Wow! Thanks for praying!

Recently I sent out a "list" of people I'm working with asking people to pray for opportunities to share Christ with them. The response from "pray - ers" has been phenomenal, humbling and encouraging. Thank you so much for your support! I've had lots of opportunities to meet with moms and talk to them about my relationship with God. Please continue to pray that their hearts would be open and that they would have a desire to learn more. They have lots of questions and seem somewhat interested.

Narumi, Luna and Fumito (sleeping) with their Moms

I can't believe that we'll be going on home assignment in only 5 short months. Wow! So little time and so much to do! Pray with me that God will use us in an incredible way to bring the people he leads us to one step closer to Him.

Moms and kids circle continues to be a lot of fun and a great place to meet young moms. The group in really becoming close and affords lots of opportunities for deep conversation.

Snack time! Lots of fun! I'll keep you updated!

Harumi Community Christmas Party

About 50 people from our various programs and classes attended our community Christmas party on December 17th. Many of those who came were families with young children. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the crafts . . .

Food . . .

A puppet show . . . "What's Christmas all about anyway?"

A great message "What's Christmas all about anyway?"

And a lot of fun! Pray that these contacts will continue to attend and seek a deeper understanding of who God is and how He can have a part in their lives.

English Class Christmas Party

Last Wednesday, we hosted a Christmas party for my three adult English classes. About 25 attended and we had a great time. Every year I'm amazed at how well chirashi zushi (a type of sushi) goes with turkey, dressing and gravy. What a great meal! I have some wonderful cooks and bakers in my classes and when we get together they enjoy going all out.


After lunch Doug lead some Christmas carols with his guitar. I looked around and marveled at all of these Japanese (mostly women) obviously enjoying singing Christmas hymns about the birth of the Saviour that I'm so desperate to tell them about. Many have commented on what a great experience that was. For my Harumi class women, it was probably the first time they'd ever sung Christmas carols. However, several from my Sayama and Kotesashi classes have experienced this several times and look forward to the party each year because it will give them the chance to sing them again.



Don Love told a great story about an early Christmas experience that made him realize the joy of giving and of God's ultimate gift to us in Jesus Christ. Everyone seemed to enjoy hearing a little about Canadian Christmas and what the season means to him.Please pray that this explanation of the true meaning of Christmas will create an opening in hearts that will allow the gospel message to take root over the next few months.

Fall Barbeque

Thanks so much for praying for our fall barbeque. We had over 40 attend including several families from our Moms and tots time and returnees from our Hawaiian party in July. We decided to do a "Canadian style" barbeque with hotdogs, hamburgers and baked beans. Everything was a hit!

The activity: road hockey of course. It was the first time for most and everyone enjoyed it, especially the kids.








The barbeque offered the perfect opportunity to visit casually with those that we usually only see during class times. It also opened the doors to future outreach event.





Our Christmas outreach program will be next Sunday, December 16th. We'd appreciate your continued prayer support. Thanks so much!

Another Community Opportunity

Last Saturday Megan and I enjoyed a couple of hours of traditional Japan dancing as we watched the Aouodori on the terrace near our apartment building. It was a fun way to see and meet neighbours, while enjoying a beautiful, warm day. Several of the moms from my moms and tots class were out with their children. It was really fun to connect in a place other than the classroom at the community centre, and for people to realize that we are part of the community and interested in what they are interested in. This gives us a broader base of common interests to talk about together and to build a relationships on.

We are really enjoying this arrangement of living in the community where our ministry is. For over 2 years we commuted to this neighbourhood while we were in the mission leadership role. Since moving here, I've been able to enjoy having coffee with women and getting to know them better. Hopefully I'll earn the right that comes through relationship of sharing Christ with them in a meaningful way.

One of my new friends has become my walking partner. She has expressed an interest in studying the Bible so that she can better understand the stories portrayed on the stain glass windows of cathedrals she likes to visit in Europe. She attended a Catholic School for both her Elementary and High School education so many of the stories are familiar to her and have left her with a good impression of the Bible and of Christians. Please pray that Yuko would be open as I talk with her about my relationship with Christ as we walk together.

Another new friend, Kumiko, spent many of her Elementary School years in Germany and is much more open to different religions and worldviews than her counterparts who were raised exclusively in Japan. She has attended Bible study a couple of times and also seems open to the gospel.

I'm amazed at how God prepares the hearts of those he wants to touch so that they are open to Him. It's exciting to be used by God in this way. I'm looking forward to see who He will lead my way next!

Special Olympics 2007

Thanks to some very special friends who gave up their air miles for me, I was able to travel to Shanghai, China to see my niece Emily Boycott compete in Rhythmic Gymnastics in the Special Olympics!

There were so many highlights, but I'll name only a few. The Opening Ceremonies was a 3 hour long extravaganza attended by 80,000 people from all over the world. Also in attendance was Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor Colin Farrell, pianist Lang Lang, NBA star Yao Ming, actor Jackie Chang, singer Vanessa Williams, music legends Quincy Jones, and Yo- Yo Ma and actress Zhang Ziyi. It was thrilling!

During the 5 days that I was there I was also able to see Emily's flawless preliminary performance and spend time with my brother Dave, niece Amy, nephew Matt and his girlfriend Courtney. Emily and her coach mom Debbie, were staying in another hotel with other athletes and we were able to see them only at the venue.

I am a very proud aunt and so thankful for the opportunity to take in a little of the Olympics, to meet family members and friends of the other Team Canada gymnastics's team members and many wonderful people from around the world who came to support their favourite athletes.

Our Summer

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 enjoyed 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.