This is one of a series of emails I sent while preparing and living overseas in Japan, from April 2008 to April 2009. They are mostly for my own benefit, but also for anyone who may care to read them. Enjoy 🙂

Hello from the breezy blue skies of Shimo!  We have had some great weather this weekend!  It’s been beautiful!  I think it may change soon, but such is life, I’ve enjoyed this while it was here. 

This has been a great week.  One person in particular has been the main highlight of the week’s events and that is MIKA!  Below is an account of the Bible Time in our Tuesday night class.  Let’s see, Mika and I had dinner on Friday…on Saturday she and a few others came to the Center and we watched Chronicles of Narnia 1 (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe)…then today, she and I went down to Kokura and saw the new Prince Caspian!  It was great, I laughed, I cried…all I expected from the movie.  Afterwards, we caught up with Eri who was just getting off work in one of the Kokura malls.  We all rode the train back to Shimonoseki and chilled with Eri until her connecting train arrived.  Mika and I were starving and so went to Mr. Donuts and had some noodles and doughnuts…what a combo!  She is always searching and always asking questions, some that really throw me at times.  She’s really curious about church, Christianity, and the Trinity and the various roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Please look below for an encouraging story!

I would also like to take this moment to ask YOU for a special favor.  I know that I send out these emails each week (more or less…heh), and that you all have really enjoyed them.  I have been praying about it and trying to think of something else we could do.  It’s great that you are reading about what’s happening here, but I want you involved so much more!  Would you be willing to pray specifically for my students.  I know, I know…you already probably are…but I would like to ask that you, your Bible Study group, your Sunday School class, you church, or your family…whatever…would adopt one of my classes, or students, or friends.  I have been getting individual pictures together, and working up biographies for each of the people, focusing on how you can pray for that person.  I’m also putting up their birthday, so maybe you would like to send a birthday card for that person…whatever God lays on your heart.  BUT, there’s a power that I don’t feel is being put to good enough use and that is prayer!  Maybe it is just on my side…He knows that I don’t talk with Him enough…but I really am excited about this project.  I’m including adults, young adults, teens, and children.  Here is the link to the page I am using for this information:  link has expired and has been removed
  I am so thankful for you all.  If you diligently pray for these people with me, you will share in the harvest at the end.  What a great reunion it will be in heaven!  Right now, I only have one class posted, but I’m working on the rest.  Thank you so much and here’s the link to my daily (semi-) blog:  http://xanga.com/pkcricket

In Him,

Sarah ><>
BTW, have you noticed that it’s June yet??  🙂  Yep yep!
Oh, and let me know which class or person you are going to pray for and I will try to make sure you have up-to-date info on them.  🙂

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Our Bible Time on May 27th, was tremendously good! We covered the story of Jesus welcoming the children and then the story of Zaccheus. Everyone seemed to get a lot out of the two stories, especially the great love that Jesus must have to associate with such a bad man as Zaccheus, and then the subsequent change in Zaccheus’ life.

Following the Bible Time and some English exercises and such, we were asking each other, “How long…” questions; i.e., How long have you lived in Shimonoseki? How long have you known your husband? How long have you owned your car? I then asked if they had any questions for me. Mika raised her hand immediately and asked, “How long have you believed in Jesus?” I answered that it was since I was 7 years old. Suddenly, the whole class went in an uproar of discussion, all of which was in Japanese. Before I knew it, Nakayama-san was explaining something to them, and this went on for a good 5-10 minutes. I had no idea what was going on, but I felt like it was important, that I was sitting in on God doing something. I prayed that God would give Nakayama-san the words to say, and that He would open the ladies’ hearts to the words.

The next day, I asked Taka to find out from Nakayama-san what had happened, since I don’t speak well enough Japanese and she doesn’t speak well enough English for her to explain to me. So, as he approached her, she came to him and asked him if he could tell me what had happened in class. It was funny.

She said the big discussion was from the shock of me saying that I became a Christian when I was 7 years old. They were of the mindset that people in America are all Christian because their parents were…it is something you are born into. But Nakayama-san was able to explain that it’s not the case…God has no grandchildren, only children. They were able to see that it is a personal decision, representative of a personal relationship with Christ.