their knees and backs, too, not having to run up and down the steps hundreds of times. And, it provided me a diversion from work for a while!

Outdoor Concert

This is post number 100 on Shan In Japan! Thanks for reading!

Last Sunday, the 28th, we had a Gospel concert outdoors. Each fall Izumi City, my city, holds a day of concerts around the city. It is called Jazz Street but jazz is not the only genre of music being performed! Last year our choir sang at the station. This year we sang at the 'elephant' park. We call it that because it has a cute elephant slide. I have no idea what the real name of the park is!

Here are a few pictures from the day...
Our pre-performance look


Singing "When the Saints Go Marching In" with the audience-I gave a little English lesson!


We also sang "We Shall Overcome" which I introduced