Well, when I posted yesterday that we wouldn’t do anything glamorous for our anniversary, I didn’t know that that my wonderful husband had planned a very special evening. He took me into Makuhari, a beautiful new city that sits on the bay. We went to dinner in the tallest hotel there and had such a great time enjoying wonderful food and sweet time being together. Our restraunt was on the bottom floor of this very fancy hotel, but we rode the glass elevator all the way up to 50th floor and had fun sitting and enjoying the view. We could see all the way across the bay and out toward the middle of Tokyo, all lit up. We were also right in front of the Chiba Marine’s baseball stadium where a game was underway so it was cool to see it so bright next to the dark bay. It was beautiful! I’m so thankful for such a thoughtful husband who planned such a romantic evening amidst our craziness right now. What a special night!
Here is a picture of us (in the window’s reflection) looking out on the stadium and bay.
And here is a photo I snapped as the elevator raced down 50 floors. It’t not a great photo but it gives you an idea of how fabulous the lights of the city are.
As you can imagine, with two sick children in our house, we have been doing a lot of THIS:
Thankfully, though, the sickness hasn’t kept us from THIS:
And, of course, THIS:
Thanks for all your prayers for the girls. We are hoping that we are at the tail end of this, at least for Martha. Noa is still up and down.
Over a month ago, Eric and I were asked to be the speakers for “J’s Café”, a monthly evangelistic meeting in Toke, the town where we are involved in a church plant. It meets in the Tomita’s home (the same place where we meet for church) and it usually consists of local housewives (it’s always on Monday mornings), both Christian and non-Christian. Over a week ago, we started talking about what to share for that hour and a half period and were encouraged by some of the ladies to share our testimonies, including accounts of our childhoods, dating, marriage, and now, parenting. We worked a little bit together on it, and more separately over the last week and by Sunday were pretty certain of what we would share. I still felt we needed to go over it together, and most of all, spend some time in prayer together over it. Well, Sunday night was difficult, to say the least. Noa had a terribly high fever and there were a few times in the night that we wondered if we should take her to the emergency room, for her trouble with breathing. Come Monday morning, we were feeling worn out and very unprepared for J’s Café, and even wondering if we should go. We finally decided that I needed to get Noa to the doctor, my mom could come and watch Martha, as she had planned to watch both girls for us, and Eric would go alone and share as best he could with our combined notes. As I rushed out the door with Noa and left him with a fussy Martha waiting for my mom, I really felt sick to my stomach. I felt bad for leaving him to do this alone, I felt sorry that we hadn’t prepared better, I felt sad for our sick girls, and, honestly, I was feeling anxious about what these women would think of us as Eric shared our story. Every time I thought of him throughout the morning I prayed for him and begged God to be the one who gave him the words and wisdom and that it would be God’s work, because I knew Eric was exhausted and anxious.
Well, let me just tell you that our God is great, and He delights to use weak vessels to show forth that greatness. I don’t know why I doubt, or why my faith is so small after seeing Him do it time and again, but I guess He is glorified even in me being reminded again and again. Eric came home after spending an extra hour talking and answering questions with the women. He told me and my mom that it had gone better than expected, and that it was totally the Lord, as he had even seen his own sin and struggle as he shared. It’s also been amazing to me to hear from 4 of the women that were there who said just how wonderful it was to hear Eric humbly tell of God’s work in so many areas of our life. Each of them shared that they saw Jesus, not just Eric, and it was good for the hearts of both the Christians and non-Christians who were there. Wow! As I have thought of that today, I can’t help but praise God. Only He could have done that. We say all the time that it is HIS work, not ours, that changes lives. But I think, say, if we had felt good about our preparations and had a good night’s sleep and could leave two happy, healthy babies in my mom’s care to go and do this and it went well, we would have been very tempted to feel like super missionaries with the perfect words and stories to use to move people’s hearts. It would have been easy to, at least in our hearts, steal the glory from God. Instead, He chose to work in a very weak time for us, and make it clear that it was HIS work. It was HIS work in our lives up until this point that Eric was able to share with those women. And it was HIS work that even allowed Eric to be there to share with them at all and that gave him the words to say to them. Praise God!
As I have mulled over these thoughts this afternoon, this reminder has been particularly encouraging to my heart. Today Eric and I celebrate our 3rd anniversary. We won’t do anything glamorous with the girls being sick and us being so tired. But we will have a chance to get out together alone (my mom will come brave the germ-infestation to comfort and care for her grandbabies) and I pray it will be a time of celebrating HIS work in our lives through our marriage. Because, you see, my marriage is probably the biggest area of my life where I see that it is God, not me, who works. Because this setting is the one where I see my sin most, I see my selfishness the most, I see my utter need for a Savior, who not only saves me from my sins but promises to work in me to make me more like Himself. This setting is where I learn of God’s unconditional love for me the most. This is where the person who knows me best, who sees my failures and sin the most, who is most affected by those failures and sins, still chooses, by God’s grace, to love me. Of course he can’t love perfectly, but his love serves to give me a glimpse of the love of my Savior for me, who chose to love His Bride in the most painful and sacrificial way – giving His life.
So today I am celebrating this: the love of God that is so vast that it not only saves us, but changes us and can work in and through us to bring God glory. How I pray that even on the most discouraging days – especially the most discouraging days – when I am weak, unable to be the wife, mother, missionary, friend, daughter, person that I should be; that in those times – and all times – I could be as a puppet, moved completely by that love. And that God would get all the glory for that!
*here is a photo that Mrs. Tomita e-mailed us from when Eric was sharing.
Continue reading about weak and weary vessels; One Great God!
Please pray for our little girls. None of us have been 100% since coming back to Japan, but both Noa and Martha have pretty bad coughs right now. Martha has sounded awful since last Wednesday. I took her to the doctor Friday morning and started her on some medicine. The medicine is gone, and she still sounds awful AND had her first rough night last night (we think she was having trouble beathing through her nose, but couldn’t get to sleep without her paci in her mouth… that would be tough for anyone). Noa had a bit of a cough when we came back from America but seemed completely better by last Wednesday. On Saturday night, though, when I went to check on her, she was burning up. She’s had a fever since then, and a really bad cough. It’s so bad that she’s had trouble breathing and we almost called an ambulance a few times (You know its bad when your one year old keeps telling you her chest hurts!) Thankfully, sitting in the steamy shower room has helped so we haven’t had to do that. She’s perked up a little bit today, eating a little bit and getting off our laps to play some, so I am hopeful she is over the worst of it. The doctor said yesterday that is should last a few more days.
We are all tired and its so hard to watch our babies be so sick. I am ready to be back to normal and get back into the routine of life (I haven’t even completely unpacked all our suitcases yet because it seems the only free time I have is when the girls are sleeping and, oh yea, they are sleeping in the bedrooms where the suitcases are!) So you can pray for Eric and I too, that we’d have grace and patience through this time and be able to love the girls well. We can’t wait to be all better, but also want to be able to enjoy today and have hearts of thanks and praise even in this.
We appreciate your prayers!
We are really thankful that the Lord has brought several students into our lives who are not only interested in English, but also in learning about the Bible and Christianity with us. On Thursday evening we had our second life group, a monthly dinner/fellowship/Bible study that we are having in our home. It was neat because, while we had expected 5 students to join us, 3 ended up getting stuck at the library with end-of-the-term projects, and so only 2 actually came. God really had his hand in it, though, because we saw how the smaller, close atmosphere really allowed for everyone to get to know eachother better, as well as participate in the study more. The topic this time was forgiveness. I, personally, was struck with how eager “K” and “S” were to make sure they understood what Eric was saying, sometimes interrupting in order to make sure they understand correctly. I also noticed that both were interested in not just hearing the Bible passages that Eric refered to but in finding them and reading along in the Bibles we lent them. That, especially encouraged me to remember God’s promises about His WORD, that it will not return void, that it is powerful in the human heart. I confess that often when we talk about the Bible with non-believers, especially here in Japan, I have fear of it being so terribly foreign to them that everything read will just go over their heads. My tendency is to feel that we need to have a perfect, easy explanation for everything that we share from the Bible, honestly, often believing that it is our words, not the Lord’s, that will resonate in hearts. God was so gracious to remind me through our time on Thursday night (1) that He is the One who works in hearts and, while he chooses to use people, it is still HIS Word and HIS work; and (2) that it takes the pressure off of us to have “the right words to say” or “the perfect explanation. It is haughty of me to think that I have that much power and it is merciful of God to not place the responsiblity of changing hearts on me.
Would you pray with us for these two students who, I think, for the first time heard about forgiveness from God’s Word? Pray that the work of God that changes hearts would show them their need for His forgiveness. Pray also for our family and the Uchida’s (the Japanes staff family who we are doing this with), that God would lead our planning and preparation for these times, and give wisdom about timing and topics for studies. Please pray that the Lord would bring other students (who came the first time) back and maybe draw other students to these times as well. Also, would you pray overall for the college ministry that is going on here with our team in Chiba? I have shared with you before about the difficulties of this particular ministry. God has been good to bring more full-time missionaries to work in this ministry, as well as providing great opportunities to meet and get to know students. He is leading and giving vision for this ministry, which is exactly what we have prayed for. It is still hard, though, and as Isaac (a fellow-missionary) said to me yesterday, if feels like it could crumble any moment. Only God working in our own and hearts and the hearts of the Japanese students will bring any fruit. So please pray with us for God to be glorified and for many to come to know Him through his Word and work with college students here. Thanks!
With school being out, Eric has a variety or responsibilities and jobs. One of the Japanese school board members is going to the states next month and wanted a document to give people about CCSI and also how one could support the school. Enjoy!
