December 2014 - January 2015 Newsletter

Good morning!

Hope you've enjoyed a nice weekend with friends and family and had a great time worshiping God together with your family in Christ.

We had a busy Sunday with worship service at Kabe Chapel, lunch and flea market (we sold cornbread muffins and a few items we wanted to try and get rid of) at Koyo Chapel, Juhee's 2 hour long ballet lesson / Sungjae's nap time, and then a PI Hiroshima Team fellowship time in the evening.

A tired Juhee this morning didn't want to go to school today, I think partly because she was tired, partly because she just wanted more downtime at home ('cause even extroverts need their downtime, right?), and partly because of the girl who's been hurting her.  You can read more about her in the newsletter we just sent out.  If you didn't get it, click here.

A thought that occurred to me this morning as I was praying for our little Juhee, was that public school life in Japan will never be easy for her.  There are a few obvious reasons - she's a foreigner, she speaks English, and tends to be liked by most kids - all reasons for the not-so-nice kids to pick on her.  But I think that there's a spiritual aspect too...  As long as she's praying for her friends, inviting them to church, and so many continue to attend church events and even worship services, the Enemy will not leave her alone.

So as you read our latest newsletter and pray for us and our various ministries, please lift up a special prayer for our little Juhee and for us, as we navigate through bullying - physical and emotional pain, fear, avoidance, anger, hate(?)...

Thank you for your prayers!!!

Meet the Yamasaki's

Meet M (left) and E (middle) of the Yamasaki Family. 

E joined Juhee’s class in the middle of their last year of preschool. About a week after she started, the whole family came over to play. E and Juhee soon became friends and Juhee helped E adjust to her new preschool. E’s mom, A, had spent a few months in the U.S. during her college years and was a HS English teacher before having children so was interested in opportunities to speak English. I was happy to have another mom I could speak English with! :) I invited her to our monthly English Café events at Asaminami Chapel and the whole family came a few times (usually dads don’t come)! We weren’t sure if they would continue coming after the casual fun & games orientated “English Café” became a worship service at “Asaminami Bilingual Chapel”, and were very grateful when they did.

But then, E suddenly disappeared. I later found out that E’s grandmother’s was struggling with bad health so E’s mother had to take care of her at her home an hour away. Poor E had to transfer to yet another preschool close to her grandmother’s house. In addition to E’s grandmother’s health issues, E’s sister was having to go for check-ups on her eyes on Saturday afternoons too.

One day, I bumped into E’s mom as she was walking to the bus stop. I offered to give her a ride to the clinic she needed to go to. She was a bit flustered as her husband had taken both sets of car keys that morning so she was having to take the bus instead of driving. We had a really good chat in the car and I ended with, “It was part of God’s plan that we meet and that I drive you to your appointment today. So don’t be angry at K (her husband).” We both laughed and she replied, “Yes, it must be so.” E’s mom and I kept in touch now and again and we bumped into each other at a children’s musical performance over the summer, but the Yamasaki Family were unable to make it to ABC for a long time. Until...

On November 8th, Peter texted me from ABC to let me know that the Yamasaki Family was there! I was so happy to hear that! They started attending regularly again after that.

I finally got a chance to see them again at the ABC Christmas Party and it was nice to catch up in person. E’s dad wasn’t there when I got there as he had to go to a friend’s mother’s funeral. As E’s mom was pretty sure that he’d be going out to dinner with his friends after the funeral, I offered them a ride home. But E’s dad came straight back and played games with the rest of us till it was time to go home! E’s dad hadn’t had any dinner, so I gave him some of the leftover kimchi pasta bake on one of our casserole dishes for them to take home. I checked to make sure he was OK with spicy food and they smiled and said that he loves it.

Clockwise from Top L: Yamasaki family sitting together (bottom right) at an ABC service; Christmas Party - A, E, and M making hen motions, Jenny & A catching up while some played Christmas songs using chimes, Peter vs. K trying to pop the balloon tied to the other person's foot

Towards the end of Juhee’s winter vacation, Juhee and I went over to E’s house to pick up the casserole dish. Apparently K really enjoyed the kimchi pasta bake but was sweating bullets while eating it! The girls had fun playing together (top picture) while the moms chatted, mostly in English, mostly about education. She asked me what I think about the Japanese education system and what we’re planning on doing with our kids. I told her that our kids will probably stay in the public system here till at least 6th grade and that we’re not sure after that. Our kids will probably not be going to college here, so there isn’t much point in them studying for the sake of Jr. High, Sr. High, and then college entrance exams. E’s mom told me that she loved the quieter area where she used to live, but she didn’t want her kids going to the local elementary school there. It’s a very good school which wins lots of competitions, but she observed teachers being unnecessarily strict and scolding the kids a lot. She didn’t want her kids to be in that kind of environment every day so the family moved to this area where the schools are good, but not too strict. She doesn’t want her kids to study just for the sake of entrance exams as most kids in Japan tend to do, but to enjoy learning, learn to think independently and creatively, and be able to do different, multiple extra-curricular activities instead of having to just do one for three years. She also doesn’t want the extra-curricular activity to interrupt their weekends as many do here. She really wants to homeschool at least part-time, but she says that whenever she talks to other moms, no one understands. She also knows that it’ll be difficult for the principal and teachers of their local school to understand, accept, and adjust to too. Like Susan and Kyoko (Clendinnen, our new Team Leader), she also wanted to homeschool their children. I told her that Kyoko (Clendinnen, our new Team Leaders) would be a good person to speak to as they not only homeschool their children but their boys are also registered with their local elementary school too (they only go sometimes for special events), so can give E’s mom advice on that aspect too. Homeschooling is still largely viewed as truancy in Japan, so having one’s children registered at a local elementary school and having their buy-in is very important! The whole Yamasaki family went over to the Murray’s to observe a day of homeschooling one Saturday and spent the whole day with them.

I really believe that God's been working in A's heart & life for a long time. Her host family when she was in America for a few months as a young adult was a Christian family and took her to church. They also gave her a Bible before she left. She still keeps in touch with them! But even before that, I know that it was God who stirred up a desire for her to go to America and prepared the perfect family for her. There was a very long gap, but from about just over a year ago, the seeds that were planted way back then, have started receiving some TLC again.

Peter told me that they hadn't been to ABC for a few weeks so I sent an email asking if they were OK. This is part of her reply:

Oh, thank you, Jenny. It is so sweet of you to check us. We are all fine, we just have been busy. We love your church and we will go to ABC soon.
I hope everything is good for you and your family, too. Whenever you have time, please stop by. Also, you can leave Juhee chan here if you need your time. M and E will love to have your children.

E and her sister like the snacks at ABC. E’s dad apparently likes Peter. :) E’s mom enjoys the opportunity to brush up on her English and the exposure that her children are getting to English too. It’s actually really rare for a whole family of unbelievers to attend. It would be great if the whole family continued to attend ABC, for their relationship with the other members there to grow deeper, and for them to accept Christ as their Savior one day!

Please pray with us for this to happen!!! :)

February Focus

Happy February!

In most of the Western hemisphere, February is a month of love. In Japan, February is a month of chasing out demons. Various types of roasted beans are sold everywhere. Both Juhee and Sungjae are involved in "Setsubun" activities at school / preschool that talk about demons within homes that need to be chased out by throwing roasted beans and chanting “Demons out, luck in!” There's also a rice roll (like 김밥) that is supposed to bring in luck if you eat it all in one go facing a certain direction called "Ehomaki". Please join us in praying that our kids (especially Juhee) will be sensitive when/if they vocalize their difference in opinion as to how demons are chased out and that they don’t get confused. Pray for us as parents too, that we are able to continue guiding them in matters that involve Japanese culture and spiritual matters.

Here are some things that you can be praying for us about in February…

On the 3^rd and 5^th, Peter will be handing over Jess’s Kids Brown classes back to her. Pray that the handover will go well and that Jess will get back into the swing of things quickly. Peter’s looking forward to spending more of his energy on studying Japanese and getting things ready for our time in the US.

On the 4^th, Peter and I will be going to our OBGYN together for our hospital tour. It’ll be Peter’s first visit to the hospital. Pray that we’ll have a good visit and that we’ll get to know the hospital, procedures, and staff well, ‘cause the next time we use the side entrance to go to the upstairs area will be when I’m having contractions!

Pray for me a ton on the 6^th as it’s going to be a really challenging day for me… I have Smile Club in the morning from 10am-noon, will probably have an udon lunch with my friend Rieko and her toddler daughter straight after (a bit of post-Smile Club “tradition”), attend Juhee’s parent participation “day” from 2pm, Juhee’s parent discussion time from 3pm, leave in the middle to pick-up two of my students at 4pm from their school (I do this weekly), and then teach Kids Brown from 4:30-6:30pm. It’s going to be one of the busiest days I’ve had recently and it’ll take a miracle for me to be able to get through the day without being in a lot of pain. I’m sad to think that it’ll probably be my last time teaching English at Smile Club, and one of the last times I’ll get to spend time with Rieko and her daughter for a while. Juhee’s super excited about mommy coming to see what they’re preparing in class and has asked that I take video and pictures so we can show daddy and Sungjae after. :) Pray that God will really bless Smile Club and our lunch together and that I’ll be able to have supernatural amounts of strength and energy that day!

Juhee has extra ballet practices on Saturday, 7^th and Sunday, 15^th in the afternoon prior to her performance on the 21^st. I’m so grateful that another mom is helping me mend her white tutu! I’m not very good at sewing in the first place, but it’s even harder now with a big belly. She also has a sewing machine! Juhee’s looking forward to her performance but not to all of the extra practices (mommy too)! :P

Peter and Jess both have birthdays this month. I thank God for them, the way that God has brought them into my life, and pray that God continues to use them mightily for His Kingdom.

The 15^th is going to be another crazy day so pray for the 15^th too, please. We’ll be attending Sunday service at Kabe Chapel that morning, rushing to Koyo Chapel to eat lunch and hopefully sell a few things at the annual Flea Market along with a couple of our teammates. Juhee and I will have to rush to her ballet practice while Peter takes Sungjae home for a quick nap before our PI Team Fellowship time from 4pm.

On the 21^st, Juhee’s ballet performance is downtown in the afternoon (no parking!), and then I have a meeting at 7pm for Juhee’s afterschool program… :/ There’s also a Hot Chocolate & Desserts event at ABC after service, so it’ll be a tricky day to maneuver and another tiring one too!

On the 23^rd, 24^th, or 25^th, Sungjae will be having his parent participation “day”. Sungjae always gets really excited about mommy coming to watch too! Mommy really enjoys the participation days too as it’s a great chance to get to see what they’re learning, the other kids, and a good chance to connect with the other parents too.

There are a couple of other events too, but these are the major ones. We’re so grateful that Jess is back to take back her Kids Brown classes so we can really start preparing for the baby’s arrival, for our time in the US, for Taisei moving in, and our move next year. I anticipate me being very tired on many days this month, so pray that Peter and I will be able to communicate and work together well. Pray that God will continue to be the center of our marriage, our family, and our ministry, and that our love for each another will continue to increase. :)

Photos from the annual Hiroshima EV Free Church's joint Women's Ministry Gathering. There were about 30 women in attendance, representing each of the four chapels. There were testimonies given by two of the women, songs performed, a message of encouragement given by Pastor Haitaka, obento lunch boxes for lunch, games, and a song performed by the pastors and their wives! 

It was actually at last year's gathering of this annual event that I really felt God speaking strongly to me that He wanted us to work with another church in Japan during our next term. Peter and I had already started praying about our next term and were seeking His will. I came close to tears many times during that meeting as I realized more and more that I would be leaving this group of Christian women who had become friends and cared for us so much. In a country where a church of more than one hundred members is considered a mega-church, the average church attendance is between 20-30 members, the average age of the attendees is in their 60's, and hundreds of churches don't even have a pastor, having a Women's Ministry Gathering where just under 30 women, 3 pastors, 2 missionaries (Susan and me) are in attendance is amazing... There are so so so many more churches here who can only dream about such gatherings...

May God send more workers to this field and may God raise up many strong Christians within Japan to lead the next generation of Japanese believers!