Month: March 2014

We’re incredibly happy to announce that we’re expecting a new baby, due on September 16, 2014! We’re praising God for this new addition to our family, and are looking forward to meeting this little one with lots of excitement (“Will it be a boy or a girl?”) and a little bit of nervousness (“How in the world are we going to handle TWO kids?”). But with each new ultrasound and checkup we’re once again in awe of our amazing Creator in watching Him knit together this little child as it develops and grows from a little speck to now even at just over 3 months, squirming around with his/her little arms and legs.

Titus will be a few months short of three when this new one is born, and while he was born in the US our second will be born here in Japan, so it’ll be interesting to go through the whole experience in a Japanese way. The doctors and medical system is quite good over here, but there are definitely differences. For one doctors are a lot more strict about weight gain here, often putting pregnant women on diets to keep it within what they consider acceptable levels. On the other hand Tomo’s American doctor told her to start eating more milkshakes and ice cream with Titus because she thought Tomo wasn’t gaining enough weight. Also, here Sushi is considered one of the best foods for pregnant women, whereas in the US most doctors said you shouldn’t eat any raw fish.

The timing of this new baby fits pretty well with our anticipated home service schedule. We’re shooting to be back in the US in February of 2015 in order to keep Tomo’s green card from being revoked. That would mean the new baby will maybe 5 months old. We appreciate your prayers for Tomo and the baby throughout her pregnancy!

David’s Spring Semester Grades:

I just got my grades in for my Spring finals, and as you can see, I’m still struggling to keep up with Kanji in this more advanced class. And since I can’t read the all the Kanji, that makes reading comprehension a big challenge as well, which is also reflected below. On the bright side I scored really highly on the speaking section of the test (96%), I feel like I’m getting the hang of the Japanese accent, so as long as I can study up on the other areas I should be relatively easy to understand when speaking with people (or preaching).

Speaking:   A
Grammar:   C
Writing:   C
Listening:   C
Kanji/Vocabulary:   F
Reading:   F

As I now enter into a two week long Spring break, I’ll be spending a lot of time trying to catch up on Kanji and Vocabulary, so please be praying that I will be diligent during this time and be able to memorize the dozens (hundreds?) of Kanji characters that I need to be able to read and write for next semester — which is actually the start of a new school year in Japan. So I’ll be a Ninensei (2nd year student), which means I can boss around all the the new incoming Ichinensei (1st year students), Japan’s pretty rigid about seniority here, not just in school, but in basically every aspect of society.

All day today the news was covering stories of survivors on the coast, and reporting on the many memorial events that were being held. It was three years ago today that the prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima were devastated by an unprecedented 9.0 earthquake, 10 meter high tsunami and the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Three years seems like a long time, and while most of the world has moved on to other concerns, for those living on the coast, dealing with the loss of children, parents, friends and homes and entire towns, the pain is still as fresh as ever.

The nightly news struck a very personal tone. A story about a father who lost his wife and son, but survived with his then three year old daughter was particularly difficult to watch. I could easily imagine being left alone with Titus, struggling year after year with the memory of loss, trying to keep that memory alive in my own mind and in the mind of my child. Tomo saw another story about a father who lost his wife and three children. His youngest daughter was 10 at the time, and he held her in his arms as tightly as he could as the waters rushed in until he was knocked unconscious. When he came to his daughter was gone, but he was still alive, and alone. The man said that he talked to his daughter everyday since, and all he could say to her over and over was that he was sorry, but he never heard a word back from her.

Initially I wondered how these people could even bear to share their stories on television, bringing out photos and videos of their lost loved ones to show to TV crews. I wondered how the stations could have the heart to broadcast such sad and hopeless stories of loss, one right after another. I think it touches a bit on how the Japanese deal with death. Remembering those who have passed before them is of utmost importance. They don’t want to forget their loved ones, they want the memories to stay alive, and to share those memories with others. Likewise the survivors themselves do not wish to be forgotten. And despite the fact that an estimated 267,000 people are still living in temporary housing, much of the world has forgotten.

I understand that, there are daily tragedies in this world, new fears, new threats, new disasters. It is impossible to keep track of them all, to care for them all. But it is in large part because of this disaster, and because of these survivors that God has called us here, to Iwate to serve and love and reach out. And for that same reason, many of you have committed to praying for us, and supporting us. God has put on our hearts, and yours as well, a burden for these people, to love them and pray for them, even when the rest of the world forgets them.

May the love of God finally break through into the hearts of the survivors, even in this, the darkest hour of their lives. May we do whatever God has enabled us to do, that His love might be demonstrated and made known among a people that has suffered and lost, and has yet to hear of their God who suffered like them in order to purchase for them a great and everlasting Salvation.