Bridging Cultures

2nd Grade Theology

2012-01-30T22:08:00.000+09:00

This week our class is memorizng Psalm 103:11

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

God's omnipresence came up in 1st and 2nd grade bible class today as we studied Psalm 103:11.

Student A (girl): Where is God?

Me: God is everywhere all at the same time. Omnipresent is the fancy word for it. He can be here with us, and in Minnesota with my family, and in South Africa with Mrs. G's family, and in Ghana with Mrs. N's family.

Student B (boy): So, He's right here (points to the left of him), and here (points to the right side)?

Me: Yes, and you can ask him to live in your heart too.

Student C (boy): Is he in my nose too? (giggles)

Student B (boy): Is he in the toilet? (giggles)

Student A (Girl) : Wait! Is God a boy or a girl? Because if HE is a boy - that's yucky if he's in the toilet!

This led to a talk on the trinity. . .

Basketball update

2012-01-28T11:24:00.001+09:00

Nagoya International School (NIS)

Kansai Christian School (KCS) Boys Basketball team is at the Small School Tourney this weekend in Nagoya. (3 hours from our school). Yesterday we won the games against Hiroshima and Hokkaido (pretty convincingly). The evening brought a game against NIS (Nagoya) Junior Varsity team. We won. Giving us 1st place in our pool which means we secured at least 4th place out of 8.

Now there are games today (Saturday), In the other pool KIU (Kyoto) beat, NIS varsity (Nagoya). So KCS will play NIS this morning. These are 2 of the top ranking teams in the division so it promises to be a tough game. If we win, we go to the Championship game later today.

Our school is the smallest school in the tourney. Twelve of the 13 boys in our high school play on the team. Six of them are seniors so this is a BIG year for Basketball at our school. The coach, Mr. M. Dugan is an alumni from KCS too.

Wishing I could be there in person to see history happen, to cheer everyone on and to help take stats. But I'm hosting a Jr. High Girl's Night at my house tonight so I'm cheering from afar and checking frequently for updates. I'll try to post updates when I receive them.

We received 4th place.

Updated 1/30/12 - Quoted from the KCS Athletic Director. . .

"Yes, some of you have heard that KCS ended up with a 4th-place finish out of 8 teams.

This doesn't sound so good, but the coaches and athletic directors agreed that the top 4 teams were so close. One long-time basketball coach and principal of the Hokkaido team said that if any 2 teams played 10 games, they would likely win 5 each.

The final ranking was:

1. NIS We lost to NIS by 4 points 26-22, which is less points than over 10 points that KIU lost to NIS in the final. We found out that this is the first basketball tournament, boys or girls, that Nagoya has won in its 50 its years.

2. KIU KIU beat NIS by one point in overtime, but then the next game they lost to NIS by over 10. During the season, we beat KIU 2 out of 3 times. We didn't have a chance to play them in the tournament.

3. Hokkaido The first day, we beat Hokkaido 37-31, then today, they beat us, 34-31

4. KCS

So, we can say that the teams have a mutual respect for one another and we had a good memorable time. Also, Coach M took the opportunities given through the tournament by giving the players good, spiritual input not only applicable to the game, but also to life. Thanks Coach and to all of you who helped and encouraged them along the way.

THANK YOU, Mr. H! For countless emails, phone calls and attention to details that set up the season's schedule, ensuring gyms were reserved, drivers arranged, and no student was left behind!

snapshots of life

2012-01-26T21:44:00.002+09:00

Things have been foggy.

Sometimes the weather mirrors life.

Today a friend sent an email saying . . .

"I read a book recently, Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis; she said that she'd always heard growing up that God will never give you more than you can handle. She vehemently disagreed with that statement. Her view was that God absolutely gives us more than what we can handle, because it's in that place that His power is evident. I think she has a good point."

Today I listened to a sermon called The Beaty of Weakness by Matt Moore based on:

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (the message)

I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness.

Life has been intense lately.

I have been out of my comfort zone, ministering in areas I'm not trained.

Needing to take risks. Stretching my faith muscles. Honing my spiritual warfare skills.

Leaning into God as He holds me and others around me in uncertain situations.

God's strength moved in on my weakness.

Beauty is coming out as situation after situation are

allowing the fog to lift our eyes up to the hills where our help comes from.

Besides a deepening of friendships and an awareness of the band of brothers and sisters around us

There have been multiple gifts during this intense time.

Three new students joined the high school worship team.

Some of the best bread made in a bread machine. Found here. And realizing there was a "hurry up" button on the machine making it in under 2 hours!

Snowflakes outside the window to match the ones inside, energizing a classroom of students.

Sunshine despite the snow. (No snow stuck to the ground.)
8 mailboxes in my classroom - Added a new 2nd grade boy to the class this week.
Piles of "Finished work" corrected by a skilled teacher's aid.
Encouraging drama/ musical auditions setting the tone for the season
teaching a lesson on the 10 commandments and having students apply the lesson, that very afternoon. "I'm so sad, because you are making God so sad. You lied. That's rule number 9. It says so right here in the Bible. We studied that this morning. You hurt God's heart and that makes me so sad." - 2nd grader

Driving the "bus" last weekend and seeing the b-ball team's decisive wins.
Filled with hope as the boys basketball team loads the "bus" for the Small School Basketball Tourney in Nagoya this weekend.

Prayer

2012-01-16T22:07:00.000+09:00

Over the last year I’ve seen so much hope for the spread of the gospel in ministries and outreach in Japan. At the same time Satan is also actively working to spread lies and destroy ministries and relationships. I’m walking alongside a friend right now who is experiencing great pain in a family crises. Please pray for my friend to have the wisdom to know what is right and the courage for her to do what is right even when it is difficult. Pray that God would give those around her the wisdom and grace to minister to her and her family.

As I exercise my faith and hone my spiritual warfare skills, I’m learning more about the importance of a true band of brothers and sisters, the strength of community and the power of prayer. Your prayers are essential to the growth of the gospel in Japan. I am blessed to have so many faithful ministry partners supporting me and this ministry in Japan.

Race Results

2012-01-08T21:44:00.000+09:00

Opening Ceremony-

Where various sponsors said "Ganbatte" (Good Luck/Press On).

Temps were -3C/26F at the start - yet some still chose to run in tank tops and shorts! YIKES!

^Starting Line - Here the Elementary students were ready for the 2k Run.

Lots of baseball teams represented.

3 KCS students ran - 1 in 4th grade ran 2k (time: 10:14), another in 7th for 5K(time: 28:12) and the 12th grader who got 4th place for the men's 5K (time: 19:28).

I have some great photos of the guys but won't be posting them here to protect their privacy.

A friend took photos while I ran - here is lap 1 - still smiling.

Coming in to the finish - time 29:14 (YEAH for meeting goals!)

Here's my friend Mercy - who also ran the 5K.

(She is AMAZING - She had 2 hours of sleep and had flown into the country the night before!!)

Besides hanging out with the students, and admiring the Albert Einstein mosaic at the site

(in photo reflected off the building),

I enjoyed watching the "ekiden". Its a long distance relay race. Today's ekiden had 5 team members running 2K each for a total of 10k for each team. Elementary through high school teams participated in it. So fun to watch! Instead of the baton used in short track relays the ekiden uses a sash that runners wear and hand off.

Japan has a New Year's tradition of having the Collegiate Hakone Ekiden run over 2 days and televised over New Year's holidays. It's like the SuperBowl of Japan in terms of TV viewers and popularity. Each team has 10 runners covering a total of 219km.

Ekidens are a great example of Japanese perservernce, as well as group identity and teamwork.

As a reward for participating today all runners got a towel that had the name of the race on it.

Running the Race

2012-01-07T23:14:00.000+09:00

Tomorrow morning I'm going to be participating in a 5k race, the 生駒ふれあい市民マラソン,　（Ikoma fureai city marathon). 3 students from KCS will also be running, a 4th grader in the 2k, and 7th and 12 grader in the Men's 5k. I'm excited to share this experience with them.

I've been jogging regularly since the summer and signed up for a race to keep some motivation in my training schedule. However, I'm having mixed feelings about the race now that its here. I was in track in high school but ran only sprints and hurdles, (unless you count the MPLS Turkey Day (5K) about 10 years ago), this long distance thing is new to me. Not even sure what a good time for a 5k is! I ran the race course on Friday thought about pacing and I was feeling GREAT! Today I've been sneezing all day and have a head cold so I'm not sure what to expect.

BUT before I run I want to set some goals.

1. Finish the race.
2. Attack the hills. (There is a nasty up hill climb for the last km!)
3. If I get under 35 minutes I'll be happy, under 32 minutes I'll be thrilled!
I hope to be able to post an update tomorrow to tell the results.

Right now looks like we can be expecting sunshine, light winds with a high around 45F or 7C.

New Year's Eve I got to hear Olympic medalist Jim Ryun* speak at Koza Baptist Church in Okinawa. With his running background and Christian testimony - it was great motivation for this race.

Training in Okinawa with a friend over Christmas break with 65F or 18C degree weather was AWESOME too!

*Jim Ryun grew up in Wichita, Kansas, achieving national acclaim as a High School track and field star. Jim set the male High School Mile Record at 3:55.3 in 1963. He also participated in the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in the 1500 meter run in 1968 and held the World Record in the mile, 1500 meters, and 880 yards.

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T00:30:00.000+09:00

新年明けましておめでとうございます！

Merry Christmas from Okinawa

2011-12-27T18:03:00.001+09:00

Merry Christmas!

I hope you've been enjoying the blessings God has poured out.

For my holiday, I'm in Okinawa spending time with my friend Lisa Sorley.

Today we enjoyed a stroll down the beach within walking distance from her apartment.

Nothing quite like putting your toes in the sand and Ocean at Christmas time!

We're having a ton of fun together!

I have more photos and stories for sharing eventually.

Christmas Shadow Drama

2011-12-23T23:14:00.000+09:00

At the KCS Christmas program the high school students did a Shadow Drama. They created a stage with the white sheet and light in the background and had students read the story while others acted it out.

The photos and the story from Luke 2 and Matthew 2 (Contemporary English Version) are below.

^{Luke 2}

¹About that time Emperor Augustus gave orders for the names of all the people to be listed in record books. ^[a] ²These first records were made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. ^[b] ³Everyone had to go to their own hometown to be listed. ⁴So Joseph had to leave Nazareth in Galilee and go to Bethlehem in Judea. Long ago Bethlehem had been King David's hometown, and Joseph went there because he was from David's family.

⁵Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby,

and while they were there, ⁷she gave birth to her first-born ^[c] son. She dressed him in baby clothes ^[d]and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. ⁹All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord's glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. ¹⁰But the angel said, "Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. ¹¹This very day in King David's hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.¹²You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay."

¹⁵After the angels had left and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about." ¹⁶They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby lying on a bed of hay.
¹⁷When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the angel had said about him. ¹⁸Everyone listened and was surprised. ¹⁹But Mary kept thinking about all this and wondering what it meant.
²⁰As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as the angel had said.

Matthew 2

¹When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men ^[a] from the east came to Jerusalem ²and said, "Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east ^[b] and have come to worship him." ³When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem.

⁴Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?"

⁵They told him, "He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote,

⁷Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. ⁸He told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too."
⁹The wise men listened to what the king said and then left.

And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰They were thrilled and excited to see the star.

¹¹When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh ^[c] and gave them to him. ¹²Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.

Christmas Program Poem

2011-12-22T12:49:00.000+09:00

Dec. 20 - The KCS Christmas program had a variety of ways to celebrate

Jesus Birthday with our school community.

Elementary students sang 2 songs:

1. All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.

2. Christmas is a Time to Love

Read a poem,

and displayed their artwork of the first Christmas

Here is a copy of the poem and some of the 1-2 Grade Artwork.

ANIMALS at the NIGHT BEFORE THE FIRST CHRISTMAS NATIVITY STORY

written by Matthew Monroe in Richland, WA

Twas the night before the first Christmas and all through the stable,

The animals were keeping as warm as they were able.

After saying goodnight with baas, neighs and moos,

They'd just settled down for a long winter's snooze.

When outside the barn, they heard the latch squeaking

As the door opened wide, groaning and creaking.

And what did they see by the starlight's bright glow

But a man and a woman, with a donkey in tow.

The woman lay down on the straw the man piled,

And the animals saw she was heavy with child.

So they drew close around to ward off the chill air

And drifted to sleep as they kept vigil there.

They woke with a start at a cry that they heard,

And saw a miraculous thing had occurred:

On the hay lay a Baby, brand new to the world,

his hair still damp, little fingers all curled.

He was wrapped up in rags in His straw manger bed,

And a luminous halo encircled his head.

His smile was so peaceful, His eyes held them transfixed

With feelings of hope, joy, and wonder, all mixed.

And the love that they felt...if they could share just a part,

They knew it could change the whole world, heart by heart.

They heard angels above announcing His birth,

Singing, "Glory to God and peace on the earth!"

Shepherds left the fields to come to adore Him,

Offering gifts and bowing before Him.

And the animals, too, knelt down in the hay,

Knowing Love was newborn among them that day.

As you ponder once more the Nativity story,

may you wonder anew at God's goodness and glory!

Outreach

2011-12-21T10:21:00.000+09:00

Two days before Christmas break KCS reaches out to the neighborhood with various outreaches.

The high school students did ministry at a nursing home.

The middle school brought Christmas greetings to the people living in the homes around the school.

The elementary students went to the Fire Department and Police Department for Christmas caroling and handing out homemade Christmas cards.

We then went to the post office and bank to deliver more Christmas cards.

Here we are handing out cards to the friendly firemen at the fire station.

Heguri - the town where our school is located is a small town and we had beautiful weather for outreach day - which we enjoyed as we walked around the town to deliver the Christmas Greetings.

Complete

2011-12-20T12:07:00.000+09:00

First and Second Grade students finished their craft projects -

Nativity Scene made from Toilet Paper Rolls.

(To look back at previous posts Collection, Color and Cut, & Combine)

Mary, Joseph, Jesus, Angel and Stable

Donkey, Sheep, Palm Trees, and Shepherd

3 wise men and their camels

View from above

The perfect nativity set for children - it won't break if dropped

and can be used to retell the Christmas story over and over again.

In the Kitchen

2011-12-17T11:19:00.000+09:00

I've been in the kitchen a lot this week.

Christmas isn't really Christmas without the Harms family recipe of Peppernuts.

I made it all by myself this year (usually it's a family group project) but I couldn't wait for a box from the states to arrive so I've found the spices and ingredients and reveled in the results!

December is my month to bring treats to the staff meeting - I made Carmel Pecan Pumpkin pie.

I'm trying to challenge myself to make pies - as its a skill I have yet to master. The crust still needs work but the filling tasted delicious.

For the Worship Team's Wednesday Bible study we had a Christmas party. I made Chili and cornbread for the 7 students who have faithfully dedicated time and energy to leading the school's Chapel each week. It is such a joy to work with these students - I don't even want to think about the fact that 5 of them will be graduating this year! But I know God has great things in store for them all and look forward to what HE will do in the next 6 months!

Tis the season

2011-12-16T10:55:00.000+09:00

Tis the season to spend some time in the kitchen!

Dec. 10 was Girl's night.

MN Creamy Wild Rice Soup was on the menu for dinner.

On the schedule was cookie baking!

Baking cookies with my family is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.

Since my family is far away I decided to invite my adopted "nieces" to start some new traditions.

I had prepared 4 different kinds of cookies and extended the table as long as it would go to create some more "counter" space.

I've been blessed by the mission home where I live and enjoy hosting parties - especially when the guests are junior high girls and the activity is baking cookies they've never before tasted!

Five teenagers came to the create cookies in this cookie factory.

We made cut-out sugar cookies.

Cracked sugar cookies - rolled in green or red sprinkles,

The girls got their hands full of chocolate making Chocolate Crinkles.

As the Chocolate crinkles cooled the girls frosted and decorated the sugar cookies.

(Note the tiny packages of sprinkles available in Japan!)

I think the girls would have enjoyed simply decorating cookies the WHOLE night.

Such creativity in this group!

They didn't hesitate to taste their creations either (note the missing head on the angel).

We tried a recipe of white chocolate and crushed candy canes. It was a bit soft but tasted great.

Here I am with Chris -who helped me host the event - we're enjoying our hot chocolate while the girls were discovering the thrill of stirring hot chocolate with a candy cane!

Here a sampling of what the girls took home that evening to share with their families.

Combine

2011-12-15T22:19:00.000+09:00

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3: Today we combined the cut out drawings with the toilet paper rolls using our glue sticks. We are 1 day away from finishing this project. I'm looking forward to showing the finished project. But also excited to hear the students retell the story of the FIRST Christmas to one another using their finished Nativity scene!

Color & Cut

2011-12-13T22:33:00.000+09:00

Step 1 was Collection.

Step 2 of our Christmas art project - Each student colored the 8 papers downloaded from here.

Even though the pictures are the same the way they colored them allowed for creativity and expression.

Step 3: Students cut out the figures in all 8 pages.

This is going to take a while!

As of today we have 3 and 1/2 pages cut and ready after 1 hour of work.

I'm finding this is great practice in following directions

-which lines to cut and which lines NOT to cut!

Using scissors -another important life skill learned in 1st and 2nd grades!

And stick-to-itive-ness - will they be able to see the project through to completion?

Collection

2011-12-12T23:02:00.000+09:00

Collection - For the past 2 weeks

students and families at our school have been collecting toilet paper rolls.

It's been a fun math assignment to have students count how many do we have?

How many more do we need?

We now have 108 rolls! Enough to start!

Tuesday we cut and glue the Christmas craft that requires 13 toilet paper rolls per student.

Stay tuned for the finished product.

Baptism

2011-12-04T21:26:00.000+09:00

Following our Sunday service last week there was an afternoon baptism service.

Since the Ikoma/Saidaiji Baptist church is renting a room from a building there is no baptismal. We were able to go to Asuka Church and use their facilities for the service.

^ Here is the church building

^The Baptismal - The pastor stands on the left

and the person being baptized sits in the water on the right.

^Here are the three who were Baptized. Mr. Takahashi, Momoka (age 8)

and Mrs. Kimura (Momoka's mom)

^ The Baptismal is at the back of the sanctuary

so everyone turned around and stood up to get a better view.

^ After the service there were snacks served and then we took a group photo.

Those baptized are the three in center front holding flowers.

What a blessing to witness this step of faith for these Jesus followers!

Up

2011-12-03T21:57:00.001+09:00

Shopping in Japan at Christmas time is wonderful -

You get to hear Christmas music playing in all the stores!

May it cause people to look up to Jesus.

^ When I stopped at the mall recently for some Christmas shopping

I saw an interesting event going on in the rotunda.

Kids were being strapped in (one at a time) to a seat attached to a giant balloon,

and riding 4 stories up in the air. Looked like fun!

^ This video was taken inside of Takanohara mall.

Eat

2011-12-02T21:33:00.000+09:00

Today as I was saying good-bye to my students a parent gave me an early Christmas gift.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts from Osaka.

I've never been to Krispy Kreme in Japan -

although I have passed by one in Shinjuku (Tokyo),

always with lines of at least a 30 minute wait. I may need to find this Osaka store as

I hear they have a creme brulee white mocha drink - which sound yummy!

The doughnuts I received were not only delicious but cute, too!

Flavors: Glazed, rum raisin, chestnut (Mont Blanc Ring),

berry mix jelly filled (Snowman berries), and frosted (Holiday wreath).

They were delicious and it was fun to share these sugar filled goodies with friends.

Shaken

2011-12-01T23:08:00.000+09:00

^This is the postcard I received from my friendly neighborhood mechanic reminding me that it was time for my shaken. (pronounced with a short /a/ sound) Shaken is the vehicle inspection that every car in Japan needs to have every two years which proves that it is road worthy. If there are problems with the car, like a light out or damaged breaks, it needs to be fixed. The older the car the more expensive the test is. There is also a tax on the weight of the car. Many people find it cheaper to buy a new vehicle rather than to have an older car tested.

Car owners can take their car to the test or can pay to have a mechanic take it to be tested.

I opted for the mechanic to take it and asked him to make needed repairs.

Shakken cost, weight tax, insurance and service fee were about 70,000 yen for me (about $900).

And the repairs were about 55,000 yen ($705).

While my car was getting tested,

I took the train to school Tuesday through Thursday.

The trip takes 35 minutes by car and takes an hour by train (20 minutes walking and 2 trains).

Above is a view of the train platform with people waiting for the train to come.

It makes me smile to see the straight orderly lines.

^ Here is the view of Kansai Christian School with the amazing foliage in the background

taken as I walked to school.

Here is a sunset view taken from the third floor of the school just before I walked to the train station.

The colors were stunning!

Unfailing

2011-11-30T21:06:00.001+09:00

Though the mountains be shaken
and
the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you
will NOT be shaken
nor
my covenant of peace removed,
says the LORD
who has compassion
on you.

Isaiah 54:10

Turkey Day!

2011-11-26T20:23:00.001+09:00

Finding a turkey in the grocery store in Japan just doesn't happen! You have to order it or visit a foreign foods store like Costco or Foreign Buyers Club.

This year I enjoyed Thanksgiving - on Wednesday (it was a national holiday (Labor Thanksgiving Day) so no school). I'm thankful to be able to enjoy the fellowship of the holiday with friends who've become like family.

^ The turkey (which was so moist!) was prepared by Albert (KCS Principal) and Cecile (5-8 grade teacher), here with their son Altus (12 grader) from South Africa.

^Chris (hostess, So. California girl, and the new 1 & 2nd grade teacher's aid) is doing the carving.

^ Here is the feast some foods were traditional American Thanksgiving day foods: mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, cranberries, creamed corn, stuffing (made with wild rice! recipe here)

But other things were more representative of the multicultural gathering: red bean rice (bottom left), chirashizushi (in the square dish), filippino stew (in white bowl, middle of the table), and persimmon.

^Here's what my plate looked like, the turkey is hiding under the stuffing and potatoes.

After the meal we sang worship songs and shared some things for which we're thankful.

Chris shared about the miracle of her mother (age 81) accepting her need for Jesus as her Savior.

Fifi shared that she came to Japan to help care for her grandparents. She shared the joy of her grandmother starting a relationship with Jesus - just one month before she passed away.

THANK YOU, GOD!

As there are no football games or parades on TV - We created our own entertainment by playing games. Spoons was the game enjoyed by the adults . . .

^ AND the kids. (More kids were upstairs playing video games, Nintendo DS, and legos.

Fifi, in the 54 t-shirt, is teaching them how to play.)

^And then we had PIE! Pumpkin, Apple, and Pecan Pies and cranberry bread plus chocolate cake!

Last year I made Pumpkin pie - this year

it was my first time to make a pecan pie - it won't be my last!

A few of my favorite things

2011-11-23T17:30:00.000+09:00

November 19th marked the 4 year anniversary of my coming to Japan as a career missionary. I decided it was a milestone that needed to be celebrated. So this summer when I heard that a few other friends were trying to get tickets to see the Sound of Music live musical production in Osaka - I said - "Count me in! I LOVE musicals!"

Tuesday, Nov. 22, I saw a live production of The Sound of Music in Japanese.

Since I knew the story well it was easy to follow and a delight to watch!

It was interesting to hear a new version of Do, Re, Mi, So, Fa, Ra, Shi!

Do = Donuts,

Re=Remon (lemon),

Mi= Minna san (all of us),

So = Sora (sky),

Fa =Faito (fight),

Ra= Rappa (trumpet),

Shi= Shiawase (happiness)

The theater was decorated with Christmas trees with the most ornate leaf ornaments I've ever seen.

The skyscraper, where the theater was, had a courtyard waterfall decorated with snowmen and Christmas cacti.

We couldn't resist taking photos by the display.

L to R, Yuri, Shan, Dawn, Lori.

Yumiko was behind the camera.

This Little Light

2011-11-17T21:24:00.001+09:00

Tomorrow will be the last day day at KCS for Mrs. Faerber as teacher's aid. Her title is teacher's aid but she does much more than that, from giving care to a student when he's ill, to creating treasure hunts at recess, from doing office tasks to taking the garbage to the neighborhood collection sight. She has served at the school for more than 7 years and her presence will be greatly missed. She helped in my classroom Monday to Thursday mornings for the past 3 years. I've learned so much from her as her humble serving heart has ministered to me and our students. Someone once called her an angel with clothes on, the way she shines her light for Jesus positively influences both heart and soul! I'll miss working with you!

Blessings to you, my friend, as you take this next step!

11-11-11

2011-11-15T20:19:00.000+09:00

To celebrate Eleven Day, on November 11, 2011, we had a party with the students in first and second grade. The kiddos wore clothes that had stripes or numbers on them.

In math they created at least 11 number problems that had the answer 11.

For reading we read the book "Interrupting Chicken" for 11 minutes.

For the food, the night before, I made chocolate cupcakes with the help of my friend, Anna.

Chocolate chip cookies with eleven chips each cookie in the shape of an eleven were also baked.

Because frosting is hard to find in the store and I only had one tiny bag of powered sugar - thus making the frosting impossible - I went with the good-ol-sprinkle-powdered-sugar technique.

I made the "11" out of a coffee filter then covered the cupcakes with powder.

We made enough for 1st-6th grade to each get one.

Close to 11:11 AM the first and second graders went around to each class delivering cookies to all the students and teachers. "HAPPY ELEVEN DAY!" they shouted with glee!

Students brought snacks that they could make into 11. Here are the pretz, (flavored pretzels) lined up to show the date (This student ate her cookie but didn't want the chocolate chips.)

Other students brought 11 pieces of candy to share or various flavored Pocky sticks (chocolate covered snack sticks). It was a fun day!

Although I admit I was happy when they went outside for recess

so they could work off some of that sugar!

ing

2011-11-13T21:54:00.001+09:00

Much has been going on recently. Each item below could be its own post but to make things simple I'm going lump it into one post so that you know what I've been up to over the last few weeks.

Thinking about this. . .

“No amount of activity in the King’s service will make up for neglect of the King Himself.” Quote from R.M. M’Cheyne

and trying to readjust my focus on Him so I'm not simply going through the motions jumping from one event to the next.

Digging into the book "erasing hell" by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle. Spending each Wednesday lunch hour with the 7 member KCS high school worship team discussing this book and it's implications for life. This is always a highlight of my week, the students are leading it and I leave challenged to dig deeper into the word each week!

Auditing the mission books to confirm the accuracy of the field treasurer's work. I have huge respect for Barb Chapman and the work she's been doing to put the right numbers in the right places! (No photo - You can use your imagination - me with a big book full of numbers and a calculator.)

Baking pumpkin chocolate cupcakes to be enjoyed with Pumpkin cheesecake Kit Kat bars for October's Girl's Night party at my house - we made Tacos. Following the pumpkin theme -I made pumpkin stew for my lunch the last week in October.

Traveling with students to Nagai Botanical Gardens and Osaka Museum of Natural History

The roses were in bloom.

The cosmos fields were at their peak.

But the students probably enjoyed watching the carp and turtles in the pond the most! The Ocean exhibit was interesting (and free!)- but the students would have been just as happy to watch the live animals near the pond the whole time.

Giving thanks for the blessings of missionary friends. Missionary fellowship was at my house in October.

(L to R) sitting: Lori, Anna, Chris,

standing: Shan, Yuri, Jeff, Ed, Barb, Nan, Caleb, Luke, Andrea (Michael is behind the camera)

The Jordan's (with Southern Baptist Conference, IMB) are now packing for retirement so this was our last time to meet as a group with them. Listening to their stories of God's faithfulness in recent trips to Tohoku and ministry among deaf communities in Japan was an encouragement to me.

Studying animals in Science class- we had a Reptile named, "Ninja", the tiny turtle who typically lives in the 3rd and 4th grade class, come visit.

(He's about the size of a 500 yen coin or a US half dollar coin.)

Celebrating the diversity of our school with ethnic wear at Open Mic Night (school talent show).

I'm dressed in an Indian Sari and Ms. Zoripuii is wearing an outfit from Northeastern India. (Her head dress is made with porcupine quills!)
My favorite acts of the evening were when one student did an abacas challenge, the bamboo dances, and Mr. G's "A day in the life of KCS" (SO Hilarious!). For the talent show the teacher's final act was dancing to the song マルマルモリモリ。

(Karl and Shirley this photo is for you!!)

Discovering what it looks like at a Japanese Fire Station. Students saw "big" fire engines,

and small fire engines (some roads are too narrow for the big engines!)

Students got to try on the gear, too.

Experiencing the inside of an ambulance for students was a thrill. (Sorry can't post photos of it)
The photo below is dedicated to my cousin Matt - who is a Firefighter in the states. This is what the inside of the firehouse looks like - bunk beds and tatami mat floors for sleeping areas. Sorry to discover there are no dalmatians at the station!

Learning the story of the lost son in first and second grade Bible class. Trying to help students who are less familiar with English I've found that having the students draw the photos after hearing the story helps them express what they understood of the story. The drawing below by a 2nd grader of the younger son feeding the pigs. (Apparently pigs turn blue if they eat blueberries!) The drawings were used to at the all school chapel on Friday.

Hosting, Anna, a 5th grader at my house while her parents went to a church planting conference in another part of Japan. She was with me for 4 days - it was fun to be Ms. Harms during the day and Lori when we went away from school. Watching her during her gymnastics practice gave me insight into the after school programs that are a part of life for so many of my students.

Driving the basketball team to their game in Osaka. I'm not coaching this year - thankfully they have someone more qualified. But I'm helping with the driving and enjoy the conversations along the road. So far the boys have a 1-1 record. They beat KIUA and lost to OIS.

Looking ahead at next week's schedule - I'd appreciate your prayers for grace and strength to keep focused on HIM. PTA meeting Monday, Bible study then Staff Meeting Wednesday, Worship team practice Thursday, Parent Teacher Conferences Thursday and Friday, Basketball Game in Kobe Saturday, Church votes on land purchase on Sunday.

Gossip Singers

2011-11-07T20:00:00.000+09:00

Recent student quote:

In Music class we were studying call and response music and I introduced them to a few gospel songs.

The next day while listening to the song "Oh Happy Day" with my students,

a second grade student asked, "Is she a gossip singer, Ms. Harms?"

We sang a few gospel songs but we're not gossip singers.

Here are some photos taken after the Flower Basket concert. There were about 25-30 people in the audience, many from a local nursing home. We had a lovely day - despite the rainy weather outside!

Life has been very busy lately with school and mission work

so I haven't been able to post as much as I would like.

We're into a new quarter at school with new adventures and challenges just around the corner.

O Happy Day!

2011-10-29T21:42:00.000+09:00

Tomorrow I'll be singing with chorus group called the Flower Baskets. We are singing in Naramachi Onjokan 奈良町音声館　from 2-2:45pm. (Its a 15 minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station.) The concert is free so if you live close - please stop by and enjoy the sounds of Japanese and English music.

Practicing all the Japanese songs feels like I'm in a Japanese Music 101 class as I'm learning some songs that are soundtracks to movies (Seikai no Yakusoku) and other songs that the Japanese members learned in elementary school (Furusato). We'll do some songs from English musicals like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and I Could have Dance All Night, too. I get to sing the solo for O Happy Day! which is SUCH a wonderful upbeat song - we'll see if I can manage to get the words and notes right while clapping and dancing! It promises to be a day of adventure with 7 other Japanese ladies.

Energy in a Can

2011-10-26T20:45:00.000+09:00

There are some days when I think if only you could capture the energy of a 1st and 2nd grader and deliver it to a tired grown-up (read: the teacher) in a consumable form with a great taste you'd have an amazing product that would keep education moving forward.

The Espresso Pillows from Trader Joe's are the aaaaamazing product that I think has figured out the formula. Of course they don't list "energy of a small child" on the ingredient list but that is what these fabulous bits of "crunchy toffeed espresso bits covered in dark chocolate" deliver!

A big THANK YOU, to my supplier in Minnesota!

Perspective

2011-10-24T20:51:00.000+09:00

I was in my car on my way to church when I encountered this sight. It's a bus on a two-way street within walking distance of my house. This is a narrow part of the road where there is a bus stop. While people were getting off I snapped a photo. During busy times of days there are "baton men" or traffic directing guys who stand at 3 different points of this narrow road. Using radio communication they help the traffic go smoothly and stop cars coming from the other direction when needed. Akishinodera (temple) is to the left just out of the picture and the bicycle racing stadium is about a block to the right.

I could have taken another route to church which has wider roads - but on that route I often get stopped at the train tracks.

Seeking Guidance

2011-10-23T18:49:00.000+09:00

Ikoma and Saidaiji Baptist Church has been praying for God's provision for a new church location.

In recent weeks 2 plots of land have been found - located in the same block about 5 minutes from where we are currently renting some rooms of a building. (see previous post)

^ One plot (between the parking lot and the white home) is owned by a housing contractor and would need to have a home that the contractor designs used for the building. They have presented architectural plans to the building committee.

^ The other plot of land - the exact same size - (between an animal clinic and homes) is open for the purchase. This one is not connected to a builder and therefore the church has asked a Christian architect to draw up a plan for a building if we purchase this plot of land.

In either location the plan is for first floor to be used by the church and for the pastor and his family to live on the second floor of the building.

There are pros and cons to each choice but the location - in a neighborhood called 'Hikaridai' is a residential area filled with newly built homes. There is ample parking for cars at a nearby community center and it is on a bus line that connects to the local train station. There is one other church, started by a pentecostal South African missionary, in this neighborhood.

Please pray for God to lead in a clear way as we seek to move the church where he would have us be.
A decision needs to be given to the builders within the next 2 weeks if we decide to purchase the land.

What's at stake?

2011-10-19T22:33:00.000+09:00

Recently I've been thinking about the idea that God's glory is at stake - in how I live my life. Will I add or subtract? It's a motivation for pursuing God and a heart check in the way I interact the people and events around me.

1 Peter 2:11-12

¹¹ Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

October seems to be the reality check of the school year. - All my ideas and dreams for this year have hit the wall known as reality. The energy I started the year with has fizzled. Using strength to regain health from a cold, while juggling the responsibilities in the classroom, the communication with ministry partners, the responsibilities with my mission, and the "extra things" such as preparing for a choral concert and hosting gatherings. The blog is one of the many balls that was dropped during this juggling act. It's a lot all at the same time - but October always is. It is filled with so many opportunities disguised as problems and challenges.

It is also a time of blessings . . .
*High school Worship team is coming together as a unit and putting focus in the right place despite obstacles.
*first and second grade Students are starting to show baby step progress in the topics learned (including English!)
*Drama Script has been selected for this spring.
* Ikoma/Saidaiji Church has found 2 plots of land and is in discussion over which to buy and build on for the new building.
*Fall weather change has brought cooler temps and a change of color in the leaves.

Praise God from whom All Blessings flow!

*Arriving home from school in time to watch farmers harvest rice by my house and have a 3 year old neighbor boy talk to me about all the big machines and show me the pretty flowers by the field.
*Getting to skype with family in Minnesota and hearing my 3 year old nephew ask, "Can I come over?"
*Hearing positive reports after my sister, Lisa's shoulder surgery.

Looking forward with hope to His future faithfulness . . .

* Exploring fossils and treasures at Osaka's Museum of Natural History at the All-school field trip this Friday!
*Celebrating God's faithfulness as we recognize the years of service of retiring missionaries when we gather at Missionary fellowship this Friday night at my place.
*Anticipating Jr. High Girl's night which is in it's 2nd month, meeting at my place Saturday.
*Encountering prospective students and parents on Monday the Open Campus Day - Where KCS parents and prospective parents of future students can visit school to see what we "do" from 8:30-3:15. Hearing we'll have at least 4 visitors in our classroom in addition to KCS parents.
*Cheering the KCS boys in their first basketball game of the season.
*Singing "O, Happy Day" ad lib. solo in the Choral Concert. 10/30.
*Constantly reminding myself that God has called me to this place for this season - and he is writing the story of my life.
*Experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit, who is providing power and grace to meet the demands of opportunity filled days.

Sport's Day

2011-10-07T19:44:00.000+09:00

Shadow of students cheering at last years Sport's Day.

Today was Sport's Day or undokai. Students in three teams: White, Yellow and Blue, participate in races and games and obstacle courses. Each team also has a cheer which they perform for the audience. All of the games and cheers not only build school spirit and cohesion but the teams receive points for them. At the end of Friday the points from the dress-up days and sports day are added together and the winning team receives the school trophy.

It's a busy week but a highlight of the year for many students.

I however was sick with a cold (it's been building all week) and instead of cheering on my team I visited an Ear Nose and Throat Doctor. Interesting experience. I'm thankful for good healthcare, medicine and for my friend Chris, who was willing to guide me through the process and translate for me.

Food Day

2011-10-06T19:20:00.000+09:00

Spirit Week! Each day we've had a different dress up theme. However, since I'm not posting student photos it's a little difficult to show you what the outfits looked like.

Tuesday was a Prom Day and students dressed up in fancy dresses or suit and tie.

Wednesday was Athlete day and we had everything from karate to rugby represented.

Thursday was Food Day. Instead of dressing up as a food item the students were asked to bring food. Each team put the food together to create something that represented their team.

I am the White team coach and we came up with the idea of using our school mascot: the Eagles!

I found this website which described how to make edible eagles.

I created this one using a cookie, marshmallow, frosting, bread crumbs, cloves, and almond.

The students made their eagles from cookies, marshmallows, melted white chocolate(our "glue") rolled in parmesan cheese and candies and chocolate icing for the nose, eyes and eyebrows.

My team created trees from broccoli covered with white radish as the snow.

The nests were made from from white cake topped with various Japanese snack foods.

And then the little eagles on top. I really enjoyed seeing all the students from 1st grade up to 12 grade work together as a team to create this scene.

The Blue Team created a torch made from seaweed, cabbage, blueberries and candies.

The Yellow Team made a rocket ship soaring to the stars and planet Y.

Hoops

2011-10-06T17:41:00.000+09:00

KCS Basketball season has started and one of the teachers at KCS has taken on the challenge or remaking the basketball hoops. They have been outside for years and were in need of repair. On Thursday one of the hoops was completed and the boys enjoyed shooting some hoops after school. The team uses the school outdoor and indoor hoops, but we don't have a full court so they rent a gym near by for some practices and to host games.

Good Luck

KCS Boys BasketBall team!

Have a rocking good year!

Thanks to Mr. Hettinger for hours of work on the backboard and Mr. Dugan for coaching this year!

Visitors

2011-10-05T22:44:00.000+09:00

On Wednesday, I had the privilege of having Wooddale Worldwide (Missions) Pastor Richard Payne visit Kansai Christian School. Richard Payne and I met in Minnesota, August 2010, during his first week on the job. What a blessing to have a church send their a pastor to visit their global partners and see first hand what we do and the environment in which we work!

Richard and his wife Darcie visited while the students were at Art class so I was free to give them a tour of the school and introduce them to just about every teacher before the end of the school day. They left with the Chapmans (other Converge Worldwide missionaries that Wooddale partners), while I went to a staff meeting. We joined up again in the evening for dinner at a Japanese family restaurant and enjoyed hearing stories of how God is working through Global partners in other areas of Asia.

Side note: this week is Spirit week at school. Each day has a theme for the students and teachers to wear outfits matching that theme. Wednesday was Extraordinary Athlete day. This photos doesn't show my whole outfit but I was dressed as a runner - hence the bright pink shirt and jogging pants.

A View of Harvest

2011-10-04T21:37:00.000+09:00

As I drove home from school on Tuesday I decided to stop at one of the rice field along the way. The fields closest to me as I was taking the photo had been harvested but the fields farthest away had not.

As I walked around the field I greeted a women who looked to be one of the farmers on her way home. She struck up a conversation with me, explaining some of the harvest process. I didn't understand much of it but was delighted that she would take the time after a hard days work to talk with a stranger.

When she asked where I was from a conversation about her travels ensued.

I learned that she was 80 years old and that when she was 70 she traveled to about 5 countries in Asia and to Hawaii but she hasn't gone to America yet. (apparently Hawaii didn't count as America.)

She was planning to go to America this year but her husband died, her passport expired and her traveling friend got sick. So she decided to give up. She sounds like one spunky lady! And she was wearing the cutest sunbonnet - Little House on the prairie style. I wish I would have had the guts to ask permission to take a picture of her. I did take pictures of the rice fields.

The rice was cut by hand, tied in bundles and then hung upside down on the stands to dry. I have very little knowledge of rice harvesting process but think it is fascinating. And the fact that some 80 year old ladies are out in the field doing some of the heavy lifting just reinforces my view of the strength of obachans in Japan.

Aubreycadabra and the Munchkin

2011-10-03T21:54:00.000+09:00

Today, Aubrey spent the day with me in first and second grade.

I met Aubrey (from Indiana) during our August Mission trip to Tohoku.

She is a teacher, living near Kyoto, and was interested in seeing what school life is like at KCS.

When I introduced "Ms. Aubrey" to the students, one student said, "Aubreycadabra?"

And when they saw a picture (shown above) of when I first met Aubrey

one student said, "Ms. Harms, you're a munchkin."

But when you see us in a group I don't look so short, right?!

I'm on the far left and Aubrey is second from the right.

Anyway . . .

Aubrey is such an encouraging and joyful person it is always a blessing to be with her. I really enjoyed having her in our classroom and hearing her observations and insights over dinner.

Aubrey has 6 months left on her teaching contract at an English school and

is asking God to guide her in this next chapter and beyond.

Please join me in praying for her as she seeks to follow God's leading in her life.

(Sorry, no photos from today's visit all of these photos are recycled from the August Tohoku trip.)

Harvest Time

2011-10-02T19:43:00.002+09:00

Yesterday morning I looked out to the backyard and saw this.

The rice farmer must have harvested the field on Friday because this was the view earlier in the week.

Yesterday afternoon while I was driving my friend Andrea (from Iowa) to the train station, I passed a combine on the street heading to another rice paddy. We had a good laugh - as it made us feel like we were in Minnesota or Iowa - except this combine wasn't much bigger than a motorcycle with a side car.

Rice harvest has begun in Nara.

Girls' Night

2011-10-01T22:52:00.000+09:00

Friendships are important whether you are 15 or 35 or 75 years old. And Christian friendships are especially rare gift when you live in a country with so few Christians. Reflecting on this, I asked God to open my eyes to specific people that he wanted me to invest in this school year.

Was there a student to reach out to or a person with whom I should connect in a deeper way?

As I was praying about it I felt led to start a "girls night" for the 7-12 grade girls from KCS and in the various Christian girls who are home schooled or attending Japanese public schools in our community.

The main purpose of girls night to give the girls a safe place to be together and
have some positive fun with a Christian influence. I hope some
learning takes place and some deep conversations too.

Also I want give the parents some adult
Christian women to invest in the lives of their girls.

But this wasn't something I could do by myself, so I talked to a few women to ask for their prayers. I asked my missionary friend, Chris, if she'd help me host the girls' night and be willing to invest in the lives of the girls with me. She said yes! Which I'm excited about since she is not only a TON of fun to be with but I believe her gift set is a perfect match for this ministry!

One girl's creation - a pretty flower pizza!

October 1, was the 1st Girls' Night at my house.

What a fun evening it was! Four girls came and I loved hearing the laughter fill the house and seeing the friendships develop. The girls brought games and pizza toppings. Each girl made her own pizza and then we played board games and did mad libs. During dinner an interesting discussion took place about birth order and their perceptions on how that effects their relationships with parents. These girls have a lot to say, it was a blessing to listen and a joy to get to know them better!

I'm looking forward to getting together for another Girl's Night in October!

Happy Birthday, KCS!

2011-09-30T17:49:00.000+09:00

Today Kansai Christian School celebrates 41 years!

The staff, students and parents will be celebrating by eating lunch together and enjoying some cupcakes for dessert. At the last PTA meeting various parents and teachers volunteered to bring cupcakes.

I was one of the volunteers.

I decided to use the occasion to try a new recipe using some ingredients

that many of my students have never tasted in a cupcake.

Pumpkin and butterscotch chips.

I found the recipe on the back of the Nestle chips bag, you can find it here.

I wasn't sure if the flavor combination would go over well with the Japanese students

but it met with rave reviews.

Children say the cutest things

2011-09-29T22:16:00.001+09:00

Tomorrow Is KCS's 41st Birthday! Woot woot!
I asked my kids if they had any special prayers for school.
(I anticipated prayers of thankfulness.)
But my students suggested we pray that KCS doesn't "break down".
Me: Why? (We're in our 3rd year in a newly remodeled building).
An 8 year old: Because after you turn 41 years old you breakdown easy

Bible Class Quote:
Studying Adam and Eve and Sin. Students were going through a list and needed to determine if it is a sin trap or not.
Me: Number 1. 'Being selfish'. Is that a sin trap or not?
Student A: Yes. That is bad.
Student B (who happens to LOVE fish): What! Whats wrong with being shell fish?

Math quote of the day:
While students were learning about US money -the half dollar and dollar and the presidents on them (John F. Kennedy and George Washington), a 2nd grade girl said, "The man on the half dollar looks very handsome and the man on the dollar looks like Mozart."

Last week's Quote:
While I was on playground duty, I told the high school boys to come inside from recess since it was starting to rain.
A second grader who watched this happen asked, "Ms. Harms, are you older than those boys?"
Me: "What do you think?"
Student: "Umm, yes????"
Someday I'll tell him we don't measure people's age by how tall they are. Someday.

Student leadership?
Students are assigned different leadership roles each week. Last week a 2nd grader was in charge of morning meeting and she was not happy with the way some students were sitting on the carpet. We have a saying, "Criss-cross Apple Sauce, spoons in your bowl." Which means sit with your legs criss-cross and put your hands in your lap. All the students in class know this is a reminder for how to sit.
Student Leader with hands on her hips calls out Student A:" Criss-cross Apple . . .
Student A with frustration: "I AM APPLE-SAUCING!!"

Creative Thinking
Student: Oh, so P in PTA is Parent, T is teacher, what is A for?
Me: What do you think?
Student: Another?
Me: Try again.
Student 1: Animals?
Student 2: Yeah, then Brownie, Monkey, and Froggy could go! (Classroom stuffed animals.)

What's it like to grow up overseas?

2011-09-28T22:06:00.000+09:00

I recently read an article called,

My Familiy's Experiment in Extreme Schooling in the NYtimes. (Video on the link too!)

It talks about an expat family (from New York) living in Moscow and the experience their children had being immersed in a Russian speaking school. It gives an interesting picture of what school is like for students learning in their 2nd or 3rd language. Some lessons in the article are applicable to missionary kids, cross-cultural kids, as well as second language learners in the states. The challenges of adapting, learning the unspoken rules, and finding ways to feel you can survive and even thrive. One paragraph that stood out to me was . . .

In those first months, our kids found themselves bewildered and isolated. Danya was a typical oldest child, a coper who rarely lost control. At night, though, she had insomnia. In class, she braced herself for that moment when she was asked for homework. She sometimes did not know whether it had been assigned. During Russian grammar, the words on the blackboard looked like hieroglyphics. She tried to soothe herself by repeating a mantra: “It’s O.K. to feel like an idiot. This is going to take time.” But she felt betrayed. We had assured her that children grasp language effortlessly, and there she was, the dumb foreigner.

The school where I teach has students from MANY different cultures and heart languages. But the language of education is English. Japanese is taught 2 hours a week starting in first grade. My class of native Japanese speakers become chatterboxes when their Japanese teacher enters the classroom to start Japanese class. Sometimes I stay in the classroom to listen and learn more about my own students who are so quiet during English instruction.

As my students are all Japanese children - living in Japan, they are not true third culture kids - seeing as though they live in their passport culture. However, because of the international environment in which they attend school they definitely fit the cross-cultural kids category. Their parents have taken a bold step in enlisting their children in "Extreme Schooling" in English in their own country.

When I think about the fact that my students do/or at some point did look at the white board and not understand the meaning of the English I've written up there - I also reminding myself - that even though this student is not answering me, "It's O.K. this is going to take time."

But good things come to those who press on toward the goal. I find myself cheering with the students as they decode the sounds of letters and create a word. I'm rejoicing when I realize they can now ask, "May I go to the bathroom please?" in a complete sentence rather than just look at me with panic in their faces and say "Toilet?"

Today the rejoicing came when the Bells, former KCS teachers from Australia, came to visit and all 7 students greeted the guests with a smile and handshake saying in English, "My name is ---------. Nice to meet you."

What's the drive like?

2011-09-27T21:01:00.000+09:00

^ This is what my drive from school to home looked like on Monday(last week).

^This a little further down the road on Tuesday (last week).

Believe it or not this is a two way street.

At about 3:20 pm the white vehicle had tried to pass

a child who was walking on the side of the street.

The driver moved too far over and found his tire in the gutter/ditch.

At about 5pm the yellow JAF truck was working to get the white vehicle out of the ditch.

JAF - the Japanese Automobile Federation (Japan's version of the American AAA).

The JAF worker, in the blue jump suit in front of the white car,

is standing in the ditch - it looks about 2 feet deep.

Ditches, gutters, moats or small rivers - whatever you want to call them -

they are a major area for caution when driving in Japan.

This one above is near my house and about 3 feet deep.

The concrete slabs crossing the ditch are the sidewalk entrances to the houses or driveways.

^Here is the ditch near Kansai Christian School.

(Mum flowers in the field)

I'm guessing this ditch to be about 6 feet deep.

^This is by the rice paddy in front of the school.

Last year I saw 2 cars turn this corner too sharp and end up with a tire hanging over the ditch.

JAF came to the rescue then too.

Not all roads look like this -

some ditches (usually newly developed areas and in town) are actually covered.

If you look again at the top photo in this series on the left side of the photo near the rice field is a metal grate covering the gutter, but if your car goes to the left of the metal grate you'll find your car slipping about 2 feet into a rice field.

And for those of you who are now worried about me driving in Japan - I try to use the caution I learned on very narrow streets in Tokyo, and I carry my cell phone and JAF card with me in case there is a need to call for help.
Having grown up in Minnesota, I must say- It could be worse!
- - the narrow streets could be covered with ice and snow of a Minnesota winter!

What's the name of your church?

2011-09-26T20:41:00.001+09:00

Here is a sign that says the name of the Ikoma church.

This spring we merged 2 separate churches into one.

Saidaji Baptist church + Ikoma Baptist Christ Church = ?

Right now its called: Ikoma - Saidaiji Baptist Church

or 生駒〜西大寺バプテスト教会

Saidaiji is the name of a town and Ikoma is a name of a town/region.

So it is a little misleading to have 2 cities in the name of your church.

People ask, "Are you in Saidaiji or Ikoma?"

The website here still has the Ikoma name

- but the map here might be helpful if you are in the area and want to come visit.

牧師の証 日本語だけです。

Pastor Arakawa's testimony is also on the website - in Japanese only.

There are about 20 to 30 people in attendance each week

with about 6 children, 3 junior high/high school students.

Right now we are renting rooms on the second floor of a building in Ikoma.

(Can you see the sign in the window?)

The first floor contains a post office, hair salon and other businesses - most are closed on a Sunday.

Third floor are apartments.

Today the pastor and lay leaders of the church met with a building company to talk about purchasing land and building a new church. We have been gathering money to pay for a new building but have yet to find a good location that is affordable and accessible (near a train station, bus stop and with parking for those with cars). I'm curious to hear how the talks went today - the location seems good, the accessibility seems great, this time I think affordability is the main concern.

What's there to do on a holiday?

2011-09-23T22:16:00.000+09:00

Today we celebrated the Autumnal Equinox.

We had a day off of school.

So what does one do on a Japanese holiday?

Well often there is a festival scheduled around holidays.

Today I went to the

Meisei School Festival, in Osaka.

I joined my friends, the Ibaraki family,

to go to Ibaraki sensei's school to experience a school festival.

It's a private catholic high school for boys.

We started the day listening to a band concert in the hall.

Then we explored the other events around the school.

Clubs and classes had various events and booths set up on campus for visitors to enjoy.

There was a "rock, paper, scissors" game room,

a ring toss,

and a shooting game.

For lunch we ate hot dogs and yakisoba (fried noodles)

cooked by high school boys in flowery aprons.

Here we're waiting in line for dessert.

Megu (in pink), Jun (in blue) and Sachiko (Mom).

Yo (Dad) was busy helping his class with activities.

Enjoying some yummy crepes.

^The basket ball shooting game.

Jun gets a little help from his dad.

Sachiko made 6 out of 8 shots! Nice job!

The school's "train club" sets up some tracks each year for the visitors to test drive.

It's hard to imagine a "train club" at an American high school.

The chemistry club's slime making project was a big hit with Jun.

Check out the mischief in that face!

Playing with balloons.

Saying good-bye to the fish before we left.

We took the train home.

Jun loves sitting in the first train car whenever possible

so that he can get a view of the train driver

and look out the front window to see all the passing trains.

He knows most of them by name.

What's bugging you?

2011-09-22T17:00:00.000+09:00

After the typhoon on Wednesday I went out to inspect the yard.

Finding a few more bugs that I anticipated.

^on the tomato plant

eating the Calla lily

Hanging out by the dogwood tree

Dead in the "rock garden".

^Eating up the blueberry plant. v

I touched this one before I saw it - OUCH!

Felt like a thousand needles in my finger.

Slithering between two dead potted plants was a snake.

^ With all the hungry bugs and a snake in the neighborhood

no wonder this little fella was hiding.

He's about the size of my finger nail, half the size of most of the bugs.

I found him on top of the front gate.

v Can you see him in the photo below? - look toward the right

What's the weather like?

2011-09-21T16:46:00.000+09:00

Typhoon 15 also known as Typhoon Roke has arrived.

Today's Forecast: Hurricane conditions possible.

Showery rains containing strong gusty winds and heavy downpours at times.

High 76F. NE winds shifting to NW at 40 to 60 mph.

Rainfall expected to exceed 2 inches.

There were storm advisories out for today

so school was canceled for almost all of my prefecture.

At many Japanese schools the students stay home but the teachers are required to go to school.

I was able to stay home.

Heavy rains, flooding and possible landslides have caused the government to evacuate people in other areas of Japan.

The Tohoku area, near the 3/11 earthquake/tsunami, is also in danger of flooding.

This afternoon as the storm moved on from Nara and the rains let up,

I went for a walk to the post office/bank.

I'm looking forward to Friday's forcast of "Plenty of sun" and Saturday's "Abundant sunshine".

^Here is the rice paddy in front of my house with some wind/water causing a little damage.

The metallic ribbon around the field is to scare the birds away.

^Here is the view from the backyard looking at another rice paddy.

What's for breakfast?

2011-09-20T09:00:00.000+09:00

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I got this recipe in 1997, not sure where, but it is my "go to" muffin recipe. I will put over ripe bananas in the freezer in preparation for a day I have enough time (and energy) to do some baking.

I typically double the batch and put at least half of the muffins in the freezer. It may sound weird but I like to eat them partially frozen. I wake up make some coffee (hot or iced) and eat a partially frozen BCC muffin (or 2 or 3). It's great for days I'm pressed for time and need breakfast "to go" my coffee tumbler and muffins can be enjoyed while sitting in the car at a red light or railroad crossing.

I've just gotten some colorful silicon cupcake/muffin holders which can go in the oven. It makes for easy clean up - no need to search stores for paper liners which are sold in groups of 10. (Although IKEA is a fun place to get those!) Since products like "Pam" or anti-stick cooking spray is not readily available here I like skipping the grease-the-muffin-tins step!

If you're going to freeze the muffins I recommend going without paper liners - as they are hard to peal off when frozen. Frozen muffins can be stored for up to 3 months (although mine are long gone before then.) Unwrapped frozen muffins can also be placed on a paper towel in the in the microwave and heated on HIGH for about 30 seconds.

I've talked about these muffins before but don't think I've shared the recipe on the website so here it is:

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup sour milk (can be made by adding a little vinegar or lemon juice to milk and letting sit for 15 minutes)
6 oz. mini chocolate chips (I often substitute chopped milk chocolate candy bars)

Directions:
1. Mix together eggs, margarine, and sugar
2. In a second bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt.
3. Alternate adding part of the dry ingredients and part of the mashed bananas and the sour milk to the egg mixture until all has been added.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Fill greased or lined muffin tins a little over 1/2 full.

Bake at 350F/180 C for 15-20 minutes.
Let muffins cool in pans for a minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
If you've resisted temptation this long - give in - pour yourself a glass of milk and enjoy the muffins!

What's your favorite muffin recipe?

What's in bloom?

2011-09-19T20:27:00.000+09:00

Higanbana or the Red Spider Lily or Flower of Autumn Equinox

I spotted the first Spider lily bloom of the season on Saturday.

This flower typically blooms around Sept. 23.

There are many around rice paddies because according to one site I read

"the bulbs are well known to be distinctly poisonous (and can lead to death), they were planted around the edges of paddies and house walls to keep down pests such as mice."

I like seeing them because it means fall is just around the corner

and with it comes cooler temperatures.

These photos were taken of the flowers bordering the rice paddy out my front door. It's not an easy flower to photograph - its a challenge because its in a clump of flowers and the thin petals make focusing hard - especially when you're trying to swat annoying mosquitoes at the same time!

I blogged about this flower in 2008 here.

What's for a snack?

2011-09-18T21:13:00.000+09:00

This summer my friend Mihwa, introduced me to this cool snack

in the freezer section of the grocery store.

^ It's a Papico icy -flavor? "chococohi" Which is Chocolate Coffee.

Basically its a frozen Mocha!

It's like a mocha frappuccino in a tube.

Made by Glico! (Also maker of Pocky sticks and Pretz)

^Two servings in one package. 80ml x2

costs about 100 to 120 yen

^Instructions show how to separate them and then open by pulling the ring.

^ A cool treat on a hot and humid day. (31C/ 87F with 74% humidity.)

(Note: they do sell other flavors but I'm stuck on this one!)

What's wrong with this picture?

2011-09-17T20:22:00.000+09:00

Sept. 17, 2011

This is the Ume (Japanese plum) tree in my backyard.

So what's wrong?

It's September 17!

There should be leaves on the branches,

- but some VERY hungry caterpillars

decided the leaves were the answer to

"What's for dinner?"

As I was hanging laundry out on the 2nd floor balcony last week,

I noticed the tree only had leaves in the middle.

When I looked closer I saw fuzzy worms feasting on the top most leaves.

I couldn't reach them so I didn't take action.

When I looked today there were no leaves and no caterpillars.

The good news is

1.) I won't have to rake up the fall leaves from the ume tree.

2.) I'll have an unobstructed view of the rice harvest

when the farmers take to the fields early October.

3.) These herbivores must not like the taste of maple

because I saw no evidence that they had moved to the neighboring maple tree.

June 25, 2011 ^ Ume tree with leaves on left. Maple tree center.

July 9, 2011, Looking from the road toward the back of the house.
Ume tree is almost in the center by the white shed.

Here's photo of the ume tree when its starting to bloom.

Feb. 19, 2011

What's for dinner?

2011-09-16T21:02:00.000+09:00

Because I can.

Cereal - its not just for breakfast anymore.

The cereal aisle in America seems to contain 1,001 choices. In Japan we have plain cornflakes, frosted cornflakes, choco flakes and granola. I happen to LOVE Calbee's fruit granola (pictured right). I also happen to like Grape Nuts cereal from the states. Thanks to a shipment from Foreign Buyer's Club (FBC) I have a case of boxes of Grape Nuts cereal. While the each cereal is great on it's own together they have become my "go to" meal when I'm too tired to cook and have no brain cells left to put together anything else for dinner. Throw in a banana and few dried blueberries and cranberries and I am one happy gal.

What's in Season?

2011-09-15T17:31:00.002+09:00

Nashi is in season right now. It's also known as an "asian pear". It tastes like a cross between an apple and a pear. I brought some to school today and 3 of my students had also brought nashi for snack time. I cut it like apple slices and peal the pealing off. Such a refreshing snack on these hot and humid days!

Rules

2011-09-14T22:11:00.006+09:00

After writing our goals and hopes for the 2011-12 school year

we talked about what we would need to do to reach our goals.

Yesterday the students agreed on our top 5 classroom rules and to demonstrate their understanding of the rule they drew pictures to show how to follow the rule.

Today the poster and drawings were decorating the wall when the students came to school.

The students took time to explain their drawings to the class and

we even did some role playing to practice following the rule.

1. Be a good friend.

Like when someone is carrying lots of bags up the stairs

and you are only carrying one bag

you can say something like. . . "Are you ok? Should I help you?"

Your friend will say, "Thank you!"

You can also be a good friend by saying "Hello!!" and

greeting them with a big smile and using their name.

(Name blocked in photo for privacy reasons. )

2. Listen to others.

(drawing still in progress)

3.Think before your act or speak.

Here a student is thinking how should I act when someone is in my way,

Should I push and shove (No)

or say, "Excuse me." (Yes!)

4. Speak English

A first grader drew some fruit

and put a lot of effort into writing sounds for the English word.

5. Take care of classroom materials.

Here the students are taking care of their papers and chairs.

(Notice no one is ripping the paper and all are sitting with 4 chair legs on the floor.

Again rule #5. These girls are careful to shut the door quietly.

It takes a lot of time and energy to have the students write the rules but I'm hoping since they wrote them they will have a better understanding and more "buy in" to creating a positive learning environment. This is the first time I've let the students write the rules, I'm curious to see how it plays out.

For our morning meeting rules I wrote and illustrated these.

Mauvelous!

2011-09-13T21:10:00.040+09:00

R to L

purple mountains majesty

tickle me pink

mauvelous

bittersweet

macaroni and cheese

I think the names of colors are at the edge, between where language fails and where it's at its most powerful. ~A.S. Byatt

I'm working with my students to teach/review names of colors. I think they have the basic 16 down. But when I look at the new names for some of the crayola crayons that came in the box of 64, I realize the names of colors were not created to make life easy for English as a Second Language learners (or their teachers!)! So much background information that needs to be taught before you understand what is "purple mountain's majesty" and most Japanese kids have never even eaten mac & cheese! It does however, give me some ideas on vocabulary expansion for the 2nd graders! Perhaps a color naming contest?

Ahh - if only there were time! Today was day 2 of week 2 of the school year. We're learning what sounds the letters l, t, and b say and how to write them correctly. We're studying numbers and the words that go with the digits. We're learning about God's power to create with his words and specifically about the part of creation we call insects. We made passports in music class to prepare for a semester of traveling the world through music. We reviewed "how to wash your hands with soap", "how to sit properly in a chair" and "how to greet someone with a high 5". Last but not least, first and second graders narrowed down the classroom rules to our top 5 and illustrated them.

But school life doesn't stop at 3:15! Yesterday was the first PTA meeting of the year - I was voted in as secretary. A potluck followed the meeting giving me time to talk with a variety of parents and teachers and eat some delicious food: from chili & cornbread to mochi! Plus high school and junior high applications for KCS Worship team for 2011-12 have been collected and our group will kick off this week.

So far we've had a mauvelous start to the week!

Potential

2011-09-10T12:58:00.001+09:00

I love the feeling of potential and hope that the new school year brings. It's like a new box of colored pencils when you look at the possibilities and imagine what the white paper will be transformed into as you take your time to select the first color.

Today as I reflected on the first week of school I couldn't help but smile. This year will definitely be filled with its own challenges given the language abilities and wide range of academic levels within the class. But I believe this year also promises to be filled with some amazing moments of growth for the students as well as for myself.

This week students worked to describe their goals for the school year. Answers ranged from, "I want to learn English." To "I want to learn to make friends." From "I want to learn science and do lots of experiments." to "I want to learn to be an actor."

I'm hoping we'll be able to create a caring community in the class where these goals can be reached. One of my goals for the first week of school was for the first and second graders to get to know one another and learn to work together.

My heart warmed to see a second grader help a first grader practice her words for Sharing time (show and tell). They practiced the words over and over again. And when sharing time came the 2nd grader smiled in encouragement as the first grader hesitated in the two sentences she shared. When she was finished the 2nd grader gave a huge smile and thumbs up from a cross the room, causing a smile to spread across the face of the first grader.

Another encouraging moment came when a first grader was struggling with tears of sadness and the second graders stepped in to comfort her, one even offering her a hug. The scene is even more amazing when I consider that the student offering the hug was one who struggles the most with making friends and noticing the needs of other people.

This year I have identical twins in my class, and they are reminding me that God created each personality with uniqueness and value. It is my goal to be able to get to know the personalities, learning styles and likes and dislikes of all my students so that I can best guide them in this learning process.

Praising God for the bundles of potentiality and promise that I have the privilege of working with on a daily basis. I'm praying for wisdom to know how best lead and guide this group. I don't know what the "white paper" that is our class will look like at the end of the year but I'm excited about the possibilities.

Create

2011-09-08T10:24:00.000+09:00

We're studying about Creation and how God created something out of nothing by using his words.

As people we had to go to the store and buy some art supplies to create our project but we are still reflecting who God is - using our gifts of creativity!

Students created using playdough.

Here is a tiny version of Big Bird.

a rabbit

A shark with some amazing teeth!

a yellow crab donut (do you see the image in the middle?)

a purple bear

Typhoon caused landslides

2011-09-07T21:19:00.000+09:00

Typhoon Talas or #12 as they say here moved very slowly across Japan. We had about 4 days of rain and some winds here in my part of Nara, KCS postponed our clean-up day that had been scheduled for Saturday but other events went on as planned. Sunday had a little rain but then the sun came out and I even saw a rainbow. I don't have a TV (Ok, I have one its not connected, I only use it only for DVD's.) so my source of news is from the internet or an international English paper but with the start of school absorbing my time I hadn't really had time to read the news.

So when a few friends started asking, "Lori, are you ok? Sounds like things are pretty bad in Nara prefecture!" I started to take notice of what was going on. The weather was worse in the southern part of Nara prefecture and in Wakayama prefecture.

The Japan Field Coordinator, Jeff, said,

South of us, torrential rains caused flooding, landslides and even caused the collapse of the side of a mountain into the river below forming a dam 240 feet high. As the water backed up a large area was flooded upstream. In another place a town was covered as a nearby mountainside collapsed crossing the river and dumping large amounts of mud onto the homes. At latest count, 51 are dead, over 50 are still missing.

So far 4 of the Rengo churches (connected to our mission) in that area have reported some damage from flooding and all of the church members are find except for one church member whom they haven't been able to reach yet. Roads are damaged, phone lines and power lines are down. People are in need of food and clean water. Church leaders are talking about how to best assist those in need.

Here is an article from 9/6 and Here is one from 9/7 recent article from Japan Today that talks about the death toll and missing people as a result of the typhoon and major landslides.

Please pray for the missing to be found alive, for supplies to get through by ship or air, and that God’s people will be able to give hope to those who have experienced loss.

First day of school

2011-09-07T20:50:00.000+09:00

The first day of school has come and gone.

So has the second and third.

I need to catch up with blogging and posting some photos.

We're off to a good start this year!

I have 3 first graders and 4 second graders.

5 girls and 2 boys.

One set of identical twins! Keeps me on my toes.

We start our class time with Morning meeting on the rug.

And since I have all Japanese students - who are learning English I use lots of drawings.

This year I have a new rug in the class. (Bye-bye to the old Thomas the train rug!)

We now have a light green rug with 12 circles on it.

It is amazing how helpful a little thing like a circle pattern in a rug can help students

know where the "boundaries" are for sitting.

Oh - and the giant soccer ball - that is the teacher's seat.

My fellow teacher found it for me.

A great seat for leading class meetings or

talking about the Women's Soccer World Cup Champions! JAPAN!

Unique Opportunities

2011-09-04T09:10:00.029+09:00

If you haven't already you may want to read the early segments of the Tohoku ministry trip #1, #2, #3, and #4 and some reflections here.

After watching the Akagawa fireworks and taking a bus ride to our evenings lodging the children and volunteers, from Ishinomaki, got out and walked another 15 minutes in the dark. We didn't know much about where we were heading and things were a bit - well,

Kowai、こわい or scary, as the students said.

Our sleeping quarters were all arranged, boys rooms down one hall and girls in rooms down another. Futons (40 or so in our room) were laid out ready for our tired bodies to crawl into.

It seemed we were in a shinto monastery building.

American volunteers worked hard to convince the girls that there were no ghosts and it was safe to go to sleep. But when some of the boys were heard running in the hallway at about midnight - one of the male Japanese teachers yelled out (rough translation)- "Go to sleep and be quiet or the ghosts will come and get you!"

Things looked a little different in the morning. Here's the view looking out from the front door. Note the Shinto rice straw rope, Shimenawa, and white zigzag paper, shide, hanging in the entry. I'm told they are used to keep impurities out and purify the space within.

Here is the tatami mat room where the girls slept. Students are busy packing their bags and folding the bedding in a stack at the back left of the room.

Here is the view looking from the back windows of the room where we slept.

Breakfast was arranged in another tatami room with trays for each person.

Taking a closer look we had (clockwise from top left) scrambled eggs, sausage and ketchup, mountain vegetables, milk, miso soup, rice and natto. (fermented soybeans). Trying to set a good example, I finished everything on my tray - even the natto!

While we ate breakfast Onodera sensei (the Karate teacher) introduced the volunteers again and explained that as Christians we are God's people and we want to be with them to help them.

It was a unique experience seeing a Buddhist teacher, in a shinto monastery talking in a positive way about Christians! He then told the group that when we got to the hiking trail the Christians would pray for the group!

On the schedule for the morning was a hike!

Here we are leaving our "Shinto monastery lodge".

Hiking to the bus we saw this map.v

^ the name of the place we stayed is in the top left of the photo. (Sorry I don't know how to read those kanji) I believe it was also a national forest or park. Basically our lodge was in the top left corner the bus was to the right and we went to the bottom of the map and then hiked on the path to the left until we returned to where we started.

The men in white are traditional shinto guides - I forget the Japanese word for them - but I believe their job is to lead seekers on a spiritual pilgrimage. I really enjoyed listening to their shell horns. When we started our journey, when were falling behind the group, and when we reached our destination they blew the shell. I wondered if we could get one to use at KCS for our playground "whistle".

There is a water fall in the distance.

^ The kids checking out the water.

^We gathered the 3 buses of children around the base of the pagoda.

^ In the shadow of the pagoda, Sensei asked Beth to pray for the students and Kami translated in Japanese. She prayed a prayer of blessing on the children and their families.

What an opportunity to be used by God to impact these children with Truth and Light!

More Tohoku adventures to follow.

Typhoon Talas vs. the Tomatoes

2011-09-03T12:03:00.000+09:00

Yesterday was our KCS staff orientation - LOVE the team that I'm working with! So many different personalities and nationalities that make it such a well balanced team!

Today (Saturday) was supposed to be All-school Clean-up Day. Students and parents return and we clean the school and playground in preparation for the school year to start Monday. I look forward to this day as there are many friends I haven't seen since June that I want to catch up with.

But today due to Typhoon Talas clean-up day is post-poned. Instead, I'm at home trying to keep my tomato and cucumber plants from toppling in the gusty winds. Considering I haven't gotten much of a crop out of the cucumbers (as in 0) and the fact that the tomato is almost done for the season - I'm not too concerned.

"Showery rains" and "heavy rains(ground loosening)" are in the weather advisory for our area, with 1 to 2 inches of rain for the past two days and continuing tomorrow.

Toppled cucumbers and tomatoes.
Please ignore the weeds in the rock path.

The tomato plant tipped over and covered the rose bush.
The blueberry plant shows now sign of distress.
Georgia blueberries are strong like that!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

2011-09-03T11:35:00.002+09:00

It's the start of a new year with a new class of students. This is a time for change. Some changes are within my control, other changes are out of my control.

Because I work in an international community one of the things that I've come to expect are the changes in enrollment. I've made the decision not to put students' names on desks, or folders and books until the very last minute. When people ask how many students are in your class this year? I often answer with "Well at the moment . . .", or ." . . but that could change." 4 days before school started - it did change. More than once.

As I was chatting with a friend and fellow international school teacher - we discussed the challenge emotionally that this can cause. She encouraged me with these words,

"We do not get to choose the lambs the Lord brings to our class, but He puts them there for a reason - every single one. It is a good reminder to me when I face the one that is not always easy to love, that He has put them in my care to love them anyway. Hang in there - God's purposes are beyond our understanding, but always for a good reason! . . . Always hard to let the kiddos go too - we face that a lot here! We just trust that the Lord goes with them and will bring to remembrance the things they have learned with us."

One of the changes I can control is what my classroom will look like. I've made the decision this year to take down the alphabet cards that line the wall. I know, its hard for some people to imagine a 1st and 2nd grade classroom without the alphabet prominently floating near the ceiling. But in research I've been reading this summer I've come to realize that is terrible placement.

"Think of the kindergartener who wishes to write the word wagon. First he stretches the word out: www-aaa-gon. He identifies the w sound, but does not remember the letter that represents the sound. So he looks up at the wall for help. Unfortunately, his ability to scan - to find the correct letter, memorize its shape, and then reproduce it on the page- is still fairly undeveloped. Often you will see young children try to 'hold' the letter in their mind's eye, fail, and then have to relocate the letter on the wall all over again. " from "No More "I'm Done!" Fostering Independent Writers in the Primary Grades" by Jennifer Jacobson.

Its far easier to have the alphabet on the desk or laminated on the outside of a folder. This year my students will have it on their desk name tags and in their writing folders.

Inspiration

2011-09-02T21:52:00.011+09:00

Some people out there think teachers have a great job because of the 3 summer months "off". And I must admit - I enjoy the change of routine - and time to invest in other ministries and reconnect with friends.

BUT - What people may not realize is that a teacher never REALLY shuts off her brain with thoughts of school - new things to try with the next students, books to get for the classroom library, books to read for professional development, and often times working on curriculum files over the summer.

Monday I went out and bought school supplies for the class.

I found a box of 64 Crayola crayons with the sharpener on the back!

- Well, I just could't resist!

Besides crayons - I also enjoy collecting quotations.

The folders say, "Inspiration comes of working."

"Imagination is more important that knowledge.

The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others. Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature. Life is an exciting business and most exciting when it is lived for others. You cannot do much about the length of your life, but you can do a lot about its depth and width."

- can't say that I agree with all of what it says (I happen to think life is more exciting lived for God - serving others) but it's thought provoking if nothing else. And Japanese stationary is a great place to find some interesting English.

Oh - look at the potential inside that box! Imagination just waiting to cover the world!

"Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon. A happiness weapon. A beauty bomb. And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one. It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination." ~Robert Fulghum

(Author of: All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten)

Where does your inspiration come from?

How to Pray for Me

2011-09-01T07:15:00.000+09:00

One question that churches and prayer partners often ask is . . .
"How can I pray for you?" (I love this question by the way!)

While there are often specifics I can give there are also some overarching themes which every missionary - including ME needs. Here is a list of 10.

1. Freedom from Fear

2. Growing Hope

3. Big Faith

4. Battle Skills

5. A True Band of Brothers and Sisters

6. Authority

7. Wisdom

8. Perseverance

9. Rest

10. Joy

I found this list in an article by Shane Bennett from a Missions Catalyst ezine. Read the original article by clicking here. It's well worth your time and perhaps something to share with your family, church, small group, bible study and mission team.

Thank you for your prayers for me! I couldn't do any of this without the power of God working through prayers!

Shout out to Wooddale!

2011-08-31T08:23:00.008+09:00

THANK YOU, Wooddale Church!
Thank you for featuring me and the educational ministry happening in Japan in your publication
Wooddale Week! (check out page 6!)

Your involvement in my ministry is such a blessing throughout the journey!
If you're reading this blog and you attend Wooddale please leave a comment!

Halloween 2007 - Me in a Yukata next to Kim, dressed as Wooddale church.
This was the weekend I learned I had received 100% of needed funds
and given the green light to go to Japan.

Hope in the Wake of Disaster

2011-08-30T18:52:00.001+09:00

My fellow Converge Worldwide missionaries John and Elaine Mehn have put together a video of their ministry in Tohoku and Ishinomaki. (Same city but different area than I was working in.) I encourage you to watch it and consider coming as on short-term team to Japan to help bring Hope! Visit them on line at www.gopselrest.com.

Please contact Converge Worldwide if you are interested in joining a team. http://www.convergeworldwide.org/reach-nations/japan-relief.

Search for Hope

2011-08-29T09:11:00.000+09:00

What is most needed in the Earthquake and Tsunami destroyed areas of Tohoku?

In my opinion it would be HOPE.

Looking at the worst areas - even after 5 months of clean-up work, it resembles a war zone. It looked to me like the areas around Hiroshima after the atomic bomb hit. Shells of buildings, blocks of buildings completely crushed and left as a pile of rubble.

Going further inland, buildings look more intact but a glimpse of the inside would show the first floor is unlivable due to the water damage. People who lived in this area have basically made one of three choices:

1.) Leave the area and relocate in another area of Japan permanently.

2.) Get out of the area temporarily and return at a later date.

3.) Remain in the area living on the 2nd floor of the water damaged home work to rebuild.

The efforts of volunteers and organizations in the area working to clean and encourage the residents gives them hope that their neighborhoods may be revitalized and their homes fully livable again.

But this isn't just a physical need there is also a emotional need for hope as suicide rates are expected to rise and reports like this have already been seen in newspapers in this country.

At the root of it all this is a spiritual need for Hope! As a Christian in Japan it is my job to give witness to the lasting hope that can be found in Jesus Christ. This is not new for Japan - an unreached people group with less than 1% Christian - even before the 3/11 disasters Christians felt the need for HOPE in Japan. But it was amazing for me to be in Ishinomaki a city of over 160,000 people that only has about 130 Christians meeting in 7 churches, 3 of which were damaged by the disaster. To know that 5,000 people from this city were killed or are still missing - which makes up about 1/5 of the total dead or missing from the triple disaster.

It was amazing to talk with people in the neighborhoods and see an openness to spiritual issues that I have never before seen in all my 6 years in Japan. I even saw a Buddhist Karate teacher explaining to another Japanese man why these missionaries "God's people" as he called us were here. He said, "Many Japanese people go to temples and shrines for many different gods but these Christians have god with them. They really have god with them! They work hard and they don't give up!"

May we not squander the time and opportunities that we have. May we be faithful to use our lives and resources to shine our light so Japanese people will see the Hope and Compassion that Jesus has for them.

Matthew 5:16

¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Hope for Tohoku

2011-08-29T08:19:00.002+09:00

Aug. 10,

The guys on our team loaded the vans and headed into Ishinomaki.

Their task for the day was to clean near the Be One house and distribute more supplies.

The ladies stayed at the Karate Dojo (training hall) and talked with the Karate Master, Onodera Sensei about plans for the next 48 hours.

I did not know ahead of time what we'd be doing but after hearing that our task was to accompany/chaperone/entertain/befriend 103 elementary and junior high students from Ishinomaki on a 2 day trip to neighboring Yamagata Prefecture - I thought

God orchestrated the dream team - for this task.

Aubrey & Tori - English Teachers

Bethany - recent KCS graduate and P/T English teacher

Kami & Lori (me) - 1st and 2nd grade teachers at an International school

Beth - Be One Tohoku Aid Leader & most energetic gal I know!

(Actually, I wasn't originally scheduled to go with this group. But since another team member was dealing with an infection from a bug bite and couldn't go - I got to be her substitute!)

^Aubrey & Lori (and our matching outfits!)

^Beth and Kami on the bus

^ Tori and Bethany - also sporting the yellow bandanas!

There were 3 buses of children with connections to the Karate Dojo.

Each bus had 2 members from our volunteer team on it.

^This is Onodera-sensei - the Karate teacher, leader of the group and one who commands respect of all there but has such a soft heart for the children!

^ This is the program for our 2 day events -

"Everyone, Lets go to see Akagawa fireworks in Yamagata (prefecture)!"

(rough translation)

Yamagata prefecture is the western neighbor of Miyagi prefecture. (see map)

The Akagawa fireworks are supposed to be some of the best in the whole country with a crowd of about 400,000 people enjoying the 2 hour festival of lights!

The people in Yamagata had made arrangements of children from the Ishinomaki area (8 buses full) to view the the fireworks, stay overnight, and then go hiking in a national park the next morning.

All the transportation, lodging, meals, snacks and souvenirs where provided by the trip organizers - it was completely free to the students and volunteers.

Their idea was to provide some Good memories for some children who had been through and were still going through some pretty tough stuff. More than a few kids had lost family members, friends and homes on 3/11.

Be One Volunteers were in charge of entertainment-on bus.

We had fun playing games like rock, paper, scissors - (in photo).

Once we arrived at our destination everyone put on their yellow bandana -

(A great way to help locate 103 children in a crowd of 400,000!)

We walked to the riverside seating, received our obentos of curry rice, edamame and green tea.

^The fireworks were set to music and UH-mazing!

There were special songs dedicated to people who had died

in the Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Disaster.

The child sitting next to me said, "I wonder if they can see this from heaven?"

After about 3 songs and of amazing fireworks there was a delay as it started to rain.

One student was heard saying - it would be sad if the rain means they have to cancel everything but its so cool, I would go home happy with what we've seen so far!

Thankfully the rain stopped and the fireworks continued for the full 2 hour show. Including Pikkachu fireworks!

The students and volunteers had a BLAST!

At the end Onodera-sensei and two student got a chance to speak to the whole crowd on the sound system thanking them for their generous gifts and asking them to continue to remember the people of Ishinomaki.

Flexibility

2011-08-28T16:53:00.003+09:00

Flexibility is one of those traits that is required for every missionary no matter where in the world you serve. Like when you think you are going to get down and dirty cleaning out old fish and 5 months of mud from under a tsunami hit home and then you're assigned another task - you just roll with it and say - "Whatever you need!"

Or when you have only 3 licensed drivers in the group and the leader needs to split people into 3 different vehicles and then says - ok who will drive for this group - you say, "I'll do it!" even if you were expecting to go with another group consisting of all the students you brought with you from your school.

Or when the leader says one group is cleaning, one group is distributing, and one group is shopping - and you're the only driver left for the third shopping group you say "THANK YOU!"

Our task - was to find enough supplies to hand out to 160 households at a temporary housing unit in Onagawa. We were given a list - sticky fly paper and Ka-tori-sen-ko, (basically a tin of 30 coils that when one is lit repeals mosquitoes.) popsicles, and laundry detergent.

In Japan it is unusual to be able to find 160 of any item

let alone buy 160 of 4 different items!

Thankfully at the 2nd store we stopped at

we found the full amount for all but the laundry detergent!

THANK YOU, GOD!

^Beth was THRILLED with our shopping success.

Although the people around us gave us interesting looks as 3 foreigners had 6 shopping carts overflowing with items. vTori and I continued with the joy of knowing our purpose.

Of course when we stopped to take pictures in the store they were even more confused. But when we tried to explain that we weren't hoarding the things or going to open a new store somewhere - That we were in fact going to GIVE these items to a tsunami hit neighborhood they bowed and thanked us with some very humble words.

The poor checkout lady was required to count EVERY single ITEM!

After navigating the towering carts through the bumpy parking lot,

the next task was trying to fit it all into the van.

We drove back to the Be One house and had tea with 2 Japanese community members who had connections to Onagawa - the community where we were going to distribute the supplies. We waited for one more driver to arrive with some of the ACE Hardware donations and then we drove through some VERY devastated areas to get to the Temporary Housing Units (THU).

Because I was driving I only got one picture at a stop sign. Here you see the results of 5 months of clean-up efforts. The white building with pillars in the middle used to be the Onagawa train station, tracks were no where to be seen. As we passed we learned the train tracks were twisted by the tsunami and eventually removed in the clean-up.

^After sending word around the T.H.U. that there were free items to be given away near the community building we set to work putting the supplies in bags. Duct tape, sponges, gloves, batteries, a Japanese Christian track, and the supplies we purchased in the morning.

Our Japanese contacts helped us load supplies. I think it took about 10 minutes for a line to form and after 20 to 30 minutes about 100 households had received their bag of supplies.

Children recieved some Japanese Christian Children's books, stickers, bookmarks, and letters that had been given from a church in the states.

People who lost their homes in the earthquake and tsunami initially lived in shelters but eventually moved into these temporary housing units. (I believe names were chosen in a lottery system). This area of Onagawa had 160 units some held families others individuals. There were 22 rows with 6 to 9 units per row. In the above photo 5 units are pictures.

People living in the Temporary housing do not receive free food and aid that they did received in the shelters. Many people are still without jobs and some have no car so its a difficult time for them. We learned that some people (especially elderly) are refusing to move out of the shelters where they can have free food and other care.

After our supplies were given away we joined the other teams by going to a public path to clean up.

We saw this amazing sunset along the way. (Photo credit: Ryan)