June joys

Birthday camp-out / rice planting crew

Birthdays, anniversaries, end of the CAJ school year, rice planting, with a dose of heavy construction, rainy season, plumbing issues, topped off by several Fuji climbing trips and lots and lots of coffee!

Moms waiting pick up

Throughout this month, I've been savoring a phrase from a sermon preached by my childhood home church (Lookout Mountain Presbyterian) together with the text from the sermon series at my local church, (Kurume Bible Fellowship): "God is determined to build dependence in his people by giving them more than they can handle . . . He will give you more than you can handle so that you will run to him." Colluded in comfort with: "Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, 'I will never let you down, never walk off and leave you"  . . . . So, let's go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is. . . . God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship - a different kind of "sacrifice" - that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets." (Heb 13:5; 13:13, 16, The Message)

I've had moment after moment of I can't do this! followed by run to me! And we've run, repented and we've gone outside to worship around the coffee mugs, on the front porches, squinting in the sawdust of our construction-site-home.

We run to Jesus with our joys and griefs:
- I've mentioned for several months, our neighbor's 6th grade grandson is in the grip of brain cancer. As I type, I can hear his little sister, who has moved in with her grandparents, shouting and laughing next door. I'm grateful that our neighbor has connected with a cancer research physician who attends our church  and hosts "cancer philosophy clinics" - please pray for fruitful conversation and counseling and for healing of this boy's body and his family's hearts!

Another beam in!

- In order to help fund our summer travels and supplement our overall budget, Ryan lined up a full summer of part-time work. Each job is physically draining (guiding visitors up mountains, house renovation and furniture repair) and often takes him away from his family. Please pray for his ongoing safety, and rest, and that our trip to the states would be restful, as he is briefly away from his summer jobs.

Nap time at coffee open house

- Fellowship and communion with neighborhood moms remains one of the greatest joys and challenges of my daily life. Seven Christian moms who are connected with our local pre-school meet regularly to pray and host an open house coffee time for other moms. The conversations are rich and full. Please pray for honesty, trust, and community.

 - And . . . . exciting development! - 

Through the astounding generosity of some family members, we're able to make a quick, unexpected trip to Georgia this summer! A close cousin is getting married, and we are so grateful to be able to be present and celebrate in person with them! This also means we will have a few days to spend with some of you! If you are in the GA/TN area between July 8 and 18, and have time to connect, please let us know!

Merry May

It's that moment when you realize that - although your kids are laughing as they race with the crowd of little boys around the park - what the little boys are yelling at your kids is "obake!" ”ghost!" And the surrounding crowd of moms continues chatting away peacefully.

And of course because your kids are ghostly blond compared to the others, you feel it deep inside, even though you know its just that the little boys don't really know any better. And although your kids are laughing, you wonder - do they feel it deep inside too? That twinge that, really, "Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives." (1 Peter 2:11-12, MSG)

Guys, so much beautiful good happened this month! Seniors at CAJ stood in front of their community and talked about how to support education for special needs students in Thailand, how to understand true biblical masculinity; topics they chose, researched for a year, and present a biblical response to. Student leadership took time away from the regular school week to retreat, plan, and ask questions like, what does it mean to be a Christian student at CAJ? What values should student leadership embody at CAJ? Local moms met over coffee cups to discuss child raising, marriage, culture, and adoption (a very stigmatized and unpopular practice in Japan). And we met on our knees to pour over our school, our classrooms, and our families.

Please join us on our knees!
- For our graduates: Friday, June 3 is CAJ's graduation ceremony. Please pray for students as they leave this stage of life and begin their next set of joys and challenges!
- For our school community: On the first Friday of each month, moms gather to pray for our school and community. On the third Friday of each month, we're inviting the whole school over (122 moms) for an open house to chat and get to know each other. Please pray for the conversations and relationships!
- For our students: Tokyo schools received two anonymous bomb (and thankfully harmless!) threats this month. Please pray for wisdom in school leadership and local police. Please pray for healing in the heart of the person sending these threats. Please pray for safety for our students!
- For our relationships and finances: We're so grateful to see God's specific blessing in several specific relational and financial challenges this month. Join us in giving thanks, and please pray that we will continue to serve generously as we have been blessed.