Residency Approved

Well, we had a blessing this week. We were approved as "Permanent Residents."

No, that does not mean we are forced to live here forever.

What it does mean is that we are no longer required to have a visa to live here. It will be easier to come and go and, theoretically at least, it should be easier to do things like rent an apartment, get credit.

Of course, we know that this world is not our home. We will continue to seek God's will and leading. For now, though, we know that He wants us in Okinawa.

Natsumi off to the Big City

We have known our good friend Natsumi (left) for 3 years now.

She is such an encouragement and help as she is fluent in both English and Japanese.

Not only that, but she also attended seminary in the U.S., so she makes a great translator too.

Well, we are sad to see her leave us, but we know that she must follow God's leading and He has opened up an opportunity in Tokyo.

She will be far from us, but we know that God will be with her and lead and guide her.




Emi will miss her "Auntie"

Ladies Tea

These ladies are Debe's former students. Debe had to take a leave of absence due to the pregnancy.


The English class is an evangelistic outreach of Ishimine Baptist Church. A time hour of English was followed by Bible time.

These ladies really enjoyed the class, so they all agreed to meet once a month for tea.

This was not just a social event, however, as the host shared her testimony and all the ladies even sang a hymn.

Pray for more indigenous started outreaches!

Good Food!

Once a month we have a potluck at church. It is always interesting to see what everyone will bring.


This Sunday brought a nice variety of foods and I can personally attest that they all tasted very good.

It is nice to have a chance to fellowship with people too. Too often we get so busy with "life", that we become too focused on what we are doing. It is important to be involved with other people and a potluck is a good way to do that.

Emi loves to eat -- a Pallmann trait -- so she had a utensil in each hand.

Blessing

So after a grueling 5 week Summer Vacation, I returned to my elementary school recently.

I was surprised to see some changes. What used to be the baseball/soccer/recess field, now had some new buildings on it.

I had heard something about renovations before I had left, but I didn't realize the impact it would have on me personally.

I came to my English room, only to find that it no longer existed! As half the school was being renovated there was a need for more rooms.

I would now need to teach English in the student's classrooms. This was not impossible, but it did make things more difficult. My room is usually bare -- no desks or chairs -- in order to have space for my wacky English games. The classroom is filled with desks and chairs.

Well, "Where were their priorities?", I wondered. After all, isn't English important? Did they really want boring lessons?

Well, after fretting and griping (to myself) for a day or two, I decided to give it to the Lord and let Him worry about it. If He wanted to challenge me in this way, I would be willing.

Right after this, something amazing happened: Some of the teachers (on their own) held a meeting and decided to convert the craft room into an English room.

So, in a matter of 30 minutes I went from no room, to a very large air conditioned room! Since it is still almost 90 degrees here, this is a huge blessing!










Perhaps this would have happened regardless of my attitude, but I like to think that it is God rewarding my trusting in Him.

Nani Gata?

Nani Gata?, or What's your blood type? is a common question in Japan. Not only can everyone tell you their type of blood, but they can also tell you what it means.

In Japan, there is the belief that the type of blood you have determines your personality:

• Are you the reserved, punctual, rule following type? Then you are likely "A" type, the most common type in Japan.
• Or, are you more creative and passionate. A lover of animals, even. You must be a "B".
• Got "O" flowing through those veins? You are the confident, athletic, natural leader that the rest of us envy.
• What is left? Oh, the "AB", the cool, controlled, popular type.

Maybe, like me, you look at this as a bunch of bunk. Many here do consider this important, to the point of not marrying someone based solely on their blood type.

Well, I am tempted next time to tell someone that I am type "C" -- that Christ's blood has washed me clean from my sins, just to see what they say!

Lisa's Back

Debe's sister, Lisa, spent the summer visiting friends and family in the U.S.
But one of the sure signs of Autumn is here, is that she came back to Okinawa for the new school year.










Emi loves her Aunt Lisa

While the Japanese schools begin in April, there are several International schools (taught all in English) that start in September.

This year Lisa teaches the dreaded 3rd grade...
nah, just kidding, she really likes her new class. Have a great year!