Japanese Driving Licence - Got It!!!

After FOUR attempts, I finally got my driving licence. What an ordeal!

Our International Driving Licences were due to expire one year after we arrived in Japan and just a few weeks before the dreaded expiry date, on Mon, Oct. 24th, we finally managed to get ourselves to a local driving school with a translator. We sat down in a classroom where we went through the set driving course via picture slides that the teacher had very kindly prepared for us in English. He said it was his first time doing so! We then went outside to actually practice driving around the course. The driving test course is the same throughout Japan. At the practice schools, they have miniature versions. Our super nice, very smiley teacher gave us a lot of helpful tips like checking the back and front of the car before going in, opening the door in two steps and closing it in two steps, even if you don't have to adjust the back mirror you still have to at least touch it, make sure you speed up whenever you're going straight (even if only a short distance), slow down before a turn and release brake going into it, stay within 1m of the curb on left or drive on line depending on distance between line and curb, drive at 10km/h or less when turning, etc. One thing that he told us which surprised me was that the "feeling/impression" that the examiner receives is very important. The test is not so much about skill as it is about the examiner feeling like you know the rules of the road and are a safe driver. I had no clue how significant this bit of advice was...

That following Thursday, on Oct. 27th, we went to the driving test center with another friend. There is only ONE center that serves for all of Hiroshima prefecture. Our practice cars at the driving school were BMWs. The cars used for testing foreigners were old Japanese taxis! The Japanese testers had fairly new cars. Foreigners, or more specifically, those with a foreign driving licence, are also tested after the Japanese but we all have to arrive at the same time as the registration counter is only open for 30 minutes in the afternoon. Peter and I both passed the paper test but failed the driving test. A very nervous Peter didn't speed up enough and my left turns were too wide. The examiner was kinda scary. :P

The next Monday, Oct 31st, Peter passed! Yay!!! The new examiner said that he was very good, asked if he'd gone to driving school, and was surprised that he'd only been once. I failed. The examiner said my driving was overall very good but my left turns were wide in the areas where a left turn was made right after a right turn. He was super nice. I appreciated his feedback. :)

(Every time I went, I had to fill in paperwork in Korean (Peter's were in English) and go to a counter to receive actual stamps that I had to wet and stick on to the paper as proof of payment. Surprisingly very old school, right? This pic is actually from the day that I passed. :) Fingerprint is only needed on the day that you pass.)

The following Wednesday, on Nov 2nd, our friend who had gone with us the previous two times, came to pick me up and drive me there, waited, and then drove me back. This time, for the first time, I was actually nervous 'cause I really wanted it now. The previous times, I only half-heartedly wanted to pass 'cause the dates were right before my birthday, which would have meant that because of a few days, I'd be losing a year in terms of my first renewal period. But this time, my birthday had passed, I was feeling much more confident, I'd already lost so much time and money on the testing, and it was starting to get embarrassing, so I really really wanted it! That made me nervous too. I got an elderly examiner this time and he said that my driving was very good, just a little bit fast when making right turns. Because he said I was very good and because I knew that my driving had been pretty good, I got my hopes up - only to have them dashed when told "no pass" (in English) at the counter... :( I was crushed. So super disappointed. I'd really wanted it that day. I also couldn't help feeling like the system was unfair. It's definitely not opaque like the driving tests I'd experienced in the UK and the US. You don't get any paperwork back telling you exactly what you did wrong, how many times, if it was major/minor, etc. There are guidelines like a major mistake is worth 10 points and you're allowed to get 30 points off, but no one shows you anything after the test.

The following Monday, Nov 7th (NB: 3 days after my Int'l had expired!!!), our friend and I went again. My driving was OK, as it had been the previous 3 times. The examiner was in a bad mood (or so it seemed) and actually fell asleep while the person being tested before me was driving (the next person rides in the back seat while the previous person drives). He gave me a ton of feedback, most of which I didn't really pay attention to/couldn't understand. With a sinking heart, our friend and I sat down. Soon after, we discussed when would be a good time for us to come back for test #5... When we were called to the counter, I expected the examiner to say "no pass" but he said a full sentence in Japanese and our friend started bowing saying "Ah! Arigato gozaimashita!" so then in disbelief, I started doing the same! I'd passed? I'd passed!!! Hurrah!!! :) I had to fill in paperwork, give them a pin number for my driving licence, do a few exercises (no joke, I had to like lift my arms up, turn them around, do squats, etc), get my eyes checked, get my picture taken, wait for my licence, and then we were off! I went to the counter to ask if I could take a picture with the person who processed my paperwork most of the time, was our 2nd examiner, and always told us so gently "no pass" but he declined. I took the opportunity to thank him though for always being so nice, even when telling us "no pass". :)

Don't have to go back there again for THREE YEARS! Yay!!! :)

A few things...

A few things that have happened recently that I wanted to jot down (in no particular order)...

* A very close friend of mine just gave birth to her 3rd child, a beautiful baby girl, in China. We miscarried at almost the same number of weeks, at almost the same time a couple of years ago and now we've both had healthy babies and are both living far away from where we used to live in obedience to God's calling. Praise God! :)

* Juhee's started washing dishes with me. She wanted to do it last month while Peter was away in Tohoku but I told her we had to wait till daddy got back so he could watch / distract Sungjae while we did them. She brought it up again last week so we washed the dishes together. She soaped and then did a preliminary rinse while I did a final rinse and then stacked them. She was great! The second time she did them, I folded laundry in the living room while she soaped. It was AWESOME!!! My dishes were being done while I was folding the laundry! Life was good. :) I'm so glad she likes doing dishes and hopefully she'll ask to do them now and again. When she was doing them the first time, Sungjae was trying to get on to the stool that she was standing on and she very loving told him in a very big-sisterly fashion, "Sungjae, you can wash the dishes too when you're older". ;)

(Pic of Juhee & Sungjae and their bags in our entrance area (genkan) on Sungjae's first day of daycare, Oct. 3rd.)

* I'm usually up with or before the kids but one day earlier this week, I got up, moved a little bit, and then just laid back down again because I was so tired. Juhee just came to me, sat down by my legs and started to massage them! AND Peter got up and made toast for the kids. Felt like a spoiled queen that morning! :)

* Juhee's been saying lots of very profound things recently. So profound, I can't remember any of them right now... ㅡㅡ; The conclusions and logic of a 3 (almost 4) year old are mind boggling. Really makes you realize how many "facts" and "norms" of life we take for granted.

* When I told Juhee last Sunday that "Auntie Susan" wouldn't be at our team meeting because she was in America with her mom, aunt, and grandma, Juhee asked if she going to have a team meeting with them. If only!

* That same Sunday, in the car on our way home, Peter and I asked Juhee what she did with Sydney (Sydney and Taylor look after Juhee during our team meetings) and she said she was drawing. We asked her what she drew and she said,
"A~nything, a~nything I want to."
"Oh, I see. But what did you draw?"
"I told you, a~nything I want to."
"But what "anything" did you draw?"
"Oh, um, I can't remember." ㅡㅡ;

(Sydney and Juhee helping to make a special Japanese dessert eaten every year in September, pic from Sept. 4th.)

* Again, that same Sunday, soon after we arrived at the Murrays', I noticed they had their Happy Birthday banner up... For me... We had a wonderfully delicious Mexican dinner and then when I got up to help clear the plates, Scott said, "Jenny, why don't you just sit down" and took the dishes I was going to take to which I replied "Oh" and sat down. Only thoughts crossing me head being, "Wow, Scott's really on the ball today and really going all out with being the host..." But then Peter/Sungjae finished so I stood up to take their plates and the Jess came over and tried to take them from me, told me to sit down, and actually blocked me! I turned around slightly to try to talk toward the kitchen at which point Scott said from the kitchen, "OK, Jenny. You need to stop right there!" with both arms out and something long and thin in his hand. It was then that a light bulb went on in my head and I realized what was going on, further confirmed by the comment, "Well, there goes trying to keep it a surprise!" coming from the kitchen. Oops!!! I had NO clue until I caught a glimpse of what was in Scott's hand. We had a good laugh about it afterwards. =D Scott had bought really nice chou (pronounced 'shoe') cream (like at Papa Beard's but much nicer, I think) for my cake 'cause I LOVE chou cream. Our Pioneers Hiroshima Team members are so sweet. :)

* Sungjae loves sticking out his tongue and he's so cute when he does it, it's hard to scold him for doing it. :)

* My relationship with the other moms of Juhee's class has just really blossomed during the past few weeks. Part of it is because I've had lots of things going on at Juhee's school which meant increased frequency of meeting and the chance to chat. My relationship with other moms not of Juhee's class has also taken off thanks to the "club"s that I am a part of - Bible Class and Mary Poppins (flower arrangement). I finally feel like I'm making friends and getting to know people that I can be comfortable with, learn things from, and share our lives with too. I've also been able to give many of them a copy of our church's quarterly-ish newsletter, the Good News, as I've been teaching recently so have been using the ads on the back to let them know of the dates, etc info.

* Recently, the thought that I'm so ready to throw in the towel and move back to San Jose fluttered through my mind and the thought shocked me. Life was and is hard. Very hard. But was I really ready to give up? A friend from the US emailed just a couple of days later letting me know that she's been thinking of and praying for me, especially that I will experience JOY. God used my friend to speak to me and encourage me at the perfect time. Thank you friend and thank you God! :)

* Mosquitoes really like biting Sungjae on his ear every since we started clothing him in long sleeves / pants. :( He's the only one that usually gets bit now. Mosquitoes love fresh new baby blood... :(

* Juhee very often asks us what a Japanese word means in English. Very often, we don't know the answer to her question, especially when she's speaking in the Hiroshima dialect. Peter knows the most Chinese characters so is probably the best reader and Juhee is definitely the best speaker. I can read and speak but at different levels to Peter and Juhee. Sungjae is doing pretty well learning three languages at once. It's so cute when he talks! :) Sometimes our conversations on one topic include vocabulary from all three languages.

* Every night, Juhee runs into her daddy's arms for a big good night hug. The game is to try and run so hard and fast that she knocks him over (while he's sitting on our futons) with her giving him a hug on top of him. Peter pretends to resist and then fall over, very much to Juhee's delight. She then gives him a big good night kiss, sometimes with another run over to him. Sungjae's started doing this too during the past couple of weeks. He's always so proud of himself afterwards! =DDD

* Juhee's becoming a daddy's girl. Recently, she always wants daddy to sit next to her at the dining table and wants to go to daddy, play with daddy, pray with daddy, etc, "because I like daddy today". :) Sometimes, she likes both me and Peter "today". And sometimes, we wonder if she's 3 or 13! :)

(Peter took Juhee & Sungjae out one sunny Sunday in Sept. and tried to teach Juhee how to ride the used bike that he bought for her. The wheels, pedals, and seat are rusty though so apparently it was hard to pedal. We might have to buy her a new one. She enjoyed her first ever lesson though and some precious outdoor playtime with daddy too, something that he didn't have the time or energy for during almost all of Apr-Aug while studying full-time at the YMCA.)

* During the past couple of weeks, ladies in two different States have been helping me organize my first ever Thanksgiving Party. Like my first ever, not just first ever in Japan. They've helped me with the craft and the meal. Today, I made mashed sweet potato for the first time in preparation (as an experiment) for the meal with Christian & non-Christian Japanese friends from Juhee's preschool. It was pretty yummy! :) I'm so looking forward to receiving the packages that they've sent and finalizing the details. One of them will also contain 4 boxes of Pumpkin Bread, of which at least 3 will probably be used to give to the students of Juhee's preschool in the 3 classes that I read the Thanksgiving book too. If I have enough (time and mix), maybe I'll bake one for the teachers too. :)

* Sungjae had his first ever playdate. It was so much fun! Two moms + 2 one-year-old boys + 2 older siblings + Jess came to our house to just have fun and eat dinner together. We did just that! It was a great time of getting to know the moms better (both attendees of Kabe Chapel) and for the kids to be able to play together in a bigger environment with more toys as it's a bit small and crowded at church. The moms would speak to us foreigners in proper Japanese and speak to each other in Hiroshima dialect. :) One of the best things for me was that one mom brought two types of salad and another brought two types of dessert so I was able to try yummy, healthy food from other moms too. Everyone enjoyed the chicken dish (닭도리탕) that I made too which was awesome and us 3 Korean-Americans got a lot of Japanese practice that evening too. The Japanese moms were very happy to get some English practice! :) It was so awesome to see Sungjae "playing" with the other 1 year olds too and have hope in them all growing up together. It was nice to feel connected, to know that he would have friends, friends of families that we would be friends with, friends that will hopefully keep him accountable in his Christian faith. Another "best" thing (is one allowed to have so many "best"s?) for me was that the husband of one of the moms had said that morning that he really wanted to come too! The reason why we had the playdate on a Friday evening instead of a Saturday evening was because the husband had previously been very closed to attending any church / Christian events. Because he works late Mon-Fri, the mom & kids couldn't leave him alone at home on a Saturday late pm / evening so we had it on a Friday when he wouldn't be home anyway. But apparently he wants to come and be friends with us! Praise God!!! :) So next time we have a playdate, it's going to be on a Saturday and hopefully both dads will be able to join us, and maybe one other family with a one-year-old that just started attending Kabe Chapel.

* Whatever Juhee does, Sungjae wants to do. Whatever Juhee is playing with, Sungjae wants to play with. :)

(Juhee had just taken off her pink Dora pajama dress so she can put on her golden Belle dress. When Sungjae saw what was going on, he stopped playing with his cars and asked that he be dressed up too in Juhee's pajamas...)

This post turned out to be way longer than I thought it would be and I know I've forgotten a few things that I'd originally wanted to write about in this post, but I'll have to jot them down for another post when I remember, if I remember. There are always so many things I want to blog about but never have the chance to. My life is so "interesting", so busy, so blessed. :)

7-9월 소식지

이제는 전체적으로 다 올리지 않고 일부분만 올리기로 했습니다. 소식지를 받고 싶으신 분은 연락을 하시거나 우측 칼럼 Newsletter Sign-up 부분에 이메일 주소를 기입하시면 받으실 수 있습니다. 관심을 가져 주시고 기도해주심에 감사드립니다.  꾸벅~ ^^

Wednesday October 19, 2011

새로운 경험들, 새로운 축복들

안녕하세요!

저희가 뉴스레터를 발송하기 시작한 지난 3년이래로 이번에 최고로 오랜 기간 동안 뉴스레터를 발송하지 않았습니다. 그만큼 7, 8, 9월은 새로운 경험들과 축복들이 가득찬 석달이었습니다. 많았던 일들 중 몇 가지를 함께 나누고 싶습니다. 함께 나눌 축복의 이야기들이 많은 것도 하나의 큰 축복으로 생각하며 하나님께 감사를 드립니다. 그리고 저희 뉴스레터를 관심 깊게 읽어 주시는 모든 분들께도 감사를 드립니다. 한분 한분의 기도와 후원 없이는 저희가 일본에서 주님의 역사하심을 경험하며 함께하지 못했을 것이기 때문입니다. 감사합니다! ^^

신실하신 주 안에서,
Peter Oh 선교사 가정 드림

Jul-Sept Newsletter

Instead of posting the whole newsletter up here on our blog, I've decided to just post the intro portion. If you would like our e-newsletters sent to you, please email us or sign-up using the newsletter sign-up box in the right-hand column of our blog. :)

Friday September 30, 2011

Many Firsts & Many Blessings

Dear co-laborer in the Lord,

Hello!!!  It's been the longest ever that we haven't sent out a newsletter ever since we started sending them out almost 3 years ago.  Did you miss us? :)

Thank you for partnering with us and journeying alonside us in ministering to those in Japan. July, August, and September have been very full and exciting months with many "firsts", and we'd like to share with you several stories that highlight our experiences. We are blessed to have so many blessings to share with you. Thank you, because without you, we wouldn't be here experiencing God's awesomeness.

Blessings,
Peter, Jenny, Juhee and Sungjae Oh

Hello Jess! :)

Say "Hello!" to our awesome new teammate Jess(ica) Lee. I would introduce you to her myself, but she does a much better job than I ever could on her blog (link). She arrived in Hiroshima on June 23rd and will be here with us a Pioneers mid-term missionary for two years (at least ;)).

A couple of weeks after she arrived, we were very lucky to join her for dinner at Pastor Haitaka's. Lucky for us, she didn't have a car and didn't know how to get around. :) After an awesomely delicious dinner and lots of desserts (Jess made a special pineapple dessert and I took a pork & kimchi stir fry dish), we played a couple of games and had a great time of fellowship. (Click on pictures to see larger versions.)

She's also been awesome at jumping into ministry and helping wherever and whenever needed. Already, she's been "David" in David and Goliath, "Elijah" and "Worshipper of Baal" in the same story on two different occasions, she was also part of the praise team that lead praise in both English and Japanese during our VBS week, has folded countless numbers of VBS flyers (and spilled a bit of water on some of them :)) and Good News newsletters, babysat for me so I could do my Old Testament Survey lectures, housework, etc, absolutely loves our kids and is adored back, and as part of her ministry to the team, will be babysitting for us every other week for a couple of hours so Peter and I can have some much needed time to ourselves. She will also be teaching English classes and Bible classes too while studying Japanese, ministering to the Murray's, and trying to find some time to catch her breath sometimes too! She's also just fun to be around and enjoy a meal with, especially as she's family. :)

God has blessed her with amazing language skills and she's picking up Japanese like you wouldn't believe. She's also making lots of friends very quickly, has already been an awesome blessing to us as a family, the PI team, and the local churches here, and we're very excited to see how God is going to work through and in her during her time with us in Hiroshima (which will, hopefully, God willing, extend beyond two years). :)

Relief Work in Tohoku (Kesennuma, just north of Sendai)

After my first semester at language school ended for summer break, I (Peter) had the opportunity to serve on a Pioneers team to assist with the relief efforts in Northeastern Japan through CRASH Japan, a Christian relief organization in Japan. We mainly worked in the city of Kesennuma, which was one of the hardest hit cities by the earthquake and tsunami. You can see a lot of original footage on YouTube of when the tsunami hit Kesennuma. It's devastating.

Seeing the affected areas for the first time in-person was surreal. It just boggled my mind to see what was once a neighborhood full of houses and businesses completely destroyed with only their foundations remaining. There were lots of clean-up crews with heavy machinery sorting through the debris. After six months of clean up, they've definitely come a long way. However, there's still so much more that needs to be done, and there's some damage that can't be fixed. When we first arrived, we were shown our meeting place for our first project, but we quickly had to leave. Our guide informed us the tide is coming in so we couldn't stay there too long. Apparently, part of the city sank about one meter. So every day when the high tide comes in, that part of the city gets flooded.

Recovery and reconstruction will last for years, but progress is being made.

We weren't sure what to expect once we got there. We didn't know what exact needs there were, and how we would be able to help. We went with open minds and open hearts, and a flexible attitude willing to serve.

Through CRASH Japan, we were asked to join a project to spray EM (Effective Micro-organisms) in the affected areas. This EM is used to get rid of bad bacteria, bad smell and help rejuvenate the soil. The project was led by a Christian, Ashikaga-san, who had a smile on his face every day and was always joyful. Other Japanese volunteers joined in the project including folks from a Scientology group, students from Kita Kyushu University, and other volunteers sent from the volunteer base camp. We realized that spreading EM was the project assigned to us, but that God had additional plans for us. We were able to build good relationships with the other volunteers, and were able to share the love of God with them.

The project assigned to us was to spread EM, but God had additional ideas.

We were also introduced to a group of local High School students who were interested to spending time with us. We were able to spend two afternoons with them, and had a good time of playing and getting to know each other. Through spending time with them, we were able to hear some of their stories, their hopes and future plans. We were also able to share with them what gives us hope, and those among us who could speak Japanese shared from the Bible how Jesus gives us hope. We were told that two of the students contacted our CRASH Japan base logistics manager to find out more about how to become a Christian. Praise God!

Hanging out with the local High School students.

So with a grateful heart, I want to thank you who supported my going and serving in the Tohoku region, and also a big thank you to those who continue to support us in being here to serve. The following video provides a summary of our experiences that our Pioneers team would like to share with you. Blessings!

Acupuncture for my right foot

Back in May, on the day of Sungjae's one year check-up, I missed a step coming out of the doctor's office and hurt my right foot & ankle and skinned my left knee. My left knee healed soon enough but my right foot & ankle swelled up that evening and I was in a lot of pain for the next few days. I hobbled and hopped around the house trying to get housework done and feed the family. I actually got sick a couple of days after which was a mixed blessing as it allowed me to rest my right foot & ankle.

A month later, it was still hurting so I went to see a doctor. With my limited Japanese (doctor had no English), I managed to understand that she said it was normal for such injuries to still hurt after a month. At a traditional Japanese restaurant that we went to with our VBS summer missions teams in August, I sat down on my feet, traditional Japanese style just for a little bit. I looked at my foot as it was hurting more than usual and the whole right side of my foot had bruised up.

We'd decided a couple of weeks prior that I would go to Korea with the kids for 10 days for a number of reasons, receiving treatment from a doctor that I can communicate with, being one of them. I went to an acupuncturist 2 minute walk from my parents' apartment and received treatment three times during the time I was there. She said that a bone in my right foot had probably fractured slightly which is why it didn't stay swollen but I was in so much pain for so long. The main problem now though was that because I had been standing and walking in an unnatural position to try and keep the pain off of the area where it hurt, my muscles had tensed up in an awkward way which is why it hurt when I tried to lay it flat, walk, run, go up stairs, etc.

I'm very happy to say that after two treatments, my foot felt MUCH better. She used acupuncture around my right foot, but all over my body and even my head and neck too! She also massaged the tension out of my foot. The first day she did it, I endured the pain for as long as possible before I cried out, "It hurts so much!" to which she very calmly replied, "It's only temporary. Endure it a bit longer." ^^;;; After the third treatment I could barely feel the pain. It actually felt kinda nice. :)

It got worse temporarily when I got back as I overdid things a bit, but it's now almost 100% better. Yay!!! :)

5 Love Languages of Children

On Friday, September 2nd, Susan led a one and a half hour seminar on the Five Love Language of Children at Koyo Chapel during their monthly ladies' outreach event, Sumire Cafe. Peter was in Tohoku at the time volunteering in the tsunami / earthquake disaster areas, Juhee had been sick Monday - Tuesday and Sungjae was sick Wednesday - Thursday, so I was worried that I might not be able to attend. Thankfully, on Thursday night, Sungjae's fever broke so I was able to go. Phew!

I really wanted to go for the sake of my own learning to educate myself in being a better mother (yay for seminars in ENGLISH!!!) :), but also to learn from Susan how to teach as she's an awesome, very thoughtful, and gifted teacher, and also because I'd invited some friends to join us for the morning. Some were missionaries here in the Hiroshima area. One was a mommy friend from Juhee's preschool, Samuel Yochien. It was her 2nd time attending Sumire Cafe - yay! :)

Susan taught about the 5 Love Languages and had something special planned for each love language after she explained it. The five are:

1. Physical Touch
2. Words of Affirmation
3. Quality Time
4. Gifts
5. Loving by Helping

After explaining "Words of Affirmation", Susan had us all do an activity. We had to write a card with words of affirmation to one of our children. Susan had brought little note cards for everyone. The room went quiet as the moms sat, thought carefully, and then wrote notes to their children. I wrote a simple one for Juhee and she loved it! :)

Susan mentioned that it's hard to find out a child's love language for kids under five, but I think I know Juhee's 'cause it's pretty extreme. I'm pretty sure her #1 is "Physical Touch" because even as a baby, she loved sleeping right next to me or on top of me and even in the middle of the night would climb on top of me multiple times. As she grew older, she always wanted to touch our sleeve and now always wants to touch our hair pre- and post-sleeping and cuddle. She LOVES big hugs and kisses, and likes holding hands too. I know most kids love hugs, kisses, etc and Sungjae does too, but I can see a big difference between the two of them already.

While the seminar was taking place, the little kids played in the back on a blanket while Keiko-sensei (Pastor Haitaka's wife) and Shigekawa-san watched them. Sungjae was there most of the time so I was able to concentrate and take some notes. I'm sure the other moms of little ones were grateful for the babysitting too! Around about the time Susan finished, the 4 Samuel Yochien girls came in, joined us for a delicious traditional Japanese lunch, and then all played together afterwards. Two of the Samuel Yochien girls, including Juhee, are from Christian homes and two are not. All four ride the same bus together to and from Yochien every weekday at two different bus stops. For one of the moms, it was her first time attending a church event.

I pray that the moms that were there, me included, will be able to remember and put what we learned from Susan that day into practice so that we can continuously, purposefully, intentionally, correctly, and creatively, fill our children's love tanks. I want my children to feel loved and be confident in the knowledge that they are loved. It doesn't just happen. Now, I am much better equipped and will hopefully be able to speak their love languages better. Pray for me and Peter please! <3

Summer Vacation KEC (Kid's English Club)

From 3 American churches, God sent 13 individuals to help share HIS GOOD NEWS to the children of Hiroshima, JAPAN. God assembled a motley crew consisting of members from Clearwater Community Church (link), Living Stones Christian Church (link), Global Harvest Church (link), the Pioneers Hiroshima team and the Japanese Christians who volunteered from Koyo and Kabe Chapels to serve alongside one another as one body in Christ.

Together, we conducted the first ever Summer Vacation Kids’ English Club (a week-long Vacation Bible School). 66 children attended, and several of their parents stayed and participated as well. The kids had a great time singing simple songs to practice English phrases, and they also sang children's Japanese Praise songs. They made very creative crafts every day, played hilarious games, had an educational English class, ate delicious snacks, and watched daily skits on hope and the life of Joseph. During the first week of August, we had a fun-packed week, and we thank God for it all coming together seamlessly. (Click on the collage to see a larger version. Pictures courtesy of Paul and Ansel from LSCC. They took thousands!)

Click here to see a video summary created by Tommy (Global Harvest Church).

Blessings!
Peter

Finally!

Phew! So I finally updated our blog, albeit just a little bit. I updated the first section on the right where I (try to) put a few major things going on that month. I also updated the prayer section further below.

Had a great two hour lecture this morning, going to have a quick lunch, and then hopefully finish off my essay on the Pentateuch later today.

Have SOOOOO much to update all of you on! It's been an exciting and super busy 4-6 weeks and there's lot I want to share. Too good to keep to ourselves! :)

Thank you so much for keeping in touch with us. We really appreciate it!

Here's a short video clip for you to enjoy. Peter was "watching" the kids while I was washing up the dishes from dinner. Juhee was wearing her white "dress" (actually the inner garment of a hanbok 속치마) and her princess "cape" (a blanket) and was singing Japanese songs and dancing so I thought I'd record a bit. Peter was actually so tired he completely passed out using Juhee's soft princess chair as his pillow and did not wake up during this performance and more... Even with Sungjae using him as a jungle gym. :)

(Video from evening of July 25th in our kids' play room / dining room when guests come / guest room in the winter time multi-purpose tatami room.)

Looking forward to trying to blog a bit more this month,
Jenny :)