The modern Pioneers

The pioneers in Early history left there homes, most of there possession some of there family members and traveled many miles. They had to rely on those who were with them and mostly rely on their faith and the Lord.  Recently our family has had to do some of the same things as the pioneers.

We left our home, we left our friends, we left our extended family behind and we traveled far to reach Japan.  Luckily, we have a few differences then those wonderful pioneers. We have been blessed to have technology to keep us in contact with our families and friends. We were blessed to fly on an airplane over to Japan instead of walking pulling our belongings behind us. We have had to rely a lot on our faith in the Lords plan in coming to Japan.

I wanted to give you a little bit of our Journey in getting here. First, was the sad part. We had to say goodbye to our families and our dear friends. This was the hardest part for us. If we could take all our family and friends with us, it would of been easy to go to Japan.  For some strange reason they all didn't want to pack up there lives and come with us. Oh well, In heaven we can all live near each other and be extremely happy.

Goodbye Jackie!

Goodbye friends and our dog Teddy.

Goodbye Darcie!

 

The next leg of our journey was driving 4 hours to LA. We arrived there late morning and couldn't check into our hotel yet. So ate some lunch and then got checked in. We dragged tons of suitcases to our room, which was a small challenge, but everyone was up for it. It took a little help from mom and dad to get over the big bumps but alas we made it to our room and only lost one set of children in the elevator.  After we got our stuff into our room it was time to put our truck into storage for the next few years. We drove to the location and checked it in. After we were finished with that, we had time to breath, it felt surreal that we were now home-less and car-less. It defiantly made us appreciate the blessings we have in this life. It also helped us to see that people are more important than our things. We chose to walk the 5 miles back to the hotel for some good exercise and because we had all afternoon to kill in a hotel room. It was a long walk, but we enjoyed talking and laughing together. After our walk we went back to our hotel ordered some dinner and got baths which were very needed after our day. We relaxed and enjoyed each others company ready to begin the new chapter of our lives.

 

 relaxing in Hotel. Los Angeles, CA

 

The next morning we took a shuttle to the airport and checked in. We arrived at the gate an hour before boarding and we were glad we did. There was a mix up in setting up our flights and we didn't have seats on the plane to get us up to Seattle.  They told us we were first on the waiting list and would get us on if they could. The problem was we were flying out of LA with the Rose bowl just ending and it was also the last weekend for people to get home from the holidays. As we sat and waiting to see if we could get on we started (I mean, I started) thinking about every possible outcome and what we could do to make our next flight. I thought about sending part of us on the first flight, or maybe we should send non of us. I also thought it would probably be busy the whole weekend due to the circumstances and getting all 6 of us on the same flight would be difficult.    Yay, the board now showed that  3 of us could get on the flight. So at this point we made plans to rondevu in Seattle and figure out where and when we would meet back up. We had no cell phones and no way of contacting each other on the other side. 

Then a small miracle happened. 5 min before boarding a nice couple could see we were a little distraught and talking over our options. They realized we were all trying to get on the flight. We explained to them the circumstances and not 2 min later a few people went up and offered to be bumped so we could all travel together. What a miracle and a blessing it was. A little tender mercy and it made us so grateful that someone saw a need and was willing to sacrifice for others. Thank you, so much to those people who were willing to take a later flight so we could all fly together and make our flight to Japan. 

 Courtneys First flight

We didn't get seats together, but we had a great time.

 

We arrived in Seattle, the flight was great. This day was defiantly the most difficult part of our trip. When we arrived in Seattle we had a piece of luggage missing and it was one of the important ones with Dave's stuff in it. We sat for about an extra hour trying to figure it all out. We were hungry and tired. The kids did great and were very patient with it all. We did find the luggage it came a few hours later on a later flight to Seattle, but all the little bumps got worked out along the way.

 

 

Look at that crew with our luggage. So patient and happy.

we got to our hotel and got 2 hours of sleep before we woke everyone up in the middle of the night for our next part of our journey.

We had to check in early for our flight we found a lovely playroom for the children to chill at and play at for a few hours. They had tons of fun making a relay course out of the area.

Still more waiting. Melanie passed some time doing her dolls hair.

Landon was still all smiles even though exhaustion was setting in. What good sports the kids were. Never complained, just went with it.

You could tell they were tired and wanted a nice warm bed. Airport chairs would have to do for our comfort for a little while longer.

Yes, Dave and I were there too!

 

We finally got on our flight. For the first few hours we all slept. Then we got some breakfast. We watched movies, the kids played on the tablets Santa brought them (good job Santa, it worked like a charm) We also took another nap on the plane, ate more food and enjoyed the view. The flight was wonderful. The only issue we had was Courtney had to go to the restroom on the decent and couldn't get out until we landed. Luckly, she made it. Another little blessing.

Northern Japan from the Air. Covered in Snow. Looking cold. Coastline and all.

 Plane ride was fun, but we were glad to see land.

When we arrived we were greeted by most of the chapel staff. What a wonderful welcome. They helped with bags and transportation. What a wonderful welcome.

We know that just like the pioneers we are sometimes asked to do hard things in this life. We are excited to see what Japan has to offer and see what blessing this will bring us but also what we can bring to Japan. Welcome to Japan! We are ready to Enjoy the next part of our journey here!