Family pictures

This is all of my Crowson family. Do we look related? Sorry, but I'm just not going to name everyone for you unless you are dying to know us all. :-)


My family: Mom, Tim and Katrina, Dad, Natalie, and me.

Surprise!

I succeeded in surprising my entire family by flying home for Christmas on December 16!!! It was certainly the biggest surprise I've ever pulled off, thanks to my sister actually :-) And I don't think I'll be doing it again as it was a huge cause of stress to the point that I think it gave me my first gray hair. I have no problem keeping other people's secrets, but when it comes to my own (and especially if they are fun) I have a hard time.

My sister, Natalie, picked up me up at the airport along with my friend, Joni, and my brother and sister-in-law, Tim and Katrina, who were accidentally leaked the surprise two days before my arrival. My sister drove me to my parents' house and it was really fun to just ring the door bell and watch their reactions. They were very surprised! We then drove to a nearby hotel where my Turnbough relatives were staying, most of whom I'd not seen in nearly three years. I knocked on the door and watched them all go crazy at the sight of me too (although, that could've been because I looked a little scary after the trip). And finally we waited for my grandparents to arrive and they were also shocked. Sunday was the day we surprised the rest of my Crowson relatives when I arrived at church that morning. Since Christmas weekend will find us scattered throughout the country we had our Crowson family Christmas that Sunday, with all of us together for the first time in over four years. Now that's what I call special :-) I'll try to get a picture of us up soon.

Tomorrow my parents, sister, and I will make our way down to Georgia to spend Christmas with my Culpepper family (Mom's side). I haven't seen them since before I went to Japan and I think they will be surprised as well.

I'm starting to feel normal and hope the jet-lag will be gone by this weekend. There's no feeling like jet-lag (that doesn't mean it's good though). I was pretty incoherent the first day...talking about my 'week on the airplane' and hardly able to finish a sentence at all.

I will be in Nashville until January 9 when I return to Japan. So until then I may have very few (or no) entries on my blog, I'm not sure. Everybody needs a vacation, right? I hope you get one too and enjoy Christmas!!

**My apologies to any one of my friends who may find out through this blog that I am in Nashville right now. I hope no one's feelings will be hurt.

Christmas is in the air

I can't keep up with everything going on this Christmas season, no matter how hard I try. I'm enjoying it but it's definitely busy...


I teach an adult English at Iriso Church on Mondays'. This past Monday we had a spaghetti party for our Christmas celebration. It was all very yummy.
Left to right: Hideki (he's not actually in the class, he and his wife are member's of Iriso Church), Yumi, and Yumie...(yes, their names are different if you look closely). Pastor Kojima is in the class but he was taking the picture.


At the same church, Iriso, I also teach three other classes: two elementary classes and one high school class. These four girls make up my elementary students.
Left to right: top-Shiori, Aiko bottom-Natsumi, Mizuki

Shiori is Haruna's sister, my previous student who is now an exchange student in Canada. These girls are always lots of fun for me. Apparently Mizuki pestered her mother for about 48 hours asking if it was time to go to Bethany's house yet :-) They're so cute! Mizuki and Natsumi enjoyed opening every single drawer, closet, etc. in my apartment to see what kind of mysterious things they might find in a foreigner's place.


Shiori helping with the cooking.


As you can tell from the previous picture, I have next to no counter space so Aiko had to really improvise.


Everyone helped with the cooking and preparations. On the right is Pastor Kojima from Iriso Church.


Christmas cookies! I decided to make sugar cookies to give away to all my students, bad idea...do you know long it takes to roll, cut, cook, and decorate 60 sugar cookies from scratch?! Especially considering that my oven is the size of a regular microwave. Haha! Anyway, I did. Although I eventually gave up the decorating and decided the adults would have to forego the pretty colors.


Well, that's a little bit of what's going on in Japan this time of year. The Gospel Choir Workshop has a heavy agenda coming up as well. December 17th is the mass concert where all the choirs come together, about 200 people. December 18th is a small concert at Iriso Church. December 23rd is a special evening of music at our church, Good News Chapel.

On a personal note I've been enjoying the movie 'It's a Wonderful Life'. Does anyone else love that movie? Cause I've been recently disappointed to hear that some people don't. :-( It has a good message and this year has certainly been making me think. Do I lead the kind of life and exemplify such character that those around me would not hesitate to back me up? Do I understand what life means and am I thankful for every moment? How can one not appreciate such a story? It's a classic!

There's another classic story that is too often overlooked, even among Christians. The birth of Jesus Christ was more real than any Hollywood movie or Santa Claus creation could ever be. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the fun of presents and imaginary elves (yes, I'm still a kid probably). But don't you think it's sad that we can make 'Santa radars' (like NORAD has done for years) for someone who does not exist, and practically ignore, or condemn as some do, the actual birth of a real King?

Gum...yum

Yes, I am sometimes a random person :-) But, I feel the need to say that American gum (the kind you chew) is REALLY good. I never really chewed it all that much when I lived in the States, but when I came to Japan I cut it out altogether and nearly forgot what it was. Although, they do have a kind here that is pure caffeine, and it has been fun on rare occasions. So when Chris and Regina came a couple of weeks ago they had several packs of Orbit's gum that they decided to leave with me. I thought I would never chew it, but I tried a piece while they were here and it is good stuff!!
I may be high-maintenance (haha Ruth!), but it's pretty easy to bring a smile to my face and warmth to my heart :-)


PS: this is not a request for everyone I know to send me gum, thank you.

Waseda University E-Crew

A small group of missionaries has been eating lunch weekly at Waseda University to take part in an English conversation group called E-Crew ('E' for English, of course). This is something that is organized by the students themselves, with the missionaries providing native English speakers. A few of the students are Believers, but I believe the majority are not.

I came in contact with one of the missionaries who participates several weeks ago and that's how I got involved. This is an open door with tremendous potential for outreach right in my back yard. I've enjoyed so much having this connection with college-aged Japanese people and look forward to going every week. This age group in Japan is a different culture in itself it seems, and unlike high school kids, they have greater freedom in almost every area of their lives.

Who to pray for:
*Shion-he's the guy in the picture who is sitting in the chair across from me. He is a Christian and one of the influential people in the group.
*Yuichiro-in the picture he is standing to the left (your left) of the girl in the Gap sweatshirt. He is the fearless leader, big boss, of E-Crew. Please pray that his heart might be softened and curious about the Gospel.
*Kara Enns-the girl in the Gap shirt. She and her husband, Jeff, moved to Japan about four months ago for work and ministry. Please pray for healthy, quick adjustment to a new culture and lifestyle and for their lives to have a great impact on those they come in contact with.
*Steve Weemes-he's taking the picture. He and his wife are missionaries with OMF (Overseas Missions Fellowship), they've been here for a good long time. Pray for Steve as he helps plan various activities to invite the E-Crew to participate in, and for the Lord to use his relationships with the guys, in particular.
*Everyone else! I can't even begin to remember EVERYONE's names, but you can still pray :-) Pray for good relationships, good conversations and open doors through them, interaction outside of our regular times, and the power and work of the Holy Spirit in all that happens so that the Enemy may have NONE.

Thoughts

Convenience never builds character.

Visitors from another planet

Chris, Regina, and Jordan and Jason Wright...ok, they're not from another planet obviously. But, when you've been overseas for over a year sometimes the States can seem like another planet :-) Anyway, the Wrights were here Nov. 22-28 and (I think) they had a wonderful time seeing Tokyo, eating Japanese food, and meeting Japanese people. I was certainly thrilled to have them here. I won't give you a run-down of our entire schedule cause, frankly, you'll survive without it, right? So, let's skip straight to some pictures!!!! YAY, pictures!


Day 1: down in the left-hand corner you can spot Regina, Jordan, and me souvenir shopping in an area called Asakusa. It's a big attraction for tourists and Japanese people alike, known for it's many souvenir shops and one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Japan. It was only moderately crowded that day, believe it or not.


Day 1: we were excited (and lucky) to find this traditional Japanese restaurant in one of the train stations. The food was really good, and I even ate some fish. Jordan and Jason did great and never complained if there was something they didn't like, and they liked a lot of it.


Day 3: I was gone to teach a class one night when the Wrights decided to find a place to eat. They are so much braver than I am! I wish I could tell you in detail about their experience at this restaurant. I'm so thankful I wasn't there, because they ate things that I wouldn't even go near :-)


Day 5: Me and the boys in front of KFC, or 'kentucky', as they say in Japan. They're all about Christmas at KFC right now. Did you know that Americans eat KFC and 'Christmas cake' on Christmas day? Neither did I. :-) It's cute though. I wonder how countries develop their perceptions of other countries.


Last day: We were invited over to my friend Tomiko's for the afternoon. (She's one of my Starbucks friends, for those who are new to the blog) Tomiko and her husband were there, along with their son, Shinichi, their daughter Rieko and her two sons, Hayaki and Yuki. It was fun to watch the four boys try to play together and see Shinichi try to translate or call for help. Laughter is universal.


We had a good time at Tomiko's. I'm really glad we were able to spend time with them. I think it was an important experience for the Wrights and for Tomiko's family. Thank you Chris, Regina, Jordan, and Jason!


It's a miracle Chris doesn't have a concussion after a week in my apartment! He hit his head literally every day.

As my dad would say, 'a good time was had by all'!