Here’s an update on our canjo-making workshop held Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013. We were expecting a mix of adults and children, but it ended up being mostly 5th and 6th graders. The instrument making went pretty smoothly, though there was a bit of a time crunch to get them all done.

Our mini-concert went really well, in my opinion. Melodie maintained her nerve to play an electric canjo (are you amazed?!) for two songs. Her first one went without a hitch. She hit a snag on the second one, but after finding her place again, she finished the entire song. No tears either! 🙂 That’s always good.

We never know who we will meet at events like this or where this will lead in the future. God knows. We have a new opportunity this week to speak to a group of volunteers to which our contractor belongs. He said we could speak about our work here, our personal life experience, or anything we want. Sounds like an open door. Pray with me that I’ll know what I should say.

A note of praise: A friend we have been praying for recently attended our Bible study. He got to hear about Jesus’ miracles, the need for faith, and how faith takes away our fear. We were thrilled!

The two main things going on during this week (and the past couple) involve remodeling our new home and preparing for a music-type workshop.

Our house…before

Our home…later!

Our yard…before

Our yard …. later!

First, the house. Wednesdays mean work at the house. The kids and I attacked the gigantic pile of brush and tree limbs, cut them into smaller pieces, and burned them for several hours today. Tiring work! All that fresh air and exercise! 🙂 Norman was busy inside, screwing the new floor boards down in three rooms. I kept trying to tell him he had a screw loose, but…

This weekend, Norman will lead a workshop on making a simple, hand-made instrument. You’ve heard of a banjo? This is called a canjo, because it uses a can (think tin can) and one guitar string. It has frets and is played note by note up to an octave and a half instead of chords. It’s simple to play. Melodie (age 7) was able to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” after a couple tries. So Saturday, our whole family will help parents and children put together their very own canjos, make pizza in an outdoor oven, and sing a mini-concert, mostly of English children’s songs. To go along with this event, Norman has been utilizing all of our family to put together a simple CD of these songs so the new canjo-owners can play along with them at their leisure. Melodie surprised us by offering to sing the ABC song! Through this event, we hope to make new friends, get our faces out there, and be able to spread God’s message to our new friends in the future.

The illustrious canjo

We appreciate your prayers and comments to us. It’s nice to hear that someone reads this blog! And without God, nothing of eternal value will happen here in Japan. Keep praying, please!

You are out in the country. Your son cuts his finger. It bleeds like crazy. If you live in America, you most likely know exactly what to do. What if you live in Japan? My first thought was to take him to a walk-in clinic. But they usually treat colds, viruses, etc. In all my years living here, I have yet to see any bleeding people enter the doors during my waiting hours. Go to a hospital? Well…I could, but some hospitals are specialized in rehabilitation or something and wouldn’t take care of our problem. What to do?

We decided to take our son to a clinic and see where they would redirect us. I accidentally passed the one I was aiming for (we haven’t lived in this town very long), so I continued on to visit our usual family doctor. On the way, I realized that they are closed on Wednesday afternoons. Okay. Plan B. A new hospital was built near that clinic, called Kikuyo Hospital. Sounds great. We walked in, and they told us, “Sorry. This is hospital treats cardiac patients.” Or that is what I understood them to say. (It is actually a psychiatric hospital!) However, they pointed me to another hospital just minutes from our home which was able to treat my son’s finger! Whew! (Nothing serious, by the way. No stitches). Afterward, Cameron stated, “I guess this means I won’t be getting that pocketknife that I wanted anytime soon.” Uh. No.

Words that popped up during this escapade that I didn’t know: tetanus shot, water-repellant bandage, and cardiac (er…mental).

Today the kids and I visited a fall festival in our town. There was warbling Asian music that one of our children said sounded like “old ladies singing.” There was a giant drum with a man practically doing the splits in front of pounding away with loud shouts from time to time. There were even hula dancers. (Oh, boy!)

What could be more interesting than that? Well, perhaps a white mom and three white kids with blonde hair! We felt like we stuck out like a sore thumb, but we got to meet some new people. Three young boys (ages 5, 7, and 8) kept coming up to us, asking questions like “Where do you come from?” and “How long did it take for your plane to get here?” and “Why did you come to Japan?” I was happy to share my answers, including the fact that God loves Japanese people, and we are here to share that.

Just before we were leaving, an older couple approached us and asked similar questions, soon switching to English. The wife is from the Philippines and didn’t speak Japanese. Who know what God might do with these meetings of “chance.”

We got home, and the neighbor boy came over to play. Cameron and Chloe were tired, but Melodie can’t seem to get enough play time with others. Up till now, she has refused to play without her siblings outside, too, but today, for the first time, she played by herself with the Japanese neighbor boys! I peeked out the window and saw her smiling big and enjoying herself (even though she can’t speak Japanese yet). Cameron saw her, too, and decided to join the fun.

Thanks for all of you who faithfully pray for our family. We are still getting settled back in here, to this place God has called us. We want to be faithful servants of God, and we want our children to love it here, too.

Sometimes it’s a stretch to see how God can use a particular talent. For years, Norman has enjoyed painting, creating, and craftsmanship. He had a hard time seeing how he could use that to meet or interact with people. But he finally found a way.

This past week (Sept. 11-16) he took part in an art event with about ten other artists, exhibiting and selling their wares. Norman was busy these past months making hand-made instruments such as cigar-box guitars, ukeleles, and the little-known diddleybow (a one-stringed instrument). He also made a new collection of spray-paint art depicting the universe, calling it the “Creation Sings” collection.

Through this event, he was able to meet many new people, hand out invitations to our Sunday night Bible study, and strengthen existing relationship with his artist friends. Several of the new contacts have shown interest in the Bible study. Please pray that they will attend soon. Others seem interested in our family, so maybe these relationships can continue past this event.

Norman is understandably tired after being gone from home the past week, coming home only to collapse into bed. But reflecting God’s own creativity has been a highlight for him and hopefully a witness to others.

There’s nothing like 90 or 100 degree heat along with 80% humidity! Whew! We go through lots of water, tea, and ice coffee. (Popsicles and ice cubes for the kids.) Cameron walks around with a long skinny towel around his neck to use as a “sweat cloth.” (With the way he sneezes at dust, it doubles as a handkerchief!)

We were all glad to travel into the mountains a few days ago to help out with teaching English to 6th and 9th graders at a Japanese school event. Our kids enjoyed the extra attention and being able to run around and play with other kids, and we were able to meet many new people and even a few old friends. Even though the English was not the best (“How many deers do you have?”), the people time was great!

I had the challenge of using ventriloquism in a slight mixture of English and Japanese or very easy English sentences. I had volunteers come up to talk to Jasper, and the man introducing me called me a pro. (Wow.) Many had never seen a ventriloquist before. Or a blond-headed kid like Melodie, for that matter! I thought one 9th grade girl was a little spacey until I realized she was just staring at my eye color!

“My name is Susan. Nice to meet you.”

OK. So maybe you heard that we live in a small apartment. Do you really understand what small means in Japanese terms? Let me give you a clearer picture. We can have only one guest at a time for a meal…because that’s all our living room will hold. The width of our bedroom is such that Norman can touch both walls at the same time by stretching out his arms. Half our belongings are in storage because there isn’t room for them…and compared to lots of people, we don’t have that much.

All of that to say this.

Even though it is small, we are having a great time here! When we talked about moving, Chloe was adamant. “I don’t want to leave! I’ve got friends here!” And they do. Right next door. Three elementary-aged boys have brought joy and fun to our kids. The most surprising thing is seeing our shy Melodie chasing one of them in a game of tag. God is amazing.

Besides that, our neighbors are friendly. The lady next door told me this morning, “I want to talk more to you.” (She also thinks I am so cool because of my white skin. I love Japan! She had a hard time believing Americans desire to be tan.)

On top of that, I am closer to my children (in more ways than one). In a bigger home, the kids can play or study out of my sight most of the day. Here, there isn’t that opportunity. So I notice them more, play with them more, and find more teachable moments.

Of course, with a husband who enjoys working with his hands, this place is a bit small. But somehow he manages to squeeze in a clamp table in the entrance way during his projects. It’s nice for him, too, to be within arm’s reach. The kids are spending more time with him, too, even getting to help him. Melodie told me this week, “I hope Dad likes people asking questions, because I’m asking him a lot of them!”

What small things can you thank God for this week? May my life be characterized by a thankful spirit. May yours be, too!

We keep thinking life might slow down one of these days…but it hasn’t yet! Our co-worker, Sue Hahn, left today for her last furlough in America. She plans to retire after one more term of service here. A group of her friends joined her at the airport to say farewell for now.

Then, for me, it was back to finish homeschool for the day, get groceries, fix meals, do loads of laundry (since it’s a sunny day), and spend a little time with the girls. Norman took Cameron to visit with Norman’s friend and then to attend Cameron’s first ukelele class. Cameron was so excited about it! He’s been strumming away so much he got a blister on his thumb. Chloe has recently been trying her hand(s) at the guitar as well. And Melodie…well, she can’t seem to push guitar strings hard enough to play it properly, and her fingers are so skinny, they struggle to cover the holes on a recorder. Maybe one of these days!

I had to take Melodie to the dermatologist this week due to her peeling hands. She had tiny bumps all over them, with a similar problem on her feet as well. The doc said it was because of excess sweating and gave her some cream. It has been warming up here, and the sweating will continue for at least another three and a half months! Pray that this will clear up.

Norman will be recording Danielle Petite’s original music for a CD next week. He was able to meet with Mr. S. two times for a Bible study, and we pray that Mr. S. will make time to finish the last two lessons. Pray with us!

Thanks for your interest in the ministry here. We rely on the prayers of people like you to be able to accomplish the work God gives us. Let us know how we can pray for you, too.

People might think we LIKE to move. We seem to do it often enough!

Here we are in a new apartment, a new suburb, making new friends. Imagine a family of five and all their belongings squeezing into a small two-bedroom apartment. That’s us! Well, let me clarify. We moved all our stuff out of storage yesterday, and God amazingly gave us a storage area right next door! Japan doesn’t do self-storage units like the US, so it was a concern.

It was quite a day yesterday. Raining. Rainy season just began, you see. More of a light mist. Norman tried to get the 2-ton truck into the narrow driveway between two buildings without success, ending up parking alongside the narrow road between our apartment and the storage building. (Follow me so far?) About five minutes into the unloading (with all three of our kids making trips back and forth), I slammed my “glass” toe into something and re-fractured it. If you don’t know, I have delicate, skinny toes that are prone to breakage. I ended up in the moving truck, sliding stuff to the doors. Out of the blue, a group of elementary school children on their way home from school stopped and offered to help. They said we looked pitiful and wanted to help! Well, praise God! They made countless trips back and forth, saving the heavy boxes for the sturdiest boy, who also happens to be our new neighbor.

We got it all unloaded with no other incidents, other than providing Cameron and Chloe “the best day since we got here!” They made a ton of new friends! They played again today with them, having the time of their lives.

God works in mysterious ways!

We are hoping to move into a slightly larger place within the next two weeks. It has been a slow process but we are finally moving forward. I have been able to reconnect with several people in the past three weeks and have many more on the list. Susan and the kids are more than ready to get into a place with more room!  Susan says life doesn’t really begin until she has ready access to our car. Having it parked outside the door will be a lot better than the 20 minute walk we have for now.