The Adventures of Polymath Amy

Our Amazing Final Day

2008-06-01T20:03:00.002-04:00

I learned many important things on this trip.
First, jet lag is much more difficult to overcome on the return trip.
Second, when your suitcase is too heavy, remember that one pair of blue jeans is more important than all those cute skirts and shorts you packed.
Third, my God is more Amazing than I can ever possibly know.

(Grab a cup of coffee now. This is going to be a long post...)

Tuesday's Karaoke adventure kept us up so late that we decided to sleep in on Wednesday morning. Rebecca and Mr. Yeager met with a friend at 10:00 to visit the store where she works.

Evie and I took a walk around campus before lunch and prayed. We prayed for the students who attend the school - that Jesus would be revealed to them on this campus. We prayed that the instructors would grow closer to God through this school. We prayed that the students would continue to come to the Ogawas ministry at UpTen. And we prayed that the relationships that we had formed during our visit would continue.

Before and during the trip, we prayed for the seeds that God would plant through us in the students' hearts. We prayed for those that would come along after us to water them. And we prayed for their eventual fruit. We prayed that a Bible Study would be formed on Campus, not as an academic class or as a social club, but out of a true desire to know Jesus more personally.

On our prayer walk, Evie and I happened upon the dormitories at the back of campus. We prayed for the students that would be entering those places, that they would feel a peace in their hearts in this Christian place.

We all met the students for one last cafeteria lunch at noon. We had questions about where to go for our last souvenirs, and they wanted us to teach them some American slang (they had been practicing their proper English for two whole weeks, and it was time for some fun). We introduced them to phrases like "Whazzup!", "LOL", and "Are you gellin'?" We narrowly stopped Joe from teaching them "ain't"!

After lunch, they played one last game of frisbee together, in spite of the bitter cold weather that day!

One of the students took us shopping near the train station. We did our final shopping at Selva, a multi-story indoor mall. There, we found treats ranging from hand-made traditional Japanese candy to Starbucks!

Back at UpTen, the students gathered to see Michael and Josh off, since they had to take an evening train to Tokyo in order to make their early morning flight. We were presented with more gifts - coin purses for the girls and traditional fans for the guys.

Rebecca had tried three beans of natto on a previous trip and was determined to eat an entire serving of natto this time. Somehow, she located a container and everyone tried a bite before she finished it off. This article may help to explain the look on her face:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natto

After Michael and Josh left for the train station, the girls went over to our apartment for a Japanese-themed Girls Night. They taught us the proper method for making miso soup.

"Itadakimasu" is a phrase spoken before every meal which means "Thank-you for the meal" or "I will gratefully receive" or "Let's eat". The girls put on an amazing feast for us!

After we were stuffed, the girls taught us some origami, traditional Japanese paper folding.

They also introduced us to calligraphy, a traditional Japanese art form that demonstrates the proper way to write characters. The girls bought us each a new brush and figured out how we should write our names with them.

As Evie, Rebecca, and I were preparing for this trip, we each made several crochet scarves to bring with us to give as gifts. Each girl was given a scarf and a Jesus Film to take home. I hope that the girls watch the film and take it to heart and that they will remember it every time they wear their scarves.

Normally, the story would have ended when the party ended. But God had very different plans.

One thing to know about the Japanese is that they are always prompt. They just can't stand tardiness. But one girl, whom we will call Karen, decided to come to the party that evening, even though she knew that she would be late. Karen is a Japanese Christian and a good friend of the Ogawas, shown here in a photo with Rebecca:

Another friend, whom we will call Sarah, is a girl whom Rebecca began to form a close relationship with at Guys Club last Thursday. Sarah invited Rebecca and Mr. Yeager to a party on Friday evening so that Mr. Yeager could do some magic tricks for them. (His illusions help to illustrate the message of Salvation). Here is a picture of Sarah preparing soba noodles earlier in the evening:

After everyone else had left, Sarah and Karen stayed behind. Earlier in the week, Sarah had been sharing with Rebecca that her Grandfather, who had passed away several years ago from cancer, had accepted Christ as his Savior when he was diagnosed. Her grandmother and her mother had also come to know Jesus. But her father was still Buddhist. Sarah attended a Baptist church, but she had not decided what to believe. "Maybe I will believe nothing," she had said.

Karen had asked Rebecca what her favorite Bible verse was and then wrote it in Japanese on a lovely bookmark as a gift. When she asked Evie the same, I knew that she would ask me too. I always have trouble when someone asks me my favorite Bible verse, because they're *all* my favorite! So I ran upstairs "to get something" and sat down with my Bible and asked God to show me a verse that would bring Him glory. He showed me Psalms 62:1-2. I told Karen that it was my favorite.

Rebecca began sharing with Sarah that we need Jesus because of our sin. She used an illustration similar to the Navigators Bridge to Life found here:
http://www.navigators.org/us/resources/illustrations/items/The%20Bridge%20to%20Life
to demonstrate how man and God are separated by a great chasm filled with sin and that Jesus' sacrifice is the only way across. When asked where you put yourself on this illustration, most people put themselves on either the man side or the God side. But Sarah pointed to the bottom of the chasm, filled with sin.

At this point, I realized why God had shown me the verse in Psalms, which I shared with Sarah: "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken."

Evie and I excused ourselves to go pray upstairs. We were nearly bursting from praying silently in the living room. We prayed that God would continue to soften Sarah's heart and that He would give Rebecca just the right words to say to her.

God guided Rebecca to many verses that explained to Sarah that Jesus could take the sin from her heart and fill it to overflowing with His love. One passage seemed to stump Sarah in English, so Rebecca asked Karen to bring her Japanese language Bible over for them to read together in Japanese. After Sarah had read God's Words in her mother tongue, her heart lept. She embraced Rebecca and exclaimed that Yes, Yes, Yes, she understood the verse! Sarah was shown Christ that night.

Pray that Sarah will continue to seek Jesus and learn more about Him so that she will come to know Him personally.

When she prayed (in Japanese), Sarah used the word "subarashii" 6 times - this word has no exact equivalent in English, but means something like "more than magnificent".

Praise God! All this time, we had been praying only for seeds, but God allowed us see fruit! Remember to pray big, fellow Christians, because our God is bigger than anything we can ask or imagine!

Have I told you lately...
how Amazing my God is?
how Magnificent my God is?
how Wonderful my God is?
how 'Subarashii' my God is?
how Awesome my God is?

We're home!

2008-05-29T19:13:00.000-04:00

Details to come later, after I have had some sleep...

Last two days

2008-05-28T01:43:00.006-04:00

Tuesday, the Ogawas cooked lunch at UpTen for the students. The meal was yakisoba, a fried noodle dish. Students who did not have afternoon classes stayed around to chat with us. We played frisbee on campus that afternoon.

Tuesday evening, our friends threw us a farewell party. Everyone brought a dish to share.

I thought these were desserts. I thought very wrong. The balls on the left that I thought were cinnamon/glaze donuts were actually fried octopus balls with brown sauce and mayonnaise. The things on the right that I thought were pies were actually like potato-egg Spanish tortillas...

The students gave us farewell gifts: Japanese teacups.

Mr. Yeager and Joe did a skit about Zaccheus...

...which included morning exercises...

...and a close shave with a butter knife as he "got ready" to see Jesus.

Here is a group photo of all of our new friends at the farewell party:

Late Tuesday night, we found ourselves at the Karaoke Castle with a group of students. As you can see, we had a lot of fun singing with them!

Wednesday is our last day. We had lunch in the cafeteria with the students, played a last game of frisbee, and the girls came over for Girls Night in the evening.

This is my last post before traveling back. Please pray for our safety.

Monday

2008-05-26T22:18:00.007-04:00

Monday morning, Kishinami-san took us to visit the farm of one of his churchmembers. He has rice, gardens, and one cow.

The churchmembers took us to visit a Mine Park where precious metals were mined many years ago. We took a tour of the mine, had a picnic lunch prepared by one of the church ladies, and went for a walk.

We were then taken to see some scenic spots like Mount Kurikoma and this beautiful waterfall:

Our last stop was a Christian nursing home where Kishinami-san's father lives. We sang some songs for them (they loved hearing Amazing Grace in English!) and introduced ourselves.

Back in Sendai, one of our new friends took us to eat supper at the restaurant where she works. The restaurant is famous for a dish called Omurice, which is an egg omelet filled with ketchup rice and topped with sauce.

We ended the long weekend by taking many students to see the movie Narnia: Prince Caspian at the theater. Hopefully this movie will spark many future discussions about the Narnia book series and its example of Christianity.

Sunday

2008-05-26T22:02:00.001-04:00

First thing on Sunday morning, we gathered around the UpTen sign for a group photo:

Our group went to a local bakery for breakfast. The bread and pastries were very yummy, but we were surprised by the unusual offerings such as hot dog with mayonnaise pastry, spaghetti sandwiches, and sweet bean paste donuts.

After breakfast, we drove for about an hour and a half to go visit a friend of Mr. Yeager's. Kishinami-san is a pastor, a used car salesman, and a former kickboxing national champion. He is the person who loaned us our car for our entire visit! We visited his church for their afternoon service. We sang Seek Ye First, Psalm 73, and Before the Throne of God Above for the churchmembers. We couldn't understand the sermon, since it was in Japanese, but the pastor was obviously passionate about the Bible. Everyone read Psalm 102 together, and the sermon was on Ephesians 6:18-20. After church, they rearranged the tables and everyone ate supper together.

Kishinami-san took us all to a mineral lake called Lake Fukanuma. It was a beautiful place, but it was so stinky!

All of the guys went to the hot springs for a relaxing soak, and we girls went to a famous Kokeshi store in Naruko called Sakurai. Kokeshi are limbless wooden dolls that are famous in the Miyagi Prefecture, and this store actually makes them on-site.

After the hot springs, the guys were exhausted and starving, so Kishinami-san took us all to eat sushi - at the same sushi chain where we ate on Saturday evening!

We went back to Kishinami-san's church to sleep. They must host overnight guests often, because they had a large stack of futon mattresses and blankets in the store room and a shower in the bathroom.

Saturday

2008-05-24T22:48:00.003-04:00

Photo of Mr. and Mrs. Ogawa:

Saturday, we met for a time of prayer at UpTen before heading downtown to pass out tracts. Reception was mixed - some received them gladly, but some refused. We also encountered two Mormon missionaries passing out tracts in the same place. We split into groups of two and three. Parents with children were more eager to talk with us, but many people were just too busy.

We had lunch at Mos Burger, a fast food burger joint with a *Very* Japanese twist.

We spent the afternoon shopping downtown for souvenirs.
Kokeshi dolls:

Kimono store:

Saturday evening, we met Ogawa-san and some students at Kappazushi for an amazing sushi supper. We got to try all kinds of strange, new foods! The food came to the tables by conveyer belt and you paid 105 Yen per plate (about a dollar):

Rebecca tried flying fish roe:

...and Evie had raw scallop sushi with onions and sauce on top:

Sunday and Monday we will be going on an overnight trip to visit one of Mr. Yeager's old friends, so I probably won't have an opportunity to blog again until Tuesday.

Friday

2008-05-24T22:34:00.001-04:00

Friday was a very fun day. We met the students on campus at noon to play frisbee. We played for over an hour and then we all had a good long lunch in the cafeteria. Then more frisbee... (sorry, no photos of that...)

The students were invited to come to the girls' apartment on Friday evening to watch Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Evie made us real popcorn! The movie was well received and provoked nearly two hours of discussion following the movie.

One Week Observations from Everyone...

2008-05-23T02:27:00.001-04:00

Evie's thoughts...
I am so glad that I listened to God's voice and am here in Japan. He has been revealing himself to me and showing areas in my life that need to be changed... The girls here that I have met have been wonderful. I have to remember that it is so hard to wait for God and His timing, and I tend to become frustrated... God has called some to be reapers and others to be sowers. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He will strengthen thy heart...

Joe:
I really enjoyed spending time with our new guy friends last night. I hope that we will be able to build relationships with them and reach out to them in the coming week. I pray that God would continue to help us overcome difficulties in communicating with them.

Mike:
So far it has been a good week. I finally feel like we are starting to get our foot in the door and build relationships with some of the students. I am praying that the Lord will give us opportunities to share the gospel with each one of them.

Rebecca:
This week has been a constant exercise in relying upon the power of God. As I look around me at the students we meet, I am continually reminded of my own inability to attract them to Christ on my own. I've been reading intensively in the minor prophets, and the message they share has been a real encouragement to me. These men were able to look into the depths of human depravity and yet not despair, because their hope was founded upon something greater. Today I met an amazing student who comes from a mixed Christian and Buddhist background. She does not yet know where she stands spiritually, but she is seeking to find the truth. Tomorrow my dad and I will visit the Christian church she attends and spend some time talking with her on the subway. Please pray that my dad and I would 'become invisible' as we share with her, so that the truth of Christ can shine through us.

Steve:
I just went to this blog site for the first time today after being here one week. I really appreciate Amy posting our activities. I must make one correction: she listed our team's fearless leader as being me. I wish that were true. But every time its my turn to drive our group somewhere in the van, I pray very hard, ..."Lord please don't let me get these young people too lost and lose a lot of time." I don't do well in a big city in America, let alone on where all the streets look alike to me.
It is a joy to be here with this team. They talk with students about everything, inlcuding what is important; Jesus.
Thank you for your prayers and support, it really is a team effort and we can see your prayers at work.

Josh:
So it's been a week since coming to Japan. It's admittedly been slow for the first few days but we are to wait on God's timing, right? These past two days, we've gotten to interact with many students and it has been enriching and eye-opening. There are many things our Japanese friends want to know about - why we're here and stuff like that. It is my prayer that we will be able to continue in our relationships and that God would be in the center of our conversations.

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Thursday

2008-05-22T23:54:00.003-04:00

Mr. and Mrs. Bush, you should be very proud of your son. Joe located a weedwhacker and volunteered to cut down the (very tall) grass in the UpTen yard Thursday morning.

For lunch, we went to Dohton Bori. We aren't really sure what kind of animal this mascot is supposed to be, but the imitation of its expression is priceless!

This restaurant has a soda fountain! Coca-Cola, Fanta, Minute Maid orange juice, hot chocolate, hot milk tea, and Calpis (a popular drink here that's kindof like a milky flat Sprite).

We weren't quite sure what to do, so our waitress kindly showed us how to do it. You get a bowl of raw food that you are supposed to mix up and cook on the hot griddle in the middle of the table.

My best description of the dish (called ookonomiyaki) is that it is a cheesy, potato-less hash brown filled with vegetables and seafood...

...which was topped with a teriyaki type sauce, kewpie mayonnaise, bonito (dried fish) flakes, and chopped seaweed.

After lunch, we went to Guys Club on campus. They divided into seven groups, one for each of us, and the students interviewed us and then introduced each of us to the class. They asked questions about favorite color, favorite food, movie and music preferences, and our families. We used the opportunity to talk about our Christian faith also. After group introductions, we had a huge Koom-Ja tournament!

One student challenged Mike to an arm wrestling match...

Then two guys at once...

Then three at once...

Everyone adjourned to Starbucks after Guys Club.

We all grabbed McD's on the way back to UpTen. About 25 students joined us for UpTen Night. We ate our dinner, then divided into four groups. Each group was instructed by Ogawa-san to speak English. Mr. Yeager and I were in the smallest group, with only three students. We talked for a while about school, classes, their part-time jobs, and goals after graduation. We shared with the students about the 10 Commandments and how we break them in our hearts even though we may seem pretty good on the outside (see Matthew 5). These students attend a Christian university, they are required to take a Bible class, and they have opportunity to attend chapel every day. This is good, because they all know about Jesus already, but it also makes things difficult because many of them just see the Bible as a textbook, Jesus as a historical figure, and Christianity as a club to join. Pray that the students will take the instruction to heart and realize their need for Jesus in their hearts to forgive their sin.

Wednesday

2008-05-22T23:11:00.004-04:00

Wednesday at noon we drove downtown to meet with Dr. Metoki and his wife. Mrs. Metoki was led to Christ by Mrs. Yeager many years ago. We saw this enormous statue of Buddha along the way. No, that is not Photoshopped - it really is that huge.

The Metokis took us to a seafood restaurant for lunch. We had a private room and an amazing seven-course meal at Restaurant Hemingway. Mrs. Metoki was very inquisitive about our purpose here in Japan and agreed that people need Jesus because of the sin in our hearts. We had a good discussion about Christianity over lunch. Three of our group (Mike, Josh, and Evie) are all pre-medical students, so Dr. Metoki really enjoyed answering questions about medical school and practicing medicine in Japan.

After lunch, we were given a tour of Dr. Metoki's pediatric clinic.

In many places in Japan, you must remove your shoes before entering, and some places provide slippers. Aren't these guys cute in their pink slippers?

Doctor offices in Japan see many more patients than doctors in America - up to 200 children per day in the colder months. Here is a room with three beds for speedy examinations. There was a sick child room beside this one.

Wednesday evening was Girls' Night at the Girls' apartment TopThree. We had yummy snacks...

And we made cool jewelry from beads and thread...

Girls' Night Group Photo:

We had a short Bible study on the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42. We talked about what distracts us from important things and about priorities.
We will host another Girls' Night next Wednesday, this time with a Japanese theme. We asked the girls to bring Japanese snacks and to teach us Origami or another Japanese craft.

Cooking Kayoobi

2008-05-20T09:13:00.002-04:00

We began Tuesday with a mission team Bible study. We discussed all of the scriptures that each of us have been reading personally. I encourage all of you to read these this week so that you can follow us in our prayers:
Matthew 9:1-8
II Thessalonians 3:10, 13
I Thessalonians 5:14-22
Romans 13:8-10
I Corinthians 13:1
Matthew 7:24-27
John 14:23
I Corinthians 3:10-15
I Corinthians 14:19
I Corinthians 2:1-5
Micah 7
Luke 7:36-50

We were put in charge of cooking for the weekly UpTen Lunch, held every week on Tuesday, as well as a special Barbecue supper. Menu for lunch: Texas Red Chili, Fried Potato Wedges, Rice, Veggie Sticks and Dip, and No-Bake Cookies. Our friend Eriko came over to help us prepare lunch.

Rebecca had bought what she thought was laundry detergent, and Eriko *just* stopped us from washing our dark clothes in bleach!

Lunch was a huge success! We had about ten students here for lunch, and we had opportunities to share Jesus with several of them! Praise the Lord!

After lunch, we played a game with the students called "Koom-Ja". (For those in the know, Bunny-Bunny Tokey-Tokey!)

For supper, the guys made barbecue chicken tenders and the girls fixed a salad and creamed corn. Evie made awesome cracker candy for dessert.

Supper was a little larger crowd, and we all played Koom-Ja after we ate. Then we all sat down and the students had opportunity to ask each of us whatever questions they wanted. We answered everything from "What is your favorite movie?" to "Why do you want to be a doctor?" to "What is your hobby?"

Monday

2008-05-19T22:52:00.000-04:00

We continue to rise early. The sun comes up about 3am, and the walls of our apartment are paper thin.

The group split into pairs for a 7am prayer walk around the local campus. We prayed that the seeds God plants through us this week would blossom into Bible studies among students on campus.

We regrouped back at UpTen, and everyone had a chance to check their email (I am the only one who brought a laptop!). Here is a photo of UpTen:

Then we all piled into our little car for a group trip to Yamazawa (grocery store). We will be cooking lunch and supper at UpTen on Tuesday for about 15 students at each meal. Each of us had a good think-on-your-feet lesson when we couldn't find all of the ingredients that we needed for our recipes!

After we returned and put away all of our groceries, we walked to the cafeteria on the local campus for lunch. It was so crowded that one student sat down right in the middle of our group. We tried to talk with him, but he was more interested in eating quickly than in practicing his English. He was kind enough to write down the name of the food he was eating so that we could try it too.

Ogawa-san picked us up after lunch in his van and drove us to the downtown campus. This university, Tohoku Gakuin, was originally all downtown, but it became crowded, so they built the local campus for Freshmen and Sophomores and now have only Junior and Senior classes at the downtown campus.
Tohoku Gakuin University: http://www.tohoku-gakuin.ac.jp/en/index.html
The local campus is called Izumi, the downtown campus is Tsuchitoi, and there is a third campus called Tagajo that is located in another city.

We got to meet many Guys Club members, but they said that it was difficult to come now that they are at the upperclassmen campus. Rumiko, a former Guys Club member and a graduate of Tokohu Gakuin Univeristy, now works in the Facilities Management office at the downtown campus. She showed us all of the buildings and introduced us to some other former Guys Club members. We talked with one girl, Mei, for a while in a student lounge. Mei is going to join us on Wednesday for girls' night at TopThree, and she might come for another visit next week.

I learned that Tohoku Gakuin University was founded in 1886 as a Theological Seminary for the purpose of training Christian preachers and still has a Christian Theology department. There is another huge chapel building on the campus downtown as well. Tsuchitoi has an American-style house on campus that the founders built to live in. We were allowed to walk through it, and for once I didn't have to duck through the doors!

From there, we went to The Christian Martyrs' Monument. The plaque reads:
"The Tokugawa shogunate banned Christianity in 1613, and by 1620 persecutions of Christians began to be seen in the fief of Sendai. In the winter of 1623, a Portuguese priest named DIOGE de CARVALHO and eight Japanese men were arrested in the Ou mountains and sent to Sendai. They were half-sunk in the freezing water of the Hirose River. Two of them drowned on the last day of the year and the rest died near where the Ohashi bridge now stands on January 4, 1624."

Here is our tream: Joe, Josh, Michael, Amy, Evie, Rebecca, and Steve:

Our last stop downtown was a Christian bookstore called Oasis Gospel Shop, where we each bought Japanese tracts to pass out on Saturday morning, before our downtown shopping trip.

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Parade Photos

2008-05-19T07:20:00.002-04:00

Sunday Festival

2008-05-19T06:32:00.002-04:00

Sunday Festival

Sunday, we went to the Aoba Festival in downtown Sendai. Aoba Shrine is the resting place of Date Masumune, Sendai's founder. We were met with the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of a festival that you would find in any town, but with an obviously Japanese theme.

Sendai is much larger than I had anticipated, with about a million residents. We walked to a Subway station on the opposite side of campus and took the Subway to downtown. We could hear the festival before we could see it. The fist thing we encountered was hundreds of people of all ages dressed in white robes with black hats. They were on a lunch break when we arrived, so they were all sitting around everywhere. We saw later that they were basically the parade helpers, carrying platforms and flags, and walking along with groups. We also saw many people in parade costumes and kimonos.

Next we were each given a green plastic bag and a pair of tongs to pick up trash with. We were told to bring back a bag of trash and exchange it for a resuable "Eco Bag".

Ogawa-san led us to an acrobatic performance, and then we walked past all of the colorful booths.

We picked a spot on the main street to watch the parade. It was so beautiful! But after nearly an hour of watching dozens of groups doing the *same* sparrow dance to the *same* song, we decided to leave to find some lunch.

Dragon, a friend of Ogawa-san, joined us for lunch and led us to a restaurant hidden in the basement of a shopping center. Ootoya was a lovely little place with amazing food. I had a chicken soup, and others had various soup, fish, and rice dishes. When we went back oustide an hour and a half later, the parade was amazingly *still* going on! We couldn't believe it was so long!

We did a bit of shopping with Dragon, then we took our trash bags back to the stand and traded them in for Eco Bags. Then we all tried a popular festival snack: chocolate-dipped, sprinkle-covered banana-on-a-stick. Tasty!

When we got back to UpTen, everyone played a card game called Mao. The rules of Mao:
1. No talking during the game.
2. When you win, you make a new rule.
3. No talking about the rules.
It was hysterical! The most hilarious rule was when Rebecca made everyone sing "I'm a Little Teapot", complete with motions (shhh! Don't tell anyone that I talked about the rules!).

We all went to Mr. and Mrs. Ogawa's house along with some of our new friends for supper and worship. Mrs. Ogawa made Tomato Rice, Chicken in Cream Sauce, Green Salad, and California Rolls. Yum yum yum yum! After supper, we sang some songs together and then studied Matthew 10:1-23. It was such a wonderful study, but we were all exhausted by the end of the two-language lesson!

Photos from Saturday

2008-05-18T04:33:00.002-04:00

Vending machines are everywhere, also here are photos of our campus adventures and ramen supper.

First Full Day

2008-05-17T20:48:00.001-04:00

Saturday was a very busy day.
6:15am - Good morning, Japan! Our first full day in Japan was welcomed with glorious sunshine that followed an early morning rain storm.
6:25am - Girls had individual devotion time.
7:00am - We started to hear the guys moving around downstairs. (Found out later that some did devotions and then fell back asleep, and some enjoyed time outside in the lovely weather.)
8:00am - We stopped hearing motion downstairs, so we girls stayed upstairs to chat, craft, read, and use the computer.
9:30am - We still didn't hear anything, but we were getting a little stir-crazy upstairs, so we tiptoed downstairs and went outside. Mr. Yeager was outside and suggested that it would be a lovely morning for a walk. We put our walking shoes on and headed out.
9:45am - A few blocks away from UpTen, Rebecca remembered that there was a large grocery store nearby, so we headed that way. It ended up being quite far away.
10:20am - We arrived at Yamazawa, a grocery store that also had clothing and a 100 Yen ($1) shop. We browsed around everything, brainstorming for the upcoming meal that we want to fix for our new Japanese friends. We picked up a few staples, a couple of snacks, and a gift. Rebecca recommended aloe vera yogurt, so we got a 4-pack to split on the walk back. For the record, Evie and I do *not* recommend the aloe vera yogurt...
12:00noon - By the time we arrived back at UpTen, we have had an icky snack, have walked up enormous hills, have taken many wrong turns, and have been rained on, twice. Mr. Ogawa took us to the Girls' Apartment (which we have named TopThree) and borrowed the spare key from a neighbor. We got our bags in and had the grand tour of the place. This apartment is adorable and HUGE! It has a living room, a kitchen (with dishes!), and three rooms upstairs. Mrs. Ogawa made sure we had a tablecloth on the kitchen table and gave us some housekeeping advice.
12:45pm - The guys came over to see our place, then we all went over to the local university campus to have lunch in the cafeteria. It took us a long time to figure out how to order. We asked some students and found out that we needed to place our order via vending machine, which proved to be difficult, since it was all written in Japanese and had no pictures! The four guys all ordered fried pork cutlet on rice with curry gravy, and miso soup. Rebecca had ramen noodle soup, and Evie and I each had soba (buckwheet noodles) soup. All was very tasty! After we finished lunch, we explored the nearby area on campus. We went into the chapel, which was founded by German Presbyterians. It was a huge, beautiful building with gorgeous stained glass and a very impressive organ up front.
2:25pm - We went back to UpTen and met with Mr. and Mrs. Ogawa for orientation. We got an updated itinerary and discussed our schedule for the next two weeks. Sunday's plan had originally been to visit Matsushima, but we just found out that there is a once-a-year Festival going on in downtown Sendai this weekend (many students will be attending also), so we decided to trade the Matsushima trip for a trip downtown.
3:00pm - Three students met with us to give us a tour of the local campus, which is just for Freshmen and Sophomores. Upperclassmen attend classes at the downtown campus, which we will tour on Monday. We stumbled upon an archery class, which we watched for a while. When they took a break, Josh asked to to hold a bow. One of the students graciously gave Josh his bow to hold for us to take photos of. Mr. Ogawa took us to the gym - we had to take off our shoes at the door (those going to play basketball had to carry their athletic shoes in hand). As we walked through the hallway, an Aikido instructor invited us to watch his class. Michael and Joe even got to participate!
4:45pm - We went back to UpTen to regroup and relax for a bit.
5:45pm - All seven of us piled up into a tiny car which you would never expect, from looking at the outside, that it would have eight seats inside! We went to a grocery/drugstore called DrugFood to get some staples like bread and rice.
6:45pm - We walked to a nearby ramen restaurant and had ramen noodle soup (absolutely nothing like the dried packaged stuff we have in the US), fried rice, and gyoza dumplings. So very yummy!
7:45pm - On the way back to the car, we stopped by a grocery store called York Benimaru, where Evie *finally* located Diet Coke! She had been looking for that since we got here!

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Journal - 36 Hour Travel Day

2008-05-16T19:14:00.006-04:00

9:00amEastern time - Checked in at Louisville airport and had group prayer for traveling mercies.
11:09amE - Departed from Louisville airport. Short hop to Detroit.
12:30pmE - Landed at Detroit and ate lunch.
1:45 pmE - Boarded the most ginormous airplane I have ever seen, the largest in Northwest Airline's fleet. We made our way to our seats and were met with pillows, blankets, and headphones provided.
2:15pmE - Departed Detroit.
3:30pmE - Dinner service begins.
4:00pmE - By the time the cart gets to us way in the back, they have run out of the beef dish. We had roasted chicken breast with asiago and parmesan crust, carrot and rice mix, peas and yellow squash, 3 cold shrimp with lemon wedge and cocktail sauce, a tiny salad with tomato and cucumber and creamy italian dressing, roll with butter, hot green tea, and Pepperidge Farm brussels cookies. Surprisingly tasty and filling!
4:20pmE - We realized that since we were flying westward, with the sun, it would not actually get dark during our flight. We discussed our Sunday outing to Matsushima.
5:20pmE - The flight attendants asked everyone to close their window shades, darkening the main cabin considerably. First movie begins. "National Treasure: Book of Secrets". Some watched, but I have already seen it so I napped.
7:35pmE - Second movie begins. "Dan in Real Life". We decided to not watch that one. So we talked some more
8:05pmE - Snack time. Mini sub sandwich with swiss cheese and meat of ambiguous origin, Dijonaise, and Oreo cookies (strangely served with water, not milk...).
8:50pmE - Second movie is over. We girls chat and work on crocheting scarves.
9:30pmE - Third movie. "27 Dresses". Cute chick flick.
11:15pmE - Movies are all over. Nap time.
2:00amE - When I wake up, I decide to switch to Japan time. It is 3:00pmJ. Breakfast is served. Omelet with colby cheese (airplane eggs have a most unusual texture...), roasted potatoes, sausage links, fresh fruit (again with the strange texture), blueberry muffin, orange juice, green tea.
3:45pmJ - Land at Tokyo-Narita Airport. Went painlessly through customs. (Evie's 30 copies of The Jesus Film made it through! Praise the Lord!) We meet up with ML and JY, who were on an earlier flight through Chicago.
5:12pmJ - JR Rail Line to Nippori Station. We got our first view of Japan from this train - adorable little houses with the coolest roofs, huge apartment buildings, flooded rice paddies with little plants just starting to shoot up, huge bicycle parking lots, and some car dealerships with names I recognized (Subaru, Mazda, Suzuki...)
6:10pmJ - We arrive at Nippori and take a second train on a short hop to Ueno Station. Once there, we play cards and have a snack while waiting on our Shinkansen.
7:15pmJ - We board our Shinkansen (bullet train) and discover that the reason we got such good ticket prices is that we did not get reserved seats. We smush up together with all of our luggage in the passageway connecting two train cars, because the cars themselves are packed. A woman with a snack cart (similar to those you see on airplanes) comes through the cars, offering beverages, snacks, and gifts for purchase. We have to shuffle around so that she can go to another car. I love this photo that I took from the platform:
8:00pmJ - The cars empty considerably at a station stop, so we stow our luggage and find seats.
9:05pmJ - We arrive at Sendai Station.
9:30pmJ - Our host arrives with two friends. We are driven to UpTen, the guys house. We spot some interesting stores along the way, like White Wine (which turned out to be a laundromat), Steak & Hamburg, Mos Burger, Shop 99 (like a Dollar Tree), Dog Hair Works: Trimes, Goo (looked like an ice cream stand), Java: Wash Amuse (car wash at a gas station), KFC ($10 for a meal! Yikes!), a normal-looking McDonald's, and a beautifully fancy bistro-style McDonald's. We arrived at UpTen and I was made painfully aware of my status as a giant ;-)
10:25pmJ - We girls go to the girls house, but our host has misplaced the key and we can't get in. We discover that both houses are *very* near the university campus.
10:30pmJ - We go back to UpTen. We haven't eaten since "breakfast" on the plane, so we all go to a cafeteria-style restaurant near campus called Handa Ya. I had white rice and a little bowl of something that tasted remarkably like Mom's beef stew (beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, with some ginger on top).
11:30pmJ - We all return to UpTen. The guys offer to give us their beds upstairs, and they took sleeping bags downstairs. They said they were "camping". Such kindness! We will get the key situation worked out on Saturday.
MidnightJ - Bedtime. We all fall asleep quickly.

All in all, we had a wonderful, although long, travel day. Looking forward to all of the sights and tastes that the weekend brings us.

We're Here!

2008-05-16T11:34:00.001-04:00

We arrived in Tokyo-Narita Airport at 3:45 pm Japan time (2:45 am Eastern time). We had very good flights. No one had any upset tummies (praise God! I tend to get motion sickness). We met up with the rest of our group at customs, which was a breeze. We took a train from the Airport to Nipponi Station, a second train from Nippori to Uneo Station, and then a Shinkansen (bullet train) from Uneo to Sendai Station, where our hosts picked us up.

Everyone else has gone to sleep now, so I will make this short for now and post more details and pictures tomorrow.

Saturday plan: Sleep late, eat something, and visit camput at 1:00pm.

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Departure Day

2008-05-15T09:52:00.000-04:00

..0...
Zero days!!!!
We leave today!!!!
In an hour and a half!!!!

The passports arrived! Thank-you for all of your prayers!

I will try to post an update tomorrow as soon as possible. Pray that my laptop connects smoothly to the internet so that I can update all of you wonderful people.

Pray for airplane safety. Pray for NO motion sickness. Pray for smooth flying. And pray that we find our way on the Bullet Train to Sendai.

Just One More Day!

2008-05-14T10:13:00.000-04:00

..1...
The countdown is coming to a close! We leave for Japan TOMORROW!!! Woo-hoo!

Prayer Request

2008-05-13T23:21:00.002-04:00

Two of our guys had to send their passports away to an embassy for another summer mission trip following this one, but they have not gotten them back yet. Please pray that their passports will be returned on Wednesday - we leave on Thursday morning!

Flight Schedule

2008-05-13T14:16:00.001-04:00

Thursday, May 15
Northwest Flight NW 1406
Departs: Louisville (SDF) at 11:09AM Eastern Time
Arrives: Detroit (DTW) at 12:33PM Eastern Time
1 hour 24 minutes; 316 miles

Northwest Flight NW 25
Departs: Detroit (DTW) at 2:15PM Eastern Time
Arrives: Tokyo-Narita (NRT) at 4:20PM Japan Time (3:20AM Eastern)
13 hours 5 minutes; 6,398 miles

Thursday, May 29
Northwest Flight NW 20
Departs: Tokyo-Narita (NRT) at 3:25 PM Japan Time (2:25 AM Eastern)
Arrives: Minneapolis (MSP) at 12:20 PM Central Time (1:20 PM Eastern)
10 hours 55 minutes; 5,953 miles

Northwest Flight NW 2821
Departs: Minneapolis (MSP) at 3:45 PM Central Time (4:45 PM Eastern)
Arrives: Louisville (SDF) at 6:45 PM Eastern Time
2 hours; 604 miles

Ni

2008-05-13T10:01:00.000-04:00

..2...
Two days!
I found this really cute way to remember the numbers 1 to 10 in Japanese (scroll down for the little mneumonic story): http://genkienglish.net/genkijapan/learnjapanesenumbers.htm

1 - ichi
2 - ni
3 - san
4 - shi
5 - go
6 - roku
7 - nana
8 - hachi
9 - ku
10 - juu

Today's trip preparation will involve my last quick shopping trip, fixing a lunch to take on the plane, and the finishing up the last of the laundry.

Three days

2008-05-12T11:47:00.000-04:00

..3...
Time to buckle down and start putting stuff into bags. I have everything that I *want* to take all laid out - now it's time to remove what I don't really *need*.

Yesterday at my church, the elders invited us up front to pray for us - for our traveling safety, for our boldness of speech, and for our willingness to try new things. It was such a blessing to receive encouragement from my church family.

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T07:04:00.001-04:00

..4...
Today I am taking a break from trip preparation in order to visit Mom.

Cobbler, Coke, & Crochet

2008-05-10T13:03:00.003-04:00

...5...
Location: Cobbler's Cafe in Elizabethtown, KY. This is an adorable little place! Huge menu and delicious beverages.
http://www.cobblerscafe.com/

Companions: The three of us girls going on the Japan trip (in five days!) decided to get together once before the trip.

Drinking: Mocha Latte for me; Organic Oolong Tea for Rebecca; Hot Chocolate and Diet Coke for Evie. Yes, Evie has two beverages. Yes, that Coke has unlimited refills. Yes, she's a very thirsty girl.

Activity: We're crocheting scarves to take with us as gifts. Mine is yellow yarn with black eyelash yarn trim - looks like a bumble bee. Evie's is grape purple down the center and turquoise around the edges - so cozy! Rebecca is doing a shell stitch with thin fuzzy white yarn - lovely and delicate.

Eating: Gyro BLTs, Fritos, Vegetable Soup.

Conversation:
*Music: We're planning to sing some songs for the student groups, so we are discussing our favorite songs and artists and music styles.
*Family: The best way to get to know someone is to get to know their family. We are talking about our parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and grandparents.
*Packing: It is going to be so hard to get everything we want and need crammed into our bags! Since we will have to physically carry / hold onto our bags on the train between Tokyo and Sendai, we are rather limited. I plan to check a medium-sized suitcase on the plane and carry-on a laptop backpack and a smallish rolling duffel bag.

Home Stretch

2008-05-09T10:55:00.000-04:00

..6...
We are under the one-week mark!

I would like to point out some new features on my blog:
*Firstly, the initials of the seven of us going on the trip are just above the first post, so you can keep up with who's who. I may add names if they say it's ok.
*Secondly, I put date & time clocks to the right so you can compare Japan time to your own time. Japan is 13 hours ahead of Louisville, KY and 14 hours ahead of Glasgow, KY.
*Lastly, notice the little "Older Posts" link down at the bottom of the page. This main page will have the most recent 10 posts, and you can click on that link to get to, you guessed it, the older posts.

Is there anything else that you would like to see on here?

One Week to go!

2008-05-08T07:27:00.001-04:00

...7...
I acquired my own domain name! You can update your bookmark (but know that the old blogspot address will still work):

http://www.polymathamy.com

I went to the airport yesterday and bought Yen at the bank there. Today I will start planning my packing. I need to figure out what will go in my checked suitcase and what will go in my carryon bag.

Our group leader (Mr. Y) met three ladies in Arizona who just returned from a mission trip to Japan. They used this tract with much success: http://www.cedricstudio.com/goodperson.html

Mr. Y said: "Scroll down to find the Japanese version. You will notice it is a "comic book" format. The three ladies from Arizona reminded me that the Japanese are constantly reading and many read "comic book" looking books. Even young adults. They said it fit right in. They also told me that the 10 commandments really spoke to their consciences and led them to be very open to the gospel."

The Countdown Continues

2008-05-07T10:18:00.001-04:00

..8...
I have arranged for my assignments to be covered at work and for someone to water my flowers at home. The mail is on hold and I am advance-paying my bills that would be due during my absence. Mom will be taking me to the airport on the 15th, and Dad will pick me up on the 29th.

Everything is falling right into place, so why do I feel like there isn't enough time to get everything done?

Single digits

2008-05-06T09:22:00.001-04:00

Nine days!
Only 9 days left to pack, to buy Yen, and to prepare myself for the trip.

Does anyone have suggestions for adjusting to the new time zone? Those who have ever worked nights might have tips for this, too. Since Japan is about 14 hours behind us, we will basically be flip-flopping our days and nights.

Two-hand Countdown

2008-05-05T10:15:00.000-04:00

Ten days until we leave the U.S.
10 days!!!

Schedule

2008-04-30T14:03:00.001-04:00

We have an itinerary!
Here is our daily schedule, with specific prayer requests for each day. UpTen is the mens' dorm where our guys will be staying. They call their English-speaking Club "Guys Club", even though it is open to all students and even has more girls than guys!

May 15 (Thu) Arrive at airport about 9:00a.m. Flight leaves 11:09 to Detroit. Leave from Detroit 2:51 p.m. and arrive Tokyo 4:20 pm Friday (3:20 a.m US-Eastern time!!)
Pray for: Safety, ability to sleep (on the plane) and team relationships; smoothness in going through customs, connecting with the rest of our team in the Tokyo airport (two are on a different flight from the US), getting tickets & taking trains first from airport to Nippori train station and from there to Sendai.

May 17 (Sat) It will probably be 10 pm Japan time before we arrive in Sendai. Orientation, meet some students, tour campus, Izumi & Sendai downtown?

Pray for: good first relationships and connections with students, quick adjustment to the new time zone, safety in travels around Sendai.

May 18 (Sun) Drive to Matsushima for Sunday worship.

Pray for: good fellowship, safety in traveling to Matsushima.

May 19 (Mon) Lunch with students.

Pray for: relationship building, grace & love in communicating.

May 20 (Tue) UpTen Lunch Time.

Pray for: good fellowship and relationship building.

May 21 (Wed) Men's Bible Study at 8 pm. Girl’s Night – crafts & activities to share American culture with them.

Pray for: open hearts, good sharing.

May 22 (Thu) Guys Club meeting & UpTen Night.

Pray for: good fellowship, relationship building & boldness to witness.

May 23 (Fri) Picnic, Movie, Cooking American meal (chili) for the students.

Pray for: good fellowship, relationship building & boldness to witness.

May 24 (Sat) Shopping downtown Sendai.
Pray for: safety in travels around Sendai.

May 25 (Sun) Visit church in Tsukidate and stay over night.

Pray for: relationship building, grace & love in communicating, safe travel up to Tsukidate.

May 26 (Mon) Day off (Day alone with God).
Pray for: rest and personal growth as we reflect on the past events.

May 27 (Tue) UpTen Lunch Time.

Pray for: good fellowship, relationship building & boldness to witness.

May 28 (Wed) Men's Bible Study at 8 pm. Girls’ Night - hoping the girls will share Japanese culture with us.

Pray for: open hearts, good sharing.

May 29 (Thu) Leave from Sendai early on train back to Nippori Station and then to the airport. Those returning to U.S. leave Tokyo at 3:25 p.m. to St. Paul 12:20 p.m., from St. Paul 3:45 p.m. to Louisville 6:45 p.m. on May 29.

Pray for: Safety in travels, smooth connections with trains and planes, and for part of our team as they continue on to China.

Special prayer request from BEST/Guys Club:

Now Guys club is still recruiting mode, last week 40-50 freshmen came.
They are mostly girls and few boys. We are praying for more boys come.

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Reading

2008-04-24T17:30:00.000-04:00

I have been reading and learning all about travel to Japan:
State.gov Travel Information:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1148.html
CIA World Factbook:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ja.html
World Travels Guide:
http://www.wordtravels.com/Travelguide/Countries/Japan
Japan National Tourist Organization:
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/
Wikipedia Entry on Japan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan
Wikipedia Entry on Miyagi Prefecture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyagi_Prefecture
Wikipedia Entry on Sendai:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sendai,_Miyagi
Wikipedia Entry on Customs and Etiquette of Japan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_and_etiquette_of_Japan
"The Japan FAQ" Site:
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/
"Jetset Japan" Site:
http://www.jetsetjapan.com/infozone.shtml

Books

2008-04-17T20:26:00.001-04:00

I will be taking books to Japan:

Several Bilingual English-Japanese New Testament Bibles:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4264026059

One Manga Bible:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/426401798X

One Childrens' Book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1579217923

And a stack of reference books:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1857333942
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/188507395X
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1857333098
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585730386
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/2831562678

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Useful

2008-04-16T12:51:00.005-04:00

Below are some useful products which I have acquired for my travels:

Packing Cubes, like these by Rick Steves, help keep my suitcase neat and in order: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PWIQHW

Microfiber Towels, like the Adventure line by Aquis, are lightweight, thin/compact, and dry very quickly. I liked the blueberry (navy) color best, but they are also available in seafoam and graphite:
Small (washcloth size): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AMA49K
Medium (hand towel size): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AMDOD8
Large (hair-drying size): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AM82R6
Extra-Large (bath towel size): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AMBF1Q

Pillow/Blanket, like the Nap Sac by Jet Set, has a surprisingly large blanket that folds up inside a little bag that turns into a pillow cover for the inflatable pillow: http://www.spoonsisters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=17218&Category_Code=1014000&Product_Count=3

Messenger Day Bag, like this one by High Sierra, is a comfortable bag to carry around all day that has more room than a purse, but without the bulkiness of a backpack: http://www.ebags.com/high_sierra/mia/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=70442

Paper Soap, like this anti-bacterial hand soap paper, will be useful in restrooms that might not have soap available: http://www.spoonsisters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=51312&Category_Code=1014000&Product_Count=78

Rolling Duffel Bag, like this one by Samsonite, is the largest that will fit overhead on the plane, and the wheels will make it easy to roll around the airport: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000I1I6VQ

Point It Picture Dictionary, is a handy little book that doesn't require translation: http://www.spoonsisters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=14903&Category_Code=1014000&Product_Count=45

Orientation

2008-04-14T17:24:00.002-04:00

Since our group orientation last week, I have been busily researching customs and etiquette of Japan. There are seven in the mission team now. Our orientation focused on planning - what to pack, what to prepare for, and what to expect. Here are some examples.

Slippers: When entering a home (or hotel, or sometimes even a school), you are supposed to remove your shoes. Slippers are provided by the owner. I will make sure to pack shoes that are easy to slip on and off, as well as new socks, since everyone is going to see them! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_and_etiquette_of_Japan#Visiting_someone.27s_house

Ofuro: The Japanese generally lead very busy and stressful lives. A nice, hot soak at the end of the day is a great way to relax. A traditional Ofuro consists of a shower area for washing and a deep tub for soaking. This sounds just lovely... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofuro

Toilet: Japan has both traditional "squat" toilets as well as modern Western toilets. The modern ones may have various electronic controls. Sometimes, the hand-washing sink is on top of the toilet's water tank, thus conserving water by using the drained water for the next flush. There are separate toilet slippers for use inside the restroom. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_toilet

Gifts: Oy, the gifts. We will be giving and receiving many gifts during our stay. Gifts are always given when visiting someone's house. I have selected several USA-themed items to bring with me to give to our hosts and others that we meet. Souvenirs are a big deal as well. I read that many Japanese are so focused on picking out just the right gifts to bring back to their friends and family that they miss out on actually enjoying their vacations! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customs_and_etiquette_of_Japan#Gifts_and_gift-giving

I am preparing my testimony to share when I am asked why I came to Japan. We hope to have opportunities to lead groups of students with songs and games. Pray that God will give me His Words to speak - that I will be prepared to answer any question, that I will not have language barrier issues, and that I will have a discerning spirit to know when to speak and when to listen.

-Aimi

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Support Request Letter

2008-03-28T20:55:00.001-04:00

There is no doubt that God is working in exciting and radical ways all over the world. God has opened up a thrilling opportunity for me to take my very first mission trip! I will be traveling in a group of six fellow Christians on a Missions trip May 15-29, 2008, to Sendai, Japan. We will be working with a Navigator college ministry there. The Navigators is “an international Christian outreach ministry to college campuses, military bases, inner cities, prisons, and youth camps.” (http://www.navigators.org/)

Less than 1% of the Japanese population say that they are Christians. They live in a very materialistic society, and they do not realize that they are spiritually needy. English, as the international language, and Americans are very popular. College students especially admire Western culture. Most students have never read the Bible, have never been to church, have never had a Christian friend, and have no Biblical concept of God. Simply being American gives us opportunities to connect with Japanese people, to share our faith, and to connect them with Japanese Christians.

Clubs are very common in Japan - students join an average of five clubs during their time in college. One of the ways The Navigators reach out to students is through a club called B.E.S.T.: Bible, English, Sports, and Travel. The Bible is first in the title, so that students will know that it is not a hidden agenda, but rather a book that is worthy of being read by everyone. Students want to improve their English abilities, to get involved with other students, and to travel (especially overseas), but find it difficult to do on their own. The school year starts in April, so we will be there just in time to help recruit. Our goal for the trip will be to meet new students and invite them to join the club. B.E.S.T. provides a forum where Christians can relate to students’ interests, build relationships with them, and expose them to the Bible and the Christian faith in the context of a variety of activities.

Please pray for me, that I will be bold in sharing my faith, that I will put my own desires aside and listen to the Lord, and that I will have compassion for the lost. My cost for traveling expenses, food, and lodging is approximately $2350. In addition, I would also like to take with me some Japanese-English Bibles, about $30/each for these bilingual New Testaments. The trip is being funded through donations and by those of us going on the mission trip. I am very excited to serve and minister on this trip, and I ask you to join me in this ministry. I am seeking your support and prayers for this trip.

Thank-you for considering partnership with me in this ministry.

Love in Christ,

Amy

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First!

2008-03-26T21:30:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my brand-new blog.

So you have seen my letter and you know where I am going.

I will be posting periodically as I prepare for my upcoming mission trip, and hopefully I will be able to access it while I am there to update you on our activities. Please post a comment and introduce yourself!

-aimi