Insanity!

Yes, I am insane. I am now officially registered to run in the Chicago Marathon, October 22, 2006. I`m doing it because I want to, because I have never been a good runner and I`ve always wanted to overcome that. Also, what a great way to learn discipline! There`s another reason too...but I can`t go public with it just yet.

I can`t even run a mile at this point (ha!), but I started pre-pre-training this past week and am proud to say I`ve been very disciplined so far. I`m feeling a great deal of exhiliration mixed with anxiety and fear, but I do not plan on quitting. So I`m taking it a day at a time, trying to make reasonable goals for myself, and rejoice in accomplishing them one by one. Eventually that will get me to the finish line on October 22.

I`m not aiming for fast time, but a fun time running through the streets of a city I love. Don`t anybody let me give up now, you here?!

Choices

Deuteronomy 30:15-20...

"Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between prosperity and disaster, between life and death. I have commanded you today to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, laws, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and become a great nation, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live! Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and commit yourself to him, for he is your life. Then you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

Just as the nation of Israel was faced with a choice, so are we. Many in fact. We make daily decisions, consciously or not, that take us a step closer or farther away from God's best. We are wise to train ourselves to be alert and ready to make purposeful decisions.
I must choose to believe Truth over whatever human circumstances, emotions, and 'realities' life throws my way. Such acts of the will gradually align us with the will and heart of the Father, who faithfully gives life and blessing.

travel 101

If I were ever asked to teach a class on travelling (by air) I would start with this:

*Be sure that you know WHAT day the airline is expecting you to travel. This is very helpful, and will save you from waking up at 2:45 in the morning for nothing. (I speak from experience)



I have finally made it back to Japan though, and I'm hoping my jet-lag will subside before long since I have to start teaching again on Monday. Yay rah! It's very strange to think I'm beginning the end of my two years in Japan, where has the time gone?

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'!

Time flies when you`re having fun?

Why do we even bother saying `when things slow down` or `when life gets back to normal`? It never happens!

I had a full, enjoyable week just after CPI conference. I had my English classes as usual and they went well for the most part. Wednesday I made sure I took the day off (after spending the morning cleaning, doing laundry, etc) to relax and go watch a movie. Friday I did something new...

Waseda University in Tokyo has a campus near my house which I visited for the first time last Friday. There are two or three other missionaries who have been eating lunch weekly with some of the students for English conversation, they call it E-crew. It is specifically for English, so there is no Bible study involved, but it`s a great opportunity to break into their world and get to know them, and hopefully to invite them to various activities where they can meet Christians. I`m excited about getting more involved with this group. I do have a picture, but it`s not quite ready.

Saturday was Gospel Music Workshop day. We don`t have very many practices left already and some of us are a little nervous I think :-) We were missing some people this past week and everyone seemed tired. Please be in prayer for the last three practices: we need good attendance, energy, and atmosphere, but more than that we need to stay connected to the Japanese people who are coming. There will be several performances during the Christmas season that we are all looking forward to.

A few hours before last week`s practice my friends, Tomiko and Junko (starbucks), came to my place for cake and coffee. I think I was mostly excited about having someone to cook for!! They are fun ladies and we had a good time. Thank you for praying for them, please continue to do so. Pray for me as well as I look for open doors to speak with them and connect with them on a deeper level.

Yesterday was an early Christmas for me when a large box from my friends Mark and Heather Littlefield arrived! I must`ve looked ridiculously childish when I opened it. What can I say? Maybe I`ll never completely grow up.

This week is buzzing with activity and good times. My friends Chris and Regina Wright and their two sons, Jordan and Jason, (from Chicago) arrive tomorrow night for a six day visit! I will still teach my regular classes, and spend the rest of my time with them :-) I am grateful to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with them, the McDonald family, and Etsuko Asahi (she is from our church), and maybe others?

That`s it for now I think. I hope to have some new pictures up in the next couple of weeks. Thanks to you who read this blog and keep up with me in Japan. If you have questions or things you`d like to see in the blog please let me know, I`d be happy to oblige.

`Happy Thanksgiving, and in case I don`t see ya...Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Best Wishes`

I'm back

It's been a busy couple of weeks over here. Last week was the CPI (Church Planting Institute) conference near Mt. Fuji, for all missionaries, tent-makers, Japanese pastors and lay people, and anyone else interested in church-planting in Japan. The conference started on Tuesday and ended Friday at lunch. I definitely benefited and was challenged by Josiah Bancroft, whose seminars were the ones I attended the most. He spoke about Grace, and how grace works itself out in our relationship with God, with our families, with our teams, and then in our world. (Josiah has been a missionary to several areas, including Ireland) I was very encouraged and energized by the people who came from the States to serve in various capacities at the conference. They were great fun to be around. I also had the joy of meeting some new people (to me) who are working in Japan, including 5 french-speaking Europeans! I thoroughly enjoyed speaking French throughout the week and realizing, to my great relief, that I can still sound French.

Before and after the conference our missionaries from Hokkaido came down, some before, some after, for some fun times. When you're from the States living and working in Japan, you take advantage of the times you get to eat American food. So we feasted at Outback Steakhouse, TGIF's, Wendy's, and El Toritos. Yum!

Now it's back to work and classes this week and it's going to be full. I have classes today; Wednesday is always my day off; Thursday I have classes; Friday is yet to be finalized; Saturday my Starbucks ladies (Tomiko and Junko) are coming over for dessert and coffee, after which Tomiko and I will head to the Good News church for the Gospel music workshop. Sunday will be church and who knows what else; next Monday is my longest teaching day; and then next Tuesday the Wright family from my church in Chicago is coming to visit!! As you can maybe see...busy, busy, busy.

When life moves faster than we can humanly keep up with, it's absolutely vital to grab hold of the fact that we are human and in great need of a supernatural, super-energetic, super-organized, super-restful, super-enduring and purposeful God. I hope you can claim that too, as I imagine every one of you is getting busier by the minute with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner. :-) As my friend Chris Wright always tells me....don't forget to have fun!!

'In the beginning...'

We all know the account of Creation recorded in the book of Genesis. Yet it is somehow easy to overlook the fact that God did indeed speak the heavens, earth, water, sun, moon, sky, land, plants, and animals into existence. As easily as my mind runs through my daily routine, He thought it and spoke it, and it was. The beautiful thing about nature, as opposed to man, is that it has no choice but to point to its Creator. It cannot fail to be proof of an artistic, logical, intelligent, purposeful, amibitious, powerful Designer. Unlike man, nature worships and glorifies its Maker 100% of the time. Certainly this pleases God. He said himself that it was good. Imagine how much more it must please Him if by his own will man enjoys and admires (worships) the Creator in His created world.

Sometimes you just need to get out of the city. This is exactly what I did this past Wednesday, but I wasn't expecting how the Lord would meet me there. "This is my Father's World".


I took a train about 1hr45mn away, yet I was still unbelievably within the Tokyo metropolitan limits! This is near the top of Mt. Mitake, very beautiful time of year. I walked over to the village in this picture; had lunch there; kept on walking and hiked behind what you see here for about 4hr30mn. It was perfect!


For those who want to see some real Japanese food. And it's not sushi! I ate 'nikku soba' for lunch. Nikku just means meat, and soba is a type of noodle common to Japan. It was quite yummy :-)


The cute little souvenir shop/restaurant where I had my lunch break.


A thatched roof house in the completely tiny village in the mountains. I can't remember the last time I saw a thatched roof, but I imagine it was in France.


This is the 2,000 year old Shrine at the top of Mt. Mitake. Can you imagine? Two thousand years ago people were climbing this mountain...going through all that trouble...to pray to nothing. That's a long history of idolatry for Japan.


This is a small part of the very steep and narrow path I went down to reach the waterfalls and rock gardens near the foot of the moutain.


Too bad I don't have my brother or father's photography talent, but it was terrific scenery down there.


Living water? Not quite, but they assured me it was delicious and safe to drink so I did. It was pretty good.

"This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world, the birds their carols raise, the morning light, the lily white, declare their maker's praise.
This is my Father's world: he shines in all that's fair; in the rustling grass I hear him pass; he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world. O let me ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world: why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! God reigns; let the earth be glad!" (words by Malthie D. Babcock)

Today's favorite thoughts...

"The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness, and sanctification center, where flawed people place their trust in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he has designed. The church is messy and inefficient, but it is God's wonderful mess--the place where he radically transforms hearts and lives." (by 'church' this author is referring to a body of believers, not a building of any kind) ~Paul David Tripp ("Instrument's in the Redeemer's Hands")

"When a certain set of desires rules our hearts, we reduce our prayers to the menu of human desire." ~Paul David Tripp ("Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands")

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." ~1 Corinthians 13:12

Thankful today that we are called to Christ himself, not to perfection, for He is indeed the perfecter of our faith.

Arts and Music

My friend Tomiko (from Starbucks) is enrolled in a painting class that holds an annual exhibit to display the student`s art for the community. We went to see it a couple of weeks ago and it really was beautiful. It`s good that they weren`t for sale or that would`ve been a temptation to fight.


Left to right: Tomiko, Junko, Mitsue, Rieko (Tomiko`s daughter),and me.

After the exhibit we went out for coffee and tea. On the way home I called Ken Bailey to check on the progress of Mirial Gainer`s back surgery. It turned out to be a good opportunity to give a fresh testimony of the Lord`s faithfulness in answering prayers and giving peace to those who ask.


This was last Saturday at the Gospel Workshop. We had a blast! I`ll be looking forward to the next one in a couple of weeks. We had somewhere around 15-17 people I think, including Tomiko and Rieko.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying from my Starbucks ladies (Tomiko and Junko), whose circle of friends I am always being introduced to, as well as for the Gospel Music Workshop and the impact it can have on the choir members.

Hangin' out

I was recently back up in Hokkaido for ten days to attend our annual Field Council meeting. All of our career missionaries (and short-termers alike) seemed very positive at the end of the week, for which I am very grateful. May we never say God doesn't answer prayer. We also had the joy of having Robert Morgan (Pastor of Donelson Fellowship Church, and an insightful writer) with us for most of the week. He shared with us in our morning devotion times and spoke a couple of other times as well. It's always refreshing to be on the receiving end of the spiritual feeding when you are so often on the giving end.

I was able to spend a lot of time with my friends up there, both missionaries and Japanese. I couldn't have asked for nicer memories to take with me when I left.


Top: Mika, Hollie, and Kenji Bottom: me, Atsushi. We went to eat one night at our favorite Indian restaurant. If you've never tasted Indian food you're really missin' out!


Top: Atsushi, me, Hollie, and David Snow Bottom: Megan Snow, Mika, Haruka, and Anna Snow.
Atsushi, Mika, and Haruka are Christians so as you remember to, please pray for a continued deepening of their faith and relationship with God. They are among a great minority of believers living in a spiritually blinded nation. David, Anna, and Elizabeth Snow (taking the picture) are siblings, and Megan Snow (along with Daniel, Andrew, Jake, and Noah) are their first cousins. They are of course missionary kids! (love the MK's!!) Please pray for them as well. Being an MK carries with it a load of stresses and interesting experiences that can either benefit you or harm you far into the future. Pray that they will have the ability to adjust and learn well from their backgrounds as they grow up.


Noah, Daniel, and thier mom, Linda Snow. Isn't Noah the cutest? Nathan and Linda Snow have five kids, if you can't think of anything else (and surely you can)...that is reason enough to pray for them :-) They are sweet parents, friends, and missionaries.


I was very excited to be able to attend our association's Hokkaido area women's retreat. I believe this was the best attendance to date with 26 women from seven churches.

Shout out

I know I'm a few days behind but no worries, within the next couple of days I'll have some new pictures and updates for your reading pleasure, or not :-) This entry is not about me though...

I want to send a shout out to my friends David Potete (pastor, Northwest FWB Church, Chicago, IL) and Chris Wright (treasurer, same church). CONGRATULATIONS!! After training for several months, both of these men not only completed the Chicago marathon..they did it in 4hr34mn!!!! Chris got in on last year's marathon two days before the race and finished in less than six hours. For David it was his first marathon. Pretty amazing, isn't it?

They ran for a reason too. So before long I hope to hear how much money was raised to help pay off Northwest Church's mortgage. They're getting close.

(A reliable little birdie told me that Chris Wright has now received an invitation to run in the Boston Marathon...we'll keep the updates coming!)

Strategy

Every year all of our missionaries who are currently in Japan get together for field council, a week of meetings and business, and some fun too. I've been hearing a lot of talk about 'strategy' and I started wondering what the actual definition of that word might be. It's quite interesting:

The New Webster's Desk Reference Dictionary describes strategy as "the science and art of conducting a military campaign in its large-scale and long-term aspects." Encyclopedia Britannica Online says "a coordinated application of all the forces of a nation to achieve a goal...strategy's components include a long-range view, the preparation of resources, and planning for the use of those resources before, during, and after an action."

I appreciated these definitions because we really do find ourselves in a spiritual battle throughout the world. We have an urgent need for wisdom and direction from, and faith in the Ultimate Strategist.

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!! :-)