recent happenings.

I realize I really should post shorter, more frequent blogs. Sorry guys for the beast that became my last post. haha.

Above is a picture of our Harvest Children's English class. Negatsu and Mizuki are busy decorating sugar cookies that I prepared all by myself while Ruth climbed on top of the roof of a shed to get the snow off...She's crazy!


After the first kids class, we have another one with the most adorable little kiddies, aged 4.

I had the amazing opportunity to help Ruth out at a cooking class for adults with disabilities. As many of you know, I have worked with special needs students in Canada and focused my teaching in this area. It was actually a somewhat emotional experience for me. I felt so happy and sad at the same time. I was really encouraged to know that there ARE resources and programs for people with disabilities in Japan. However, I also reflected on how in the East, there is definitely more of a stigma placed on being born with an abnormality, and some even think that a disabled child is a punishment for the wrong-doings of the parents. It hurt to realize that these amazing, talented people are seen as curses on their families by some people in their society. I know Jesus wants to use them, and that His majesty is reflected in each of them as His creation. Please pray for the disabled population in Japan and for the hearts of their caregivers. They need God's love desperately.

The fellow on the left was deaf. It was really interesting and just plain cool to see conversations happening in Japanese sign-language!

A Cool Experience: We went to the Lake Towada Snow Festival and hung out in a lounge made TOTALLY out of snow and ice! (even some of the cups!)

MMMM: Naomi, Sonia and I had a small feast at a Yakiniku (Japanese version of Koren BBQ!) restaurant on our day off! The green drink is Melon Soda! yummy.

hahahaha... I just had to snap a photo of this 'face cover' diagram in one of the clothing store dressing rooms... THEY THINK OF EVERYTHING!

We got hit again with a HUGE snowfall this weekend. Beautiful but a CRAZY amount...This is the view from our window in the living room.


ADORABLE ALERT: Koko's home-made lunch bento box!!!

OTHER UPDATES: So I have begun to teach two adult English classes on my own and I am loving it so much! It feels amazing to 'free' up some of Ruth's time so that she can make house visits to the people God has placed on her heart. This lady NEVER TAKES A BREAK and she is seriously my hero... The English classes are an incredible way to evangelize and get to know the wonderful people here. At the end of each lesson, I do a 'Bible talk' that relates to our topic of discussion. Please pray that I will have opportunities to have meaningful conversations with the students about Jesus' love for them.

everyday REVELATIONS: God has been so tangible and real to me this past month. My heart and soul have experienced His love in such a real way, that it is hard to type it all up without my emotions spilling out. Here is a brief synopsis of one of the main characteristics of God that He has been teaching me...It is an excerpt from a longer journal entry I typed out as a way to process the Holy Spirit's guiding. What you will read might sound like an overall generality, but let me tell you, God has been showing me this truth in such an intimate, detailed, significant way. This is a promise I have touched, smelled and tasted over and over again in this place.

The truth: Joy, Gratitude, Cups that Overflow…Smiles, Laughter, Music, J E S U S. This is my destiny, this is my fate because of the Broken Body that lay shattered and splattered on the cross I hastily nailed together from the day that fruit was picked, until the day Jesus takes me Home.

God's gift of Joy and Gratitude is our destiny TODAY, NOW. We have already been claimed victorious by Him who saves. Wherever you are, know that His heart is FOR you, to prosper and flourish you. Every second that passes gets us one step closer to an eternity of bliss, foreverlove, wholeness and overflowing peace... May that be your pillow.

Snapshots and Glimpses... (Prepare to be slightly overwhelmed! Maybe read it in two parts?)

So I thought it would be informative, interesting and most of all realistic to bombard your eyes with some examples of life here at the Ghent's Place... Let's just say, right now is the Ghent's 'slow' time of the year. To everyone I know back in Canada, you don't know the true definition of BUSY and either did I. haha...BUCKLE UP! It's all for the glory of God! Amen!


Itoku : For anyone who has ever been to the Ghent's place, you know this grocery store well and look forward to each and every visit (FREE SAMPLES GALORE!)...I go at LEAST once a day, sometimes up to three times. It is a one minute jig away which is absolutely marvelous! I am constantly buying things for our everyday meals, youth meetings and various events. I usually come out with items I never intended on consuming, but it is all part of the amazing adventure of being in JAPAN! Fish head soup anyone?


We have a dog : Buddy...But as some of you know, I simply CANNOT call something or someone I feel close to by their 'normal' name. (eg. I call my dad - Diddles, my best friend Edwina - Shmed and Kevin Teh - Borbs, Bunny, K-Fed etc etc etc...) Buddy has quickly turned into Budder which has now evolved into Budder Ball (almost like the turkey brand). I TRY and walk him every evening, but it gets difficult to find the time with our insane schedule. He lives outside in a little doggie house and is the sweetest pup. HOWEVER, for ANY of you who have EVER walked this creature, you will know that he is a little bit insane once on the leash. Let's just say he ALWAYS ends up walking ME... sigh... Oh Budder Ball...You need to learn some manners!

Funny/slightly embarrassing dog incident : When I tell the Japanese people my dog's name is MARIKO they go quiet and confused and then LAUGH hysterically! Just imagine a foreigner coming up to you and telling you their little white terrier is named Alison or Margaret or Carol...Clearly not a dog name! hahahaha....But OF COURSE I (and everyone else in my family) do NOT call her Mariko. Mariko has turned into: MudButt, MarsBar, Marky, Ma-wee etc etc etc...


With Naomi's direction and trust (surprisingly since I am not the craftiest), I have been making a LOT of pretty cards/invitations/party favours! This one was for our Valentine's Day Dinner Party which got postponed to this weekend because Naoms had a fever for almost five days straight... She's pretty much all better now and I even got to accompany her on a trip to the hospital which was interesting and educational since I am such a Canadian FOB (derogatory word for an immigrant or foreigner)... I am just really happy and relieved she is better. :) Praise God!


haha...I just had to add this in. To any one who has been to or lived in Japan before, this is a pretty standard toilet, but for all of you who haven't, enjoy a close up of this pic! I advise you to click to enlarge and have a chuckle! The Japanese really are advanced... Although I am still very reluctant and slightly afraid to press any of these buttons!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY (FEB. 9TH) AND VALENTINE'S DAY to KevStarr! Here is a snapshot of the home-made postcard I sent with love (and with the generous help of Naomi-San)!

A STEREOTYPE FLIPPED : Did you know that in Japan it is custom for the GIRLS to give the boys chocolate on V-day? In March there is this special day called White Day (or payback day...haha) where the boys have to come up with a gift for the girl to repay her for the chocolate from Valentine's day! WEIRD AND COOL!... In lieu, I sent Kev some Meiji Dark (or Black) Chocolate that I bought from ITOKU of course!


Martin, Ruth and I went to the Hirosaki Snow Festival. It was beautiful and so are they!!


Some lanterns made by middle school kidlets!


Read and Enjoy! (from a tag inside a sweater...)


INTRODUCTIONS...
So about 2-3 times a week these two adorable, darling, mischievous, munchkins spend ALL DAY with us, as their mommy works at the coffee shop across from the house. I am absolutely enamoured and enchanted by these two, and I think they know it... I am so in love already. The passed out kitten on the left is Koko (age 3.5) and the cutie on the right is Koya or Ko-chun (age 1.5).


This is the Allen family from the States. The Dad, Miah (Jeremiah), does some pretty top secret missile-watching for the Japanese Government in Aomori. They are an amazing, Christ-centered family who SPEAK ENGLISH TOO YAY! haha. We go to their house for the English service every week.


YORU CAFE (NIGHT CAFE) : So this past Thursday we had a lovely, warm and cozy coffeehouse. I played a few songs and sang my little heart out. It felt so good and worthwhile to praise God and proclaim His name in the midst of people who have never even heard of His goodness... Another creative and delicious way to plant some seeds for Jesus! It was a beautiful and fulfilling night...


YOUNG LIFE Bible talk. (I can see my silly socks in the background!)


A game of trust. (I just love Naomi's expression here! hahaha)


VALENTINE'S DINNER PARTY PREP : So...this past Saturday we had our epic and EXTREMELY chaotic V-day party. Around 30 guests came and their kids helped out as little waiters and waitresses. What made things insane was that Ruth (with my very inexperienced help) made FIVE COURSES!!!!!!!! Near the end of our prep time there was literally bread dough flying through the air, phones ringing off the hook, babies running around screaming and flour smeared ALL over our faces/clothes... haha...


It was one of the girl's birthdays, so on top of the five courses, Ruth also made the most amazing chocolate cake I ever had. Did I mention I don't like or eat chocolate cake? Ya...It was that phenomenal!

DOUBLE BAKED POTATOES are my new obsession and favourite indulgence! My arms are aching today from making these, but it was oh so worth it my friends! You take out all the mushy insides, mix and mash with all the amazing baked potato fixins (bacon, milk, butter, salt, chives, tons of different cheeses, sour cream) and then put the mashed goodness BACK INTO the skins to bake, melt and become heavenly...


sigh... we were LITERALLY RUNNING through the house and up and down the stairs, BUT we managed to only be about 20 mins late! wahoo!!!


The decorations were complicated (especially these ice lanterns that almost cost me my fingers) yet beautiful!





sigh... so here we are, the LAST picture, from today actually! Worship service... Yet everything the Ghents do (baking, card-making, holding crying babies, English classes etc.) is an act of worship that serves our Great God and people.

Jesus, thank you for allowing me to be a 'background' worker for your glory this week. Thank you that I have never washed so many dishes, tied so many bows, mashed so many potatoes, ran up and down so many stairs like this before. You are making me strong, humble and much more like You.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things -- and the things that are not -- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29

God, you are so good. Your beauty lives, breathes and delights my soul. Amen.

Flags...

I recently downloaded the latest Brooke Fraser CD. While it was difficult to think of words to say for this post, I felt these song lyrics might be a better way to capture my feelings. You can listen to this beautiful song here

Come, tell me your trouble
I'm not your answer but I'm a listening ear
Reality has left you reeling
All facts and no feeling
No faith and all fear

I don't know why a good man will fall
While a wicked one stands
And our lives blow about like flags on the land

You who mourn will be comforted
You who hunger will hunger no more
Oh the last shall be first, of this I am sure

You who weep now will laugh again
All you lonely be lonely no more
Yes the last shall be first, of this I am sure






Standing on "ground zero" after seeing so much video/news footage was almost surreal. Despite the disturbing stillness that seemed to linger, I felt protected and assured that God holds all the answers. I don't have to try and make it all make sense... I can't. I can only be a little reflector, a piece of broken glass that spins and twirls trying to catch and pour forth some Light...

Oh Lord...Use me to speak the Truth of Love to the people of this nation. Use the earthquake and tsunami to bring our nation to its knees...

One Week.

So it has officially been my FIRST week in Japan! Praise God! Below I will list some of the wonderful things I have been able to be a part of this week. . .

One of the awesome things I have had the privilege of getting into is COOKING alongside my Sensei, Naomi! Haha. I even got to make dinner for the Ghents (Martin and Naoms) all by myself! I have to admit that at home I find cooking to be a chore, but for some reason I find it to be a joy up here. I think I might know why this is : Naomi is truly an inspiration to me. She is a free-spirited, unconsciously nonchalant SUPER WOMAN who I adore. She's effortlessly talented at baking, cooking and designing things. What makes her so special is the attitude of humility she brings to all she does...I praise God for revealing to me that I can truly experience pleasure in all things, even cooking and cleaning, as long as I do it for the Lord. I pray I take this sacred mindset back with me and apply it to my daily tasks at home. I am just bracing myself with excitement for Ruth's return since she is pretty much a true pro at baking, cooking and so many other things...I know I will learn so much from these Godly women. Y A Y!


I have also had the gift of helping Naoms study for an English test she has coming up. Surprisingly, we have shared a lot of laughs and fun times while studying!

This past Friday night we had a Youth Live meeting for Junior High aged children. I suggested some new games that they had never played before. For those of you who know this game, I got the kids to play "ZIP ZAP ZOP"! hahaha...Except they changed the words to Zippu, Zappu, Zoppu which made it a lot more Japanese and adorable...We also managed to play a game called 'Strawberry, Lightbulb', a variation of 'Broken Telephone', despite the language barrier! NICE! Short-termer Chris, ran a devotion which seemed to resonate with the kids quite well. I am really excited to grow with this group and get to know them better.

One of the highlights of my week was that, when asked if they had any prayer requests, the two girls in the middle both said their prayer is that God would allow them to find ways for them to communicate and get to know me better...*melts* This warmed my heart as this, of course, is my prayer as well...

On Saturday we said "goodbye" to our good friend Chris from New Zealand. He had been here for two months and was a joy for me to work alongside with, even though it was only for 3 days. I also had the awesome opportunity of helping him run an English class with about 4 Japanese-speaking adults. It was a blessings to be able to meet them and witness their eagerness to learn English. Please pray that God will use us to ultimately display to them Jesus' love...

(Taking this pic made me feel VERY Japanese! It is definitely a fad in Japan. It is called "purikura"and it is kinda my favourite thing in the world right now...haha. We went after Tomomi's birthday party which I mention below.)

Sunday was probably my most challenging yet rewarding day I've had in Japan...Sunday is definitely the Ghent's busy day, as they run two church services, with one that takes place in another city called Hirosaki (40mins away). What was challenging was that almost everything was in Japanese that day. Now this point seems painfully obvious and should not come as a surprise. However, I realized that the last time I was here, I was surrounded by other non-Japanese-speaking people to feel alienated with. In a sense, their similar lack of knowing what was going on was a huge source of comfort to me. I knew I was not alone in my inability to communicate and understand. This time, it is quite a different experience, but it is one that I am MOST thankful for... After the service at Harvest Chapel, Naomi, our little friend Shiori and I went to a surprise birthday for the sweetest lady Tomomi at a funky coffee shop. It was extremely interesting observing the way these ladies interacted in a social setting, and I can honestly say they are such a gentle, courteous group of friends who I am glad to now know. Other than observing though, it was really difficult to be a participant in hardly any conversations. Naomi and Martin have been marvelous at translating when possible, but I have reassured them and also encouraged them not to always translate for me, especially in social situations where I would much rather them all act naturally. This lack of being able to communicate with beautiful people who you SO badly want to reach out to has revealed to me a number of things...Mostly it has greatly humbled and reminded me of my Man, Jesus who chose to become alienated and singled out to the point of death...I am very grateful for this somewhat awkward experience of being stretched and smoothed out for His glory... Also, this has made me really want to learn and practice my Japanese! Pray that God will allow me to study hard in order for me to further be able to express Jesus' love to the people here...


My first BUFFET IN JAPAN!!!! :) It was awesome to me, but probably pretty standard to everyone else... haha!

Thanks again guys for following along. Please know that I feel your prayers. They give me strength and joy to fulfill His will for me here. . .

THIS WILL MAKE EDY SQUEAL... Snipets of my new 'home'

I though it might be nice to post some pictures of some of my favourite trinkets, spots, and details of my home here in Itayanagi. What I love about the coffee shop and the Ghent's place is its cozy simplicity, soul-warming ambience, and snowy sunlight...haha these attributes pretty much epitomize my best friend Edy who would be in love with this place, hence the post title... Most of all though, I love that God is honoured, praised and placed first in this home. You feel it the second you walk in these doors... The first few pics are of the coffee shop located merely a stone throw away from the house... :) Enjoy!




The Ghent's Place:




My wonderful lunch made by the most talented girl Naomi... I love her!