Going away party for some missionaries heading soon to southeast Asia
Sushi rice with all kinds of toppings
Chopped raw tuna
Going away party for me at our church
Going away lunch at noodle shop with two good church friends, Mr. Kabeya above and Mr. Kawanishi below
Lots of New Years decorations. Bamboo and pine for wishes of longevity and life with dried rice plants at the bottom.
In Japan making mochi is often done around New Years. This is at Honda Chapel.
Rice is steamed in these stacked cookers
Wood fired
Mallets cleaned up afterwards
Panorama (click to enlarge) of my last Sonship seminar
Twice a month I drive an hour one way to preach at a bilingual service on Sunday afternoon at 5 pm. They took me out to dinner as a thank you afterwards. Australian visitor Nathan came with us. Other Japanese men are two generations of pastors.
And finally back in the USA!
I can't stop hugging her.
So good to be back with family.
Connected through Toronto -- snow and ice on ground both there and Pittsburgh, but no delays!
Had a chocolate fondue dessert party watching Downton Abbey (which I had never seen before). For those of you wondering what this is, the pot in the middle has melted chocolate with a heating flame below. The long handled forks are used for dipping the various items in the chocolate. From the left - pound cake squares, pretzels, apples, strawberries, clementines (mikans), 4 kinds of gourmet marshmallows, Turkish apricots, crystallized ginger, Biscotti, and bananas (not visible).
