Trip to America

Wow, it is good to be back!

We went to the states to visit family.

It had been 4 years since our last visit, so I guess you could say we were overdue.



In California, we got to see Dan's dad and brother (and family). These are all the kids.

Dan stayed in California to attend a conference (see next post).




Debe however, took Emi to visit her father and grandparents in Pennsylvania. Here they all are at a picnic in the park.





Emi really enjoyed the outdoors.








The greatest blessing was how well Emi was on the many flights. Of the almost 40 hours of air travel, she slept for about 34 of them, played for 3, walked for 2, and cried for only 1.


God truly guided all of our steps!

more pictures here

Pastor's Conference

One reason we went to California was to visit family. The other was for the food -- just kidding! The other reason was to attend a Pastor's conference.

Since I am not a Senior Pastor (at least not yet...), normally I would not be able to attend this type of conference.












They are very gracious to helpers, however, and as I was there to assist and represent the Bible College in Okinawa, I was allowed to hear the many speakers.

They were all really excellent messages that ignited a fire in your heart, made you appreciate even more how good and great God is. There were about 1000 pastors there from all over the world.











There were plenty of tables there as well: this was our table.

Prayer Requests

We have some prayer requests.
We would appreciate it greatly if you would join us in prayer for:

1) Our upcoming trip to the U.S. It has been 4 years since we have been able to visit. Dan will attend a Pastor's conference in California, while Debe will bring our daughter Emi to meet her grandparents and great grandparents in Pennsylvania and New York. Please pray for safe travel and that God will be seen clearly in our words and actions.

2) Our health - Naturally, the enemy would love to prevent us from going or at least discourage us. Currently, Debe has an ear infection and Emi has had a pretty bad cold for the past week. Please pray that we will be well in time to travel on June 3.

3) Okinawa. We truly believe that while there are many awesome things happening now on Okinawa, God has many even more awesome things in store . Specifically, you could pray for a) the Churches here, b) the Coffee house and it's ministries, c) the Bible College

Thank you so much for your support!

Manna

This is a box of Manna. It is a very popular baby snack in Japan.

It is an interesting name, manna. It is from the bible. God provided Israel in the desert with Manna, a kind of bread from heaven.


Taichiro Morinaga was a Japanese Christian.
He was also a confectioner, or candy maker.
Morinaga chocolate is the 2nd largest chocolate maker in Japan. If you notice the trademark on the upper left corner of the box, you will see that it is an angel.

On the back of the box it tells the story of manna from the bible. Cool, huh? You rarely see a company that puts God above profits.

Makudonarudo

So this morning we decided to eat breakfast out. In Japan, they generally don't serve breakfast at restaurants. If they do, the restaurant doesn't open until like 10:00. Even Mr. Donuts and Starbucks follow this rule. It can be frustrating for breakfast lovers like ourselves. There is one place that opens early -- McDonalds (or as they say it in Japanese, Makudonarudo).



This particular McDonalds is in Urasoe (town) and was the first one in Okinawa.



Emi enjoyed the fire engine and the Dog (toy with the "happy set").

Happy Children's Day

So it is children's day here in Japan.



As part of "Golden Week", it is the last of three consecutive national holidays. Many people take advantage of the time off and travel.

We went on a small (close by) trip in our city (Naha). We actually went first to a shrine to see a monument to Bettelheim (see next entry).



Then we went to Kokusai Dori (International Street). They have some interesting things for sale:

In Okinawa they don't waste ANY part of the pig.



These charbroiled snakes (center) are for medicinal purposes. I don't ever want to be THAT sick!

Bettelheim

Bettelheim is an interesting figure in Okinawan Christian History.
A Christian Jew born in Hungary, he came to Okinawa as a Medical Missionary in 1846. He was the first missionary to come to Okinawa. He was also forced to live on Shinto shrine grounds, where a monument to his work can be seen:



Bettelheim took the book of James seriously: he met people's physical as well as their spiritual needs. He helped to control cholera and was the one to introduce the smallpox vaccine to Japan.