Last Day in Japan

I'm sorry I haven't been able to blog for the last two days. A lot of travel and crazy schedules. We are at the airport ready to board the plane. We had a long layover here in Tokyo and took advantage by taking a train into Tokyo to look around. We saw the largest temple in Tokyo and had our last Japanese lunch. Most everybody had noodles and tempura. A bit rainy today, but everybody enjoyed ourselves. Hard to believe our trip is about over. We'll be back in about 12 hours!
See you then!!

Day 5 THURSDAY

What another great day! I can't tell you how much we laughed today--from morning to night. Today's Bible point was "God gives us wisdom". The Japanese campers listened carefully to the lesson. Mr. R. did an activity where the campers had to walk through a maze blindfolded and learned about how God is the giver of wisdom. The kids made Egyptian collars to wear in the Arts and Crafts class. The campers are becoming more and more comfortable singing the worship songs and it looks like they're enjoying doing the motions that go with the songs.

It rained today--pretty much all day, but we have umbrellas. For our afternoon activity, we went to a very cool fire prevention exhibit at a fire station here in town. I didn't expect it to be interesting, but it was actually a lot of fun. We did a few simulations (earthquake, fire, and hurricane winds). I've never seen anything like this in the States--really good for students to learn. All of our TKA kids learned some valuable info, like how to properly use a fire extinguisher etc.

Tomorrow is our cultural enrichment daytrip to Nagasaki where we'll do a bit of sightseeing for the first time.

We went out to dinner and split up and ate in different groups, depending on what we wanted to eat. I think some broke down and went to McDonalds, but most of us had ramen and other adventurous Japanese food.

Walking back to the hotel in the rain, I think I cried from laughing so hard. There was so much going on. We stopped at a grocery store and bought a bunch of different ice cream treats and shared them standing in the rain with our umbrellas. You had to be there. Maybe at Memories Night we'll be able to recreate some of the hilarity, but really, this is all great medicine for the soul!

God's goodness to us is overwhelming. He continues to provide for us perfectly.
We talk about these things all through the day.

The campers are wrapping themselves around the hearts of our TKA students and I'm afraid there will be tears on Sunday which is our last day of camp. Pray for this day as the gospel message will go out. Pray for boldness and the Holy Spirit's guidance. We are all ridiculously tired, but incredibly blessed and grateful.
More tomorrow!

Day Five WEDNESDAY

Today was such a full day. Every night we get together after dinner for our night devotional and we start by writing in our journals. Tonight, everyone wrote long entries. Today we went on a "bike-hike". We went to this very beautifully landscaped park about an hour outside of Fukuoka and rented bikes to ride through the park. Inside the park, there were a few attractions--a zoo, craft stations, playground equipment etc. Just the bikes alone were great fun, racing each other, bumping into other groups on the pathways etc. We had a couple mishaps through the day, a few of the campers got bus sick on the way, and then we had a few kids take some spills on the bikes, but nothing serious. We are becoming very close with the campers. Today, one camper told me "I never want you to leave" which gave me an instant lump in my throat. We had a picnic lunch in the park with the kids and biked a bit more after lunch. In the late afternoon, we had some time to go downtown Fukuoka to see some of the city. We took a subway and walked around the stores that are underground. Lots and lots to see. We went into a store called "Tiny Chris" and it was no bigger than your walk-in closet. We had some good laughs in that store. I don't know may times I've cried from laughing too hard on this trip.
We ate Okonomiyaki--look it up if its not familiar. Keep the prayer comingl
I'm falling asleep as I'm writing this...I have to go to bed! My God be praised by our day here in Fukuoka. Sorry so short. Will post pictures tomorrow.

Day Four TUESDAY

Everybody felt more confident going to camp this morning. I woke up to Wesley making eggs in the kitchen. I've never heard so much noise coming from a kitchen--all for just 2 eggs. It sounded like some kind of battle was going on. Someone made a comment on our blog asking about why we are dressed in Egyptian clothing. Our VBS camp theme is "Egypt: From Prison to Palace" (the story of Joseph). So we wear Egyptian-like costumes and have decorated our sets to match the theme. Today in Bible we talked about how God is the giver of talents and abilities. Today, the campers heard the part of Joseph's story where he interprets the Pharoah's dreams. We talked about how it was God who gave him that ability. It wasn't his own doing. The campers memorize a Bible verse each day--both in Japanese and English. Today's was Rom. 12:6, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." The Japanese campers were much more relaxed today, talking more, and more playful with the counselors. After lunch we walked to the beach, 10 minutes away. Fukuoka is a beautiful city. We played some relay games on the beach and had some good laughs. We cleaned up the campsite after the beach and walked back to our hotel. On the way, some of us stopped at some stores, looking around. We went into a supermarket and bought a bunch of adventurous-looking snacks and tried them-chocolate "mushipan" [steamed bread]. Doesn't sound appetizing, but it's good. We're back at the hotel and a bunch of students (Sarah, Ethan G, Heather, and Michael)are hanging out playing guitars and singing in front of me as I type. Seems like we have a lot of guitar players. We're getting ready for dinner--ramen tonight. The real thing. If you haven't tried the real stuff, well, you haven't lived. There is a good ramen shop in Milpitas off of McCarthy Ranch exit, in the Ranch 99 shopping plaza...if you feel like ramen. It's called Maruichi. Most of you have probably been there?? I'll stop here. Tomorrow is a all day "bike hike" with the campers. 30% chance of rain.
Pray against the rain. More info coming tommorrow. Thank you for keeping us in prayer.

Day Three MONDAY

Big news of day three is this: HAWLEY IS BETTER! She came to camp with us this morning. Thank God for answered prayer. She has been well all day.
Today was our first day of the VBS camp. I think a lot of us were secretly nervous--nobody showing it, but still anxious on the inside. We woke up early and Michael made us eggs like he promised. He realized we didn't have any cooking utensils, no spatula, so we made one out of a paper plate (we have video footage). We had no mixing bowls, but no problem, we mixed the eggs in the glasses provided in the hotel room. No butter, but it was a non-stick pan (not really). These kind of experiences make a trip like this. Total fun and hilarity. We walked to the international school where our camp is being held and we had devotions there to start with. The campers arrived for registration and all of us greeted with them and starting mixing with them. Campers were assigned to their groups and our TKA students were assigned to these groups as "camp counselors". We had a busy morning with all the groups making 4 rotations through arts and crafts, games, Bible and English class. Everybody agreed that the classes went really well, no problems.
After the morning classes, we all had lunch together (we all ordered bento boxes, lots of variety--chili shrimp, hamburger steak, curry etc) After lunch, we took off to our afternoon activity, which was bowling for today. We walked to the bowling alley and had fun bowling for the first time in Japan. A little bit different, you rent your bowling shoes in a vending machine. And then they have a game where the bowling alley shuts down the lights and play loud music (felt a little bit like a disco) and the first 3 people to get strikes get a prize. It was funny--only in Japan. After bowling, we walked back to the school to clean up and prep for tomorrow morning...another day of camp...different curriculum, activities etc. Mr. R. is very proud of the students. TKA has a great reputation and the students are living up to it. We are now back at the hotel getting ready for dinner. We're going out to "Royal Host", a family restaurant. After dinner, we'll have a short debrief/devotional meeting and then beddy-bye time. We have a convenience store right next door to our hotel, so sometimes we make runs to the store for "midnight snacks" (though not at midnight), drinks etc. God's blessing on our group is evident at every corner. God is providing for our needs in so many ways. The Japanese campers are too cute for words and our TKA students are completely taken by them. The campers are charming the heck out of our kids. If you can't tell by the mood of this blog, our first day was a great success--very good feedback from the missionaries and their crew. Mr. Reinman is a happy camper. :)
Have to go to dinner. Day four tomorrow!

Day Two--I just typed a very long paragraph about day two and then the computer froze and I had to restart and lost what I wrote. I'll just write what happened today. Got up early, went to church, had a GREAT service. Our team was introduced, Mr. Reinman gave a testimony about his accident and God's purpose for our lives. Ethan G's relatives also attended the church service. After lunch, we spent the afternoon preparing the campsite for camp starting tomorrow. Hawley was sick today and wasn't able to leave her room. She feels better, but please pray that she gets over whatever is bothering her. It was a great day, still dragging a bit from jet lag but we're having a fantastic time.

Japan--Day One

We are finally in Japan! We arrived safely, without incident. Everybody is in good spirits--very tired but doing well! Our host missionaries met us at the Fukuoka airport (we got in at 10:00 PM). We had a very brief orientation in the hotel lobby. We checked in and now we're all in our rooms getting settled. We had a 2-3 hour layover at Narita Airport--just enough time to exchange our dollars for yen and grab a bite to eat (some of us tried "takoyaki" which is batter fried octopus and some of us had some really good, spicy ramen.) Some of us were not feeling hungry and just looked around in the shops. As I'm typing this, some are taking showers, some are laying down and some are unpacking. We have church tomorrow and after church we'll head to the international school where we will set up for the camp starting on Monday. I'll stop here but will try to upload pictures and will write tomorrow. Please continue to pray for safety, good health, and God's anointed guidance.
Good night!!

We're all checked in and ready to go!

Everyone remembered their passport and currently Michael Wada is playing his Ukulele to entertain us. We leave in about 2 hours...very excited! We will be in Japan in 14 hours (more or less). Keep praying for us!