1st anniversary August 21, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
October 2011!!!!
WOW! I am probably one of the most unfaithful bloggers out there. I was looking at my past post, and it was in January of this year! I am sorry for the lack of updates, but it is high time to update for those of you who haven't been able to follow what is going on with us this year.
On March 11th of this year, as you all know there were huge earthquakes followed by tsunamis in the Northeast area of Honshu, Japan. We felt the quake even here in Sapporo (well, Keisuke did but I didn't because I was walking outside at the time), but nothing compared to what it was in the main area. (though our church building, being old, got many cracks in the walls with the magnitude 3-4 shakes that we got here in Sapporo.)
It was so sad to see all the devastation to this country and so many people lost their lives. We especially felt the need to pray for people to turn to Christ and receive Him as their Savior! We continually feel the need to get the Gospel spread as so many people do not understand the Gospel or have never fully heard it! None of our church families' were affected with death of a relative but a few had some relatives that had to evacuate their homes for a short time. I think they are all safe now.
In the spring of this year we got to go home for a couple of weeks to visit family. It was a special time together before the Jarrett's spread out. (Pat's family to Colorado, Susie and Chris to Cincinnati for a year's internship, Elissa to Uganda for 6 months starting late July, Amy to Kenya for two years starting early August, and Dad and Rachel to Kenya for 6 months starting in September) (And of course us here in Japan) I stayed for 2 weeks and Keisuke came for 1 week.
My sister Rachel flew back with us from the States and stayed with us for a little over 2 months. We had a special time with her here. The last two weeks of June my Aunt Shirley came and we had a wonderful time with her as well. We got to go on a overnight trip to Shiretoko which is on the far northeast side of Hokkaido. The weather was a bit crazy, but we still had a great time. Aunt Shirley was kind enough to escort Rachel home to the States (as far as Chicago where Rachel was then escorted with a wheelchair service until she found Dad at the Indy airport) We were very thankful for Aunt Shirley's help in this, and we had a wonderful time with family here in Sapporo. Keisuke must have looked like a very interested Japanese man with his posse of three American women (sometimes four when Alicia hung out with us also) haha. I often wonder what kind of person people think he is. ;) Life is pretty exciting when God is in control! (that is what I often think!) haha
In early May Pastors Eric and Troy came from Castleview to visit our church here in Sapporo. That was a huge blessing to our whole church and an encouragement to me personally as well.
Another HUGE event in late May was the discovery of a little life growing inside of me!! God gave us a baby!! I am now 6 months along and we are excited to welcome our little BOY in around January 31st of 2012.
In July the STM (short term mission) team of 7 youth came from Castleview to help with the evangelistic outreach in the church and for fellowship. It was a wonderful time of fellowship with believers and also we had 3 special "English Time" outreaches where I think there were a total of 32 nonbelievers who came and got to hear the Gospel.
I also turned 26 in July. My first 4 months of pregnancy were pretty tough with a lot of "morning sickness". It seemed to last a long time, but now that I look back at it, it of course went by quickly like everything else does! But I was pretty miserable vomiting several times a day almost every day. God was faithful through it all though, and I was so blessed by help with meals and cleaning from my sweet Keisuke, his mom, Alicia, and other friends at church. I was so thankful for God's protection and help through it all. It was a good time to reflect on God's faithfulness and read the Bible, and pray since I couldn't do much of anything other than stay in bed. In fact due to several complications in late July I was on bed rest for a total of about a month I think. During this time I was able to rest from teaching English thanks to Chris Juday and Alicia covering for my classes. I also had to take a break from singing on my music team. It was a good chance to just rest in Christ, and accept that even when I can't be serving or "doing" things for Christ, He still loves me just because He is so gracious and because He has washed me with His blood shed on the cross. I don't have to DO anything to deserve salvation. Just by believing in Him and trusting in His work on the cross and His resurrection am I saved and able to have relationship with God. I was reminded of this a lot during my long hours of sleeping and resting.
Towards the middle of August I finally started to recover (though I still had nausea), it was more controlled with some anti nausea medicine that my Dad recommended from the States. I have been taking that up until about last week when I finally am able to get through a day with just a few feelings of nausea without taking the medicine. In August Keisuke had a week off during a time where many stores and businesses take a week off or so. It is a holiday called "Obon" that is celebrated here during the month of August. We as Christians do not celebrate it as it is a time where people believe their deceases ancestors come back for visits so they have to clean the grave sites and prepare special foods to welcome them back. There are actually many other strange beliefs or customs practiced during this time, but it is all so empty and many different beliefs that people now a days don't really even know why they celebrate this time. So, even though we didn't celebrate any of this, we were still happy to have time off to be together! We went to a pool one day, got to see Keisuke's sister Yuko since she was visting in town from Tokyo, went camping for one night at Shikotosuko (my favorite lake spot about an hour away from Sapporo) and various other activities with Church etc. It was a nice break.
Keisuke's birthday was August 29th where he turned 34.
In September I started teaching English classes again after about a month and a half break. We also had an English Time event in September. I was the leader for the English ministry this past year, but since I had many health problems and getting prepared for the birth of our baby, I handed over the leadership to Nozomi Juday so that it is not slowed down by my more limited ability to plan and lead for the English ministry in the present circumstances. We are really praying though that God would provide a leader for the English ministry that has real vision for growth and moving forward, and also maybe a little more training in teaching English, where (he or she (or a couple!) could train us how to be better teachers, and where we could grow to reach out to even more nonbelievers using English. Please join us in praying for this person to be provided!
On September 25th a group of 15 people from a church down in Kobe, Japan came to visit our church. We had a special Gospel service on that day where Keisuke and I were on the music team. 13 nonbelievers came to that service! We also had a really blessed time of fellowship with the group of believers (ages Jr. high to adults maybe in their 50's). We are excited to see what God will do with this relationship to Kobe Grace Baptist Church in the future.
This brings us to October where were are now! Starting this month Keisuke gets to have two Mondays off a month and his dad gets the other two off. This is a huge blessing and answer to prayer for us as usually Keisuke's only day off is Sunday! So it is nice to have a little more time to do things and just have a little more rest for Keisuke. Last week he got his haircut and I went to the dentist (a first for me in Japan!). Then we went on many errands including a Costco trip, and a short stop at a park when there was a break in the rain. We had a nice relaxing evening at home. I am excited for next Monday! :)
The next day Tuesday the 18th, Keisuke will leave for a 3 day business trip driving around Hokkaido to various cities where they have contacts with other stores where he looks for good cameras, lenses, and such to sell in their store here in Sapporo.
As I mentioned earlier we are excited about our SON to be born next year. I will try to keep you all more updated on a more regular basis. If you have Facebook I sometimes put pictures up on there, so feel free to look at those! I hope everyone is having a wonderful fall! This is my favorite time of year! The leaves are just starting to change here in Sapporo.
Well I will sign off for now, but would love to hear from anyone who reads this! We miss all our loved ones in the States! But we are very thankful for the support of our church family here and Keisuke's family. Much love to you all!
On March 11th of this year, as you all know there were huge earthquakes followed by tsunamis in the Northeast area of Honshu, Japan. We felt the quake even here in Sapporo (well, Keisuke did but I didn't because I was walking outside at the time), but nothing compared to what it was in the main area. (though our church building, being old, got many cracks in the walls with the magnitude 3-4 shakes that we got here in Sapporo.)
It was so sad to see all the devastation to this country and so many people lost their lives. We especially felt the need to pray for people to turn to Christ and receive Him as their Savior! We continually feel the need to get the Gospel spread as so many people do not understand the Gospel or have never fully heard it! None of our church families' were affected with death of a relative but a few had some relatives that had to evacuate their homes for a short time. I think they are all safe now.
In the spring of this year we got to go home for a couple of weeks to visit family. It was a special time together before the Jarrett's spread out. (Pat's family to Colorado, Susie and Chris to Cincinnati for a year's internship, Elissa to Uganda for 6 months starting late July, Amy to Kenya for two years starting early August, and Dad and Rachel to Kenya for 6 months starting in September) (And of course us here in Japan) I stayed for 2 weeks and Keisuke came for 1 week.
My sister Rachel flew back with us from the States and stayed with us for a little over 2 months. We had a special time with her here. The last two weeks of June my Aunt Shirley came and we had a wonderful time with her as well. We got to go on a overnight trip to Shiretoko which is on the far northeast side of Hokkaido. The weather was a bit crazy, but we still had a great time. Aunt Shirley was kind enough to escort Rachel home to the States (as far as Chicago where Rachel was then escorted with a wheelchair service until she found Dad at the Indy airport) We were very thankful for Aunt Shirley's help in this, and we had a wonderful time with family here in Sapporo. Keisuke must have looked like a very interested Japanese man with his posse of three American women (sometimes four when Alicia hung out with us also) haha. I often wonder what kind of person people think he is. ;) Life is pretty exciting when God is in control! (that is what I often think!) haha
In early May Pastors Eric and Troy came from Castleview to visit our church here in Sapporo. That was a huge blessing to our whole church and an encouragement to me personally as well.
Another HUGE event in late May was the discovery of a little life growing inside of me!! God gave us a baby!! I am now 6 months along and we are excited to welcome our little BOY in around January 31st of 2012.
In July the STM (short term mission) team of 7 youth came from Castleview to help with the evangelistic outreach in the church and for fellowship. It was a wonderful time of fellowship with believers and also we had 3 special "English Time" outreaches where I think there were a total of 32 nonbelievers who came and got to hear the Gospel.
I also turned 26 in July. My first 4 months of pregnancy were pretty tough with a lot of "morning sickness". It seemed to last a long time, but now that I look back at it, it of course went by quickly like everything else does! But I was pretty miserable vomiting several times a day almost every day. God was faithful through it all though, and I was so blessed by help with meals and cleaning from my sweet Keisuke, his mom, Alicia, and other friends at church. I was so thankful for God's protection and help through it all. It was a good time to reflect on God's faithfulness and read the Bible, and pray since I couldn't do much of anything other than stay in bed. In fact due to several complications in late July I was on bed rest for a total of about a month I think. During this time I was able to rest from teaching English thanks to Chris Juday and Alicia covering for my classes. I also had to take a break from singing on my music team. It was a good chance to just rest in Christ, and accept that even when I can't be serving or "doing" things for Christ, He still loves me just because He is so gracious and because He has washed me with His blood shed on the cross. I don't have to DO anything to deserve salvation. Just by believing in Him and trusting in His work on the cross and His resurrection am I saved and able to have relationship with God. I was reminded of this a lot during my long hours of sleeping and resting.
Towards the middle of August I finally started to recover (though I still had nausea), it was more controlled with some anti nausea medicine that my Dad recommended from the States. I have been taking that up until about last week when I finally am able to get through a day with just a few feelings of nausea without taking the medicine. In August Keisuke had a week off during a time where many stores and businesses take a week off or so. It is a holiday called "Obon" that is celebrated here during the month of August. We as Christians do not celebrate it as it is a time where people believe their deceases ancestors come back for visits so they have to clean the grave sites and prepare special foods to welcome them back. There are actually many other strange beliefs or customs practiced during this time, but it is all so empty and many different beliefs that people now a days don't really even know why they celebrate this time. So, even though we didn't celebrate any of this, we were still happy to have time off to be together! We went to a pool one day, got to see Keisuke's sister Yuko since she was visting in town from Tokyo, went camping for one night at Shikotosuko (my favorite lake spot about an hour away from Sapporo) and various other activities with Church etc. It was a nice break.
Keisuke's birthday was August 29th where he turned 34.
In September I started teaching English classes again after about a month and a half break. We also had an English Time event in September. I was the leader for the English ministry this past year, but since I had many health problems and getting prepared for the birth of our baby, I handed over the leadership to Nozomi Juday so that it is not slowed down by my more limited ability to plan and lead for the English ministry in the present circumstances. We are really praying though that God would provide a leader for the English ministry that has real vision for growth and moving forward, and also maybe a little more training in teaching English, where (he or she (or a couple!) could train us how to be better teachers, and where we could grow to reach out to even more nonbelievers using English. Please join us in praying for this person to be provided!
On September 25th a group of 15 people from a church down in Kobe, Japan came to visit our church. We had a special Gospel service on that day where Keisuke and I were on the music team. 13 nonbelievers came to that service! We also had a really blessed time of fellowship with the group of believers (ages Jr. high to adults maybe in their 50's). We are excited to see what God will do with this relationship to Kobe Grace Baptist Church in the future.
This brings us to October where were are now! Starting this month Keisuke gets to have two Mondays off a month and his dad gets the other two off. This is a huge blessing and answer to prayer for us as usually Keisuke's only day off is Sunday! So it is nice to have a little more time to do things and just have a little more rest for Keisuke. Last week he got his haircut and I went to the dentist (a first for me in Japan!). Then we went on many errands including a Costco trip, and a short stop at a park when there was a break in the rain. We had a nice relaxing evening at home. I am excited for next Monday! :)
The next day Tuesday the 18th, Keisuke will leave for a 3 day business trip driving around Hokkaido to various cities where they have contacts with other stores where he looks for good cameras, lenses, and such to sell in their store here in Sapporo.
As I mentioned earlier we are excited about our SON to be born next year. I will try to keep you all more updated on a more regular basis. If you have Facebook I sometimes put pictures up on there, so feel free to look at those! I hope everyone is having a wonderful fall! This is my favorite time of year! The leaves are just starting to change here in Sapporo.
Well I will sign off for now, but would love to hear from anyone who reads this! We miss all our loved ones in the States! But we are very thankful for the support of our church family here and Keisuke's family. Much love to you all!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Hello 2011! Wow I can't believe it is already 2011. I haven't been able to update our blog recently so I figured it was time to do that.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year celebration.
This December has been busy with a Christmas concert (on the 11th and 12th of December) at church, English classes, (Keisuke at work), music practices, and some celebrating in between.
Keisuke's store was very busy but that is good for them.
Here in Japan they do not celebrate Christmas very much but Keisuke and I enjoyed making celebrating our Savior's birth anyway.
On Christmas Eve we had a nice dinner together. We read from Luke 2 in the Bible, the story of the birth of Jesus. It was a good time to reflect on the reason Christ was born. To imagine that the King an Creator of all creation humbled Himself to become a human baby and be born into this sinful world. And that He was born to one day die in our place on the cross and bear all our sins. He took our punishment and made a way for us to be saved. Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we can be saved from hell and have eternal life in Heaven after we die.... I guess to a Christian, every day is Christmas as we remember what Christ did for us. Truly the best and biggest gift we could ever receive.
On Christmas day Keisuke had to work and I had to teach English classes, but Alicia and I had mini Christmas parties for our students. Christmas night after Keisuke's team music practice we came home and skyped with family. So that was special to get to see most of the family. We sure missed being with them as they were all together in Charleston for Christmas.
The New Year holiday is a huge celebration time for Japan. Most companies, stores, (even HOSPITALS!) close for the New Year holiday. To most people it is a time to go to the temples and pray for blessing for the coming year. It makes me a little sad when I see everyone going to the temples and praying to gods that can not do anything, that don't even move or breathe. There are many traditions they do as families, hoping for blessing, success, etc.. for the new year. Even the food eaten has special meanings or wishes attached to each item!
As Christians we gather on New Year's day and have a special worship service thanking God for the past year and asking for God's guidance and blessing on this next year.
But it is also a special time because everyone has a break from work, so it is a special time for families to get together.
It was so nice to have Keisuke around for 5 days! His sister was in town also so we spent lots of time at his parents house and also had the family over for lunch on Friday.
Keisuke usually works every day from 10-7 so he is usually gone from 9:30 till 7:30 or so. But since he didn't have work for five days we enjoyed the extra time to do things around home and also with family, church family, and just the two of us.
We took advantage of the slower evenings and watched the three Lord of the Rings movies which have always been my favorite. Keisuke had never seen them.
On New Year's day we went skiing on a mountain about an hour away. That was really fun. Keisuke is really good at skiing. I am not, haha but I still have fun.
Another new happy thing is that Keisuke and I are now on the same music team! Now we can practice together at home, and go to the same practices, and use our gifts together to serve the Lord. We are pretty excited about that. Our team will be singing at the Gospel service this next Sunday (the 9th).
We are excited to see what God has planned for us this year. This past year has gone by very quickly. It was a year filled with sad things and many happy things.
Almost a year ago (Jan. 22, 2010) my dear mother finished her fight with cancer and this life on earth, but she is in Heaven now with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I can't believe it has almost been a whole year, but we still miss her. I am so thankful for the hope that we have as believers in Christ, that we will also go to Heaven one day, and meet again with my mother too.
There were also various struggles with my health, and the uncertainty of Keisuke's and my future together. We didn't know what was going to happen. But God did the whole time! And He faithfully cared for us and led us to the point where we are now.
2010 was special with getting engaged in April and then married in August. It was sad to leave family and friends in the States, but we are so blessed here in Japan with a church family that loves God and are faithful to the Bible. We also have Keisuke's family here and stay reasonably connected with family at home through skype/ email.
This year our church is starting prayer groups (kind of like small groups) so we are excited for those to start. Keisuke will be a leader in his group. I will be in one of the women's groups but we don't know with who yet... They are working on splitting up the groups right now.
I am the leader of the English ministry now. Please pray for God's leading for me in this, and that through this outlet, many students might hear the Gospel and believe.
We are going to be recruiting new students too, so please pray that God will provide just the right number. My main prayer is that there will be people saved through this ministry. Please pray for the hearts of the Japanese people to be opened up to Jesus who is waiting to save them!!
Well, I will sign off for now. I am going to make dinner.
I hope to hear from you all! We miss you all and love you!!
here is are some links to pictures put up on facebook.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year celebration.
This December has been busy with a Christmas concert (on the 11th and 12th of December) at church, English classes, (Keisuke at work), music practices, and some celebrating in between.
Keisuke's store was very busy but that is good for them.
Here in Japan they do not celebrate Christmas very much but Keisuke and I enjoyed making celebrating our Savior's birth anyway.
On Christmas Eve we had a nice dinner together. We read from Luke 2 in the Bible, the story of the birth of Jesus. It was a good time to reflect on the reason Christ was born. To imagine that the King an Creator of all creation humbled Himself to become a human baby and be born into this sinful world. And that He was born to one day die in our place on the cross and bear all our sins. He took our punishment and made a way for us to be saved. Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we can be saved from hell and have eternal life in Heaven after we die.... I guess to a Christian, every day is Christmas as we remember what Christ did for us. Truly the best and biggest gift we could ever receive.
On Christmas day Keisuke had to work and I had to teach English classes, but Alicia and I had mini Christmas parties for our students. Christmas night after Keisuke's team music practice we came home and skyped with family. So that was special to get to see most of the family. We sure missed being with them as they were all together in Charleston for Christmas.
The New Year holiday is a huge celebration time for Japan. Most companies, stores, (even HOSPITALS!) close for the New Year holiday. To most people it is a time to go to the temples and pray for blessing for the coming year. It makes me a little sad when I see everyone going to the temples and praying to gods that can not do anything, that don't even move or breathe. There are many traditions they do as families, hoping for blessing, success, etc.. for the new year. Even the food eaten has special meanings or wishes attached to each item!
As Christians we gather on New Year's day and have a special worship service thanking God for the past year and asking for God's guidance and blessing on this next year.
But it is also a special time because everyone has a break from work, so it is a special time for families to get together.
It was so nice to have Keisuke around for 5 days! His sister was in town also so we spent lots of time at his parents house and also had the family over for lunch on Friday.
Keisuke usually works every day from 10-7 so he is usually gone from 9:30 till 7:30 or so. But since he didn't have work for five days we enjoyed the extra time to do things around home and also with family, church family, and just the two of us.
We took advantage of the slower evenings and watched the three Lord of the Rings movies which have always been my favorite. Keisuke had never seen them.
On New Year's day we went skiing on a mountain about an hour away. That was really fun. Keisuke is really good at skiing. I am not, haha but I still have fun.
Another new happy thing is that Keisuke and I are now on the same music team! Now we can practice together at home, and go to the same practices, and use our gifts together to serve the Lord. We are pretty excited about that. Our team will be singing at the Gospel service this next Sunday (the 9th).
We are excited to see what God has planned for us this year. This past year has gone by very quickly. It was a year filled with sad things and many happy things.
Almost a year ago (Jan. 22, 2010) my dear mother finished her fight with cancer and this life on earth, but she is in Heaven now with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I can't believe it has almost been a whole year, but we still miss her. I am so thankful for the hope that we have as believers in Christ, that we will also go to Heaven one day, and meet again with my mother too.
There were also various struggles with my health, and the uncertainty of Keisuke's and my future together. We didn't know what was going to happen. But God did the whole time! And He faithfully cared for us and led us to the point where we are now.
2010 was special with getting engaged in April and then married in August. It was sad to leave family and friends in the States, but we are so blessed here in Japan with a church family that loves God and are faithful to the Bible. We also have Keisuke's family here and stay reasonably connected with family at home through skype/ email.
This year our church is starting prayer groups (kind of like small groups) so we are excited for those to start. Keisuke will be a leader in his group. I will be in one of the women's groups but we don't know with who yet... They are working on splitting up the groups right now.
I am the leader of the English ministry now. Please pray for God's leading for me in this, and that through this outlet, many students might hear the Gospel and believe.
We are going to be recruiting new students too, so please pray that God will provide just the right number. My main prayer is that there will be people saved through this ministry. Please pray for the hearts of the Japanese people to be opened up to Jesus who is waiting to save them!!
Well, I will sign off for now. I am going to make dinner.
I hope to hear from you all! We miss you all and love you!!
here is are some links to pictures put up on facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084296&id=161501693&l=1ecd91db7f
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2084295&id=161501693&l=9caa1535f5
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=564736398186&comments
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Honeymoon story
We are back in Sapporo as of yesterday afternoon. We had a wonderful trip and are kind of sad that it is already over! But I will tell you a little bit about our honeymoon and then post a link for pictures from facebook so you can see the pictures too.
We left Saturday morning around 9 from our house and hopped on the trolley car, changed to the subway, and then changed to the train that took us to the airport. On our 4 day trip we road trolley, subways, trains, airplanes, a boat, a taxi, and cars! Pretty good for a four day trip. But we are pretty tired now! :)
We flew to Nagoya and ate lunch in the airport before heading to the passenger ferry that would take us across to Mie prefecture (Matsuzaka city) where Keisuke's grandma and uncle live.
The ferry ride was fun and the pacific looked beautiful! Our window was stained with salt spray so we couldn't get great pictures, but it was pretty. The boat ride was about 1 hr with one other stop in another port. Then we landed in Matsuzaka and Keisuke's uncle Yoshiharu san, and his aunt and uncle Hasegawa and their daughter (Keisuke's cousin) Aki were waiting for us. It was fun to meet new relatives. The Hasegawa family actually live in Nagoya but came down for the day to meet us. So that was nice.
They took us too a Sukiyaki restaurant where we ate famous Matsuzaka Gyu (Beef) They feed beer to the cows to make their meet tender!?? I can't imagine what I drunk cow would be like, but the beef sure tasted delicious!! haha. We drove about 20 minutes to Grandma's house which was in the mountain/country side of Matsuzaka. It was really beautiful! Keisuke and I would have loved to have more time with them. It had been 23 years since Keisuke had last been there so it was special for him I think. His Grandma (mom's side) is 82. She is soooo short but VERY sweet and I loved her from the start. Their Japanese sounded a little funny to me because it is different than here in Hokkaido, but I understand most of it... (Keisuke translated a few times for me) haha.
The house was an old style Japanese home with the sliding doors and tatami floors. I don't know if I took a picture, but Keisuke might have. (in all we had 3 cameras we were taking pictures with, so I still haven't downloaded one of the cameras and then Keisuke was also taking pictures with a film camera..)
We visited with the family and showed them some of our wedding dvd (Thanks to Christine's master filming!) :)
We went to bed around 10:30 and then had to wake up around 5:00 so that we could eat breakfast and get to the train station in time to go to Kyoto. We took pictures and Grandma made us some lunch boxes that we ate on Monday. She is so cute. :) Uncle Yoshiharu and uncle Hasegawa drove us to the station. And we boarded the train for Kyoto.
The country side and scenery from the trains was beautiful. The scenery looks a lot different than that of Hokkaido. In Honshu most of the roofs on houses is made out of the baked clay squares (called Kawara) and it is very traditional Japanese looking. The mountains and fields were so pretty! God sure is an amazing artist! We were on the move every day but we got to see a lot of Japan from the train in a short time, so that was neat. We also saw a huge lake called Lake Biwa. (probably close in size to some of the great lakes in the states...) It is the biggest lake in Japan and on the way from Kyoto to Yamanaka onsen we rode along it in the train for quite a while. It was very beautiful too.
We arrived in Kyoto on Sunday morning around 9:00 am. just in time to find our way to the church where we went to Sunday morning worship service. The pastor of this church went to seminary with Pastor Kamidate, so he introduced us to this church since we had to be gone over a Sunday but we wanted to go to church, so it was nice to meet some new brothers and sisters in Christ and they welcomed us very warmly. We ate lunch with Pastor Mashiyama and his wife and then we were on our way to touring around Kyoto.
We went to a castle called Nijojo. It is a famous castle in Kyoto that was originally built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence for the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyesu. It is actually a world heritage site.
The total grounds and site cover 275,000 meters squared so it was very big and we took about 3 hours to see inside one of the castles and all the grounds. They were also having a Hawk demonstration where hawk trainers (use hawks for hunting and such) did a little demonstration. That was pretty cool. I took a video of that, maybe I can put some on facebook. The gardens were beautiful and one of them is only open during this time of year, so we were glad to see that. We had fun exploring around there.
Inside the castle you were not allowed to take pictures, but it was pretty cool. the floor boards were made to squeak so that they could know if any intruders were trying to sneak in. It is well-known for that feature.
After the castle we made our way to our hotel and got checked in, went to the baths, and then ate dinner (served in our room). We had a nice relaxing time on Sunday evening and then took it a little slow Monday morning. We checked out and then pulled our suitcases around town a bit doing a little shopping and sight seeing. We tried to go into a big famous park at one point, but it was a gravel road, so with our roller bags, that was pretty crazy. haha Then it started to rain! so we didn't stay there long. But it looked like a great place to spend a couple of hours.
We made our way to the subway and then train to Yamanaka onsen.
We arrived around 4:30 and were shown to our room which was huge! It was like a honeymoon suite, Japanese style. :) We had two rooms, a hall, a bathroom, a little sitting room, and then out the back patio we had a private bath! It was beautiful and lots of fun. They served free soft cream (icecream) outside of the big baths (which we went to before dinner) and then we had dinner in our room again. It was a huge meal! I was surprised though when the server lady opened the lid for one of Keisuke's dishes, and it MOVED!!! IT was some kind of sea clam and it was still alive!!! You light the fire underneith it and let it cook with the lid on for atleast 2 minutes before you eat it.. Ugg there was noo way I was eating that! haha but Keisuke said it was alright. Keisuke was nice to ask ahead of time for more meat on my meal at the hotels since I don't like the crazy seafood items. so I had normal beef. yeah! :)
We also discovered a ping pong table so we enjoyed that for a bit in the evening. We had a really nice time there too. Then on Tuesday morning we had an early breakfast prepared in our room again and then road a taxi to the station (about a 20 minute ride) and we got on an early train headed to Toyama. That is the city where we were flying out of. Our friend Tasuku (who used to live in the dorm here in the church here in Sapporo when he first became a christian) he lives in Toyama now with his family and we got to meet up with him and have lunch at a nice hotel restaurant. Then he drove us to the airport and we flew back to Sapporo. We were kind of sad to come home, but it was a nice time and we were so thankful for the 4 days we did have!
Last night there was a gospel live concert at our church here. We went to that and many new people came! I think there were around 20 visitors! I met a new girl who was a friend of a friend of mine and she invited this friend to come. She was the same age as me, and we talked for a while. She is not a believer so I am praying for more opportunities to talk with her.
Thank you for praying for our trip! We were blessed by the time we had.
Keisuke was a good navigator and we didn't get lost once! I was impressed as I had no clue as to which train to get on next etc etc. I will let you know once I post pictures from the other camera, but for now there are pictures on facebook from my iPhone...
Keisuke is back at work today and I am at home doing laundry and trying to catch up on strength.
Tomorrow night we are having a Thanksgiving Let's Enjoy English hour (outreach event) at our church. Please pray for new people to come and gain an interest in the Gospel!
It will be Thanksgiving on that day so next Monday Keisuke and I are going to have a thanksgiving meal. I bought a turkey at Costco last week!
We have so much to be thankful for! Most of all for salvation from our sins and sin's punishment, eternal separation from God in hell. This salvation is through our Lord Jesus Christ. I thank Jesus for dying on the cross in place of my sin's penalty. He paid the price for me so that I might be forgiven before God. And Christ rose from the dead as proof that He is God and to give us hope for eternal life in Heaven after we die. I can't imagine living this life without this hope.
This year has been a whirlwind of events, but God's sovereign and faithful hand has been evident through it all. My mother died and went to be with her Savior Jesus Christ in Heaven, Keisuke and I got engaged and married and I am now here in Japan full time... God has given us new family members (3 new precious nieces and nephews!) and provided for us in so many ways.
I have so much to be thankful for!
Well, that about sums up my thoughts for now.
Hope I didn't bore you with all the details. :)
Love to all! We miss you! Love, Laura
To see pictures from our trip, please click on this link...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2082287&id=161501693&l=fdf55510bb
pictures from camera 2 can be seen by using this link...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2082324&id=161501693&l=f980a04d7a
We left Saturday morning around 9 from our house and hopped on the trolley car, changed to the subway, and then changed to the train that took us to the airport. On our 4 day trip we road trolley, subways, trains, airplanes, a boat, a taxi, and cars! Pretty good for a four day trip. But we are pretty tired now! :)
We flew to Nagoya and ate lunch in the airport before heading to the passenger ferry that would take us across to Mie prefecture (Matsuzaka city) where Keisuke's grandma and uncle live.
The ferry ride was fun and the pacific looked beautiful! Our window was stained with salt spray so we couldn't get great pictures, but it was pretty. The boat ride was about 1 hr with one other stop in another port. Then we landed in Matsuzaka and Keisuke's uncle Yoshiharu san, and his aunt and uncle Hasegawa and their daughter (Keisuke's cousin) Aki were waiting for us. It was fun to meet new relatives. The Hasegawa family actually live in Nagoya but came down for the day to meet us. So that was nice.
They took us too a Sukiyaki restaurant where we ate famous Matsuzaka Gyu (Beef) They feed beer to the cows to make their meet tender!?? I can't imagine what I drunk cow would be like, but the beef sure tasted delicious!! haha. We drove about 20 minutes to Grandma's house which was in the mountain/country side of Matsuzaka. It was really beautiful! Keisuke and I would have loved to have more time with them. It had been 23 years since Keisuke had last been there so it was special for him I think. His Grandma (mom's side) is 82. She is soooo short but VERY sweet and I loved her from the start. Their Japanese sounded a little funny to me because it is different than here in Hokkaido, but I understand most of it... (Keisuke translated a few times for me) haha.
The house was an old style Japanese home with the sliding doors and tatami floors. I don't know if I took a picture, but Keisuke might have. (in all we had 3 cameras we were taking pictures with, so I still haven't downloaded one of the cameras and then Keisuke was also taking pictures with a film camera..)
We visited with the family and showed them some of our wedding dvd (Thanks to Christine's master filming!) :)
We went to bed around 10:30 and then had to wake up around 5:00 so that we could eat breakfast and get to the train station in time to go to Kyoto. We took pictures and Grandma made us some lunch boxes that we ate on Monday. She is so cute. :) Uncle Yoshiharu and uncle Hasegawa drove us to the station. And we boarded the train for Kyoto.
The country side and scenery from the trains was beautiful. The scenery looks a lot different than that of Hokkaido. In Honshu most of the roofs on houses is made out of the baked clay squares (called Kawara) and it is very traditional Japanese looking. The mountains and fields were so pretty! God sure is an amazing artist! We were on the move every day but we got to see a lot of Japan from the train in a short time, so that was neat. We also saw a huge lake called Lake Biwa. (probably close in size to some of the great lakes in the states...) It is the biggest lake in Japan and on the way from Kyoto to Yamanaka onsen we rode along it in the train for quite a while. It was very beautiful too.
We arrived in Kyoto on Sunday morning around 9:00 am. just in time to find our way to the church where we went to Sunday morning worship service. The pastor of this church went to seminary with Pastor Kamidate, so he introduced us to this church since we had to be gone over a Sunday but we wanted to go to church, so it was nice to meet some new brothers and sisters in Christ and they welcomed us very warmly. We ate lunch with Pastor Mashiyama and his wife and then we were on our way to touring around Kyoto.
We went to a castle called Nijojo. It is a famous castle in Kyoto that was originally built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence for the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyesu. It is actually a world heritage site.
The total grounds and site cover 275,000 meters squared so it was very big and we took about 3 hours to see inside one of the castles and all the grounds. They were also having a Hawk demonstration where hawk trainers (use hawks for hunting and such) did a little demonstration. That was pretty cool. I took a video of that, maybe I can put some on facebook. The gardens were beautiful and one of them is only open during this time of year, so we were glad to see that. We had fun exploring around there.
Inside the castle you were not allowed to take pictures, but it was pretty cool. the floor boards were made to squeak so that they could know if any intruders were trying to sneak in. It is well-known for that feature.
After the castle we made our way to our hotel and got checked in, went to the baths, and then ate dinner (served in our room). We had a nice relaxing time on Sunday evening and then took it a little slow Monday morning. We checked out and then pulled our suitcases around town a bit doing a little shopping and sight seeing. We tried to go into a big famous park at one point, but it was a gravel road, so with our roller bags, that was pretty crazy. haha Then it started to rain! so we didn't stay there long. But it looked like a great place to spend a couple of hours.
We made our way to the subway and then train to Yamanaka onsen.
We arrived around 4:30 and were shown to our room which was huge! It was like a honeymoon suite, Japanese style. :) We had two rooms, a hall, a bathroom, a little sitting room, and then out the back patio we had a private bath! It was beautiful and lots of fun. They served free soft cream (icecream) outside of the big baths (which we went to before dinner) and then we had dinner in our room again. It was a huge meal! I was surprised though when the server lady opened the lid for one of Keisuke's dishes, and it MOVED!!! IT was some kind of sea clam and it was still alive!!! You light the fire underneith it and let it cook with the lid on for atleast 2 minutes before you eat it.. Ugg there was noo way I was eating that! haha but Keisuke said it was alright. Keisuke was nice to ask ahead of time for more meat on my meal at the hotels since I don't like the crazy seafood items. so I had normal beef. yeah! :)
We also discovered a ping pong table so we enjoyed that for a bit in the evening. We had a really nice time there too. Then on Tuesday morning we had an early breakfast prepared in our room again and then road a taxi to the station (about a 20 minute ride) and we got on an early train headed to Toyama. That is the city where we were flying out of. Our friend Tasuku (who used to live in the dorm here in the church here in Sapporo when he first became a christian) he lives in Toyama now with his family and we got to meet up with him and have lunch at a nice hotel restaurant. Then he drove us to the airport and we flew back to Sapporo. We were kind of sad to come home, but it was a nice time and we were so thankful for the 4 days we did have!
Last night there was a gospel live concert at our church here. We went to that and many new people came! I think there were around 20 visitors! I met a new girl who was a friend of a friend of mine and she invited this friend to come. She was the same age as me, and we talked for a while. She is not a believer so I am praying for more opportunities to talk with her.
Thank you for praying for our trip! We were blessed by the time we had.
Keisuke was a good navigator and we didn't get lost once! I was impressed as I had no clue as to which train to get on next etc etc. I will let you know once I post pictures from the other camera, but for now there are pictures on facebook from my iPhone...
Keisuke is back at work today and I am at home doing laundry and trying to catch up on strength.
Tomorrow night we are having a Thanksgiving Let's Enjoy English hour (outreach event) at our church. Please pray for new people to come and gain an interest in the Gospel!
It will be Thanksgiving on that day so next Monday Keisuke and I are going to have a thanksgiving meal. I bought a turkey at Costco last week!
We have so much to be thankful for! Most of all for salvation from our sins and sin's punishment, eternal separation from God in hell. This salvation is through our Lord Jesus Christ. I thank Jesus for dying on the cross in place of my sin's penalty. He paid the price for me so that I might be forgiven before God. And Christ rose from the dead as proof that He is God and to give us hope for eternal life in Heaven after we die. I can't imagine living this life without this hope.
This year has been a whirlwind of events, but God's sovereign and faithful hand has been evident through it all. My mother died and went to be with her Savior Jesus Christ in Heaven, Keisuke and I got engaged and married and I am now here in Japan full time... God has given us new family members (3 new precious nieces and nephews!) and provided for us in so many ways.
I have so much to be thankful for!
Well, that about sums up my thoughts for now.
Hope I didn't bore you with all the details. :)
Love to all! We miss you! Love, Laura
To see pictures from our trip, please click on this link...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2082287&id=161501693&l=fdf55510bb
pictures from camera 2 can be seen by using this link...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2082324&id=161501693&l=f980a04d7a
Friday, November 19, 2010
Leaving for our honeymoon tomorrow!
We are finally off to our honeymoon tomorrow.
We will be gone for 4 days and 3 nights. (getting back on Tuesday)
We will be traveling around a lot, so would appreciate prayers for safety.
We are excited!!! Tell you all about it when we get back!
Much love to all.
We will be gone for 4 days and 3 nights. (getting back on Tuesday)
We will be traveling around a lot, so would appreciate prayers for safety.
We are excited!!! Tell you all about it when we get back!
Much love to all.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Wedding pictures taken by Erica Dick
If you follow this link, you can see our wedding pictures taken by Erica Dick. She did a
wonderful job and we love it!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2081260&id=161501693&l=df80dd99dd
There are two different albums.. this is the link to the second one...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2081261&id=161501693&l=8c9cd2e1e3
wonderful job and we love it!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2081260&id=161501693&l=df80dd99dd
There are two different albums.. this is the link to the second one...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2081261&id=161501693&l=8c9cd2e1e3
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Fall, the best time of year! ;)
Hey folks! brrr it is chilly in this room right now. Even though we are
still waiting for the leaves to change completely, and our fall is still going on,
we had our first snow here in Sapporo today! It was a very wet snow with
big fat flakes that melt as soon as they touch the ground, but one of the ladies
in our church said that by her house (on the mountain side) they already had
snow accumulation!
I can't believe October is almost over! Keisuke and I have been married for
a little over 2 months now! I can't believe how fast time goes.
Last Sunday night we had a few friends from church over for dinner. It was
our friend Shibuya san's birthday, so we had a little party. It was lots of fun!
We really enjoy having people to our home! So please come visit at any time! haha
Last week Keisuke went on a business trip around Hokkaido. He drove
to 5 different cities looking for cameras to buy to sell in their store here in Sapporo.
He said that there weren't too many good cameras but he was able to get some.
He went to Takikawa, Asahikawa, Kitami, (stayed overnight in Kitami) then went
to Kushiro and Obihiro. Look on the map if you like, it is a good way to learn the
geography of Hokkaido. :) I looked on the map while he was gone trying to
figure out where he was, so it was a good learning experience for me of Hokkaido's geography.
I wish I could go with him too! :) I need to be his navigator and waker upper (is that a word?)
when he gets sleepy driving. ;) maybe some day~~~
He was gone from Tuesday till Thursday evening. It was not fun having to be separated!
But I am glad he is home now.
I have been joining in on a Japanese class with Alicia and Chris at the church.
Our teacher's name is Mr. Miura. He is also an English student at our church, but he
is a nice man. He teaches us lots of interesting Japanese culture things and the Japanese
mind. He says he wants us to learn Japanese well so we can teach the Japanese
people (especially young people) the truth that we believe about Christ and God...
He said Japanese people (especially young people) are lost and need truth. I
wish he would believe for himself!!! He has the right idea, but needs to make his own
decision about believing in Christ and accepting the gift of salvation!
But that was interesting when he was saying that.
My English classes are going well on the weekends. This week is a break week however.
I have a new application on my iPhone that takes really neat pictures, I have loaded
them on Facebook, but to those of you who can't see those, I will load a few on
our blog...
Keisuke and I are going on our honeymoon in November! The dates finally were decided.
We only have 4 days :( but we are excited to even have that!
We will go from November 20th till the 23rd.
The first day and night we will go to Mie prefecture. Keisuke's mom is from there, and
Keisuke was born there. It is on Honshu. (the main island of Japan) We will visit
his grandma and family there and spend the night. Then Sunday morning we will leave
early and go to Kyoto. There is a church there that the pastor is a friend of Pastor Kamidate.
We will attend Sunday worship there and then tour around Kyoto.
It is the peak season for fall leaves and touring in Kyoto during that time, so we thought
we wouldn't be able to get a hotel, but Keisuke just reserved a room today!
We will spend one night in Kyoto, and then go to an onsen called Yamanaka onsen.
We will stay one night there, and then on Tuesday the 23rd fly out of Toyama
and return to Sapporo. It should be pretty fun! But busy! haha since we don't have much
time.
Well, I better start thinking about dinner.... I will post a few pictures...
by the way, I am sure you all know by now, but we have a new nephew!!
Aaron and Debbye Biermann (my sister) had their 2nd son on Thursday the 21st!
His name is Jarrett Robert Biermann and he is such a cutey!! I wish I could
hold him!!!! That makes 24 nieces and nephews for us! What a blessing from God!!
Ok, I am going to say goodbye for now!
still waiting for the leaves to change completely, and our fall is still going on,
we had our first snow here in Sapporo today! It was a very wet snow with
big fat flakes that melt as soon as they touch the ground, but one of the ladies
in our church said that by her house (on the mountain side) they already had
snow accumulation!
I can't believe October is almost over! Keisuke and I have been married for
a little over 2 months now! I can't believe how fast time goes.
Last Sunday night we had a few friends from church over for dinner. It was
our friend Shibuya san's birthday, so we had a little party. It was lots of fun!
We really enjoy having people to our home! So please come visit at any time! haha
Last week Keisuke went on a business trip around Hokkaido. He drove
to 5 different cities looking for cameras to buy to sell in their store here in Sapporo.
He said that there weren't too many good cameras but he was able to get some.
He went to Takikawa, Asahikawa, Kitami, (stayed overnight in Kitami) then went
to Kushiro and Obihiro. Look on the map if you like, it is a good way to learn the
geography of Hokkaido. :) I looked on the map while he was gone trying to
figure out where he was, so it was a good learning experience for me of Hokkaido's geography.
I wish I could go with him too! :) I need to be his navigator and waker upper (is that a word?)
when he gets sleepy driving. ;) maybe some day~~~
He was gone from Tuesday till Thursday evening. It was not fun having to be separated!
But I am glad he is home now.
I have been joining in on a Japanese class with Alicia and Chris at the church.
Our teacher's name is Mr. Miura. He is also an English student at our church, but he
is a nice man. He teaches us lots of interesting Japanese culture things and the Japanese
mind. He says he wants us to learn Japanese well so we can teach the Japanese
people (especially young people) the truth that we believe about Christ and God...
He said Japanese people (especially young people) are lost and need truth. I
wish he would believe for himself!!! He has the right idea, but needs to make his own
decision about believing in Christ and accepting the gift of salvation!
But that was interesting when he was saying that.
My English classes are going well on the weekends. This week is a break week however.
I have a new application on my iPhone that takes really neat pictures, I have loaded
them on Facebook, but to those of you who can't see those, I will load a few on
our blog...
Keisuke and I are going on our honeymoon in November! The dates finally were decided.
We only have 4 days :( but we are excited to even have that!
We will go from November 20th till the 23rd.
The first day and night we will go to Mie prefecture. Keisuke's mom is from there, and
Keisuke was born there. It is on Honshu. (the main island of Japan) We will visit
his grandma and family there and spend the night. Then Sunday morning we will leave
early and go to Kyoto. There is a church there that the pastor is a friend of Pastor Kamidate.
We will attend Sunday worship there and then tour around Kyoto.
It is the peak season for fall leaves and touring in Kyoto during that time, so we thought
we wouldn't be able to get a hotel, but Keisuke just reserved a room today!
We will spend one night in Kyoto, and then go to an onsen called Yamanaka onsen.
We will stay one night there, and then on Tuesday the 23rd fly out of Toyama
and return to Sapporo. It should be pretty fun! But busy! haha since we don't have much
time.
Well, I better start thinking about dinner.... I will post a few pictures...
by the way, I am sure you all know by now, but we have a new nephew!!
Aaron and Debbye Biermann (my sister) had their 2nd son on Thursday the 21st!
His name is Jarrett Robert Biermann and he is such a cutey!! I wish I could
hold him!!!! That makes 24 nieces and nephews for us! What a blessing from God!!
Ok, I am going to say goodbye for now!
Keisuke's band
Mine and Alicia's English class combined for a short birthday party last week.
Shibuya san's birthday party
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