Cell Group mini-retreat

In November our cell group hosted a mini-retreat. We invited the Hitachi cell group to come up and join us for weekend of prayer, praise and fellowship. It was such a blessed time. Thank you God!!

On Saturday evening we did a prayer stations activity at the church.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." ~Psalm 46:10

Prayer through creative expression

What kind of impression does your faith leave on the people you meet?

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." ~Colossians 2:13-14

Lunch together after worship on Sunday

A few friends stayed through Monday to hang out and do some sightseeing since it was a long weekend here.

Debi and Kendon are very good at skipping rocks

Kaori and Joel

Debi and Akiko -- the sun was really bright!

Church Christmas Party

Some pictures from the church Christmas party . . .

Enjoying some delicious food :)

Shiki played some Christmas songs for us

Then her little brothers gave it a try

And would it really be a Christmas party without some fun games?

November Travels -- Part 2

Some pictures from the Church Planting Institute conference . . .

Session with Josiah Bancroft

All together for breakfast

Bilingual keynote with Josiah Bancroft and one of the best translators I have ever seen

Joel teaching the kids at the Mito hurch, when we stopped to visit on the way back from the conference

November Travels -- Part 1

At the beginning of November Joel and I went to the Church Planting Institute's national conference. Since we were already going to be traveling we decided to make the most out of the trip and make a couple stops along the way there and along the way back. Gaku came with us for the first couple of days, so the three of us could visit our friend, Yoshinori -- then Gaku went back to Sendai by train and Joel and I went to the conference.

My first glimpse of Mt. Fuji -- from the parking lot of Yoshinori's apartment building

Absolutely delicious lunch with Yoshinori

Gaku and Yoshinori

After Joel prowled amongst the grasses and scared the bejeebers out of Gaku

Mom's Visit

Mom's first Japan experience . . .

Karaoke! We rocked it.

Cow tongue -- Sendai's famous tasty treat

Birthday, birthday, birthday!

Zao day

Matsushima ~ Fukuura Island

Lunch with Sayuri-san

New Sister!

Yesterday Joel, Debi and I drove down to Hitachi, Ibaraki (about 2 hours and 45 mins away) to see our friend Kaori get baptized. Kaori has been studying the Bible for a few years now. I got to know her last year when I went to Cambodia. She was in my international group and we both were from Japan, so we did lots of different things together during that mission trip. She is a very kind and gentle girl, and God has grown a beautiful faith in her heart.

Kaori has been thinking about getting baptized for about a year, but delayed her final decision in order to give her parents some time to get used to the idea and accept her decision. We were so happy that she decided to join the family that we took the afternoon and evening off and made the trip to surprise her. Praise God for bringing this daughter into his fold!


Please pray for Kaori and her commitment to live the rest of her life as a child of God and in the grace of Jesus.

Birthday Sunday

Each month, on the second Sunday, we have a lunch to celebrate all the birthdays in that month. We invite those people with birthdays to share about what they would like to do or how they would like to grow in the next year. Then we pray for them, and praise God for the blessing that they are to us.


We all eat lunch together after church every week; Debi, Joel and I take our turn on Birthday Sunday. I am in charge of the cake.