Number 5

So where were we...

Okay, dinner with the guys from work. Tuesday night the guys who are hear from Denver that are working with Dana came over to dinner. The request was for American food since they have had more than enough Japanese food since they have been here. At that point, I hadn't figured out how to use my do everything oven with instructions in Japanese ( I have now!), so everything needed to be done on top of the stove.

I managed to find a nice piece of beef that I cooked with onion and garlic in red wine. It was a big hit. I also found corn on the cob. What I found amusing about the corn was that each ear was individually wrapped in a heavy package like we would use for beef jerky and cost just under $2.00. Then I got some potatoes that come 4 to a bag ~in bulk! You should have seen the look on the cashiers face with 10 ears of corn and 5 bags of potatoes! She tried to say something to me, but when she realized I didn't understand much Japanese she gave up. For dessert, I got donuts and Kit Kat bars and the donuts didn't even have the famous bean paste in them! Needless to say, everyone enjoyed it and I had a great time. It was nice to be able to talk with people that speak more than 10 words of English.

Catherine had some eczema on her face and neck and I got some cream at the pharmacy to put on it. That night, I noticed I had a couple of what looked like bites on my arm so I put some Benedryl on them and went to bed. The next day, Christina's chest was totally broke out and by that night, my torso was covered. Christina's went away by the following day. Mine have continued to spread and a couple of days ago, Catherine started breaking out. What I know now is that they are not bites. It appears to be some type of allergic reaction but to what we don't know. Catherine’s seem to be diminishing while mine are continuing to grow and spread. I had intentions of going to a doctor, but there was a national holiday on Thursday and there was no chance of finding an English-speaking doctor. Friday, we were hit by a typhoon (next paragraph) so we didn't go. So, I am going to see what I can do on Monday.

The typhoon I mentioned in my last chronicle missed us, but there was one following it that hit us dead on. Friday morning we woke up to rain and wind. The only time the wind blows here is when there is some sort of storm coming in. I told Dana to go ahead and take the car to work and we would stay home. After he left, we crawled back in bed, which I am sure worked out to be a good thing for the girls. They slept through the typhoon. When they woke up it was only raining lightly.

I woke up when I realized the air conditioner was off and we had no electricity. The wind was fierce. I figured there was nothing I could do so I laid with the girls. Some of the guys from Denver told me that as they were walking back to the hotel from getting breakfast, there was a piece of fiberglass that was shaped like sheet metal flying down the street like a Frisbee. Needless to say they got inside real fast.

Dana came home at lunch and I decided to take him back to work and go out for a little while. The worst of the storm was over and I knew the girls would get a little stir crazy if we didn't get out for at least a short time. When I was driving around I saw many large trees that had been totally uprooted or broke off, sign poles that had fallen and people with little brooms cleaning the street. It was like the typhoons over, so we clean up before next one. Crews were out clearing trees and we had electricity back by about 5pm. We also did not have water for a couple of hours in the afternoon, but I'm not sure that was typhoon related.

With the national holiday, the neighbor children have been out of school, so the girls have been playing with them. They have bikes they ride and a small puppy named Peach. Yesterday, they started making origami paper cranes. We have made about 35 so far.

There is a Japanese tradition about making 1000 paper cranes. I don't know the complete story, but I want to learn more. My plan is that since we will be here for Christmas and I don't want to try to send decorations over or buy them here, I would like to make 1000 paper cranes to decorate our Christmas tree. On each crane, we will write the name of a loved one or a prayer intention and this will be our prayer offering for Christmas. If you are receiving this, assume that your name will be on a crane, but if you have an intention or another name that you would like us to include please send it to me and I will do so.

I guess that is about all for now. We are going to Nagasaki tomorrow (Sunday) and coming home on Monday. I will not be able to send this until Monday evening when we return and then I will have more to share.

Thank you for all your words of encouragement and prayers.

Blessings and prayers,
Marion