Friends

I have people here now that I know for sure that I can call a friend. This means a lot to me. I've really missed having friends and I miss my friends back in San Jose and around the world. With most of my friends here, I still can't have deep conversations with them due to the language barrier. But God keeps on sending moms who speak various levels of English to me and combined with what little Japanese I do know, we share our lives, our thoughts, our troubles, and our prayers.

Last week was the week when I realized how much of a friend I'd become to those that I considered a friend. One friend called and we had a long conversation about her son. She was in tears and later on thanked me "for telling the truth, because Japanese moms only say good things". I so wanted to give her a hug! My heart hurt for her and the shock that she was going through. It made me pray more in earnest for her and her family. It made me want to pray together with her and I prayed that one day, we would be able to.

Another friend called to just chat. That was really nice. :) There was nothing that was urgent, nothing that needed to be discussed. She just called to say hi and see how I was doing. We both just so happened to be grocery shopping while we were talking and that was fun too. It made my heart all warm and fuzzy and very happy that I was her friend and that she was mine. :)

This one's slightly different... A new friend who doesn't speak much English but really wants to was confiding in a mutual friend at church on Sunday. She was in tears as she spoke of something regarding her husband. I knew that she didn't have the English to share with me and I didn't have the Japanese to understand. It was also the wrong setting for in-depth sharing including translation as our kids were playing around us. But I was able to send her a text later on and just let her know that I wanted to give her a hug and that I'm praying for her and her family. She told me previously that she was "happy happy happy" to receive a text from me so I knew that in a small way, without us being able to communicate fully, I could still encourage her. She replied the following day and told about the struggles she's facing right now and asked for prayer. She also ended with writing, "I thank to God, I met Jenny! 大好き(means love) Jenny!" That's special.

And I'm very happy to say that there more! There's a friend who was willing to sacrifice FOUR afternoons so she could come and translate for me for my Japanese driving test and drove me there and back too. There's a friend that I meet regularly who I can ask for help with a lot of the paperwork from Juhee's school. She speaks very little English but she explains everything to me as plainly as possible in Japanese. Another new friend who speaks English pretty fluently invited me to her house and we had a nice chat together over coffee (for those of you that don't know, I don't like coffee!!!). Not liking coffee has become a problem for me since moving to Japan and it might be one of those things I'm going to have to give in to...

My prayer is that the same happens for Juhee. When I went to her school recently, I had the chance to observe her secretly from behind a curtain. It was outdoor playtime and she sat on the ground by herself for most of the time. Pretending not to have seen her, I asked if she had outdoor playtime, what she did, etc and she told me that she played by herself because she doesn't have any friends in her class. Her answer confirmed what I'd feared when I saw her. Not a single kid approached her during the whole time she was sitting there by herself on the ground. Not a single teacher went to her either. I totally understand the other kids in her class and at her school - it's not as fun playing with Juhee 'cause communication's difficult and she still doesn't know "the Japanese ways" of doing things. BUT as a mom, I still want a friend for my little girl. So she won't be sitting on the ground by herself, not playing during playtime 'cause she has no one to play with, no one who cares...

Can you see Juhee in this pic? Do you see one child in a blue hat sitting on the ground all by herself? That's her...

I pray that she has more days like this one, when she's at least playing in the sandbox together with other kids. I actually think (and definitely hope!!!) that most days are like this, rather than the day above.

I also pray that God brings awesome friends for Peter too. Other young dads that he can share life with, men that he can play sports with, watch movies with, do guy-things with, share his faith with, discuss spiritual growth with, maybe even disciple and encourage, and just sit and grunt with :) if that's what they want/need to do. :)

I also pray that God brings godly friends into Sungjae's life too and that they continue to be lifelong friends. I thank God that He's already started to! :)

Sungjae's one-year-old friends from Kabe Chapel, their moms, and older siblings came to our house for Sungjae's first ever playdate. Everyone had a blast! :) Next time, hopefully the dad will be able to join us too. Pray for that to happen please!!!

Friends are SO important.

I thank God that Jesus is our friend. :)