Oct 30 - We're in Japan!

Dear friends and family,

Korea - Part 1. We spent 5 days from Oct. 22-27th recovering from jetlag in the luxury of Jenny's grandmother's apartment in Sanbon (just south of Seoul), South Korea. We had the best of homemade Korean food, bought a big box of diapers, went "hiking" up the small mountain just a 5 minute walk away, brought back a big container of water from the natural springs, and were able to attend family w*rsh*p with Jenny's aunts and uncles (mother’s side) on Sunday evening too.

His Timing. On Friday Oct. 24th, we were amazed again at how He brings people together in His d*v*ne timing. Jenny's aunt (1st Chr*st*@n in her family) arranged a meeting between us and the head of WEC in Korea and his wife. It was a time of catching-up for me (Jenny) too as I went to elementary school with their daughters during their one year sabbatical in Korea (they were m*ss**nar*es in Gambia) 15-16 years ago. We were able to discuss with them the option of joining WEC, and spent a long time discussing with one of their Japan m*ss**nar*es (currently on sabbatical in Seoul) what life in Japan and working with WEC would be like. That particular day, the staff were being treated to a buffet lunch and we were asked to join. =) After lunch, Jenny's aunt took us to Onnuri, one of the biggest ch*rch*s in Korea, as they were holding a big international conference from Thursday to Saturday. Through her contacts, Jenny's aunt was able to arrange a meeting for us with the Japanese p@st*r and his Korean wife currently serving at Onnuri Yokohama who were attending the conference. It was great to be able to hear about Japan, the Japanese people, the concerns, and the sp*r*tu*l state of Japan from a Japanese person – and a p@st*r nonetheless! – living in Japan. After the meeting, Jenny's aunt had to go to her church so we ended up taking the subway back, and Sara Juhee had her first ever Korean subway experience. It was jam packed because it was rush hour, but everyone was very mindful of her (some would say “stop pushing there’s a baby here!”) and she in turn was busy entertaining those around her. =) In order for these meetings to take place, the WEC and Onnuri people had to be in Seoul at the same time as us and the fact that they were all available at different times on that same day made it perfect for us to use that one day for both meetings. Jenny's aunt also is not usually available on Fridays, but due to a special event, her usual Friday meeting was canceled and so she was able to drive us around everywhere. How perfect!!!

We're in Japan! We arrived in Osaka, Japan on Monday, October 27th. We rented a small apartment for the 4 weeks right next to Osakako subway station in the Tempozan area, right next to the harbor. Our property manager’s been really helpful, and with his help we were able to visit a big marketplace on our 2nd day. We went to buy essential groceries so we can eat at home as much as possible instead of eating out to try to save some money. We’re experiencing first hand how expensive everything is in Japan… sliced bread about ¼ the size of a regular loaf seems to be sold mostly in packets of six (sometimes four) very thick slices and costs over 1 USD! After comparing prices at various shops, we ended up buying the cheapest sack of 5kg which cost us 16 USD! We’re used to paying about 10 USD for 10 kg sacks of rice so it was a bit of a shock to say the least…

Looking Ahead. From tomorrow (Friday, Oct 31st), but more in earnest from next week, we’re hoping to meet people who we know will play a very important role in shaping our future in Japan. Not all of the dates and times have been set yet, but we’re hoping to meet individuals from the agencies Asian Access, Pioneers, and WEC next week as well as friends of friends and possible employers. Please pr@y for us and these meetings as we seek His way and His wisdom.

OHayo OHsaka Blog (http://ohayo-ohsaka.blogspot.com/). We have a lot more we want to tell you about but we don’t want to make the update emails any longer than they already are, so we’ve started a blog. So far, it’s just what we’ve sent out in our emails, but we’ll be updating it with short blogs as often as possible so “watch this space”! =)

Contacting Us. We do have internet access from our apartment but we’re sharing one laptop during the short times that we’re at home so our email’s a bit limited, but email or phone (+81-90-6098-7361) are the best ways to contact us.

Pr@yr Points.
• For the meetings that He’s provided – for wisdom, etc…
• Painless, fever-less, crankiness-less teething! Sara Juhee’s teething like there’s no tomorrow! She cut her 6th tooth the day we left San Jose (last Tuesday), her 7th tooth last Friday, and her 8th tooth on the day we arrived in Osaka (Monday). She’s had a couple of mild fevers and has been cranky at times but has thankfully been her usual good-humored happy self.
• No mosquito bites! Sara Juhee got two our last night in Korea and Peter got two our first day in Osaka. No more please!
• Rest and SLEEP for Jenny. To ease jetlag and being in a new environment, we’ve been nursing Sara Juhee when she wakes up at night so Jenny’s still nursing her 5-7 times in a 24-hour period. Jenny’s not getting a whole lot of sleep at night and so is finding the extra amount of activity tiring, especially with a lot of the energy and nutrition from her decreased amount of food intake going to baby.

Thank You. To you, as always, and also to our G- for blessing us with you, your prayers, for providing for us in everyway (and for no travel sickness – yay!). =)

Pr@yrfully yours,
Peter, Yeonsook Jenny, and Sara Juhee Oh