Fine February

This February was a month of settling. I settled back into life in Japan after being in America for six weeks in December and January. I settled into my language study routine. I have continued to attend a group class twice weekly at my neighborhood community center. And I also have 4 other volunteer tutors who help me to study and practice different aspects of the Japanese language. Since returning I have increased the amount of time that I spend in language study, because I feel that it is very important for me to work towards being able to build relationships with people in Japanese. The church members and several other friends here have blessed me greatly by their great patience and grace as I attempt to communicate. I also settled back into the friendships that I was able to build over the past year. Together with my supervisor, Joel, I met with several friends for lunch or coffee to reconnect.

In addition to settling into previous routines and relationships, I had a few new experiences this month. On the 10th I attended my first monthly regional preacher's meeting. Now that I have decided to stay in Japan longer, Joel recommended that I do more to connect with other full-time workers in Japan. I was a little nervous to introduce myself to the group of 15 or so preachers in Japanese, but they were gracious and kind. It was truly a blessing to be with them as we had a short devotional time and discussion about different upcoming events and other concerns.

Also in February Joel had the idea to host a monthly Birthday Sunday at church. So I helped him by baking a couple of yummy cakes. We invited LST readers and other church friends that had birthdays in February. Then we honored them during worship service by praying for them. Then we ate lunch together and enjoyed some fellowship time.


Please pray with me . . .

~a praise that we have found a new roommate. Our friend Gaku will being moving into our house this month. Also please pray for Gaku as he transitions out of university and into his new job (beginning in April), and as he moves from his apartment into our house.

~a praise for the opportunities that God has blessed me with for building friendships and showing love to my friends in Japan.

~a prayer of thanksgiving for the church family in Sendai. Please also pray that God will continue to grow and heal his children here and help them to be bold and brave to share his love and grace.

~a prayer of thanksgiving for the generosity of my financial supporters. Please be persistant in pray for my funds situation as I continue to plead for more support to meet the needs of my life in Japan. And also pray that I will have wisdom and faithfully seek God's guidance in the decisions that will be influenced my current budget situation.

~that God will grant save travels to all the young people that will be going to Cambodia this month for the annual Angkor of Faith mission exposure trip. And that he will bless them and the street children of Siem Reap during their time there.