Cosmos at Easter

It's not often that you get to see stories weave together, and seemingly disconnected events suddenly align into a beautiful picture. This Easter, we saw two pictures of this cosmos, the aligning of disconnected events for a restorative purpose. 

Easter scripture reading, under the cherry blossoms

One year ago, when we would ask Kid E what he was thankful for, he would say, "the nice lady." Many questions later, we further extrapolated that this "nice lady" came by his play room every day and brought a pile of snacks to the kids. Finally, we realized that the "nice lady" was named Suzuki, and she was CAJ's new janitor. Suzuki san came to CAJ from a string of previous jobs; as we got to know her better, her story unfolded an amazing past. Abandoned as a young child, adopted by North Koreans with some knowledge of Christianity, she had lived a rough life. Her husband died years ago, and her beloved son was recently diagnosed with cancer. Her son also ran a convenience store, which is where the snacks were coming from (somehow unsellable, but not expired, she assured us). Although not a Christian, she told our co-worker that "God brought her to CAJ." A few months after beginning work at CAJ, Suzuki san's son died, and we all grieved with her. Soon after, she began attending our church, which meets on the CAJ campus. Through daily conversations with the staff with whom she works closely, and through discipleship by some of the women at our church, Suzuki san has decided to follow Jesus, and celebrated her baptism this past week at our Easter service. We believe that nothing happens by accident, and we believe that even the smallest of encounters, at our work, in our neighborhood, and in our home, are sculpted by God to draw people to himself. 

Last winter, we savored a long evening catching up with two of our former students. Laughter, hot biscuits and soup, and lively discussion warmed our living room. We talked about ideas for CAJ curriculum and their memories of good and bad experiences. Later, one of the two made a point to come find Ryan in his office with an idea. He had befriended a guy at the weekly pick-up basketball game hosted by CAJ, but open to the community. Tatsu's mother had died and left the family store to him; the store was in disarray, filled with years of garbage and miscellaneous junk, completely unusable. Tatsu asked for help, since he knows that our student is a Christian. On Good Friday, Ryan went with a group of students to Tatsu's store, and spent a day bagging trash, cleaning the store, and helping him get it into a more usable condition. The project isn't finished, but they made good progress. This service project to Tatsu's store was one of about 18 projects that small groups of students and teachers worked on all around Tokyo on Good Friday. This service leadership curriculum is part of Ryan's job, and he worked with students and teachers all year to prepare for this day. We were thrilled to see the way that students reached out to serve and love individuals all over our school, neighborhood and city. 

At the sunrise service

After Easter, our community also celebrated a huge school festival: thrift shop! We sponsor a huge rummage sale, and many other events. Students raise awareness and funds for their senior research projects. For a view of the busy festivities, check out this video, made by my co-worker Ushio Sawada. You can see our smiling, camera-evading boarding student making Korean chijimi at minute 2:33~

March musings & April arrives!

Hide me now, under your wings. Cover me, within your mighty hand. When the oceans rise and thunders roar, I will soar with you above the storm. Father, you are king over the flood. I will be still and know you are God. (credit: Hillsong) 

This Wednesday in chapel, our graduating class lead in worship and shared stories, memories and pictures from their trip to Thailand in March. As they played the song above, memories washed over us: this song weathered us through the earthquake of 2011, and the sudden death of one of our seniors, days before graduation. Indeed, "when the oceans rise" we have learned to be still, terrifying as that posture sometimes is. 

Our students play with hilltribe kids!

Ryan and other senior teachers lead the graduating class to northern Thailand to work with a local hilltribe school. Hilltribes are not legally recognized as Thai; the government often won't support them. Without an education or documentation, they are vulnerable to trafficking or other abuses. By supporting their schools, we hope to offer them a better start. This year, we raised money for and started breaking ground for a pre-school building. 

We're grateful!

- Thanks for those of you who prayed for our dear friend Eri. Her surgery went well, which means that she has completely lost her voice, and she is in therapy to re-gain the full use of her arms. However, the doctors expect a good recovery and she is among the most determined and patient people we know! 

- March was a hard month for me (Nelle). I tend to have migraines during pregnancies, and this winter was extraordinarily bad, with one or more days spent in bed each week. Thankfully, my parents were here during most of that time. Last week, I happened across information about a minor mineral deficiency as a common cause of migraines, which meant that taking one additional supplement has made for my first completely healthy week in months! I'm so grateful. 

- April 18 is our Easter outreach. We're excited that many of our neighborhood friends are planning to attend. We will have an easter egg hunt, an egg decoration party, and hear the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. For some of them, events like these and friendship with neighbors like us are their only exposure to Christianity. Easter sunday, four members of our church will be baptized. We're so excited to celebrate new life with them! 

Not the most orderly shot, but a cute smile!

First day of school

- April is the start of the new school year in Japan, complete with fluttering cherry blossoms and warmer weather. We're two weeks into the year and slowly adjusting to the new pattern. Kid E made a new friend already, and we look forward to building more relationships there! 

We've discovered a few other Christian families at this school, and Nelle is hoping to start a parent prayer meeting with some of the other moms, to pray for the teachers and students. 

Join us in asking

- Pray for those being baptized on Sunday. They have been mentored and supported through this process. We pray that this new stage of life is free and joyful. 

- As we build more relationships with neighbors, we're excited to build capacity for richer conversation. Pray for our friends who are coming to the Easter outreach tomorrow with their kids; we ask that Aya, Yumi, Takako, Yu, and Waka would be drawn to the truth and freedom of the gospel story. 

Birthday dinner!

- We're grateful that Nelle's parents, Ethan and Linda Pettit, were able to spend 3 months with us this winter. We relied on four extra hands and eyes and it took us a while to recover after they left! However, we feel rested and ready to make it through until the end of this term! They returned to a full house and a full schedule on Lookout Mountain, GA - pray for their patience and energy as they re-adjust. 

Family hot springs / onsen trip

Staff at CAJ raise support through the Japan Christian Academy Association (JCAA). If you are excited about what we do and want to be part of our ministry and the ministries and people we support, please support us! Donations made to JCAA on our behalf are tax deductible. NEW!! Use a credit cart to support via Paypal! Follow the link http://goo.gl/7VNPiD to be directed to our JCAA donation page (no Paypal account necessary) OR make checks payable to the address below and JCAA will provide a receipt. Include a separate note indicating that the money is for us. Address: Japan Christian Academy Association: P.O. Box 905, Wheaton, IL, 60189, USA.

Frosty February

Please pray!! One of our dear friends and child care worker was suddenly diagnosed with fast-growing throat cancer. She will go in for surgery on March 10. The surgery is high risk, and if successful, will result in the loss of her voice and some mobility in her arms.

Please pray for Eri and her husband Hideo, pictured here with kids from our staff day care

We're thankful! Our family is healthy, which we definitely don't take for granted in this time of fickle weather, with bouts of influenza and colds all around.

Grammy bought me ice cream!

February is Freedom Month! All around Tokyo and the world, we work to promote freedom and basic human rights for all. Thanks to everyone who shared our fair trade chocolate with us! Most chocolate in the world is picked by children or slaves who aren't getting paid for their work. Buying fair trade chocolate and other products promotes a global culture of respect, where each person gets paid a fair wage for her work. Learn more about fair trade (Japanese or English).

Breakfast for Ikebukuro's homeless: each winter, middle school students from CAJ get on the first train of the morning, 5:00 AM, and head downtown to bring food to the homeless sleeping in Ikebukuro station. Japan's homeless population officially "doesn't exist," however, when trains stop running, from 1AM - 5AM, stations will wink at the individuals who sleep on station floors to shelter from the cold. When the middle schoolers return to CAJ, high school students, supported by Ryan and a few other teachers, welcome them with breakfast of their own. Even from an early age, we want our students to understand the importance of empathizing with others, and loving our neighbors on all sides.

Bubbles at the park

Valentine's Day snow!

First snow man!

Our big event of this month was the Third Culture Kid (TCK) seminar. Those who grow up in a blend of cultures, or a different culture from their passport or "home" culture create a third culture of their own. TCKs typically have remarkable resiliencies and capacities, and can make homes all over the world. Many of the world's top multi-national organizations are lead and shaped by TCKs. However, TCKs can also end up stranded, homeless, in a void between cultures. As we prepare our students to transition in graduation and home assignment, we want to give them some time to reflect, set goals, and learn about themselves.

Neighborhood women having fun with dried flowers!

A lesson in dried flower arranging to our friends from the neighborhood

Reading with Nanna and Granddad

Family news: Our 3 kids are doing well! Practice pre-school youchien days are going ok. He is happy and doesn't want to leave by the end, but the morning is very tearful!

Grandpa feeds me honey!

Kid L is delightful and lively. She is usually dirty and bruised, but she lives very full days! Recently, her favorite person is Grandpa; second to eating honey off a spoon, she likes taking the dog for walks.

Early morning study session with Papa

The new baby has reached 16 weeks and has a complete little body, including hearing and tasting! We're looking forward to meeting him or her in August! Ryan has settled into his study routine of waking up at 4AM to study for his classes while the rest of us sleep until 5 or 6. He works really hard to get enough sleep, but this routine allows him to spend evenings with the kids instead of coming home from work and going straight to his books. Nelle Caitlin was exhausted but pleased by the TCK seminar, and is glad to be able to catch up on rest and other work now!




Staff at CAJ raise support through the Japan Christian Academy Association (JCAA). If you are excited about what we do and want to be part of our ministry and the ministries and people we support, please support us! Donations made to JCAA on our behalf are tax deductible. NEW!! Use a credit cart to support via Paypal! Follow the link http://goo.gl/7VNPiD to be directed to our JCAA donation page (no Paypal account necessary) OR make checks payable to the address below and JCAA will provide a receipt. Include a separate note indicating that the money is for us. Address: Japan Christian Academy Association: P.O. Box 905, Wheaton, IL, 60189, USA.

January Jottings • 2014

Ryan, Nelle Caitlin, Kid E and Kid L

Happy "year of the horse!"

Thanksgiving, 2013
Always wiggling

Ryan reading with Kid E and our friend. 

Recently, Kid E. has been very interested in the crucifixion, and wants to read the story over and over in his story Bible. We think he is also starting to glimpse the concepts of life and death. Yesterday morning, I asked, "is Jesus still on the cross?" and he said, "No, Jesus' papa rescued him and got him off. His papa had a crow bar, so he could get the nails out." Which combines basic theology with the fact that Ryan buys our children real tools with his understanding of physics.

 February is Freedom month - celebrate a fair trade valentines! We're getting ready to celebrate and promote freedom in the month of February! We would love to share our favorite fair trade chocolate with you - reply to our newsletter with something interesting, encouraging, challenging, or just let us know you're reading, and we will send you chocolate! (mint, dark, milk, ginger, or raspberry).

Celebrating alumni! While we really don't think that Jeweliann Houlette successes had much of anything to do with being in our classes, we are excited to promote a project that one of our alumni has just completed! Jeweliann spent this month with her Japanese grandparents in Sendai, northern Japan, translating some of her grandmother's haiku into English to share with a larger audience. She journaled about her work in this blog. They printed postcards and calendars too! Would you like to think of Japan all year long? Let us know - we would love to send you a calendar!

Kid E with the "real" McQueen!

The kids are growing up! 
From April, Kid E will begin attending a local Japanese pre-school (youchien). We've been going once a week for practice days, but from February he has to go to the weekly practice by himself, and starting in April, he will enroll full-time. He's nervous; Nelle's waking up in the night worrying - but we know that it will be a good experience, and help Kid E develop language and social skills.

Big News! 
Change is coming to the Potter household--we're having another baby, due August 10, 2014!!! 

We're so excited! But also, we know some things need to change. Because of our commitment to our kids and our community, after much prayer and thought, we've decided to take another step of faith: starting in August, Nelle will reduce her work hours at CAJ to very part time – to about 15 hours a week. We are excited at the many opportunities this will open up in our neighborhood, with Kid E's preschool friends and their families, with other moms in our neighborhood, with our church involvement, and with other projects going on in the city.

We're also nervous - we need to raise more monthly support in order to take this step. Currently, we can live a very frugal and basic daily life in Japan using Ryan's salary. Anything beyond that - our children's schooling, household emergencies and expenses (new hot water heaters, for instance! more on that below...), savings for college and retirement, medical expenses, trips to see family and community in the states, supporting local mission projects, trips to see our community in Sendai – has to come from Nelle's current salary. We'd like to be able to keep our kids healthy, strong and educated, to stay connected with our family and friends in Sendai and around the US, and to continue to seek out more ministry opportunities. Do you want to be connected to God's work in Japan through our relationships with our students and our local Japanese community? Please consider supporting us! One-time gifts are always a huge blessing, but we are also now in need of more people willing to partner with us on a monthly basis. If you are able to commit to this, please read the blurb at the bottom of this update (also on the right side of this website).

Corn chips fit on my fingers!!
At Takayama, Sendai
Jan 1, 2014

Praises
1) Last month, we needed urgent prayer for two little boys in our community. We're so thankful that Ruben, age 1, is home and getting healthier! He is still not able to be around other kids, but he is breathing on his own and home with his family. Thanks for your prayers for this little boy!

2) We're also excited about the way that the spiritual life emphasis week will lead into the next seminar in February, focusing on celebrating and supporting "third culture kids." Nelle is in charge of this upcoming seminar!

3) We have margins!! We've been so blessed by the humble service of Nelle's parents, who are willing to try to make sense of our complicated daily lives, and fit in the spaces between events and demands. They have jumped in on all levels - changing diapers, washing dishes, and also helping out with office work, coaching debate students, and connecting with local friends and churches. We're so grateful! Kid L shadows "Grumpa" constantly, and Kid E. always has someone ready to read to him. Thanks to the many of you who helped make this time possible.

Prayer requests
1) Next Tuesday, the speaker for the Third Culture Kid seminar arrives in Japan for a whirlwind trip. Please pray especially for Tina's health, travel logistics and wisdom. We are really looking forward to the way her seminar will build on the foundation laid by Seulgi during Spiritual Life Emphasis week. The TCK seminar is Feb 19 - 21.

2) Please continue to pray for little Luke, age 4. He continues to struggle with leukemia and remains in hospital for the foreseeable future. Please pray especially for his mother, Momo, who became a Christian shortly before Luke was born and was baptized with her husband at our church. This crisis is raising understandable, and very intense questions in her mind. Pray that we as a community would connect with this family wisely and lovingly.

3) Nelle has been asked to step in as associate editor of the publication Japan Harvest. This is a publication for missionaries in Japan. She has written some articles and done some freelance editing the past few years, but they would like her to step into the position of full time editor for one year. This is a volunteer position, and is one of the options for her to dig into more deeply in exchange for more work at CAJ. We're not sure this is a wise commitment, and are taking some time to pray and think - will you pray with us, for wisdom, as we decide what commitments to take on?

4) Our house is very old! Last week our water heater broke because the electrical panel froze overnight. We're grateful for relatives who invite us to take showers at their house. We're hoping to be able to buy a new heater by next week, but in the mean time, we're very cold! It feels a bit whiny to complain about cold water in the light of other people's struggles, but still, we'd really like to get it fixed! Please pray for patience and joy, despite circumstances! -Update: our wonderful repair man is here as I write, working behind our house in the rainy snow; we're hoping it is fixed by tomorrow!

Thanks for being part of our January!

Staff at CAJ raise support through the Japan Christian Academy Association (JCAA). If you are excited about what we do and want to be part of our ministry and the ministries and people we support, please support us! Donations made to JCAA on our behalf are tax deductible. NEW!! Use a credit cart to support via Paypal! Follow the link http://goo.gl/7VNPiD to be directed to our JCAA donation page (no Paypal account necessary) OR make checks payable to the address below and JCAA will provide a receipt. Include a separate note indicating that the money is for us. Address: Japan Christian Academy Association: P.O. Box 905, Wheaton, IL, 60189, USA.