Monday, May 31, 2004

3 weeks and counting 

posted by: court 
Wow, 3 weeks from departure. 21 days from today. Ack. It's getting close! We still have quite a bit of money to earn... I'm beginning to feel the burn. I trust God that we'll make our goal, but it's not like you can take your hands off the steering wheel while driving down the highway and say "I trust God will not let me crash!" You have to do your part too.

We've been flocking all this week (if anyone's seen a group of lawn flamingos around town... yep, that's us) and have another "appointment" tonight. So far folks have been very generous with their donations..... but we still have a long way to go.

Our bake sale will be Sunday, June 6 at Swain's... hopefully that goes well!

Keep us in your prayers!
posted at: 10:14:55 PM

Heehee! 

posted by: court 
I recieved information yesterday about our exact living situation in Kaminoyama, as well as info that our host church is using pictures and information from this very website to advertise for our English classes this summer! :o Wonder what pictures they're using, haha.

We will be staying in our own homestay, an old-style Japanese house with 4 tatami rooms, a shower, a Western-style bathroom, a washing machine, a gas stove, and a microwave. It's a 20-minute walk from the church but they will be providing us with bicycles.

Additionally, they said:

"Four American ladies at Kaminoyama for 6 weeks will draw a super high attention in the community. Since the whole town will know their presence at Kaminoyama, each team member will notice people's attention and will be careful for their behavior!"

Which, in slightly broken English, means we have to be careful of our conduct so we are good stewards of Christ and of the church.

27 days and counting.

posted at: 4:45:14 PM

29 days and counting 

posted by: court 
We went on a huge shopping spree today, buying ministry supplies and class materials. There was so much to buy! We had to find items for all of our classes (crafts, cooking, etc), games, English classes, and our 4 coffeehouses, focusing primarily on the Birthday one, which we'll be doing an "official" runthrough of tomorrow night at the WC @ 7:30 pm.

After that, there's only 2 more official meetings.... and a lot of practice and fundraising! We still need to earn our final payment of $4,800... but God is continuing to bless us. Please pray that we can make our payment before we leave...
posted at: 5:49:47 PM

34 days and counting 

posted by: court 
34 days until we leave (June 21). Actually, that will be sooner for Maureen, Laurel, and Jeri, as they're driving to LA, which will dd an extra 2 days to their journey - so it's about 32 days until departure for them.

Huge blessings yesterday - I got home from work to find 3 responses to the prayer letters I sent last week totalling slightly over $200. Praise God! Now we only need $400 more to hit our 2nd payment, which is due on the 20th.

After that we have one more payment, the huge final payment of $4,800. Our final appearance in front of the church will be May 30, where we'll talk about where we're going and reveal the amount we still need. We'll also have a lobby display up with maps, photos, etc. of Japan.

And then, many thank-you cards to write. :)
posted at: 12:15:31 PM

Kaminoyama, Japan 

posted by: court 
That's where we'll be going! Kaminoyama is about 2 hours north of Tokyo by shinkansen (bullet train) and is inland, surrounded by mountains. It's famous for onsen (hot springs - there are 5 well-known ones in the area), horse racing, cherries, skiing (one of the best resorts in Japan, called Zao, is there), and a castle built in 1535. Other attractions include the bungee jumping festival, an amusement park called Lina World, local sake, and festivals.

The church we've been placed with is Kaminoyama Seisho (Bible) Baptist Church, a gathering of 38 believers (which is average for Japan!). There are no teens or college-age students attending the church and they'd like that to change. Their focus is on youth ministries and expanding the "cell groups" and Bible Studies that go on. We will probably stay in our own house about 20 min. from the church. More information posted on the info page (linked above)!
posted at: 12:10:14 PM

News flash 

posted by: court 
I found out where we'll be going this summer.... details to follow very soon.
posted at: 2:47:55 PM

Success 

posted by: court 
After 11 hours last Saturday we sold each and every one of the 300 Krispy Kreme boxes we had and made a $1200 profit.... woohoo! I came out of it with a bright red sunburn on my face and a box of my own KK's that are slowly making me fatter. :) Our status now, I believe, is that we need about $1500 more to make our 2nd payment... which is due May 20.

Unfortunately I forgot to bring my digicam, so there are no photos of this particular fundraiser... but maybe that's a good thing ;)

Onward....
posted at: 2:44:53 PM

Krispy Kreme sales! 

posted by: court 
We will be selling Krispy Kremes this Saturday, May 8 from 9 to 3pm (unless they sell out before then!) at Swain's in PA. If you'd like to pre-order a box contact me at japan2004@aveiceae.com. Hope to see you there!
posted at: 1:03:23 PM