THE GIFT OF LIFE

WE HAVE SO MANY MEMORIES OF OKINAWA, IT WAS SUCH A PRECIOUS TIME FOR US. IT WAS SO WONDERFUL, EACH DAY, PASSING INTO EACH WEEK, GOING INTO EACH MONTH. THE CUSTOMS AND HOLIDAYS. ONE PARTICULAR HOLIDAY TAKES PLACE IN SEPTEMBER, CALLED, (WELL, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THE NAME IS) BUT IT IS THE HOLIDAY TO HONOR THEIR ANCESTORS. IT WAS SO EXCITING, ALL THE DANCING, MUSIC, FOOD AND COMPANIONSHIP. FOR THREE DAYS, ALL THE PEOPLE WOULD OPEN THEIR HOMES TO EVERYONE. I MEAN, THE DOORS WOULD LITERALLY STAY OPEN! THE PAPASANS OF THE HOMES WOULD HAVE FOOD AND DRINKS AVAILABLE TO EACH PERSON WHO PASSED BY. IT WAS A SIGN OF AFFLUENCE TO OFFER THE VERY BEST OF EVERYTHING. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD EVER HAD PRAWNS, WHICH ARE GIANT SHRIMP, AND I MEAN GIANT, (AT LEAST 4 INCHES LONG) COOKED TEMPURA STYLE. THEY TAKE THE SHRIMP, AND COAT IT WITH A BATTER, AND FRY IT. IT WAS SO GOOD, IF THEY HADN'T BEEN SO ANXIOUS TO SHARE WITH ME I WOULD HAVE DISGRACED MYSELF BY BEING A PIG! THEY OFFERED WINE, RICE, VEGETABLES AND SEAFOOD. THERE WAS LIQUOR TO THOSE WHO WISHED IT, AND IT WAS THE CUSTOM TO LEAVE AN OFFERING FOR THEIR ANCESTORS IN THE FORM OF MONEY WHEN YOU LEFT. (GOOD THING I FIGURED THAT OUT BEFOREHAND, OR I WOULD REALLY HAVE MADE A BOOB OUT OF MYSELF!) DURING THIS FESTIVAL, THE FAMILY WOULD GO INTO THE FAMILY MAUSOLEUM TO WASH THE BONES OF THEIR ANCESTORS. THESE MAUSOLEUMS WERE FANTASTIC, THEY WERE BUILT INTO THE SIDES OF THE HILLS, AND WERE ROUNDED ON TOP. THEY LOOKED LIKE THE BACK OF A TURTLE, AND THIS WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE BIRTH OF THE DEAD INTO THE NEXT WORLD. I JUST REMEMBERED THE NAME OF THE FESTIVAL- IT IS THE OBAN FESTIVAL! ANYWAY, IT WAS GREAT, AND I LOVED IT.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT HAPPENED TO US THE ENTIRE TIME WE LIVED IN OKINAWA, INDEED THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO US AT ALL, WAS FINDING AND LEARNING ABOUT THE GOSPEL. BY CHANCE, A FEW MORMON CHURCH MEMBERS LIVED ON OUR LITTLE STREET, AND SOON, WE MET THEM AND THEY BEFRIENDED US. ALL OF US WERE ARMY FAMILIES, AND WE HAD MUCH IN COMMON. WE EACH HAD OUR CHILDREN, OUR HOMES, AND ARMY CAREERS. THERE WAS SOMETHING THOUGH, ABOUT THE MORMON FAMILIES THAT I ENVIED. IT WAS JUST AN INHERENT JOY THAT CAME NATURALLY TO THEM. IN MY CHILDHOOD, I HAD HAD SOME UNHAPPY EXPERIENCES AND I FOUND IT HARD TO TRUST IN LIFE. THESE FAMILIES WERE SO CONTENT, EVEN THOUGH THEY FACED THE SAME FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES THAT WE HAD- AND THEY HAD TREMDOUS RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER AS HUBANDS AND WIVES. I LOVED AND RESPECTED MARTIN TOO, BUT IT WAS DIFFERENT. BEFORE LONG, AFTER I HAD ESTABLISHED FRIENDSHIPS WITH THE MORMON LADIES, I BEGAN TO WONDER HOW THEY COULD HAVE SUCH AN EASY JOY IN THEIR LIVES. THEY DID NOT FORCE THEIR RELIGION ON ME, JUST BEFRIENDED ME FOR WHAT I WAS. I FINALLY ASKED THE BURNING QUESTION, "WHAT IS SO DIFFERENT IN YOUR LIVES THAT MAKES YOU CONTENT?" WELL, THAT WAS LIKE HANGING A STEAK IN FRONT OF A STARVING WOLF! (JUST KIDDING). WHAT I MEAN IS, THEY WERE SO EAGER TO TELL ME ABOUT THE GOSPEL, BUT I HAD INTIMIDATED THEM WITH MY STRONG PERSONALITY, AND THEY DID NOT WANT TO OFFEND ME BY TAKING THE FIRST STEP. IT WAS NOT LONG, THAT I FOUND SO MANY ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS THAT HAD TROUBLED ME FOR MY WHOLE LIFE. I FELT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WAS TO HAVE YOUR FAMILY EVEN IN THE AFTERLIFE, BUT I COULDN'T FIND A CHURCH THAT BELIEVED THAT WAY. I THOUGHT THAT MEMBERS OF A CHURCH SHOULD TAKE EVERY EFFORT TO TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER, AND THAT CLERGY SHOULD SERVE WITHOUT MONETARY COMPENSATION. I DIDN'T THINK A PERSON SHOULD HAVE TO GO TO COLLEGE FOR YEARS TO READ AND TEACH THE GOSPEL, AND I ALWAYS THOUGHT THE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH SHOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS WITH OTHER MEMBERS DURING CHURCH SERVICES. THERE SHOULD BE NO JUDGEMENT AS TO WHETHER OR NOT SOMEONE PAID ENOUGH OF AN OFFERING. I FELT THAT GIVING AN OFFERING SHOULD BE VOLUNTARY, AND THE AMOUNT SHOULD NOT BE KNOWN TO EVERYONE. I ESPECIALLY HAD DIFFICULTY WITH THE CONCEPT OF HELL, I DIDN'T THINK A LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER WOULD THROW HIS CHILDREN INTO A BURNING ETERNITY. SUDDENLY, ALL MY QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED. THERE WERE EXPLANATIONS FOR ALL MY CONCERNS, AND THEY MADE SO MUCH SENSE TO ME. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WOULD LEARN TO BE A GOOD MAMA TO MY BABY, THE WOMEN WOULD SHOW ME BY EXAMPLE AND OTHER HELP IF I NEEDED IT. I FELT IT WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, TO HAVE FINALLY FOUND A RELIGION THAT TAUGHT ALL THE THINGS I HAD ALWAYS BELIEVED. BUT, THERE WAS ONE MORE TEST. I WANTED TO SEE IF THE MEMBERS WOULD JUDGE ME IF I APPEARED DIFFERENT FROM THEM. SO, ON MY FIRST SUNDAY TO THE CHURCH, I DRESSED IN A MINI SKIRT, A LOW CUT BLOUSE, 4 INCH HEELS AND LOTS OF MAKEUP. MARTIN SAID HE THOUGHT I LOOKED MORE LIKE I WAS GOING HONKY-TONKING INSTEAD OF TO CHURCH, AND I TOLD HIM THAT I KNEW WHAT I WAS DOING. SO, IN I WALKED, HAVING WAITED UNTIL THE SERVICE STARTED AND MAKING SURE I MADE MY WAY TO THE FRONT OF THE CHAPLE TO SIT IN THE FRONT ROW. I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE THAT THREE OF THE MEMBERS HAD BEEN ASSIGNED TO TALK THAT DAY. WHERE WAS THE PREACHER? (I ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT IT WAS WRONG TO HAVE ONE MAN DO ALL THE TALKING, AFTER ALL IT WAS JUST HIS OPINION ANYWAY.) I WAS IMPRESSED THAT THE MEMBERS PRESENTED THE MESSAGE THAT DAY. NO OFFERING PLATE WAS PASSED. I WONDERED WHY, BUT WOULD ASK LATER. (TURNS OUT THAT THE MEMBERS PUT THEIR OFFERINGS IN A SEALED ENVELOPE AND GIVEN PRIVATELY TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BISHOPRIC). AFTER THE SERVICE I WAS MOST SURPRISED TO FIND THAT THE MEMBERS WERE ANXIOUS TO MEET ME AND SEEMED GENUINLY GLAD THAT I WAS THERE. NONE OF THE MEN GAPED AT MY EXPOSED CLEAVAGE, OR MY TINY SKIRT. INDEED, THE MEMBERS WERE SO FRIENDLY AND WELCOMING. I ASKED ONE OF MY NEIGHBORS THAT WAS A MEMBER OF THE CONGREGATION WHY SHE HAD NOT TOLD ME OF THE WONDERFUL WELCOME I WOULD RECEIVE. SHE SAID SHE WANTED ME TO EXPERIENCE IT FIRST HAND FOR MYSELF. MOST OF ALL, AS I STOOD THERE IN THE HALL, I FELT THAT I WAS ALMOST NAKED NEXT TO THE OTHER LADIES. THEY HAD LOVELY DRESSES ON, THAT WERE A MODEST LENGTH, AND THEY WERE SO PRETTY, SO LOVELY, SO, SO, WELL, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO EXPRESS IT, BUT I REALIZED THAT I WANTED TO BE LIKE THEM. I WANTED TO GO HOME AND CHANGE MY CLOTHES. BUT, SINCE NO SEEMED TO MIND MY APPEARANCE I DECIDED TO STAY AND FIND OUT MORE. I LOVED BEING THERE, AND WANTED TO BE A PART OF THE CHURCH. THE MISSIONARIES CAME TO SEE ME, AND THE POOR THINGS PROBABLY THOUGHT THEY HAD MADE A MISTAKE. I KEPT THEM TILL MIDNIGHT ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, BECAUSE I HAD SO MANY QUESTIONS. THEY STAYED CHEERFULLY, AND PATIENTLY ANSWERED ALL MY INQUIRIES. AFTER EACH SESSION WITH THE MISSIONARIES, I BECAME MORE AND MORE EXCITED THAT PERHAPS I HAD FOUND THE END OF MY SEARCH FOR SPIRTUAL ANSWERS. TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, MARTIN AND I WERE BAPTIZED ONLY A MONTH AFTER WE FIRST WENT TO CHURCH, AND HAVE FOUND GREAT JOY IN KNOWING THE TRUTH TO THE QUESTIONS OF LIFE. IT IS BECAUSE OF MY RELATIONSHIP WITH HEAVENLY FATHER AND MY SURE KNOWLEGE OF THE ATONEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST WHICH HAD GIVEN US THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE THAT I AM ABLE TO BEAR THE CRUSHING GRIEF OF THE DEATHS OF TWO OF MY CHILDREN AND ONE OF MY GRANDCHILDREN. THEIR BODIES ARE DEAD, BUT THEY ARE NOT. IF I DID NOT BELIEVE THIS WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL, I WOULD HAVE FOLLOWED MY SON OTTO TO HIS GRAVE BECAUSE I COULD NOT HAVE BORN THE LOSS OF MY SON. SO MANY MIRACLES HAVE HAPPENED TO ME IN MY LIFETIME, SO MANY, BUT THE GREATEST OF ALL IS FINDING THE GOSPEL AND THE KNOWLEGE OF THE PLAN OF HAPPINESS. I KNOW NOW THAT MARTIN WAS ALWAYS SUPPOSED TO GO TO OKINAWA, IT WAS NO MISTAKE, AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A MIRACLE AT THE TIME BECAUSE HE WAS SPARED THE HORROR OF WAR IN VIETNAM. I THOUGHT IT WAS A MIRACLE THAT WE DID NOT HAVE TO BE SEPARATED FOR 18 MONTHS, AND THAT IT WAS A MIRACLE THAT THE ARMY ALLOWED HIS DEFERRMENT WHEN HE SHOULD HAVE GONE TO KOREA. OF COURSE THESE WERE MIRACLES, BUT THESE MIRACLES WERE THE STEPPING STONES TO THE GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL- FINDING THE CHURCH. BECAUSE OF THE GIFTS OF THE SAVIOR, I CAN BEAR ANY LOSS, KNOWING THAT IT IS NOT THE END, INDEED, ONLY A PASSING TO ANOTHER PART OF LIFE, AND THAT THEY ARE WAITING FOR ME TO JOIN THEM. WHAT A WONDERFUL REUNION THAT WILL BE. LOVE, NANASEE