Elena's Baptism

"We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are:

First, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ;

Second, Repentance;

Third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins;

Fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."

 

We are so happy Elena loves her Savior, Jesus Christ, and has chosen to follow him and be baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She reached the age of accountability in December, but patiently waited until January.  We are so blessed to have such a supportive and loving church branch here in Okinawa. I wish we could have had a picture of everyone who attended and all those who stood in the circle when she was confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost.  We are very grateful for the priesthood!

 

 

When we are baptized, we come into the fold of God and covenant to:     

Bear one another’s burdens      

Stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all places     

Serve God and keep His commandments

When we are baptized and keep our covenants, God promises to:

Forgive our sins

Pour out his Spirit more abundantly

Guide us through the Holy Ghost

Let us come forth in the first resurrection

Give us eternal life

 

Our dear friend, Monica, beautifully sang, "I Stand All Amazed."

Sister Johnson (left) spoke about Baptism. (Sister Bair is on the right.)

 Here are the food tables before refreshments were served in the Young Women's room.

 

Elena (and Aidan) both had Japanese Kokeshi dolls for attendees to sign.

 

Elena is pictured between friends, Brie and  Pacific.

 

Elena's father baptized and confirmed her.

Elena and her mama

 

Elena, with both happy parents

 

Here's the whole family. 

Sweet Sister Aird

Here's a couple of pretty awesome 8-year-olds!

Sister Dummar has been Elena's amazing Activity Days teacher.

 



Brother Bankester (and Sister Bankester) were Elena's outstanding Primary teachers last year.

Elena is between two cute little Sevy sisters.

(Our Branch) President Finlayson and his son were kind to pose with Elena.

 

 Cute little Hayley

Elena was happy to also get a picture with Sister Finlayson (Primary leader) and her two adorable boys.

Here's a quick snap of Elena immediately before immersion.

 

At our lovely new building, we are fortunate to have a luxurious "Mother's Room" which we got to use as a dressing room. Unfortunately, the men had three dressing and no such space.   

Annie is the official hairdresser.

Yoneko McMenamy is another one of our beloved Japanese sisters.

 Don't they look happy!?

 



Elena with angelic Pacific

Day Two at Disney Sea

Disneyland has California Adventure Park and Tokyo Disney has Disney Sea--another park.  Toyko Disney has Westernland, Adventureland, Critter Country, Fantasyland, Toontown and Tomorrowland.  DisneySea areas include: Mediterranean Harbour, American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Arabian Coast, Mermaid Lagoon, an Mysterious Island.  When we purchased our tickets we had to commit to specific days.  Unfortunately, we had beautiful weather our first day in Tokyo and then it turned uglier for our two amusement park days.  Still, a bad day at Disneyland is better than a good day anywhere else. ;) Fortunately, most of the rides and waiting areas were indoors.

It's spring break and it's snowing/raining on us!  A cast member asked us to go and stand out in the rain to even out the lines.  We declined.  It was a comical interchange, but we stood firm. 

Disney Sea did an incredible job of creating an Italian landscape.  It looked and felt like we were on the streets of Florence or Venice. 

 

The "Twilight Zone Tower of Terror" is scary from the outside.

This is a photograph taken on the "Tower of Terror" ride.  The girls were hesitant to ride, but good sports and happy to survive this torturous drop.  At least no one passed out this time.  (Elena may have when she was 2-years old.)

The actual open sea lies beyond the ship.

 

 StormRider travels riders into the center of a storm in order to diffuse it. 

It made some of us a little car sick. 

 

A great view of the Mediterranean Harbour with the adjacent American Waterfront.

The Mermaid Lagoon was a huge indoor park in its own right with multiple rides, including: Ariel's Playground, Jumpin' Jellyfish, Blowfish Balloon Race, Theater, & the Whirlpool.   Flounder's Flying Coaster was outside, but I missed it to get us more fast passes. 

Elena said Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull was one of her favorite rides. It was an intense indoor jeep hilly adventure.   Pictures below show when the ground opens up an escape hatch from the giant rolling stone about to crush our bodies.   I think we rode this one three times. 

Anneliese got to be the first driver and you can see Abigail being a little apprehensive

 in the back seat.

 

Now see who is so thrilled to be driving.

Today's lunch was a little more Japanese. 

"Sinbad's Storybook Voyage" in the Arabian Coast is comparative to "It's a Small World."

Raging Spirits in the Lost River Delta was closed a chunk of the day due to weather, but we lucked out and got to fit in a ride when we had a break in the rain.  This coaster took us for an upside down loop.  The little one wasn't too sure about it, but ended up loving it. 

Aquatopia would have been more fun on a hot day. 

One minute we are strolling through a Mediterranean city and then the next thing we know....

 

we are in NYC. 

 

Seeing the Med. Harbour at night makes it even more magical.

This is the biggest Easter basket we've ever seen!

Here's a look inside our ride on the "Tower of Terror."  Unfortunately, Annie's head is blocked by someone.

Poor Uncle Paulie only had a thin jacket and struggled to find any cold weather clothing that wasn't girly.  This hat was the best thing he could find--but it was about the end of the day.

The dramatic "Fantasmic" show was truly fantastic with awesome displays from water, lights,  lasers,  giant screens, and various Disney characters. It was a great ending to our DisneySea day.