July Focus

Wow… Can’t believe almost half a year has passed already since I wrote a monthly update!

It’s been pretty crazy since March – getting things ready for the birth of our baby, the birth, a trip to Osaka 10 days after birth, a trip to Fukuoka 6 weeks after birth, packing, and then leaving for the U.S. the day our baby turned two months. Spraining my ankle a few days before our trip and having to go to the hospital twice, using crutches, and then leaving Hiroshima on the 20^th of May using a walking cane definitely didn’t help matters!

We arrived back in San Jose, CA on May 21^st after an approximately 36 hour trip involving a car, local train, bullet train, taxi, car, short flight, long flight, and one final car ride before we arrived at our in-laws where we had a delicious homemade lunch. It was great to be reunited again after 4 and 1/2 years apart! We also celebrated Sungjae’s 5^th birthday with a few members of my side of the family together, too.

It took us much longer than we thought to adjust back and to do things like getting the kids registered for school. We had the kids with us most days, all day, so it was hard to get things done too. We were so grateful for the kids being able to go to Yamashita Family Child Care some days! Those times allowed us to catch our breath a little, get some work done, and for the kids to have fun with other kids in English and Japanese.

It’s been such a blessing to be able to move into a large family home and not have to move around during our time here. We originally thought we’d have to move at least twice during the first 3 months, but God provided a place for us to stay for the whole duration and most of the rent too! The way He provided our car is an awesome God-story too, which I hope I’ll be able to share sometime.

Here’s a bit about what will be happening in our lives in July and things you can be praying for. Please. :)

4^th – Living Stones Christian Church’s 4^th of July celebration at Emma Prusch Farm. Our kids’ first ever 4^th of July party! Unfortunately, they didn’t try the tacos, but they did eat the enchiladas.

5^th – Peter preaching at Grace Fellowship, Pleasanton

7^th – Leaving for Dallas, TX. Hopefully we’ll be able to pick-up our new magnets and brochures before we go! Please pray for this miracle to happen.

11^th – Sharing at one of Woodcreek Church’s small groups

12^th – Peter preaching at Dallas Chinese Bible Church

16^th – Peter & I will be getting our “annual” ^^; physicals done very early in the morning. Pray that we won’t have any major health issues and that our kids will be on their best behavior too. July is the last month that we will have really good health insurance. After that, it’ll be fairly minimal.

17^th – Sharing at one of Global Harvest Church’s small group, “Rising Son HC”

18^th – Brunch small group at sister & brother-in-law’s house. Juhee will be going on a date with my sister in the evening. Pray that they’ll have a great time together and make lots of fun memories!

19^th – Peter preaching at both services for Global Harvest Church

20-24^th – Kids will be attending VBS at DCBC

23^rd – Close friends of mine will be moving from Tokyo to the Bay Area

26^th – Peter sharing at Skillman Bible Church

28^th – Return to San Jose

31^st – Juhee’s elementary school classmate & her family will be arriving from Hiroshima and staying with us for one week! We’re all very excited and looking forward to their visit. We will be going to Santa Clara Valley Japanese Christian Church with them to attend service on Sunday. For the dad, it will be his first time at church. The rest of the family has been to Asaminami Bilingual Chapel several times during the past year.

Please pray:

- For safety and health during our travels

- For God to allow times of rest and connecting with family and friends

- For God to open up new relationships with those who would want to partner with us in our ministry in Japan

- For God to raise the remaining financial monthly and one-time support that we need

- For Juhee and Sungjae as they go to a different church and a different Sunday school each week with different kids

- For Peter and Jenny to be able to communicate well during times of busyness and tiredness

- Against burn out as we go through another couple of months of instability, more new experiences, and meeting lots of new people

After Dallas and guests, we’ll have a little bit of quiet before we pack up and leave again for SoCal in mid-August. Soon after we come back, school will start for the two older kids. Hopefully things will settle down in September and we’ll be able to enjoy a bit of normalcy, at least during the week.

Pray too 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. :)