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.

The Ending Can Also be Exciting

As I think about my time in Japan ending (I return to California for good for now at the end of January), I stop to peer more closely at the tiny glimpses I can catch of how God is working around me. Of course I know that everyone who has been in my position have had their moments of reflection, but that's not going to stop me from contributing my two cents! :D

But to get back to the point, I am thankful to God because I see that He is faithful and He has allowed me to be a part of His eternal kingdom work. A really exciting part of this is that He has allowed me to also be able to see some of the fruit! I know that there are many workers who do not get to see the fruit, and they may find that discouraging. I think I too would struggle with discouragement if that was my case.

I am thankful to God that He is working in the lives of the people around me. Many of them have become good friends, and it has struck me how much I will miss them when I leave. It is an amazing testament to God that people who had nary an inkling of any interest in the Amazing News of Jesus Christ and who expressed it clearly and multiple times, are now quite interested, asking deep questions, and wanting to learn more about the Bible and who this Jesus is. Praise God. He works in amazing and mysterious ways. Seriously, who would have known, and still only God knows, and we know we can trust Him because of how faithful He has been and is and will continue to be. And He continues to draw people to Himself.

I know I have had many ups and downs in my journey, but right now as I can sit here thinking clearly, I just want to say wonderful, wonderful, how wonderful our Creator is! I am excited to see how His story will unfold!

Tobu World Square Photos

Everything is built in scale but miniature. It was really funny. I got to travel around the world in only 2 hours! :)

I made you promises a thousand times.

I've tried to hear from heaven, but I talk the whole time.

I think I made you too small.

I never fear you at all, no.

If you touched my face, would I know you?

Looked into your eyes, could I behold you?

What do I know of you?

Who spoke me into motion...

Where have I even stood, but the shore along your ocean.

Are you fire, are you fury?

Are you sacred, are you beautiful?

So what do I know? What do I know of holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured you out.

I knew all the stories, and I learned to talk about

How you were mighty to save.

But those were only empty words on a page.

Then I caught a glimpse of who you might be.

The slightest hint of you, brought me down to my knees.

So what do I know of you?

Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood, but the shore along your ocean.

Are you fire, are you fury?

Are you sacred, are you beautiful?

So what do I know? What do I know of holy?

What do I know of holy?

What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?

And a God who gave Life its name?

What do I know of holy?

Of the one, who the angels praise?

All creation knows your name,

on earth and heaven above.

What do I know of this love?

Addison Road - "What Do I Know of Holy"

Take the time to read the words. I can't get it out of my head.

Mt. Takao Excursion Pictures!

There were 10 of us total. We conquered Mt. Takao! And then reality hit after the pain set in...

There were so many tall trees around us!

And beautiful trees with autumn leaves...

Hiro-san, Kio-san, and Haru-san

Mi-Ri-chan, Sumi-san, and me

This was at the temple/shrine. I think this is Shinto. This couple going into the circle stood awhile praying before going through the circle. It is supposed to answer your prayers.

This area is for someone to find a soulmate. You buy a little red charm thing and then hang it with the others. I do not know the details though. Look at all those people hoping for a soulmate.

Haru-san, Amanda, me, Mi-Ri-chan, Sumi-san, and Z-san

Haru-san, Amanda, Mi-Ri-san, Hiro-san, Kio-san, Sumi-san, P-san, and Tomo-san!

It was so fun!!! :D I love my friends :)

Pumpkin Carving Party!

Hey everyone!

So our Japanese friend here, who had lived in America for like 14 years or so, wanted to throw a party where we could carve some pumpkins. Our place was offered, and so after we added music, good food, and great people...voila - we had ourselves a pumpkin carving party!

Here are some photos for your pleasure:

Hard at work! Carving and cleaning the pulp out on our balcony!

For some, it was their first pumpkin carving experience!

3 down, 1 left to go! Hard at work in the back there! (By the way, this picture came from an iphone4...man I can't believe the quality!! haha)

I couldn't help myself. The nostrils were so huge haha. "V" is for victory! :P

Here is the crew! They turned out great! Can you tell what each one is? We have a kitty-chan, a California raisin, an original, and Jack the Pumpkin King!

The faces behind the creativity and skills!

I'm sick of how expensive it is here!

I went to a cafe to kill some time - mind you, just the average bakery/drink selling big chain. But as it is Tokyo, and with our dollar at an all time low against the yen, this ridiculously small (Tokyo small is like American extra tiny) hot chocolate is 4.79907 USD. "What in tarnation?!?" you shout outloud as your chair topples over and you heave in indignation with more mumbled protests following suit. Yes, my thoughts exactly my friend, my thoughts exactly. It's not like it's some luxury brand hot chocolate either. In fact, they can't even make this drink properly as I struggle to finish what I consider to be more like liquid chocolate truffles. Here are some pictures for you to judge yourselves -

At least my drink was hot and the cafe is warm. Tonight I will be bouncing around at our weekly Friday Friendship Party!

Disclaimer: I am not really angry. Just wanted you to see how (EXORBITANTLY EXPENSIVE) my life here is.

October Happenings

All of Tokyo is decked out in Halloween decorations. Although I know that October is the month when Halloween takes place, for some reason, it continues to surprise me when I turn a corner and there are Halloween streamers and Jack-o-lanterns smiling at me.

I have decided however, that October is my favorite month for Tokyo life. The beginning of October brings cool weather and everyone starts bringing out their sweaters and wearing their boots. It becomes more comfortable to drink hot beverages :) and pumpkin flavored treats are available for adventures. I like the pumpkin themed Cold Stone ice cream creation here. They said "pumpkin pie" would be in the creation, so of course I jumped at that opportunity. Turns out they didn't put any pumpkin pie pieces in it. Instead, they are actual real pumpkin pieces! I was shocked, but after eating a couple of spoonfuls, I was pleasantly surprised and finished my treat with relish! Yumm~ But the best of all, the walk through stinky Shibuya has been transformed by the incredibly heavenly scent of these orange little flowers that blossom on these bush tree things. I love that stuff. I could just stick my head in the bushes and spend an afternoon there. By now, most of them have fallen off so they are no longer around to enjoy. Here is a picture that I took from my phone:

These little perfume flowers popped up right after Wilson left Tokyo to return back to California, so that made up for the sad goodbye. Although it was too bad Wilson never had a chance to see what I'm talking about. They smell like this peach scented car air freshener that a friend once gave me. Except it's from real flowers!

This Saturday, we are having a pumpkin carving party at our apartment. I don't know how many people will show up yet, but I am hoping some people we haven't seen in awhile will also show. I think I like carving pumpkins and I hope that I can host pumpkin carving parties in the future with friends when I'm back in Cali! Although, I do prefer cute pictures or scenes or something like that rather than an actual Jack-o-lantern face, especially one of those scary faces :)

October is going by so fast!!! When my birthday comes around, I'll have only 3 more months left in Japan!!! I feel so sad...but also expectant. It sure is a lot of emotions I'm carrying around these days!

Numbering My Days

I have a return date when my term here ends.

I am doing weekly emails sending our Prayer Requests that are very detailed. Please let me know if you'd like to be added! :)

Hallelujah!!!

Greattttttt news!!!!!!!!!!!

My friend Yu-san prayed to receive Christ today!!!!!! YAYYY!!! It was an amazing time!!! Sooo exciting!!! I have been sending weekly prayer updates, and I had included her twice in it, so if you receive the updates you will know more about the background.

Humility - from Japan's Prayer Advocates

We have a couple who do a wonderful job as prayer advocates for this area. They sent this email about humility that I wanted to pass along. This topic, as simple and basic and important as it is, is forgotten all the time, most especially by me. I am glad for this reminder because it puts things into perspective. Here ya go:

Humility

Scripture portrays God as blessing those who acknowledge their insufficiency. We should remember when we have done all that we should do, we are still “unworthy servants” in comparison to God’s holiness (Luke 17:10). Those who confess their need of Christ receive the blessing that Jesus promises to the holy.

Since we cannot by our best efforts meet the standards of God’s holiness, we need to approach God humbly, confessing our need of His mercy and grace, rather than trying to barter for His blessing. For sinners like us, humility is the path to God’s blessing. This humility is not something we manufacture but something we gain as we confess to God that nothing in us deserves His goodness. Biblical humility says, “Father, I appeal to you in Jesus’ name. For His sake and because of His righteousness in my place, please hear my prayer.”

Father, on this day of prayer, we are reminded that on our knees we are taller than the trees and that no person stands taller than when they are on their face before You. We come to You in utter humility because You are great and we are small.

More Video Links

Courtesy of Amanda!!! She is a hard worker, uploading all these videos!! They take a lot of energy and time!!!!

Two more Fuji videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuOrFPaKyZg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og537XdgYs0

Then some videos from the college interns' last night here:

Crazy interns:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q46KIv47aS4

Attempted Skipping:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsB7enVAZls

Leapfrog 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IojTtBVIYXY

Leapfrog 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ppoe0G24V4

Last Summer Days with the Shi-chan

My friend who you all know as Shi-san has become my Shi-chan :) It just means that our relationship has gotten closer. She just calls me Sonya, but whereas I used to call her Shi-san, maintaining a polite distance between us, I now call her Shi-chan.

In a span of one week, I have seen her for 4 days! That is a lot considering how much I see my other Japanese friends! She usually comes out to our Friday Night Cafes in Shimokitazawa, which is an outreach group, and she also comes out to have "church" with us on Sundays.

So I saw Shi-chan on Friday and then again on Sunday. For Sunday, we discussed what sin is. As a new believer, Shi-chan has many questions and many things she doesn't even know that she doesn't know yet (that makes sense I promise). She had asked KN-san, a Japanese man who has been Christian for ~6 years, "what is sin?" and I think to have an honest and accurate explanation that a new Japanese Christian can understand, that could take a while. Anyways, it turned out to be a good time and Shi-chan was able to walk away with more background understanding of what sin is. Then most everyone went out to eat Indian curry at a nearby restaurant, where the summer interns visited regularly. We were able to see and chat again with the man who works there. He came to our Friday Night Cafe once. When we were about to leave, he said "I love K's Cafe people!" haha that was nice!

Then Monday, I got to see her again! :) What wonderful times! Although this time, we gathered together to have a goodbye lunch with our friend who leaves Wednesday to Washington to be a college student. We ate sukiyaki, had good conversations, went souvenir shopping with our friend to help him find a gift for his host family.

Then Tuesday (today), my roomie and I met with her again! This time, it was special Shi-chan time hehe. We had lunch at TGIFridays, her first time, and we discussed prayer. We explained that it is simply talking to God, just like we talk to our best friends. We shared scripture with her, and then she came over to watch "The Hope" dvd, which explains the Bible in Japanese. She watched all of it my goodness, and it was great! I think she was shocked to see Jesus crucified, but after the movie she said something to the effect that she understands that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. I asked her if she believed all of the things that came out in the dvd, and she said yes to my surprise. I was afraid that it would be an overload of information, but she took it all in and was glad to learn. Something interesting is that it is definitely a new thing for many Japanese people to see a visual of life in the biblical times. It is just very different from how life was and is here. I noticed that culture wise, my goodness, it is so different! It showed the disciples running outside after the Pentecost in excitement, and it just struck me how that would never happen here in Japan. Everything is too orderly. Anyways, I am straying. It was a good good day. After the movie, she also said "Kami (God) is so good." Isn't that sweet? I could only agree with her.

I'm seeing her again on Friday as we are having a potluck at our building instead of at the usual Shimokitazawa cafe spot. It's gonna be a special night! I'm planning to make pasta salad and some chicken salad sandwiches! RN-san, also a new believer, will be joining us and she will be able to meet Shi-chan properly, finally! I hope that the two of them can become good friends and sisters in Christ. One thing that concerns me is that I know I am seeing so much of Shi-chan right now as this is summer break. Please pray that she will continue to be faithful to knowing Christ more even after school starts. That happens at the end of September. Also, please pray for our potluck that many people will leave the place closer to knowing Christ! Thanks :)

The Fuji Adventure in Pictures

Yes, so I thought that getting to the top of Fuji would be all that and a bag of chips, but turns out, once I got to the top, I just wanted to get down as fast as I could haha. It was a good experience, but honestly, nobody needs to climb it more than once. So, if you ever hear me talking about considering climbing it again, tie me up until I promise I won't climb it! haha...jk of course, but yes, please remind me of how miserable I was. I took many many doses of oxygen, but I think the atmosphere affected me worse than the others :( I felt bad holding the others up, but I wanted to pass out and worse so much. Towards the end, all I could do was focus on staring at my feet, willing them to take one step in front of the other, slow and steady. Maybe I need to do lung exercises hehe. One of my coworkers talked to every person he met going up the mountain hehe. Turned out, two of them lived in our old ministry area!! Haha anddd one of them lived in the same building as one of our friends!!! Crazy small world.

Well, here are the pictures. These pictures are not in the order I'd like them to be. The chronological order of these photos are from the bottom to the top, so look at them that way if the order matters to you :)

We were climbing down Martian terrain! :P

Guess who? We started shedding clothes as we headed down because it got so hot!

Pretty neat.

Purty...when the clouds and the mist disappeared, you could see the endless stretch of criss cross roads that led us down the mountain...I wanted to cry.

The crater at the top as we were starting to go down. Um, who cares, let's get off this stinking pile of rocks!

As the sun rose, they raised the Japan flag! The land of the rising sun...

"What's that?? Oh it's the sun..."

Turned out, there was a little hill yonder. I guess that was THE summit of the summit of Fuji haha. Whatever! If you look carefully, you can see a small Shinto tori gate right on the top.

The sun was starting to rise...It was a beautiful sight. It truly was amazing to see the sun rising on Japan from the top of God's creation.

Waiting for the sunrise now. It was cold! I tried to wrap my scarf around me haha. And those cup of noodles? Guess how much they were! ... a little more than $7 USD!!! We were so cold, we had to get them!! Hot cocoa and hot coffee was a little more than $4 USD...And some of us bought some of those too hehe. It was cold and who cares?!? We made it to the top!

If you look carefully, in the dark background, you can make out the shape of a Shinto tori gate. Past that was the top!!!

8th Station. I didn't feel like smiling but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't!

This part was really steep.

Yea get me that stamp! They burned it into our wooden sticks, and they cost a little more than $2 USD each...

One of the stations. I was jealous of those people sitting in there...

We will get to the summit!

The j-folks ready to get up that mountain whatever it takes!