Well friends,
Thanks for your prayers. We made it through one of the toughest week without much trouble. It was all because God was good to us through your intercessions. We praise God and give glory to Him!!!
On 9/19 Marcia and I went to Nicki's school to teach 60+ 1st graders including Nicki about life in America. We focused on the difference between American and Japanese elementary schools. Marcia had a photo album (of course) from when she taught back in the States so we used some pictures from that for the visual aid. We asked questions to kids like "What summer thing does American Schools not have but Japanese schools have?" and "What is one thing that most Japanese classroom does not have but American classroom has?" We talked about the ways to get to schools (there is no school buses in Japan) and difference in Lunch (which kids just loved to hear). We sang a couple of songs and we just had a enjoyable time together. A few days later we got a thank you booklets from all the students (their notes were made into booklets and they are just so cute). It was really nice to have that kind of time. It is pretty rare to have parents participate in a class activity like this in Japan. We were thankful for the opportunity to share our lives with other kids.
On 9/21-23, I taught a 3 day seminar on Hermeneutics for the Bible Institute. 12 men were there in my class and I had wonderful time sharing the principles of interpretation and looking at Scripture with them. Since there is no (and I mean really and emphatically NO) recommendable books on hermeneutics in Japan, I had to basically write one to teach. That took quite a bit of energy before the class. I was pushed to the wall on time but the Lord gave me the strength to finish it up on time. 7h x 3 days of teaching was a first time experience for me, but I got through without my voice going out. However, until yesterday or so, my voice gotten so low and deep that I was hitting the note that I have never hit in my entire life as I sang hymns on Sunday.
Next big event will be Noah's sports day. Noah is struggling a bit with his school so please pray for him. There are two big events in the fall for him at school, Sports day and Art festival. We would like Noah to participate on both, but we are praying about what is best for him at the moment.
That's it for now. We miss you all and are thinking about you.
posted by Daisuke