The Missionary that was Returned: Hey, it's not so hot that I want to die anymore!

So in this past week it has rained a few times, but we haven't really been soaked through since that last picture I sent you. But that makes me happy because each time it rains it cools down just a little bit more, but it also gets more humid.

We got on our bikes to get here, and with the wind as we're pedaling I thought it was quite pleasant. Oh, and the sky was overcast today, so I didn't have the burning sun. As for my nice leather shoes, I have them water protected for the light rain showers, but there is no amount of water protection for some of the things I ride my bike in. Ha ha. But I wear those shoes because my brown ones are too nice to wear when it rains, and the other ones that I bought at Easy Spirit don't dry as fast because the insoles don't come out. So each night we get soaked and set out shoes, and the stuff in our dendo bag (have you figured out the word dendo yet - I'm sick of defining it) in front of the fan.

The big fan we named Kaminari-sama, which translates into Mr. (super honorific) Thunder. He really helps us out. One of my companions put her shoes in the shower room (for it truly is a small room) but we forgot to open the window so her shoes started growing fuzzy things. Since it's near the end of her mission, she just threw them away. I think my three shoes will make it. I try to clean and polish them when I think about it.

I can't believe Grandpa is almost 89. But he looks a lot older than Japanese 89 year olds. See, the Japanese people are super healthy.

They protect their skin with protective clothing instead of sunscreen (which by the way works much better, but I wear sunscreen and protective clothing on my arms because I'm so white), and they eat healthy. They also exercise on their bike because everyone has a bike. Pretty cool, eh. So, we saw this guy and he said that 50 was young, but we were shocked because he looked 50. So he made us guess his age. We were thinking like 60 if he thought 50 was young. But then he said he was 75! He's still up and going around. It's crazy.

So I've learned to guess Japanese people's age, then add about 15 to get it about right.

When Japanese people go to the doctor, the doctor prescribes them about 20 different medications, in the hope that one of them would work. That would never fly in America. People would be like, "why are you making me spend that much money?" and "what is this going to fix?" Or even "Doc, I just want to know what's wrong with me." So hearing that Grandpa came home with a dozen pills and inhalers made me think about that.

Um, Labor Day is definitely not celebrated in Japan. I had no idea it was Labor Day. Oh, what is Labor Day for anyway? I forgot! Well, happy late Labor Day! Is that one of the holidays I got off school for? That's probably all that I know about it. School has started in America and Japan. I see all the Japanese girls in the cute school uniforms (the guys just look like corporate soldiers in a while shirt and dark slacks) and I'm reminded of Sailor Moon. The girls here really do look like that!

So when I come back home, I want to read all the Sailor Moon manga again, in Japanese. I mentioned that to one of the Japanese sisters in the mission, and she basically told me to cut my losses and start watching One Piece. Apparently it's just like a new anime/manga series that may or may not be bigger than Pokemon. Let me know if you've heard about it.

I sent Jay his present and he even sent an email back saying thank you. I got him the Tabi shoes, that the ninja turtle foot soldiers wear. I can't tell if he thought they were cool or stupid, because his email was one like said he is the envy of his office. Ha ha.

I have John's present ready to send, but I need to destroy a box to make it the right size today. I don't know when it will make it into the mail, but hopefully soon. Then I'll need to start Christmas shopping. Oh, and Grandpa's birthday! What does he want? I could send him Japanese candy, or a Kimono. Ha ha. Grandpa in a guy kimono (they're called something different, but I forget) is a great image. Any ideas?

This week was really fun because we had a big Sisters Training. All the sisters from the mission came up to Fukuoka, including the sisters down in Okinawa. It was way fun to see my MTC companion again. She was saying things in Japanese, and they made sense, and I understood them. I looked at her, and I was like, when did you get so good at Japanese? Ha ha, then she said the same. It's funny because I'd say our Japanese is about even, but it just seems like so much more when you're talking with someone when you weren't there for their growth.

Yoha Shimai, who was in the MTC with us, but was a Japanese Missionary, said the same thing. She really helped us in the MTC because her English is a little better than normal. It was great to see her again. They taught us the new curriculum. I remember the people in the MTC working on a new curriculum. See, PMG (Preach My Gospel) is great, but sometimes people focus on the wrong things, so the new way to teach PMG is to focus on 8 things. That's what the training is about. The 8 things are things like 'teach people, not lessons', 'receiving revelation through church attendance' and 'Your purpose'. I learned a lot, but I also like to think of it as an excuse to get us all together.

Last Monday, we went with the Stake President and his wife to COSTCO!!! I ate pizza. I can't believe I ate pizza, it was that good. I also ate a Costco hot dog. Yummy. Then we shopped around and got a cream filled cake that was sooo good.

Then they took us river walking, and we found this really old school Shinto Shrine. They are called Jinja, which if you say it just right it sounds like Ginger, but I couldn't find that in my Japanese dictionary. Only this shrine was a little different. It was built in 200 AD to Kami-sama, or God.

Not like some different Shinto God in the nature named Kami, but to what we would think of as God. And it was kinda shaped like Moses's Tabernacle. There was the place to wash your hands in the beginning, two Chisa (Okinawan Guardians) that are like the cherubim, and there are different places for the different parts of the tabernacle, like the Holy Place. The Holy of Holies was at the very top (it was kinda graduated up a mountain side, which each level being like one place in the Tabernacle) and was destroyed awhile ago, but you can tell there was some building there. There wasn't a wall around it, but rather giant guardian trees that were marked with paper to show that they are God's trees. All the place was really cool.

The Stake President knew it was there, but had never been inside it before. He thought it was probably the coolest thing on the face of the planet. He's also the institute teacher for the stake, so he has a TON of knowledge, but it's all in Japanese. Trying to figure out when he meant by cherubim in Japanese was way hard. But we got it.

A three-some really isn't that bad. Well, my two seniors kinda do a lot of talking, so I just kinda sit back and watch, and that's a little unfortunate, but I think it's my time to watch and learn. I have a feeling that I will be transferred at the next transfer, so I've started cleaning out my desk (I have crazy things that I keep finding that don't mean anything to me anymore). Transfer calls are on the 15th. Then transfers are on the 16th.

I'm glad you sent the sunscreen to the hombu, but I bet it will make it to me before then. I sure hope so, because my sunscreen had to be banged a few times this morning. Please don't make me use Japanese sunscreen. It's like milk that keeps me from the sun about as much as milk would. Yep.

So, I attached a few pictures of the Jinja. Enjoy!

1st - what is left of the Holy of Holies