2016년 1월 소식지

안녕하세요!

정말 오래만에, 10개월반만에ㅜㅜ 한글 소식지를 배포했습니다. 오래 걸려 정말 죄송합니다. 혹시 받지 못하신 분들을 여기를 클릭하시면 보실 수 있습니다.

오늘 저희 지연이가 10개월 되었습니다.. ^^;

늘 기도해주심에 감사드립니다. 꾸벅~^^

January Focus - full version

Happy New Year! We’ve been back in Hiroshima for over a week now and things are finally starting to get settled. Not everything has been put back in its rightful place yet, but we’re getting there (and baby’s napping so I finally get to spend some time in front of my laptop). Yay! 

We praise God for a wonderful 7 months in America. It was great to meet up with old friends and make so many new ones. God knew exactly what we needed and He provided friendships, fellowship, and community through you. He also provided our material needs through you, too. I talked about the $18,000 miracle during our Commissioning Service at LSCC. Hopefully I’ll get to share with all of you someday too. A blog post has been in drafts for the past few months… ^^; 

It was wonderful getting to spend time with family, especially with Peter’s parents, as it’d been four and a half long years since we’d been able to spend time with them. Our kids miss them already! I miss my mother-in-law’s cooking. She cooked so much for us while we were there. So so grateful for amazing in-laws.  I really miss them too. :’( 

I miss not having to cook everyday thanks to food from my in-laws, leftovers, and being treated out by so many of you! I really miss having a dishwasher even though I didn’t use it very often. I really really miss having a dryer!!! But I am very grateful for the mild winter weather that we were greeted with in Seoul for our layover and when we arrived in Japan. Travel and adjusting back would have been much harder and unpleasant if it had been cold and snowy! 

All 3 kids did better than expected in the long haul flight over to ICN. We were so blessed! Your prayers were definitely answered. Sungjae asked me to move my feet and then fell asleep on the floor of my dad's car! After a quick overnight stay at my parent's we were back at the airport, waiting for our flight to Fukuoka.

After a short, but fairly turbulent flight (an absolute MIRACLE that neither Juhee nor I got sick!), we landed in Fukuoka and were met by Steve and Emma who helped us get all of our luggage to the Yamato office where we were able to send most of our bags directly to our home in Hiroshima. They dropped us off at the main Fukuoka train station where we took the bullet train to Hiroshima Station. We then took the local train to our local station where our guarantor picked us up and drove us home. We left SFO morning of the 3rd, arrived in ICN evening of the 4th, arrived at FUK afternoon of the 5th, and finally got home around 8pm that evening. Sungjae's journal entry for that day reads, "I rode an airplane and a bullet train. I rode a train and 3 cars. We came home." :)

We also praise God for an uneventful trip back to Hiroshima. Jiyeon did great eating and playing in her bassinet, which really helped. For the first time EVER, despite so much back-to-back travel, Juhee didn’t throw up AT ALL! She got a little queasy once or twice, but otherwise she was fine. Praise God!!! We didn’t lose Sungjae at any of the airports or train stations so praise God for that too! :) 

Thursday: Juhee's first day back at school. We arrived back Tuesday night, we rested Wednesday, and the kids went to school / daycare on Thursday. I had to pack her lunch for Juhee for just Thursday and Friday. Her new shoes bought in America aren't really ideal for having to change in and out of multiple times a day. We'll see how long she continues wearing them to school! It's causing quite a stir 'cause it's so unique :)

We praise God for so many friends that received us so joyfully when we returned to Hiroshima. One friend even changed our car battery for us so we were able to use our car right away when we got back. Our kids were invited to a takoyaki party at a neighborhood kid’s house the first day we got back. It really helped them to adjust back, not just in terms of remembering the good friends that they have here, but also in terms of jetlag too ‘cause they stayed awake later than they would have if they’d been at home. Our kids still mention their friends in the U.S. and say that they want to go back soon (especially Sungjae, Juhee’s more matter-of-fact about it). 

Friday: School for Juhee, daycare for Sungjae, and Smile Club at Asaminami Chapel for me and Jiyeon. It was good to be back after about 10 months. My friend also joined me for the first time in a long time. We went for our usual udon together and had a good chat catching up.

Sunday: Silliness at home before going to church, playing with Pastor Yamada's daughter after service. Juhee stayed to play with her for the rest of the afternoon. She'll be sleeping over at her for two nights while the rest of the family goes to Fukuoka. They're both really looking forward to it! :)

Monday: the friend that invited our kids over the day after we arrived (Wednesday), came over to our house to play. They just ring the doorbell and walk right in to each other's homes. Our kids go over or he comes over 2-4 days a week. His mom and younger brother have joined us for a worship service at Kabe Chapel too! On this particular evening, the friend's new DS was the main attraction. They were laughing so much (and continuously changing locations)! :D

We’re thankful that we were able to enroll into the Japanese national insurance program and pension scheme. We have two big lump sums going out because we have to back pay two years’ worth for both, but we’ll be saving thousands going forward. We’ll have access to very good health coverage for a very reasonable price now and not have to pay 100% cash every time we go for anything health related. 

There’s so much more that we praise God for but these are some of the main ones, I think. 

Before I run out of time, here are some prayer requests for this month… 

Please pray for continued good adjustment for Juhee and Sungjae. Juhee’s doing pretty well and is working hard on filling in the gaps from when she was away. Sungjae’s Japanese is coming back slowly but surely. He’s having a little bit of a hard time adjusting back to the more rough-housing type play culture here, so pray for physical and emotional protection. They’re also getting used to always having to turn on the heater if they’re the first ones entering a room, always closing the door behind them, brushing their teeth in the kitchen, turning off the heater when we’re done using a room, and making sure Jiyeon doesn't touch the gas heater. Upon return, we realized that our house is not very baby proof! Jiyeon’s having a great time playing with the magnets on the fridge and reorganizing my kitchen drawers. Thankfully, she hasn’t started pulling out all of Juhee and Sungjae’s books from the bookshelf yet… :/ 

This coming Sunday is the annual New Year Joint Service for all four chapels of Hiroshima EV Free Church. Please pray for a good time of reconnecting with the members that we've grown to know I think they’re going to welcome us back and make some sort of formal announcement about our move during the service. It’s already been announced in the bulletin. It’s going to be nice to see everyone again! Morning of the 22nd is the annual New Year Joint Women’s Ministry Service. It’ll be nice to spend some time with just the ladies again. It’ll be really sad too, knowing that it’ll be last one. It was during one of these gatherings a few years ago, that it really hit me – Hiroshima EV Free Church is doing really well; it’s time for us to explore other places where God might want us to be… 

Please pray for our upcoming move! We’re going house hunting to Fukuoka next weekend, from the 22nd-24th. The weather is starting to get really cold, and it’s actually supposed to snow 2-3 days next week in Fukuoka (warmer in Hiroshima, no snow expected). So please pray for health, safe travel, and that we’ll be able to find the right place for the right price in the right location on the 23rd. Juhee will be sleeping over at a friend’s house that weekend so we won’t have to worry about her getting queasy, especially when doing lots of driving locally (constant stop-starts are hard). Hopefully we’ll be able to have a good connection with Pastor Miyauchi of Fukuoka EV Free Church while we’re down there too. We’ll be joining them for Sunday service and then driving back up to Hiroshima after lunch. 

The next few months are going to be pretty hectic with lots of “last”s. Please pray that we’ll be stay healthy in all areas and really be able to take good care of our kids, and meet their emotional and spiritual needs as well as their physical.  

Christmases

It's been fun exposing our kids to American Christmas-y things (like Santa photo boots) and doing fun American Christmas-y things together (a Gingerbread Village, Gingerbread Houses, and Gingerbread Train too!). It's also been nice not having to stress about having so many events to plan, take part in, and invite people to, bake up a storm, try to do something for Juhee's birthday, and try to get Christmas presents ready for our kids too. 

Milk carton & graham cracker gingerbread house + ice cream cone Christmas tree Sungjae made at school (I had fun helping!), another gingerbread house and gingerbread train sets with cousins, gingerbread village with Liz, enjoying the gingerbread village with cousin JJ

You know... I only realized while preparing our Christmas and New Year greeting e-card, that even though we've only been on the field for 4 and a half years, it's been 6 years since we celebrated Christmas and New Year's together with our family in the U.S., since we left right before the holiday season in 2010.

And then I went back a bit further down memory lane and remembered that the two previous Christmases, we'd just returned from traveling to Korea to fundraise in 2009, and to Korea and Japan on our vision trip in 2008. We were jetlagged and missed almost all of the parties and holiday season food!

Lunch + baking and decorating Christmas cookies with my side of the family. One thing grandmas love to do: feed their grandchildren! :)

In 2007, we almost spent Christmas Day in the hospital. I gave birth to Juhee at 11:38pm on December 22nd and was discharged on the 24th - phew! Our first Christmas as a married couple also became our first Christmas as a family of three. :)

In 2006, our first Christmas together as a couple, I think I was sick with a bad cold and fever in between two youth retreats. Ha! In mid-December, Peter picked me up from the airport (having arrived from the U.K.), drove me straight to a youth teacher's appreciation dinner where I was kind of unofficially introduced, and a couple of weeks later, I found myself being the only female counselor at a youth leader's retreat! We were home for Christmas and then at another youth retreat with over 100 kids (I think it was actually close to 200...?) at another retreat site. We went back home and a few days later on New Year's Eve, after the New Year's Eve service, Peter officially proposed.

And now, we're a family of five. :)

Looking forward to many more Christmases together!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We've just sent out our Christmas and New Year e-card. Click here if you didn't get it in your inbox.

Our kids will be awake in a few hours and I'm sure they're not going to let me sleep in. I'm off to bed! Good night and Merry Christmas! :)

Fall 2015 Newsletter

We just sent out our latest newsletter. It's the first one in probably more than five years that has no (new) pictures in it. We're just super crunched for time right now - so much to do, so little time! Maybe we'll do a picture slideshow for our Christmas card this year ^^;

For those of you that didn't get it in your inbox, here's a link.

November Focus - full version

Brrr~ It’s cold! It rained a lot the other day, too! The leaves are changing colors to beautiful reds, oranges, and yellows. Autumn is my favorite time of the year and I’m glad we get to experience it here. One thing I’m really excited about trying out soon is central heating!!! :D 

It’s been great not having to check the weather 2-3 times a day! I don’t need to worry about the weather to do my laundry or see whether or not Juhee will need an umbrella on her walk to and from school. Juhee and Sungjae both had a great time at their first ever Walk-a-thon & Harvest Festival and the weather was perfect! Juhee ran 25 laps and Sungjae ran 50!!! It was great getting to celebrate my birthday with friends and family a few days ago too. I’d forgotten how special that is! We’re thankful that Juhee was able to invite friends from school to a Community Family Festival at a nearby church and that one of her friends came. The mom said, “I wouldn’t have known about this church or the event if you hadn’t invited us.” The kids had a blast and didn’t want to leave! I’m also thankful that our kids got to go trick-or-treating for the first time ever and that they (and us!) had a blast doing it with our LSCC friends. 

October 2009, Halloween Party at POPS, Santa Clara Valley Japanese Christian Church (SCVJCC). Juhee lasted in her hanbok till just after her first ever trick-or-treating saying "Jesus loves you" instead of the traditional "trick-or-treat". She used to do her "peace" signs by just putting up her index finger :)

October 2010, Halloween Party at POPS, SCVJCC. Juhee was a rainbow pumpkin and Sungjae was a bumblebee for his first ever Halloween. Juhee was able to experience hand painting for the first time, too.

October 2015, Halloween Party at POPS, SCVJCC. This time, it was Jiyeon's turn to get her first ever trick-or-treating experience at POPS saying "Jesus loves you" to receive her age-appropriate treats. It was great to be able to spend time one of our long-time supporters who had recently become a grandmother and it was amazing to see how much this precious ministry had grown during the years that we'd been away. In 2009 and 2010, there were probably about 15 moms at the Halloween Party with their kid(s). This year, there were over 30 moms with their kids(s)! The church fellowship hall was packed! Praise God!

Halloween Day 2015, Community Family Festival, Berryessa Valley Church. Juhee had invited about 30 school friends to this event at a local church, just a 5-minute drive from where we and many of her school friends live. One of her friends came! We met one of her gymnastics class friends there, too. All of the kids had a great time and none of them wanted to go when they needed to! It was a great free event that really served the community. To me, this is one of the most important aspects of church.

Halloween Day 2015, post trick-or-treating around Drew & Michelle's neighborhood. I think it was the most fun trick-or-treating I'd experienced as we were in a big group with friends! Chatting, playing, and enjoying food with everyone after was a special treat for us too! Definitely the best ever Halloween. :)

And of course, baby gets a few extra pictures. ;P We're so grateful that Juhee and Jiyeon's costumes were provided to us by friends at LSCC. God is so good! :)

November started with us sharing at Antioch Fellowship, a Youth / College / English Ministry group of a Chinese church, that is now led by one of our former youth leaders and student! It was great seeing them in action, leading and pouring out onto an amazing group of young Christians. When I got there, Aaron (former youth) was taking the HS students through Systematic Theology during their small group time – I thought that was pretty impressive! 

Weekday afternoons are busy with kids’ homework and activities, and weekends are packed with meals with friends and supporters, small group meetings, and speaking engagements (just a few more!). We're looking forward to the Ho and Chiang families visiting us from Dallas too! The kids are super excited! We’re trying to prepare for our return back, but there have been too many things in the here and now that have been requiring our attention (such is life!). In terms of prep, one thing we need to look into is shipping boxes vs. buy suitcases and ship from airport in Japan to our home. Another task is all of the administrative things that we need to get done in the US before we return to Japan, like updating our will. Pray that we'll be able to tie up loose ends, be able to make wise decisions, and not leave things too last minute.

I'm actually taking part in a Japan 102 course with RJC Academy, but I'm incredibly behind on my reading and assignments. The little reading that I have been able to complete has been really insightful though, and has helped me to put some puzzle pieces together. For anyone interested in getting to know more about how the Japanese work, I would definitely recommend the book. Please pray that I'll somehow find time to read more and be able to complete my assignments. They're just short write-ups on my readings, and probably wouldn't take that long, but it's not happening.

Please also pray for the remaining Joy of Learning English classes that I'm volunteering at at Santa Clara Valley Japanese Christian Church. I've been enjoying the fellowship with the Japanese-Americans and the Japanese-Japanese ;) and although I'm the Assistant Teacher, I've been learning a lot too. After one of last month's lessons, I was chatting with a couple of the moms in my class during tea time and they asked about why we lived in Japan and why we're returning. I was able to share with them about the work we're called to, that we're supported in prayer and finances by many Christians and churches in America and Korea, and that there are churches and Christians in Japan, even though they may have never seen a church or met a Christian before. I have two more classes this month and two next month. I'm looking forward to all four of them!

Peter’s parents celebrate 50 years of marriage this month. They’re amazing parents, great in-laws, and awesome grandparents! I really wish I could do more for them and that we could spend more time together. I’m so thankful that God allowed us this time with them. We continue to pray for their salvation, that they will also one day, come to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. 

We’re looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with our family and we hope you are too! 

When we first got here, 7 months seemed so long… And now – already! – less than two months are left! :( There are so many people and things that we are going to miss… :’( 

So thankful for you and the love that you continue to shower on us. :)

October Focus - full version

Autumn is here!  It’s my favorite season of the year. To me, one of the things that autumn represents is the excitement that a new school year is about to begin. I guess it’s more associated with late summer to kids nowadays, but school started in September when I was a kid so it was definitely cooler and more autumnal. I guess for our three kids though, Spring will be that exciting time of year for them as the school year starts in April in Japan! 

There was an article recently about suicides in Japan spiking on September 1, the date with the highest number of suicides. In Japan, after about a 2-3 week “break” (during which many students still have to go to school some of the days and need to study for tests), the school year starts around April 10th, breaks for summer vacation around end of July, and then starts back around the beginning of September (although this year, summer vacation ended at the end of August). In April, many kids dread going back to school – the rigidity, the rigorous schedule and rote-based curriculum, the bullying – but some have hope that maybe, things will be different this year. In September, all kids – those that were looking forward to school in April and those that were dreading it – already know what they’ll be going back to. For too many young people, it’s too much for them to handle and unfortunately, they think that suicide is the only way out. 

Teenage students have been committing suicide in Korea for a long time too. But I think one major difference between suicide in Korea and Japan is that in Japan, it’s more widespread. It’s not just the students, but people of all ages. It’s probably one of the few things that make Japan’s famous always-on-time trains become delayed. Maybe it’s because of the samurai tradition of killing oneself to preserve one’s honor (because committing suicide is better or “more honorable” than living with shame?!) or the kamikaze type mentality of dying for one’s country being a noble act, but suicide in one form of another has been happening for centuries in Japan. Korea had a history of honor killings too, but it was for situations like when a woman was about to be raped. Women used to carry around little knives under the top layer of their traditional Korean dresses. I’m not saying that it’s acceptable, but it seems very different in a way. It’s hard to explain… 

I was reading a Japanese kids’ comic book that someone had given to us and within the first few pages, it mentioned suicide. I put it away. I wasn’t going to let Juhee read it. “Mommy, what’s suicide?” wasn’t really a question I wanted to hear from my 7 year old daughter, especially not from having read about it in a comic book making light of the subject! The Japanese have a fascination with death and ways of dying that is easily seen through their media. There’s also a lot of dark spirituality in their anime, dramas, and movies, which our kids are being exposed to while at friend’s houses and getting rides. We talk to them about why we don’t watch those animes at home and although our kids are not happy with the decision, they (seem to) understand our reasoning behind it. 

Please pray that Peter and I will be able to guide our kids wisely and that they will be able to deal wisely with all of these issues while growing up in Japan. We know that we can’t shelter them completely from a lot of these things, especially if we keep them in the Japanese public school system. We barely watch any Japanese TV at home and only watch the educational channel, but our kids still know the names of all of the characters in the popular animes. Juhee often has nightmares in Japan. I know it’s more than just the media, but there is definitely something... It’s been amazing to see how much more at peace she is here in the U.S.  

I watched a short documentary once about Japanese anime. One of the illustrators said that the reason for anime being so extreme and so popular in Japan is because the society is so restricting and conformist, that people need a way out, a way to escape and fantasy. For many, manga or anime provides this outlet. 

Pray that our kids will be able to experience the same excitement that I, and hopefully many of you did, at the beginning of a school year & semester / trimester. I loved school (in America, Korea, Germany, and the UK), and I really hope our kids will too! 

I feel like I should start a new blog post now for our October Focus… Doh! :P 

I can’t believe it’s already October and we haven’t met so many of our friends and supporters yet – eek! I’m excited about our kids experiencing all of the fun festivities that come with fall in the US that they don’t get to see in Japan. Pumpkin patches, pumpkin carving, lots of pumpkin pie (I LOVE PUMPKIN PIE!!!!!!), American candy (like candy corn and Reese’s :D), and of course, dressing up and going trick-or-treating with friends!

(Pictures: Juhee and her classmates at their Panda Express fundraiser, Juhee at school: learning about American history (9/11), receiving an award for Perfect Attendance for 1st grade - all 5 out of 5 days!, in her classroom at Back to School night; Juhee at her lessons: gymnastics, cartoon drawing (her favorite1), and keyboard class. Sungjae and his soccer classmates in the HUGE park/field their classes are held, Sungjae with his tiger coloring homework and sharing about the time he pet a tiger cub during "Tiger Sharing" time, Sungjae at his karate and gym classes, and Sungjae getting his lunch in the school cafeteria.)

Juhee is enjoying her piano/keyboard, cartoon drawing, and gym lessons. Sungjae is enjoying his karate, soccer, gym, and tennis lessons. From mid-October, they will both be taking 4 horse riding lessons at a farm nearby too. We are SO grateful for the huge discounts that the City of San Jose is providing for our kids so that they can experience all this while we’re here! Kind of ironic that the YMCA, a “Christian” organization, didn’t provide us with one. Well, when I applied, the manager at the YMCA closest to us couldn’t understand why our “pay slips” had different amounts. I tried to explain to her that we’re missionaries, kind of like a charity, so we receive different amount each month. Her reply was, “So, you don’t work.” Um… Sungjae really wanted to learn how to swim, but we can’t afford the classes without a scholarship. But it’s all good! Instead of swimming classes twice a week, Sungjae is having a great time at karate and gym! They're both loving school, too! God is providing for us in ways that we could not even have imagined. God is so good! 

(Pictures: Once our kids start eating cheerios, daddy has to put one on their little noses! :P Jiyeon is now good at sitting, starting to eat solids, likes getting on all fours (but not crawling yet - phew!), used to love dogs but is now sometimes afraid of them, LOVES playing with her big sister and brother, and is just plain cute (says her slightly biased mom!))

The countdown has begun and I can feel myself going into super planning mode. We still have churches to speak at, people to meet, of course we want to spend time with our friends and family more, want to participate in school events, must organize a birthday party for Juhee in December, need to start packing and thinking of the best way to get everything we’ve accumulated here over to Hiroshima, complete my reading and assignments for my 6-week Japan 102 class, continue to serve as an Assistant Teacher at Joy of Learning (JOL), the free English classes provided by Santa Clara Valley Japanese Christian Church (SCVJCC) to Japanese moms (great learning opportunity for me too!), write newsletters (ESPECIALLY one in Korean!!!), and need to keep relying on God to increase our monthly support while doing our part, too. And, of course, there’s all of the daily life demands that come with being a wife and mom of three. :) 

Here’s a calendar of our church-related activities for this month:

2nd – JOL, SCVJCC

4th – LivingStones Christian Church (LSCC)

6th – Parents of Preschools (POPS), SCVJCC

8th – Bring Your Bible to School Day!!!

9th – Speaking at UC Davis’ Christian college group, Mustard Seed Ministry

10th – Davis Korean Church (DKC) Missions Committee Meet-and-Greet, small group fellowship in the evening

11th – Speaking at DKC’s English service and Korean service (I’m interpreting)

14th – Tohoku Charity Concert, SCVJCC

16th – JOL, SCVJCC

17th – LSCC Missions Committee meeting

18th – Speaking at the grandma’s Bible Study class at New Vision Church (NVC)

21st – Japan (Missionary’s / Church’s) Coffee Shop Network Skype

23rd – Speaking at Agape’s Small Group meeting

25th – Speaking at SCVJCC’s two English services and Japanese service

31st – Community Family Festival at Berryessa Valley Church, trick-or-treating with LSCC small group families and friends 

Please come join us at one of these events if you're in the area!

The grandma Bible study class might seem a bit random, but they’re prayer warriors who love us and have been praying for our family since even before we became missionaries. I’m so grateful to them and am looking forward to sharing about our time in Hiroshima with them. 

(Pictures: Peter's college days DKC reunion (our kids were shocked that these people have known daddy longer than mommy's known him hehe), enjoying Chinese-style hotpot with our LSCC small group, Peter speaking and me interpreting at NVC's Early Morning Prayer Meeting, SCVJCC's POPS (about 18-20 moms + 30 kids come!), I loved being able to just enjoy a Women's Ministry event!, and at our kids' PTA Meeting - SO different in so many ways to a Japanese one!)

Please pray for all of our church-related ministries, that we’ll be able to bless those we meet and serve, and that we’ll be able to share about God’s goodness to us and the hope that He has for the people of Japan in the short time that we have with each group. Please pray for our kids as they go from church to church. For the first time, both Juhee and Sungjae refused to go to yet another new Sunday School last month. :( I was thankful that it happened at a church that we weren’t actually speaking at. They sat with us in the family area during the service. I think they’re going to be OK at the churches we’re going to this month though – yay! :) 

This month, Juhee and Sungjae will be taking part in their first ever school walk-a-thon and the fundraising that comes with it. So American! :D There’s also going to be a Harvest Festival at their school which they’ll get to enjoy with their friends. They (well, at least Juhee) will also be taking part in the 2nd annual national Bring Your Bible to School Day (organized by Focus on the Family). Juhee’s sad that so many of her friends at her American school know about God but don’t seem to believe. Juhee’s super excited about taking her Bible to school! Her teacher is a Christian and she’ll be bringing her Bible to school too. Please pray that both Juhee and her teacher will be able to be good witnesses at their school, and that the Bible will provide opportunities for them to share their faith. 

Pray that we’ll be able to use our time wisely and communicate well with each other and with our supporters. Please pray that more brothers and sisters will join us in supporting us financially during the next couple of months. We know that God will provide and wants us to trust Him for His provision! He likes to keep us in suspense. ;P 

Grateful for each and every one of you. :)

September Focus

Good morning! :)

And what a beautiful morning it is too! The kids have happily gone to school, Jiyeon is still sleeping (wish she'd slept more at night!), and I haven't had breakfast yet so am a bit hungry (don't want my cereal to go soggy if Jiyeon wakes up while I'm having breakfast so am working instead), but I'm pleased as punch :) that I get to write this month's Focus on the first day of the month. Yay! :D

We actually have a pretty busy month coming up so your prayers for us and the many people that we meet would be greatly appreciated. My devotional this morning was on Matthew 5:13 - You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. Please pray that we'll be salty salt, salt that makes a difference in the lives of those we meet.

POPS and JOL (Joy of Learning, free English lessons for Japanese) meetings start this month at SCVJCC. I will be taking Jiyeon every other Tuesday morning to POPS and every other Friday morning to JOL. I already started connecting with some of the Japanese moms when I went a few times before their summer vacation period. I'm excited about meeting them again and deepening our relationship, as well as to meet new moms too! It's a great outreach that SCVJCC provides to the Japanese community, similar yet very different to the Smile Club program and the English classes we have at Hiroshima EV Free Church. It'll be a great way for me to keep up my Japanese, maybe even improve my Japanese, and learn some new ways to teach English to Japanese. I'm also grateful for the opportunity to be able to help one of our supporting churches while we're here, too.

School events for the kids start this month with our first PTA meeting happening tomorrow! I'm so excited!!! It's all going to be in English!!!!! :D I'm excited about meeting the kids' teachers, the staff, other parents, and getting to look around the school too - or does that happen on Back to School Night? I dunno. Can't remember from my own childhood. If I don't get to do all of that at the PTA meeting tomorrow, I'll only have to wait a couple of weeks for Back to School night on the 17th. I also have Sungjae's parent-teacher conference on the 8th and I'm sure I'll have one for Juhee too at some point this month. Can I just say... I'm so LOVING the fact that all of their school communication is IN ENGLISH!!!!! (Just in case you couldn't tell.) :D

OK... Time to calm down... :P

Here's our schedule so far for this month:
1st - POPS at Santa Clara Valley Japanese Christian Church
2nd - PTA Meeting
3rd - Berryessa Valley Church's Missions LifeGroup
6th - Peter preaching at both Pathway services, Jenny sharing at small group following the services; Dallas Korean Church reunion BBQ in Santa Cruz
10th - Pastor's Wife Fellowship reunion dinner
11th - LivingStones's Christian Church's families "large" group meeting (probably won't be able to attend because...)
12th - Peter preaching and Jenny interpreting at New Vision Church's Early Morning Prayer Meeting (6:30am!)
15th - POPS at SCVJCC
18th - Joy of Learning English classes for Japanese women at SCVJCC; hosting LSCC small group in the evening
19th-20th - Back down in LA to meet with Rev. Billy Kim, the Senior Pastor of one of our supporting churches in Korea, who will be speaking at Sarang Community Church. Hopefully this will be the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship with Sarang. We'll be driving down all day Saturday and then driving up straight after lunch on Sunday, arriving back home pretty late, so please pray for travel mercies and for our tired kids to be able to get to school on time and in good spirits on Monday morning.
26th - LSCC's Women's Ministry event (not sure if I'm just attending or speaking yet)
27th - Peter preaching at LSCC

Juhee will be starting keyboard and cartoon drawing lessons, and Sungjae will be starting soccer and gymnastics lessons this month + we're continuing with Juhee's Japanese studies and Sungjae's English studies after school, so weekday afternoons are going to become increasingly busier. I'm so grateful for community center and YMCA scholarships that allow our kids to take all these lessons and more for a fraction of the cost.

We're also looking forward to play dates at friends' houses and to having friends come and play at ours too. As Peter always used to say when he was leading youth ministry, you have to Play Together, to Pray Together. There's nothing like playing together and sharing a meal together to deepen relationships to initiate more heartfelt prayer for each other!

OK, time to go to POPS.

Thank you so much for your love and prayers. :)