Golden Week concert

In early May, our coffee shop in Minami Aso hosted a concert featuring piano, contrabass, and narration. Over twenty people attended. This was a great way to bring new people into the building and allow us to meet. It was a beautiful concert, too!

The Olympic torch ran by!

Though people are unsure whether the Olympics will actually take place this year in Tokyo, the Olympic torch made its way through Kikuchi in May. Melodie and I accidentally came upon it and stopped for a historic moment. Our dog Fritz enjoyed the hubbub, too!

Ibusuki, Japan

Coronavirus outbreaks make planning anything difficult. Our ABWE annual ladies’ retreat is usually scheduled for April, but last year we met in October. This year, with different people’s schedules and other concerns, we met in May… right as rainy season began! However, there were several times when the rain stopped enough to ride bikes, walk the beach, and cross this semi-permanent land bridge/sand bar to this island. Some of the ladies even climbed to the top of the island… in flip flops! Kudos to them!

My favorite part of ladies’ retreat is always the spiritual sharing we have together. This year we each prepared ahead of time, reading Romans 12 separately. Then together we discussed how to live out what is written within it. I came away with a sense that I really want to change to be more like Jesus!

Extra visitors to ladies’ retreat this year

Homeschool is going to the dogs!

Homeschool is winding down for the year. Melodie is finishing ninth grade, and Cameron eleventh. The McVickers’ dog is on Melodie’s lap as she studies, as Fritz looks on. We are grateful to finish up another year together, studying US government, algebra/geometry, literature, English grammar and composition, and science. Melodie is also studying Japanese, photography, and drawing. Cameron is working on learning to play drums and the dobro (a lap guitar).