Japan Day 3 Koga

This was my favorite day of the trip.  My dad and I attended church in Koga with a family he taught while on his mission.  I enjoyed church as for once I was the one being interpreted for, rather than doing it myself.  It was a valuable experience to be put in the shoes of those I serve.  I did have to laugh a little as there were times when I could tell my interpreter (a delightful young woman in her 20s who served a mission in the states and learned English here) was struggling to find the right word.  Occasionally I would feed her the word just as I would with my team at church.  Even when receiving the service, I guess I can't turn it off!

The highlight, however, was definitely meeting the Suzuki family. This family did end up joining the church in part due to my dad's efforts, and the ripple effect of that is HUGE.  Not only are their kids and grandkids members, but they have also prepared (if I understood it correctly) 800 names of their deceased ancestors for temple work!  We had dinner with the Suzuki family and one of their daughters.  She herself had 6 children, which is highly unusual in Japan.  They have a multi-generational dinner every Sunday, and the kids are always in charge of cooking.  And boy did they!  It was even worse than the plane...the food kept coming and coming and coming and coming and...and ALL of it was delicious!  I didn't want to stop eating it, although at a certain point I simply had to.  Which was a pity, really. 

Watching this family interact with my dad and seeing the impact a person can have on hundreds was something I will never forget. 

I know we took about a million pictures, and some included the entire family.  Unfortunately, they seem to be missing at the moment.  This is a post that may be updated later, as I am hoping we can get those pictures by e-mailing the family.