Week 23 July 10-16, 2013

This rice field has a small bunch of seedlings in each group.  We have only seen the seedling hand planted but in the large fields it seems that there should be some automation.  Seedlings are grown in flats in green houses. 

Some of the fields are starting to dry up.  We occasionally see others fields still being planted.   I wonder if they have a long enough growing season to spread harvesting time out.

 The last picture looks like a grain storage unit.  It is huge and surrounded by rice patties.

The missionaries in the Kumamoto/Nagamine Wards came over about lunch time today with birthday cake and spam rice rolls made by the Sister missionaries.

Terry ordered three large pizza and we had a birthday party.  

I love the creative birthday card the missionaries made and then each of the Elders and Sisters signed it for him.  

At our zone meeting on Tuesday the lesson was on having faith.  This scripture in Alma 32:21 is a favorite of mine.  “And now as I said concerning faith - ‘faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.’”  It reminds me of the little girl who brought lunch to her father who was digging a well.  Her father asked her to drop his lunch to him.  When he looked at it he noticed there was enough for two and asked her to jump down to him and join him for lunch.  She could not see him.  Her father reassured her he would catch her.  She jumped having faith that her father would catch her.  We need to be like the little girl and have faith that Heavenly Father will not ask us to do something we cannot do.  We need to take the first step and he will be there to help us accomplish what he has asked of us.  Terry and I have found this principle to be true in our lives.  We have often felt Heavenly Fathers presence as we take the step into the dark.