Birthday Party in Fujinomiya

After our tour of Kyoto, we traveled by train to Fujinomiya to meet with Masaaki Oishi, his wife, Yoko and daughter, Erika. Masaaki stayed with us a couple of times when we were living in Woodinville, Washington. He would bring exchange students from his community in Japan to visit Seattle for a couple of weeks in the summer.

We enjoyed dinner together at a very nice restaurant. The food was fabulous.

The restaurant brought out a cake with candles and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me. We each received a piece of the cake after our meal.

We were so glad that we had the opportunity to visit with Masaaki and meet most of his family. They are wonderful people.

We spent the night in Fujinomiya and then traveled to Tokyo the next day to attend church in an area in which Jim had served as a missionary. I attended Relief Society, while Jim attended priesthood meeting. The lesson, taught by a young Japanese mother with a child in her arms, was about the organization and destiny of the church. The opening quote by Joseph Smith brought tears to my eyes, "You know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother's lap. You don't comprehend it....This Church will fill North and South America--it will fill the world." After the first hour, we had to leave to get to the airport in time to catch our planes. I was returning home and Jim was traveling on to India. Before we left, we met a sister whom Jim had taught as a missionary. He had helped with her baptism. She had not been to church for quite some time. It was a touching and memorable experience.