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| I got to pray at my friend Chieko's baptism! |
For our neighbors, the new year is a time to value the clean sweep, the new purchase, the clean slate. While of course, we love a good do-over as much as anyone, we've been sinking deeply into repair, renewal, renovation. Rather than sweep it all away and start over, we dig deep into repair, acknowledging that - in some mysterious way - the beauty is more profound because of the brokenness. This month, we renewed some tough relationships, working to re-engage instead of move on. We celebrated repentance and new life through the baptism of our dear friend. We renovated our very-old-new house, repairing, insulating, making it stronger and safer.  |
| "Finding baby Jesus" with church friends |
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| When we re-install the sink. . . |
We're grateful! Thank you for the many of you who prayed and sent quick emails on the morning of our "party week!" We had a wonderful series of celebrations with so many reminders of grace. Particularly, I'm grateful that I was able to make a better connection with Kiyomi, the mother of one of our pre-school classmates. She and her kids will come over next week, after the new year holiday, to play at our house. She's very shy, but is willing to make time. Please pray for our conversation and friendship!
We're humbled and challenged by our hopes for our new house. As we moved, we prayed over a theme for our house. We chose the image of a tree: a place of welcome, shelter, strength, and sending. A place to learn and grow, and receive restoration and retreat, and then a place to be sent out from and scattered, to heal the nations. We love the parallel verses in Ezekiel 47 and Revelation 22 which speak of the "leaves for the healing of the nations." Please pray with us as we dedicate our home to be a place of healing, welcome, and of sending out.
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| The garbage bins are taped shut for the week of New Years |
Please pray for the spread of grace in our community. As I look ahead to this new year, I pray for my friends to know grace. I pray for my family to know and live in grace. In Japanese culture, even the trash we put out for pick up must be clean, tidy, sorted, and acceptable. It is scrutinized by the neighborhood and can be returned to you if unacceptable! To me, a mother of little ones who generate many piles of unsightly trash, I struggle to have even our waste be neat and proper.
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| Flowers from Enomoto-san |
In my experience, Japanese culture is the most generous culture I have yet engaged, and also the most grace-less. Last week our kids and dog wandered into our neighbor's field and made mud pies. We fetched them apologetically, and chatted. That night, she came over with a bag of apples, and a beautiful evergreen wreath and table arrangement because I said her garden reminded me of my mother (a florist, as many of you know). Today, when I took a small apple crisp and bag of cookies to thank her for the flowers, she immediately filled my hands with boxes of chocolates, cookies and a roast beef! Incredibly generous! Yet, at our pre-school, when a boy is labeled a bully, the family resorts to quietly move to another school and cut all ties rather than face the pressure of the group. So much generosity and so little grace.
Speaking of grace... we didn't manage to get Christmas/New Years cards sent this year. We still love you! Thanks for loving us anyway! We love hearing from you!
Our new address is:
3-23-16 Chuo-cho, Higashi Kurume-shi, Tokyo 203-0054
or
〒203-0054 東京都東久留米市中央町３−２３−１６
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