Friday I babysat for the younger Klaus family as Amy and her parents went to her entrance ceremony for first grade! She looked quite cute in her new backpack--a very heavy leather thing that is required for all students. It will last all of her school years! She also got a cute little yellow hat that marks her as a first grader!
The bike ride to their home is through this beautiful park where the cherries are in full bloom--sorry for so many flower pics! Wish you could come and see them yourself!
On Saturday, we went to Chiba-ken (a ken is like a state here) to visit Yaeko and Shoichi Honna and their two sons. They were very hospitable to us and served us a wonderful meal! We enjoyed walking outside and seeing the cherry blossoms and a special tulip park. I got to hear a special bird singing--never heard such a beautiful bird song in my life! Yaeko is a Christian--so nice to feel the same spirit in her! She became a Christian when she lived in Holland with her husband for 5 years. Their home and small, but beautiful, garden has a little European flavor to it!
We had an early morning ride to church for an 8:00 "sunrise service"! We gathered on a high hill with a good view of the peach blossoms. This picture doesn't do it justice, but if you can imagine something that looks like a pink soft fog settling into the nooks and crannies of the mountains, that is how it really looks--beautiful! After a short service, we ate some cup of noodles, hard boiled eggs, rice balls, etc. and had an enjoyable breakfast there on the mountain top! Then we went to back to church for our usual service. After church we had a little egg hunt for the 2 Sunday school children--they had never done it before and loved it very much--in fact, they want to do it next week too, Akihiro said! We had invited the whole church to Ehnle's house for Easter dinner that evening. Only 3 could come, but we had a nice time! I had hunted all over for a ham--seems crazy when there are big carts of them in the U.S! Finally Akihiro found a butcher who would grind it up for me for ham loaf. The guests had never eaten ham loaf, but really enjoyed it! I felt like my mom cooking Sunday dinner--it was fun!
Here are 4 of the friends from Shioda church who attend faithfully--Fukasawa-san, Hasanuma-san, Iwama-san, and Fujimaki-san
Oh, a note on Akihiro...This month he is doing a few part time jobs--physicals for university students, etc. On Friday, he listened to the lungs and heart of hundreds of students! It is a bit of a change for him after working in the nursing home so he enjoys it. Next one is doing eye exams all day--should be interesting!
Also, Li-san was able to find an apartment in Hachioji that he likes! We are so thankful that it could work out--just about 20 min. bike ride from our house! Thanks for your prayers for him!