We made it to Japan

We arrived at the Narita airport about 1/2 an hour earlier. The flight was smooth (thank God) and pretty empty. Some people were able to lay across the middle row. The 7+ hours went by quickly and we were kept fed and hydrated. Customs was a breeze and no long lines.  It was an efficient system. As we exited the airport, we were greeted by a familiar face. The other New Hope team members arrived an hour earlier on JAL than we did. The picture to the left is a view from our hotel room. This is a picture from our hotel room view.

Pastor Talo rented a bus to pick us all up. The weather was overcast and cool. We made our first stop at a rest station. We were in awe of the vending machines. 

Then we stopped by the New Hope office where the volunteers were busying packing up the boxes of supplies. It was nice to be reunited with Shintaru from the earlier days of when New Hope started. Here I am pictured with Shintaru Sensei and his wife. 

Getting ready to visit Japan

In 3 days Guy & I will be off to Japan. It's one of those places we've always wanted to visit. We'll be visiting New Hope Tokyo a church plant from our home church. It'll be for a conference that Guy and others from our church will speak at. We are there for only a week of which 2 days are for the conference. We're excited but a little nervous with navigating in a place where we don't speak the language. It'll be an experience all right. Heard for the restrooms, women "squat". Shayna and Sherri teased me saying I need to practicing squatting so I don't fall in the hole.

Hopefully I can blog while on our trip ...

Pray for us ... if you know me, I don't travel well. I get motion sickness and home sickness. And yet, I love seeing new places. What's up with that!

Guy Upfront & Personal

Guy delivering this weekend message, "All God's Chillun Got Gifts" at church.
Bless the heart of James a faithful professional photographer that has knows us since the beginning of our time at New Hope.

Guy's 3-points in the message:
1. Look at your strengths and not your weakness.
2. Don't devalue the gift God has given you by wanting someone else's gift.
3. Tell yourself and others you are a special piece of the puzzle.

To listen to the message, go to www.enewhope.org.

Bluegrass music in Hawaii

Yesterday Guy & I went to a baby's 1st birthday party. You may have heard me share before but 1st birthdays are a big thing in Hawaii. Josh's own 1st birthday party had close to a 1,000 people.

This 1st birthday though is blessed with musical families on both sides (mom & dad). Here the guest were treated to "bluegrass" music ... in Hawaii! Oh the sounds made me think of Jon West who used to work in the Fuller Housing office with me.

Paddling Canoe on Waikiki Beach

My sister Monica and her son David "Hoku" came for a visit. They live on the neighbor island and since Hoku was on fall break like Josh they decided to spend a few days with us.

We enjoyed a day at Waikiki Beach with my dad. Here are the kids in the canoe coming back from catching waves. My dad is a canoe captain and loves taking his grandkids out. If you're here for a visit you'll have the chance to give canoeing a try.

Here is Pohai sleeping in the wagon under the coconut tree at Waikiki Beach. ... Just another day in paradise!

Video Games

Josh loves having his brother-in-law Michael around. Here they are challenging one another in a video game. Isn't Josh's expression, so Josh?

Maicah has his own "pretend" controller and thinks he's playing with them.

Sherri taking a walk in the neighborhood

Here is Sherri taking Maicah for a wagon ride. Maicah got this wagon for his 2nd birthday from my sister Tracie.