Greetings once again from the Frozen (but thawing) Japanese North Country.  We are grateful for all of you and for the privilege to be here.  It is certainly an exciting time to be in the army of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  We are awaiting His soon return, but attempt to stay busy while He tarries.

Someone once said something to someone that somehow led them somewhere to Someone – a Saviour – that saved their soul.  That’s some sentence that serves as a reminder for you to tell someone else of Someone who can change their life.  Sometime soon, He’s coming again.  He supposes that you are busily serving in the meantime.  So let’s keep serving!

The past three months have certainly been structured, strenuous, and simply blessed.  So here’s some details. . .

February
Something To Celebrate
Nathanael made it to the great age of eight in February.  Shellee found his baby pictures and we reminisced about the crazy day of his birth.  We were at BBTI in Texas and the midwife arrived six minutes too late.  Another missionary (a registered nurse) helped us deliver our eleven pound bundle of joy.  God sure has been good to us (and Nathanael) over the years and we thank the Lord for the blessing that he is to our family.
 

Somewhere To Reach The World   Every February in Nayoro, there is an international snow carving competition.  The teams this year came from Singapore, India, Russia, Germany, Japan, Czech Republic, South Korea, Argentina, Canada, China, France, and the USA.

Taste of Heaven.

Forty American missionaries (representing eight families) descended upon our little city of Nayoro at the beginning of the month for a time of singing, preaching, giving, and fellowshipping.  It was a wonderful time of fellowship and spiritual refreshment after the hustle and bustle of the Christmas programs and New Years evangelism.  We do so miss the fellowship meetings and revivals that we were able to attend in the States, and are grateful to have a similar opportunity of fellowship here in Japan.

I cannot fully describe what it is like living in a foreign environment.  Every new day brings a certain amount of mental and physical stress as “new” tastes, sights, sounds, and experiences seek to overwrite what we knew as “normal”, and to replace it with a “new normal.”