March 19 - 25, 2012, We love the Missionaries

This week Tom took the car to get the oil changed and tires rotated without needing any help from the missionaries. How much we have learned and grown this past year! Bess, again, made cookies for us to deliver. It is so much fun serving others. When we first came to Kumamoto we gave a dozen cookies to our service station attendants. We now give them regular installments of cookies. When we pull in we get the royal treatment. They bow and hurry to check us. When we walk down the street they wave and bow to us. It seems that giving rewards works much better than cracking the whip!

When we first started checking apartments, we did not find many well cleaned apartments. We did a lot of training. We also started to treat the missionaries that passed Celestial using the cleaning check form we and they have. The missionaries are now excited to see us come and work very hard to make sure they get the treat! Why is it so hard to remember to reward rather than punish?

Our Zone's transfer theme is "All You Need Is Love". The lesson from our new district leader, Tanaka Choro, is to show our companion how much we love them through doing acts of service each day. He calls us each night for our report of how we showed our love to our companion during the day. Some days we really have to think to report what we did! It has been an eye opening experience for us.


Wednesday night Tobias taught the group some songs about friendship. It was fun and left a good message.

Tobias and his ukulele. All the office Elders have bought ukuleles and were practicing them when we were in Fukuoka this weekend.

Thursday we were in Nagasaki, Isahaya, and Sasebo doing cleaning checks. We ate at the Mongolian Barbeque on the base with Brother and Sister Priddis, Montes de Oca and Maxfield Choro and their Japanese Branch Mission Leader. The food was delicious! We pay by the ounce for the food. Friday we traveled to Saga and then up to Fukuoka. We attended our two sessions and a training meeting at the Temple before returning home Saturday night. Is it funny how we are calling Kumamoto home now. It is such a nice place.

Nagasaki Choro Ahn and Ikari.

Happy companions from Isahaya, Ward and Monson Choro.

Checking the refrigerator condensation drip pan in Isahaya.

Montes de Oca Choro, Branch Mission Leader and Maxfield Choro.

Sister and Brother Priddis paid for all of the meals. They are the BEST!!

Happy after a meal at the Sasebo Club.

Sasebo companionship Maxfield and Montes de Oca Choro

Celestial companions from Saga, Williams and Nakamoto Choro.

Sunday we invited Brother Oaks and Elder Tashiro here for a roast beef dinner. Elder Tashiro's wife is in Chiba helping with a new baby grandson! We laughed a lot! Remind us to share the Oaks family jello recipe with you. It is oishii!!!

Bess, Tom, Elder Tashiro, and Brother Oaks.

All this world needs is Love. Love is a verb. See who you can show love to today!

Love,
Mom and Dad,
Grandma and Grandma,
Bess and Tom

PS

This is the sign you look for to find a rest room along the highway! It took us the first 6 months to figure this out.