Ohanami with the ward

This morning I got up feeling better than I felt yesterday morning though I hadn't had as much sleep as I wanted. I was excited to have a day off and to also see the ward. I warmed up the ham as I got ready. I then put the ham in a tupperware and off I went on my bike (I'm still pretty saddle sore but SO grateful to have that bike!). I got to the church pretty quickly and hung out with the members at the church building until it was time to go pond-side and sit and eat.

They brought a lot of yummy food! And (yatta!) Elder Preston said I could take pictures of the ward members!! So I present to you my ward:

I don't know everyone's names - but my home teacher Brother Shuwa is sitting at the center of the photo (white shirt, vest, tie) next to him is an Elder .. Matsuzuki? Something like that - this is his last transfer (he speaks fairly good English), his comp is next to him and the guy in glasses next to HIM is a recent convert :)

Ward members to my right

Ward members to my left - the sister in blue is the one who said I remind her of the missionaries (or one of) that taught her - she's very sweet :)

This guy is a crack-up and he barely speaks any English - he's one of the zone leaders

Elder Preston - the other zone leader

I was there too! (That's seaweed on my lip from an onigiri!)

It was fun to talk and laugh with them. Elder Preston sat next to me to act as translator. I was asked some interesting questions. One of which was "The best part of you?" I was like.. whaaaa?? I was tempted to say "My bum!" But I didn't want to embarrass poor Elder Preston, lol. So I said my intelligence. The women were all like, "Oooooh!" And started calling me a word that E' Preston said meant "Wise man." Uhhh maybe I misunderstood the question? Still, I had fun being there. I got to eat lots of new Japanese foods and I got to be out on Takamatsuno-Ike. Here's a picture of the pond and the road along it:

Ohanami at Takamastuno-Ike

The road that runs between the church building and the pond :)

A woman (LA) came to the activity and we got to speak for a while. She teaches English as well and was wanting to brush up on it. :) It's REALLY nice for me to have someone in the ward who speaks English (since E' Preston will be leaving in 2 weeks).

After that, I rode home quickly hoping to Skype but didn't quite make it home in time. :/ That's ok! Next weekend. I had a good, easygoing day. I did some cleaning, some emailing and chatting, and caught up on my blog! Next I will be printing a worksheet for tomorrow. :) My best to you all. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

XOXO, A

Odds and ends:

Limor & Geoff in the Ofunato paper for their Taiko group (I'm going to their performance this coming weekend)

Taken April 26 - just another random picture :)

Melon Pan Engrish: "Chocolate Chip Melon Pan" is reputed to as a good taste. LOL It was pretty good though!