Chris & Abbie

On Wednesday, our friend Lis had a concert in Koriyama (the big city about 30 minutes from us). She plays piano and her friend, Iichi, plays guitar. They were great!

They played songs both in English and Japanese and some of the songs were even worship songs. It was really neat to see all the Japanese people listening to them, and after one of the concerts some of Lis' Japanese friends were even asking her what the songs meant. What a great opportunity for her to be able to share with them!

It's really neat to me to see the opportunities God opens up for us here in Japan. While Chris and I still need to learn more of the language, God is still presenting people for us to get to know, and hopefully build relationships with. But how neat that God would present an opportunity to share His love to people at a club!

Lis and Iichi

This week was Golden Week (3 Japanese Holidays right in a row), so we were off school Monday - Wednesday, which was really nice! But today was our first day back to school, and there was never a dull moment! So I thought I'd share some of my funniest moments so far:

LAWN:
At the English school they mowed the lawn today. And when I say mowed, I mean the man took a weed wacker to mow it - and yes, it's a HUGE lawn, so he was out there for 2.5 hours today completing the task. Maybe they don't use lawn mowers here - we're just not sure.

CHAIRS:
Last week I was teaching my 6th grade girls class. They are fun and quite energetic bunch. The classroom has a very high stage I need to stand on to write at the chalkboard, so I frequently move from the stage to the main level and back, throughout the class. There is a teeny, old, wooden chair that you step up to go onto the stage.

Well, yes, as I went to step on the chair to go up onto the stage, the chair cracked. The bottom of it broke (where you'd sit or stand) and the students just died laughing at me.

CHAIRS, YET AGAIN:
Today the infamous chair was fixed, so no problem, I thought. I was so careful to step everytime I wanted to get on the stage, but apparently one time I didn't pay attention. The chair slipped out from me before I could step on it and I fell to the ground, smacking my back and head on the stage. Again, my students laughed, but also asked if I was ok. What could I do but laugh?

SECURITY:
The other week I was shopping at Funehiki Park, kind of like a two-story Walmart, with a grocery store. As I was leaving the store, the security alarm went off. Had I been in America I would have kept walking. But being the only American in the store, I thought that would be a bit obvious. So I stopped and proceeded to wait as one, and then two, and then finally three workers searched all 3 of my bags. They tried to talk to me for about 15 minutes, but the little Japanese I do know, is really only helpful in the classroom. So finally after waiting it out they let me go, but watched as the security alarm went off, again. This time I just kept walking.

Some of you know that I started to get into quilting just before I left the States. My one dream was to get a sewing machine in Japan, so I could make quilts for people. I also hope that someday I'll be able to use it as a tool for ministry, but for now I need some more practice.

So, the other day, Chris went over to the big store near us, and got my sewing machine for me! Of course, everything's in Japanese: the owners manual, all of the words on the machine, etc. But there was an intro DVD that came with the sewing machine - it's also in Japanese, but it gives me a visual step-by-step guide to how to get things started. So tomorrow will be the big day to get it set up and see how it goes. (I'll let you know!)

My new sewing machine - with top loading bobbin, what a bonus

More Japanese to figure out...


It even came with a free cover - another bonus!

On Sunday, we went to Sendai. Sendai is usually a two hour bus ride from us, but on Sunday it took four hours to get there. The bus driver warned us of that before we left, saying there was some reason, but of course we couldn't understand the reason. So we just settled in and enjoyed the ride.

We went with a couple of our friends - Rebekah, Patty and Ashley. It was so great to have them along because they knew how to buy the bus tickets and where to go in Sendai.

Our main priority was the apple store - Both we and Rebekah had to get our laptops looked at, but while we were there, we made sure to enjoy some other things: UNIQLO (kind of like H&M), a bookstore that actually had an English section, and some mexican food. I wouldn't exactly say it was tasty, but it left us remembering and wanting Garcias!

Overall the day was lots of fun and we were quite successful at the apple store!

Rice fields on the way to Sendai. The farmers all flood the rice fields before they plant them - we're not sure why.

Sendai - probably the closest "BIG" city to us

This one's for Rachel - we think Wicked and Lion King are playing in Tokyo!

The other day we went for a walk up the hill that is behind our house. After only a 10 minute walk we could see our whole town and we found some interesting Japanese Culture near the picnic area. Everything is so green here now that Spring has come!

We found this along the way, we're not sure what it is exactly.

This is our town - Funehiki

Our house is in this picture - the brown building, with the black roof. (Good luck figuring that out!)

This is what we found at the top of the hill

Last Wednesday was a national holiday here in Japan, so everyone had off school for the day! Our host family here took us to Nasu Highland Park, an amusement park. It was a fun day and it was nice to spend more time with our teammates! Since we all teach at different schools we usually just get to see them for Bible Study and team meetings.
These animals were close to the entrance - you paid 200 yen and it SLOWLY moved around for about two minutes. This is Adam having fun on the panda.

We were just posing - not actually riding.

This ride was called "Top Gun" and it flung you upside-down in circles so many times. I opted out of this ride, but this is Chris, Janelle, Adam, Ashley, Lanon, Lis and the Japanese friend (which they made on the ride), getting ready for the excitement!

This is Kono Sensei. He spent the day with us, and held everyone's bags while they went on Top Gun. What a good sport!

They don't have cotton candy for a snack...but they have some tasty looking fish!

This is Kawaai Sensei - she's kind of like our team mom and supervisor all in one. She didn't love the roller coasters, but she came on a few rides with us. We love her!

This picture was for Wesley - sorry it's blurry - but these cars were Fords...in Japan! So funny!

The whole group, with Woopy the bird.

The town we live in is quite rural, but as Chris says, "We have a super strip mall!" Everyone here laughs when Chris calls it the "strip mall" because really it's just a few small stores, but they definitely hold some good stuff!

The Super Strip Mall

All the stores at The Super Strip: Lion Dor - grocery store with granola and popcorn! Daiso - a great dollar store and the only store in Japan to have cute and decently priced frames! KFC - enough said.

Yes...we ate lunch at KFC...how could we resist? It was unfortunately $16 for one value meal - we won't be going back again too soon.

At the Bookstore: Harry Potter...

...and Enchanted

We finished our day with a game at the arcade - a Japanese drum game, kind of like Dance Dance Revolution, but with drums.