The Nativity and the Turkey

Happy holidays, one and all!!! So much has happened since my last blog! A good way to do this is in chronological order, I suppose.
                The day before Thanksgiving, we ended up having a team Thanksgiving dinner at Honda Chapel right next to the school. My contribution to the meal was to peel a gajillion potatoes and whip them up into a batch of mashed potatoes! (With assistance from Jenna and Hannah, the other two interns here who are my age.) Those were some dang good potatoes, let me tell ya! Anyway, the dinner was so great! Almost all my favorites were there! Ham, green bean casserole, potatoes, rolls, you name the festive dish and it was there! Spending time with the team is always great, too! After dinner, the younger ones and those young at heart went over to the school and played hide-and-seek in the dark. Naturally, I joined them. It. Was. AWESOME!
                The following day, we had another Thanksgiving dinner with the college ministry here. That was really fun! I got to meet lots of people, most being close to my age. Again, there were mass amounts of food! This time there was a puzzle involved following dinner. I am a die-hard puzzle worker on Thanksgivings! Lots of us crowded around and worked on it very late into the night!

                The past two weeks, we were in high-gear to get ready for the Living Nativity and coffee house  put on by the school this past weekend. I, being the decorating maniac that I am, took on the responsibility of setting up and decorating the Christmas tree at CCSI. Not too shabby if I do say so myself!

                After decorating on Saturday, Hannah came to CCSI and eventually she, Jenna, and I went to Tokyo where Hannah is staying. We had a mini adventure when we went out for burgers and Dr. Pepper in the city. When we got back to the apartment Hannah is staying at, we realized that Jenna had left her bag at the burger shop, so we walked back and found it sitting in the exact same spot, all contents untouched inside. Now, that wouldn’t happen in a city like DC! Wow.
                On Sunday night, Jenna and I went home. On Monday we went to CCSI and worked on lesson plans for the week and also on our poster boards we made for the “12 Days of Christmas” that we were going to sing at the coffee house that weekend.
                The rest of the school week was all about the Nativity. My job in my English classes was to make sure my kids knew the English lyrics to the carols they were supposed to sing. It was a lot of fun, especially explaining to them what the lyrics meant. It was so neat seeing their eyes get bigger as they began to understand exactly what the songs were about. One of the biggest joys of being a teacher for me is when I can see that my students can understand what they’re learning!
                Some of the older kids at the school asked me to help them with an a cappella version of “We Three Kings” they wanted to sing at the coffee house. That was a lot of fun! It was a challenge, but a lot of fun.
                The Nativity came and went so fast! By the good grace of God, everything went so smoothly! Thank you so much for your prayers! No one got sick, and all those who were sick prior to the Nativity were healed by the day of! We had four performances, two on Friday, and two on Saturday. All went well, there weren’t any drastic technical difficulties (I even helped out with the lights during one performance), and no one was injured in any way!

I’ve been told that many non-believers came and were incredibly moved by the kids’ performance! PRAISE GOD!!! Please be praying that these people would come to know Christ as their one and only Savior!
                The coffee house went just as well! The kids were awesome at their carols and their electric bells playing! The a cappella went well, and Jenna’s and my performance of the “12 Days of Christmas” went just as I thought it would, but it was great all the same!

                In the midst of all the craziness last week, I ended up going to karaoke twice with big groups of people. Karaoke here is much different than it is in America. Instead of standing on a rickety stage in front of tons of people you’ve never met before and embarrassing yourself due to nervousness and/or lack of talent, here you have your own private room where you can sing to your heart’s content with your friends. I’ve been a total of three times since I’ve been here, and it never gets old!!! (Here is a picture of one of my students and me singing “Be a Man” from Disney’s Mulan. We kinda got into it… a lot.)

                I went to Honda Chapel on Sunday, which is right next to the school (where we had the Thanksgiving dinners.) We went because Hannah was in the mountains this weekend, so we didn’t go to Tokyo. I really enjoyed it there! The family I’m living with goes there, so it was nice to be with them there. Sunday was an absolutely wonderful day! It was so refreshing! I got plenty of down-time and I was able to hang out with my “temporary family” as I call them. I am so blessed by them! They’re awesome! I love hanging out with my “new brothers.” It’s weird being an “older sister” now!
                Phew! Now you’re all caught up! I have a few of prayer requests, as well.
1) Please pray for the teachers and students here at CCSI that we would have the strength needed during the school days. In two weeks our Christmas/winter break begins, so please be praying for all the studying and work that needs to happen between now and then.
2) Pray that we would be great witnesses to many people this Christmas season! There are lots of events coming up where we hope to be able to reach out to much of the community here and share the story of Christ’s birth with many. Pray that hearts would be open to hear of the greatest Love story of all time!
3) Please continue to pray for the process of me getting my COE (Certificate of Eligibility) and my work visa! I would very much like to finish up the school year here, and I can’t do that without the visa!
                Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement! I love you all and hope you’re doing well!!!

“How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in You.” – Psalm 31:19

You ate WHAT?!

                My dear family and friends, greetings from across the pond! I apologize for not starting a blog or sending out any emails since I’ve been here. I have been so incredibly busy almost every second of every day! But, I have been keeping track of everything with a personal journal so I don’t forget anything and I’m able to send out these updates.

                To start with, my plane ride was long and uneventful but good nonetheless. God kept hitting me with these little blessings throughout my trip! The best of them all, though, was the fact that the seat next to me on the plane was empty, thus allowing me to stretch out my long Johnson-style legs. I can’t imagine what 13 hours in such cramped seats would have been like if someone were sitting next to me! Praise God!

                When I arrived in Japan, I was overwhelmed with such an adaption to the culture! I loved everything about it, though. The people, the places, everything! I met many members of the team here, which was really cool for me seeing how I’d only ever been in contact with them before by email. The area here is so incredibly beautiful! I love taking walks or riding a bike around because there is always something beautiful to see!

I arrived when the school I am working at now (CCSI) was having their fall break, so I had about a week to adjust and be orientated to the culture and school its self. Along with orientation, I had time to do some sight-seeing over break. One of the other interns here took me to a festival at a college in Chiba. It was so neat! It was a lot like a festival I went to in DC one time, only here the students were screaming at us from every angle, waving posters and asking us to buy their merchandise. I loved it! It was definitely different from anything I was used to.

My first Sunday here, I ended up going to two different church services – one in Oyumino, and another in Tokyo. It’s so awesome hearing the Word in different languages, even if I don’t understand it. Thankfully both services had translations, but I still enjoy hearing it in Japanese. Someday soon I hope to be fluent in Japanese! *she says with a dreamy far-off look*

My first day of school went wonderfully! The staff and students were very welcoming and helpful as I blubbered around, not quite sure what I was doing. Another of God’s little blessings showed itself to me in the form of my lack of nervousness that first day. I did and continue to feel very comfortable there! I can definitely feel the prayers coming from so many different areas around the world!

                I finally have a set schedule at school which is incredibly nice! My first week there, I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to figure out where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing. Now that I have a set schedule, I’m able to prepare myself mentally and emotionally for the days and weeks ahead. I am at CCSI from 8am to around 4 or 5pm on Tuesday-Friday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I teach English to the younger kids in the school and algebra II and history or language arts to the 9^th-10^th graders. On Thursday and Friday, I teach algebra I and history to the 7^th graders and I tutor two Japanese boys with English. The free periods I have at the school are spent grading, planning lessons, reading, and/or doing my personal devotions. At 8 o’clock on every school morning, the teachers meet for half an hour to read through the Psalms together. The Psalms have always been incredibly encouraging to me, and I feel like that’s the perfect way to start the school day. I’m very thankful that we have time set aside for this.

Recently we had a bazaar to raise money for the school. It was held at the school, and there were so many things for sale and games to play. It took a lot of work to make it all happen, but thankfully we raised a lot of money and everything has been restored to its former beauty! (As a matter of fact, the school has been neatly organized and made prettier because of the bazaar!)

                Since I’ve been here, I’ve met SO many people! My journal is full of so many random names because I am absolutely dreadful at remembering them! Thankfully I’ve almost mastered the names of all of my students. ;-) I am surrounded by so many wonderful people here! The people I am staying with are absolutely amazing! I’ve truly been blessed with this family I’ve been pulled into. One of the other interns here is staying in the same house as I am, and she is awesome! We’re the same age and share a lot of the same interests, so it’s easy to get along with one another, which is another blessing because we see each other every day. :-)

Another intern here, who is also the same age as us, is living in Tokyo while she is here, so the intern I’m living with and I go and visit her every weekend because she is leaving in December and we want to spend as much time together before she leaves. We’ve done a lot of different things in Tokyo so far including going to the zoo, an aquarium, and just walking around. One night we walked down by the river and watched different party boats sail past. They were beautiful! The lights of the city are stunning! I am awed every time I go to Tokyo. 

I am becoming giddy as Christmas comes closer every day and lights and decorations are starting to be hung everywhere. I love everything about Christmas. It’s my favorite time of the year! At the school, we’re getting all prepared for our living nativity. In practice the other day I filled in as the role of Mary (or “Maria” as she is called here.) I had a lot of fun, and the kids seemed to enjoy it as well. There is lots of work to be done in preparing for the nativity. Prayer that everything would be done in a quick manner and nothing would go wrong and that no one would get sick would be absolutely wonderful!

One of the most interesting things to adapt to here has been the food. I’ve loved almost everything I’ve tried, which is amazing when you consider the fact that in America I hated white rice and fish. Well, I was a big girl and decided to suck it up and adapt! It turns out that the Japanese rice is far superior to the white rice I detested back home! I love it here! To the disbelief of many people I’m sure, I tried sushi this morning for the first time… and enjoyed it! WOW!!! I think God is changing my taste buds! I’ve also eaten octopus! Yes, yes, I’ve very proud of myself! Along with these things I would have instantly dismissed in America, I’ve tried other things like monja yaki, bo pans (LOVE THOSE!!!), Japanese curry, and obento. These are not the only things I eat here. There has been an amazing supply of pizza I’ve found in various places, spaghetti, ravioli, soup, casseroles, and other normal American-type foods. Things definitely taste different here, including Coca-Cola. Chips here taste sweet! Cheetos definitely do NOT taste like Cheetos! The other interns and I have been on a Dr. Pepper kick for quite some time, so we have found the nearest vending machines to meet these late-night cravings.

A few days ago someone asked me what I love about Japan specifically. I love the people here, the language, the heated toilet seats, the singing appliances (TRUE STORY! They chime whenever anything is done cooking/cleaning/boiling/heating/whatever!) I love how cute everything is! There are cartoons and cute mannerisms of people. I love that everyone is nice to you! I LOVE THE BABIES/KIDS!!! THEY ARE THE ADORABLEST OF THE ADORABLES!!!! I love how helpful this team is. I love being able to help them in whatever way I can. I love the train system. I love people watching. I love my bed warmer (yutanpo.) I love it all!

Many people have been asking me how they can be praying for me specifically, and I’m sorry I have not responded to many of you. But here are a few things that I really would appreciate prayer for:
(1) The first group of younger kids that I am teaching English to is very difficult to communicate with because they are just learning to speak English, so a majority of what is said in the classroom is in Japanese, which I do not understand. This can be very frustrating to me, seeing how I really want and need to communicate with these kids, especially because it is English class. Please pray that I would be able to communicate with them, and that they would understand me and I them.
(2) That I would make the time to have my personal devotions. It’s easy for me to think, “Well, I’m incredibly busy and don’t have the time,” which is definitely the wrong mindset! Pray that I would keep up with my personal walk with my heavenly Father!
(3) That I would be an encouragement to the rest of the team here as there is a lot of stress, pressure, time restraints, and many other emotionally draining things.

                There is so much that has happened since I’ve been here, and I’m thankful to God for it all, because good or bad, I know He’s doing all of this as part of His plan. I hope this is a good first update, and I’m sorry it’s been so long in the making! I appreciate all of the encouraging emails and the prayers from you all, and I will try to keep you updated as to what crazy adventures I endeavor.

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.” – Psalm 28:7