Year in Review 2011

Here's a little video we put together of our main events this year:

Free Album Download

We're not too familiar with Josh Garrels-- actually, I've never heard of him.  Apparently, he is an award winning Christian Music Artist.  He felt that God wanted him to give away his latest album, so he did!


If you're interested, here is the link for the free download:
http://joshgarrels.bandcamp.com/

And hey, Merry Christmas, from us and Josh!

Christmas Blessings!

Merry Christmas to our friends and family around the world.



We had a (mostly) quiet Christmas at home with family.

Debe's mom and two sisters came over Saturday night and mom stayed for Sunday.

We had  a nice church service and a yummy lunch.

We feel very blessed this year and pray that you have too!


Some images:

Christmas Caroling

Our school has a tradition of going Christmas caroling around some local shops in the community.

While optional, many staff, students and parents showed up.  We had enough participants that we made two groups.


In addition to singing, we also handed out candycanes attached to tracts.



Both groups planned to end up finishing up at Jusco (its like a Walmart).  Afterwards, we got some grub...

Christmas Program

Our school had its annual Christmas Program on Friday.  Both Emi and Mika were in it, but so far no video of them has surfaced.


It is usually just for elementary students, but this year they allowed a few select older students perform.  It was kind of neat to see the high schoolers be a part of this.  They really worked hard and well with the younger students, so hopefully this will become a regular thing.


While the kids were cute and the show went well, this really was meant to be an outreach.

The show itself, The Best Christmas Present Ever, talked about God's gift to us: Jesus Christ, but there were also tracts in the Program Guides, free literature available, and even an invitation given at the end of the show. We pray that these seeds will grow into fruit.

Our girls had a blast (even super shy Mika) and were ready to "do it again!"


High School Students: The Wise Guys

Book Review: Don’t Check your Brains at the Door, by Josh McDowell & Bob Hostetler

I recently received “Don’t check your brains at the door” by Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler.  This book is geared towards teenage students who, of course, have lots of questions. The book is arranged into six sections; each one answering common misconceptions or “Myths.” There are answers to myths about God, Jesus, The Bible, The Resurrection, Christianity, and Life.

The answers are brief—perhaps a little too brief, but they do answer the question in a page or two. One neat feature is the “Brain Food” box at the end of each section. This box contains follow up questions and Bible verses, so you could extend the question further if you wanted. 

I enjoyed this book. I felt the writing was appropriate for middle to high school students, whom I teach. I will probably use excerpts from this as the need arises with my 6^th graders. I liked how it was divided, also. The 42 questions are very common questions that we all think about or ask at some point. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in helping young people find biblical answers to their questions.

This book was received from Thomas Nelson Press in exchange for an honest review.

The opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

Gingerbread Houses

Our school had a fundraiser.  They wanted to raise money to support a boy in the Philippines. They have done this in an interesting way for several years now; they let the students here make gingerbread houses.  They only charge 500 yen each, so it is affordable and they raise enough to support the boy.



The 11th graders put this on as their Service Project this year; it was nice to see them interacting with the young ones.

Mika's Prize

Mika won a prize for finishing the walkathon (actually it was just half of it).  She really impressed us with her dedication and commitment to finish.  Thanks also to grandma for setting a brisk pace!