Students Last Classes

Last Day at Kyodo Church

Junior High Sunday School Class

Sagamihara Women

Today I spent the morning and afternoon at the Sagamihara church where the Abes are pastors. They have a monthly meeting where they invite women to bring their young children to play and hear a bible story and have tea time. But today was a little special, they had a full lunch and dessert to celebrate Christmas, of course. I had a fun time loving the cute Japanese babies and talking a little to the moms, if I could. And I tried to help out too. Mrs. Abe was very very busy preparing for the meal and organizing things. She wasn't alone, but she did most of the work and you could tell. She does a really great job, but of course she was the last to eat. Ah, these people know how to work and they do it all for God. May they be rewarded richly.

Kawaiine...(Cute, isn't she?)

Here is the infamous Aiden being himself striking the kind of pose only someone who knows they are cool will make. He is the Abes' grandson who I've mentioned before.

These pictures are of the park just behind the Sagamihara church. It's a really beautiful park, but not as colorful in winter as it is in the other season.

This is a lovely stray Japanese cat that I assume lives in the park. It decided to befriend me and snuggle up between me and my purse. How nice. I hope it doesn't have some kind of strange foreign disease.

Tuesday Women's Class

(Top from the left: Kyoko (Christian), Aya, me, Akiko, Sumiko. Bottom from left: Megumi (Sudo Sensei's wife), Hiroko, Noriko)

This past Tuesday we had a Christmas party. It was the second to last class, but we had the party this class because a few of my students won't be able to make the last class. It was a really nice time. We sang Christmas hymns, and I shared the Christmas story after we had a little candle lighting, we exchanged gifts and we had Christmas cake (because that's what they do here in Japan for Christmas---cake).

I think everyone enjoyed the time. Sudo Sensei announced that he wanted to continue the class as a Bible study in English to keep doing some practice of English. We were all encouraged that Sumiko said she would come for the Bible study. We are hoping and praying that Aya also comes. May God tug on their hearts and they be given the grace to answer His call, not just for the Bible class but also for the truth of His son Jesus. Please pray for them and the other students of this class.

Kyoko's husband has been in the hospital since I started this class. We would pray for him from time to time and ask how he is doing. She kept informing us that he was getting better and then she told us this last Tuesday that this week he was finally going home. Praise the Lord for how He hears our prayers and how this shows others of His love for us.

Day with the Aritas

A few days ago I had a day with the Aritas. There isn't much time left for me in Japan so they wanted to spend some time with me before I left. So I went with Mrs. Arita to see the Emperor's Palace. The Emporer acts much like the Queen of England. He is no longer a significant figure of the government, but his royalty is still respected in Japan. Of course, you







Just as we were arriving at the entrance to the Emporer's Palace, the Emporer and Empress were actually leaving in a long line of black, guarded limosines and police motorcycles. I was told that they rarely ever leave the palace. This was an extremely special occasion and I was there for it. Even very few Japanese get to see the royal couple. So it was impecible timing that we arrived when we did. Mrs. Arita was thrilled. We were told that they were going to see a doctor. Apparently the Emporer, who is in his 70s is having some health issues. And then we were told they would be coming back to the palace around 1PM. Of course, Mrs. Arita wanted to come back and bring Mr. Arita. The video on the top is of them leaving and the on the bottom is of them returning to the palace. In the returning video you can just barely see the Emporer and Empress waving from their car.






Later we went to a few famous spots in Japan. The street pictured below is lined with ginko trees that were planted in 1927. It's a beautiful place to stop for a drink at a cafe.



Then the Aritas took me on a sunset dinner cruise in the Tokyo Bay. We had a really nice time and some really delicious French cuisine. Everything we did this day was new for all of us. The Aritas had never seen the Emporer in person, they had never gone to the ginko tree street or been on this cruise. It was a great time of firsts for all.

Kobuchi Mission Church

Kobuchi Mission Church has about 6 regular church members. Most of them are over 60, well, actually all but one. The church members meet every Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00am for prayer and also on Wednesday night for a bible study and prayer meeting. They are very faithful in prayer which is the foundation of the growth of a healthy church.

Me sharing how I first became accept Christ as my Savior (also written in the previous blog for all to read.)

When I first recieved Christ

My testimony begins with my family. My parents are Christians. They took me and my brother and sisters to church every Sunday. They taught me about the Bible and about Jesus. Their lives are good examples for me because they try to live like Jesus by God's grace.

When I was very young I went to Sunday School each week. One week the teachers asked all the kids if they wanted to have Jesus as their Savior. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that everyone is a sinner. That is easy to understand. Even children choose to do bad things. When I was a child I stole something from the church and I knew it was wrong. I knew I was a sinner even at a young age. The Bible also says that there is punishment for every sin. That punishment is eternal death. This is also not hard to understand, because even adults are sometimes punished for the wrong they do. But God will punish all sin. On that Sunday when I was young, the teachers told us more. The Bible says that there is good news. God loves us so much that He made a way for us to have eternal life. God sent His son, Jesus, to the earth to take that punishment of death for us. Jesus died so that we don't have to have eternal death. He has saved us from that punishment. All we have to do is believe this to be true and accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Then we will have eternal life.

After explaining this, the Sunday school teachers asked us if we wanted to accept Jesus as our Savior. They would pray with whoever wanted to. I didn't tell anyone then because I was shy, but I did want to. Later that night my older sister told my parents that she wanted to accept Jesus. So my parents put me to bed and prayed with my sister. But while I was in bed I decided I wanted to accept Jesus to right at that moment. So I prayed there in my bed by myself. I was only a young girl, but I knew that I was making a very important decision. I was only a child and I didn't understand everything, but I understood that God loves me. I understood that I was a sinner and that I could be punished, and I understood that if I believed in Jesus my sins would be forgiven.

Even now there are many things I don't understand. But even at an old age I still will not understand everything. God has been teaching me more and more about how much He loves me and how Jesus came to free and heal me from my sins and the sins of others. I could share a lot more about my life, the good and the bad, but the most important thing I want to tell you right now is that God loves you and you don't have to do anything to make Him love you. His love is free. When we trust Jesus with our life His love gives us peace, joy, and abundant life.

Christmas Party with the boys

Well, again I haven't written in a long time. But I have written more update emails than usual so I hope it balances out. Yesterday afternoon was the last children's class at Yamazaki. This class is held at Sudo Sensei's home. Nozomu is Sudo Sensei's son and he is sitting just to the left of me in the picture above. Yuuya is between Nozomu and Sudo Senseit and Masaki is on my right. His mother is there in the picture too. Some other boys, friends of Nozomu, have come since October, but only these three could make it for the last day. So for the last day we had a small Christmas party for the boys. We sang 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' and they made advent calendars. We lighted candles and I shared the Christmas story while Sudo Sensei translated for the boys. Yuuya had never heard the story of Christmas at all before so this was his first time to hear about the birth of Jesus. I know that Yuuya will hear much more about how much God loves him from the Sudos. They take good care of him because he comes over often to play with Nozomu. I believe the other boy, Masaki, has had a lot of Christian influence. I'm not sure, but maybe his mother is a Christian. But anyway I think we all had a good time even though it was a bit sad it was the last. Those are some good boys right there.

Tokyo Tower

After a very nice piano concert at the church on Sunday I stayed over at Emiko's house for the night. And then yesterday (Monday) we went to Tokyo Tower and her mother, Yoko, came too. I had a really nice time sightseeing on my day off and then getting a head start on my Christmas shopping by buying some souvenirs. I think days off are much needed for me, it's a good time to take a break

There are many cemetaries near Tokyo Tower.

This is the Rainbow Bridge in the Tokyo Bay.

Yoko Furuya, she is really sweet and reminds me of my mom sometimes because of the things she is interested in and her mannerisms.

Or maybe "don't look down" would be better for some.