January Focus

Happy New Year! As we enter the year of the sheep, we pray that this year will be a year of revival, a year when many lost sheep hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and return to Him. 

Can't believe half of January has already gone by! 

Here are some quick focus points for this month: 

Our baby girl is growing at an increasingly rapid pace inside my belly. My recent check-up was a comprehensive one done at the beginning of the third trimester and everything's looking good - Praise God! I'll be going up for check-ups every TWO WEEKS now (!!!) and then EVERY WEEK during the last four weeks (from mid-Feb). Please pray that the baby will continue to grow healthy and strong. Due date is March 21st. 

Pray for my physical well-being as I'm constantly tired and my whole body aches. As well as my usual pregnancy-induced anemia and leg cramps, I'm also experiencing lots of lower hip and pelvic bone pain this time around. For some reason I also don't have much of an appetite either... I'm hoping to continue teaching my classes till the end of February and Juhee has a ballet performance at the end of February too, so I'm hoping I'll be able to stay on my feet till then. Pray that I'll be able to be wise in knowing when to rest and when to ask for help. Please also pray for all of the prep that we still need to do for the baby's arrival and my time in the hospital (6 days!!!). 

Please pray for our Kids Brown & Smile Club classes. Jess has returned from her home assignment (yay!) and will take over her KB classes again from February. There have been a few changes so pray for a smooth transition back for her as well as a spirit of excitement and Kingdom-focused-ness (I know that's not an actual word, but you know what I mean, right?). It's not always easy teaching kids English, especially to the kids that don't want to be there! Please pray for a teacher for my Friday classes... They're doing so well English-wise and Bible-wise... Would love for that to be able to continue! I have one class left for Smile Club at the beginning of Feb before they finish for this academic year at the beginning of March. Pray that they'll have someone in place to teach the English Smile Club classes for when they resume English classes in May. 

Please pray for Peter's phasing out of leading praise at ABC too... 

Please pray for our time in the US. We've been saving up for it but it looks like living in San Jose is going to cost more than we anticipated. Thankfully, a couple of our friends / supporting churches have already communicated their willingness to support us extra during our time home - and not just financially too! We're so grateful for God's provision and know that He will provide exactly what we need, at the right time. We also know that He will provide the connections needed and fellowship time with many of you. We're looking forward to it 

Pray for our PI Hiroshima team as they'll be leading the monthly combined Wednesday night prayer meeting on the 14th. Scott will be preaching, Peter will be leading praise in Japanese and English. Please pray that our team will be able to be an encouragement to the Japanese believers. 

Early morning of the 19th, it'll be my turn again to go out and greet the elementary school students going to school and help with traffic control. Juhee will be so excited! :) Please pray for energy and safety. I'll be standing outside in the cold for about 30 minutes... :/ 

Pray for my last "Mary Poppins" flower arrangement class at Samuel Kindergarten on the 21st. It's through this class that I met and was able to deepen relationships with many of my current friends over the past four years. It's also through this class, while us ladies chat while arranging our flowers, that I've invited many moms to many church events. I'm so grateful for all of the opportunities that God provided me with through this class and am sad to say Good-bye. Please pray that I'll be able to finish well. This will probably be the first of many Good-byes to come... 

Toward the end of January, all of our PI Hiroshima Teammates will be gone for 1-3 weeks as they attend our Regional Retreat in Thailand. Pray that they'll be refreshed during their time there and for us as we hold down the fort.

Thank you for your prayers! :)