Ward Wanderings

Maintenance work

We have lived in our present home here in Japan since Christmas 2001, and it's long enough that we are starting to need to do maintenance work.

When we returned from the trip to the States, the kitchen faucet had a leak starting a day or two before we got back. It apparently was leaking out of the faucet valves under the sink and had gotten the floor of the cabinet quite wet. Fortunately, David had cleared everything out and dried it before too much damage was done.

Turns out the washer in the faucet was broken and the option was to either replace the unit entirely or try to get a new washer to fit. Trouble is that American and Japanese plumbing fittings are not quite the same, naturally. Henry tried to buy some washers that were close in size and put them on. It worked the first time for about a day. The second time about half a day. Finally, Henry just bought a new Japanese faucet which has a sprayer you can pull out. Monster of a thing. The Japanese unit fit the American pipes or fixtures, or whatever else it's called. Henry spent about two days working on this.

The old American faucet with soap dispenser and spray.

This is the new "Monster" faucet. We can select filter water for drinking or unfiltered water for cooking. The handle is easy to turn and the hot water comes on quickly. Henry got a couple of silver disks to cover the holes from the old unit.

One Fancy Ladies Room

Our layover at Incheon Airport in Korea had the fanciest ladies' room I have ever been in. You first walk down a short hall of
mirrors, then a central hand-washing place, then the stalls. All it lacked was a foot bath.

September 8-10, 2015 Return home

The highway to Denver was mostly like this: flat.

Passed this truck from Katy, TX...hi Teresa!

The entrance to Crown Hill Cemetery where my parents are entombed.

Dad passed in 1994 and mom in 1979. It's not often any of us get back here to visit, so I got some artificial flowers that will hopefully be there for a long time. I had mixed emotions about seeing this again. I'm thankful they gave me life, though before I met Jesus, it was not a happy one particularly. Siblings will know what I mean.

The grounds outside the building.

On a lighter note, my favorite billboards are the Chick-fil-A cows.

One of the last flags seen before going to the airport. I love the land of America.

Our flight left Denver at 6:00 am on Wednesday, local time for San Francisco where we had about a six-hour layover. We got to Seoul, Korea about 4:00 pm local time, then finally to Kobe after 8:00 pm on Thursday local time. Special thanks to Dave Harris who left his family so he could take over the church for us. God kept us safe for over 11,300 road miles, visiting 29 States, long-lost family and friends along the way. It was good to have the break and meet new friends as well. God is good, all the time. To Him be the glory.

September 7, 2015 Labor Day picnic

We were going to go with Matthew and Teresa to Denver, but Pastor convinced us to stay the extra day and attend the picnic. Henry was trying to save renting a car by going with Matthew, but we'll rent one for a day at a cost of about $150. The one-way rental is $102. Anyway the picnic out at camp was great. Here's some of the photos. We started at 10:00 and ended about 8:00 pm and there were still people there when we left.

Bye to Teresa and Matthew catching planes in Denver. They got home safely.

Grandma making watermelon balls.

Hope turned this watermelon into a "grill"

Some of the young ladies playing.

While two grills were going, Pastor was deep frying chicken. Henry got the idea of doing tempura veggies, so dipped all sorts of things and handed them out. There were none left by the time lunch was served. :-(

About 3:30 pm, a group went out to play paintball on their course. This is serious business with this bunch!

Beautiful sunset over the lake about 8:00 pm

September 6, 2015 Sunday

Sunday School with bus kids at the beginning. We all sang bus songs.

Matthew talking to some of the ladies.

After church, the families went to Pastor's house for lunch. Here Stephen on left is talking to Buddy Reeves about computer code. They must have talked about two hours at least. Pastor stopped by a few minutes.

We stopped at the "Golden Spike Tower" to see what it was, thinking it had something to do with the East and West railroad lines meeting. It is by the largest railroad yard in the world, but not sure if this is the spot the two lines met. There is a museum and you can go into the tower and see the yard, but we did not have time.

Pastor Setser preached the evening service about "he that has ears to hear, let him hear." To have listening ears we 1) will listen to what interests us; 2) we will listen to interesting people, 3) There is power in your presence when you're in church. 4) people lived in color, not black and white. Can we hear the voice of Jesus--what was it like when He was on earth? Good points to ponder.

September 5, 2015 Wedding Day

These are some highlights of wedding day. I'll post more on Flicker when we get back to Japan

Emberlynn shows off her first-time painted nails.

Hope does her sister's hair.

The guys rented their entire outfit, including shiny shoes. They got to keep the socks.

Me and my guys--I love you all!

Grandma prays with her granddaughter.

The bride's grandma, mom and Emberlynn

Pastor Setser from Florida performed the ceremony because Jewel's Dad said he probably could not. Here he helps Peter with the lapel flower.

Peter surprised everyone by kissing Jewel for the first time, using the dip method. He practiced with Sara so he would not drop his new bride. Just barely got the shot, it happened so fast.