INTO THE WORLD

As many of you know we have been constantly praying for God to lead us where we can most effectively serve Him and bring Him glory. So far God has sent us to Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan! We have been so blessed to have been a part of so many different ministry opportunities over the last 8 months and to have seen and experienced God working all over Asia. We have learned so much, not only about ministry, but about ourselves. This trip has challenged us in many ways, growing us in our relationship with God and each other. We met many people who have greatly impacted our lives and we will be forever grateful for the time we shared together in Asia.  So whats next?! Over the last month we prayed that God would again guide our way. We prayed for Him to open the doors where we need to go and close them where we didn't. After seeking His direction we felt that God was calling us to come home! We obviously had more to our trip planned, but it is just a reminder that God is in control and

     Japan has been so amazing during this winter season. Oddly the Japanese love the Christmas season. The decorations are everywhere and the city feels so magical. Because of their love for the season, it is a great opportunity to have events at the church to draw new people in. We had a Christmas party with the young adults where we ate dinner, decorated cookies, and played dirty Santa. It was a great turn out and we had so much fun with our new friends that came. This party drew in new people and great conversations. One man asked us some good questions about why we celebrated Christmas and how it was different from how other people celebrated the holidays. This gave us a great opportunity to share the true reason for Christmas and the gospel! Many sat in and listened to our conversation, captivated by the discussion.      Our time in Japan has been filled with several conversations like these, with people who admit to being unbelievers, but still want to learn and hang out with us

Happy Late Thanksgiving!  We are so happy we were able to spend Thanksgiving in Japan. It has been so fun continuing to build friendships with the missionaries at Hope Alive. On Thanksgiving day everyone came together and we met many missionaries from around Tokyo, most of whom we had not yet met. We had traditional Thanksgiving dishes which was amazing, my favorite being the broccoli and cheese casserole. I usually would not be so exited about the broccoli and cheese casserole, but it was the best I have ever eaten in my entire 28 years on earth. Also, the missionaries who usually make the turkey were not here this year and none of the other people felt confident to make one. They solved this problem by getting Emily (she is 26 and has cooking experience) to make it! At one point I found Brandon and Emily laughing historically not knowing if it was cooked or how to cut it. Despite all the challenges they faced the Turkey came out great.  We have been having a wonderful time here in To