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 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!
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
