Since we last wrote we have counted blessings!
We drove the 4 hours to Sendai in the quiet of our gasoline engine-d "new" car and visited non-stop with a fellow missionary we admire but didn’t know well. In Sendai the mission leadership team and Japanese church association leadership team met jointly. What an honor to see the caliber of the people we get to work along side of! We ate well, bathed in the hot springs, worked and shared. Blessing number one!
We had visits with our Asia Director from Singapore and our Member Care Minister from Canada . Again we thanked God for these leaders who challenged and blessed us. Blessing number two!
Since we last wrote, three chairs have gone to two nearby countries. The first shipment (two chairs) we didn’t even know about until afterward. Praise God for an active, growing network. Blessing number three!
The chair we sent has another story. Even with a last minute request, Japan Airlines graciously allowed a wheelchair to travel as gratis excess baggage. We had actually expected to send two, but with communication glitches, one bright purple plaid wheelchair had to be left behind in our living room. Disappointing. It was still there when a friend from Oregon arrived with his boss. Our purple plaid conversation piece brought the talk to Wheelchairs of Hope-and the need for help creating a business plan. Guess what. It "just happened" that our friend’s boss, whose many degrees includes an executive MBA, used to critique business plans for a living. He offered to help write the plan. Blessing number four!
Oh, and as a side order on the blessing menu-They treated us to amazing Chinese food. We had been on a date there before and could only afford what turned out to be an appetizer, but this night we ate so many courses we were more than full before the meal was over. So that brings us to five, and there are more, but time and energy fail us as the clock ticks past our bedtime.
Okay, just one more:
Anna, our baby, turned 21 since we wrote last. I guess that means we can’t pretend to be 39 anymore. What a blessing that is!
Anna, our baby, turned 21 since we wrote last. I guess that means we can’t pretend to be 39 anymore. What a blessing that is!
Pray:
This weekend is our mission’s annual conference. We are looking forward to more blessings with a weekend to play and worship together with our fellow missionaries.
This weekend is our mission’s annual conference. We are looking forward to more blessings with a weekend to play and worship together with our fellow missionaries.
Pray for blessings at the women’s Bible study at Deaf church, we are studying the Gospel of Mark.
And for the Bible translation, what a blessing it would be to find a full-time translator.
The Penner Place 