KyleYates.com

Christmas has come and gone, but the meaning behind the special day will never fade away. Hope you had a very blessed Christmas Day wherever you were.

We had a nice little Christmas party at church last Saturday, and then on this past Wednesday night we went to the Underwoods’ house for another one. That will be the last time we will have a Christmas party at their house! I can’t believe it!

It sounds bad, but it wasn’t. It was a great little party. But unfortunately they will be moving away to another country next summer, so Christmas at their house next year will be out of the question.

On another note, Grandma Joyce is here with us this Christmas. She was here last year for two months, but could only come for one month this time. Her friend, Eileen, is also here with us staying for two weeks. They and Denise have been going out and about around Kyoto and Osaka seeing the sites and eating.

Having them here for Christmas and New Year’s is such a blessing for us. The kids are enjoying their time with Grandma and so are we…although, Denise gets to spend more time with Joyce than I do, mostly because I have been working.

However you are spending Christmas and New Year’s Day, we hope you have a fun, safe time. Praise God, we have gotten through another year in one piece and now are about to go into 2010. Pray we continue to do God’s will in Japan and grow closer to Him on a daily basis. We hope and pray you do, too. God Bless!

In Him in 2010!

Grandma Joyce, Uncle Marc and Auntie Ria are here visiting us!

On December 28 and 29, we went to Hiroshima. We hiked around Miyajima and ate lunch on the island. Everyone pet the deer and avoided having snacks stolen by them during our hike. Several times, I’ve seen people running from deer because the deer want to eat the food they had in their bags or in their hands. It’s funny watching girls screaming as they run from deer! We saw a few do that this time too.

After visiting Miyajima, we went back to our hotel and ate a huge many-course-dinner (we lost count) and then went and bathed in the public bath-hot pool.

The next day, we went to Peace Memorial Park in downtown Hiroshima to see the Hiroshima Dome where the Atomic Bomb was dropped over Hiroshima. However, we were unfortunately unable to visit the museum because it had closed on the 29th for New Year’s, the main reason we went to Hiroshima in the first place! Still, we had a good time.

Before we drove back home, a 4 hour drive away, we went and had Hiroshima Okonomiyaki, a must if you are ever in Hiroshima. It was delicious and helped us get over the disappointment of not being able to see the museum.

Remember to call and check if the place you are going to visit during any holiday period is open before you go, a hard lesson we learned on this trip.