Tokyo Update

Happy Late Thanksgiving!  We are so happy we were able to spend Thanksgiving in Japan. It has been so fun continuing to build friendships with the missionaries at Hope Alive. On Thanksgiving day everyone came together and we met many missionaries from around Tokyo, most of whom we had not yet met. We had traditional Thanksgiving dishes which was amazing, my favorite being the broccoli and cheese casserole. I usually would not be so exited about the broccoli and cheese casserole, but it was the best I have ever eaten in my entire 28 years on earth. Also, the missionaries who usually make the turkey were not here this year and none of the other people felt confident to make one. They solved this problem by getting Emily (she is 26 and has cooking experience) to make it! At one point I found Brandon and Emily laughing historically not knowing if it was cooked or how to cut it. Despite all the challenges they faced the Turkey came out great. 

We have been having a wonderful time here in Tokyo. It is such an interesting place filled with the nicest most welcoming people. We have loved being able to figure out transportation on the trains and buses. Where we are staying is about 45 minutes outside of Tokyo so we have made some time to go explore some cool areas downtown. One of the fun things we do is go to the conbini which is the Japanese version of a convience store. These are literally EVERYWHERE making it so easy to just pop in for a snack or grab a quick lunch. Brandons favorite snack is the onigiri sushi rice balls and mine are the pancakes in a bag. Basically its two pancakes stuffed with butter and syrup! Delicious. 

One of the things that Brandon wanted to do here was go to a car meet! He has been dreaming about this for a long time and I am so thankful that we were able to find the location! It was a really fun night filled with lots of cool cars. We ended up meeting quite a few Americans who were living on the base in Japan so that was fun too. 

We have also really enjoyed living with the Ketteman's. They live upstairs and we rent the basement. Since being there we have invited us for dinner a few time and we have gotten to know their family. They have such a sweet family. Jane and Callie, two teen girls and Carter who is around 7. We have had such a great time getting to know them. We are grateful for their kindness and willingness to spend time with us. We are so thankful to be surrounded by such an amazing team of people. We truly do feel like it is a home away from home. 

Carter teaching Brandon about the latest and greatest aircrafts. That boy loveddddd his airplanes. 

This night they invited us up for Yaki Soba! So delicious.  Unfortunately we did not get any pictures with the rest of the family :(

Lastly, we just want to say thank you to all of those who support us financially and prayerfully. We could not be here without y'all are beyond blessed to have been able to be apart of the ministries we have experienced this year. We have definitely felt out of our comfort zones at times, but this has helped us grow immensely in our own faith as we continue to trust Him in everything. It has been so cool to witness first hand God working all over the world and we can't wait to see what's next! We love you guys!