Our family is on a two-week trip, staying one week in Minnesota and one in central Iowa. On Monday, we were able to meet up with our Japanese friend, Ritsuko, who lives in Minnesota. She set out an astounding amount of food for us! We took half of it home with us and are still eating it!

As I think back over how we met Ritsuko, I see God’s amazing hand in each part of the story. First, Ritsuko’s parents live in Kikuchi, the town we live in. It’s the same town where we opened our first coffee shop. Ritsuko was the first person to attend our first Bible study there. She was visiting Japan for an extended stay, and our family got to know her then. Her husband grew up near where I grew up in Wisconsin. And her MN home is right on the way between two of our supporting churches. We keep running into each other!

This week is sort of a “breather” for us. We are camped out in the lovely basement apartment of Mrs. Merrill in SE Minnesota. Good timing, because our kids caught colds and needed a quiet place to take it easy. The fall colors are gorgeous here this week!

We will visit Calvary Baptist Church in Rochester, MN, on Sunday. Following our time there, we will attend the Global Reach (missions) conference at Faith Baptist Bible College. We hope to be able to speak with college students and share the need in Japan. We need more workers!