A Japanese Cat O Lantern
Some of the party attendees
The Sisters with Pippy.
The president's new mission vehicle.
The biggest head of cabbage I have ever seen.
Preparation day in Kyoto with the Pypers.
James and friends attack the food left over from a missionary meal.
Elder Oshiro earned an apron for his service in the office.
The Fab 4 and their aprons from last transfer!
Some of the missionaries and YSA.
Four of our wonderful YSA in costume.
The Elders manage the pinata they made especially for the party.
The kids loved taking shots at the bat.
Candy frenzy!
Sister McIntyre poses with Sisters Yamada and Inoue. Below, Sister Inoue also tries on the Korean dress.
A highlight of the night was bobbing for apples. Elder Ito went all the way in for his!
His companion, Elder Christie, was not to be out done!
Lots of snacks and scary punch.
Sister Inoue served up the potion.
Little devils.
Little angels!
Pumpkin carving demonstration by Sister McIntyre.
The kids loved it as this is not normally done in Japan. It was the first time to see a real Jack o lantern for most of them.
It was a happy Halloween in Kobe!
The boys were out of school for fall break on Monday so we enjoyed a family shopping day in Link Town.
On the way home he had some delicious okonomiyaki for dinner. You cook it yourself at the table. Don't know why Ricky is making a mean face? He loved the food!
Link Town is on the outskirts of Osaka near the Kansai Int'l Airport bridge. You can see the big Ferris Wheel and the ANA Hotel in the background.
Serving a mission with teenage boys presents some unique challenges. We weren't sure what to do when they rolled down the windows and started saying hello to people while wearing the ski masks! It is Halloween week so I think they did their trick. We did not give them any treats though. It was a fun day!
Later in the week we visited Iwade church to interview the missionaries in that part of Wakayama. The branch meets in the building below on the 2nd floor. It is a small branch, but we have a mother and her son scheduled for baptism on the 16th of November. Elders Mauai and Wintz are very excited.
This is the sign in front of the Iwade Church building. Sister Mac is again pointing to the church name, second from the bottom.
We also had interviews with the Osaka North Zone in Ibaraki this week. Below is a picture of the zone missionaries. We have Sisters Kurashita and Meyers and Elders Johnson, Steele, Ito, Campbell, Akagi, West, Baldridge and Merrick. Later in the week we attended a baptism in Okamachi Ward from this zone and last week the Senri Ward, also from this zone, had a great baptism. They are working hard and we are seeing many blessings in this zone.
Earlier in the week we had the chance to meet and visit with President and Sister Budge from Toyko. Todd was recently called as the new stake president in the Tokyo South Stake, our old stake in Tokyo. We served as bishops at the same time in that stake. Their son, David, has been called to our mission and is currently in the MTC. We are excited to pick him up at the airport on December 23rd! Elder Capener, who is currently serving here, is also their nephew and David's cousin. I miss playing basketball with President Budge in the mornings. President Daniels, now serving as mission president in Sapporo, used to play with us as well. Those were the days my friend!
Ricky and James both started their basketball seasons at school. We look forward to watching their games, although I will be away for some of them. They are doing great and have made many new friends. Ricky went back to Tokyo this week as school had a break and saw his old friends there too.
