I'm in love...

It's so exciting. new. fun. makes me smile. I'm truly happy. It was worth the wait!

I fell in love with... Japan- the food, culture, language, public transportation system, and most of all, the people. :) It's almost been a full month since I've been here and to be honest, it's going by quite fast! -_-; For the first week, each day seemed so long but the week itself went by so fast! Although I feel like I adjusted pretty quickly to life in Japan, I am feeling more comfortable... a home away from home. Truly.

This past weekend, I was so encouraged by so many reminders and revelations. I thought I'd share a few. It might get long but please bear with me.

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON... nothing is by mere coincidence or accident: God has a plan.

On Saturday morning, the Shonan-Shinjuku line was closed due to construction and so I had to go another route which would take me another 20 minutes. I know, you're probably thinking 20 minutes is nothing. Well, technically it is, but the problem is that Japanese people are never late and they hate being late/dealing with people who are late... it's just very rude, you know? So my normal route would get me to Hiratsuka (after transferring once) by 8:30AM. HOWEVER, this detour meant that I would arrive at 8:50AM... but we need to be at Shonan Daira by 9AM. UGH. So I was kinda stressing out because I didn't want to be late... and I did tell Takahashi sensei that I would be arriving later due to X and Y reasons, but still, I felt bad. I prayed to God asking Him to give me a peaceful heart and after a couple of minutes, I felt more relaxed. I turned on my Princess Iris iPod and had Brenton Brown calm me down. :) As I was 5 stops away from Hiratsuka, three Caucasian people walked in and started speaking in English... I listened for an accent, but there was none. For some reason, I really felt this desire to talk to them so I bravely spoke up and asked, "Where in the States are you from?" They looked surprised and then after a moment of hesitation answered, "Seattle. How about you?" We made small talk and they asked me why I was out here and I told them that it was for missions. As soon as I said that, their eyes got really big and the lady said, "I came here for missions, too, many years ago." At that moment, two thoughts ran through my mind: 1) missions with CCC or 2) Mormon. The latter proved true as she told me that she was from LDS (Latter Day Saints). She asked me many questions about what my ministry was (English and church edification), where I was staying, how I was learning the language, and a few other things. I found out they were here for the husband's work (shipyard + Navy but he's a civilian) and they were on their way to Hakone to see the mountains. In my heart as I was speaking to them, I said a prayer for them. I don't know these people and of all the cars on the 15 car train, they stepped into the one that I was in. I took interest and cared enough to strike conversation and realized so much about them in that short 15-20 minute conversation. It then hit me... God was showing me that I am in spiritual battle- straight up in the front lines! I am not the only one here! There are other religious groups fighting for the same souls we were fighting/praying for! I realized, there are a lot of fakes in the world... why? Fakes show that there has to be something REAL. It dawned on me that sometimes, the fakes try harder than the ones who have the TRUTH (why is that?); and we, as witnesses of the truth, need to do a better job of putting Christ & the GOSPEL first in our lives. Of course I would love to see more people go on missions, but I don't think that's the issue. If more Christians would seek to glorify and worship God in EVERYTHING that we do, I believe we will see drastic changes in our lives and the lives of those around us. Easier said than done, I know- but don't just leave it at that, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Even though I had a rough start to the morning, the simple yet destined encounter changed my entire mood for the weekend. I then thought, "Wow, if the line was never broken, then I wouldn't have had to be redirected to this line to meet these people to discover these things." I thanked God and my heart was so joyful! Two lessons: God is so faithful and always think positively (which brings me to my second point)!

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING: You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself!

I realized that POSITIVITY is something I lacked (and still do but I'm working on it). My mentality has always been that you have to assess a situation and address the negatives so that you can try to be practical and realistic. I thought that being practical and a realist (which are just nice words for being negative) was being smart. Boy, was I wrong. I realized that if you want to work for God, you have to get out of that mindset! I realized that as humans, it's so easy to see the negatives first... the glass is half empty. We think that we're being foolish if we just say something positive and leave it at that so we always add something negative to the beginning or end of everything we do/say/think/feel. However, when we try to do God's work and look at the bad before the good, then we are, in a way, limiting God and saying that it's not possible for Him. Our attitude and hearts, from the get-go, are in a wrong place. With men, many things are impossible but with God, all things are possible. BELIEVE IT!

BE PRAYERFUL & FAITHFUL IN EVERYTHING/ANYTHING: English classes start this Saturday!

On Saturday, I went around the neighborhood near church passing out flyers to advertise my English conversational classes. I got really excited because it took me back to 2006 when our J1 team literally would pass out tracts for hours on end (like from 8AM-5PM) for a week straight. I had some good times with my partner, Soon oppa. :) I forgot how much I missed Japanese mailboxes... they're so nice and big. Anyway, my flyers were inside tracts that explained what the Gospel was and what Shonan Grace Chapel was all about (most of it was in Kanji -_-). At first, I held those tracts in my hand and I got a little nervous/scared/anxious. I went by myself to first the apartment complexes (the mailboxes are all together). On my way there, I noticed some people staring at me and I got a little more scared. I thought, "Oh no, what if some of these people stop me and tell me that I can't put it in?" However, I said a little prayer and asked for boldness and strength. At that moment, it hit me: I am giving these people THE BEST NEWS EVER (not my English class but the Gospel). This tract can potentially save their life! Why do I have to feel afraid or hide? As I started putting each one in the mailbox, I prayed for each apartment. I don't know who lives in each one and if they'll even open up the flyer to read the information inside, but that part really isn't up to me. I am called to be faithful in delivering the tracts and praying for these people in hopes that God would somehow open up their hearts to receive the Word. I got so happy thinking that even something as small and trivial as a tract can bring someone to Christ! I prayed that God will bring a lot of little children (interested in rolling their tongues) to come out... please pray with me that God will bring people out to these classes not to learn English, but to learn the most valuable lesson of their life!

FOCUS ON THE GOAL: When you STOP thinking about God and start thinking about yourself, you will get lonely.

To be honest, I haven't experienced loneliness yet and I'm not even really that homesick. I don't miss my car that I traded for a squeaky bike. I don't miss the wide roads of CA. I don't miss Mexican food too much. I mean, of course these things are so trivial. I do miss family, friends, bed, English, Sarang... BUT it's not to the point where I dwell on the past and think about how much I'm missing out on life back at home. One of my greatest fears was that I would look back and see all that I'm NOT a part of. I thought I'd get really lonely and want to pack up and go home. Of course I didn't reach that infamous 3 month mark that everyone keeps talking about... things are still fresh and new and exciting- like someone who just fell in love. But this weekend, God reminded me about the root of loneliness. As humans, I'm sure we all have that desire to be close to people and feel loved/appreciated/recognized. We all want to belong somewhere and matter to someone. However, as normal as these feelings are, I realized that in the mission field, this kind of mindset can get somewhat dangerous. If we start thinking about ourselves, then we start to forget about God. When things start becoming about me, myself, and I, we forget about God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. I'm not saying that feelings these things in itself are bad... OF COURSE there'll be a time where I get kinda sad/lonely- it might during Christmas or my birthday or my favorite, Valentine's Day/Sister's Appreciation. However, we start treading in dangerous waters when we start acting upon that loneliness. You let one thought slip in and soon enough it overtakes your entire mind/mood/body. Everyday, I am trying to make it a priority to remind myself why I am here. I am not here for a mini vaca or to study abroad or to learn Japanese... I am here to bring glory to God! If at any point I start forgetting this, someone please GENTLY remind me. :) It will be greatly appreciated.

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Time for pictures!

*My mom and dad read my blog and they distribute the link to their friends and others at church. Thus, he told me to stop putting so many pictures of food and put more pictures of people. -_-; That's the cultural/generational/age divide... young people want to see food and older people want to see people/scenery. I will try to be more balanced. :]

*Miyuki, Eiko, and me praying together at the top of the tower in Shonan Daira

*Sushi at the market for 500 yen... it's so fresh & yummy

*Homestay at Takahashi sensei and Naomi-san's house!

*Mikito & Miyuka are soooooo cute... makes me want to have babies NOW

*like father like son... he likes wearing ties. awww so precious! whole new meaning to sunday's best.

*Our group (Ma-san, So young-san, me) won first place in a game so we got chocolate :)

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As I conclude this entry and think about how I will regret staying up until 11:30PM tomorrow morning, the rain has started to make its way down to meet the ground.

11/11 is Peppero Day => Send some love to someone you love. :0)