Midterms in Japanese Class Completed!

Praise the Lord! We survived the Midterms in Japanese class. Did you say midterms (as in more than one). Yes! Pastor Tim gave us two midterms to study for. The last one was memorizing and writing Bible works in Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji (Japanese Alphabets). As long as you know the words the test was easy (but isn't that always the case, if you know your stuff, it is easy) Well, now is preparation for the next half of the semester. You might be asking "why the picture of the TV?" Well after our last midterm, Tim showed us a Japanese cartoon so we can learn Japanese better. We are all at kids level, so what better way to learn Japanese but by watching cartoons. Some of the students are really into "Anpanman".

Visit to Morikawa Springs

Morikawa Springs is a famous spot in Ginowan city. It is an old water spring where the Okinawan used to come here to gather their water, wash clothes and even worship. There is an old legend that states the beginning of the Okinawan Kings started here, but we will leave that story for a later time.

Evangelism Class

The missionaries from Arizona taught our Evangelism class this Thursday. Two of them (center picture third and fourth from the left) are Donna and Josh from Maine. They are here for two weeks to hit the streets sharing the Love of Jesus Christ with the Okinawan Japanese people. They are a real blessing.

Biblical Preaching

Today we had three new preachers in our Biblical Preaching class, Sosimo, and the Duran sisters, Melissa and Christina. All three of them did a great job. Melissa actually preached two times because she did this mornings devotion. Next week starts the real grading. This first time they were graded on completion, but next time form, content, outline notes, illustrations and body language will all be graded. But I know they will al do a good job.

Mission Team from Arizona Arrive

Well, they came right on schedule from the USA via Osaka Japan. That was thier last leg of the trip. They arrived in good spirits and look great. I remember my trips to Okinawa from California, at times I could hardly stay awake. Here they are from left to right; Melissa (you all know her, but she is a local now), Linda, Sherry, Dave and Edwin. Missing in the picture are two others who came in on another flight. We will introduce them to you later. They will be with us for two weeks. They have hearts for evangelism and will be hitting the streets sharing the Love of Jesus Christ.

Happy Birthday Liz!

It is Liz' special day! And check out her cool new haircut! The girls made some yummy cakes and desserts for her. After our midweek Bible Study everyone hung around and had some good fellowship. When you get a chance, please leave a birthday greeting for Liz below.

Da Three Preachas

Next up to bat; Andrew, Evan and Nate. These guys were scheduled to preach in their Biblical Preaching class. I took these pictures during their opening prayers, I did not want them to be nervous. All three of them did a good job, they are preachas in the makin.

Rob's visit to California

Rob is heading back to California for his father's wedding. He will also be visiting his mother in Arizona. We are going to miss him here in Okinawa. He is a blessing to so many of us. Joanna will be teaching his class while he is gone filling in for the next few weeks. For those of you in California please look up brother Rob and take him out for a bite to eat. He has not been back to the States for about two years. If you want to contact him, email Rob at voonder@hotmail.com .

God bless you Rob, have a blessed time in Cali.

22 Wonderful Years

March 23rd (Easter Sunday) will be Joanna and my 22nd Anniversary. I have been so blessed with the opportunity to spend these years with such a wonderful wife. Since the next few weeks will be extremely busy for us, we decided to take off for one night and spend some time together up north in Okinawa. We were thankful that the Bible College students did not tear the house apart while we were gone! Just kidding! It was great to spend time reflecting on the beautiful years that we have had together.

On the streets in Mihama

Saturday night was a blast as we street witnessed at Mihama. We had some special music by "Hakugaijin" and Tim and Masao did some rappin juice. We passed out a lot of tracts and had the opportunity to speak one on one with a lot of people. Please continue to pray for the Okinawan Japanese people as we share the Love of Jesus Christ out in the streets.

Children's Outreach near Mihama

We were invited by Reikosan who lives in the government apartments near Mihama to do an outreach with the kids. We invited the kids to come out and did a mini VBS with them. We played games, facepainted, did crafts, and shared with them the Word. Afterwards we had lunch together. It was a real blessing for the kids and the parents who came out to join with us. The night before it was raining hard. But when we got up, it was a beautiful blue sky morning. We were so blessed. Even some of the guys got a good suntan! We were so blessed and honored to be able to share the Love of Jesus Christ with these kids. Please pray for us that the Lord will continue to give us open doors to share his love with the Okinawan Japanese people.

Clownin Around!

The guys were clownin around after the outreach that we did with the kids at Mihama. These guys crack me up. Don't worry, they were not hurt. Please double click on the video above.

Happy White Day!

We do things a little different here in Japan. March 14th is called "white day". Valentine's Day is February 14th. That is the day that girls give chocolates and gifts to guys. On the 14th of March, the guys return the favor to the girls. Well Michal, Hannah and Joanna gave gifts to the guys on Valentine's Day so today Sosimo and Joel baked brownies and ice cream for the girls. The other students gave gifts to the girls too. These guys are good bakers, the brownies were yummy.

The Three Preachers

In our Biblical Preaching class we have spent the last 6 1/2 weeks learning how to prepare a devotional sermon and how to deliver it properly. This week we begin with the students delivering their messages that they have been preparing. First up to bat was Zach, Masao and Tom. These guys did a good job. Preparing the message is only half the work, the other half is delivering that message properly. It is always hardest for the first three guys, they will be critiqued and graded on content, personal appearance, body language and delivery. This will be the first of 4 messages that will be required of them.

Happy Birthday Ichino

Wednesday night was Ichino's Birthday. It was a real blessing and we had so many sweets that night. Nate brought a big cake, Liz brought flan, Joe baked cookies and Mihoko made scones. Whooowee! We had a lot of sweets! Please leave a Birthday greeting below for Ichino.

Beautiful Sakura (Cherry Blossom) Tree

The weather has been so peculiar this year. Usually it is already getting warm and have traveled to the beach. But not this year, it is still cold and the Cherry Blossoms in Ginowan city are still in blossom. This tree is located right next to the Koinonia Cafe. It is right in front of Obaasan (grandmas) house. She is a nice lady and always has kind words to say to us. She is so glad we are in the neighborhood. She said we bring "life" back into this side of town. Check out Rob's sweet car in the side of the pict. It almost matches the Sakura's.

Himeyuri Peace Museum (Cave of the Virgins)

It was a rainy Monday but we still decided to head down south to Himeyuri Museum to learn more about Okinawan History. During WWII, the Japanese war machine forced the young Okinawan gals to be nurses in the hopital caves. They suffered much during the war and many of the young gals did not make it through this war alive. This was a site dedicated to the young Okinawan girls, their courage, and strength during these difficult times. In the center picture you have the "cranes of hope". Okinawan people will make a thousand origami cranes and string them together. These ropes signify hope in the midst of adversity. Each bundle represent 1000 cranes. There are a lot of bundles. Please continue to pray for the Okinawan Japanese people, the memories and affects of war are still evident on the island.

Daniel sportin the new Dew

Daniel had this idea that he would get a mohawk, so he did. To tell you the truth, he did not look too bad. But I do not think that this will fly well with Chaplain Owens. Well, after some deep meditation (and realizing that his mom will kill him) he decided to chop it off. This is the before and after Daniel. When you get a chance write your comments below and tell us what Daniel looks best. Remember, his momma is gonna be reading the comments, so keep them nice.

Naokosan the Translator

It was a total blessing tonight. Dan did a great job at teaching the Word and Naokosan did an excellent job at translating the message into Japanese. Pastor Tim and I were talking about this; Naokosan has only been saved 2 years. She has gone from baby christian to maturity in translating the Gospel. We are so blessed to see the work of God in her life.