Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Wednesday Night Bible Study

Well we had our first Wednesday night bible study in Ishikawa.

It was a small, I mean, intimate group.





Zach led in worship and did a great job, as usual.





We believe that this is just be the beginning of the work God wants to do here.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Sightseeing




We don't always get the chance to visit the many beautiful spots here on Okinawa.



So it was nice to have Jess here -- it gave us a reason to do some sightseeing.









This is Manzamo, or the Elephant Rock, for obvious reasons.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Giving Thanks Again!

Well, Thanksgiving was so much fun on Thursday that we decided to do it again on Friday!

Actually, Thursday was not a holiday for many (it is not a Japanese Holiday).

Plus our friend Jess was not here, so we had another meal on Friday.

And really, we will take any excuse to eat!

This time we did it Japanese style, which meant no turkey, but chicken. Not just any chicken, but Garlic Roasted Chicken.

Oh, we did sneak in a little turkey for those that might have missed it on Thursday.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Jess is Here!




We are so happy that our good friend Jess was able to come and visit.




We know Jess and her fam from when we lived in Hawaii.

It is great to see her... I hope our kids don't drive her crazy!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Well we are so thankful for many things.

One thing we are thankful for is our "American sized" oven. After 6 years of smaller Japanese ovens, it is nice to have a larger oven.

The Japanese ovens work just fine, but they aren't big enough to cook a large casserole or something like a turkey.

Of course, they don't eat turkey here, so they don't see it as a problem.















This turkey was donated to our church for our annual Thanksgiving Potluck. God has blessed us with many generous people at our church.


Well, many people came: some came later (it isn't a holiday for most) and there were many first time guests.

After a great meal, we played a couple games and then they brought out the Pumpkin Pie!

Now they do sell Pumkin Pie in Okinawa, but this was the real thing; what a treat!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Our Daily Bread

Well, we like bread. Especially a nice, grainy wheat bread.
Only problem is, you can't easily get it in Japan.

Oh they have "wheat bread", but it is mostly inedible.
Okay, it isn't that bad, but it is more reminiscent of cardboard than wheat bread.

Especially right now (while Debe is nursing) we are trying to eat healthy. But you make do with what you have.

So you can imagine our surprise when a good friend of ours walked into church last Sunday and handed us a loaf of 100% whole wheat bread.
He "wondered" if we could use it...

See the cool thing is, our friend had no idea that we had this need right now..., but God knew! God was providing for our needs through his generosity.

Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Luke 4:4

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Harvest Carnival

So, Halloween came and went.

It is interesting to get a Japanese person viewpoint of Halloween, since it isn't really celebrated here. Most kids know that it has something to do with pumpkins and candy and... funny costumes?

Well, one of my duties as an English teacher is to teach about "International Culture". So I do teach about Halloween. I try not to dwell on the negative aspects, but more of "What we do on Halloween" (trick or treat, costumes).

Every year Calvary Chapel Okinawa City has a really cool Harvest Carnival. Tons of games and candy and music, but no scary costumes. It is a great safe, alternative way to spend the evening.



Dan's school is close by, so many of his students were able to come as well.










Mika got to wear a bunny suit thing, while Emi went as a Princess.