Children's Christmas Program

On Saturday, December 5th, we had our Children's Christmas event. Two of our youth boys and one of their friends, handed out fliers to local elementary school kids as the kids were walking home from school (all kids walk to & from school...no buses) the week before the event. Taka was really impressed that these boys took off from their club activities (a very big deal) that day to help out in this ministry. Our 2 junior high youth boys are probably the only Christians in their school, so we were really encouraged that they would excuse themselves from club and joyfully pass out fliers. Taka says he would've been too embarassed to do that when he was in JHS. Some fruit of these boys' work...6 kids came to our Christmas program for the first time! Two neighborhood boys who sometimes come to our Sunday school also came, as well as some other neighborhood kids and our church kids for a total of 15. The turnout was lower than usual (the weather was really rainy & windy which may have been a cause), but none the less, we are thankful for the kids who came and were able to hear about Jesus, the reason for the season. The photos show the flow of the event, minus the game time because I was busy chasing Mika around! PHOTOS: Mika in the 3rd floor AV room (we were in charge of the power point for the songs)....Gathering to pray before the kids came...Yokoyama-san & Kitani-san leading the Christmas songs...Some of the kids (can you find Mika & daddy) dancing...Taka sharing from the Word about the meaning of Christmas....A Christmas puppet show for the kids

Thanksgiving International Cafe

On Saturday, the 21st of Nov., we had an International Cafe outreach event with the theme of Thanksgiving. Attendance to the previously monthly International Cafe dropped in the beginning of the year, so it was eventually changed to a "Movie Night" outreach, so this was the first International Cafe in months. Our English ministry teachers, Washiela and Miki, headed up the Cafe. This time they asked that people make reservations so they'd know how many to cook for, setting an initial limit of 40 people. Well, that eventually turned into 60! Washiela's eyes got bigger and bigger as she heard the number increasing. With thanks & prayers we decided it was a good "problem" to have and Washiela was able to find someone to pick up 2 more turkeys (from a Costco that's a 2-hour drive from here). It was nice to see many people come whom we haven't seen in a long time, many new faces, and it was also really encouraging that many (probably the most ever) church members came to help. One of my students came with his wife and daughter and another student brought her daughter and 2 of her friends. The meal was wonderful and everyone enjoyed it. I had to leave early b/c of Mika's bedtime, but the dinner was followed by dessert & Miki sharing the history of Thanksgiving, and Washiela shared about to Whom we are thankful to, and especially thankful for the indescribable gift of Jesus. Taka translated for the evening. The 23rd was "Labor Thanksgiving Day" in Japan. I looked up the holiday on Wikipedia and it says "The law establishing this holiday cites it as an occasion for commemorating labor and production and giving thanks to one another." We are thankful that so many could come and hear about God, from whom all blessings flow & whose "love endures forever." Oh, & 5 people came to our church service the next day! PHOTOS: First 3 are of the "getting to know you" game that was played as an icebreaker (you may be able to spot Taka all the way at the front as he was trying to help explain the game:)...Mika & Nodoka, a girl from church who I used to teach...Picture of people taking pictures of the turkey. It was the first time for many to eat/see cooked turkey, so many gathered around it to take pics....2 shots of Mika was one of my students, her daughter & friends...Hitomi, who is originally from Thailand came for the first time in a long time...and finally MY turkeys posing with the turkey:)

Fall Event

On October 25th, Taka spoke at our Christar missionary friends' (Bobby, Reisters, Luethys...) "Fall Event". This was an outreach put on by the Christar Church Association and was held at a park about a 2-hour train ride from Shimonoseki. About 45 people (missionaries, Japanese Christians & non-Christians, and even some Chinese students from one of the local universities) attended. They played lots of games, ate and Taka shared the Good News through the message. One of the Japanese Christian women who attended later wrote me and said it was a blessing and that she was excited to see that a non-Christian man there "looked like he tried to stay as long as he could to listen to the message until he absolutely had to leave for his son's soccer game." It was encouraging to hear and we pray for the seeds that were sown/watered that day.
PHOTOS: Taka sharing from the Word....The group shot (Thanks for the photos Bobby and Reisters!)

Friendship English Camp 2009

Back in August, Taka took 4 of our youth to the annual Friendship English Camp which is put on by Christar missionaries and some churches in another part of our prefecture. FEC is a great outreach opportunity where the kids have morning devotions, English lessons, games and Bible times. (You may remember posts we wrote about that in the past years). Taka gave the message on one of the nights & he also led a small group. PHOTOS (provided by our friends & Christar missionaries, Bobby Baden & The Reisters--THANKS!): The group shot...Taka preachin it:)....Taka gettin soaked in one of the many games....Taka showin off his b-ball skills:) Did he make it?....a photo of some kids & adults in one of the games

Sunday Mornings With Mika

Just thought I'd put in some shots of Mika at church. She's the only one in the nursery these days, although today she was joined by a girl who is 2 or 3, who comes to church sometimes with her two older brothers who are elementary school age. The 3 of them live in the neighborhood and come on their own from time to time. PHOTOS: Mika in her stroller and ready to head off to church...Mika in the nursery with her favorite toys...Mika with her Aunty Kiyomi (Taka's bro's wife) checking out some books....Mika coming in for fellowship time (I call the 2nd to last photo "Here comes trouble.")

Happy Birthday Mika (October 15th)

Our little Mika turned one on October 15th! Time flies! We are so thankful for her. Thank you for your prayers for her. She is a very healthy and happy baby and we love that she loves people and brings smiles to many people's days. She also made it to her first birthday (and today) without even a cold! Now that's a miracle! Aki's parents came out to celebrate Mika's bday with us, and the partying continued on into the 16th (Aki's birthday). Good times:) PHOTOS: Mika w/mommy & daddy in her party hat, which she didn't like so much.....Mika with a big smile after eating cake for the first time....Mika w/Grandpa & Grandma...Mika opening presents...Mika sporting her new jacket:)

Our New Home

We are thankful for this spacious home that God provided for us, just when we needed it. It went into foreclosure (so we got a great deal) a couple of months before the time when Taka was to start working from our church's main location instead of the downtown Christian Center location. Our apt was close to the Center, but a 20 min. drive from the main church. This house is a 10-minute walk from the church, is 3 times bigger than our old apt. and the monthly payments are less than our apt's rent! We also moved just when Mika started to roll over, so that was great timing as well as there wasn't much space to roll over in our old place. PHOTOS: Our old apt (1st floor, last balcony on the right)...The house....Taka, ever the servant:), giving his mom a boost so she can detach our light fixture @ our old apt....the moving truck in front of our old apt....laundry hanging in our new back "yard." So exciting to have more space (& space where sunshine hits for more than 2 hours) to hang things!......Happy Mika visiting daddy at work. Another perk of the house is that Mika & I can go for walks to the church and visit daddy from time to time.

Mika's Baby Dedication

On Mother's Day, we had Mika's baby dedication at church. Mika's name comes from my wanting to choose a name using my two grandmothers' name (Miki & Edra). After thinking through various options of combinations that would work in Japanese, I decided (Taka would've gotten to pick the name if our baby had been a boy) on "Mika", which is a common Japanese name. The kanji combination that we used for her name is pretty unique, though. The kanji for "Mi" (pronounced like 'mi' in do-re-MI-fa...) means beautiful; the kanji for "ka" means song, thus her name means, "beautiful song," and we pray that her life is a beautiful song of praise to God. Fun fact: The way that Mika's name is pronounced is also the pronunciation for the Bible book of Micah in Japanese, so many people at church asked if we named her after him.

Like Father Like Daughter

A comment made by our friend Bobby on our last post reminded me of this photo...so I dug it up. This was taken in Sept. 2008 (Mika was still in my belly) when Bobby came to visit us. No wonder everyone says Mika looks just like Taka!

Mika's Modeling Career Portfolio??:)

Mika strikes an interesting pose (facial expression) for the camera, which brought us some humor through the summer months of the rainy season. Cracks us up, but umm....don't think we'll be having any professional shots taken any time soon:)

Baby Blessing

Back in June, during one of our Sunday services, Taka did a baby blessing for Rei-chan (-chan is the suffix used for girls instead of the -san used with adults...Mika is called Mika-chan by everyone). Rei-chan is the granddaughter of one of our church members, Mrs. Sato (pictured with Rei). Rei-chan and her parents live a few hours by car, but came for the weekend for the baby blessing, though they are not Christians. Mika was happy to have a playmate in the nursery since she is usually the only baby. Rei-chan is 4 months younger than Mika.