The Long “Trip”
Just this past Sunday, Valentine’s Day, it made a year that Colby and I have been in Japan. Because we arrived on February 14th last year, Colby likes to tell people that he gave me a trip to Japan for Valentine’s Day. If you think of it that way, then we’re still enjoying our 2009 Valentine present! (By the way for you ladies out there, don’t worry, he still got me something for Valentine’s Day this year – flowers!)
This past year has had the usual ups and downs of a missionary’s first term and then some I think. In looking back, there are a few that stick out to me.
Last February we got settled into the house, began with our language tutor, and bought our first car here in Japan. In April, we had a work team from Atlanta come to help with the church and apartment remodeling. They were a wonderful help and raised a great deal of money that enabled us to have a finished and functioning church and apartment.
The Atlanta Team
Then in May, one of the families we worked with unexpectedly decided to return to America. Also during this month, we had our first visitor, a college friend of ours, who came to stay with us for a few days.
June saw us back in America for a week for Colby’s sister’s wedding and almost as soon as we returned we moved from the house on the property to our apartment.
The dining room and part of our living room of our apartment after we moved in.
In the fall we started our English classes and got our Japanese driver’s licenses. A highlight was our annual retreat with the other missionaries and then afterward our trek up to the Tokyo area for the Church Planting conference. Christmas and New Year’s festivities were our next highlights as we took time off from English classes and Japanese study to spend time together and with the other missionaries.
The Christar Japan missionaries at our annual retreat.
Thus far this year, we have seen our other teammates also return to America, as well as begin our partnership with another family here on the field. We have had the joy of passing the first of our language tests and have begun with our religious study.
Needless to say, it has been a full year. Have we grown this past year? Oh my, yes! Maybe I will recount some of the ways we have in future blog posts as it would certainly make this one too long. And the great extent to which we have grown, we have also seen God’s hand and heart over us.
We have appreciated your many prayers for us this past year, thank you!