Sorry for the lack of posts recently… we had a busy busy busy few weeks at home for Martha’s wedding. It was a wonderful time of being with family, and especially with Martha and Ian, and we are so so so thankful that we got to celebrate with them. While it was very busy and I didn’t get to visit with half the poeple I expected and hoped to (so sad!), I am thrilled that we were able to do what we went to do: help Martha and get her hitched 
I wouldn’t trade for a minute the sweet moments I had with my little sister before she became Mrs. Robinson.
SO, we are back home now and it feels SO GOOD to be here. The girls had a relatively good night last night and I am optimistic that we’ll kick jet lag quickly. I will post pictures from our trip and the wedding as soon as I can.
Thanks for checking in with us!
Today is our one year anniversary of moving to Japan. We are so thankful for all God has brought us through, and all he has added to our lives here in Japan including, but not limited to:
~the addition to our family of sweet Martha Evangeline
~so many new, wonderful friends
~a new appreciation for other cultures and people, even ones so different from our own
~new depth and growth in our marriage
~learning about new and wonderful and difficult ways to trust the Lord
~the great joy of seeing God build His church up close and on personal levels
He has been so good and we are so thankful that He has us right here, right now.
I have so much I want to write, but it is just too late and I am just too tired. I hope to post soon, though, about some fun things going on, including:
~ Noa, our little jabber-mouth. She is talking SO MUCH!
~Andrew, a new volunteer on the team is living with us for 2 weeks and we are really enjoying him. We’re excited that he and Eric will be working together a lot this coming year.
~The new school year starts on Tuesday! Eric is in the thick of preparation for his new class of TEN students in THREE different grades! It’s going to be a great year!
~Martha’s wedding in a few weeks!!!! the girls and I will leave in only ONE WEEK for the States with my mom and siblings. Eric and my dad will follow closer to the wedding. SO EXCITING!
~Cloth diapering, my new endeavor. I have prayed and researched this a lot and am getting very excited to get started once we pick up our supplies in America.
~Martha, very soon to be a WHOLE HALF YEAR old, is simply delightful.
and I know there’s lots more too. for now, I am off to bed and will just leave you with some photos of our crazy cuties…
We had an amazing long weekend, two weeks ago with my parents at Nojiri Lake. Nojiri is in Nagano prefecture and is a place that we have gone most summers since I grew up. It was so refreshing to escape the heat of Chiba and get to go to the mountains. The lake is nestled in the middle of several mountains and the views of God’s creation are always breathtaking. Here are some of the things we did:
The girls had a ton of time with their grandparents and loved it. Here is Noa with “Gii-Gii”
We loved it too, since we could put the girls down and go for walks or hikes or a swim. Thanks Mom and Dad! Here we are in front of the cabin before we left 
My parents’ cabin is at the top of one of the big hills, so to get to the water we really have to hike. Noa was usually able to make it down part of the way like this:
but usually, she traveled like this 
There are tons of activities up there, including swimming lessons, sports, dances, dramas, sailing, etc., all open to everyone who comes. Noa and I were able to go to an “Aqua-tots” swim class together one morning. It was great fun and we both learned a lot.
We had a lot of fun in the water almost every day. Even Martha got in a few times. It was great to have so many loving Aunties and Uncles to help with the girls. 
One day, we took a hike partially up a mountain to this waterfall, a favorite family picnic spot from when I was younger
The mountain water was FREEZING, I could barely stick my toes in. Eric, on the other hand, decided to go for a swim. BRRRRRRRR!
It was a great hike and a fabulous time to be together.
Me with Amby, my sweet friend and practically my sister (visiting from Australia with Esther and Joel). 
At the beginning and end of our hike, we went through this beautiful field with so many butterflies.
It was amazing to see so many. They were each so unique and beautiful!
Of course, I had to get the signature family photos out on the dock.
Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into our time. It truly was a blessing and refreshment for us. It was also so special for me to share with Eric and the girls a place that is so close to my heart and holds so many wonderful memories. It’s great to have some memories in Nojiri with them now, and I pray we will have many more in the years to come. 
One of my favorite things about being a missionary kid was all the other missionary kids who felt like my family. Our team is still blessed with many MKs and I am so thankful for each one of them. Right now, there are 9 pre-school-age kids here on the team! The Pfeils have three of those kids, and we are super thankful for them. We have really enjoyed serving with them, doing college ministry together, adjusting to new little babies together, and just being friends. We also trade baby sitting with them often, so that we can have date nights. As you can imagine, those are always fun nights, knowing what it would be like if we have 5 kids, all 15-17 months apart and twins at the end We actually really enjoy it and are so thankful for the sweet friendships between the kids, and our growing friendship with Jon and Sarah. God is so good.
Calvin and Martha are only 10 days apart in age and it’s great to watch them grow together. The other day Sarah and I did a little photo shoot of them, since professional baby pictures are so expensive here in Japan. We got some cute ones of them together too:
kisses for a friend!
During a date night/play date. Don’t they look like they’ve been caught in mischief?
holding hands
Olivia and Annabella (Noa calls her “Abba”) are like big sisters and the sweetest playmates for Noa. She learns so much from them and they are so patient and kind to her.
They taught Noa her original funny face and the three of them continue to create all sorts of silliness
The other day, the three of them had a blast playing dress-up with my head scarves.
group hug!
We are so thankful for these special friends!
To give you an idea of our excitement for getting to play with these friends, here’s a conversation Noa and I had the other day:
Me: Noa, do you want to go to Abba and Olivia’s house?
Noa (squealing and clapping her hands): Yea! (She runs to put on her shoes).
As I am getting Martha strapped into her seat, Noa comes over to her and grabs her hand, gets her face real close, and in her best mama-talking-to-a-baby-in-a-really-high-voice impersonation says,”Baffa, pay Alvin’s house? Yea?” (Martha, play Calvin’s house?, yea?). Hilarious little interaction that showed me two things:
1:Everyone should be as excited as Noa is to go to her friends’ house. She couldn’t help but share that joy with her sister and make sure she was just as excited to play with her little friend.
2:My daughter is learning more from me than just words. I am always amazed at how she mimics my tone and pitch in many things, especially when interacting with Martha. Makes me want to be so careful about how I speak to people, especially their father, as little ears hear and copy so much of what I say and how I say it.
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!