Japan Trip November 2016

This past week Ken and I attended the mission president seminar in Fukuoka, Japan for a few days. It was wonderful to learn from the Asia North Area Presidency and their wives.   We ate a delicious Sukiyagi dinner which is a Japanese meat dish that is similar to the Shabu Shabu dish we eat in Korea (that is really a Japanese dish). It is thinly sliced beef cooked in a cast-iron pot of broth at your table. In Korea we use more liquid for cooking the beef and a bunch of vegetables. They use chrysanthemum greens in the salad (notice the little yellow petals). They use onions, mushrooms, other greens/cabbages and tofu along with noodles all cooked together (back in Korea the noodles are cooked later/another course to the meal). Apparently the cooking methods and seasoning differ between western and eastern Japan. But the most notable difference to me was that each person is given a raw egg to whip with their chopsticks before the meat and vegetables are served in the whipped raw egg, and dipped in a sauce if they prefer. Ok, I ate my food that way for a while. But after a bit we were given a small bowl of rice so I just put my cooked meat and vegetables directly in that bowl. I just did not enjoy eating the food dipped in raw egg. But otherwise the food was delicious.   I thought the serving women were beautifully dressed in traditional dresses.  PS, the next morning when I opened the closet to get dressed my clothes smell strongly of Sukiyagi/meat. Elder Whiting commented on it in our seminar meeting, he having the same problem.

After dinner we quickly traveled to the Fukuoka Temple where they reserved the temple for all of us to do a session. It felt as if the whole temple was catering to just us (I think we were the only ones there). We our names on the individual changing room stall in the locker room, with our clothes already sized waiting for us in our individual locker that had our name on that. The session was conducted in English so the few people in our company that are Japanese speakers needed to use translators. I felt very privileged, humbled, and blessed; aware of me as an individual. It was a sacred experience. I was grateful for the efforts put forth for the whole mission president seminar with all of its outlying experiences. I was grateful for the years of having a temple nearby our home; and that I had gone as often as I had because now I do not have that opportunity. I miss the temple. It was a cold rainy night so we did not linger around taking pictures.