I am Am

Family Vacation

2011-08-02T22:55:00.001-05:00

Last week we took a family vacation to the Black Hills. We had really great weather and a lot of fun. I wasn't sure about going because of my foot (see previous post) but I went with my knee walker and was able to get everywhere! I lost count of how many strangers asked me about it! I'm so thankful for that thing! We really had a wild west adventure with a stop at Wall Drug, panning for gold, a trip to Deadwood, and a visit to Circle B Ranch where there were pony rides, a cowboy shoot out, and a chuckwagon supper. Check out the slideshow on the right for some fun pictures!

Hopping Along

2011-08-02T22:53:00.000-05:00

About 3 1/2 weeks ago I had foot surgery to repair a fallen arch and some crushing bones. I have horrible feet, which should have been corrected years ago. I finally got to a point where I couldn't stand the pain and was afraid it would continue to get worse. I had 4 incisions and 3 pins put in my foot. Surprisingly the pain hasn't been too bad. The first 12 days I had a bandaged splint. Two weeks ago I got the stitches taken out and got a purple cast - not because of the Vikings! : ) I have 2 more weeks in the cast and then get a walking boot.

I can't believe how hard it is to get by on 1 foot! I have been so thankful for this knee walker, also called a roll-a-bout. Although it's still really hard to get around this is so much better than crutches. Plus I get lots of looks and comments!

4th of July

2011-07-14T20:52:00.000-05:00

Last Monday was July 4th, Independence Day. We had a pretty traditional celebration, attended a parade, ate in the park and watched fireworks.

Karina and Kayleigh chillin' in the sun and waiting for candy!

The parade had everything a traditional parade has. Firetrucks...

marching bands...

crazy cars, and much more.

We had a good time but it was hot! Kayleigh got some relief under the umbrella.

Of course every 4th of July ends with fireworks!

Check out my other blog, Sweets By Am, to see some fun treats I made for the holiday.

Summer Nights

2011-06-27T21:25:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things about summer is sitting on the deck at night. We often eat supper outside and then enjoy the night outside, especially on the weekend. I love sitting by the fire as the sun goes down and it cools off. Last week my mom's uncle & aunt were visiting.

My dad loves to spend time in the garden. This year he put in this beautiful waterfall pond.

Climate Change

2011-06-07T23:11:00.000-05:00

Remeber this? I took this picture in February, when there was a record snowfall and it was cold.

This was the forcast today. Mt. Lake was 100 degress F!!!
That's 37 degrees C!
Crazy, huh? It will be back to "normal" tomorrow.

Another Blog

2011-06-04T23:03:00.000-05:00

I've started a new blog to showcase all the desserts and treats I make. I'll still have this blog and use the other just for sweets. I'm hoping to start baking for others, check it out.

http://www.sweetsbyam.blogspot.com/

Hello Kitty!

2011-06-01T09:50:00.004-05:00

My friend Jenny graduated from high school last week. She loves Hello Kitty so she asked meto make some treats for her open house. I was planning on making cupcakes until I came across cake pops. They have become so popular recently, thanks in part to Bakerella, which is where I got the idea to make Hello Kitty cake pops. About half way through the process I wondered what I had gotten myself into, but they actually turned out pretty cute!

Spring Cookies

2011-05-24T22:18:00.004-05:00

Some fun cookies I made for friends in Japan. As far as I know, they didn't crumble in the mail!

Tulip Time

2011-05-17T19:29:00.006-05:00

Every May Pella, Iowa holds it's annual Tulip Festival. Anyone who knows me knows that I love tulips so going to see gardens of blooming tulips is one of my favorite things! Pella is a unique town in that has held on to it's Dutch heritage. Many of the buildings resemble European buildings and there is even a functioning windmill. Some visitors from Holland have said that Pella is more Dutch than Holland! It's a fun little place to visit!

Delicious Dutch pastries - Dutch Letters, filled with almond paste and Puff Pillows.

New Church

2011-05-10T10:24:00.005-05:00

For five years I worked in and lived near Mukogawa church and consider it my second home. It is a really comfortable, homey church where you feel comfortable the minute you walk in. That being said, the years are starting to show. For several years the church has been brainstorming, fundraising, and planning for a new building. While I was still in Japan we purchased land and had plans drawn up for the new building.

This is what the land looked like when I left in July 2010.

And this is what it looks like today!

picture from 武武牧師の部屋（taketake）

The dedication ceremony was held May 8th. I'm so sad I was not there to see the new building and celebrate with my Japanese family, but I'm really happy for them and excited to see it someday.

Tulips!

2011-05-04T09:57:00.006-05:00

We survived a long, snowy winter and now spring is here. Actually there were a few snowflakes a couple of days ago and it was only 44 degrees, but it's warming up, the grass is green, and we have tulips!! I can't wait to see leaves on the trees!

More Cupcakes

2011-05-04T09:41:00.010-05:00

My blog seems to be becoming a cake blog! Here a some cupcakes I've made recently.

I made these for a wine & beer tasting event.

Guinness cupcakes, which actually have Guinness beer in the cake and frosting.

Mojito cupcakes with lime, mint, & rum extract.

I made these two cupcakes for a Bunco party.

Tiramisu cupcakes with a chocolate covered
espresso bean on top.

Easter

2011-04-26T21:54:00.012-05:00

It's Easter once again! Last Sunday the pastor said Christ's resurrection is the most important event in our Christian life. This is what our faith is based upon - that our sins died with Christ on the cross and we have new life with Christ's ressurection. How amazing! I remember feeling so excited to share that message with my students last year in Japan.

This year I was home with family celebrating like most Americans. We went to church, had a delicious dinner, dyed eggs and had an Easter egg hunt. I enjoyed making a few treats.

I tried a new way of icing cookies this year and they turned out preety good!

Cute little chicks!
Sakura - these were a little harder but not bad for my first time.

Of course we had to dye eggs!

Kayliegh getting ready to eat dinner.

Mom's traditional jell-o eggs.

I made a layered coconut cake using fresh coconut juice and shaved coconut.

It was good but I didn't think it was worth all the work!

The fresh coconut was beautiful!

I was so excited to make these bunny cupcakes for my nieces.

I didn't get much of a reaction though and they just ate the frosting!!

I made an egg hunt outside for my nieces.

Checking out their goods.

Baseball season has begun!

2011-04-09T13:39:00.001-05:00

One sure sign that spring is here is the beginning of baseball season. This year I am extra excited about the Twins season becasue they have their first Japanese player, Tsuyoshi Nishioka. I've heard a few announcers here refer to him as Nishi. One of the news stations followed Nishioka back to Japan to show his roots and his family. You can see pictures and the intereview here. He is from Osaka, my second home, and was a great player in Japan. Unfortunately he broke his leg a few days ago and will be out for several weeks. Hopefully he will recover quickly and be a great addition to the team! I'm looking forward to watching him play at the amazing Target Field!

Tokidoki

2011-03-24T16:32:00.002-05:00

Tokidoki is a brand of apparel, handbags, cometics, etc. I don't think the designer is Japanese but the products have a distinct Japanese look. They're not really my style, but I'm debating on this t-shirt. It also comes in a tote bag and 100% of the proceeds go to the American Red Cross to aid the tsunami victims. I'm not sure if I really like the characters, but it's kind of cute. The phrase on the shirt "がんばれ日本 Ganbare Nippon" can be translated as "Stand Firm Japan". People often say ganbare to mean "you can do it" or "do your best".

St. Patty's Day

2011-03-19T00:05:00.005-05:00

I'm not Irish but I couldn't resist making something for St. Patrick's Day. I made green chocolate mint cupcakes and chocolate mint brownies for a small party (unrelated to the holiday). They were deicious!

Pray for Japan

2011-03-16T10:49:00.006-05:00

Since last Friday it has been hard to think about anything but the devastation in Japan. I was shocked when I saw the news last Friday morning and immediately thought of my many friends in Japan. I was able to email my friend Rika who responded right away letting me know everyone in Osaka was alright. Of course I was relieved but still horrified by the growing disaster in northern Japan. Many people have been so thoughtful, asking about my friends in Japan. People also say, "Aren't you glad you're not in Japan right now?" I don't know really know how to respond to this. I'm so thankful not to be in the midst of the disaster, but it's also hard to be far away and feel helpless. When I watch the news I feel like I want to be there. I want to help. I want to grieve with the people I care for. The first few days I was glued to the t.v. but I've decided to limit how much news I watch because I find that it makes me anxious, worried and cry. Yesterday as I was praying I was reminded to give my worries to Jesus. The situation seems hopeless, but God is still in control. We must pray, pray, pray!!

*Pray for the immediate needs (food, water, heat, shelter, weather) of the people hit by the tsunami.

*Pray for people grieving the loss of family members, friends, communities, and everything they owned.

*Pray for the the situation at the nuclear plant.

*Pray for all the workers, leaders, engineers working around the clock.

*Pray for the economy and future of the nation.

*Pray for the hearts of the Japanese people. Only 1% of the country is Christian and there are very few churches in the area that was hit. At this time when people are mourning and seeking comfort pray that they would cry out to God.

I read a post on facebook that said, "May a tsunami of prayer hit Japan!" I love that!

Here's a map of Japan to show the distance between Osaka, where I lived, and Sendai where the earthquake & tsunami hit. They felt the first earthquake in Osaka, but didn't have any damage.

Snowed In

2011-02-21T16:49:00.003-06:00

This winter we have had record snowfall. According to today's news, we have had 78.3 inches (1.99 meters) of snow! This storm, which started Sunday morning, has brought about 12 inches, canceled church services, school, and even universities in Minneapolis. As I wrote in a previous post, no school means no work for me.
All of this snow is making a me a little antsy and wanting to get out of the house. Being snowed in we have to find something to occupy our time. We like to play games in our family and this winter my parents and I have started playing Dutch Blitz. I asked for this game for Christmas and it has definitely helped pass the time these past 2 months. So far I think I'm the overall winner!

Another Valentine's Party

2011-02-10T21:12:00.009-06:00

It's not quite Valentine's Day but I've already celebrated with friends from church. This past Monday I held a Valentine's party for women at church and their friends. I had fun making desserts and decorating for the party. I was so happy around 50 women signed up to come. Because of the weather and illness there were some who couldn't make it but over 40 women showed up. The theme was chocolate so I shared how Japanese women give chocolate to men and I talked about "Life is like a box of chocolates...you never now what your gonna get." Some days are really sweet and delicious, but other times we go through unexpected events that are yucky. Thankfully we can rely on the Spirit living in us to get us through these times.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed is the man who takes refuge in him."

Psalm 34:8

These pink heart meringues with strawberry

whipped cream were delicious and a big hit!

Red velvet cake is one of my favorites.

I love the color!

We needed something chocolate so I dipped these

shortbread cookies in chocolate, coconut, and pecans.

Everyone enjoyed a couple of games of Bunco!

Christmas Day

2011-01-29T12:08:00.008-06:00

Christmas Day has become the day my family has our celebration. We have a delicious meal, read the Christmas story and then open gifts. It had been a few years since I had been home for Christmas so I was excited to have this time together. It was bittersweet as this was my first time to celebrate at home without my sister. Throughout the holidays I was reminded of so many memories with her. I tried to remind myself that she is having the best celebration in heaven!

My nieces, Karina and Kayleigh, love to help grandma cook. I told them to smile for the camera and they held up a potato and gave me this is the pose! They are so funny!

My dad and Travis don't like crab legs, as you may be able to tell from the expression on Travis' face! The rest of us love them though! My mom also makes roast beef for them.

This dish however is for my brother, who loves jell-o!

The girls were so ready to open their gifts. When we started reading the Christmas story Karina said, "Do you know how many times I've heard that!"

Karina loves pink, Hello Kitty, and tutus so this was the perfect set of pajamas for her!

Family Time

2011-01-29T11:44:00.004-06:00

I'm so behind on my Christmas postings! In December my mom's family all got together at a resort in Alexandria, MN. They went to the same place last year but of course I was in Japan so this was my first year. We had a great time in the pool, ice skating on the pond outside our place, sledding, and playing hockey. I should say my cousins enjoyed all those outdoor things. I enjoyed the pool and the fireplace!
The little girls (4 total) all had matching light up necklaces, which they thought were great!

We all took turns making the meals and I was in charge of Saturday night. Everyone requested Japanese food so I made nabe, Japanese hot pot. It's full of vegetables, chicken, pork, and udon noodles. Everything is cooked on the table and then dipped into ponzu or a sesame sauce. There are lots of different ways to make this but I wanted to make it simple.

Even the boys ate it and were able to use chopsticks!

I wanted to do so group games so my younger cousins helped me prepare some Minute To Win It games. They were really fun!

Holiday baking

2011-01-18T10:34:00.002-06:00

Growing up my mom, brother, sister, and I made lots of holiday treats. One of our favorite things to make were decorated cut-out cookies. We had so many different cookie cutters - santa, angels, bells, trees, snoopy, anything Christmas-and every color of icing. Now that seems like too much work, but I still like to make a few things. This year I made fudge, almond bark, pecan tassies, white fudge (so good), and mini cupcakes. I had never made cupcakes for Christmas but I saw some cute ideas I wanted to try. I made chocolate peppermint with candy canes, red velvet with gingerbread cookies, and chocolate with blue frosting. I think they turned out pretty cute!

I spent New Year's with some friends in the Twin Cities and we made pretzel rods dipped in chocolate with sprinkle. At Christmas my aunt made really tasty white chocolate covered pretzels sprinkled with crushed candy canes. I think I'll try that next year!

Not Again!

2011-01-11T10:40:00.002-06:00

Another day at home - school was cancelled this morning.

More Snow

2011-01-10T15:46:00.003-06:00

I have some fun pictures from Christmas, but I'm waiting for my brother to share his with me before I post them. In the meantime I'm writing yet another post about our lovely winter weather. I'm sitting in front of my living room window watching the snow that has been coming down all day and is predicted to continue all day tomorrow. Since this is my first Minnesota winter in a while I'm trying to remember to take pictures (one of my goals for the new year). It really is beautiful but I'm not fond of the cold. When I was a kid it was always fun to see if we would get out of school due to snow. Now that I'm an adult and work at a school I'm not very happy when school is cancelled and I can't work! We have had a couple of snow days already, late starts (including today), and have gone home early 3 times (including last Friday). Hopefully we will make it to school tomorrow!

I love it when the trees are frosted!

Christmas fun

2010-12-21T11:04:00.004-06:00

One of my family's holiday tradition is to spend a weekend in Minneapolis. We usually attend the Christmas display on the 8th floor of Macy's Department Store and then the Holidazzle parade. This year the theme at Macy's was "A Day in the Life of an Elf". It showed the elves at school, home, baking, and making toys at Santa's workshop. It was really cute and I'm sure kids would love it!

We braved the cold snow storm and stood outside to enjoy the Holidazzle parade. Unfortunately I only got a few pictures before the battery in my camera died! I still got a few pictures and we had a good time. The parade is only 30 minutes, but by the end I was ready to head back into the hotel and enjoy a hot cup of coffee!

Sunrise

2010-12-08T16:00:00.002-06:00

Sunrise over the lake in Bemidji about a month ago.

The evolution of my blog

2010-11-16T15:51:00.005-06:00

I started my blog over five years ago while living in Japan, not knowing if anyone would read it. I had so many stories and pictures I wanted to share with people at home so they could feel like they were sharing in my experiences. I thought it was intriguing to blog about the culture and my everyday experiences that made life interesting. After coming home I debated if I should keep my blog. One of the reasons I chose to continue is because friends and students from Japan read it and it's a way for them to keep up on my life. Most of all though I enjoy blogging. It helps me remember to take pictures when I otherwise wouldn't and I've discovered I enjoying writing.

Since I've decided to keep my blog I've been wondering what it should be used for. There are so many blogs out there it's hard for me to think that mine holds any appeal. I realized that in the five years I have kept a blog it maybe hasn't always been exciting, but it reflects different stages of my life. Sometimes I like to read old posts and reminisce. What an incredible journey God laid out for me! There are many posts about fun events with friends in Japan, posts about Japanese culture, posts about mourning the loved ones I've lost in the last two years, posts about the sadness of leaving Japan, and posts of uncertainty of what to do next. I guess that's where I'm at right now. My life is at a bit of a stand still and so I guess my blog is as well.

I didn't make a lot of plans before I came home from Japan. I planned to live with my brother's family and get a job and see where God lead me. But...things have not gone exactly as I thought and it has been harder to find a job than I expected. I have been living with my parents for the last 4 months and trying to find a job. It was relaxing at first, but has become a little boring, at times discouraging, and filled with uncertainty. With a bit of hesitation I decided to start looking for a job here in Mt. Lake and I'm beginning to feel that maybe this is where God wants me to be right now. I wouldn't have chose it but maybe He did. After all, I wouldn't have chosen to go to Japan and that turned out great!

It's here!

2010-11-15T10:04:00.004-06:00

Saturday morning I woke up to see my dad outside doing this
And drove to church in this

As much as I have been dreading the cold weather the first snowfall wasn't bad. It's so beautiful and really wasnt' that cold. I know there is much more to come though! Welcome back to Minnesota!

Farewell

2010-11-03T10:16:00.004-05:00

I have been home from Japan for 3 months (unbelievable!) and just realized I haven't posted anything about the days leading up to my departure. The last week, after my English classes had finished, was incredibly busy. I finished packing most of my things and had them shipped home a week before my flight. This left me with 2 suitcases (which were very much over the weight limit) and all the things I would be leaving in Japan. So during my final week I spent a lot of time meeting with friends and students, cleaning, closing all my accounts, preparing my farewell speech, and buying souveniers. My last Sunday at church was a really special day filled with many events.

I started the day by attending the 7 am service to give my farewell speech. I then had a little time until Sundy School so I quickly wrote my prayer letter to send to supporters at home!

I taught a Sunday School lesson about the journey and adventures God gives us. I shared about my adventure in Japan and showed my passport stamped with all the places I've visited.

During the 10 am service I gave my speech again and helped with worship for the last time (I'm playing piano).
The church gave me beautiful flowers and a cloth which all them members wrote messages on.

After the service my friend, Kohei was baptized! I was really happy I was able to witness his baptism.

As if the day wasn't busy enough, after lunch we turned the sanctuary into a cafe! Once a month we create a cafe where people can buy cake and a drink and enjoy each other's company. All the proceeds go towards the building fund for the new church. During this time the church sang some special songs and showed a picture slideshow of me and people in the church. It was a great memory I will never forget.

Once we were finished with the cafe we headed to the river for a barbeque with church members and my English students. About 80 people turned out to say goodbye and enjoy the afternoon together. It was a really great day!

The day before I left I spent the entire day cleaning my apartment. I was so exhausted but had one more party to attend. My closest friends all got together for an okonomiyaki (like a cabbage pancake) party. Despite my lack of energy, it was wonderful to spend one last night with the people who have been an important part of my life for the past 6 years.

Finally after many goodbyes the day came when I actually had to leave. People came to the church to say goodbye and many also came to the airport. It was an emotional day, but I knew I was making the right decision. I miss people and the life I was used to for 5 years. I've been able to keep in touch with friends through email and skype which makes me thankful for technology! I feel so fortunate to have met so many great people and that God blessed me with great relationships.

Apple Orchard

2010-10-28T20:23:00.004-05:00

The end of September we took a trip to a local apple orchard. It was really cute and had a lot of activities for little kids. My nieces had a lot of fun playing games, going down the big slide, making a scarecrow, and going on a tractor ride. Of course we enjoyed some apple treats like, apple crisp and caramel apples.

This was the tree across the street about 2 weeks ago. After some very windy, rainy days though all the leaves are gone and the tree is ready for winter. This morning it was only 27 degrees (-2 C)! The trees may be ready for winter but I'm not!

Mennonite Goodness

2010-10-20T11:28:00.003-05:00

Every autumn our little town has a one day heritage festival to celebrate well, our heritage. We have a little museum of old buildings, which are open during the festival, and food from the Mt. Lake community. When I was growing up we always enjoyed going to the festival to tour the old buildings, have a spelling bee, make ice cream, and play games. I hadn't been to the festival for quite a few years, but this year I was anxious to get some good food. All of the food is made from recipes that have been passed down from one generation to another. So here is a little taste of some Mennonite foods.

One of my favorites is borscht, a kind of soup made with cabbage, vegetables, beef, and dill. Zwieback, meaning two-bake, is a bread made of two balls of dough, a larger one on the bottom and a smaller one on top.
After buying borscht and zwieback I asked my mom to make vereniki. Vereniki is like a Mennonite version of potstickers! It's a dough pocket filled with dry cottage cheese, either boiled or fried, and served with a white gravy and ham. So good!

There is a variety of peppernuts, which vary in size, texture, and flavor. They can be hard or soft, flavored with pepper, peppermint, molasses, or filled with dry fruit. Peppernuts are almsot like a little cookie and usually baked for Christmas.

Perischki, fruit pockets, are like a mini pie.

I heard that Moos was traditionally made every Saturday and eaten that night and for Sunday dinner. Moos is made with fruit, flour, milk, and sugar. It can be eaten hot or cold, and is ususally made with rhubarb, cherries, gooseberries, apples, or plums.

I sure enjoy eating all of these foods. Now I need to learn how to make them!

Ice cream anyone?

2010-10-11T10:40:00.003-05:00

I bought this wooden ice cream stand for my nieces. It's so cute! The ice cream cones are magnetic so you and change the cones!

I didn't buy these but took a picture in the store. I thought they were so funny and so Japanese! I love how it says, "Toilet, it's a very comfortable place."

Cicada

2010-10-01T10:28:00.003-05:00

I have been scrap booking full time the past two weeks so I have been sorting through hundreds of pictures I took while I was in Japan. I don't usually take pictures of insects but I had to take a picture of the cicada outside my apartment. Once summer and the heat and humidity move in the cicada begin chirping. I had a row of trees outside my apartment and the cicada were deafening! Below is a picture of a cicada a video I took from my apartment.

Signs of Autumn

2010-09-20T15:44:00.006-05:00

Well it's not Autumn yet (the official first day is Wednesday) I have been seeing little signs of the changing season popping up.

The apple tree in the backyard.

Summer's End

2010-09-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

Labor Day has come and gone, school has started, and the cool weather has set in. Sure signs that summer is over. Right now as I sip my hot coffee my computer says it's 66 degrees (18 C) although I'm sure it will warm up. I hear it's still in the 90s in Japan so I'm happy to have the cool weather.
Another sign that summer is coming to an end is the Minnesota State Fair. My family has attened the fair almost every year as long as I can remember. The fair lasts for 10 days and I go with my parents and my brother's family for 1 or 2 days. It's fun to take my nieces around.
The fair is mostly about walking, eating, and people watching.

The fair is famous for anything fried and served on a stick.
Where else can you get fried fruit? Or deep fried candy bars?

My must have food at the fair is fried dill pickles.

They are so good! This year my new favorite

became honey ice cream with sunflower seeds.

People everywhere! This year 1,766,211 people attended the fair!

Besides food and people there are other things to do at the fair.

The kids farm exhibit...
the giant slide...

We saw the fair gopher mascots going down the slide.

parades...

toys...

rides...

and music. We like to watch the free concerts and talent shows. This year there was a guy from Japan who played some American music on a shamisen! I was hoping he would win the competition, but unfortunately he didn't. It was still fun to hear him play.

Tokushima

2010-08-31T10:23:00.012-05:00

Before I left Japan Rika, Naoge, and I took one last trip together. This time we went to Tokushima which is in Shikoku Island. Here is a map of Japan. We live in Amagasaki city (near Osaka) on the main island, Honshu.

We crossed the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, which is that largest suspension bridge in the world and had breakfast at Starbucks.

Along the way we stopped at the Naruto whirlpools and walked across a long bridge to see the whirlpools. It was interesting, but hard to get a good picture.

This is one of many areas that is famous for ramen noodles so of course we had to stop.

We finally arrived at our beautiful resort. There were a few cabins and nice little lodge that served great local seafood and we had a private beach! The water was so nice!

Sashimi (raw fish), pasta with octopus, and baked fish for dinner. It was really good!

Driving through the mountains on the way home. Over 70% of Japan is mountainous.

Kakigori　かき氷

2010-08-12T16:23:00.008-05:00

Even though I'm back home I still have a lot of pictures and things to post about Japan. I can't bring myself to change the name of my blog so for now it stays and I'll continue posting about Japan and my current life.

Today I'm posting about kakigori, which is shaved ice with syrup, like a snow cone. You can find kakigori everywhere in summer - coffe shops, restaurants, street vendors, and even premade in the conveinence store. It is an absolute must eat at any summer festival. Here I am enjoying some at a festival last summer.

Kakigori comes in traditional flavors like cherry, grape, lemon, melon, but there are also more traditional Japanese flavors like green tea with beans. Some restaurants make fancy desserts with shaved ice, fruit, and ice cream. Here is a picture of some plastic displays outside a restaurant.

One of my favorites is green tea shaved ice with red beans and condensed milk. Yum! I bought these popsicles as a treat while I was busy packing up my apartment to move.

Peaches for you, peaches for me

2010-08-09T19:44:00.005-05:00

Remember that song "Millions of Peaches"? I couldn't stop thinking about it today as I spent the afternoon freezing peaches. The other day my mom came home with 2 boxes of peaches, which is 120 peaches. Every year she freezes them but since she is busy and I'm not really doing anything right now I offered to do it for her.

I cut up about 3/4 of them which yielded 25 bags! Actually it was kind of fun and I know they'll taste great this winter!

Home Again

2010-08-03T11:55:00.008-05:00

I'm sitting in my parents's living room catching up on daytime t.v., which is less than interesting. A far cry from the busy life I was living just a week ago. After several farewell parties (I'll save that for another post), many hugs and tears I arrived in the States at midnight on July 28. It was long day of traveling with two stops before I finally arrived in Minneapolis. I shouldn't complain too much though because I was lucky to be upgraded to Economy Plus for all three of my flights. This meant wider seats and more leg room, which makes a big difference on a 10 hour flight. So lucky! On my flight from San Francisco to Denver I sat by some really interesting people. The woman next to me was a Christian, working as a physical therapist in China. We had a lot in common with our experiences living in Asia, although Japan and China are quite different. The guy next to her was a professional poker player on his way to a poker cruise! He had a lot of stories and bought us snacks and drinks. Talking with them made the flight go a lot faster.
I feel like I've flown back and forth between Japan and the States enough that I don't go through reverse culture shock, but even after these two years I still notice differences. As I was walking through the airports on my way home, here were some of the things I noticed:
*People dress so casually. Shorts and tank tops look like pajamas!
*Sizes are so big. I ordered a small coffee, which is like a large in Japan!
*People are friendler and make conversation with strangers.
*It's still light at 8:30 p.m. In Japan it's dark by 7:30.
*I keep talking to people in Japanese and bowing!
*Everyone keeps talking about the heat, but it feels good compared to the humidity in Japan!

For the most part I'm happy to be home. It's nice to see my family and relax a bit, but hard to adjust to the changes that have taken place while I've been gone. It's hard to feel like like two places are home and always have to be so far away from one. I felt like it was time to move back and I believe God has a plan for me here, I'm just not sure yet what it is! Right now I'm just on vacation, real life will begin soon (hopefully) and my feelings about being here may change.

I'll get used to everything soon. The jet lag is getting much better. I spent a lot of time sleeping this past weekend - too much time! Now to figure out what to do next!

Summer fruit & KitKats

2010-07-18T19:04:00.005-05:00

It's time for summer fruit and watermelon is one of my favorites. In Japan fruit can be quite expensive ($4 for a peach, $10 for a melon). A whole watermelon, which is round usually runs between $12-$15. Here is a display at the department store where they are much more expensive. There are various varities ranging in price from $30 - over $150

This square watermelon is over $120!

This is a collection of pictures I've taken over the past couple of years of the various flavors of KitKats. I've only tasted a few including vegetable juice, which wasn't my favorite! The flavors in the picture are soda, chocolate & mango pudding, strawberry & cranberry, lemon vinegar, wasabi, soy sauce, green tea, aloe yogurt, custard pudding, peach, blueberry, mixed juice, plum soda! So many different kinds!

Tanabata

2010-07-07T10:56:00.006-05:00

July 7th is Tanabata, the star festival, in Japan. The story of tanabata is of two lovers who are separated by the Milky Way, a river of stars. The princess's father allows the two lovers to meet once a year, the seventh day of the seventh month. The story says that if it rains on tanabata the prince and princess are not able to meet and have to wait another year. Today we had a little rain, but was mostly sunny. I wonder if they met!

You can read a kids version of the whole story here

http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/folk/tanabata/

For tanabata people write their wishes on pieces of paper

and tie them to bamboo.
Here is a picture of the kindergarten near my apartment.

I saw this display at the mall.

A lot of people stopped to write their wishes.

Some people also put small displays outside their houses.

Clam Digging

2010-07-02T09:12:00.007-05:00

A few weeks ago we decided to go clam digging. We don't live that far from the sea, but we drove about 2 hours to go to a special beach for getting clams. On the way we stopped in Ashiya, which isn't far from here and has a lot of fresh fish markets.

Octopus doesn't get much fresher than this!

This is actually still alive. I touched it and it's tentacles

stuck to my finger!

Takoyaki is a famous (fried batter with octopus) Osaka food and

one of my favorites. In Ashiya they make an eggy version,which

you dip soup instead of using sauce.

There were lots of people at the beach digging for clams. At first we had a hard time finding any,

but once we found a good spot we were able to get a lot. The funny thing was we each had to pay an entrance fee and at 5:00 they closed the beach and these men came out in trucks to throw new clams in the sand. It wasn't quite as natural as I had imagined!

These are the clams we came home with. Unfortunately I was

busy and didn't get to eat them the next day with the rest

of my friends, but they enjoyed eating them in miso soup.

Next time!

Happy Birthday!

2010-06-26T09:11:00.002-05:00

June 7th was my 32nd birthday! Turning 30 and then 31 were big for me, but this year I was alright with another birthday and being in my 30s. I had a nice little party with my close friends and received some cute kids books about Japan. I will definitely use them to tell people about Japanese customs. I also had a little party with some of the older people from church to celebrate May and June birthdays and received some beautiful flowers. I'm thankful God has brought such wonderful people into my life and to have had another year in Japan.

Beautiful chiffon cake made by my friend, Naoge.

Yes We Kan!

2010-06-09T09:01:00.004-05:00

I don't understand Japanese politics at all, but I guess I don't understand American politics either. In Japan there is a prime minister and also an emperor. My understanding is that the people elect the members of the political parties and then those parties choose the leader. I think the prime minister's term is 4 years, but their term is usually cut short. I read that during President Clinton's administration there were 7 different prime ministers in Japan! When I came in 2004 Koizumi, who actually held office for 5 years, was the prime minister. This week they just elected a new prime minister, which makes number 6 since I arrived! People seemed excited about the previous prime minister elected last September but he resigned this month for breaking his campaign promise to close the American military base in Okinawa. It's interesting to me that the leader resigns after 8 months because he broke a promise. I guess if we had that system in America we'd change presidents just as often. I'm glad that even though we may not agree with our politicians there is some consistency and they are given more than a few months to prove themselves.
Anyway, the new prime minister is Mr. Kan. Since Japanese seem to love President Obama's slogan "Yes we can", a company is playing off Mr. Kan's name and marketing merchandise with the slogan "Yes we kan." The funny thing is Obama's slogan was all about supporting him and making a change. I don't know if Japanese people even know much about Mr. Kan or have expectations for him since they don't elect the prime minister. It's just another English t-shirt! Supposedly he even resembles Obama in the picture!

Onsenchou

2010-06-06T08:36:00.011-05:00

This year during Golden Week I went away with my friend Rika and her family. Her husband, Bun, is from a small village of about 30 people a few hours from here called Onsenshou. Onsen means hotspring, chou means town. This was my second visit and I loved it! It is such a quiet, peaceful, and beautiful place. I think I would miss the city if I lived there, but visiting is wonderful. Bun's older brother and his family live with his parents (common in Japan) in a big, very old house. I love staying there because I feel like I'm in an old Japanese movie. The village consists of mountains, rice fields, gardens, a stream, and a temple. At night you fall asleep to the sound of the stream in front of the house and the frogs in the rice fields. In the morning you wake up to the sun shining in the windows and the village announcements over the loud speaker. Below is a picture of the house.

Rice fields.

Manaki climbing out the bedroom window.

Big family enjoying dinner together.

The house doesn't have hot water so they use a

wood burning stove to heat the water.

This is a picture of the stove outside the bathroom,

under the bathtub to heat the bath water.

This is the bathroom, which looks like a typical Japanese bathroom.

The toliet is in a seperate room. Japanese bathrooms have a shower

and bathtub in the same room, but seperate.

First you shower while sitting on a little stool then you relax

in a hot bath. The only difference in this old style bathroom is that

there is no shower so you just scoop out the bath water

and use the tap water to cool off the hot water. Sounds a little confusing, huh?

During our visit we spent a lot of time relaxing and walking around the mountains, but also drove to some nearby towns for a little sightseeing. Bun's family had told us that the temple recently had a celebration and said we should go see it. During one of our walks we stopped there and the Priest let us in. He was very kind and let us walk through the altar, which no one gets to do. I'm not sure why he let us, but the family was so surprised. For us as Christians, it didn't mean much. It made me sad though because I realized how people living in the countryside have no knowledge of Christianity. The temple really is the center of the village and people but a lot of trust in it. I asked Bun's brother if he knew anything about church and he said only what he's seen in the movies, for example The Exorcist! What a horrible example!! In larger areas you can usually find at least one church, but in the villages there is nothing. God reminded me to pray for the people living in the country.

Under the weather

2010-05-18T20:44:00.002-05:00

I have lots of pictures to post, but I haven't gotten around to it because I've been under the weather. The first week of May was Golden Week, which is the big vacation time here when everyone travels. I enjoyed a few days in the country with a friend's family. Unfortunately as soon as I got home I came down with some kind of stomache bug. After about a week of not feeling great, I finally felt "normal" and was able to catch up on all the things I hadn't gotten done while I was sick. That only lasted about 4 days and now I've come down with a cold. Ugh!! Hopefully I'll be well soon.

Pictures to come...

Cute Characters

2010-04-25T09:56:00.010-05:00

Recently I've realized that there are many things about Japan that I have become accustom to but are different from American culture. One difference is the Japanese love of characters. There are animations characters, comic book characters, and TV/ movie characters. The difference is adults love the characters just as much as the children. People often ask me what characters I like. It's not unusual to see adults reading comics or collecting character merchandise. The amount of merchandise is endless! The other night I was having dinner at my friend's parents' house and we ate on Hello Kitty plates. There's a 20 year old guy at church who carries a Winnie-the-Pooh bag, and today another guy at church had a Cookie Monster cellphone strap. I used to find it strange, I still do a little, but it's all part of the culture in the country of cuteness! One of the most popular characters is the beloved Hello Kitty, which I have to admit I have started thinking she's pretty cute.

Another character is Doraemon, which has been around for decades. It's about a robot cat that travels back in time. He has a magic pocket that produce gadgets to help him.

One character I have come to like is the Japanese version of Heidi, which is Haiji. When I first came to Japan I had short hair and people thought I looked like her so they gave me some Haiji merchandise.

Recently Nissan has created a new version of Haiji for their fuel efficient car commercials. This character isn't as cute as the original Haiji and is a little naive and loud. The commercials are funny and have gained a lot of popularity, sparking a whole new market of Haiji merchandise. There are longer commercials on Youtube, which are hilarious. We even did a parody of it for our Easter play at church and I have Haiji as my ringtone on my cellphone!
Here are some pictures of the new Haij and the other characters in the story.

アンバリー

2010-04-05T20:27:00.003-05:00

The Japanese language consists of three different "alphabets"; hiragana, katakana, and kanji.
Hiragana has 46 different symbols, which make up the sounds in Japanese.
Katakana has the same sounds, but the symbols are different. Katakana is used for foreign words, so my name is always written in katakana.
Kanji is the Chinese characters. I'm told that the average Japanese person knows about 2000 kanji, but really there are about 8000! I of course don't that many! For the proficiency test I took last year the requirement was to know 300 kanji. I passed the test, but I don't think I know that many!
Here's an example of the different symbols. Using the word "haru", which means "spring".

　　　　　　hiragana: はる　　katakana:ハル　　kanji　:春

Writing Japanese with ink as a form of calligraphy is an art. At the start of the new year we always do calligraphy with the kids during Sunday school. Below are some pictures of our work!

As I said, my name is written in katakana because it is a foreign name. It's written アンバリー, and pronounced "an-ba-ree." But I often go by Am, アン. When I left Japan a few years ago, as a gift my church chose Chinese characters for my name and had them made into seals or stamps. Although incredibly difficult, I think kanji is interesting because the symbols have meanings. Parents think very carefully about the name they give their child and the meaning of the characters.

My name is 安(an) "happiness", 場(ba) "beauty", 里(ri) "home", 安場里. Here's my calligraphy - I need to practice!

Here is one of the three seals I received. In Japan seals are used instead of signatures. So when I have to sign papers at the bank or have a delivery, etc. I use my seal.

Plum Trees

2010-03-21T22:22:00.007-05:00

In February~March the plum trees are in bloom. I went to see them when they were about 50% in full bloom.

Hinamatsuri

2010-03-08T01:04:00.006-06:00

March 3rd is Hinamatsuri, which is the Doll Festival or Girls Day. It's not a holiday, but most families with daughters celebrate. I think all the decorations and things are cute, although the dolls can be a little creepy. The origins of the day have Buddhist roots, like most celebrations in Japan, but I don't think most people follow those customs. On this day people display special dolls and peach blossoms, like in the pictures below. The actual display can be pretty big so a lot of people just have the top part, the emperor and empress.

On Hinamatsuri, like most holidays, there are traditional foods eaten during the celebration. One of these foods is chirashizushi, a kind of sushi. My friend gave me some that she made for her family. There are even kamaboko (fish cakes) with pictures of an emperor and empress.

The stores have cute displays during the weeks leading up to Hinamatsuri.

There is also an old, somber song that is played throughout the stores.

I can't get it out of my head!

Little rice crackers.

I bought these bags of caramel corn for one of my kids classes.

The pink bag is peach flavored caramel corn.

I love all the cute things in Japan!

Sakura-mochi, rice cakes filled with bean paste and wrapped in cherry leaf.

They're really good - sweet and salty.

Valentine's Day

2010-02-24T06:05:00.008-06:00

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays. In Japan chocolate is the gift given on Valentine's Day to men from women (see Feb. 2009 post). Although many girls also make chocolates for their friends too. February 13th I walked through the department store to try and take some pictures of the beautiful candy, but there were so many people it was hard to push my way through.

Instead of making chocolates, I made cupcakes for the young people at church.

They weren't as cute a I had imagined they would be but everyone liked them.

My mom sent me a package of Valentine decoarations and candies,

which I gave to all my kids and use the decorations for my monthly game night.

Of couse this month's theme for game night was Valentine's Day.

Lots of red and heart decoartions!

We had tacos and chocolate fondue, which was good!

I did a 5 senses game where the guests had to close their eyes and guess the item they were touching, tasting, hearing, or smelling. It was really fun watching everyone squirm while I made them touch different things, such as tofu, ito konnyaku, and an orange peel. Everyone had a good time!

I gave each guest a little bag of conversation hearts and shared the meaning of a few hearts. I gave a short talk about how God's messages in the Bible are like conversation hearts. For example, "Be Mine" God wants us to accept his love. John 3:16. I think it was a good message and everyone liked learning about American V-Day.

My friend, Hitomi and I did the same message the following day in Sunday School so we made lots of conversation hearts to hang on the wall. During the message the kids wrote the verses on each heart and together we decorated the hallway.

Isn't it cute?!

February Prayer Letter

2010-02-10T19:42:00.005-06:00

This is the latest letter I sent out to my support team.
This letter is long overdue and I apologize for that! I didn't realize it had been so long since I last wrote. Since there is a lot to say, I will just give some highlights of the last few months.

November
The first few days of November I was able to take a short trip to Okinawa, the southern island of Japan, with friends from church. We had a great time exploring the island and being out in the warm weather. I was so glad to get a glimpse of Okinawa culture. The day after I returned from Okinawa I headed towards Mt. Fuji for a CPI (Church Planting Institute) conference. The three day conference included sessions on evangelism, Japanese culture, praise and worship in English and Japanese, and a chance to meet other missionaries. I was really encouraged to talk with other missionaries and hear about what God is doing throughout the country.
At the end of the month I prepared a Thanksgiving meal for my students. I was a little nervous about pulling off the dinner, but it turned out great! I was able to buy a turkey at Costco (yes there's Costco in Japan). For most of the guests it was their first time eating turkey and they thought it was delicious! It's so fun to be able to share my culture while living in the Japanese culture.
November also marked a year since my sister Kelsey passed away. My family and I have been comforted by your prayers and kind words this past year.
December
Christmas brought many parties, concerts, and events to celebrate Christ's birth. Every year at church we have a kids event and an event for adults. We have a potluck lunch, games, musical performances, and the Sunday School teachers perform the Christmas story. This year there were about 40 children in attendance at the kids party and over 100 people at the adult party. Another fun event was a ladies lunch I had for women in the church, friends, and English students both present and past. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and a chance to share the Christmas message. Christmas Day I was able to celebrate with the three other missionaries currently serving in Japan.
January
Now here we are in 2010! New Year is the most important holiday in Japan so as soon as Christmas is over people begin preparing. I'm always a little sad that the Christmas season can't last a little longer. Most people have the first three days of the New Year off and spend time with family. Over the holiday 90% of people attend a shrine or temple to pray for happiness in the New Year. Join me in praying for a revival in Japan and that people will know there is only one true God. I am grateful that God is using me as a tool to reach the people of Japan and I am thankful to have you as part of my team.
Please continue to pray for the English classes and the relationships I am building with my students. Some of the students have begun attending other programs at church and are building relationships with other church members. The Caterpillar Club (young kids & moms) now has six kids along with their mothers. I'm so grateful God has allowed us to start this program again. The mothers seem very interested in the chapel time and enjoy having the opportunity to spend time with each other.
Thank you for your continued support!

Mikans

2010-01-31T08:31:00.008-06:00

Fall and winter is mikan, Japanese mandarin orange, season. This year they seem to be a little cheaper than usual, a bag of 8-10 for $2 or $3. The skin is thin so they peel easily and taste so good! A few weeks ago one of my students gave me all these mikans. There were a lot, but it didn't take me too long to eat and I got lots of vitamin C!

New Year 2010!

2010-01-11T02:28:00.009-06:00

The New Year is the most important holiday in Japan. Most people have the 1st - 3rd off from work and spend the time with family. Of course most people go to the shrine or temple and a lot of people also go shopping for special sales. Kids also receive Otoshidama, which is a decorated envelope with money inside.
This year is the year of the tiger so the stores had many decorations with tigers. Most people send New Year's postcards, which are all delivered on January 1st. People often put pictures of their kids or family and incorporate the year's animal.

Many people also place decorations made from rice straw above the entrance of their house to signify the celebration and to prevent evil spirits from entering.

Mochi, which is rice pounded into a sticky cake, is always eaten at New Years. The cakes are very hard, but once grilled they become soft and sticky. There are several ways to eat it. One of my favorites is to grill it, dip it into soy sauce mixed with sugar, and wrap it in seaweed. Yum!!

Grilling the mochi.

It's tradition to eat ozoni, soup with mochi, on New Year's Day.

Since most people attend the shrine or temple on New Year's we also have a service at church. After the service we all enjoy eating ozoni together.

After the service I didn't have any plans so my friend Hitomi came over.

We got McDonalds and watched a movie - not very traditional!

On the 2nd I went to Nishimura san's house. She works with me at church and invites me to her house every year for osechi ryori, traditional New Year's food. Osechi is usually made up of fish, shrimp, beans, dried fish, different roots, fish cakes, Japanese radishes, herring roe, kelp rolls, and various vegetables.

For dessert we had hanabira mochi, which means "flower petal mochi."

New Year's Eve

2010-01-05T22:21:00.008-06:00

Every New Year's Eve my friends and I cook together and have a little party to ring in the New Year. This year, like other years we had crab nabe (hot pot), fish, pot stickers, and a red velvet cake that I made.

Here I was making the filling for the pot stickers.
We made 200 pot stickers!

Finally time to eat!

These pictures are actually taken from t.v.

Many people attend a temple at midnight

where the bell is rung 108 times,

each ring represents a different sin to leave behind.

I've read that over the New Year holiday

about 90 million people attend a temple or shrine.

It always makes me sad to see millions of people

praying at the temples and putting their hope in false gods.

Christmas Treats

2009-12-27T20:11:00.003-06:00

There are so many great treats to eat at Christmas. I love the traditional baking and exchanging of goodies but when I'm out shopping there is one thing I really enjoy. Gingerbread lattes. I love the cinnamon and nutmeg flavors and the warm foam. Back home I usually get eggnog lattes this time of year, but there's no eggnog in Japan!
The other day when I was out rushing around getting some last minute gifts I took a few minutes to enjoy a gingerbread latte and cranberry bliss bar.

Christmas Parties

2009-12-22T22:03:00.006-06:00

Every year we have so many parties at church. It's busy, but a lot of fun and the best time of year to reach out to people who don't know the real meaning of Christmas.

Candle service during the kids party. About 40 kids

from the church and neighborhood attended the party!

The following week was the adult party. This year we had about 100 people!
We always have a delicious potluck lunch followed by a program with skits, music,
and games. This year I played piano, was in the play and sang. So much fun!

The shoe box in the entrance was overflowing!

The Sunday School teachers always act out the Christmas story.

I was Mary's mother ( a part we created).

Cutest little angel!!

I also held a ladies lunch at the church. It was really fun to connect

with some people I hadn't seen in a while and to celebrate Christmas

together. It was a great chance to share the Christmas gift God has

given each of us, His son Jesus!

Naoge, Rika, and I spent all day cooking and baking the day before.

More Pictures

2009-12-15T06:33:00.009-06:00

Shopping street decorated for Christmas.

Singing with some of my students at the church program.

Below, candle used for the candle service.

Every year they use candles stuck into an orange!

Department store windows.

I'm not giving up!

2009-12-09T07:11:00.003-06:00

I haven't forgotten about my attempt to add a picture every day, but I just haven't found anything to take a picture of! I'm keeping my eyes open though and I'll add them whenever I find something interesting.
Here are Christmas versions of some traditional Japanese cloths.

Day 5 & 6

2009-12-06T07:49:00.003-06:00

This weekend I went to two Christmas concerts. Gospel music has become really popular in Japan and a some of my friends have been part of a choir for a few years. I've gone to the lessons a few times and want to join too, but it doesn't fit into my schedule. Saturday they held their annual concert. The teacher, who is from the city I live in, has a really amazing testimony - her father was a famous comedian who became an alcoholic as did her brother who died at a young age, and her mother committed suicide! She went to college in the States, studying music and ended up learning Gospel music at a church in Harlem. Now she tours and has choirs in Japan and also an AIDS charity in Thailand. She's so powerful!

Sunday was the Hanshine Christmas Festival, which is put on by churches in the Hanshine area Below are pictures of the Kids Dance - kids in the area perform a Christmas Hip-Hop dance every year (it's so cute) and another Gospel choir.

Day 4

2009-12-04T21:38:00.004-06:00

My neighbor's little garden.

Day 3

2009-12-03T06:50:00.001-06:00

The wreath I made for my door. I looked at a picture of the one I made last year and they're almost identical!

Day 2

2009-12-02T06:36:00.003-06:00

This house down the street from my apartmet added The Eiffel Tower to their decorations!

Yea for December!

2009-12-01T06:54:00.006-06:00

December is such a great time of year! I love Christmas and all the festivities leading up to it. Parties, music, baking, gift giving, time with family and friends, and most importantly remembering our Savior's birth. Tonight at the English class chapel time the pastor shared the song "We Are The Reason." That's what's the season is about, Christ is the reason to celebrate and we are the reason he came to our world. I'm excited to be celebrating and sharing this message with the people around me.

Last year I read about the idea of taking a picture each day in December and posting it. I was somewhat successful, but am hoping to be better this year. I just have to remember to always take my camera with me!

For December 1 here are a couple of pictures of the German Christmas Market held in Osaka every year. I went last Saturdya night. There are cute little booths with German food, crafts and decorations. The lights are really pretty and at night there are live performances. What did you notice around you today?

2009-11-24T07:41:00.010-06:00

Autumn has definitely arrived in Japan! The last few weeks it has really cooled off (in the 50s) and the leaves have been changing and falling. There are some nice trees outside my apartment, but if you want to see really great fall colors and the Japanese Maple trees it's best to go to some particular sightseeing spots. Last week I had a couple of hours off between classes so I went to Minoo, which I've posted pictures of before. It was beautiful, but there wasn't as much color as I've seen in years past. It was still great to get out and enjoy the day!

I love all the little food stands you see in Japan.

Here they were selling fall foods - pomegranates,

persimmons, chestnuts, and mandarin oranges

This time of year you often see people drying persimmons

on their porch. Eventually they become a lot smaller and a

dark orange color. They're really good!

School kids out on a field trip.

I cheated a little! This picture of fallen Japanese Maple leaves

and the following two pictures were taken two years ago.

I wanted to show how beautiful the colors can be when at their peak.

Japan Tour

2009-11-08T05:42:00.005-06:00

Last week was a great but really busy 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!

2009-10-31T06:15:00.005-05:00

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

2009-10-11T23:24:00.008-05:00

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

2009-09-30T20:33:00.005-05:00

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 with friends, go to festivals, and study Japanese. I was also able to help with church camp and cook at the MB elementary camp. Our theme for camp was “Ready, Set, Aim for Jesus.” The kids had a great time and learned a lot. At the end of camp the children wrote a note about their experience and also wrote a letter to Jesus. I was so 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 along with my friends and having a hard time at school. The teachers prayed for me and the next day I stopped fighting with my friends and now I believe in Jesus.” I have seen this girl change from being angry and lacking self control to become a fun, friendly girl who makes an effort to do well in school and enjoys coming to church events. She and many other kids at church remind me of how important it is to invest in these children. I also held “English Adventure” at the church for the kids in August. This was an afternoon of games, songs, and a simplified 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

2009-09-24T09:33:00.012-05:00

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

2009-08-24T20:25:00.005-05:00

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

2009-08-14T08:28:00.005-05:00

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!

Tenjin Matsuri

2009-08-05T05:40:00.015-05:00

Since I have never spent the full summer in Japan I have missed out on some of the big festivals that are held in July and August. I have only attended small ones in my neighborhood. A couple of weeks ago I went to Osaka's Tenjin Festival which is one of the three major festivals in Japan. This festival is dedicated to the god of learning and art so there are musical and theatrical performances. I think these are held on the boats which are carried from the shrine to the river. There is also a big parade and fireworks on the last day. Unfortunately we didn't get to see these, but we saw a lot and got a good feel for the festival. I think it really shows how much religion plays a part in Japanese culture. These festivals are all about paying homage to different gods, with prayers and shrines, but I would say majority of the people don't view these activities as religious. It's just a part of culture and a fun event.

Participants carry a shrine through the covered shopping street.

Kids playing drums on the float.

These men were also playing drums on a float.

They sat on a huge wooden float carried by a group of men.

The poor guys carry it looked so hot and tired!

When they stopped to perform they would turn the float onto it's

side. The drums and men shouting were so loud and the crowd was huge.

I was lucky to have a close view!

Kabuki performer getting ready to go on the boat.

The performers are all men. Can you tell??

I think these men all pulled this boat as a float from the shrine

through the streets down to the river. They then sail up the river

and I think there are performances on the boats.

Drummers on the boat.

Participants parading through the streets.

Kids dressed in costume.

Girls in yukata (summer kimono) catching goldfish,

a game at most festivals.
Many girls wear yukatas to the summer festivals.

Crowded street and lots of food and game booths.

Taiyaki is a festival food. It's kind of like a waffle with stuff inside.

This place had custard, chocolate, green tea, and red bean.

Yumm!!!

I snuck a picture of this man trying to sell ice cream cones from his bike!

A Mouthful of Flavor

2009-07-22T03:38:00.006-05:00

It seems like everytime I go to the supermarket I find another new interesting flavor of some kind of food. Usually it's chips or candy or Kit-kats. I really need to take pictures of these things! A couple years ago I found Cucumber Pepsi and more recently I found Shiso Pepsi! Shiso is a green leaf sometimes used in sushi, sashima, tempura, pasta, etc. I wasn't sure how to describe it, but thanks to wikipedia I discovered that it is also called "perilla" or "Japanese basil". It's intense flavor is can be compared to to mint or fennel. I like the flavor, but not so much with Pepsi! My friend Hitomi and I tried it but decided once is enough.

The bottle said, "Refreshing Japanese Flavor".

I have to disagree!

Mmm...shiso!

Update

2009-07-10T21:46:00.005-05:00

Since my last post quite a bit has happened. First of all I turned 31! This birthday was a little harder to accept than turning 30 last year. I can't believe I am now in my thirties! In reality though, I don't feel any different than I did in my twenties! To celebrate I just had dinner and cake with a few friends and recieved this cool hand painted metal vase.

On June 15th my Grandpa Harry passed away. I was able to go home for the funeral and to see my family. It was a hard decision because I have responsibilities here, but the pastors of my churches encouraged me to go home and be with my family. This has been a difficult year for my family, losing both of my grandpas and my sister in just 14 months. I was so glad I was able to be at home and celebrate my grandpa's life with family and friends. My grandpa was a really sweet man who loved the Lord with all his heart. Everyone kept saying, "He was a fisher of fish and a fisher of men." He went on 24 mission trips all over the world to share the Gospel and help build churches. His life was truly a reflection of his faith. I can't remember a conversation with him in which he didn't talk about evangelism and missions! He prayed for his grandchildren by name everyday and when I decided to go to Japan he told me he had always prayed that one of grandchildren would become a missionary. I feel really honored that I can carry on a little piece of his legacy and hope I can continue to follow in his footsteps.

Back here in Japan I am finishing up this term of teaching and looking forward to summer vacation. It is getting hot and humid here! I've never spent the entire summer in Japan so I'm looking forward to some new experiences but hoping I can survive the heat!

Minoo

2009-06-05T09:08:00.008-05:00

Wednesday I went on a hike with my friend Naoge, her mom and her sister. We went to Minoo which has a beautiful path that leads up to a waterfall. I think it's about 2.5 miles each way, so it doesn't take long. There are some cute shops and restaurants at the start of the path and a few places along the way. I think this is the third time I've been there, but it's always such a nice walk.

I'm going to start taking more people pictures. I've noticed almost all my pictures of just of scenery!

Yummy Indian food. The nan was so big!

One curry was pork and the other was pumpkin & mushroom.

Path on the way to the waterfall.

Our goal!

The crane captured everybody's attention.

The crane taking a shower.

The old Japanese house has been turned into a cafe.

We stopped for coffee and cake on the way back.

So much for our exercise!

Minoo is known for it's maple leaves, which turn a beautiful red color in fall.

These tempura (batter fried) leaves are a popular souvenir.

Golden Week

2009-05-19T12:04:00.007-05:00

Golden Week is a stretch of four national holidays at the end of April/ beginning of May. If you include weekends it can be a pretty long holiday. This is the time of year when a lot of people travel and take family vacations. I went on a little trip with some people from church, 30 including kids, to Tottori which is near the Sea of Japan. We stayed at a place in the mountains and enjoyed our time by playing basketball, volleyball, softball and badminton. One day we drove to a sand sculpture festival and the sand dunes at the sea. We had great weather and really enjoyed our time together!

The beautiful mountains! I love the Japanese country side!

Camel rides for 1300 yen (about $13) at the sand dunes.

The sand dunes were really steep and hard to climb.

My friends decided they would race up the sand dunes. I think the race ended about half way up. I took pictures and then walked up!

The view of the sea at the top of the dune.

Sand festival.

Hello Kitty custard bun. Japan is the land of all things cute!

Japan loves mascots. I thought this crab was so funny!

This is the pictures of Golden Week - people waiting in lines.

There are people everywhere and lots of traffic.

Souveniers are a requirment for any trip. We stopped at this rice cracker souvenir store which had about 40 different flavors of crakcers and samples of all of them.

We mad these cupcakes for the kids at Easter.

My mom brought lots of cute Easter candy which we gave away at the party.

Cherry Blossoms and Mom's Visit

2009-04-20T08:22:00.007-05:00

April brought the beautiful cherry blossom season and this year didn't disappoint! My mom came to Japan for the third time during this season and was able to enjoy the cherry blossoms from the beginning of their blooming until they began falling from the trees. This time of year is highly anticipated and the the cherry blossom forecast is broadcasted on TV letting everyone know the best time to see the flowers in each area of Japan. It is the arrival of spring and a significant part of Japanese culture.

花見 "hanami" literally means flower viewing. This is just the act of going and seeing the cherry blossoms. A lot of people get out to see the trees during this time and it may also include a picnic or party. For the past two weeks everyone has asked me if I did "hanami"! Here's some pictures of the beautiful trees!

Mom and I went to an area in Kyoto called the Philosopher's Path.It's a stone path along a canal lined with cherry trees. When we went the trees were only about 60% in bloom but it was still really nice. There are also a lot of shops and cafes along the path.

I really like the weeping trees.

People doing "hanami" and having a picnic.

There are a lot of food boths set up in parks during this time.

I thought this was interesting becasue it shows the sea of black suits, which are "salary men" (business men). Every morning the trains are crowded with black suits.

We had a bbq with church friends at the riverside.

The tree outside my apartment.

I love the petals on the ground. On a windy day it almost looks like snow!

One day I was riding my bike and it felt like bugs hitting me!

Sweeping up the petals outside the school.

I took mom for "kaiten sushi", which translate as conveyer belt sushi! The plates come around and you take what you want. At the end of the meal the waitress comes and counts your plates and gives you the bill. My friends and I often go to a place where each plate is only 100 yen (about $1)! Mom had a lettuce salad and just bites of my sushi!

Here comes the sushi!

Spring Fever

2009-03-26T21:03:00.005-05:00

Spring is in the air! The weather has really warmed up the past few weeks and it has been about 50 degrees everyday. A couple of weeks ago it even hit 70! The flowers are blooming and the cherry blossoms are just starting to open. The theme of this month's Fun Night was "Spring Fever".

A few weeks ago the plum trees bloomed.

This is one of my favorite streets in my old neighborhood.

The street is lined with magnolia trees and is beautiful when they all bloom.

Spring cookies for Fun Night.

Spring Fever!

The centerpieces on each table.

I also hung butterflies from the ceiling.

I got this idea for butterfly straws from Martha Stewart!

Super cute and origami paper worked great!

Everyone made their own sandwiches.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-18T02:48:00.003-06:00

On Valentine's Day in Japan girls usually buy or make chocolate for guys. This custom became a great way for chocolate companies to boost their sales. I read that chocolate companies sell more than half their annual profit during the week before Valentines Day! The stores are full of different kinds of chocolate wrapped in beautiful packaging and when you buy them they give you extra bags to put the box in before you give it out. A lot of girls, especially high school girls, make their own chocolate or chocolate cake.
There are three different kinds of chocolate gifts:
*ギリチョコ　"giri-choko" Which means obligatory chocolate.Women give chocolate to their bosses, co-workers, etc. It's a kind of obligation to show gratitude. Very Japanese.
*友チョコ "tomo-choko" Tomo means friend so this is chocolate give to your friends male or female.
*ホンメイチョコ "honmei-choko" This is given to your true love, or someone you have a romantic interest in. Women also give chocolate to their sons, fathers, brothers.

Men are not completely exempt from having to give a gift though. March 14th is White Day when men who received Valentine's chocolate return a gift to the women. I have already seen advertisements in the store for White Day!

In the past I have made chocolates for my friends, but this year I opted out. Instead I had a party for my students and people from church. I am attempting to start a monthly game night at church and Valentine's Day was the start. We made taco rice (tacos with rice instead of tortillas) and coconut brownies. We had some games and I gave a short message about God's love and we sang "Amazing Love (You Are My King)" in English and Japanese. Everyone had a great time so I hope next month is just as successful!

I bought felt at the $1 store to make decorations.

Taco Rice.

Even though I made them, I have to admit

the brownies were really good!

Learning to play Skip-bo.

Heat

2009-01-29T07:57:00.005-06:00

First of all, I have to start by explaining the Japanese heating system (without comparing to the wonderful central heating system at home!). Japanese houses and buildings, such as churches, have something like an air conditioner which blows hot and cold air. Cold for summer hot for winter. In a house this is usually in the living room and I think the bedrooms. Houses here are not heated all the time and are not heated during the night so when you leave or go to bed you turn off the air conditioner. This means the house is cold when you come home and cold when you wake up in the morning. Now I know I can't complain about cold weather here because I don't think it has gotten below freezing at all this winter, but I really think houses are not insulated as well here and are therefore not that warm. For example yesterday it was about 50 degrees outside, but it was cold in the church!
Back to the heating. With this air conditioner system people do not heat every room in their house. Usually the room with the heater is heated and the door is closed to the rest of the house. For example in my apartment my living room and sleeping area are in the same room. So I turn on the heat in there and close the door leaving the kitchen, bath and toilet room unheated. I also have a little electric heater, which gives off a lot of warmth. Hopefully this is all making sense! I'll post pictures some time.
I always keep the remote for my air conditioner next to my bed so when my alarm goes off I can turn on the heat and wait to get up until the room has warmed up. Last Friday I hit the on button but nothing happened. I groaned and got of bed, played around with it but nothing. I figured I needed new batteries so I bought some on my way home that night. After I got home I put them in but nothing happened! Saturday and Sunday were the coldest days we've had all year, meaning low 30s and some snowflakes. I know it's not that cold, but it still requires heat. I asked someone to call the apartment company for me (I always panic when trying to speak Japanese on the phone) and was told they could send someone out on Monday. So I stayed at a friend's house for 2 nights. Not a big deal because I stay there quite often anyway.
Monday comes and a man comes to fix the air conditioner. He goes out on my veranda where the main system is, which was a little embarrassing since I had all my laundry hanging out there. He asks if it is just blowing cool air and I said it wasn't doing anything. I told him that I replaced the batteries but still nothing. He picks up the remote, pushes the "reset" button and turns on the air conditioner! He explained that the batteries probably died and every time you replace them you have to press the reset button. He was nice enough to still check everything out to make sure it was working and even showed me on his meter stick that the temperature of the air in the air conditioner was over 100 degrees assuring me that it was definitely working! I apologized profusely for making him come out and said that I was embarrassed by the situation. Fortunately he was really nice and didn't seem to mind. I on the other hand felt like the dumb foreigner once again!!

成人の日

2009-01-15T08:12:00.006-06:00

"成人の日" = Seijin no hi, which in English is called Coming of Age Day.

The Coming of Age Festival is held the second Monday in January for people who turn 20 during the current year. 20 is the age in Japan when people are legally considered an adult. On this day local governments usually have ceremonies for the young adults. Girls wear kimonos and go to a hair stylist to get their hair done. Some guys also wear dark kimonos or suits. After they attend the ceremony the participants usually hang out with their friends at a party or go out drinking. I was out on this day and saw a lot of girls walking around in their kimonos so I asked a few if I could take their picture. They were so excited that I asked!

Kimonos are difficult to put on by yourself so some girls go to a professional salon to get dressed. These girls were enjoying a crepe at the mall.

This display was for New Years. This is the year of the cow or ox.

Christmas and New Years

2009-01-04T06:32:00.011-06:00

Christmas was busy, but I had fun being involved in the church program, caroling, baking, and spending time with friends. New Years is the big holiday here in Japan. It's fun to celebrate, but I always feel like we rush through Christmas to get to New Years. All the decorations come down on the 26th, all the Christmas things in the stores are gone and the Christmas music stops playing. I always feel a little sad that it is over so quickly.

On New Year's Eve I rang in 2009 with some friends. About 99% of the population goes to a shrine New Year's Day to pray for a good year and give an offering. I think it is more tradition than religion and almost like a festival. The church tries to offer an alternative so we always have a service on the 1st and then serve miso soup with rice cakes, another traditional food. These rice cakes aren't what we call rice cakes. They are pounded rice made into a soft, chewy, round cake. I went to the service at church and then celebrated with a friend's family. We had great food, of course, played a lot of games and played dodge ball and catch outside with the kids. On the 2nd I had traditional Japanese New Year's food with some women from church. Today I went shopping because over the holiday all the stores have big sales, bargains as they say, and Happy Bags (like a goody bag or grab bag). Unfortunately I didn't find anything good and didn't want to wast my money on a Happy Bag!

It is tradition to eat KFC on Christmas Eve.

This was my first time actually going there to pick up chicken.

I was amazed by all the people and the assembly line inside getting the orders ready!

Random - Santa Clause at baseball practice at the school next to my apartment!

New Year's decoration with Shinto meaning.
These are hung on houses and store fronts.

January 1st dinner with my friend's family.
We had sukiyaki, crab hot pot, and lost of other food.

Traditional New Year's food.
There was also delicious sushi which didn't get in the picture!

Hanabira mochi. Mochi (the soft rice cake) made into a desert.
This particular type of mochi desert is only sold at New Years.

Inside there is mochi dyed red, which had a subtle cherry flavor,

mashed white beans and gobo, which is a type of root. As I'm writing this

I realize it doesn't sound too appetizing! But it was pretty good - a little sweet, but

also salty. Having it with green tea balances the flavors.

More December Pictures

2008-12-22T05:51:00.004-06:00

Christmas Cake is one of few Christmas traditions in Japan.

All the stores are advertising cakes, which people eat on Christmas Eve. I made cookies for all my kids.

I've seen these berries everywhere lately. I'm not sure what they are, but they look nice.

December Sightings

2008-12-12T07:56:00.009-06:00

I read on another blog the idea of taking a picture each day in December and posting it so others can see what the month is like in your corner of the world. I thought this was a cool idea so I started carrying my camera with me to capture what I see. This lasted about 5 days! And being that it is December 12 and I still haven't posted anything, obviously I haven't been too successful with this project! I'll keep trying! Here are some of the pictures I took.

On December 1 I still had a few leaves left on the trees outside my apartment. They have all fallen off now but so far we've had pretty nice weather.

This was taken with my cell phone while riding in a car so it's not the best picture. The gas station attendants are dressed in reindeer suits! How festive! I think the women wear the suits and the men wear Santa hats.

A Christmas tree at the mall - "Everybody Happy Christmas!"

Notice the tall white naked statue to the left of the tree?!

I stayed up all night to prepare the food for my Christmas party.

Just before the party at church.

The wreath I made to hang outside my door. Of course, I am the only

one in the building with a wreath hanging on my door!

My little Christmas tree!

My Dear Sister

2008-11-26T06:26:00.004-06:00

Just over three weeks ago my sister Kelsey passed away at the age of 22. Her death was so sudden and unexpected that my family and I are still in shock. Right now I don't have the words to describe how I am feeling or what I am thinking.
As difficult as it was to have a funeral for her, it was a beautiful service. Between the visitation and funeral there were over three hundred people who came to show their respects. It was wonderful to hear how much Kelsey meant to each person and to listen while they shared their memories. Everyone shared how Kelsey had a great smile and wonderful laugh.
Every summer Kelsey collected caterpillars and watched them spin cocoons and change into butterflies. At the service the pastor compared her to those butterflies. While on earth she was a caterpillar but know she has become a beautiful butterfly. Below is the eulogy I wrote about Kelsey's life and the words to the closing song we played at her funeral.

Kelsey
What can we say about Kelsey?
To us, her family, her name alone says so much. Kelsey was the center of our family. From early on we learned, "When Kelsey's happy, everybody's happy!" Kelsey never hesistated to let you know if she was upset, but she always forgave, always let go, and always loved. To people on the outside it may have seemed as though we sacraficed or made exceptions for her, but we knew no different. This was our family. Kelsey was Kelsey - our daughter, our sister, our aunt.

Throughout her short life Kelsey faced various obstacles. Although she was unable to do many things she found happiness in the things she could do. She enjoyed swimming, fishing, watching sporting events, movies, music, video games, cooking and reading. She was always ready to play a board game and somehow almost always found a way to win! She could put a puzzle together faster than anyone and did countless crossword and activity books. Kelsey had a knack for solving problems and enjoyed learning.

Kelsey loved her family and often spoiled us with gifts, especially her nieces. She loved being an auntie. She loved her dog Pebbles, who slept with her every night. Pebbles could often be found perched on Kelsey's shoulders. She loved anything purple. She loved to laugh and her boisterous laugh was so contagious. She was reserved but loved people and was loved by many. Mostly though, Kelsey loved Jesus. She didn't appear to be outspoken about her faith but she loved God in her own way. While in school she talked to her classmates about God and hoped they would find salvation. She studied her Bible and wrote poems about her walk with God. Kelsey was very aware that she was different than others. Although it wasn't always easy, she would say, "This is how God made me, I don't need to change." Kelsey understood that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God. An image that looks different for everyone.

Kelsey had dreams for her future and we are saddened that her time was cut short. We are grateful that God shared her with us for 22 years. The pain and void that we feel can not be expressed in words. We can only find comfort in knowing that she is now free. Free to do the things she was unable to do on earth. We imagine her in heaven joyfully running alongside her Savior.

Ready to Fly - FFH
I’ve been here grounded far too long
I’m ready to see the open wide
Ready to sing a different song
I’ve seen my troubles ‘long the way
I want to sail towards the sun
I want to turn another page
I’m on my way

Chorus:
I’m ready to fly
I’m ready to soar
I’m ready to leave this world behind
I’m ready to open up the door
I’m ready to fly
I’m ready to spread my wings across the sky
I think it’s time
I’m ready to go
I’m ready to fly

You’ve told me I could rise above
Like an eagle on the wind
I can glide upon Your love
But I feel the pull of gravity
And it’s a weight upon my shoulders
I can’t stay here any longer
I’ve gotta be free

And it’s been so long
Since I’ve seen the bright morning sun
Through the early morning horizon
And it’s been so long
Since I’ve felt the air under my wings
And seen all of these things
From above

Wedding Fun

2008-10-29T08:59:00.011-05:00

This past weekend I attended my first wedding in Japan, well it was just the reception, but I think it still counts. Because our church is small only family and a few close friends were able to attend the actual ceremony. The reception was put on by my church and held at a community center after the ceremony. The church did everything to prepare for it- food, decorations, flowers, waitressing, creating the program at the reception. It was really different than how the bride and family prepare everything in the States. It was kind of hard for me to understand why everyone was working so hard to prepare someone else's wedding, but I discovered that is how my church works! It was fun to get in on some of the preparations, but because of my work schedule I couldn't do much. The morning of the wedding I went to the church and helped finish the cakes and helped prepare things at the reception. The reception was like a program. There were speeches and prayers, a group sang a few songs, I sang with some friends from church and there was also a skit. One of my friends writes a funny skit for each of his friend's wedding portraying the groom or the couple. I had just a small part, but it was so fun! Also at the reception the cake cutting is a big deal. The MC's announced that it was time to cut the cake and everyone ran to the front of the stage to take pictures! Now everyone's wondering who's wedding will be next!?!

I'm not a doctor but I dress like one.

2008-10-15T05:20:00.009-05:00

In Japan it is not uncommon to see people walking around or riding the train wearing face masks. In fact during cold and allergy season you see people all over wearing them. People wear the masks when they are sick and don't want to spread their germs or if they are trying to prevent sickness or if they are suffering from allergies. Many people here suffer from sever hay fever and the masks provide some relief. When I first came to Japan I thought the masks were so funny and vowed I would never wear one. Well...I finally gave in! I've had a bad cold for the past week and last weekend had to travel by train for a few hours. I was coughing so much and didn't want to spread those germs or breathe in anymore germs so I bought the masks. Actually I bought a pack of 3 at the 100 yen (dollar) store. At first I was a little embarrassed, but after getting on the train I was so glad I had it. The train was so crowded that I was stuck standing between two cars and the car behind me was the smoking car. The mask actually worked really well. Now I'm hooked!

As for the cold, I am much better. I felt pretty bad this weekend so I decided to go to the Doctor. I couldn't get there until today, but was able to get some medicine. The doctor was a friend of a friend and spoke English really well. I don't have insurance yet, but since he kind of knows me he treated me for free! It helps to have friends!! He gave me some antibiotics and some other pills - 5 total, which seems like a lot for a cold, but I trust him. In Japan the clinics are next to the pharmacy so after your appointment you walk next door to pick up the prescription. The pills come in an envelope with a handy direction sheet. The instructions have a picture of each pill so you know you are taking the right one. Very helpful if you are not fluent in Japanese!

Back in Japan 日本に帰って来ました！

2008-10-08T21:48:00.004-05:00

Finally a new post! I made it back to Japan and am quickly adjusting to living here again. I arrived about 10 days ago. It was strange driving from the airport to Amagasaki (the city I live in), but it felt normal. I actually felt like I had just been home for a few weeks and was returning. The first two nights I stayed with my friends Naoge and Yuji because I didn't have anything in my apartment. Sunday morning when I left their place to go to church I honestly felt like I was going out to face the world. It's weird, although I felt so comfortable coming back there were some feelings I wasn't used. Like being the only white person and having everyone look at you. I was definitely a little self-conscious that morning, but got over it quickly. As I walked to church I only heard two comments about a foriegner or American! Not too bad!

I was a little nervous about the language barrier, but surprisingly most of my Japanese has come back pretty quickly. I was even able to communicate with the gas company when they came to my door this morning! I'm in the process of looking for a new class and debating if I should return to my old class.

My apartment is great! So much better than before. I'll post some pictures. I was really happy to find out that IKEA has come to Japan so I have been able to buy great things for my place at a low price!

I had my first day of teaching on Tuesday and it was really good. Unfortunately I came down with a cold that day so I wasn't feeling great, but the classes were still good. I have had the remainder of the week off so I spent all day in bed yesterday and started a 24 (the tv show) marathon! Today I am feeling much better - not 100%, but better. I will start the rest of my classes next week.

Moving

2008-09-22T23:01:00.003-05:00

I have decided I don't really like moving! I guess I shouldn't complain since my dad and brother are usually the ones who get the brunt of the work, although I did move a lot this time. I think that since I graduated from high school I have moved almost every year! During college I moved everything home during the summer and moved back to school in the fall. Then I moved everything from apartment to apartment and then stored everything at my parents' house when I went to Japan. And of course every year I moved more and more things to Japan. The big move came last summer when I had to ship everything home from Japan! That was definitely the most expensive move to date. Last December I moved into an apartment and today I moved everything out. Those 9 months in my apartment flew by, I feel like I just moved everything into the apartment! Now that everything is stored at my parents' house once again it's time to focus on packing the things I will move to Japan. Hopefully this will be the last move for a while!

Another Little Critter

2008-09-12T15:05:00.003-05:00

I feel like this blog is becoming a place for me to write about the creatures I discover in my apartment! I just got over the paranoia of the bat situation, but now I have a new concern - mice. Wednesday night I was sleeping and woke up around 12:30 because I thought I heard something. I told myself there was nothing and I was just being paranoid, but in the back of my mind I was thinking about a bat flying over my head. Then I heard something scratching at my mattress! I jumped out of bed and as I turned on the light heard something scurry away! I figured it was a mouse, but wasn't willing to find out. I packed up everything I needed for work the next day and drove over to my parents house to get a few more hours of sleep. Even as I was sleeping there I was nervous with every noise I heard. I was so upset I was contemplating moving out of my apartment the next day!
So the next day I went back to my place during my lunch break from work. I didn't see anything but put sticky traps in the bedroom. When I went home later in the afternoon there he was stuck to the trap - the little mouse who kicked me out of my bed. I did stay at my apartment last night and had no sightings of any mice, but I left one trap out just in case!

Holy Cow Batman!!

2008-08-19T17:46:00.003-05:00

Sunday night around 9:00 I came and hadn't eaten supper yet so I made myself a bagel and sat down to watch the Olympics. As I was enjoyin the gymnastics I thought I heard a scratching noise by the door. I was worried that there might be a mouse or something but decided to ignore it, not wanting to know if there were any little creatures in my house. Less than five minutes later, out of the corner of my eye I saw something fly into the kitchen! At first I thought it was a bird but as it flew right in front of me I realized it was a bat! I can not put into words the horror I felt- I still get chills thinking about it. For a second I panicked not knowing what to do, then quickly ran out the door, bagel in hand, screaming! I stood there with the door open hoping it would fly out but it just kept swooping around the living room. I thought of driving to my parent's house or calling my dad but both my keys and phone were inside and I wasn't about to go back in there. I went next door to the landlord's house and asked him to come over. For the next 15 -20 minutes he tried to catch it while his wife and I stood outside as far away as we could stand in order to still see what was happening. Finally he got the bat out and I hesitently went back inside. Even as I came home last night I was still really paranoid. I ran inside, turned on all the lights and checked behind all the curtains and doors! I don't know what I would have done if another bat had flown out though!

Summer Fun

2008-08-07T20:50:00.002-05:00

I love summer and can't believe it's almost over! I love sitting outside, having the windows open and of course there is so much good food in summer! Although I don't like it so much when the humidity gets out of control, which is one thing I am not looking forward to when I go back to Japan. This past weekend we went back up to Bemidji and stayed at my aunt & uncle's lake house. We had a great time swimming, boating and tubing. I came home with a few (but big!) bruises on my arms from tubing, but it was so fun to be in the water! They live in the woods so I even had fun taking the four wheeler out for a spin a few times. Although I'm a bit more cautious than my younger cousins and avoid the hills! It was a fun get-away weekend before the summer ends. The next big event is the State Fair!

Back to Japan!

2008-07-27T14:24:00.004-05:00

I'm pretty sure that anyone who reads this blog knows that I have decided to go back to Japan, but I felt the need to write a new post. I don't think it comes as a surprise that I have decided to go back. When I left Japan last year I left thinking that I would probably return. I just felt like I needed to spend some time at home and I took a class to keep up with my teaching license. It's been nice to be home and spend time with my family, but I am so excited to go back. I'll be going back to teach English and work at the same church. Right now I am raising monthly support and then I'll be able to go! I hope to be there in Septmeber! 楽しみにしています！！

Oh, Cananda...

2008-07-05T15:11:00.008-05:00

Last week I went to Winnipeg for about six days for some training with MBMS International (my sending organization). The training was actually for ACTION, which is a 7-week summer mission trip, but it was the training that worked best for me to join. Most of the participants were in their early 20's or just out of high school, which made me feel awfully old! It was great though to see young people excited about missions. There are groups going to DR Congo, Lithuania, and Japan. The Japan team was the smallest, with just two participants, so it was fun to spend time with them. I guess I kind of did some mentoring with them and tried to teach them a little bit about Japan. During the training I left for two days to spend some time with my friend Karis. She was a teacher in Japan while I was there. We were in different cities, but saw each other a couple of times per year and kept in touch through email. We just seemed to have hit it off as soon as we met. We always have great conversations and so much fun together, so I was really happy to see her again. I also saw Doris, who was another teacher in Japan and kind of the leader of all the teachers. Seriously everyone I met in Japan is from Canada! I was there for Canada Day, which I didn't realize until I arrived! Karis and I went to a BBQ at her work, walked around this area of the city that had a lot of outdoor parties and bands playing and then went to the fireworks. I feel like I'm already part Canadian!
Yesterday for the 4th I worked and then spent time with the family and watched the fireworks. My aunt and cousins are here, so it was fun to see them and the kids loved swimming at my mom and dad's house. Summer's so much fun!

Me and Karis

Happy Canada Day!

(actually taken at the airport by the clerk at the convenience store)

Must See TV

2008-06-12T20:50:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I saw a commercial for a new show that is airing Tuesday, June 24th on ABC. The name of the show is " I Survived A Japanese Game Show", so immediately I was interested. I looked online and discovered that it is about ten Americans who are flown to Japan to be on a game show. I can not even begin to explain how crazy Japanese game shows are and how willing the contestants are to participate! I guess some TV people here discovered this wackiness and are going to try and market it. If you have a chance to watch I would highly recommend it. If not for entertainment just so you will understand the television I was subjected to for three years!!

http://abc.go.com/primetime/isurvivedajapanesegameshow/index?pn=index

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-28T22:00:00.003-05:00

This past weekend my family and I went to Bemidji for my cousin's graduation. My aunt and uncle have a cabin, which is really a lake house, on Cass Lake. So now instead of staying with them or at a hotel when we visit, we get to stay at the cabin! It is so beautful and big enough that we can each have our own bedroom. There is a huge yard, which includes several acres of woods with trails. The trails are perfect in winter for snowmobiling and cross country skiing. I love being up north except for the ticks! After going for a walk one night I had four of them!

Here's a view of the lake from the house.

I am Am

Family Vacation

Hopping Along

4th of July

Summer Nights

Climate Change

Another Blog

Hello Kitty!

Spring Cookies

Tulip Time

New Church

Tulips!

More Cupcakes

Easter

Baseball season has begun!

Tokidoki

St. Patty's Day

Pray for Japan

Snowed In

Another Valentine's Party

Christmas Day

Family Time

Holiday baking

Not Again!

More Snow

Christmas fun

Sunrise

The evolution of my blog

It's here!

Farewell

Apple Orchard

Mennonite Goodness

Ice cream anyone?

Cicada

Signs of Autumn

Summer's End

Tokushima

Kakigori かき氷

Peaches for you, peaches for me

Home Again

Summer fruit & KitKats

Tanabata

Clam Digging

Happy Birthday!

Yes We Kan!

Onsenchou

Under the weather

Cute Characters

アンバリー

Plum Trees

Hinamatsuri

Valentine's Day

February Prayer Letter

Mikans

New Year 2010!

New Year's Eve

Christmas Treats

Christmas Parties

More Pictures

I'm not giving up!

Day 5 & 6

Day 4

Day 3

Day 2

Yea for December!

Japan Tour

Hello Kitty!

Autumn Food

September Prayer Letter

Tamba Sasayam

A Few Random Pictures

海

Tenjin Matsuri

A Mouthful of Flavor

Update

Minoo

Golden Week

Cherry Blossoms and Mom's Visit

Spring Fever

Valentine's Day

Kakigori　かき氷