Ah, April

New school year!

Disclaimer: this month’s update is a little different, focused only on one snapshot of our lives, and fairly personal. Thanks for walking with us.

This has been a season of strange stillness for us; a near complete displacement of our usual lives and patterns. We’re struggling with hope, but also trying to stay realistic. My Bible study, making our way through Hebrews, came to chapter 4: “We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn’t do them a bit of good because they didn’t receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we’ll experience that state of resting. But not if we don’t have faith.” And later: “the promise of ‘arrival’ and ‘rest’ is still there for God’s people. God himself is at rest.” (Peterson, The Message)

  

While I don’t feel God has been completely silent during these past few weeks, we are in a period of intense waiting and uncertainty. Not without comfort and community, but definitely without answers.

So, here goes: as a few of you know, for the past 17 weeks, we’ve been working through a very high risk pregnancy. Doctors have diagnosed an intrauterine subchorionic hematoma, which is very large and has not yet naturally reabsorbed, (although hematoma often do, allowing the rest of the pregnancy to proceed normally). The baby is healthy and growing normally, and my health is otherwise fine. But the presence of the hematoma means a constant threat of miscarriage, early labor or growth restriction. Thankfully, we’ve made it this far, and we’re grateful for each healthy day.

First day of school

While hematoma are somewhat common in pregnancy, large and persistent ones seem relatively rare, and we can’t find much information about either the causes or the solutions. The only response is modified bed rest, wait and see. Which is about as easy as you can imagine with three small children and very busy lives.

If the baby grows safely until the point of possible viability (23-ish weeks), then the doctors can attempt to intervene and save the baby. Obviously, staying in utero until the due date (October) is the best and safest possible outcome, but we have to take one day at a time. Would you join us in praying for the safety of our baby, specifically until June 8, when the baby will reach 23 weeks? We’re hoping that doctors will have more insights and suggestions if we make it to that point.

We believe in a God of resurrection and hope and we know that the ultimate outcome of this season will bring God glory in some way. And God, having created time itself, is at rest, not in a hurry.

Thank you for partnering with us.

Further requests:

-       Please pray for Ryan’s health and classes during this time, as he is taking on so many extra responsibilities to allow me to rest

-       We’re grateful to have found someone who is willing to move locally to help us on a daily basis. Please pray for her as she adjusts to living in Tokyo for this season.

-       Our community is very generous, but replacing a mother is expensive. We’ve had to dip into our savings to pay for extra medical bills, grocery deliveries, extra child care and the salary of our helper. If you feel lead to make a special donation for this season, please let us know! We would be most grateful.

March Musings

“I like to call nihonga “slow art.” The layers take time to dry, and in the act of waiting an image is revealed. Nihonga is, by nature, also a collaborative art form, a generational process of learning and working with crafts folks who create handmade paper, delicate brushes and woven silk. Transformative faith is collaborative too, with elements that are communal and also intergenerational.” (Fujimura, Silence and Beauty, 20)

We’ve mentioned before that we do rice paddy ministry. Just as a healthy rice field takes generations to layer and level the soil just so, to grow healthy, rich rice, a ministry in Japan takes generations of trust, investment and relationship. We rely on the generational faithfulness of our parents and grandparents, building trust, learning culture, growing roots. And we take steps of our own to deepen roots, deepen trust, ask questions and listen as we learn the culture and language of our adopted country. Yet we feel that there is a growing urgency in many of the relationships around us these days. The timing is right for many to seek Jesus in a way they haven’t before. We know it’s not about us – it’s the years of faithful, muddy bare foot steps through the rice fields that lead us to where we are. Our feet are needed here, now. Because of the Spirit’s timing, and the many who have come before.

Graduation!

Some snapshots of our March:

Silly head master

- March marks the end of the school calendar for Japan; we’re grateful for a year of school completed. A year of monthly open houses for community moms, which culminated in two moms joining our prayer group and church, and three others visiting our bible study, based on their comfort after being at so many open house times.

- We’re grateful for growing relationships in our community and neighborhood, and for better communication and reconciliation with some neighbors who were very upset to have foreigners move into the neighborhood.

Kids program at a local church

- We’re grateful to be starting a new neighborhood kids program through a local church! We’ve been dreaming about this for about two years, and finally will start our first event in April! It’s an after school club, followed by a very cheap (about one dollar), healthy meal for neighborhood kids and their parents. The primary target is elementary age kids with single working moms or two working parents, who often spend all afternoon alone and eat alone in the evenings. We visited a program like this at a church in a near by town and were so excited by what we saw!

- Please pray with us for wisdom as we plan for the next school year, beginning in April. We’re working out our calendar for open houses, prayer group, and other activities. Please pray for continued, growing relationships with those who have become regular attendees, and for a welcoming, grace-filled environment for new comers.

- Please pray with us for those who are walking toward Jesus, and have been coming to church and bible study regularly. Please pray for those of us who walk beside them in their journey, and for the many struggles they face as they approach this life turning point.