Cake Day and Other Stories (February 16, 2015)

Once upon a time, we visited T, an American living here to teach English, and she shared a tradition with us that I might adopt. It's called Cake Day.

One year, T saw a DQ ice cream cake online, and wanted it. So then she was talking to one of her male friend and said, "Hey, I really want that cake. You should get it for me." And so, he did, brought it over on Valentine's day, and cut it and ate a piece and then he left and she had the whole cake to herself. The next year, she thought, I want that cake, and asked another boy to get her a cake. He did. And then he came over, they ate a piece of cake, and he left, and she got the entire cake to herself. After that, she started with a tag like this: "So I have this tradition where every year, I have a guy bake me a cake, and sometimes they're really good. And they come over, and we eat cake, and then he leaves and I have this cake. Do you want to make me a cake this year?" And this lady has literally gotten a cake for the past seven years.

Genius, right? She gets a cake and Valentine's Day is never a disappointment, because it's Cake Day. I think it's hilarious, I'm baking myself a cake next year (assuming I have an oven next year).

Another fun thing from this week was that we visited the K family, a mother and sons ages 14, 11, and 7. (The father works in Tokyo and comes home on weekends, so he wasn't there when we visited.) Two of the boys had birthdays, so we ate dinner with them (takoyaki! First time I've had it, pretty sure), and then we gave them a message related to the story of the 2,000 stripling warriors. We had them stand up and then we threw balloons at them and shared a message about staying true to what they believe in, keeping their standards, no matter what comes at them as they grow older. It was super funny and adorable. 

I'd like to share the same thought with each of you--no matter where you are, always be true to yourself. Be the best you all the time. Because, why not? We're all learning and growing, and yeah, sometimes we're not perfect, but if we give living life our all, we will become better; that's a promise I make to each of you. I love you all very much, and am grateful for the relationships I have back home and the ones I'm developing now. 

Living life to the Mack. 2.16.2011.

--Sister Lisa Luke!

Pictures: The view from one of our investigators' back yards, and the Valentine's Day card Sister M and I made our district leader. They were hilarious.

Notes:

Takoyaki: Chunks of octopus mixed in with a batter kind of like pancake batter, then fried in a mold that makes it a round ball about an inch across. Very tasty!

"life to the Mack": Mack was a friend that played with Lisa in the Chamber Orchestra, who passed away 2/16/2011.