2 Weeks Left...

So many things have happened this month that I am still trying to sort through. I now have 2 weeks left before my journeyman term is over. I realize that I want to live my life completely for God and His Kingdom. This journey of life has many twists and turns and there are hidden surprises behind the corners. I know that as long as I follow Him, He will make my paths straight. I want to live my life to the fullest. I don't know how that will look exactly at this point, but I know that if I step out trusting Him to guide me, our Sovereign God will guide me directly where He wants me.

I wanted to pass along 2 video links that a fellow journeyman friend in a different country showed me:

Kimyal people receive the New Testament

Call to Prayer

My Last Christmas Party in Tokyo!

On Saturday, my roommate and I hosted a Christmas party at our apartment for our friends! It was a lot of work (and my roommate did so much of it!) but it was a lot of fun. My sister was also able to be a part of the celebration so that made it extra special for me :). I think about 40 people were there in all, and we had expected about 20! Good times!

We had many desserts and snacks that our friends contributed to, lots of meeting and greeting going around (I didn't know several people there! haha), cookie decorating (boys joined in as well!), Christmas singing time with Mark leading and playing the guitar (he was so good!), and we read the Christmas story from the children's bible that we have in both Japanese and English (our friend Mi-Ri-san helped out by reading the Japanese part!). We were able to share American Christmas traditions and everyone walked out of there having heard about the birth of Jesus Christ. It was a wonderful time.

Some of our friends wanted to know more about Jesus' birth and Christmas time. This led to many good conversations where we were able to share more of the Good News (that's what Christmas is all about!) and future meetings where we will study the Christmas story in depth from the Bible (the regular version, not the children's version)! I am so excited for what God is doing!

Enjoy the pictures:

The first group getting ready to decorate cookies!

Mark leading Christmas songs!

Mi-Ri-san, her sister, D-san, roommate, and I

my sister and her new friend!

Look at all the shoes! There were more outside of the door!

The goodies area :)

Some decorated cookies!

Reading the Christmas story. That's me doing the English part, and Mi-Ri-san doing the Japanese part.

A group picture after half the people left. I hate forgetting to take group pictures when the whole group is there! We had so many attempts, this is the best one out of all that I can get my hands on.

Christmas Greetings

I received this Christmas greeting and wanted to pass it along to you :)

Merry Christmas!

Christ, your hope of glory

Hiding you in the shadow of His wing

Radiating His love through you

Instilling His character in you

Speaking His Word to you daily

Touching you along life’s journey

Mindful of your every need

All glory belongs to Him

Savior born in a manger crib

May each of you truly enjoy the joy of lingering before Him who lay in a manger, left the streets of gold to walk the streets of old, to suffer and die for us.