What a trip! My first time out of Australia, my first passport and my first of so many new and wondrous Japanese experiences. The fact that I was 45 years old and 28 weeks pregnant wasn't even an issue. Thank goodness we had a wonderful guide who could speak fluent Japanese and had organised the whole trip for us perfectly. Thanks Jayme! We spent 4 days in Nobeoka, 3 in Nakatsu and 3 in Okinawa on the south island but let me start at the beginning......
As soon as we said goodbye to Elder Wheeler at the airport, I had the distinct feeling we would be going to follow him to Japan at the end of his mission to meet him. Two years was a long wait and I knew that discussing with Jayme what to do at the end when he was only beginning would be a mistake, so we planned and saved for the first 12 months hoping that he would be happy with the idea. Finally after his one year mark, I felt it was the right time to present our plan, I was so relieved when he was keen. Many missionaries just want to come home and keep their family life separate to the missionary life, but looking back now I know it was the right decision for all of us to go and visit his areas and meet all the wonderful people he had met and witness first hand the beautiful culture that he had fallen in love with.
I was offered full time work just for those two years while Jayme went to Japan, I am so grateful for the help we got along the way and due to this work, we had the money we needed to go. What a blessing this was as going to Japan was not as cheap as other Asian countries, and so in the end we had just enough. The second year flew by, we had everything we needed and the day finally came when it was time to leave. I had never been on a plane for longer than two hours and I was a little nervous how this would go. We had booked with China Eastern Airlines, which is a little more compact than other airlines but it was the cheapest and I figured if we flew overnight, we would just sleep the whole flight anyway.
Thursday Dec 17th 2015: Chris bought a couple of blow up mattresses and pillows that fold up to fit in your pocket, We weren't even out of Australia and he blew one up for me and I had a sleep at the international airport in Melbourne. Our flight out was midnight and we were flying into Shanghai, China with a couple of hours layover. I'm so glad I had that little lay down because I didn't sleep much on the plane. I learnt that I need to put my feet up to sleep, I had restless legs the whole way, Chris accommodated me for a little while with my legs draped over his but after his legs went numb I had to go back to sitting up straight. China Eastern Airways was cheaper but the seats were definitely made for a smaller race of people. Thank goodness for the in flight movies! The food was delicious, funny how when they came to take our order they automatically spoke to us in English, I wonder how they could tell. :)
Going through China airport was an experience that I wont forget: customs was eerie; there were signs everywhere that no-one was to speak and no phones to be used. A couple of hundred people and no-one talking- I knew I was not in Australia anymore! The airport itself was absolutely humongous, I have never seen a building so long and expansive. We had to get on a bus which drove on to the tarmac to board our plane and finally we were on our way to Japan.
Fri Dec 18th: Today was one of the most exciting days of my life. We flew to Fukuoka, somehow managed to get on a bus to our accommodation, spoke to the receptionist and worked out that something was wrong with our accommodation but couldn't understand what. We got on another bus to the mission home and didn't know which stop to get off at but we did know the temple was above the home, so as we rounded the corner and saw the statue of Moroni we quickly pressed the button and there we were. I still can't believe we got there by ourselves! We waited at the mission home with the mission president and his wife for half an hour and then Elder Wheeler arrived. He walked in and I sprung up to hug him first. I was a little teary I must admit seeing him in person after 2 years. We laughed when he went to hug Rohan and he said, :Who are you and what have you done with my little brother". He laughed at hearing our accents as he hadn't heard another Australian for two years and we laughed at him because he sounded just like us and then we said goodbye to everyone and went to the phone booth to call the accommodation. We were all standing in the phone booth (they are big over there) and listening to Jayme sort out the accommodation mix up speaking in fluent Japanese and it made me realise just how grown up he was. Chris and I grinned at each other with pride and relief, thank goodness we were finally here all together and had him to help us feel safe and confident to continue on our travels in this foreign country. We made our way back to the accommodation, put our things away and went out for our first Japanese dinner. Jayme took us to a place where we had noodles in soup, it was delicious! By 8pm I was ready to bed, so like old folk Chris and I went straight to sleep and Jayme, Emily and Rohan walked around the city taking in the sights and getting reacquainted.
Sat Dec 19th: We got up early and caught a train to Nobeoka, 6 hours later we arrived. We went out for lunch to a place called Joyful Lunch, it was delicious! Jayme knew all the cheap places to go (missionaries have a nose for these things) with some meals only $5 each.
Afterwards Jayme took Rohan out to do some housing (knocking on doors) I think it frieked Rohan out a bit but they worked it out with Jayme translating what Rohan said. Afterwards Chris and I took ourselves to the supermarket to get some breakfast food. That was a fun experience as we could not tell what anything was as all the packaging was in Japanese. We ended up finding some avocados and some soy crisps and then going through the cashier was interesting but they soon realised we couldn't speak Japanese and just took the right amount of money from us. Because I have taught refugees for 8 years and had many non-English speaking children in my class it reminded me how hard it must be for the families that come here to a completely different culture and have to assimilate. It was alright for us, just a 10 day adventure but I'm sure its a lot harder when you have no choice and you have to make this into your new home, it gave me a bit of an insight into it all. Afterwards we went to the church branch where they were having a Christmas dinner activity.
Sun 20th Dec: Today we had a wonderful day with the branch members. Brother Kuroki asked Jayme to speak, he was the ward mission leader when Jayme was there and now a member of the bishopric. He expressed his love for Jayme so sincerely, it brought tears to my eyes. I saw the love that all the members had for him. He was there for six months one year a go and they were really excited to see him again. they were very impressed with how his Japanese had improved. Another missionary Elder Cope had also returned with his family, Jayme and Johnny were in Nobeoka together, so it was great to spend time with them as well.
After church Brother Kai and his wife took us out to one of the best lunches ever and for a drive to look at a 600 year old temple. It was really cool!
Next we went to the mall and sang Christmas carols, this was a really fun experience as most people are atheist but heaps stopped to listen. A lot more than ever would have in Australia. We were invited to join in but that wasa little tricky seeings they were
singing in Japanese but Jayme did.
Afterwards we went with the missionaries and the Cope family back to Brother Kuroki's place for dinner. We had Skiyaki, you have to crack an egg in a bowl and dip in fried beef and cabbage and eat it. It was very unusual to be eating raw egg but we wanted to participate in the culture as much as possible. The members and friends were so hospitable and kind, I really felt their love for Jayme and us. We didn't have a car, so everywhere people drove us around and seeings there were 5 of us they often had to take 2 cars. They were so lovely!
Mon 21st Dec: Today we went with 2 female church members Yamamoto and Umeda to Umagase which is a beautiful peninsula. Umeda was an investigator who Jayme helped teach when he was there 12 months ago. We had ice cream and met a Japanese cat with no tail; apparently they are common and native to Japan. Afterwards we went to Ogura for lunch and had chicken namban, it was delicious! It is popular in that area and to die for. Afterwards we went back to our hotel for a nap and had dinner and FHE at the Kai's, the same family who took us to the temple the day before. We had a really wonderful evening with the Cope family and the missionaries. The meal was so delicious, I
love Japanese food! I think they might have made it a little more westernised to help in our adjustment but it was authentic enough for us to taste the culture. Brother Kai could speak a little English but then he got out his guitar and sang all these English songs, mainly westerns like John Denver. We had a really great sing along. Of course none of the young ones knew the words but us oldies had a really great time! I really liked the mum and daughter Kai Cheiko and Rieko, I felt a pang of sadness when I left thinking I've met these really beautiful people and I may never see them again. I hope one day that we go back there and we do see them again.
Wed 23rd Dec: We got up at 5am to catch the train to Nakatsu. I was upset initially on this train as I was busting to go to the toilet and we had an hour ride and there was no toilet. I said a prayer and the baby moved off my bladder and I survived perfectly fine. When we got to the train station I made a dash for it and there were only traditional squat toilets. I was justgrateful to be comfortable as the next train ride was 2 hours long and I could sleep. When we arrived it was raining and we were picked up by Jayme's friends Satomi, Akemi and Yayita Sue. Everyone is well stocked with umbrellas in Japan so they had enough for us all.
We visited a shrine that was really cool and then went out to lunch. For lunch we sat around a type of BBQ plate and cooked our own. It looked like pancakes but was made from meat and vegies. It was hilarious trying to cook it and then eat it with chopsticks, a very memorable meal. Afterwards we went to this amazing castle that was built during the Samurai era. When the Samurai were overthrown the towns people burnt the castle down. After that we went to a really awesome Budist temple in the mountain that was 600 years old and built into a cave. The trip was long and treacherous up slippery narrow stepping stones. Fortunately there was an option of single span chairlifts which I took due to being 28 weeks pregnant. There was a female budist monk that lived up at the temple. Her job was to talk to the tourists and she lived there all alone. She was only young; early 30's and seemed very happy with her life there.
On the way home we tried Nakatsu fried chicken which was the best! We found our hotel which was heaps cheaper than we had budgeted, dropped out things and went to the chapel for English class. The missionaries run a weekly class in non-English speaking countries, it is a program put out by the church. A lot of Jayme's friends were made through these classes. Sometimes the students invite the missionaries to teach them about God and our church but either way its a terrific way to serve the community. The missionaries were really pleased we were there as suddenly there were five extra teachers. They put us into groups and we were asked questions about Australia. We mainly googled animals and told them a little about them. They were fascinated and it made me realise how cool our wildlife is and of course they all knew what a kangaroo was. We got some dinner afterwards and walked back to the hotel exhausted. We had enjoyed a huge and exhilarating day.
Thursday 24th Dec: Today we hired bikes and rode around the city togther. Everywhere we went people were staring at us, we must have looked hilarious this line of white people riding around. Japanese people of all ages use bikes for transport. We even saw really old people, they looked very fit riding around doing their grocery shopping. The city was set up with a bike path as part of the footpath. All footpaths were very wide and they all had yellow raised edgings especially for blind people to be able to feel their way. We were amazed by this adaption and the efforts the Japanese had gone to especially as we didn't see one blind person.We went shopping in this huge shopping mall, I bought some ugg boots and Jayme bought a tie - you can never have enough apparently, and then we went to the chapel for a Christmas party with the Nakatsu branch.
The people were so generous and hospitable. They brought so much appetising food, we tried to taste all of it but couldn't possibly fit it all in. There was only one unusual fish soup that was outside my comfort zone, I think they are good at knowing what westerners will want to eat. The chapel is really unusual as the missionaries flat is adjoined upstairs off the kitchen. So when it was curfew the Elders just said goodbye and walked through a door into their apartment. Downstairs where the chapel is they only had an old fashioned squat toilet. It made me realise how blessed we are to have modern toilets in our chapel, Never again will I complain about the state of our old Launceston Chapel. NB:They did have a modern one upstairs, which was good as that was where the Relief Society room was; where the women meet for classes. After the Elders went we thought we had better not make it too hard on them and we all went home. Once again we had wonderful people to drive us back to our hotel. Chris and Jayme rode bikes back, it was great to see how proficient Jayme had become at riding seeings he hadn't ridden hardly at all in Tasmania. this is code for he left Chris for dead haha.
Friday 25th Dec: Christmas Day! We got up and decided to do something memorable and have Maccas for breakfast. Rohan had been asking to go the whole time and I didn't want to but I'm glad we did as the menu was different and interesting. The buns for the hamburgers were more like a pancake, it was more enjoyable than I expected. For lunch we had a meal with Mitsuko Saburomaru who was a lovely member. She was an older single lady and I could tell she loved Jayme as they joked around. she was really warm and funny. While we were there she called Chris ookii no which means big one, from then on that was his nickname. He certainly was big compared to most of the Japanese men that we saw. Jayme then became hosoi no which means thin one and Emily was bijin which is beautiful. She absolutely loved Emily and thought she was a movie star. She patted my tummy and told me it was good if people do that as it helps the baby to be born cute. I think it must've worked. It was hilarious as everywhere we went Jayme would tell them I was pregnant and the look of amazement on their faces. I would have to nod to tell them yes he wasn't making it up and they were all so excited for us. Another member Satomi and her 13 year old daughter Rena came too, they drove us there and home. That morning I had said because we weren't doing presents I just would really like a shoulder/head massage for Christmas and everyone agreed that would be fun. We were telling Satomi on the way home and she said that she was a training massage therapist, we couldn't believe our good fortune especially as she was more than happy to come up to our room and give us each our massage that we had hoped for. After a little nap we were pick up by another family; Brother and Sister Tanaka and taken to their home for dinner. We had delicious sushi - much better than 
Sat 26th Dec:We got up at 5am to catch trains and planes to Okinawa. The weather was suddenly a lot warmer and Jayme was keen to take us to Shuri Castle. It was a bit of a hike and I was very slow being 26 weeks pregnant but Chris was really supportive and helped me feel better about slowing everyone down. The kids went on and waited for us at the castle, it was amazing!
We got back and it was dark, it was so nice to walk around in the evening and not be cold. We really enjoyed walking along the streets and seeing the culture around us. Everything is always different at night time and it was fun seeing this city come alive.
Sun 27th Dec: The missionary couple, Brother and Sister Drake picked us up for church. W attended the American ward in the morning and then the Japanese ward in the afternoon. It was great to have Jayme to interpret for us. The sister missionaries were American and seemed happy to be able to talk to some people in English, especially as one sister was brand new and still learning the language. After church we had a Christmas dinner with Brother and Sister Drake at their apartment. They were also American and we felt really blessed to enjoy a western Christmas dinner after-all. Even though we were travelling and not expecting so much generosity we really did feel the love of the people as we needed for nothing, it was a truly humbling experience. I enjoyed our conversation with the Drakes as we shared with them the many blessings we had experienced while Jayme served his mission, I could feel this touch their hearts as they thought about their own families who they were missing, I also think it was really wonderful for Jayme to hear too. It was the only time the whole trip that Jayme just sat and listened and we got to do all the talking, it was a nice change and a really enjoyable evening.
Mon 28th Dec: Today we hung out at the chapel. We got to skype mum for Christmas and that was wonderful. Technology is so great that we could skype mum in USA from Japan and feel like we were just next door. We went out for lunch with a recent convert Minami. The Elders came too as they turned up for an appointment at the chapel and it was cancelled, they looked a little disappointed so we invited them. It was raining and they rode their bikes and I was scared for them riding flat out in all the traffic in the weather. Minami took Emily and I and the guys got a taxi.We went to an all you can eat called Bamboosh and had a delicious last meal out in Japan. Maybe because we knew our journey was coming to an end but I was trying to live in the moment and relish each taste and try new things, it was amazing; the food, the atmosphere and the company. Afterwards we went back to the chapel and had family Home Evening with the missionaries and YSA. They played basketball and I watched Jayme mingling with the missionaries as one of them for the very last time, I felt a twinge of sadness for him as I saw how happy he was in this environment and knowing he would never experience that again. I also felt grateful that he was able to go and have his life changing opportunities and I was proud of him for serving his mission with such energy and enthusiasm and proud of the way he loved the people and they loved him in return. He really was in great hands the whole 2 years he was there and I'm so grateful for that. I'm eternally grateful that I got to experience it first hand and have the opportunity to go to Japan with my family, what an unbelievable blessing that was for all of us.
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