Just as Lois wrote to her parents over 50 years ago, I would report the same thing this time of year..."I have come to the Garden of Eden!" Everything is as green as green can be. Last week I got the pleasure of picking strawberries, asparagus, and broccoli out of the Ehnle's garden as Willis is in Mexico and Lois is staying at the hospital while he is gone. These strawberries are so sweet we don't need to add any sugar to them! Our drive out to Yamanashi is just gorgeous with the green mountains and blue blue sky with snow-covered Mt. Fuji playing hide-and-seek with us. When things seem uncertain in our future, it helps me to see the beauty of God's creation and think that since He can control this beautiful Earth, surely He can manage the details of our lives. It seems He has been quite busy orchestrating each detail--it is amazing to think how busy He is!
Akihiro's last day will be June 1st and most likely (not for sure yet) he will be working for his dad--possibly with the hospital/nursing home in Hokkaido. Commuting to another island for work seems a little overwhelming, and we are continuing to pray that doors will open and close as God leads us.
Today we will go to Sister Utsuki's visitation in Tokyo. It will be my first official funeral in Japan and Jana warned me that it is quite an experience. Just preparing for the funeral has been an experience! I'll have to write more after the funeral!
I think I am finally getting adjusted back to this time zone and culture. I went to the grocery store last week and was going to try a new Japanese recipe calling for a vegetable called "udo". I looked around the produce section three times and didn't see anything that looked like the picture in my cookbook. So, I thought I would try out my Japanese on the cute little apron and kerchief-clad store lady. "Udo arimas ka?" Hmmm, she looks at me quizically. I repeat my question. Then I try to describe the vegetable in my broken Japanese--it is white, long, and a vegetable. She guesses celery. No. I show her my shopping list and she thinks a bit and then says, "Ahhhh, u-DOH!" I had not used the correct emphasis. Anyway, they didn't have any! Such a deal! I found it easily at another store. I cooked it according to the instructions, but it was nothing special! Akihiro says it is a "old person's vegetable" and that young people usually don't eat it. Oh well, just another adventure! I took some pictures of the different vegetables here, but will have to post them later.