Hi! It's been a while since you've heard from us. We had a great summer. It's been great to explore our neighbourhood and get to know some of our neighbours together. We are really enjoying our new home and ministry in the Harumi area.
In an effort to get to know people and to enjoy being a part of the community, we attended the local matsuri, or summer festival. Heather really got excited about learning some Japanese dances from Kimiyo Otani and others. The next night she was able to join in again and help Laura and Megan to get involved. They'd missed out the evening before. We enjoyed tradional matsuri food and entertainment, greeted several neighbourhood people we'd already met and just soaked in the atmosphere.
In August we enjo
yed a couple of great weeks at our cabin near the ocean north of Tokyo. We missed record high temperatures in Tokyo, enjoyed great weather at the beach and had lots of wonderful family time together. We were pleased to find the cabin almost bug free this year, thanks to the fact that a number of trees have been cut down around the cabin letting in some much-needed light. It was fun to have friends there as well. The Kindervaters were in a cabin just a couple away from ours for a short 4 days. We enjoyed Joel and Pauline Black and kids for several days, and our friends the DeLaCours were there the whole time we were this year. What a gift to be able to spend relaxed time with friends and family. Many of these friends we only see on the run.
yed a couple of great weeks at our cabin near the ocean north of Tokyo. We missed record high temperatures in Tokyo, enjoyed great weather at the beach and had lots of wonderful family time together. We were pleased to find the cabin almost bug free this year, thanks to the fact that a number of trees have been cut down around the cabin letting in some much-needed light. It was fun to have friends there as well. The Kindervaters were in a cabin just a couple away from ours for a short 4 days. We enjoyed Joel and Pauline Black and kids for several days, and our friends the DeLaCours were there the whole time we were this year. What a gift to be able to spend relaxed time with friends and family. Many of these friends we only see on the run. 
We came home just in time to attend the Harumi Camp in Chiba. About 30 Harumi people, friends and family spent the weekend at one 
believer's home near the beach in Chiba. We had a great time together relaxing, playing games, studying God's Word, singing, going to the beach and of course, eating!September 7th Heather headed to Pakistan to work with TEAM until May of next year. Check out her blog. She's excited about all the new things she's experiencing, but at the same time overwhelmed by it all. I know she'd appreciate your prayers. We really miss her, but we're so excited that she's finally in Pakistan doing what she feels so called to do.
