Spring Flowers, Summer Showers

Hello!

Wow, it has been a busy semester, and I’m finally sitting down to write this! Buckle up, we have about 4 months to get through in this one, starting all the way back in March!

---

Time Marches On

It has now been 12 years since the 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami reaching 132 feet high devastated this area of Japan on March 11, 2011. I have heard both terrible stories and amazing testimonies from that disaster, and I thank God for bringing attention and His workers to this otherwise forgotten area of the country, despite all the loss and destruction. It was deeply moving and meaningful to observe my first "3.11" not only in-country, but while living one mile away from the shore that the tsunami swept over and beyond. Continue to pray for opportunities for the brokenness, caused by this tragedy, to bring about faith and freedom from the captivity of fear.

Spring Break in Kyoto, Gifu, and Osaka

I was able to spend my Spring Break traveling as a tourist for a day or two, then I visited friends to learn about how they do ministry, and how the Lord is moving through those ministries. I also got to help some with their homeschooling, and to teach one of their kids a few songs on piano! Even on vacation, the teaching never stops! I took the train back to Ishinomaki and got to have lunch with my friend, Jun, again as I went through Tokyo!

"Gospeling" at the station
in Gifu with friends

The fanciest panel of toilet buttons I've 
seen so far, at a rest stop during the
long bus ride

Tasty Thai food with
Jun in Tokyo

I had an interesting travel experience by taking an overnight bus ride from Sendai west to Kyoto. Though the plan said it could take 8-10 hours, it took over 11 hours! All-in-all, it was a good experience and got me to my destination safely, but I think I will only take that again if it’s the only reasonable choice. It was interesting to see (or rather, not see) the rest-stop stations in the quiet, dark hours of the night, in prefectures I’ve never visited. 

Sakura over a river in the old-town area of Kyoto

  

Famous "Glico Man" sign 
in Dotonbori in Osaka

While on these trips, I had the chance to have some great experiences! In Kyoto, I got to experience the famous cherry blossoms in full bloom! In Osaka, I got to see a figure skating performance by some of Japan’s, and the world’s, top figure skaters! When I first started learning more about Japan, the top male skater in the world was Yuzuru Hanyu, who retired from competing last year, but is still performing. Wanting to share the Gospel with him is part of what drove me to start learning Japanese, so getting to see him and other favorites perform in person was quite a dream come true! I was even able to attend a figure skating competition in April and got to see even more extremely talented skaters! I continue to pray for his salvation, and that of the other skaters as well, and hope that I, or one of their influencers, might have the chance to one day share the Good News of the One who gave them their gifts.

World Figure Skating Team Competition
Exhibition Performance

"Stars on Ice" figure skating in Osaka

---

April Showers

In April, I got to celebrate Easter several times and in special ways! We talked about Lent and Holy Week in the schoolroom, and I got to share some American Easter traditions with the students (even though they’re American, they might not know about certain traditions). I also got to prepare and hold a Passover Seder with my roommate, following a video made by a Messianic Jewish family to educate both the origins of the Seder and the way the parts point to Christ and how He fulfills it. It added so much more meaning to the events of Holy Week, and I will definitely continue this tradition in the future. If you ever have the chance to attend, or to host a Seder, I highly recommend it!

I also got to help one of our schoolroom families with their team’s family Easter event! We hid eggs for them to hunt, and shared about how, like a seed has to die to give a flower a chance for a beautiful life, Jesus died for us to have a chance to have eternal life with Him. It was all of the families’ first time hunting, or even seeing, Easter eggs! It was a wonderful chance for children and their parents to hear the Good News and the true story of Easter. I was glad to be able to help with their event!

Easter Event at school family's church

   

 Many shoes at the door means many visitors

who attended our Easter Celebration     

On Easter Sunday, our church held their regular service, and many people came, some after a long absence, and others for the first time! One couple even brought their pet rabbit to be an Easter bunny! I was honored to be asked to play my harp for communion, and I chose “I Come to the Garden” and “Nothing but the Blood” as fitting hymns for Easter. After I played, the pastor shared some of the lyrics and translated them into Japanese so the congregation could understand the significance of the hymns I played. I am grateful to have grown up singing many hymns with such rich text, and I pray I never take it for granted.

---

May Flowers

With the beginning of May came Golden Week, a series of national holidays back to back. It’s not a full week of holidays, but most people take off the days before or after to make it a full week! Several of us from my team took a hike up high on a nearby mountain. It was so fun to be outside in the beautiful weather and surrounded by things growing in the spring air! The azaleas were in full bloom and it was as if I was surrounded by rivers of corals and pinks! God’s creation continually amazes me and reminds me that He gave us these things to enjoy and point our attention back to His love and grace.

I again spent time with the team in Gifu with whom I had visited during Spring Break. We attended a training time in Nagoya which was very beneficial. The training was hosted mainly by Brazilians, so everything was in Portuguese, and I listened to the English translation over a transistor radio. I was amazed to see such a large gathering of not only foreigners, but believers! It’s probably the first time I’ve been in a room with that many believers in Japan, an estimated 500 at least! Pray for what God is doing through His Brazilian church in Japan! 
When I got back to Ishinomaki, several team members from the Osaka location of Be One were visiting. I got to know them better, and hear about what God is doing there!

---

Fun times in June

Time with other folks on my team, just to relax and build relationships, has been so important and fun. A new team member, Haley, has been joining me in watching (yet again) the “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy movies. There is so much imagery and deeper meaning in Tolkien’s writings. And there is lots of trivia to discuss! Haley and I are both Tolkienites, so it’s been great fun! I thank God that He has given me a friend like her and that we got to become so close so quickly!

It's now tsuyu (rainy season), so there is lots of rain almost every day, even causing some flooding, making getting around more difficult, especially without a car! 

One of my roommates was able to go home to California for two months and has returned refreshed. I am thankful for my roommates and the relationships the Lord has built there. 

A very exciting event! One of our team couples delivered their first baby just recently! Sadly, both Mama and Daddy tested positive for Covid, so they were separated from their daughter for the first few days, but they are home and enjoying the time with their new baby girl! My roommate and I took dinner to them and got to hold her! We also just gave her a baby shower, which was so fun and special! I helped with organizing the games and the flow of the party, which was new for me, but a great experience!

The Japan Philharmonic Orchestra is currently touring Japan, and came to perform in Ishinomaki! I got to attend their performance of Tchaikovsky's “Swan Lake” with one of the families from the schoolroom, who appreciate and love music as much as I do! It was my first time in the local performance hall, and I was very impressed! I was so glad to attend that concert with such wonderful friends.

---

Looking to the future

This is a time of uncertainty for me as I look to my future in Japan, with the end of my one-year contract drawing to an end. I am certain that God has His plan for me, so, though I don’t know yet what or where it is, I am looking to Him for my next assignment.

So many circumstances have changed the ministry landscape for the entire team here in Ishinomaki. The leadership shared with me that this year has not looked anything like they anticipated. They have loved having me as part of the team, and though they don’t want me to leave, they have opened that door for me because the schoolroom of missionary students is now down to very few. 

I have enjoyed my time with IKG (Gospel Choir) and developing relationships with the members. I had my last rehearsal for the summer (and possibly much longer), and they knew it was my last, so I was able to choose which songs I wanted to sing. I used those to show the message I want them to remember, and asked them to consider the truth of what they sing and to Whom they sing. They all said they would miss my smile, so I said that my smile is only because of God’s joy and true love and I have those because I believe in Him and the words we sing. Besides the director, there is only one member who is a Christian. It is so fascinating that the Japanese are so drawn to Gospel music. Pray that these ladies would think on my words and come to the true understanding of the message in the songs they sing. 

I have also had several opportunities to share about the Lord with my language partner. Just last week, she was able to join some of us from church for dinner, so she now has more connections with believers! I pray that, no matter where the Lord takes me, I can continue to strengthen and pour into the people with whom I have already established relationships, as well as provide opportunities for even more community and new relationships. Pray that the Lord would continue to stir her heart and draw her to Himself, and that the other believers she met would be able to keep connecting with her and her husband. 

I will be flying home, the Lord willing, at the end of June. Our mission conference is July 7–14. This will be a wonderful time of sharing what the Lord is doing in Japan and being refreshed, both by seeing church family, but also by being with other missionaries. I look forward to what the Lord has for me during this time. I will have a table set up Sunday, June 9, so please come say hi! I would love to show and tell in person even more of what God is doing in Japan!

Before I knew I would be able to actually move to Japan for the job for which I had been hired (thank you pandemic), I agreed to go on a choir trip to England! So at the end of the Mission Conference, I will be flying with friends to England to sing about the Lord for 10 days. (I am thinking that my body will have no idea what time it is, having not been in the States very long and flying out again!)

My plan at this time is to be in Denton through the month of August. Please reach out, as I would love to catch up individually with you!