"O-hisashiburi"

"O-hisashiburi!" means something like, "Wow, it's been a long time!" in Japanese. Standing in front of the Kanto Gakuin Mission House here are the current residents of apartment B (the Davidson family), and the Miyake family, who lived in this apartment up until 2000. The Miyakes were in ministry in Japan for eight years. Ron served as a missionary teacher at the Miharudai high school campus of Kanto Gakuin, and Carol assisted at the Mutsuura Preschool, among other ministry activities. What a joy to be able to visit with them and to hear their stories of "days gone by" here at the Mission House.

The current Mission House was built about 35 years ago, and has four apartments--two for families and two for single missionaries. Though only two of those apartments are being used as residences at this time, one of the other apartments is being put to good use as a weekly meeting place for both the Sigma Society (a college volunteer club), and the Fellowship group. We also use it to house guests coming to volunteer in Japan through the ABC/USA.

Ron and Carol are now active in Evergreen Church in Southern California, and are enjoying their ministry in the US. God's blessings be with them!

"The Amenables" hit Japan!

Lawrence, Woun, Sun, and Jeremy--a praise band called, "The Amenables." They took Japan by storm! Well, anyway, they were very well received at Soshin Jr. High and High School and at Kanto Gakuin University, where they led worship and got to share their gifts with students one-on-one.

Here at KGU, they did two chapel services--on two different campuses--and rocked the house with an tripped out version of "As the Deer" as well as a number of original compositions. "Wow--those guys can play!" said one student. Another wrote, "超～良かった！{heart}" ("Totally fabulous!")--Maybe she had a little crush???

Anyway, after a long day, I figured the guys needed a break, so we went to Miura no Yu, a cool public bath right underneath a suspended train track close by. YES, that sounds like a strange place for a spa, and it is. But anyway, once you get inside Miura no Yu, there are plenty of ways to relax. Everybody especially liked going into the hot sauna until they were beet red, then plopping into the freezing cold "mizu-ba" (cold water bath). Yikes!

The Amenables joined us in a Fellowship group meeting and got to spend time jammin' out with a group of 12 Korean Campus Crusade for Christ summer volunteers, too. Everybody in Asia seems to know the song "Kimi Wa Ai Sareru Tame Umareta!" So we had a "Kimi Wa" songfest in Japanese and Korean...

Thanks for all your energy and tireless ministry here in Yokohama, guys! We love ya! Come back soon!

The Amenables are related to Japanese First Baptist Church of Seattle, WA, though a few are members of other churches, as well. For a complete report of The Amenables' trip, or to find out more about them, check out their website at:

http://www.jbcseattle.org/amenables/home.html

"Pray for me!"

...was probably what Bob was thinking when he was eating this "sazae"--Japanese conch--during a recent visit to the Tokyo bay area (Barb looks like she could have handled it though, huh). Bob is a volunteer with American Baptist Churches Board of International Ministries who travels the globe to provide pastoral care to missionaries and their families. He also trains in prayer ministry.

He and his wife, Barb, were on their way back from Thailand and were able to spend a few days with us in Japan. While here, he got to meet a few other mission colleagues and to lead a seminar in prayer ministry with pastors in the Japan Baptist Union. Lots of hard work, mixed in with all this fun!

He also did a great job entertaining our kids with his crazy Italian, NEW JERSEY accent--"Woada--can I get a glass a woada please!"

Take a moment to lift up a prayer for the Santillis as they continue to serve in ministry around the world!