I'm a Biannual Blogger!

The Tohoku area and where I live

First, thank you so much for your prayers and concerns throughout all that Japan has gone through. The March 11th earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku have put Japan through a lot. I only felt the earthquake and some aftershocks. There was no damage here in Azumino. We did go through a time when the shelves at the grocery stores were a little bare in the cup noodle, bottled water, tofu and bread areas. Some gas stations in the area had to shut down for a while because travel was disrupted. Please continue to pray for the people in the Tohoku area. Getting supplies to some of them has been difficult because the roads aren't cleared of debris or there is a gasoline shortage. Two weeks ago a team of five from Azumino Family Chapel went up with supplies to help a church that Pastor Koiwai knows. Please pray that the churches of Japan will know how to meet the material needs of those in Tohoku and also be a shining light for the hope of Christ. 

Since this blog has become a biannual blog (unintentionally), I decided to just cover one topic. That is Azumino Family Chapel and the exciting things I've been able to help with there. 

• The Christmas season brought opportunities to invite my Japanese friends to special events. Concerts, Kid's Christmas and more. Please pray that I'll be able to build bridges in these relationships. 

• In February, Eric and I taught the youth group on the topic of God-honoring relationships versus the world's idea of relationships. It really made me thankful for the mini-seminars that PVBC youth group did. I was able to pull some skits and illustrations from that. Eric and I really enjoyed being able to teach the youth together. Andy, one of the youth leaders, translated for us. 

Youth + more from AFC snowboarding at Northstar

• March 6th marked the first Sunday school lesson that I taught in JAPANESE!! I taught on Matthew 15: 21-28. Up until now, I've just been assisting and leading activities in Japanese. It was amazing to think that God can use me to teach in another language. I'm so thankful that He's helped me pick up Japanese :)

Please pray for my next lesson. I'll be teaching the Easter lesson on April 24th.

There's so much more I could talk about...giving The Manga Messiah to my English Club students for Christmas, meeting my family in Spain for a vacation and a little mission work, Coordinating the JET Christian Fellowship Retreat in February and more! Let me know if you'd like to hear more :)


Thanks so much for your prayers!

September is Coming

I'm so sorry that blogging is not my thing! But I am excited to give you an update and hopefully it will give me a chance to hear from you. When I get email responses from you it makes my blogging experience so much better. No pressure though!


Where to begin: March ended the school year and April brought a new year with new teachers and students. I always miss students every time there is a graduation. Do you remember the rowdy boys that were the first members of English Club? They all graduated in March. Even though they gave me an "interesting" English Club, I will miss them.


English Club started again! This year is the smallest year. I only have three members. They are all first graders (like 7th graders) and they are very enthusiastic. Now we are working on a project for the school festival. Please pray that all goes smoothly!


Team-work: In May we had the annual Family Festival at Azumino Family Chapel. Working with a great team of four, I led the English game time. The team-work was the best part of the event. No matter where you are in the world, God's family can always work together to further his kingdom. My friend Kikuko and her daughters came again this year. One of the JHS teachers came, too. It is great to see bridges being built between teachers and the Japanese church. We have had the chance to get together outside of church and school and we are making more plans. Please pray for the relationships with my teachers and non-Christian friends.


July Highlights: Unlike the landscape of Indiana, here I'm surrounded by the beautiful Northern Alps. I decided it was part time to try climbing mountains. I started off with my friends Eno, Andrew and Michie. It was a great time of fellowship and fun.
I climbed Mt. Fuji with my friend Joy, from JET Christian Fellowship and Yoshino san from Azumino Family Chapel. Wow! God's creation seemed magnified on Mt. Fuji. A sunset above the clouds and the bright, innumerable stars were part of the beauty we enjoyed. Reading Bible verses and watching the sunrise at the 8th station was awesome. Our God is so creative and He has given us creation to remind us that He is always glorified. I'm thankful we had beautiful weather-just the day before we started rainy season officially ended. From the top I could see the Northern Alps and I almost saw my house-JK!


Summer Vacation is the longest break in the Japanese school year-three weeks! It was jam-packed. A short term team from St. Louis came over to work at Azumino Family Chapel. They did many events at church, which provided opportunities to invite teachers and friends. Friends came to the English Coffee House and several of my evening students came to the Kid's English Seminar-Snow Cone events. The families had never been to church before-I think it was a good first contact.


Friends from home: The second week of summer vacation brought Casi, my cousin and my friend Heather to Japan! It was so great to have them visit. We had so many adventures! Matsumoto Bon-Bon Festival, The Wasabi Farm, Matsumoto Castle, the Sea of Japan and more. Good friends are always a blessing to the heart!


Japan Day: Casi, Heather and I spent the day with the St. Louis team at the Momose's home. They are the sweetest older couple you will ever meet and such a testimony of service to the Lord. Mrs. Momose used to teach "sado"-the green tea ceremony and she is also trained in "shuji"-Japanese calligraphy. It was a growing experience, not just because I was trying "sado" and "shuji" but because I also got the chance to try translating. It is definitely difficult. However, I really enjoyed it. I felt like it was a great way to minister to both Japanese and Americans at the same time. Mrs. Momose asked if I could translate Heather's and one of the team member's testimonies. That was the most challenging part. I'm thankful for the experience and it is motivation to study Japanese and Biblical Japanese so that I can develop this ministry more.


Goodbyes and Hellos: July is the time that JET teachers end their contracts. I've been a part of JET Christian Fellowship during my time here. Every time there was a retreat I would travel together with four friends from Nagano prefecture. All my original "Nagano-ians" have left Japan now. It was hard to say goodbye to friends like Eno and Andrew, who I spent last Christmas with. They were such a blessing to me. I'm also excited to report that God has great things in mind for Nagano prefecture. He didn't just let most of the Christian AETs leave without replacing them. He has brought at least four new Christian AETs to Nagano. Two of them are attending Azumino Family Chapel. God put two of them in the town that Eno and Andrew left. God is good! Pray that they will adjust to life and Japan and that they will be able to come alongside the Japanese churches and serve.

Six months and then ??: On September 10th I will celebrate 2 years in Japan. I can't believe it! Right now I have until March 2011 on my current contract. I could re-contract for another year in Horigane, but I'm just not certain that is the the step to take. My heart is in Japan, but I'm not sure what the next step looks like. I would appreciate your prayers over these next six months of decision making.


The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat. Psalm 19:1-6

HAPPY 2010

あけましておめでとうございます！That is "Happy New Year"...I know it's a little late since it is now February. I hope that you are having a blessed year already.

There has been more snow this winter than last year. I am actually enjoying that. Because my thinking is, "If it is going to be cold, it might as well be white and beautiful". However, the amount of snow doesn't come anywhere close to Indiana winters!

Going along with the snow theme I had many opportunities to share from God's Word. The project this year was "building snowmen". I used this snack to share with unbelievers at the bookstore story time and with the Sunday school kids at Azumino Family Chapel. I remembered an object lesson from when I was young. It was in one of the Lakeland Child Evangelism videos. The kids collect snow in a jar and marvel at how clean and pure it is. It is the whitest thing they have ever seen. But when the snow melts there are specs of dirt in it and it isn't clean enough to drink. This shows that even though we think we are good people and we don't have any sin or problems there is still sin in our hearts because of the sin nature. I read Psalm 51:7b "Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow" and Isaiah 1:18 "'Come now, let us reason together,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins be like scarlet they shall be as white as snow;" I pray that every time those children and even the parents see snow they will think of the words of the Lord.

Winter vacation was wonderful! I could tell many people were praying for me because it wasn't hard to be away from my family. I had to work on Christmas day, but I was able to go in late so that I could talk to my family via Skype video and open presents. It was nice. I am blessed to have such a great family. Vacation included: a Christmas KFC chicken dinner with my friends and a missionary family, the Risdens. Game days, bowling and karaoke. Snowshoeing in Norikura. New Year's Japanese style. I even took a 4 day trip to Taiwan with my boss. Vacation was so busy I didn't have time to miss my family or friends in America.

There are plenty of pictures and more exciting details on my facebook page. Check out the link----->

Good News! Thank you for your prayers. I passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 3! I got my results this week. :)
It was good to accomplish this, but I feel like it is a little step up the mountain of Japanese! I don't have another test or goal set now. I would like to be able to teach the Children's Sunday school lesson. Right now I am an assistant because I can't do a whole lesson. What a blessing it would be to teach children about the Lord in Japanese! Please pray for my continued studies.

Habitat for Humanity Trip:
There is a possibility that I will be going to the Philippines with Habitat for Humanity in the end of April for ten days. The trip is organized by the JET Christian Fellowship. They made an announcement about the trip at the November retreat and I had been thinking about it and praying about it and decided to sign-up. However, the trip is up in the air. There must be 12 members to take the JCF team and as of 2 weeks ago we only had eight people committed. My friend Eno is going and also two of my "Japanese older sisters" from church. Please pray that we will have a complete team and be able to minister in the Philippines.
I'm looking forward to using the building skills my dad and brother taught me...they have been out of use lately! :)

Please continue to pray for my friend Kikuko. She came to the Christmas program at church with her daughters. I gave her and the girls a Japanese storybook of the Christmas message. Last Saturday, she and the girls came to the story time at the Bible bookstore. Yoshino san gave her an English book to read about what to do in hard times. Pray that I will be able to get together with her more often.

Please pray for my relationships with teachers. Sometimes it is hard to get to know them because they are not as open as Americans. Next week I will go snowboarding with two of the young teachers.

I have decided that I will be an ALT for one more year. That means that I will be in Japan with this job until March 2011. I don't love being an ALT because I would rather have the freedom to teach my own classes. But I think this is where the Lord wants me right now and I plan to make the most of it! Pray for this next year. I am sure it will go by quickly! Please pray for wisdom about what to do in 2011!

Lastly, Congratulations to my dad and mom! Today is their 38th anniversary! They are wonderful parents and godly examples for me. Pray for them as they count their blessings from the 38 years they have had! Love you mom and dad! :)

For Him in Japan,
礼子
That's the Japanese name my friends gave me on New Year's!

One Year in Japan!
Praise the Lord for the plans He has! On September 10th I celebrated one year of living and working in Japan. It was a great time to look back on how the Lord brought me to Japan. The first time I came was in 1996 with my family, I was just 10 years old, but the Lord knew Japan would be a part of my life again. Wow! He is GOOD!

"The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?"
Proverbs 20:24 (New Living Translation)

Knowing that the LORD is leading every step of my life, in the big and the small, gives hope for every day! I feel like I'm always looking forward to what He will do next. Trusting and waiting for His direction.

This, That and the Other

• Just to give you an update on my plans for now. My current contract ends next March. My company encourages re contracting and I think I would enjoy another year as an AET in the Horigane schools. If I re contract, then I will continue this job until March 2011. Staying in Horigane gives more solid relationship building time with the teachers and students. But, I'm also praying about it. I will officially make a decision in February. Your prayers are appreciated!

• Other highlights of life in Japan include:
  

• Family Camp with Azumino Family Chapel! It was a great time of fellowship and growing. The speakers are TEAM missionaries, so I had a chance to talk to them in English and I learned a lot! This is a picture from camp. The two girls in the middle are Christians from China that are living in Japan.

• My friend Toshimi's wedding. It was my first Japanese wedding experience! It was a God-honoring celebration. (See the Facebook link for pictures).

• Busy school schedules! This included the Elementary school Undoukai, which is a much more elaborate version of the American "field day". The Junior high had their annual school festival. It was a great time of presentations, music and fun.

• New private students! I'm teaching three private classes a week. I teach two 4 year olds on Mondays, 5 Elementary kids on Tuesdays and 5 adults on Thursdays. It keeps me busy, but I really enjoy it. My class with the 5 elementary aged kids just started this week. It might be a bit off a challenge because the kids are different ages and their English levels are a little different! I'm thankful for all the private classes because it gives me more opportunities to reach out to the Japanese around me! Please pray that I will teach to my best ability and that I will use every opportunity to glorify the Lord.

• Hiking and Climbing: Being from Indiana, there haven't been opportunities to go and "play" in the mountains! I started fellow shipping and training with people from the church. I mostly enjoy the encouragement and building each other up while we hike. The Bible Bookstore owner Yoshino san is my number one hiking buddy. I'm thankful for the times we've had together.

• English club: I'm starting over with English Club only two times a month. When we were asked to do a presentation for the school festival, English Club went from 9-11 students each week to one person regularly attending. Now that I'm changing the format, I'm talking to the members and recruiting new members and hopefully it will be up and running at the end of this month! It has been frustrating lately! Please pray for club to pick up again.
  

• Please pray for my friend Kikuko. I met her through one of the teachers at the Junior High and she came to the church festival with her family. We have gotten together several times. Recently she has been very open with me about her feelings and problems and I've had the chance to share about the hope I have in Christ and the hope she can have. I was also so happy that she came to the bookstore one Saturday morning for Kid's Story Time and she was able to talk with Yoshino san in Japanese about Christ. Pray for our continued friendship and wisdom in sharing with her.
  

• JLPT 3! In six weeks I will be taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test level 3! The test is December 6th. Please pray for my studies! I have 9 chapters in one book that I need to finish to study grammar and I have about 300 kanji to make sure I know. The kanji are coming along and I have about 90 more to master. I'm taking the test because it provides a goal for studying and also will enable more opportunities in future jobs and ministry.
  

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement. It means a lot to know there are people praying each step of the way!

Don't forget to check out the pictures ---->

Long Time No Write!

Sashiburi! Long time no write! Sorry about the long time since updating my blog. It has been almost four months! I will try to highlight all that has happened.

Spring has sprung here in Japan :) I've put away all but one heater and I've put away my kotastu! Today even felt like summer! The sakura (cherry blossoms) time is just finishing here in Azumino. It is too bad that beauty only lasts a little over a week!

*Praise the Lord I was able to buy a car in January! It is a 13 year old Suzuki kei car. It is so nice to have the freedom to go anywhere, anytime! That helped during the long winter! Now that Spring is here I hope to come and go on my pink bicycle too!

I'm back to living alone. I've realized a lot about the Japanese culture just by seeing my roommate's relationship with her family. Here in Japan, it is important to live with your family, even if you have gone away to college and graduated. Parents want their children close all the time. It is very different from the independence that many American college graduates experience, even if they are close to their family. That makes it hard to find a roommate that will commit to a house share for a long time. I don't mind living alone, it is just more fun with a roommate. We'll see what the Lord brings along!

I've been able to help out at the Christian bookstore with the kid's story time. That has provided more opportunities to build relationships with my friend Yurika. She is a high school student that always helps Yoshino san.
*Please pray for Yoshino san who runs the bookstore. There are many ladies that have expressed an interest in an English Bible study. They are all unbelievers: Haba San (My friend Yurika's mom), Wakabayashi san, Kurabayashi san (the mom of two of my junior high students), and Kastura san. Kastura san often comes to special events at the church. We've had the opportunity to talk often. After the Easter service she told me that she isn't a Christian, but she wants to learn more about the Bible and maybe sometime later she will be a Christian. Please pray that God uses her openness to draw her to Himself.

I started helping with Children's Church once a month. I usually talk with the teacher before and prepare a craft or supplemental activity. I love helping in that area.
*Pray for the students, that God will grip their hearts while they are young and they will each come to know Him as their Savior.

*Praise the Lord: Last week (Easter) three of the youth were baptized. Jun Morita, her father passed away in January. Matthew and Joshua Kadlec were also baptized. It is awesome to see God working in the youth of Azumino Family Chapel. Pray that they will continue to grow in their knowledge of God.

*Praise the Lord: a good time was had with my parents here in Japan for about two weeks. We had a great time traveling, laughing, seeing sakura, meeting with friends and being together. They were even invited to sit down with my junior high principal, vice principal and head teacher when they visited my school! Having my parents here made me feel like I actually know Japanese since I was in charge of buying train tickets and ordering at restaurants! :) Thank you for sending many greetings through them!

The new school year has started here in Japan! There are several changes. I have two new English teachers at the Junior high school out of the four English teachers.
*Please pray that I will be able to adjust to how they team teach and that I will build good relationships with them.
At the Elementary school things are different also. Ayaka sensei will now visit two other elementary schools and also continue at Horigane three days a week. So, that means that on the days she is not at Horigane I will be doing the English teaching. The Japanese homeroom teachers will be in the room and help manage all the classes, but I will do all the teaching. This Wednesday I will teach the 2nd graders by myself! I'm excited, but it could be a challenge too!

*Please pray for English Club! I'm excited to start a new club on May 13th. I will start making announcements for club this week and doing sign-ups. Pray that many students will be interested and that the Lord will bring the people He wants to club.

It has been amazing to see how many chances for relationship building the Lord has put in my life. I've seen that this is the main way that God wants me to show His love to the Japanese people. Many opportunities come up just because I can speak English! I was invited to my head teacher's house and I met his family and his neighbor's family. They mostly wanted to speak English. Their neighbor invited me over and I went today. It is nice to get to know many people and to use English as a door opener. Also, the school nurse and I will spend our free time during the school day together because she is studying English and wants to talk a lot. Opportunities come to me when I'm not even looking for them!
*Please pray that I will use these opportunities to glorify God and that He will show His love through me!

Thank you so much for your prayers! It means a lot :)

Where's the Central Heating?!

Happy 2009! Can you believe that we have turned another year on our calendars? As I think back on 2008 I'm amazed with all that happened. Graduation, internship in Chicago, Job in Nagoya, Japan, no job in Nagoya, Job in Azumino, Japan and now I'm here! Just to name a few! God is good! I'm thankful for His guidance with every step of last year and I'm excited to see where He leads this year. How about you?

December was a busy month. They were all great things though, so I'm thankful for that. I want to update you on all that has happened.

English club is officially up and running! I'm so thankful that everything got lined up and I've been able to have club. It is a challenge though! I never know who will show up week to week. The numbers have ranged from 1 student to 11 students at a time. Please pray that attendance will get to a regular number. I don't think the club is taken very seriously by the teachers. Sometimes there will be teachers trying to have a meeting in my room when English club is supposed to start in 5 minutes. Other times they change the schedule and all students are required to attend an assembly in the gym during the time that I have club and no one tells me! It can be frustrating. I never know how it will go week to week!
I was so thankful for Pastor Koiwai coming to my English club on Christmas Eve. That day was one of the different schedule days, so I was worried that no one would come, but 6 (rowdy) boys came 10 minutes late. They listened to Pastor Koiwai talk about Christmas in a way that I have never seen them listen before. They don't even listen that well in classes! They said they would like Pastor Koiwai to come to club every week!
*Please pray that they will come to youth group this month. Pastor Koiwai and I told them about it and it seemed like they were looking forward to it. I asked Pastor Koiwai to write notes to them reminding them about it and he will do that next week. Youth group is January 31st, please pray for these boys! Ryota, Kakeru, Mirai, Kouhei, Tatsuya and Tomoki.

The church hosted a turkey dinner outreach to friends and neighbors. Ayaka Sensei from the elementary school and Tezuka san my boss attended the dinner. That was a nice time and a good opportunity for them to meet Japanese Christians.

The church also hosted a children's Christmas. About 30 children attended. Several new families that had never been to the church came. It was a fun time. We played Christmas Bingo in English.

Yoshino san also hosted a Children's Christmas at the Christian Bookstore. There were about 5 families that attended. It was a challenge because we read a book about the Christmas story and several people participated and read parts. I had to read the part of Jesus in Japanese! From the event I was able to take some new friends with me to youth group that same day. It was really cool to see how God worked that out!

Thank you for all your prayers during Christmas when I wasn't able to be home. It really didn't feel like Christmas here in Japan, so I didn't feel like I was missing anything special! I think that was because of your prayers!

I was able to enjoy a nice Christmas with my family after Christmas when I spent 10 days at home. It was a wonderful time getting caught up with family and friends!

Winter is a hard time in Japan! I really miss central heating. Sometimes I walk around my house with my coat on until the heater warms up one room. My windows almost always have thick frost on the inside of them in the morning. There isn't any snow on the ground, which is almost disappointing because it is so cold!
*Please pray that I figure out the best ways to stay warm! I feel like it will be a long winter!

This week I am going car shopping! It will make things easier for winter and the whole time that I'm here! I'm 25 minutes away from a train station by bicycle. My bicycle is currently broken and it is really cold!
*Please pray that I will get a car and all the details will be worked out!

Yesterday there was a funeral service for Mr. Morita. I asked for prayer for him before. He passed away last week after a 2 month battle with lung cancer. His funeral was a celebration of his life and a good testimony for the hope he had in the Lord and the hope that others can have in Christ. Many unbelievers attended the service and heard about Christ.
*Please pray for his family. His wife Akiyo will now be without her husband everyday so please remember her often. He also had five children. Jun is 16 years old. Yesterday was her birthday and she had to have her dad's funeral. Nao is 10 years old. Sho and Ao are 7 years old and the youngest Megu is only 8 months old. Pray that each of the children will draw close to the Lord during this time.

I'm so thankful to know that many of you are praying! :) It really means a lot!

It's getting colder...

I'm sorry I haven't written in a while! I decided that I don't like blogging, but I do want to keep everyone updated. I will do my best!

Fall is a beautiful season here in Japan. The leaves are changing to vibrant colors and some of the mountain tops already have snow on them!
The only downside to fall changing is that I'm getting a glimpse of how cold my old Japanese house will be in winter! I'm thankful for my space heaters, my electric blanket and the kotatsu. The kotatsu is a Japanese table that has a heater underneath. You put a futon comforter over it and then you sit and put your legs under the warm table. It is delightful for the chilly evenings! :)

Since the last time I wrote a lot has gone on!

The Elementary school 2nd graders had a Halloween party. I guess they do this every year. It was so cute to see the little kids dressed up and walking to the market and city hall to sing songs and get treats. There were 107 kids, so we were quite a parade! I was able to make peanuts and corn to give the kids an American snack. I love the elementary school! The kids are so great! I'm also excited because the 120 3rd graders will be pen pals with my cousin Cami's third grade class in Indiana!

I was also able to attend a JET Christian Fellowship retreat in Okutama near Tokyo. JET is the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program in Japan. I am not a part of the JET program, but I learned about the Christian Fellowship group from a friend and was happy to be a part of it! I met a lot of Christians that are teaching all over Japan and I made some great friends that I will definitely keep in touch with. Our speaker talked about living the Christian life without compromise in everything we do. It was so nice to have God's Word taught in English and to worship in English. It was a much needed time of refreshment and laughter!


I've also had the opportunity to visit one of my host families from 2007, the Miyaharas, and this coming weekend I will visit another host family, the Ueis. I'm thankful for the continued friendships from my last visit. Please pray that I will be able to be an encouragement to those that are believers and a witness to the host families that are not.

Please pray for the English teachers at the Junior High school. Recently one of the young teachers resigned and now we have a temporary replacement for the rest of the school year. The teachers work long hours and have a lot to do. Please just pray for their health and strength.

Please pray for the opportunity to start an English club. I recently talked to the teachers about starting an English club. They said that they would take the ideas to Kocho Sensei (the principal) and Kyoto Sensei (the vice principal). I was so surprised on Friday because Kocho Sensei told me that he liked my ideas for the English club! That was good news because sometimes new ideas don't take off. Now the principals will talk to the rest of the teachers to get everything officially approved. I'm not sure how long this will take, but I am excited! I welcome any ideas you might have for the English club!

Please pray for the coming Christmas season:

On December 14th the church is hosting a Children's Christmas party. We will be doing some games and crafts in English. Please pray that many families from the community will come to the event. Please pray for all the preparation that the leaders will be doing.

I'm planning a Christmas cookie baking party for the junior high students on December 20th. Please pray that the students will have open hearts and that many will come and hear about the real meaning of Christmas.

Please pray that the teachers will be interested in coming to the outreach events at the church. There will be a team from Singapore doing Christmas concerts and outreaches and I think it is a good opportunity for the teachers to meet Japanese believers and get connected with the church.

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters" Psalm 24:1-2

Thank you for your prayers!
I also added new pictures to facebook.