turning Japanese

It has taken me much longer than is acceptable to write this blog entry. We spilled water on a table which our computer was sitting on and now we have a keyboard with a few of the keys not working. Two of which are the “t” key and the “y” key. So, we have to copy and paste ever t and y that goes into any sort of letter so…writing any sort of response or email takes quite some time. We are trying to decide on the best course of action to repair our sick keyboard.

Well, we have been in Japan now for about two months and we are getting more acquainted with the new culture with each passing day. At first, it was very difficult to be here. We experienced some culture shock for about two weeks after our arrival and we were quite surprised with all the emotion that living in a new culture can bring. Everything was so new. We were far away from anything that was familiar.

We started our new jobs as English Instructors about five days after we got in japan. Training was intense. We got a lot of information all at once but now we are much more comfortable in our jobs and we are starting to get to know some of the students a lot better. Although we are feeling more and more comfortable in our job, things with the company we work for are not looking so great. There is a lot of talk about bankruptcy and we just received a fax today from the president stating that we aren’t getting paid when we are supposed to because there are not enough funds to do so. Jason and I have been praying about what to do in the next few days. This whole situation has become much more serious since we got here. NOVA has taken a nose dive in the public’s eye and financially. NOVA was caught in an advertising scandal back in June and the punishment handed out was that NOVA wasn't allowed to enroll any new students and some students were upset about the situation so they asked for refunds of their already prepaid contracts. so, what is happening to NOVA is what happened with some of the banks during the great depression. NOVA customers deposited their money and then a mad rush came to withdraw it all back out again. Leaving NOVA with only output and no means of input since they were not allowed to enroll new students for 6 months. so, Please pray for us as we seek the Lord about what we should do in regards to this situation. We don’t want to leave japan yet but we need jobs so….we are looking and trusting that the Lord knows what is going on and that He will provide for us.

Being in Japan has really helped me to slow down. I realize since being here that m life in the states was too busy. Too full of activity…..although all that I did I loved, I just did too much. I am much more still in Japan even though our future here is much more shaky. The Lord is teaching me a lot about surrender and more about his character and His deep love for all of his children. I am very content here and this has only come within the last few weeks which is quite ironic since the current situation, under any other circumstances, would make me nervous and anxious.

We have also seen some great parts of traditional Japanese culture. We went to a sumo tournament, walked around the beautiful East Garden of the Imperial Palace, have had an overpriced, but delicious sushi meal, and we are learning how to read and write in Japanese.We are planning some trips in the near future to some great countryside in a couple of weeks as well as a trip to the southern part of japan sometime in November with Jason’s cousin, Ryan who is also a teacher in the same company.

We are excited to see what all the Lord has to show us. Please pray for us when you think of us as we seek what the Lord would want us to do next if the company we work for fails to survive. Also, please pray for our living situation as we live in a NOVA accommodation and if NOVA fails we will not have a place to live. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I will try to write more than just an update very soon.

1st picture: taken from the east garden of the imperial palace....its a wonderful retreat from the very loud and very busy city life

2nd picture: our expensive sushi (we were a bit shocked when we walked into the restaurant) but a wonderful presentation! also, it was delicious!

video: taken while we were at our first sumo match.