A little review

As I was preparing for my most recent newsletter, which will be coming out soon, I was looking through pictures from the last quarter.  I set aside several to use in my newsletter, however, I didn't have enough room.  So, I thought I'd share some here...

Our friend Shoppi sharing at our Ladies' Lunch 

Even Mrs. Naka's granddaughter enjoyed the dessert!

Origami fun- every other month at the nursing home behind our church

AGC rehearsal- Can you find me?!

At our most recent Live Gospel Cafe I got stuck in the office for the first half.
It was fun to listen from behind the singers.
This is one of the ladies who sang.
It was a beautiful night of praise.

During spring break we had a youth retreat at the newest JBC church.
Some of the youth even led the worship time.  Fun times!

Easter Sushi!!!

Yuri has returned!

Coming Up

Our church plant is coming up on an exciting milestone.  We have been worshipping together in our current location for 6 years!  We have had a wonderful time learning and growing together.  I am thankful to God for His work in my life, in the life of His church, in the lives of the people who attend our little gathering.

On Sunday we will have a business meeting.  I know business meetings are generally not exciting events for most people.  However, it is exciting for us!  Members and regular attenders of Komyo Christian Church want to be involved in the life of the church, want to use their gifts to encourage one another, want to seek God and His direction for His church.  Exciting stuff!!!

Today I was looking through some old pictures and found a picture of our 'staff' from 2010.  On New Year's Day we took another picture.  Some of us have changed more than others!  (Yuri Nakano had not yet joined us in 2010 and she is on home assignment right now.  She was not purposely left out of these photos!!)

New Experiences

Sometimes I get excited about new experiences.  Sometimes I do not.  yet, almost always, I look back on the experiences with fondness, glad that I tried.

Melissa and I took an overnight flight to a country neither of us had ever visited or, actually, even had the desire to visit.  Yet, here we are in Thailand.

We are here to study, fellowship, worship, make new friends, and even have some fun.  (It is still summer here, so today after we arrived, we enjoyed one of the pools!  Fun!)

Everything is new, sounds, tastes, sights, people, language, customs.  It has been a fun and challenging day.  Ia m glad to get to have this new experience with my friend!

We are praying the week will draw us closer to God and each other as well as to our new friends.  We are also praying the study will give us new vision and direction for ministry.

God is already at work.  Thankful.

(I wrote this post on October 21st when Melissa and I arrived in Thailand.  I didn't realize that it hadn't posted, so I am posting it now, 10 days later!)

Here and There, Part 1

I have spent a bit of time over the past month in airplanes and fighting jet lag.  These travels have all included fun, work, times of refreshment, and times of study.

Every summer our missionaries in Japan gather for a time of study and refreshment.  This year we went to a beautiful beach location.

Enjoying the beach, sun, and ocean!

I enjoyed our times of worship and study as a mission family.  We studied Moses and his leadership.  We sang and praised.  It was refreshing!

Singing together

We also spent some time enjoying nature, the beach and mountains, two of my favorites!

Our hiking adventure took a muddy turn after about 300 meters.  We crossed a river several times so were able to rinse off as we went along.  The waterfall was pretty but not as grand as we were expecting.  Of course, the river was not at the end of the hike, so we went home muddy!

Really, the waterfall is just down the hill!

Time for water and a snack

The waterfall

Our muddy legs at the end of the hike.
They had been worse than this at times!

We made it!

Our last morning God woke me up early as I had asked so that I could see the sunrise over the ocean. Beautiful!

I am thankful for this annual time of worship, study, and refreshment!

Nope, still here

Saying hello to the ocean
before the wedding

I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  I am still here.  I can come up with a thousand excuses for not having written for over a month.  I will stick with the main one: I let other things distract me.

It's not that I have to blog, like there is some rule I have to follow.  But, when I do blog, it helps me focus, see God's blessings, and share ways for people to pray for me and the ministry in Japan.

So, I will share a few lines tonight.

This evening I went to an event called Praise Night.  Apparently, it has been going on monthly for the past 3 years.  I don't know what made me decide to attend tonight-well, yes, I do.  God wanted to fellowship and speak to me.  I was in a room full of people in downtown Osaka, praising God and being encouraged and challenged.  It was a blessed evening!

Last weekend, I was able to attend a coworker's wedding.  How wonderful to watch two people vow to serve God together!  It was amazing to hear stories, see pictures, and watch them interact and be able to see God's fingerprints all over the place!  God's best is truly worth waiting for! (In every situation, not just marriage!!!)

Next month is going to be full to the gills with all kinds of fun and challenging ministry stuff.  Please pray for our church, for our physical and spiritual health, for open hearts and ears, and for love overflowing.

Thank you!

Amazing Friends

I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for all of my friends.  I have had such a great time over the past few weeks getting together for dinners, tea times, singing, just one more time before go on Home Assignment.
私の友達は素晴らしいです。説明できないほどに神様に感謝しています。最近、アメリカに行く前に、たくさんの友達と食事やお茶の時間や歌うために集まってくれました。
皆さん、ありがとう！これは足りない言葉ですが、心から感謝しています。

Learning about Sakai City with former students

Bagel Breakfast Bunch

Potluck Party!

Kyoto Friends

Missionary Fellowship Prayer Warriors

Sakamoto Family and Yuri

Coco Doco Cocoro

Coco Doco Cocoro

USJ with USJ friends

Missionary Family

Takoyaki Party-my neighbors are professionals!

Thursdays at Seattle's Best

AGC Sisters and Brother

AGC

A little seasick

Every year our group of missionaries takes some time out of our busy schedules for some time of study and refreshment.  Since we are a small group, it is a bit like a family vacation!

Last month, the seven of us on the field took a trip to Hokkaido.  We studied the life of Ayako Miura, a Christian Japanese writer.  Since she was born and raised in Hokkaido, specifically, Asahikawa, we decided to travel there.

On Monday evening we boarded the Taiheiyo Ferry in Nagoya for the two day trip to Tomakomai, Hokkaido.

The first night the seas were a bit rough and five of the seven of us had stomachs that did not react to that well!  We were thankful for the two who did not get sick and their willingness to take care of us-which included sleeping on the lobby floor for one of these helpers!

Morning brought calmer seas and stomachs, some time to relax, and a jazz concert in the lobby.

Our group can be seen in the background
(This is also where a few of our group slept the night before!)

Upon arrival in Tomakomai, we headed to Sapporo for ramen followed by a tour of Hokkaido University, lead by Yuri's dad via Skype!

Headed to the building where Yuri's dad studied
It was a beautiful campus filled with trees and wide open spaces!

We toured the botanical gardens and Ainu museum.  Then we drove to Asahikawa.

In the morning we headed to Shiokari Pass.  This is the name of one of Ayako Miura's books about a young man who sacrifices his life to save a train-full of people.  The book is based on a true story.

We enjoyed some time in nature trying to get our fill of mountain air, flowers, trees, pinecones, etc.

Then we headed back to Asahikawa to the Ayako Miura Literature Museum where we had an appointment with Mr. Miura.  We had a lovely tour and talk with Mr. Miura, hearing stories of their life together as they sought to share God's love through their lives and writing.

Another of Miura's books is called "Freezing Point" in English.  Next to the museum is the woods that were used for the setting of the book.  We spent some more time enjoying nature, trees, the river, animals, etc.  (Since this was the book I read, I was especially excited to visit the woods!)

In the car on the way back to Sapporo we had a wonderful sing-a-long with all the good old songs from Sunday school days, some of the songs were not known by all!

Friday morning we visited with a lady who is a friend of the Miuras and has translated some of Ayako's books into English.  Then we headed to to the Winter Sports Museum where we tried ski jumping, figure skating, bobsledding, and other winter sports.

Then we went to the top of the ski jump used in the 1972 Sapporo Olympics and is still used today.  We also ate the best soft cream in Sapporo at the top of the mountain!  It really was good!

The ferry ride back to Nagoya was less eventful!  We enjoyed some time of karaoke followed by a time of communion together.

 It was an amazing trip with lots of laughter, learning, love and a little seasickness!

A Month of Thanks, Day 23-24

I am thankful for my missionary family.

I grew up in South Dakota in my immediate family of four. No relatives in SD. For a while we had relatives in Minnesota but then they moved to California. So, for most of my growing up years, our nearest (geographically) relatives were in Kansas, about 9 hours away by car.

Therefore, I learned at an early age that family doesn't always have to do with bloodlines and biology. Our family grew when we moved to South Dakota. I now have 'aunts' and 'uncles' and 'cousins' and 'nieces' and 'nephews' and 'grandparents' who, I suspect, are nowhere near biologically related.

When I moved to Japan, I, like my parents, moved far from biological family. But, I walked right into a family. We get together for holidays, for fun days, hang out, get frustrated with each other, and pray for each other. We do have to have business meetings together, too!

I am thankful for the way God provided this family for us. This doesn't mean our biological family is replaced, it means that our family has grown. God has added blessings to my life because of this mission family.



As with my biological family, there is the immediate family and then cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. I have several missionary friends who also feel like family but are not part of the immediate NAB mission family. I am thankful for these family members, too!