Our Time In Japan
From 2008 to 2010, we lived in Japan as English teachers as part of a Christian organization’s efforts to reach the Japanese with the gospel. And in 2011, Mike went over again to assist with tsunami relief. These are our blog posts from that time.
What is God doing in Japan?
What is God doing in Japan? God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at...
Please Pray for Japan!
Please Pray for Japan! New earthquake retraumatizes millions According to recent news updates , Japan was rocked by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake near Sendai Thursday night. While there was no tsunami this time, there was still a tsunami warning for an hour and a half,...
UPDATE FROM JAPAN, PART TWO
Saturday After a very blessed stay in Iwaki, we drove straight through my old hometown of Funehiki (I really wanted to stop, but our schedule wouldn't allow it) up to the city of Sendai, which had arguably seen the most devastating effects of the earthquake and...
Update from Japan Relief Efforts 3/25/2011
As of this writing, I have been in Japan three days, and already I have seen God move powerfully, first in my own heart as well as in others'. God is so good! Tuesday When we arrived on Tuesday evening, people at Honda Chapel were busy, busy busy! Some of them were...
Why I Am Still Going
These have been some crazy days...initially I was hoping to blog every day before the trip, but that got blown out of the water because God's plans have been so much bigger than ours! The team I'm with is now officially 8 people, and in only 6 days God has raised up...
Urgent Prayer Needed for Fukushima Daiichi Reactor Crisis
Urgent Prayer Needed for Fukushima Daiichi Reactor Crisis Our dear family & friends, According to recent news updates , although the Japanese government's evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant is still officially 12 miles (20km), the...
Update on Giving and Our Team’s Safety
Our dear family and friends, First of all, thank you for your patience as we got our fund-raising details taken care of! Our team has arranged two ways to donate to helping our brothers and sisters in Japan (electronically or by check). Gifts by check are tax...
Please Pray For Our Beloved Japan
Our hearts break for Japan. Never in all our years have we ever imagined that this kind of apocalyptic destruction could happen again in our hearts' country. Japan has always been the safest, most disaster-prepared country we have ever known. And in one day, we saw...
Japan and the Water of Life
May the floods that they so much dread make blessings break upon their head. -John Piper On March 11, 2011, the dreaded tsunamis swept away hope and life, leaving death and ruin in its wake. The water that swept them forward was dirty and dark, and carried the...
URGENT: MIKE GOING TO JAPAN
Our dear family and friends, An opportunity has presented itself for Mike to go to Japan along with Danny Iverson (son of missionary Dan Iverson) to help out with relief efforts in some of the hardest-hit areas. We have heard first-hand reports from the missionaries...
Mike’s New “Party” Video
For those of you who appreciated " Bring It On Down To The Downtown ," here's a new music/dance video that'll get your toes tappin' and your hands clappin'! Everyone, it's time, so... " Let's Get This Party Started Right-A!!! " Filmed almost entirely on location in...
Welcome Home! April 2008 In Summary
We arrived back in America on April 1st. The month was full of lots of really good reunions! Family & friends welcomed us back with... ... flowers & balloons ...cake ...and with their charming company! Some special highlights were Jen getting to see...
Mike’s Best Day
This past Friday, I (Mike) had my best day ever since coming to Japan. It was my last day of teaching at Takine Elementary School. Now pretty much every time I teach at an Elementary School, I have what I call an "Edward Bloom" day—a day where you get to be the hero...
Our Winter Break, Part II: Sendai and the Uomotos
The day after we got back from Kyoto, we embarked on the second stage of our winter adventures. This time, we went to Sendai to stay with an OPC missionary family, Murray and Tsuruko Uomoto. We had met them briefly in May when we visited the Cummings, but we wanted to...
Thoughts from Jen on Kyoto
Over the course of our visits to the different temples in Kyoto, we had the opportunity to see a lot of people both worshiping at the temples as well as monks and nuns who work full-time at these sites. I kept thinking, "I'm so sorry for you!" particularly whenever I...
Our Winter Break, Part I: Kyoto
For months now, Pastor Tajima (our pastor from Koriyama Baptist Church) has been encouraging us to visit his sister, who lives in the historic city of Kyoto . Apparently, she loves to host folks from out of town, especially if they have never seen the city and its...
Mike’s Christmas Tree
For the most part, opportunities to talk about God or share one's faith are rare in the job of an ALT. The reason has less to do with religion in public schools (many students have Shinto charms on their bags or pencases) than it does with the fact that everyone is so...
You Are Special
Today was the day of the big Kindergarten Christmas program -- and my acting debut. :0) Our team mimed the picture book story "You Are Special" by author Max Lucado. Mike did the narration all in Japanese too. It went really well -- Yay! Here are some pictures of...
Mike’s School Festival & Video
Last year, Jen and I attended Takine Junior High School's school festival . Even though it was on a Sunday, we decided to go, partially because that was the expectation, and partially because we kept hearing about how important this event is to the students. But in...
Thoughts on Weight Loss from Jen
"Have you lost weight recently?" I've been asked this question by about 10 different people over the past couple of months. And yes. I have! Starting this summer, I began some lifestyle changes that have resulted in me losing about 6 kilograms -- Yay! Mike's mom...