Finally February

Children's message at our church plant, Tokyo Life Church

February is our longest-shortest month. You know what I mean? Every day we bike past the same budding trees on the way to pre-school and CAJ; every day we watch the blossoms open a bit more. Now, in nearly-March, the plum blossoms have begun to snow down, and the cherry blossoms are just around the corner. Yet the runny noses and fevers persist!

Nightly ritual: Owl Moon

the way things work

News from CAJ: From the start, Ryan and I have lived out our relationship in a fairly public venue; as high school teachers, our lives and our relationship remain largely accessible to our students. During this year's Spiritual Life Emphasis Week, our chapel coordinator lead the middle school and high school in a series of talks and panel discussions about various aspects of love: agape, romance, dating, and sex. The questions students asked were profound and honest: "how come love sometimes disappears after marriage?" "how do I deal with mistakes?" "what should I do if I found out my friend had sex?" It is a humbling challenge to live our simple, daily life in front of these precious, inquisitive students, and to stand beside them as they question their way through adolescence. Please pray for wisdom!

All home sick

Ryan's classroom: Recently, Ryan has been meeting with a student who comes under the guise of homework help, but usually ends up talking about all sorts of other things. "As a father, if you found out your child was questioning Christianity, would you be angry with him? What would you do to your son?" this student asked Ryan. Thinking through the source of these questions, Ryan realized that this boy is himself struggling with his faith and struggling with his studies (although one of the top students in the class). We pray for courage for this student, as he works to both please his parents, but also to work out his own questions faithfully. Please pray for Ryan as he continues to work and meet with him. 

Art project display!

New year of pre-school: In Japan, the school year ends in March and begins in April. It's a beautiful time to welcome the new school year, with the coming of spring. We're so grateful to look back and see this year of transition from this vantage point. We've made some great new friends, connected with our neighborhood in a richer way, and learned a lot of new kanji! From April, E will be in the second year class at his Japanese pre-school, and L will start attending one day a week "practice" with the other two year olds, to adjust to the routine and new environment. While last year, we were very nervous, this year, we're a little more excited! We look forward to meeting new mothers and kids, and strengthening relationships we have with our current friends. I'm especially excited that Yuko and her son are interested in joining the group of Christian moms. Yuko isn't a Christian, and felt shy about coming, but we encouraged her to come and just sit and watch. Please pray for me, and for the other moms in the group: Chieko, Tomomi, Jamie, Madoka, Anna and Megumi.