One Blessed Girl

There is nothing quite like brushing your teeth after a crazy Thanksgiving dinner! Last night we hosted a Thanksgiving dinner at the Iverson's home for 50 people on the team here. It was so much fun! Carol and us interns started prepping the food, dining room, and living room on Friday evening, and worked all day on Saturday to have everything ready by 5:30 that night. It was a lot of work, but we were all so joyful about all we had to do, that it made the work a lot of fun! It was great working together in the kitchen, laughing, singing, dancing, and goofing around. It made the time fly to be working with such fun people.

Everyone arrived at 5:30, and at 6, us interns and Carol started serving soup and salad to everyone. (I love serving people at dinner events! Especially friends.) A while later, the turkey was carved and we were able to join everyone and eat. The food was absolutely amazing! We got three turkeys from Costco and a ham! I'm not a huge fan... or even slightly inclined to enjoy turkey, so I was extremely excited to have ham on the menu. Of course there were gobs of mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE!!!! All the usual Thanksgiving things. 

While 50 people on the team were over for dinner, only about half of them were American! There were Australians, Koreans, Japanese, and a visitor from India all at the table! (I must say, it was pretty funny seeing them all saying "Happy Thanksgiving!" to each other. One of my new Australian friends, who was enjoying his first ever Thanksgiving meal, said later that it was like an "eating marathon!")

At the end of the night, after everyone had gone home, every room was cleaned, all the leftovers had containers, and every single one of the gajillions of dishes we had were washed, my friend Emily and I collapsed on the floor in the living room and released the familiar post-Thanksgiving-dinner moan of full stomachs. As we were lying there, I commented about how I felt like we had a glimpse of what God must have felt like after he created the universe and saw that "it was good." Thinking about all the work that had gone into making that evening happen, how much people seemed to have enjoyed themselves, and all of the after-party cleanup, one couldn't help but sit there afterward and look at everything and think that it was good. 

As I was looking around the room at dinner last night, I realized how blessed I am to know all of those wonderful people! For that evening, my big thing that I was thankful for was the fact that God called me back to Japan so soon after returning to America. I am so blessed that I get to work with these team members, that I get to teach such amazing students and see them all week, that I get to live with this wonderfully godly family again, that I get to live in this country, and that I am learning so much about the Lord through the people and circumstances around me. I am beyond amazed at His plans for me!

I am also incredibly thankful for my family, for loving and supporting me so much and letting me return to this country I love so dearly! Without their support, I think it would have been unbearably difficult for me to be here. And while they joke all the time about bribing me to stay in America, I know that they love me and will always support me 100%, even if I'm living on the other side of the world. I am one blessed girl!

Another thing I'm thankful for is friends who are patient enough to skype with me, even when skype crashes all the time! I've been able to have long conversations with friends back home recently, and I'm always so encouraged by these people God has put in my life. I'm thankful for the lessons God teaches me about cherishing the people in my life, and to love everyone, just as He first loved us.

SKYPING WITH SARAH, EMILY, AND HANNAH

Thank you to everyone who reads this updates, to those who support me financially and especially in prayer! You are all instruments God has used in my life in some way or another, and I am so grateful for your friendship!

Love,
Melanie

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

50 PEOPLE GATHERED IN OUR DINING ROOM & LIVING ROOM

 

Remembering the Past, Thankful For the Present

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Recently a lot of people here have been asking me how this time in Japan compares to my last time here. Well, this time is very different from the last. In good ways? In bad ways? Definitely good. Very good. Now, my previous time here wasn't bad, but since I've returned I've realized just how different I was last time I was here and how much I've grown since then.

Since being back, I've heard from quite a few people about how much I've matured since I left Japan. I was kind of shocked the first time I heard this, because I had only been in America a little over a year before I came back here. How much could I have changed in a year? Thinking back on the past year, I've realized how much God was teaching me in America through my anger, bitterness, and lack of contentment. (I wrote about this in my first update being back here in Japan.)

Last time I was here, I was just out of high school and experiencing life away from everything I knew for the first time. I was very immature. I had a hard time with my relationships with the other interns a lot of the time, and that made things very difficult for me. This time, I have been so blessed with fellow interns whom I feel so close to already, and am able to get along with so unbelievably well!

I must admit, when I first found out I would be living with so many girls, I was not thrilled. I'm so used to living with guys because of having four brothers, so I was really worried about having to work and live with these girls. Plus my experiences from last time made me very skeptical that we would all be able to get along. But despite my doubting spirit, God decided to bless me with wonderful housemates/coworkers/sisters in Christ that I get to spend everyday with! With these girls, I get to grow closer to the Lord and learn more about Him and His love for me. Our Bible study together is so rich. I am so thankful to be surrounded by such godly women who have been blessed with wisdom in different ways and who encourage and inspire me so much.

Along with the great relationships I have with the interns, another reason this time seems so much better is because of how easy it was to get back into the routine of things at CCSI. Lesson planning was so familiar that is was a breeze when I got here, and I already knew all of the students, so I didn't have that awkward first couple months of transitioning and getting to know everyone. I love my job. Why wouldn't I when I get to teach such wonderful students and when I get to work with my best friends and family in Christ?

Last time, I spent most of my time sightseeing and doing touristy things with the other interns. This time I am so happy to be building up relationships with the students and people at church. I've been helping with a lot of church, school, and team events, which I absolutely love doing! Last Sunday I was a judge for a fashion show for the kids of the church I attend here, and all of them were dressed up as Bible characters. This past Friday I was able to observe a children's English class I will be helping take over for a couple of weeks after the current teacher leaves Japan. This weekend I will be helping with a face-painting booth for a kids' festival. The weekend after that, we will be having our school's Living Nativity and coffee house. There is so much work to be done for that!

One other thing that gives me so much joy this time around is being able to understand a good deal of Japanese. It's so exciting to learn new things everyday and to communicate with the people here. Now, I'm not very good at speaking Japanese. I have the mindset that I need to say something perfectly or not say anything at all. So, I don't speak in Japanese very much. I'm trying to do better, though! The best way to learn is to try, succeed or fail, and learn from my mistakes.

I'm trying to keep this “short” because of my knack for writing novels every time I do an update. These are just some things I've been thinking about recently. With Thanksgiving coming up this week, I've been thinking about how thankful I am for the chance I have to be back in this country - to work with the people I do, to make so many new friends and build on old friendships, to practice Japanese everyday, and to learn more about this culture and the people who live here. I am thankful for His blessings, which come in such abundance!

There is so much God has taught me recently, and I am so eager to write about it. But I'm going to save writing about it for another time, because that will definitely be long one!

Adding to my list of things I am thankful for, I want to let you know how thankful I am for you. Words cannot express how overjoyed I am to be surrounded by such a wonderful friends and family! Though distance separates us, your love and prayers are heard, felt, and answered across the land and sea, touching my heart and comforting me in all I do for and because of Him.

God bless you!
Melanie

“Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!” - Psalm 31:19

Something to put a smile on your face. :)

VIDEOS!!!!!!

Trip to Asakusa

 

 Power Rangers at a school festival

A Voice in the Wind

"Waaaaait a second... Melanie is posting two and a half weeks after her last update? WHO IS THIS IMPOSTOR?!" I know, I'm surprised too! :O

Well, when we left off, I seemed to be coming down with a bit of a cough. The day after I posted that blog, I woke up with no voice at all. I ended up not having a voice for about a week. It was incredibly frustrating in the beginning, seeing how my job description requires me to be able to speak. All of my students and the teachers were very patient with me, but I was impatient with myself. I kept trying to speak, and that just made me lose my voice even more. Eventually I came to realize that it was God telling me to shut up and listen. Now, I know I talk a lot, but I never realized how much until I was unable to do so. It was a very humbling week, to say the least. (Especially during our school's sports day, where I had no voice, but had to cheer my team on... we won, by the way... GO RED TEAM!)

"Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance" — Proverbs 1:5

I got to "attend" a wedding over the phone/through Skype a couple of weeks ago, which was a very interesting experience! I'm so glad I got to listen to the ceremony for my friends Megan and Louie. After seeing them and being able to talk to a lot of my other friends at the reception, it made me miss everyone so much. I remembered from last time I was here that the times when I missed home the most was whenever there was an event back home where lots of people from my church were gathered together. But I was thankful for the ability to be a part of the wedding in some way. Technology is truly amazing.

A week and a half ago, our fall break began at school. My host family and my intern sisters and I all went up north to a cabin the Iverson's own in the mountains, right by the Japanese Alps. It was absolutely beautiful. Coming from Virginia, it's been pretty depressing going into fall and not being able to see trees changing colors in this "forest of steel," as one of the other interns put it. It was absolutely amazing leaving the city, going into the mountains, and seeing the beautiful fall colors everywhere.

We basically spent five days in solitude, sitting around reading books and working on puzzles. During that time, I really felt like God was speaking to me and was working in my heart. I read through "A Voice in the Wind" and "An Echo in the Darkness," both by Francine Rivers, while I was in the cabin. Both books made me look at a lot of things in a new perspective and think about things I'd never thought of before, while also hitting me at such a personal level. Those books, combined with the scripture I was reading through at the time, really grabbed me and gave me a sense of peace about a lot of things that had been weighing on my heart for such a long time.

The Iverson's Cabin

To add to all of the things racing through my mind that God was teaching me that week, we came home and had another seminary class that weekend. It's like I was a parched plant in the middle of a desert, and all of the sudden a typhoon came, nourishing me and giving me what I needed, but then there was so much that it just swept me away. God has been blessing me so abundantly with the food that I need, but there's so much of it now that I'm having a hard time swallowing and balancing it all out! It's kind of hilarious. I feel so at peace, but at the same time I'm trying to understand everything I'm learning. It's hard to do that though, because there are so many things that I'm learning and it's making it hard to focus on one thing and figure out what He's telling me about that, and then move on to the next lesson.

While we were in the mountains, we listened to a sermon by Tim Keller about our heavenly Father. He talked about how we're never satisfied with our "home" here on earth, how we always seem to be looking for that thing or place that makes us feel at home. Then during our intern girls' Bible study, this topic was brought up again. It's such a good reminder for me that my home is not on this earth, but it is in Heaven, where I will spend an eternity with Him. Hallelujah!

This week I went with some of my friends on a fun little escapade to Tokyo. We went to the Imperial Palace, but apparently you aren't allowed to see it... so... oh well. It was a lot of fun, though! After that, I took everyone to one of my favorite places in Japan - a city called "Tsukishima" that lies in Tokyo prefecture. We all got dinner together and then I took everyone to a place by the river where you can see party boats float by, and Sky Tree in the distance.

Tsukishima

I can't remember if I've said this before in one of my previous blogs, but every Sunday, I try not to plan anything a part from going to church. My reasoning behind this is that every week, without fail, something random happens that ends up taking most of the day. It's always fun going into Sunday without a clue what's going to happen. Sometimes it could be something sad like my host family's dog dying, but most of the time it's something fun and spontaneous. This past Sunday I got to spend time with friends in the afternoon, attended a young adults' worship service in the evening, and went directly from that over to a singing and dance show at Honda Chapel. It was such a fun day, full of God's blessings!

I keep seeing online that people are writing one thing a day that they're thankful for in November, leading up to Thanksgiving. I like this idea a lot, but I just want to say one thing that I am have been so beyond thankful for recently - my intern sisters. I'm so amazed that God has blessed me with such wonderful new friends who I already feel so close to and look forward to spending the entire day with. I wake up excited every morning, because I get to work, learn, and live with my best friends. I am so encouraged by these girls, and I'm thankful for the relationships we have because of our relationship with our common Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

"But he replied to the man who told him, 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.'" - Matthew 12:48-50

"So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." - Romans 12:5

Emily, Mary Beth, and Me

In closing, I ask that you would llease be praying for me, that I would seek my Father's wisdom and guidance about the things He's teaching me, and that I would apply them to my life in a manner pleasing to Him. At this moment, I'm sitting in an apartment in Tsukishima (same place in the pictures above of the party boat,) and I have a lot of time to myself. I'm looking forward to the things I may learn while I'm here, and I pray that I would grow in this time alone. Because there is always something to do with the team here, it's basically impossible to be alone. I pray I would see this time as a gift that God has given me to better understand Him and my purpose here in this country. Also, please be praying as we start back at school tomorrow. I'm very excited to get back to seeing the students throughout the week again! I've missed them a lot. Pray for us as we all adjust back into school life.

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!" - Psalm 37:4-7

THIS IS BOB-SCOTT, BY THE WAY! My 7th grade class' plant.