NIHONGO NO BENKYOU (Japanese Studies)

Our major pastime here in Karuizawa is not watching monkeys or having picnics with friends, but is studying Japanese! We realized that most of our previous blog posts show these 'more exciting' activities ... it just isn't so fun to take pictures of us doing homework! Actually, spending time with Japanese friends, IS a great way to praftice our Japanese, but we have to learn new words and sentences before we can use them. :)

I am currently studying a course called Minna No Nihongo "Japanese for Everyone", a Shukyou course (Biblical & spiritual terminology and useage), and an independant study Kanji course (Chinese Characters used in Japanese writing). Sarah is about halfway through an intro course called Hajime no Ippo "First Steps in Japanese" and will soon begin the Minna No Nihongo course. She is also studying the Kanji along with me.

Here's a little of my Kanji practice:


Please pray for us in our studies. Pray that we would have energy, dilligence, and enthusiasm. Pray that God would continually strengthen our vision for the future, along with a clear sense of how our studies will be crucial to our future work.

Visit to the Uenoyama's House

The Uenoyamas are a wonderful and gracious couple from our church here in Karuizawa. They used to live in Chiba, and I actually had met them during my first term here in Japan (2001). Amazing to meet them again, now living in Karuizawa!

Mr. Uenoyama is a Christian who actually came to faith through the ministry of our MTW team in Chiba several years ago. Mrs. Uenoyama is not yet a believer. (This is a difficult reality in the Japanese church, having individuals come to faith within a family that still follows traditional Buddhist and/or Shinto beliefs.)

They had us over for a delicious Japanese style dinner on Saturday night. It was especially interesting to hear Mr. Uenoyama tell a little about his testimony of coming to Christ. To him, the biggest influence in turning from a life of a typical nominal Buddhist was the JOY that he saw on the faces of Christians. This was something that he didn't have, and something that we wanted. This led his search to the Bible, and to missionaries & Japanese Christians who could help him understand.

Speaking of JOY, Olivia couldn't contain her joy as she played all night long with the Uenoyama's cat named Rascal. :)

A new baby cousin

Olivia & Annabella have a new cousin. Jon's sister Sara had her first baby on May 22. His name is Ezra. We love that name!

Olivia has been praying for "baby Ebaas" for months now, and she and Annabella clapped when they heard the news that he was born. :)

Night Drive through Tokyo (in the rain)

Sarah took this cool photo of Tokyo as she and Lisa (an MTW teammate) were driving back to Karuizawa after spending the weekend in Chiba. They atteded a baby shower for the pastor's wife of Chiharadai Church. The pastor, Tokuhiro, was my roommate 6 years ago when I first lived in Japan.

Here's a photo of the Baby Shower for Chiho. Japanese don't do baby showers, so this was a new concept for everyone. Notice the two guys in the photo. They came with their wives because they didn't really know what kind of a party this was. They stayed and had fun, though! (Chiho & Tokuhiro are sitting in the front middle.)

"Anime style" drawing of the girls

Our 8 year old friend Noeru (Noel) from church drew these pictures of the girls. Their names are written in Japanese (Katakana script). On the left is Olivia (O-ri-bi-a) and then Annabella (A-na-be-ra) on the right is winking. ;)

Update on Jon's Mom

Mom & Dad met with the oncologist recently. The doctor advised that the slides and pathology results should be sent to California for an Oncotype DX Breast Cancer Assay to determine if her situation is a "low risk"; "intermediate risk" or "high risk" on the recurrence of cancer --- both with and without chemo. It is possible that Mom may not need to have chemo. She is asking that we pray that the test result analysis would lead toward a decisive answer as to what course to follow. Thank you for your continuing prayers!

So where exactly are we?

Here is a nice map I found showing eactly where we are in Japan.

We live in a small town named Karuizawa up in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture. Our altitude is almost exactly 1000m (3280 ft).

A day in the Park with the Tokutake family

We had a fun day today with the Tokutake family. We recently met them at Karuizawa Christ Church, where we have been attending. They have an 8 year old daughter named Noeru (Japanese pronuciation of the name Noel). She just loves our two little girls, and was a great playmate for Olivia today. We walked about 45 minutes(!) to get to Yagasaki park, since the roads are really busy this week (it is "Golden Week", the biggest vactaion week for all of Japan). It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed talking with them along the way. We are thankful that God is providing some young Japanese families for us to develop friendships with - to learn and share with each other our faith, our languages and our cultures.

The Sakura (cherry blossoms) are finally in bloom here in Karuizawa and are very beautiful. Most of Japan blooms in early April, but Karuizawa is late because of it's high altitude.

At Yagasaki Park, we found ducks and large carp fish to feed in the small lake. Olivia loved it! You can see the delight on here face in the photo.