Pictures

It's been a while since I've put some pictures on here. These are not all recent though, sorry.


This was a kind of parade that we saw during the neighborhood festival around our church in August.


This is Caroline McDonald (who just turned 5 this week!) with some of the neighborhood kids at that same festival.


Beautiful green rice field in Hokkaido.


Ha, this was a year ago at Universal Studios Japan. I couldn't believe that someone actually made a mural like this! I just had to take a picture in front of it! (By the way, 'do you like sushi' is one of the most commonly asked questions for foreigners in Japan)

I'm different, but I'm okay with that now

They say there's a first for everything (which is really kind of obvious). June 2001 marked the first time I cried over cheesecake (yes, it's true-home missionary David Potete from Chicago, IL can testify to the whole ordeal). March 2004 was the first (and so far last) time my cousin, Heather, and I ate sushi. April 23, 2004 was the first time I witnessed an ENTIRE airplane of Japanese passengers execute stretching exercises in perfect synchronization. I could go on but I won't. This brings us to Sunday, September 18, 2005.

We had now had three days in a row of temperatures below 90, with the low being around 84! I was having my prayer time on Sunday morning, pouring out thanks to God for a variety of blessings, when I suddenly found myself crying as I profusely thanked Him for the cooler weather. Don't think I've cried over the weather before...but I'm likely to do it again, probably this week!

NEWS: 1) the Good News church is looking for a new location to rent; we have until October 31st to be out of our current facility. There are some options, it's just a matter of making the best decision. Sometimes that's harder than it seems. 2) Gospel Music Workshop, with Ruth McDonald as our director, will kick-off October 1st. We're excited to see what happens. 3) Annual Field Council meeting is Oct. 3-7 in Hokkaido. This is a meeting with all our missionaries currently on the field. I'm excited to see everyone in Hokkaido!! :-)

Home sweet home

I don`t really know what that means, home sweet home, I`ve lived in so many! But anyway, I`m back in my apartment. I have a new tatami floor and new carpet, which smell awful, but that`s not something I`m gonna complain about at this point. It was nice to sleep there again. I felt like I was on vacation, having a grand ole time with the McDonald family...but that`s not my normal life, so it`s nice to get back to the regular things. Too much chaos and unpredictability is not good for one`s emotional health.
There is light at the end of sweltering summer tunnel! Just a couple more weeks, and fall weather should be coming my way. Woohoo!! I can`t wait to use my crock-pot, and not be afraid off melting in the kitchen, drink hot coffee or tea at night, and burn some vanilla candles.
It really is amazing and beautiful to watch the four seasons God created.

Drama

Drama, drama, drama. I've had an interesting, kind of stressful, couple of weeks. So, to top it all off I returned to my apartment late Sunday night to find that my bedroom floor was sopping wet. Thankfully Donnie MacDonald was nearby and was able to help me move furniture and remove the carpet that was covering the tatami floor. (Tatami is a delicate kind of Japanese mat that is used on the floor) It was a big mess, and it turned into a bigger mess yesterday when the real estate agents and other workers began assessing the damage and determining the problem. I'm also really thankful for Mirial Gainer's help here, she took care of everything right away.
My bedroom has a skylight window and it seems that the ventilator fan just below it is the problem. There is air space behind the fan that had been accumulating water with all the typhoons we've had recently. So they'll have to fix that, and my floor as well.
This means that I'm not sleeping at my apartment for the next few days. I'll be house hopping it looks like (thank you to the MacDonald's and Mirial!).

I've read the last verses of Isaiah 40 over and over since Sunday...
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his undersetanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and incresases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." ~Isaiah 40:28-31~

Psalm 29

In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina...

"Give honor to the Lord, you angels; give honor to the Lord for his glory and strength. Give honor to the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The Lord thunders over the mighty sea. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon's mountains skip like a calf and Mount Hermon to leap like a young bull. The voice of the Lord strikes iwth lightnin bolts. The voice of the Lord makes the desert quake; the Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare. In his Temple everyone shouts, 'Glory!'. The Lord rules over the floodwaters. The Lord reigns as king forever. The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace." ~Psalm 29~ (NLT)