Wednesday, July 28, 2004

my experiences in japan. 

posted by: laurel 
this is really jeri. hmm, i have had a wonderful　time in japan. its a really great place. i hope i can come back some day (if i come in the winter i can snowboard on mt. zao). well, i havve met the most wonderful people ever. one family reminds me of my own family. its sad though, because only one of them is  a christian. this is such a lost place. its almost weird, because i live in america where everyone knows about God, that there are people who dont. please pray for this town. pray that they find out who Jesus is, and what He did for them. Pray for Japan as a country, that they know more about God, that they come to know Him personally. its sad that we have to leave, but i know that God still is here working. thank you for all of your support. ill tell you my many stories when i get back. sorry that there are no apostrophes, japanese keyboards are way diffierent, and i dont wnat to hit a button that makes symbols　instead of letters. alright, later.
posted at: 6:57:44 PM

More photos; last week 

posted by: court 
Hi all. New photos posted on the photos page! Woo yah. It's swelteringly hot here and humid to top it off, making sitting in any one room unbearable without an air conditioner. Maureen mentioned below we were in a yukata (summer kimono) beauty contest, which you'll hear about when we get home, and we lost to a man. That was pretty funny.

It's our last week here and it's really surreal. It feels like we just got here... yet we've made so many friends and built so many bridges. As Maureen also mentioned we started a karaoke ministry of sorts (karaoke is actually cool here!), inviting the youth in the area to karaoke and hanging out while witnessing. There is no youth group here and God has laid it on all of our hearts to possibly come back to Kaminoyama sometime in the future and work directly with the youth.

It's been just a wonderful experience and we'll be sad to leave next Monday... I apologize for not getting any mass emails out as it's just been so hectic here... maybe I'll be able to squeeze one out before we leave.

Thanks again for all your prayers. :) God bless, Courtney
posted at: 10:23:46 PM

Our last week in Kaminoyama 

posted by: maureen 
It is our last week and it is a hot one.  We have been getting to see God`s work so much and we can not wait to tell you all about it.  On a funny note we were ukata beauty contest and we lost to a man.  And our kittens after a week of feeding and taking them in from the rain abandoned us.  Which I didnt mind so much due to my distaste for cats.   And we kinda started a kariokie minisrty.  We are looking to coming home and sharing with everyone about our trip.  Thank you for your prayers and God bless-maureen
posted at: 9:46:37 PM

Uh oh Kittens 

posted by: maureen 
Well the other night we had Denise who is Asain Access staff staying with us and we were talking in the living room and I noticed a high pitched howling.  Reconizing the sound of kittens thanks to the many litters my grandmas cats have had in the past, Laurel and I grabbed a flashlight and went to investigate.  On the side of our house were 4 kittens about 4 to 5 weeks old.  We kept and eye on them and over the next day no mother came to there aid.  So we bought food and they were quite hungry .  Well we are kind of taking care of teh orphans and on a search for good homes for them.  I find this whole thing funny especially since I dont really like cats.  Besides that everything is going great.  Today is our last day of day care classes and we are sad to leave all of the kids.  But my 2 and 3 years olds almost know the whole alphebete and many songs.  Thank you for all your prayers and we have so many stories we cant wait to share with you all!  In Him, Maureen
posted at: 8:09:58 PM

Mission Field 

posted by: laurel 
So everything has been really awesome here, but in the last week this one thing has stuck out in particular. I gave my testimony about what God has been doing in my life lately, part of which is volunteering at CareNet. Afterwards our pastors wife came up and started talking with us all about it. There is nothing at all like CareNet in Japan. Like the U.S. abortion rates are high, but ublike the U.S., adoption is uncommon here. If a girl here becomes pregnant while still in school, culturally she has very few options. So Tammy, and all the ladies at the CareNet in Port Angeles and Sequim, please start praying about this, this is a huge missions field. I know that is a burden on my heart, and i hope that as knowledge about this is spread God will burden the hearts of others in prayer also. It is good to be here, and we are incredibly blessed, thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and has supported us. God is so faithful.
posted at: 8:43:32 PM

PICTURES 

posted by: court 
That's right folks, there are finally pictures posted on the site - just click the "Photos" link up above to see them. Most were taken before we started English classes and our main ministries so though it may look like we're on vacation or something, that's not actually the case! ;) See Moe's post below for more on that.

I have been checking the email account and will probably send out one massive reply to everyone next time I'm on the internet... it's hard with such random access to reply to everyone, but I'll try to get everything answered within a week or so! So keep emailing... it's great to hear news from home!!

Also, by request, I am making the font bigger on this page so everyone can read it. Sorry if it made you strain. :)

Thanks to everyone for praying and thinking of us... we sure can tell! We love and miss you all!
posted at: 3:32:41 AM

Ooo Pictures 

posted by: maureen 
Hey all, check out some of our pictures we finally got on the website. There are so many more and we have been doing ministry also even though the picture just look like we are just having fun. Well the ministry is alot of fun also, okay nevermind. Our first week of teaching English went well. We have alot of students (more than Kaminoyama has ever had before!) and teaching has been a blast! We have been helping out in the mornings tues throught thurs at the churches day care and that has been such a blessing for all of us. We have all been sharing our testimonies with the church and various people. Thank you for all of your prayers, and they are working because we are starting to see fruit here in Kaminnoyama! In Him, Maureen
posted at: 3:23:21 AM

Wassup yo 

posted by: laurel 
Hey weve started english classes, and theyre way cool. All the kids here are so cute and smart its insane. The kids are always a highlight of our days. thanks to everyone for all your prayers. well add more later. (it really hard to find punctuation marks on these keyboards)
posted at: 8:44:06 PM