Day 11 (Dianna)
Morning brief: It looks like OPU may cancel ESS meeting; Shiho back to the hospital to see the doctor with Jun & Kana. Please pray for the wisdom of the physicians working on her health issues. She is a sweet child with quite a few aliments. She is unable to speak and tell us what discomforts her or brings her pain. Shiho means: Singing as you go- i.e. like praising our Lord for bringing her as a gift to us all. p.s. we are also using <Shiho> as our concert name at the HS ESS festival.
The Japan1 team went with Pastor Okada SenSei to SUSHI for lunch. Also with us were: Takenaka-san, Aaron, Mark, Tim, & Tsuyoshi, as well. There were rotating mini-round dishes on a conveyor belt for us to grab our lunch. The men were more than satisfied with the various strange choices that were available. It was an adventure more than some of us can handle. We even have mug shots of them all! Too much!
So, transportation can be a challenge sometimes… Aaron was the driver for the blue church car and Okada Sensei was in his POV <private official vehicle> to drive Mrs. Takenaka <the girls` host mother and home> with a couple of the gals. Space is very limited in Japan and everything <esp cups, food, and lots of containers> comes in teeny tiny thingies. Pastor OS and Beland finally made up their minds on the car ride break down and I got VOLUNTOLD abit late—as I passed by the church parking lot, I saw the blue church car with Aaron, most of the boys, and Lucy drive off onto the next few blocks as I chased the car down the alley way. P.S. imagine the weather today, about 30 degrees Celsius and 83% humidity. I was also flagging the car down with my hands and shouting wait for me, in hopes that they would stop soon. Finally, Aaron noticed that he had an open spot in the car and thought “hmm…maybe I should swing back to the church to fill this empty spot” then he glances at the rear view mirror, notices the pink t-shirt coming towards the car, and stops at the next corner (whilst I tried to climb into the car) and actually sees me hop in. Yikes!
Then, all the ladies went to PLATT PLATT with Takenaka-san to help her shop for dinner tonight; Osaka’s traditional dish “ Okonomiyaki”. We also stopped by the 100 Yen store in a different area; we had to pick up the rest of the ingredients at the other store. We hopped back on the train and I wished we had the JOY JOY fest flyers with us b/c we saw quite a few Jr High & HS students on the train for Japan2 next week. Please pray for many children to be ready and willing to hear the gospel in the next few weeks. Pray for Japan2 team to be encouraged through the Word of God as they prepare for their trip. Pray those same students to be great in number and deep in conviction by the Holy Spirit so that they may repent of all their sins.
Evening dinner: we all <exclusive invitation included Tim Jin> walked to Takenaka-san’s for Osaka’s Okonomiyaki. We also had the delicious, sweet nectar of the Muscat grape juice. We exchanged joyful conversations, as Collin mentioned the edifying nature of it all. Thanks Collin! Also, we’ve managed to have a few chuckles, listening to Alan practice his international linguistic skills. Thanks Alan! At my expense, the guys caught me on a hospitality flop- I incorrectly placed the table cloth on the Japanese style coffee table where we had dinner served. My host mother reminded me to use my sense. Thanks Mrs. T! It was all in all a nice day!
On the side, the IT team <the men> we’re hard at work with the computer system for HBC <Hamadera Bible Church, Hamadera Seisho Kyoki>. Hardware, software, programming, website design, cables, etc. Thanks Steve, Collin, & Alan.
Off to the ONSEN! YAY!
The Japan1 team went with Pastor Okada SenSei to SUSHI for lunch. Also with us were: Takenaka-san, Aaron, Mark, Tim, & Tsuyoshi, as well. There were rotating mini-round dishes on a conveyor belt for us to grab our lunch. The men were more than satisfied with the various strange choices that were available. It was an adventure more than some of us can handle. We even have mug shots of them all! Too much!
So, transportation can be a challenge sometimes… Aaron was the driver for the blue church car and Okada Sensei was in his POV <private official vehicle> to drive Mrs. Takenaka <the girls` host mother and home> with a couple of the gals. Space is very limited in Japan and everything <esp cups, food, and lots of containers> comes in teeny tiny thingies. Pastor OS and Beland finally made up their minds on the car ride break down and I got VOLUNTOLD abit late—as I passed by the church parking lot, I saw the blue church car with Aaron, most of the boys, and Lucy drive off onto the next few blocks as I chased the car down the alley way. P.S. imagine the weather today, about 30 degrees Celsius and 83% humidity. I was also flagging the car down with my hands and shouting wait for me, in hopes that they would stop soon. Finally, Aaron noticed that he had an open spot in the car and thought “hmm…maybe I should swing back to the church to fill this empty spot” then he glances at the rear view mirror, notices the pink t-shirt coming towards the car, and stops at the next corner (whilst I tried to climb into the car) and actually sees me hop in. Yikes!
Then, all the ladies went to PLATT PLATT with Takenaka-san to help her shop for dinner tonight; Osaka’s traditional dish “ Okonomiyaki”. We also stopped by the 100 Yen store in a different area; we had to pick up the rest of the ingredients at the other store. We hopped back on the train and I wished we had the JOY JOY fest flyers with us b/c we saw quite a few Jr High & HS students on the train for Japan2 next week. Please pray for many children to be ready and willing to hear the gospel in the next few weeks. Pray for Japan2 team to be encouraged through the Word of God as they prepare for their trip. Pray those same students to be great in number and deep in conviction by the Holy Spirit so that they may repent of all their sins.
Evening dinner: we all <exclusive invitation included Tim Jin> walked to Takenaka-san’s for Osaka’s Okonomiyaki. We also had the delicious, sweet nectar of the Muscat grape juice. We exchanged joyful conversations, as Collin mentioned the edifying nature of it all. Thanks Collin! Also, we’ve managed to have a few chuckles, listening to Alan practice his international linguistic skills. Thanks Alan! At my expense, the guys caught me on a hospitality flop- I incorrectly placed the table cloth on the Japanese style coffee table where we had dinner served. My host mother reminded me to use my sense. Thanks Mrs. T! It was all in all a nice day!
On the side, the IT team <the men> we’re hard at work with the computer system for HBC <Hamadera Bible Church, Hamadera Seisho Kyoki>. Hardware, software, programming, website design, cables, etc. Thanks Steve, Collin, & Alan.
Off to the ONSEN! YAY!