With a grateful heart – we have returned from our 16 day trip to Japan to attend the 21^st International Symposium. Group of 35 ringers made up of individuals, families, grandparents, parents, children. Ringers and non-ringers! There are so many people to thank for the trip and general to be thankful for!

• The support by the congregations for our unique music ministry has been invaluable.
• The families that entrusted us to take your ringer on this trip.
• Sarah Munson from Katonah Presbyterian Church and I began the planning for the Emanuel Ringers and Katonah Celebration Ringers(KCR) over a year and half ago.
• Scott Munson for his musical leadership of KCR and his work to upload the write ups of all the ringers for the blog every night of the trip,
• To all the ringers for their dedication to the handbell ministry. Their flexibility on the trip to go with the whatever came our way, the hurry up and wait situations, planes, trains, buses, subways, bullet trains, the heat and humidity, playing a concert the day after arrival despite being jet lagged, trying new things, new foods, making keen observations and taking in as much as they could of the different culture and so much more.
• To Jordan for her tour t-shirt design, to Abi for her Thank you card design and production, Louise for her financial skills
• To Seiichi Takasu and the Kanto Gakuin Handbell Choir for hosting us for our New York x Yokohama Friendship Concert. Takasu sensei, organized 6 choirs, our equipment and logistics while also being the Chairperson for the 21^st International Handbell Symposium. We also can not thank him enough for transporting our instruments to the Symposium! He and his ringers were working hard to make the symposium a success.
• For the friendships made between our choirs and Kanto Gakuin Handbell Choir – a 40 year friendship that continues. Now with social media, the ringers exchanged contact info and can now stay in touch more easily than we did 40 years ago.
• To the combined performance with the Chigasaki Alliance Church English Handbell Choir – directed by former Emanuel member Kako Sayama.
• Arthur Shin of the Handbell Ringers of Japan and his staff and all the volunteers who worked on our tour and the symposium. A labor of love for the endless amount of work and energy that went into the planning and execution of the symposium.
• Aiko and Layla – Thank you for your enthusiasm, english and translation skills and friendship.
• To Kinki Nippon Tourist Inc. for helping us plan our tour. To Miho, Nobu, Ms. Ban, to name a few of the many who worked on our tour.
• To renewing friendships – Noriko, Yoshida sensei, Arai sensei, Emily, Emmy, Carmel, Ozawa sensei, the Abe Family, Sandra and Martin, Bethan, Kathy, Minoru, Ayumi and making new friendships – Aiko, Layla, Shoko and many more!

I know there are probably more people I missed to thank and acknowledge, it truly takes so many people to make a trip like this to happen.

We look forward to our upcoming year of ringing for both of our choirs. The choirs will rejoin again for our annual benefit concert on Dec 8^th at Katonah Presbyterian Church 4 pm. And we look forward to planning on attending the 22^nd International Handbell Symposium in Aberdeen, Scotland in 2026!

Eiko