Steamy July

Family trip to a park 

We're sending out this letter a bit early since we know we will be extra busy after the baby is born; thanks for celebrating with us!

What's ahead

1) We're grateful for the margin this summer offered, and look forward to the last few weeks of summer holiday. Please pray with us as we anticipate the renewed demands of the next term. Ryan's teaching schedule will change somewhat, but he hasn't gotten a final word on which new class he will be teaching.

2) Nelle Caitlin's father, Ethan Pettit, is able to come help out for about a month as we adjust to life with three, and return to our work and school schedule. We're so thankful for those who have conspired to make this trip possible! Please pray especially for my mother, continuing to work her regular job and create beautiful wedding flowers in his absence.

3) Although our baby is due August 10, the midwife is hoping for an earlier delivery because the baby is already full size (3kg) by Japanese standards, and very healthy. We remind her we are, after all, "big" foreigners, so our babies are also big, but also try to comply with her exercise regimen and recommendations. Please pray with us for a healthy delivery and smooth recovery, any time in the next few weeks!

This muggy month . . .

As I write, a sudden rain shower blissfully cools the air blowing in our 38 C (100 F) kitchen. Now that rainy season is over, it is hot! Today, Ryan and E spent the hottest part of the day in the river outside our house, along with many, many neighborhood kids. L and I spent the day trying to stay cool inside while recovering from our head colds.

Find of the week: a rare kind of stag beetle right in our yard!

The timing of this baby gave us an unexpected holiday. While summer is typically filled with travel, masters classes, family visits and trips to Sendai, this year we decided to just stay and rest. Obviously, we are sad not to be at family gatherings and catch up with lots of you in person, but this summer gave us lots of margin that we probably wouldn't otherwise claim.

Post-hiking stretch!

Since we are in Tokyo for the summer, Ryan was able to squeeze in a few trips with his brother's guiding company. He wakes at 4AM, eats a quick breakfast, catches the first train of the morning to meet the day's crew of nervous hikers at a downtown hotel, and head for (as E says) "mountain Fuji." The saying goes "you're a fool if you never climb, but you're a fool if you climb more than once" - no comment on guides who summit dozens of times a season! Hundreds of thousands flock to this famous mountain, eager to claim the summit: weathered hikers, overweight tourists with bad knees, families towing young children: during peak season, the flashlights of hikers trying to reach the summit by sunrise makes a snake of light visible from hundreds of miles away. Hiking becomes more like shuffling through a crowded train station or shopping mall. For Ryan - naturally prone to introversion - the constant chatter with clients was by far the most taxing part!

Each pregnancy has been a major cultural experience. As we work with local caregivers, we discover ways in which pregnancy and giving birth are intensely cultural processes - certainly our vocabulary is now rife with unusual words! Although westerners find layers of clothing, leggings and long walks ludicrous in a hot summer, adherents to Traditional Chinese Medicine swear by keeping the core body and stomach warm and staying fit. As our midwife said, those who give birth in hospitals can eat and wear whatever they want during pregnancy, and rely on doctors to bail them out if something happens. However, those desiring a natural, traditional birth must do the needed preparation. We're doing our best to respect our caregivers, and to discern between cultural, medical, and opinion.

making shave ice with neighborhood friends

To cap off our "last" activities before the baby comes, our last organized "English play time" found our small downstairs rooms crammed with 12 kids and 5 moms, jumping on the couch, kicking balls, cuddling guinea pigs, spinning out shave ice for snacks after reading time. Our small air conditioner was no match for the constantly opened doors and many bodies - really, we were all just waiting for the after party: swimming in the river! We will see each of these neighbors over the next few weeks as we all cluster around the shady parks and river to stay cool, and we look forward to resuming classes in September.

 Thanks for tuning in! Next time you hear from us, we will be a family of 5!

Soggy June

Welcome to Tokyo June: it's rainy season!

I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard My people cry.

All who dwell in dark and sin, My hand will save.

I who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright. 

Who will bear My light to them? Whom shall I send?

Here I am Lord, Is it I Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. 

I will go Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart. 

Dan Schutte, 1981

(Sung annually at CAJ graduation)

Pray with us? 

We're so grateful

• The school year ended well for CAJ; we’re excited to move into the pace of summer work, and looking forward to next year! 
• We celebrated our 34th birthdays and 7th wedding anniversary this month - we love being married to each other and we’re grateful for health and friendship. 
• We spent the end of the month on a short vacation to Sendai, where we got married. The ocean is gorgeous, and we love the projects we get to work on in the cabin, which is over 100 years old. This is the area where the tsunami hit hard in 2011 - we’re so excited to see how much renewal and growth has taken place here. One of our cousins is working for Ishinomaki Christian Center, a growing Christian community just north of where we are; we’re really excited about the projects going on there - check out their website!  

Prayer requests

• We are so grieved that our good friend Eri is struggling with a relapse of cancer, this time in her lymph glands (she was diagnosed with throat cancer and underwent surgery in January; see our February post for details). Before getting sick, Eri took care of our kids several days a week, and is one of the pivotal “mothers” at our church. Please, please pray with us!
• We’ve been praying for a while for our young friend Luke, struggling with leukemia. Earlier this month, Luke had a bone marrow transplant with bone marrow donated by his older sister. We pray that this transplant will be successful and that he will be restored to full health soon. Luke is six months older than our son and we have known this family for many years. 
• Ryan’s brother has a guiding company that operates here in Japan; throughout July, Ryan will assist him on several trips, guiding international tourists up Mt. Fuji. Pray for safety, good company with his brother, and for good health and energy for Caitlin at home with the kids in his absence. 
• July and August bring many changes for us. Please pray as we prepare for our new baby, while also reconfiguring our life around less CAJ work and more Japan Harvest magazine volunteering for Nelle (details below).

Blueberry jam!

As CAJ's class of 2014 walked across the stage, Ryan was there to shake hands with each one (and catch them if they tripped off the platform steps). E and I (Nelle Caitlin) watched the live stream at home, since I came down with yet another migraine that morning. So many faces and memories. The boy who cried in my office when he didn't get into any colleges. The girl who spoke brilliantly about the mingling cultures in her class. The ones who got the top scholarships and the ones who have yet to hand in their last assignments. We know we can't really take much credit for these young women and men, but we do feel we have "held these people in our hearts" these past years, and we will continue to keep them in our hearts as they move on to other places (at least 21 different schools in at least 4 different countries, and counting!). 

In summer, the heated floor doubles as a ball pit!

Glimpse of daily life. Japanese school continues apace, with a summer holiday starting in mid July. (our neighbors think we Americans are very strange - perhaps lazy - for taking such a long summer holiday!) Since we generally take the same route to school, we become familiar with the faces we pass. The busy commuters racing on their bikes, morning canned coffee in one hand, morning cigarette wafting from the other. The construction site that we check on every day to see which machines are running. The cheerful garbage collectors, waving from their purple truck, chiming music to let everyone know to bring out their last minute garbage. One morning, a mother I recognize from E's pre-school handed me an envelope, and said in embarrassed Japanese, "I'm sorry, it's a letter." I opened it and inside was a note in beautiful, careful English, "thank you for smiling at us every day. My son and I see you each morning and it makes us happy." I admit, I teared up in my office - it had been a tough morning, racing between home, pre-school, day care and finally my office at CAJ. Since Maya wrote me the letter, we've chatted a few times, and plan to get our boys together to play soon - Masato is in the class above. Indeed, the little things do matter! 

Big changes ahead! Starting July 1, I will drop to a very low percentage contract at CAJ. We're excited about the opportunities that allows, but also nervous about what it will mean for our budget. Ryan will stay at full time, with some shift in his teaching assignment - more details as we finalize those decisions! For me, less time at CAJ means more time to connect with other moms in the neighborhood. I'm really excited about getting to spend more time with moms like Maya, Yuko, Aya, Yumi, Chieko, and Yu.  

When the kids have the camera

I will be filling in as a one year replacement for the editor of a magazine, Japan Harvest. This publication connects and engages missionaries to and those interested in Japan. Although primarily a print publication, we're testing out an online version: let us know what you think! I'm excited to connect more richly with the network of Christian workers in Japan, and be more engaged with the dialogue that supports, informs and encourages this group. Note: I will send out Japan Harvest specific prayer requests to the JH praying community this year; would you like to be on the list?

When the kids have the camera

And most importantly, our third baby will arrive in the next 4-6 weeks! We're grateful for a healthy pregnancy so far, and looking forward to meeting this little one face to face. We're working with the same group of midwives, and hoping for another smooth labor, delivery and recovery.