Thank you for all your support over these last 5 months. I greatly appreciate all of the prayers, comments, emails, skype dates, and financial gifts. The final financial deadline is March 1st. I am $900 away from being fully funded. If you would like to donate click the support me button above. I can’t believe I am about to enter month 6, the halfway point of my race, and a brand new continent. Goodbye Asia! Hello Eastern Europe!
Japan is beautiful! Beautiful landscape, amazing hospitality, and friendly people. Ministry this month is a grab bag of activities. I spent a few days in Ashiya helping at a preschool, a few days around town meeting University students, and three days homeschooling middle schoolers. I’ve enjoyed my time in Japan and can’t believe it’s already time to leave again.
Ashiya Preschool is a 30 minute bike ride each morning. The preschool is run by Japanese Christians but is led in English. Many songs are sung each day to say good morning, take attendance, learn about Jesus, and say goodbye. The children are adorable and very well behaved. I marvel at the independence of the children. They are able to work quietly on puzzles, origami, games, and crafts. They even clean up and organize the activities when they finish. This preschool is a wonderful place for both the children and the Moms. The Moms gather for yoga, hula dancing, and hang around after school to chat while the children play on the playground. The staff is able to pour into the parents and pray over them. The children are able to learn about Jesus and go home and share it with their parents. It’s a very loving environment and a great place to be involved this month.
Wednesday we stumbled upon an English Café at Kobe Universtity. We were able to chat with students from Turkey, South Korea, and Japan. It was a nice change to have an entire conversation in English and be able to ask real questions. Most Japanese that we meet on the train or around town don’t speak English. Even speaking to my host family requires a translator and broken sentences. The University students were excited to practice their English and meet a group of Americans. We even met an American Professor who has been living in Japan for the last 12 years. He was shocked when he walked in and saw us sitting there. It’s not every day that you see a group of Americans visit and walk around a campus of just 1,500 students.
Lastly, I had the chance to homeschool five kids, Luke, Toby, Jake, Hannah, and Maria. It was fun to be a part of homeschooling, considering I was homeschooled myself at the end of elementary school. They have quite a schedule. I was able to help Jake with pre-algebra (yay) and read about ocean animals. I also got some extra time with Aya, the wife of our contact. She is an amazing woman, very strong in the Lord and always loving towards the people around her. After lunch each day, we sit down for “God’s hour”, which is a time of sharing and worship. I am amazed at Maria and Hannah’s aptitude for music. They were able to listen to a new song and play along. (For that matter, many Japanese have amazed me with their creativity, both artistically and musically.) I really enjoyed helping with homeschool!
I have been blessed this month! Between the hospitality I’ve been shown and the love I’ve received from the church families, I have felt loved. As I leave Asia, I will miss the always friendly people, chopsticks, amazing food, taking off my shoes inside, and many other little quirks of Asia. I will miss always having the option of fried rice. I leave behind the words I acquired to say hello nihao, sawateka, konichiwa, so-si-die. The words to say thank you acoon, arigato, shay-shay, cop-coon-ka. It’s always a struggle to find the right word in my head. J Let’s see what new excitement and quirks Eastern Europe brings.
