Japan Tour

Last week was a great but really bust week! On Sunday I went to Okinawa with 13 other people (including 3 kids). I have wanted to go to Okinawa for the last few years but it has never worked out. Finally I got to go! Okinawa is the southern island of Japan so it's kind of tropical and has it's own culture. The first day we arrived it was hot but the next two days it was a little cooler and really windy. We wanted to go snorkeling but the wind was too strong. One of the best parts of the trip was seeing Eisa, traditional Okinawa dance. The music and energy is so great! I even went up and played a drum with the performers. We had fun seeing the ocean, going through a cave, going to the aquarium, mangroves, shopping, and eating. Some of the traditional Okinawa food we ate were sea grapes, which are a delicate seaweed with bubbles, and mozuku which is another type of seaweed. Because there is an American military base in Okinawa there are also quite a bit of American stores and restaurants including many A&W restaurants. I was excited to have a root beer float. Most Japanese people don't like root beer and think it tastes like medicine, but I made everyone try it anyway! It was a wonderful trip!

So I got home from Okinawa Tuesday night and left Wednesday morning to head the other direction towards Mt. Fuji. I went to the national CPI conference in Hakone. This conference is held every other year for people in Japan. It was so great to worship in English and Japanese with other missionaries and Japanese people who gathered together. There were over 300 people plus about 80 children! It was encouraging to hear about what God is doing throughout the whole country of Japan. Besides the great messages and fellowship the place where we stayed was also nice. We had a great view of Mt. Fuji and the autumn scenery was beautiful plus our hotel had a hot spring on the top floor. After a full week traveling around the country I was happy to head home Friday night.

The beautiful ocean. Check out the album to the right

for lots more pictures of Okinawa.A great view of Mt. Fuji. More pictures to the right.

Hello Kitty!

Last Saturday I held the monthly game night at church. This month was a mystery dinner and costume party. It was so fun to see people in costumes and we even did a little contest. For the mystery supper we had chili with toppings, veggies & dip, and apple pie. It was a lot of fun! Time to start preparing for next month!

I worked a long time on all the decorations, which looked great!

At the last minute I decided to be Hello Kitty.

For people who didn't have costumes we dug out the clothes

we use for the Christmas program.

The girl in the yellow and blue is wearing one of the

wisemen costumes but she told everyone she was a princess!

More costumes. This "wiseman" told everyone he was a ninja!

Naoge was a cow and her husband Yuji was cardboard man!
Very creataive!

For most of the students it was the first time they had carved a pumpkin.

Everyone took turns cleaning it out and carving the face.

It wasn't the cutest pumpkin but it was fun.

I gave a message sharing the pumpkin prayer and

how each of us are like a pumpkin.

We are messy and slimy on the inside until God comes

and cleans us out and puts his light inside us.

Autumn Food

Last week I asked my students what their favorite autumn foods are. Most people said sweet potatoes, chestnuts, persimmons, nashi (Japanese pear), and grapes. A few people also mentioned Sanma which is a type of fish that is out in the supermarket right now. The Kanji for this fish,秋刀魚 , means "autumn knife fish" I guess because it looks like a knife. Another favorite food is matsutake, which my students all said is an expensive mushroom. I had to do a little research on this and found that the English name is pine mushroom and actually some of the mushrooms are imported to Japan from the American Northwest. I don't think I can afford to eat them though!

Sanma.

Persimmon, which is one of my favorite autumn fruits, sweet potato, and some glazed chestnuts I received from a student.

I love cooking with apples, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg in the fall. The other day I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

With the leftover pumpkin from the cookies I made pumpkin soup. I had never made it before, but it was so good! I will definitely make it again.

September Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

This September marked five years since I first landed on Japanese soil. At that time I never thought I would stillbe here five years later, but God had a great plan for me and continues to let me be a tool for him in Japan.

Although the humid summers in Japan can be a bit uncomfortable, I enjoyed having time off to spend withfriends, go to festivals, and study Japanese. I was also able to help with church camp and cook at the MBelementary camp. Our theme for camp was “Ready, Set, Aim for Jesus.” The kids had a great time and learneda lot. At the end of camp the children wrote a note about their experience and also wrote a letter to Jesus. I wasso encouraged by the notes, especially one written by a sixth grade girl who has been coming to church for thepast few years. She wrote, “The first time I went to church I didn’t know about Jesus, I just wanted to hang out and get help with my homework at the homework class. I told the teachers at church that I wasn’t getting alongwith my friends and having a hard time at school. The teachers prayed for me and the next day I stoppedfighting with my friends and now I believe in Jesus.” I have seen this girl change from being angry and lackingself control to become a fun, friendly girl who makes an effort to do well in school and enjoys coming to churchevents. She and many other kids at church remind me of how important it is to invest in these children. I alsoheld “English Adventure” at the church for the kids in August. This was an afternoon of games, songs, and asimplified message on creation, in English, followed by a barbeque.

I turned the church into a jungle for the day.

The kids playing a game.

At the beginning of September the English classes started again. I feel like the classes get better each year and Ican see improvements in the students’ speaking abilities. On the first day at Mukogawa I had nine new people come to observe the classes and five of them joined. Also, for the past year my friend and I have been wanting to start the mom and preschool kids class (named Caterpillar Club) again. I held this class a couple of years ago, but since those students started first grade there haven’t been any new participants. We had just decided to give up on the class, but now have four families who are interested! We will have the first class in October and then see if the children want to continue.
Thank you to all of you who have prayed for me and supported me financially through MBMS International over the past year. I could not be here if you were not part of my team. I ask for your continued support now as I begin another year.

Tamba Sasayam

Yesterday was the last day of the Silver Week holiday. Silver Week, which was three holidays in a row, was something new this year. Monday was Respect for the Aged Day, Wednesday was the Autumn Equinox and since Tuesday fell right in the middle of the two holidays this year, it was also a day off! Lucky for us!
Rika, Naoge, and I had decided to spend the day together on Wednesday, but didn't really have any firm plans. Tuesday night Rika was searching the interent and discovered an art festival happening in Tanba Sasayama, which is about an hour from Amagasaki by train. I got a text around midnight saying to meet at the station in the morning and we would we check it out. Without really knowing anything about it or where to go we ventured out and it turned out to be a perfect day!

At the train station we rented bikes for 500 yen (about $5).
The bikes had a solar battery, which gave a little extra push.

They were so easy to ride - I want to buy one!

It felt so good riding around in the clean country air and
looking at the beautiful mountains and fields.

We had a delicious lunch of rice with mushrooms, miso soup,

tempura, sashimi, and some vegetables.

The art festival was held on a street with old Japanese houses.

Each house showcased a different artist. There were paintings, pottery,

sculptures, very modern art, things made of wood, glass, etc.

Many of the houses had beautiful gardens in the back.

Just as it started to rain we headed for coffee at a cute garden cafe.

We took our time enjoying the coffee until the rain let up.

Along the way we saw some chestnuts which had fallen of the trees.

As fall approaches you can find many little chestnut stands.

Here these women are peeling and roasting the chestnuts.

Chestnuts and chestnut desserts are very popular this time of year.

We found many little markets selling seasonal food along the shopping streets.

One of the local foods in Sasayam is soy beans.

All the stores sold big bundles of these beans along with black soy beans.

The area is also known for mushrooms.

Little dried fish.

Next we found a street with old samurai houses. This one was open for visitors.

Interesting, but a little creepy!

Finally we headed back to the station.

It was a beautiful scene as the sun set.

To top off the great day, on the train ride home we saw a rainbow!

A Few Random Pictures

One day as I was riding home from the supermarket I looked at my basket with shopping bags, flowers and toilet paper and had to laugh. It occurred to me that while this has become normal for me, for most people living in the States it's not common to ride your bike and carry toilet paper in your basket! I took a picture of what my bike usually looks like on my way home from shopping. I also carry my bag on my shoulder and on rainy days hold an umbrella in one hand. I've gotten pretty good at balancing things while biking. Once I even carried a futon mattress on my bike! I love my bike and that is one thing I really missed while living at home last year. Lately I've been wondering how expensive it would be to send my bike home when I leave.

Fruit can be pretty expensive. Recently I've taken my camera to the supermarket to inconspicuously take pictures of various things. Here is a watermelon for 1,580 yen, which is about $16.00. As summer comes to an end the prices have gone down a bit, but still pretty expensive.

These melons are 980 yen, about $10.00.

海

海 (umi) = the sea or the ocean
I had to write that in Japanese because I like that character!
Last week I spent the day at the Sea of Japan with some friends. It was a weekday so we were lucky there weren't many people there. It was cloudy, but still nice and we were glad to get away from the heat and humidity of Osaka. It was so much fun to swim in the ocean, even though the water was a little cool and the waves were really strong!

Manaki playing in the sand.

Bunchan heading into the waves

We stayed back for coffee and snacks!

Afterwards we went Refresh Park. It had four outdoor hotsprings

and an indoor pool. You can see the hotsprings here in the trees.

It was a great view and so relaxing! The best part was that you

have to wear your swimsuit. Most hotsprings don't allow any clothing!