The End of Project

this is probably mostly for my own benefit (i need closure...), but if you're reading, enjoy- as it will probably be my last post about Tokyo A Summer Project 2009.

when we arrived in Hakone, we took a bus to our hotel/B&B. walked to the Family Mart to buy dinner and some snacks. saturday we took gondolas over the mountains to a lake, where we took a pirate ship across to a cute little town with a big shrine. we grabbed some lunch and ate it next to the water (very peaceful except for when josh squirted ketchup all over andrew and he had to wash his shirt in the water). then andrew, kylan and i took a swan paddle boat over to the shrine gate, then came back and hiked a path up to the actual shrine. there were some other tourists, but there were a lot of people doing ritualistic things as well which was heartbreaking to watch.

after we all met up again as a team, we just chilled by the water, sunbathed, played cards, etc. until dinnertime- we went to a place called The Madhatter that had some awesome kabob sandwiches, then we waited 45 minutes for the next bus home.

sunday we woke up early and went to Yunisun, a huge water park of different baths- for example, they had a chocolate bath, a honey bath, a dead sea bath, a strawberry bath, coffee bath, green tea bath, wine bath, sake bath, and others. basically the entire day was walking around and soaking in different baths. it was amazing. they also had a water slide we went on a few times. we had lunch at the park where they had a massive buffet set up, then after lunch we went to one "bath" where basically you dangle your legs in a pool of little tiny fish that come and nibble away the dead skin off your feet- i would not recommend this if you're ticklish. they tickled so badly! my feet were all soft afterward though... that night we went to dinner at an italian restaurant, then had one last Bible study as a team, then played cards for awhile until midnight when everyone surprised me for my 21st birthday with a little birthday tirimasu cake and some little presents and a card- it was really cute.

monday morning we left at 7:15 am for the bus station- we had a bit of a hike with all our luggage but we made it. took the bus to the train station, took the train to Shinjuku, changed trains to the Narita Express which took us to the airport. we had plenty of time to kill at the airport, so we bought some lunch (last sushi in Japan...) and some souvenirs (and in commemoration of my 21st birthday, i bought a Japan shot glass that i'm currently keeping all my Japanese coins in- it's very handy). then after a few card games it was time to board the plane. we ended up being really spread out on the plane, but it was cool because i sat next to a Taiwanese college girl and we got into a conversation and i was able to share the gospel with her over dinner :) i've decided plane rides are wonderful times to share the gospel- you have a captive audience!

our flight left June 29 about 5:30 pm (Tokyo time). we landed in LA June 29 about 11 am (LA time). we arrived back at Vanguard University for debriefing about 1 pm, got some real american pizza for lunch, then relaxed until dinner and evening meeting. it was 2 other girls' birthday as well, so at the end of meeting they made us stand up and everyone sang happy birthday to us. after meeting the team presented me with 2 more birthday cards, one that had "21 Things We Love About Kimi" which was really cute. then a few of us went to the store and got a couple angel food cakes, whipped cream and strawberries and came back and had another little celebration. then we played cards and hung out in the guys' suite until bedtime.

tuesday i wasn't feeling well (i'd started feeling a bit feverish on the plane) so i slept for most of the day until team meeting in the afternoon. we got to write on a white board all our memories and recall stories which was fun. then we had free time until dinner and evening meeting, then that night we had one last "clearing the air time" with our team. it was good closure. wednesday we had breakfast, morning meeting, and team time, where we spent 5 minutes encouraging/thanking each person on our team which was really cool. then we had some free time until dinner and the last evening meeting that was sort of a "decommissioning" but also a "recommissioning" to go out and make wherever we are our mission and our ministry. and it reminded me that whatever i'm doing, if i'm doing it to the glory of God and to show others his light, then it is my mission. whatever job i have, i can make it my ministry. i can share Christ's love with every person i meet, whether i'm in Japan or Los Angeles or Texas. Jesus didn't descriminate- he didn't just share God's love with certain cities, he made every city, every town, every road he traveled his ministry, and so should we if our desire is to live like Christ. wednesday night our team went to huntington beach and gen and heather washed our feet, and then we all went to Ruby's for milkshakes.

thursday was a sad day, because it was a day of goodbyes. the michiganders and matt left first, then most of the team went to disneyland and jeremy and i stayed behind to wait for gen and heather, then they left for disneyland and trina and paul took me to the airport. man, airport people in America are SO different than the ones in Japan....i miss Japan. i arrived back in Dallas thursday night, spent the next 5 days with family and friends, and then headed back to LA to spend the rest of the summer.

and that's where i am now, back in LA, missing home, missing Japan, and missing my team and the Japanese students like crazy, but i know God has a purpose in this, and while i do not know his plans for me, He does, and they will be more wonderful than i can ever imagine. someday i hope to return to Japan, but until then, i will continue to grow in what i began to learn this summer, and continue to pray and keep up with the students i met in Japan. my request for anyone reading this is that you would continue (or begin) to pray for the country of Japan, that the hope of love of Christ would spread like wildfire in that nation, that the students of that country would become a new generation of believers and would rise up and build a new nation founded on God's Word, and that God would send even more laborers over there to share the good news of him.

Tokyo A Summer Project 2009: always remember the laughter, the fun, the silly moments, the hardships, the trials and struggles, but most importantly the love.

not the end. only the beginning...