Well, it's official.
Friday night I received word from my coordinator that after a long wait, 3 weeks past our original departure date, I am finally returning to Tokyo to begin my STINT Year #2 this Monday, September 26th, aka tomorrow morning. I depart from Dallas/Fort Worth at 9:50 am and arrive in Tokyo approximately 3:15 pm on Tuesday.
Unfortunately, the rest of my team has still had no word regarding their paperwork needed to get their visas (called Certificates of Eligibility), and therefore will be unable to travel with me. It seems unlikely that they will be able to leave before October 1st, and so their support-raising deadline has been pushed back to Thursday. Please continue to pray both for their remaining funds and their Certificates of Eligibility to come in as soon as possible so that they may join me quickly and we can begin our STINT year as a team. Please especially pray for my teammate Amanda Sever, who still needs to raise about $15,000. If you would like to support her financially, you can go to her giving page here: https://give.ccci.org/give/View/0646423.
Once I secure my own visa renewal in Japan and get settled in, I will begin to rebuild connections with students I met this past year and start to rebuild a foundation my team can grow on this year. Hopefully by then my team will have joined me and we can begin ministry together.
This morning at church we sang my favorite song, entitled "Your Love Never Fails." There is a line that says "You make all things work together for my good," based on Romans 8:28. It reminded me that even though my STINT year has not started out as I had planned, God has a plan and purpose in it.
It doesn't feel like I'm leaving tomorrow though. It feels like a normal Sunday evening. I'm sitting on the couch with my grampa watching football highlights. The only differences seem to be that my dad is cooking hamburgers and onion rings in my honor and I can no longer find my bed underneath the mountains of things that should be packed away in my suitcase already. I've made progress though- the mountain used to be in a pile on my floor and big round chair, now it's semi-organized and transferred to my bed. That's progress, right? ........we'll see if I end up sleeping tonight. The one nice thing about a 12 hour flight is that I can sleep a lot. And I'll be flying by myself, so unless my future husband ends up sitting next to me, I don't have any obligation to talk to anyone and can get lots of sleep.
AHHHHHHHHHH I LEAVE TOMORROW! Now it's slowly starting to hit me....after all this anticipation and waiting, it's finally happening, but my brain hasn't processed it yet. Hopefully once I get there it will sink in once I realize no one is speaking English.
Please be praying for my team, for a safe flight and for an easy transition back to Japanese life! God bless!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
DOWN TO THE WIRE
SO
Here's the situation.
1. Our deadline for support is THIS TUESDAY, September 20th. In 3 days, my entire team MUST be at 100%. FIVE of my teammates are still struggling to finish raising their support. Please prayerfully consider investing in God's work in Japan and financially supporting us. Or if there is anyone you know who might be interested in giving, please let me know as soon as possible. All donations are tax-deductible. The easiest way to give is to go to Campus Crusade's giving website: You can either give to me directly at https://give.ccci.org/give/View/0635409 and I will transfer the funds to the person who is most in need, or you can go to http://give.ccci.org and search either Nicole Maldonado, Amy Ledin, Amanda Sever, Christine Harada or Albert Li. If you have any questions please email or call me!
2. It seems unlikely that my team would be able to get their visas by September 26th. The earliest they could receive their Certificates of Eligibility would be Thursday or Friday; however, many of the Japanese consulates will be closed Friday, so they would have to get their visas Monday the 26th. As far as i know, our coordinators are changing our flights to Tuesday, September 27th in the hope that the rest of my team can get their visas by then. I MUST leave by the 27th to renew my visa in Japan. Please be praying that God would work a miracle and that my team and I can all go to Japan together!
3. Due to the falling exchange rate (76 yen to the dollar) Campus Crusade for Christ has actually increased our support goals by about $2,000 in order to prevent us from running out of money this year. This is especially hard on my teammates who are still raising support. Once again, please consider investing in God's work in Japan this year and helping them out.
Even if you cannot support my team financially, please pray for their visas to be expedited and that God would give us patience and protect all of us from discouragement during these next few days. We feel like Satan is doing everything he can to prevent us from getting to Japan, but we also feel like it's because God has crazy awesome things in store for us this year. Please pray for our protection and for God's provision!
Thank you so much for your commitment to prayer- prayer is so powerful and it is your prayers and support that make all we do in Japan possible! You are the backbone of our ministry, and we are so blessed by your prayers and support!
Here's the situation.
1. Our deadline for support is THIS TUESDAY, September 20th. In 3 days, my entire team MUST be at 100%. FIVE of my teammates are still struggling to finish raising their support. Please prayerfully consider investing in God's work in Japan and financially supporting us. Or if there is anyone you know who might be interested in giving, please let me know as soon as possible. All donations are tax-deductible. The easiest way to give is to go to Campus Crusade's giving website: You can either give to me directly at https://give.ccci.org/give/View/0635409 and I will transfer the funds to the person who is most in need, or you can go to http://give.ccci.org and search either Nicole Maldonado, Amy Ledin, Amanda Sever, Christine Harada or Albert Li. If you have any questions please email or call me!
2. It seems unlikely that my team would be able to get their visas by September 26th. The earliest they could receive their Certificates of Eligibility would be Thursday or Friday; however, many of the Japanese consulates will be closed Friday, so they would have to get their visas Monday the 26th. As far as i know, our coordinators are changing our flights to Tuesday, September 27th in the hope that the rest of my team can get their visas by then. I MUST leave by the 27th to renew my visa in Japan. Please be praying that God would work a miracle and that my team and I can all go to Japan together!
3. Due to the falling exchange rate (76 yen to the dollar) Campus Crusade for Christ has actually increased our support goals by about $2,000 in order to prevent us from running out of money this year. This is especially hard on my teammates who are still raising support. Once again, please consider investing in God's work in Japan this year and helping them out.
Even if you cannot support my team financially, please pray for their visas to be expedited and that God would give us patience and protect all of us from discouragement during these next few days. We feel like Satan is doing everything he can to prevent us from getting to Japan, but we also feel like it's because God has crazy awesome things in store for us this year. Please pray for our protection and for God's provision!
Thank you so much for your commitment to prayer- prayer is so powerful and it is your prayers and support that make all we do in Japan possible! You are the backbone of our ministry, and we are so blessed by your prayers and support!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Anniversaries of Tragedies
i meant to write this on September 11th. but that didn't happen. but i thought i should write anyway.
September 11, 2011. 10 years ago, terrorists thought they could destroy a nation with hate. instead it was unified in love. 6 months ago, a tsunami threatened to destroy another nation with despair. Instead it too was unified. let us never forget these 2 tragedies, never forget the love that binds us together, and the hope that keeps us alive.
it's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since 9/11. it's harder to believe that it's been 6 months since the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami. seems like both happened yesterday. i'll never forget where i was when both happened. i'll never forget the feeling of my bed shaking just as i lay down to take a nap. last night my dog was lying on my bed and panting, making my bed shake a bit. i still automatically tensed up, even though i knew it was my dog causing the shaking.
but even though it's been such a long time, the pain of those who suffered from both tragedies never really goes away. Japan looks like it's rebuilding, that it's recovering, but it's going to take many, many years for Japan to recover. and even longer for the Japanese people.
even though the news is no longer reporting the tragedy, never forget. never forget to pray for this country that is in such dire need of hope, of love, of a Savior.
i compiled footage taken when we went to do relief work in Tohoku- please feel free to share with others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71jy-kTVzWQ
September 11, 2011. 10 years ago, terrorists thought they could destroy a nation with hate. instead it was unified in love. 6 months ago, a tsunami threatened to destroy another nation with despair. Instead it too was unified. let us never forget these 2 tragedies, never forget the love that binds us together, and the hope that keeps us alive.
it's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since 9/11. it's harder to believe that it's been 6 months since the Tohoku Earthquake and tsunami. seems like both happened yesterday. i'll never forget where i was when both happened. i'll never forget the feeling of my bed shaking just as i lay down to take a nap. last night my dog was lying on my bed and panting, making my bed shake a bit. i still automatically tensed up, even though i knew it was my dog causing the shaking.
but even though it's been such a long time, the pain of those who suffered from both tragedies never really goes away. Japan looks like it's rebuilding, that it's recovering, but it's going to take many, many years for Japan to recover. and even longer for the Japanese people.
even though the news is no longer reporting the tragedy, never forget. never forget to pray for this country that is in such dire need of hope, of love, of a Savior.
i compiled footage taken when we went to do relief work in Tohoku- please feel free to share with others.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71jy-kTVzWQ
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