A Day Off!

Today was a day off from school because Saturday was parents' day at the JHS and we had to teach classes and participate in activities with the parents, so it was nice to have a day off. It was a cold and rainy day.
There are just a couple things to update you on since last time.

Praise the Lord: Andrea (Andy) Kadlec is going to be my roommate. She is from the church and our families have known each other since 1996. She came to visit me in Chicago last December and she also spent time with us in Indiana, before going to Alabama for five months. I'm looking forward to having her as a roommate!
We are already talking with the rest of the girls our age at church about having lots of slumber parties at our house! :)

I went out to dinner with Ayaka Sensei and her mother last week. That was fun getting to know her and experiencing new Japanese food. She is going to help me with my Japanese studies, so that is good.
*Please pray because it will be hard only studying with her in our spare time at the elementary school. Pray that I will be diligent in my studies. I really want to learn Japanese!
*Please pray that our friendship will lead to opportunities to plant seeds about Christ in her life.
*Please pray for opportunities to share with the JHS teachers. One of the teachers knows that I'm a believer, but we didn't really get a chance to talk about it. I'm going out to dinner with some of the teachers on Friday.

Last Sunday I went to a concert at another church here in Azumino and I met four people I knew from the first trip my family made to Japan in 1996! Wow! It was amazing to share with them that since then, I felt the Lord leading me back to Japan and now I'm here. They were so surprised to see me! It was an extra blessing to be reminded of when I first came to Japan and how the Lord worked even then.
The lady in the picture is Takahashi San. She hosted Children's English classes at her house back in 1996 and that is why I remembered her.

Yesterday was a national holiday in Japan, so Sunday and Monday Azumino Family Chapel and Abundant Life Church (where the Junkers work) teamed up for family camp. Family camp was such a nice time to get away and enjoy autumn. I got to know the girls from the church better and even made some new friends from the other church. I was able to benefit from the teaching because Tammy Junker translated for me. We were reminded about the purpose of the church to be reaching out and be the salt of the world. We are not to be inward focused in our Christian walk.
I'm thankful for the fun time of relaxing, playing and learning!

That's all for now! I added more pictures to facebook. You can follow the first link to see a couple more pictures added to that album and also follow the second link to see the new album.

I'm so grateful for your prayers! Just think, you are on the other side of the world praying for me and I'm here seeing God's answers to your prayers! :)

Update #1

I'm happy to inform you that I'm writing this blog from my house! I have the internet setup now after three weeks of waiting.


It is crazy to think that I've already been here three and a half weeks. How God brought me here in such a short time never ceases to amaze me. It is truly right where He wants me. I'm so thankful for the clear guidance that He provided.


Let me tell you what exactly I'm doing. I'm an Assistant English Teacher (AET) at the Horigane Junior high school and also the Horigane Elementary school. I spend four days a week at the junior high school and one day a week at the elementary school. At the junior high school I work with four English teachers. There are about 24 different English classes at the school and every week I help with each class at least one time. Now that I'm settling into the routine I've been able to get to know some of the students. Each month I will have lunch with a different class. In October I'm eating lunch with the 3rd year students, class #1. They are so great! They welcomed me into their class and made name tags, so that helps me get to know the students. Horigane is such a small village, that I always see students when I go to the store or take a walk. That makes it easy to connect with the students.


*Please pray for more opportunities to build relationships and share my faith with the students.


At the elementary school I work with one English teacher. It is her first year teaching English and she is 26 years old. Her name is Ayaka. We are already becoming friends and we're going out to dinner next week and we will go shopping together another time!


*Please pray that I build a good relationship with Ayaka and seize every opportunity.


I have only been to the elementary school one time, but I love it already! I went to three 2nd grade classes and we did a craft to get ready for their fall parade and party. The 5/6 class, which is like a special education class, they hosted a welcome party for me. They made a banner that said "Welcome to Horigane" and they gave me cookies that spell my name and an apple! There were about twelve students and the principal even came to the party! I introduced myself and passed around some pictures, we played games, and we ate the pancakes they made. They are a precious class and the teachers are so wonderful.

On Thursday morning I went to introduce myself to all the elementary students. It was after P.E. so first I joined in the school-wide dancing and games! I was surprised to see the principal and the vice principal join in the dancing also. The atmosphere at the elementary school and the junior high are so different!


I found out this past week that I won't be able to get the vacation days to be home in time for Christmas. It is a tough situation because the last person quit without telling anyone and used all the vacation days and then I couldn't get to Japan by September 1st. My supervisor went to the board of education, but they are only giving me one day before the school's winter break. That means that I have December 26th as my first vacation day. I have to teach on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. I will be flying home the 26th and I'll be home until January 5th. This was hard news to get and I still feel disappointed. I will definitely need your prayers for this situation.


*Please pray that I will not feel lonely during this special time away from my family.

*Pray that there will be a family that is willing to take me under their wings for Christmas.

*Praise the Lord for the opportunity to share about why I celebrate Christmas. Pray that their will be many opportunities to share about Christ's birth.


I love living in this house here in Horigane, but it would be even better if I could have a roommate! I talked to some of my friends from church about the possibility of being my roommate and then I talked to my supervisor about it and she loved the idea! What a blessing. My friends are praying about the possibility and trying to decide if it is possible financially.


*Please pray that my friends will get the details worked out and that someone could move in soon!


Wow, so many things have happened already. I feel like I haven't even put a dent in the things I could share. I've been able to see friends and host families from my previous visits to Japan. I've been able to spend a holiday with friends in Norikura. I attended my first Jo-Nen Sei (Junior High festival) and I even participated! I've received a lot of help and support in getting settled from the church family at Azumino Family Chapel. I feel truly blessed by all that has happened in these three and a half weeks.


A verse I'm memorizing right now is Psalm 121:1-2.

"I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from whence shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth." It is amazing because every morning on my way to school I can lift my eyes to the mountains, unlike in Indiana. The Japanese are surrounded by the beauty of the earth that our Lord has created and yet they don't know him. My prayer for this year is that seeds will be planted in the hearts of some Japanese to know their Creator.

I'm so thankful for your prayers and support.

New Blog

Well! Here it is. I started my Japan blog. Just in case anyone missed the story about how I got to Japan, let me recap.

I was headed for a teaching job in Nagoya, Japan. I've never been to Nagoya and I didn't know anyone there, but I was excited for the job. It was teaching English at a Christian International school. It was a small school only on its second year. They called to interview me and offered me the job all at the same time. While I was waiting to hear from them about the visa, I started preparations for moving to Japan...mostly Shopping! Less than two weeks later the head English teacher sent me an email saying that he had unfortunate news and wanted to talk to me on the phone. I set up a time to talk with him the next day. I didn't know what to expect, but I thought the worst. When he called he said that after talking with the school's lawyer they realized that they could not having anyone else working on a visa at their school. Since they were a new school, the government would look down on that and could even shut them down. He apologized profusely and said that they were sorry because they wanted me for the job. As a little consolation he said that he would send my resume on to jobs that he knew of and recommend me. I was devistated. I didn't know what to do. The day before I received his email I read Proverbs 20:24 which says, "Man's steps are ordained by the LORD, how then can man understand his ways?" This was exactly how I felt. I thought that God was directing every step for this job in Nagoya and I didn't understand the reason for disappointment. It was a hard day.

That same day, which was a Friday I had an interview with a preschool in North Webster. I kept the interview because when they called me I knew the the job in Japan had bad news and I thought it was worth keeping the interview. I went to the interview half-heartedly, but decided that if I did end up staying in Warsaw, then it was a job I would enjoy. Later that night they called me and offered me the job. They let me have until Saturday to decide. When they called to offer me the job, they made it clear that they wanted a full year commitment. I didn't know what to do. The job was only part time and it would be a lot of gas money driving to North Webster each week. But, I wanted to grab the job because naturally I thought something was better than nothing! I had a lot to think and pray about. After much prayer and godly counsel (3WW :) I decided to turn the job down. I knew that my heart was in Japan and I wanted to keep looking for teaching jobs there. I turned down the job with nothing on the horizon and no idea what God would do.

On Saturday and Sunday, I felt like I was walking in a fog. I was so thankful for my church family who prayed for me and encouraged me in this hard time. I felt like I was back to square one. I didn't even know how I could look for other jobs in Japan.

On Monday morning I was off to work at my dad's sponge company when I checked my email. I had an email from Tezuka san.
This is a lady that I sent my resume to last winter. When I was in Japan last Summer I met with a lady (Nanasaba san) on the board of education in Azumino City about teaching jobs in the elementary schools and she recommended that I send my resume to Tezuka san. Last winter, Tezuka san said that jobs do not open up in the fall and she recommended that I wait until April 2009. She also suggested that before that I should go to Japan to study Japanese and do a homestay. The last time I had heard from her was in May, when she told me that the best language schools are in the big cities.
Her email on Monday morning said that there was a job opening up in September and she wondered if I was interested. I about fell out of my chair! I couldn't believe that this was God's plan all along. This job was in the Junior high and elementary schools in Horigane, which is a part of Azumino City! That would mean that I would be in the middle of the Azumino Family Chapel church body and in the middle of the places I was familiar with. I emailed back right away and we set up a time to talk.
In the meantime, I heard from my friend Luke, who was in Azumino City, that there was a job opening up. It was the same job and I had already heard from the lady that was doing the hiring. He sent me the job posting. Five times on the posting it said either, you must reside in Japan or no overseas applications! I couldn't believe it! Tezuka san was the one who contacted me! I could tell it was a total God thing.
When Tezuka san called me the next day, she didn't even ask me if I wanted the job. She just started talking about what I would do and where I would live and asked me when I could be there. I was so thrilled and shocked! I wanted to laugh out loud at God's goodness and timing. He knew the absolute best all along! I'm so thankful for the way that he worked everything out.

Two weeks later I boarded a plane and headed to Japan! I was ready to go that quickly because I had prepared for the other job. Tezuka san was so helpful in helping me get settled.
Everday I thank the Lord for where he has put me. I know that if ever times get hard or I wonder what I'm doing here. I can know that this is exactly where God wants me!

The best blessing so far here in Japan has been being able to be with the church family at Azumino Family Chapel. I have known many of them since my family first took a trip to Japan when I was ten years old. They all recognize that God worked all this out miraculously. As my brother said, "It's like God closed one door, but then opened a barn door."

I hope to update you more on the adventures I have. It could be hard because I don't have internet set up at my house yet. I will be more faithful on the updating after that is all settled.
For now, know that my first two weeks have been great! I'm still trying to get into the swing of teaching, but it is going well.
More to come later!