This is the inside of our church, Kokubunji Baptist. This was an afternoon performance of Christmas music where our pastor had the opportunity to share the true story of Christmas. The flowers have now been replaced with the Advent candles. The sancutary holds about 100 and is full most Sundays. Their English translation of the service is usually done by those who have lived in the states recently.




Here I am with Norico and Yuki on our volunteer day at the Ronald McDonald House.


Yuki san had brought us some brochures in English of places she thought we would like to visit.

We have a good time during break trying to learn each other's language.


Here we are in togas as guests for a "Roman feast".

Our friends' boys had finished their homeschool study on Rome and this was a culminating activity.

We certainly enjoyed their sharing of what they had learned and the foods that the Romans would have eaten during that time period.



Our English conversation class continues to grow and they really enjoyed the Christmas party we had after class. It's been rewarding to see their interest in English and to hear them use what they have learned.



"Santa" arrived at our local plaza.

He said he was from Finland- he spoke in English and the lady in white is his translator.

The children later had an opportunity to have their picture taken with him. The parents used their own camera and there didn't seem to be any charge.




Martin and I wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS....

Last week we went to Izu-Kogen for a retreat. It is on the Izu Peninsula about two hours south of Tokyo.

It borders the Pacific Ocean on the east and is known for its hot springs and the scenic coastline- both of which we enjoyed.



We stayed at the Obirin Club - a conference facility that is owned by the Obirin University here in Tokyo.

The university shares the same founder as Obirin University in Ohio.
It is known for being a Christian college.


We were able to enjoy this view of the Sagami Bay each morning- this one we particularly enjoyed.

Utilizing the chairlift we were able to venture to the top of the dormant volcano, Mt Omoro, from there we could enjoy the bay on one side and Mt. Fuji on the other. What a treat, just by turning your head!

This is one of the breakfasts we were served. Each meal was not only pleasing to the eye, but also to the palate. There was always a fish dish, rice, and sliced cucumbers. Depending on the meal, there were variants of the same food. Truly enjoyable!!


Our room not only had the western style bed, but also a tatami room where you could sleep on futons if you wished. We chose to use it for relaxing and enjoying tea.

One of the things we enjoy about Japan is the sculpting of the trees.

On the lower level, there was an onsen (hot water bath) where we could look out and enjoy the view of this garden.

We enjoyed the time away for relaxing and reflecting.

The larger parks here in Japan have acres of cosmos growing in the fall. This is at our local park, Koganei Koen.
Experiencing the beauty of the cosmos is a big attraction for school groups and family outings on the week-ends.


These blossoms on this tree had such a heady fragrance. It was like walking through a mixture of honey and oranges. Martin and I sat on a park bench close by and enjoyed the warm afternoon and the beauty of God's creation.
This is the tree that had the blossoms. The picture doesn't capture how full of blooms it was.
I don't remember the trees last year; maybe the blooms were all gone by the time we discovered this section of the park.

Chrysanthemums have a very special place in Japan's culture. The Emperor adopted it as his official seal in the 1800's. It is on the Japanese passport and at the Shinto shrines.
They are grown sometimes with just one "stalk"; and I say that because they are almost as tall as I am. (Those may be the exhibition variety with a flower nearly 8 inches.)
These are close to our apartment complex entrance.

These are some images of what I will remember about autumn in Japan.

One of the highlights of our time in Japan has been our involvement with the Ronald McDonald House. As it is with the house in Lexington, the volunteers have a heart for people; a common thread that makes us a worldwide family.
This was taken at a tea that was provided for the volunteers. This represents about a half of the volunteer force.


On this day, our volunteer team has received our assignment and now it's off to do our work; mop, vacuum, make up rooms, clean windows, do laundry....


This little boy is recovering from brain surgery. He and his mom are guests at the house.
This makes volunteer work worthwhile.This is why we as volunteers do what we do; so families can have "a home away from home".



Yuko-san is an assistant manager and was instrumental in having us form a conversational English class at the house. She speaks English and wanted other staff and volunteers to have an opportunity to improve their English skills. Martin and I meet on Sunday afternoons with those wishing to practice.

Here we are...
Our class meets in the library/conference room at the house.

The ministry focus for our remaining time in Japan has changed from working predomaninatly with volunteer groups, to working with different age segments within the population; one of those groups being retirees in North Tokyo.

A venue where we have expanded our existing involvement, is park and recreation programs offered to seniors in the community where we live. There are many retirees that play a game called gate ball and Martin and I have joined one of the local teams. Gate ball teams consist of 10 players that are divided into two groups. Each game last 30 minutes, with the two groups competing against each other. After 30 minutes of play, the team that has scored the most points is the winner. They normally play twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, for three hours.

Hirota-san (back row,left) has been very kind to us and has included us on his team. He suggested we attend a "gate ball school" to help us understand the fundamentals of the game. This picture was taken on our first day of class and includes both attendees and instructors.

Here, Martin is receiving instruction from Hirota-san.


Martin is lining up the ball and hoping he has understood Hirota-san's instruction; a mixture of English and Japanese.

Japan has one of the highest population groups that is over 65 in the world. It is estimated that 23% of Japan's population are seniors; compared to 13% in the United States.

Recently we had a free day; so we went to "experience" Mt. Fuji.

We secured tickets on a highway bus that would carry us the 3 hours to the mountain. Because of time constraints, we knew we could only "experience" a part of the climb. This was a great precursor for next year; the summit!

Seeing Mt. Fuji from the bus window got everyone's excitement level up. It is an accomplishment that every Japanese wants to experince at least once. We didn't really know what to expect but had heard from several who had made the climb this summer.

This is a poster that was in our train station. Sorry for the glare... This shows a better picture of the terrain on Mt. Fuji this time of the year. The climbing season is very short; from July 1 to August 31. Before or after those dates, you run the risk of dealing with snow.
When the summer interns went at the end of their stay in July, they experienced heavy rain and had to stop at level 6.


Martin is checking out the trail we are going to take. There are more than one to get to the summit, but once we started, most people were using the Yoshida Trail which we used.

We are at the point where we were leaving vegetation and getting into the lava rock.

The huts above me are where you can pay to spend the night in order to finish the climb to see the sun rise.

Here we are at level 7 (8,850 ft); out of the maximum of level 10 (12,400 ft) which is the summit. We bought some snacks to refurbish our spent energy for the trek back down; and we were on our way.

The loose lava rock didn't make that an easy experience. I now knew why the people we had passed coming back down were so slow and cautious.

We're glad we "experienced" it; maybe we'll go for the summit next year.

Seeing this was so familiar, but yet unfamiliar. The United States Embassy hosted a Friendship Day at the residences compound last Saturday. Four thousand five hundred tickets were made available to Americans living here in Japan and to other friends.

It was a day of fun for children and adults alike.

There was the color guard and United States Marine Band.

Lots of food that you don't find everyday..."Nawlins" style red beans and rice; nacho chips smothered in cheese, Domino's pizza.

What did I choose? A "swarma" much like we had in Israel. I figured it wouldn't be that long before I could indulge in the American fare before I would get back to the Middle East again.



I don't know if you can tell how wilted we felt. It was around 95 degrees with high humidity. We sat down to watch an outdoor show but decided that we needed shade more than entertainment.

It was a nice event and one appreciated. We had gone to the same kind of event when we were in Costa Rica and it brought back alot of memories of our homeland and how unique and special it is.

Here's our entire team of missionaries and interns at the Okutama Bible Chalet on the western fringe of Tokyo. There were 17 college and 15 high school interns from Texas, California, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, and Michigan. All of the interns had such a heart for missions! They were consistently bold in their witness, and gave of themselves many hours each day.

Our 9 weeks with the summer interns is officially over and during this time we hosted over 300 volunteeers. With their help, 250,000 Gospel tracts were distributed along with many personal contacts made.

The Tokyo team was subdivided into smaller teams, all named after Samurai warrior women. Our team, 3 college and 3 high school students, was the Miki team; what a great group of young men and women!

Left to right: Amanda, Kameryn, Dan, Julia, Jonathan, Jordan, Martin, and Melanie.

Of the three college interns: Amanda will be getting married in December and plans to go on into full-time missions with her husband; Melanie will be beginning her post- graduate degree in family counseling; and Dan will be working on his nursing degree with future work on the mission field. Of the high school interns : Jonathan will be a college freshman this fall and will pursue a degree in medicine; Kameryn, will be a senior in high school and Jordan will be a junior.

Above, I am holding a "sayonara" scroll doll which each intern received. Over a period of several days, all of the team members had an opportunity to put into writing, what each person had meant personally. It was hard to capsulize 9 weeks of work and experiences. (And there were the others on other teams that we had become very fond of!)

Our prayer for these young adults is to stay true to their beliefs and continue their close walk with God. As in Psalm 125 where it talks of the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, so God surrounds His people.It is our prayer that God will surround these young men and women.

Paul and his family visited us and Japan the last two weeks. It was good to have them here and to be able to share our part of the world with them. They were able to mix their traveling with visits with us.Here they are at Koganei Koen, a beautiful park that is located in the community where we live.

The sumo tournament is such a fun event to attend. The excitement level among the Japanese would be the equivalent of a Kentucky / Louisville basketball game going to the wire. A neat event that Michele especially enjoyed. This one was in Nagoya; they alternate wrestling sites with other cities and a month for rest periods.

The baseball games in Japan are also quite lively. The atmosphere reminds me of a college football game because there is constant chanting, clapping, and cheering.

Martin and I participated in a lottery for our seat selection. The seats that were assigned to us were on the first row, down the third base line. A good night with the family; and great seats.


At the Tokyo Dome, where the baseball game was played, there is also an amusement park. Claire wanted "Pop" to ride this "mini" roller coaster with her. Clarie really had fun; Martin still has a stiff neck!

This is not a Coke commercial. We were at the train station waiting for a shinkansen. It was just one of those fun "family" moments!

Claire is standing in front of the bronze statue "Hachiko", located at Shibuya station.This loyal dog would accompany his master to the train station everyday, then return in the afternoon to meet him. One day the man died while at work. Hachiko kept returning to the station waiting for his master to return. He did this for nine years until he himself died.This is a very popular meeting place for the Japanese.

This volunteer group of singers, from California Baptist University, worked with our team last week. They performed street concerts at several locations throughout the Tokyo area.

A group of ladies from Living Hope Baptist Church, Bowling Green, Kentucky joined us at Shinjuku one day . Here they are engaged in 5 Minute English at the train station; the busiest one in Tokyo. On other days they were involved in park ministry and at a women's center doing scrapbooking and American style cooking. The last day, the Japanese ladies prepared food for them; a neat cultural exchange.

Martin is engaged in 5 Minute English with a man that was on his way to watch a horse race. When he learned that Martin was from Kentucky, well, you can guess what he wanted to talk about. The man has in his hand a Hope tract that Martin had shared with him.

Park ministry is lots of fun... Ever try to follow directions for making balloon animals?

Annette is showing her group from Kansas where to twist and turn the balloon.

The children really enjoyed the volunteers. These balloons open doors of communication, not just to the children, but the parents as well. It was a great day.

Here we all are gathered at the park for our weekly Sunday morning worship. The states of Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, California, and Kentucky were represented well.

A very busy week!!