I leave with broccoli hair and tears in my eyes!

Oh (deep breath),

Where to start and how to begin? I always struggle with that. But since I've started, I can just get right to it. Tonight, I seat in Wayne Newsome's office and write my last blog from Japan for this summer. Oh how the time flies...not sure if my family thinks that but it really has. It really feels like just last week I was packing my two suitcases in my room in B'ham to come here and tonight Amy Newsome helped me pack to go back home. It feels like just yesterday I was talking with the Wilson's in their living/dining room about staying a month longer and tonight I gave a tearful hug to Teresa and Ian. I haven't mastered Japanese...but I figured out that it's to hard to learn anyway. English class is where it's at!! Linda Wixon would agree with me. So would Darlene Johnson! Just kidding Etsuko-sensei...Japanese lessons were awesome. I'll be practicing it on the plane ride home.

Saying goodbyes this week was hard. It's hard enough saying goodbye to my big Japanese family on one night. But I also had a whole week of AMAZING people I had to say "sayonara" too. I held it in most of the week (which is good for a Ketcham) but tonight...I just couldn't anymore. I am still at a lost for words. I wish I could explain the things the LORD has taught me and sum it up so delicately. But I'm not able too. Thoughts are running through my head. Memories pop up from conversations I hold. Lessons I've learned are made evident throughout daily life. Japan has been amazing!! Darlene asked me on Sunday after my homeschool seminar if I could sum up my trip. I said that I couldn't but the best word that came to mind was overflowing. I am not sure why but I think of it as I am leaving with more than I came with. I am leaving with knowledge that I didn't have before. I am departing with friends that I didn't know before coming but cherish now. I am leaving more mature than when I came. God has taught me many lessons. Hopefully, as I take time to comprehend the months here...I'll be able to organize me thoughts. I tried my best to soak up everything while I was here. In the long view of things, I was in Japan for a VERY short time. I didn't want to miss anything. And I was blessed to be able to experience a lot of different things, meet a lot of different people, share in many memories! I have seen God work. I've seen Him answer specific prayers. From support raising in May/June and not really sure if I'd have enough to go at all to being able to stay a whole other month...from God answer personal prayers of desired maturity to keeping me safe and health, God really is GREAT! Why I struggle with surrendering everything to Him I don't know!?!? He has always come though for me. He will never let me down. I was reminded of the Fall this afternoon while running. I so easily fall just like Adam and Eve over the SAME EXACT temptation. Does God really know best? Wouldn't it be better to do this? Wouldn't it be better to do what YOU want to do? And yet...see where that got us, a world full of sin and separation from God. Oh how I long for that day when I struggle no more and I follow Him obediently with no hindrance. Oh how I wish I would not disappoint the God of this Universe who suffered dearly for my freedom. At times, I spit in His face. Many times...I run from His embrace, the safety of His arms. How I wish that I'd always think, always know, always remember His grace in the past and know that He will guide me with grace in the future. His grace is never ending! How thankful I am for that! Praise be to God!!

I want to thank everyone for following my blog these past three months. It really has been a blast and a blessing to work alongside the MTW Nagoya team! These people are wonderful! They surround themselves in prayer towards God and know that they can't do anything without God's grace and mercy in their lives. It was humbling to see how they looked to God for everything, turning to Him and His WORD for direction, guidance, healing and counsel. They have challenged me, loved me and given me more than I can ever thank them for. All I can say is THANK YOU for pouring into my life and allowing me to learn so much from you all. I love you all very, very much!

Thanks to all who have prayed for me during this time. I really do feel that and am so thankful that I have such a supportive church and family/friends that sincerely care for me. Thank you all for the encouragement and support! Please be in prayer as I am flying back to Alabama tomorrow morning. Pray for safety and smooth transfers as I am always nervous something bad will happen. God is in control though and will get me home when He wills!

Love you all. Thanks again to the many people that made my trip possible. It was life changing! I'll never forget my time here and I pray that God will use it in my life tremendously to be able to do might work for Him. Only because of His Son, Christ Jesus, do I live. God Bless!

I will miss Japan,

Richard, Mr. Richard, Uncle Richard, Richard-san, Richardo, not Richie, etc

What a week!!

Dear all,

The weekend is still ahead and it has already been an awesome week. I love that I serve a great God. A God that reveals Himself in wondrous ways...ways that I never saw thought Him working with. At times, I am so doubtful. At other times, I can not believe I doubted. I feel like I sometimes live in a constant cycle of "belief and unbelief". It actually really irritates me. I am like the Israelites all over again! And I know how all that turned out for them. But it is encouraging and HOPEful to know that my Father in Heaven looks down with loving care and has grace on me. I don't know how people live without it. I realized that today. In the midst of chaos, life problems, world uproar and disfunctional lives, I can rest and be assured that everything is fine because I trust that God is in control. It puts everything in perspective!! He knows what's going on. He planned it all out anyways. He's sovereign! Most importantly, He loves me and TRULY wants what is best for me even more than I do! I can rest because of my faith in Him. What peace we Christians have! What unrest unbelievers have! Thank you God for transforming my life, calling me, changing me and adopting me as Your son. Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow! I really do serve a MIGHTY God...one who knows my thoughts and desires (even if they are silly and small.)

Saying "good-bye" is never really fun. Saying "good-bye" every day for a week....well it sucks! I never really thought about it until I was in the middle of it but having to go through all my English classes, friends that I've made & teachers and say "sayonara" is hard! And...I'm not done with this week yet as well. But that's what this week has mainly been. English classes have gone great (they always do...I love them) and conversations have been even better. It is interesting to see how talks, relationships and communities change, evolve from surface to something more over time. I've been here 3 months and yet I could see myself still learning about and from these amazing people for years. They love sharing with me about their weeks, families, Japanese culture, jobs, etc. They want to hear my opinion on things or my "different" perspective on world issues (which is funny because I NEVER know what is going on and still don't.) EC has been where I've received the most Japanese one-on-one interaction and I'll definitely miss it.

I have one funny, slightly awkward and horrible, story from this week. On Monday, I went to Darlene's EC (one that I had never gone too.) Don't ask me why I've waited until the LAST week to actually go to this class but I did. I've noticed one lady in particular even week that I'm there. She looked SO familiar and I never knew why. Well....turns out she was in Darlene's class. I met her when we introduced ourselves. I introduced myself and talked about my BIG, honky family. She stops me and says "I know. I was your host-family mother when you came to Japan 4 years ago!" You can imagine my expression when I finally understood what she said. Pure embarrassment! How could I have done something so humiliating and awkward as that!?! I tried to recover but I'm not sure I did. She was so gracious and understanding and we laughed about it with the other the rest of the class. But I still felt HORRIBLE! That was Monday and today (Thursday) I had the opportunity to re-unite with my homestay family for the day. We visited a local historical place and eat together. It was great to see them again and get re-aqquianted. God knew that I had been wondering about them and had us in the right place at the right time to be re-united. It really was wonderful even though I still don't think that I'll recover from such embarrassment.

I don't want this to be my last post so it won't. I am flying home on October 5th (this Tuesday) so I plan on writing before them. Even with that known, I have a very busy weekend which I need much prayer.

• On Saturday, Nisshin Christ Church is hosting a gospel concert featuring John Lucas (originally from Jamaica who now leaves in Tokyo.) Pray that people will come to both concerts and that they will have open hearts to hear and accept the Gospel. Pray for those that are singing backup and still haven't practiced (me, Tom and several other!)
• On Sunday, I and the Watanabe family will be leading a seminar/discussion on homeschooling. This will be after church and I'll be giving the student perspective on what it was like to receive that education and the Watanabe will give the Japanese perspective on how it works and how it is legal. Pray for people to show up as well and that my nerves will be put to rest about what I will say.
• Pray for the choirs that meet tomorrow and Saturday and that they will run smoothly. Pray that Tom can direct efficiently and more importantly teach the Gospel through Word and song.
• Pray that God will continue to teach me, to mold me, to reveal Himself to me in these last several days. Pray that my desire would be to serve and honor my God and that I will find complete JOY in obey Him. Pray that I will be open to whatever He would have me to learn in the next few days

Thank you for the continual support!

May God Bless,

Richardo

"You are good" is the theme song of this trip

Dear everyone that follows this blog,

I have really stunk at keeping up with this blog the last month or so. And I don't really know why. I was moving around a little bit during that time but still no excuse so sorry if that has annoyed people. I sometimes just get busy and forget that I hadn't wrote anything in awhile. Anyways....I'm back to writing.

I feel like I'm way behind on things that are going on and don't even know where to start. The first things that comes to mind is that back home in ALABAMA....I'm missing family time. Which is totally fine because God has me here in JAPAN for a reason during this time. But the family is all together for several reasons this past week and one of them is a huge praise to our Heavenly Father because Seaborn Joseph Ketcham was born on Tuesday, Sept 21st to proud parents, Capt. Samuel and Dorsey Ketcham of Savannah, GA!! I can't believe that my brother is a father....so weird. But it is so encouraging to see how God works, how he changes hearts and lives and that He really can do what we think is impossible. Sam was in Afghanistan not be a few days ago and made it back to see his son born. Praise God!! Sam and Dorsey...miss ya'll a lot and can't wait to see the new little guy. I'm an uncle (for the 14th time.)

Back to Japan, things are definitely back into the swing of things. I have a full schedule of things going on every day. Like I posted about earlier, August was vacation time and September brought everything back to normal with busy schedules, classes, choirs, bible studies and full church services...and school started back. On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I either have one or two English classes (EC) that I go too. They all range from teachers (Amy, Peter, Linda or Darlene) and difficulty (beginners to free conversation). I know I've also said this before...but I really love my EC! I love that I can get to know the people in there and hear about their week, share things about mine, build a smaller community for them to feel apart of and share the love that God has shown to us. I've made a lot of my friends through the EC and will be sad to see everyone the last time this next week. Since I leave on Oct 5th (a Tuesday), this next week will be my last full week of seeing everyone and "teaching" the classes.

Choirs are also in full swing. Tom and Teresa have 4 choirs going on. Three Gospel choirs in three different cities around Nagoya (Togo, Nisshin and Shiga) and one Christmas Classical choir that meets in Togo. This dominates their time. Well....actually what has mostly dominated their time is making the CD's for these choirs. I moved back in with them last week and they have been working on these CD's non-stop. I think that we all will finish them tomorrow. These CD's are used to help the Japanese learn the music better and to share the music with others. That last point is just a bonus because it's cool to see that the Wilson's might make like 50 CD's but about 300 people will end up listening to them (spouses, children, family, friends, etc). So that is another way that they share the Gospel is through these CD's that they actually just use to help the choirs learn the music. But the Japanese are hearing the Gospel proclaimed while listening!! The choirs are a lot of fun. I haven't got to sing a whole bunch because I am best used as a babysitting during those times so that Tom and Teresa can actually direct, talk and share during practices. Right now, the choirs need men though so I have been singing with the Christmas choir. Let me tell you...it's hard for a man who will not listen to Christmas music until AFTER Thanksgiving to sing Christmas music in September! I've also been helping make the CD's via copying them. We have to make almost 600 (i think) because Tom and Teresa have gotten so good at them that different choirs in Tokyo and around other parts of Japan want them too. A lot of copying and writing to do in the next 12 days.

Other than classes and choirs, I've been helping with music on Sunday mornings. Since being here, I've played with the praise and worship team by playing the piano. It's a lot of fun and I've been glad to help Tom out with some of the music on Sunday. I'm really glad his let me continue to play! I've also helped Amy Newsome and Michiyo Sakai (a very sweet lady in the church) run the Mom's and Kid's club that meets on Friday morning. I laugh while writing this because it's a bunch on young mothers and young children (ages 0 - 4) that come...and I'm the only dude in the building. haha but I help out by playing with the little boys and keeping them busy so that Amy and Sakai san can minister to the families.

I've sincerely enjoyed getting to know all the missionaries and their families better as my time has gone by. I feel like I'm apart of some of their families and it'll be so weird to leave my Japan family when that happens. I'm trying not to think about it but it's hard not too when the end is coming so fast. The team here in Nagoya had one of the short-term couples that are raising support to join the team come and visit for one week this past week. Jake and Anna Claire Gee are from GA and are hoping to be join the team in less then a year. Jake has been working in a church in VA as the youth pastor for the last two years and they have been married for a little over two years as well. These guys are AWESOME! Hilarious and will be a huge help to the team because they bring so much energy and excitement. It was cool to see them interact with Japanese and how the Japanese just gravitated to this couple. I got to hang out with them a lot and we actually went to Kyoto (about 2 1/2 hours Southwest of Nagoya by bus) on Tuesday for a sightseeing day. Kyoto use to be one of the old capitals. It's also known as "the city with thousands of temple." And they aren't lying....there's 1000's! We spent all day there and saw 4 but the whole city is full of castles, palaces, museums and temples, temples, temples. It's actually really sad because people will make pilgrimages to come to these temples and burn incense for their families or prayer or pay for different good luck charms that will bring them _____ (you fill in the blank). I'm there to see Japanese architecture and experience Japanese culture but these are places of worship for many. Very sad to see people offering fruit and flowers to statues! It makes me think how glad I am that I have a Father that loves me....that has mercy on me...and that is ALIVE and ACTIVE in my life. Great lessons learned and appreciation gained by getting to experience that.

This week hasn't been a totally full week because in Japan there has been two national holidays. Monday was "Respect the Elderly" day! Isn't that awesome!!?!? And Thursday is something that I can't pronounce but it's like Equinox day or something. So on Monday...a group of men from the church went on a hike in some mountains in Nagano ken (Nagano prefecture = where the Olympics were held in 1998). It was beautiful and I got to see a area of Japan I hadn't experienced yet....the mountains. From the top, we could see the Southern, Northern Alps and on a clear day (which is wasn't) Mt. Fuji. It really was gorgeous! I looked out and couldn't help but think how GREAT OUR GOD is! He made such beauty and allows us to enjoy it. What a Master that can paint such a beautiful picture! I hope to post some pictures so that ya'll can have a glimpse of it.

Please be in prayer for me as I only have 12 more days in Japan. :( I still feel like I have a lot that I want to get accomplished and not sure that I will get everything done. Pray that I'll stay focus and not be worried about what is going on at home. If it is God's will that everything be done...it will be accomplished.

Please pray for the church in Nisshin right now. Many people in the church are sick or recovering from surgeries and things. Lift them up and ask that God will work through this time to reach others that do not know Him.

Please pray for Tom and Teresa as they finish up the CD's and hope to get all that done so that they can move on to other things. This task has been over their heads for awhile and they would love to have it completed.

Pray for my family back in the U.S. this week. Many things happened and I know that they are all very stressed and overwhelmed right now. Pray that I'll be able to focus on things here in Japan and not feel bad for missing out on family time back home.

Pray that God will continue to reveal His plan for my life. I'll be going back and still not very sure about where the path leads. Pray that God will be gracious to me as I ask for His direction and that His wonderful truths will continually be revealed to me as I SEEK Him thought the Word!

I greatly appreciate all the prayers and support. Love you all and will talk to ya'll later.

-Mr. Richard

I'm still here...sorry I haven't written

Ok,

So it's been a little while since I've written. Actually, a long time so I'm sorry about that. But I've found it difficult to write a lot. The pictures below are random but I thought that I'd show ya'll some of the people have been with and places I've been. The pictures above are from the past couple of weeks. Josh Newsome is "eating" a praying mantis, a picture of me at one of Japan's awesome parks and some pretty Japanese scenery.

I don't even know where to start telling ya'll what I've been up too and what's been going on. This week the English classes started back up. There are 5 classes I go to regularly but I taught one this week on Monday by myself. Well...got to tell you that that was fun because it was a beginners classes. What do you get when you have Japanese people who know little English in a room with a teacher that knows very little Japanese? A group of people staring at each other!! Ok...it wasn't that bad. It actually went really well and I had a lot fun. Fortunately, I have really enjoyed all the English classes. I get to know them and learn about what's going on in their lives. They get to know me and they love hearing about my life in America. I have really liked learning from Linda and Peter as they teach the classes. Seeing them intertwine the Gospel into teaching English and the care they have for their students is something that I've loved and have learned while being with them. One of the most important things about the English classes is that they are creating a community for people to feel loved, cared for and able to build relationships. There might not be many people that come to know Christ (specifically) through an English class but for people to know that there is a place to come to feel loved and welcome in a culture that is huge, busy and where people can feel lost or insignificant.

Choirs have started up or will start this week. Tom and Teresa are very excited about that and have been working REALLY hard to get prepared for them. There are three Gospel choirs that meet every other week. And there is a Christmas choir that meets every week. Tom is really excited about that one! But it's kinda weird to start singing Christmas music in September...haha. I go to be another male voice or to babysit for the Wilsons so that they can concentrate on talking and getting to know those in the choir.

The Newsome's house is complete (well for the most part.) It looks completely different and it's been cool to know that I've helped them in some way. The whole interior of their house is for the most part re-painted. Amy has been busy getting it re-decorated and back to normal. It's been fun living with the Newsomes. There's always things going on. The Wilson's had a great time on vacation and, I think, are glad to be back. I finish the rest of time here in Japan at both of their houses.

Anyways....I know that this is short but it's taken me a whole movie to concentrate to get this much down. Please continue to pray that I'll have the mindset to SERVE. I'm staying until October 5th (which is an answer to prayer...thanks.) Pray for the church ministries I mentioned above (English classes and choirs) and that people would come to know our Father through these outreaches and will speak through the people that lead them. Again, I am sorry that this is short and that it has been a long time since I've written. Thanks for reading the post...can't wait to see ya'll when I get home.

In Christ,

Richard

Here are some pictures from the past two weeks...

I've had a hard time figuring out the computer so finally here are some pictures to go with the last two posts. Thanks!

-Richard

Don't know where to start...

Wow,

It's been a long time since I wrote. Or at least it feels that way. And it seems like a lot has happened. Right now, it's about 10:00 PM on Tuesday night. I'm still staying at the Newsome's house in Nagakute. And we're still painting rooms in there house. BUT we're almost done. We worked on the boy's bedroom and the bathroom today. Once those are complete...we only have ONE more room. With only three rooms as exceptions, I've painted the whole house since I've been in Japan (with A LOT of help of course!!!) Painting in Japan is difficult. You have to be even more creative because they don't mix paint for you. You do that!! Therefore if you want light green...you go to the store and buy white and green and start mixing!! It's fun...and slightly annoying at time because you can't just get the color you want. Paint is really expensive and in small quantities here. Anyways...that's what I've been doing while staying at the Newsome's. We hope to be done by this week. It'll before English classes start back and RIGHT before the team retreat which is on the 3rd and 4th of Sept.

Last week, I got to stay with the sweetest JAPANESE family that is here in Japan...the Watanabe's. They are incredible! Mr. Watanabe (Eiji) is a seminary student in the seminary that meets at the church in Nisshin. Him and his wife (Reiko) have 4 boys which they HOMESCHOOL!!! Homeschooling if you remember is actually completely unheard of in Japan. But they feel like it's the best way to educate their boys and they seem to be doing a marvelous job. The boys are brilliant! Yoshiya (Josiah) is 8 years old. He plays soccer and translates a lot for the family. Most of his school subjects are in English even though they speak Japanese basically all the time in the house. He does about 5 subjects in English and 3 in Japanese. Eiji and Reiko (I called them both "Watanabe san" = Mr or Mrs Watanabe) speak English fairly well...a lot better than they think they do. So communicating wasn't really a problem during the week. The boys know English pretty well. Tomokazu and Takumi are 6 year old twins! Totally cool kids and completely different. These boys can spell better than I can and seem to really love school. Tomokazu is the boy who below in one of the pictures from the Kid's Gospel Week is painting signs with me. Eliya (Elijah) is 2 1/2 years old and might be the cutest kids on earth. He cracked me up all week with his broken English and how he'd talk to be in Japanese, expecting me to understand him. Not 3 yet...he already knows all his numbers and the alphabet! I had such an amazing time with this family. They are so service minded. Mr. Watanabe was out helping others everyday I was there. I got to help them move from the house they are renting now to another they will be moving into in about 3 weeks. I helped with school and playing with the kids. And getting to experience a real Japanese family was great....making my stay here really seem like I was IN Japan.

A lot of little things have happened since I posted last. My mom had a birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!!) I seen a lot of the nearby towns/cities around Nagoya. Some mountains, rivers and countryside. Japan is beautiful!! I think it maybe the mountains and the different types of trees that make up the scenery but the way that water and mountains mix with the curving roads and rice fields...it's really beautiful. I've taken a lot of pictures! I've gotten to go several times to different rivers with different people or families. I was taken to a wadaiko demonstration (Japanese drums). Only words are AWESOME and POWERFUL! I've gotten to hangout with several college students and went bowling with Mikiya and one of his friends...that was fun. Yesterday, I went to a going away/wedding party for one of Mrs. Linda and I's English students. She's moving to Germany! Anyways...my time has been busy. August is done with September and it's schedule packed and ready to go. English classes start back up next week. Japanese schools start school tomorrow so kids are heading back to school. Therefore, there will be more of a routine starting here soon than August allowed for.

I'd be lying if I said that I haven't been homesick. But I have been a little lately. I think it may have something to do with a lot of friends are in Auburn with school and everything. I miss that place! And my family doing stuff without me (i hope the beach was fun!!) But God has been good to me. He's always good to me. I'm amazed at how I often forget that. I let my particular situation at that moment dictate the mood I'm in. And don't always see or think that God may be using this is some way for something much bigger...His plan. Actually, that's probably how it usually is. Many truths have been revealed to me during these past two months by His grace and mercy. I played all the worship for church this past Sunday because Tom was gone. God was so faithful. Is so faithful!! Even though I was completely unprepared and actually not adequate to play (much like Gideon or David), God used me to help others WORSHIP HIM. That's something that I've always struggled with....how to truly worship Him with the talents He's given me. I sit here not really knowing how to put into words how God's become more real to me during my stay in Japan. In some ways, I don't want to leave. In others, I do. Here...I feel like I focused on doing God's work and in a way...that's easier. Back in the States, I sadly get caught up in the busyness of a schedule and the comforts that home brings with it. I've been challenged in that way, knowing that when I go back...I want to be changed. I want God to use this trip in anyway HE thinks is right and true. His will over mine (which is so hard for me to say!) Japan has put a lot of things in perspective for me...but I don't want to forget this and go back to how I was. I desire God to work in my life, through my life....never forgetting HIS wonderful truths. These are random thoughts...sorry if they make no sense.

I've got many prayer requests.

1. Please pray for me in some specific ways:

-I've got one more month here. Please pray that I would remain focused on being a servant to the team here. I'm here to serve! And through the process of helping...grow closer to God.

-My flight plans might be changing again. I ask for wisdom as I make scheduling plans and that a flight would open up for me that's not expensive and not confusing.

-I hate not know what my future holds. I would really appreciate your prayers for what I need to go when I get back to the States. I don't feel God leading me in a very clear way. I'm at a cross road (jobs, schooling-wise) and don't know where God is leading me.

-pray that I'd use every opportunity to share the Gospel. In a big and evident way or in a small way that God would use me to plant seeds in people's hearts about the ONE true God and the love and security we have in Him...our Father!

2. Please pray for the team retreat this weekend and that the planning and fellowship would go well/smoothly.

3. Please pray for many people's finances. I know that there are several families trying to raise support to come join the Nagoya team and are finding it very difficult. There are missionaries here that are struggling to stay their WHOLE time. I'm also trying to reach that last little bit I need to stay the 3 months. Pray that God will provide and that it'll be a faith-building experience for all of us.

4. Pray for the church and it's growth. Now that summer is over, we are hoping for more people to be involved in the activities at the church. Pray that God would work in people's hearts to come to the church and hear His Gospel.

5. Please pray for these specific people: the Watanabe family, Mikiya, Hironari, Maki, Kaji (a college-aged guy going to Australia for 1 year) and many people in Gospel choirs and English classes.

Thank you for the prayers! I really appreciate them. Sorry that I have no pictures...again. I don't know how to get them up on this computer. We'll just have to wait a little longer. And sorry this is long but thanks for reading if you made it to this point. God's grace is endless...Praise the LORD!

Sincerely,

Richard

I got kicked out of the Wilson household...

"Konbanwa" for those that speak Japanese..."Good Evening" for those that speak English...and A+ for those that understood both!

This week has been fun. It's been different! My regular routine was mixed up a bit. It's been busy but relaxing! I got to do some cool stuff. And I'm living with a crazy but sweet and amazing family right now. The Wilson's are on a much needed vacation right now so I moved in with the Newsome's on Monday night of this week. Mr. Wayne and Mrs. Amy have 5 children. Katelyn is the oldest and left for her sophomore year at Covenant College on Tuesday. She's a soccer player there. Sam is 16 and is a Junior at a school in Tokyo. Mary Grace is 14 and a freshman at ICAN (International Christian Academy of Nagoya). Sarah is 12 and Josh is 9...both go to ICAN as well. It's fun being apart of their family. At times...I feel like I'm hearing my own brothers and sisters because even though they might live in another country, kids will be kids and it's funny! Mr. Wayne and Mrs. Amy are amazing people and I've learned so much by talking with them and helping them around the house. They have been SO sweet to open their house to me and I've really appreciate all the input, advice, and counsel they've given. Mr. Wayne is the team leader here for the Nagoya team and preaches for the church. He stays really busy with the activities at the church which is only a 5 minute bike ride away (just down the road). Mrs. Amy is always busy with tons of things....bible studies, choir practice, life as a mom and house keeper-upper, etc. Her latest project has been painting the house which is what I've helped with. I've been able to help with re-painting their living room, bathrooms and toilet rooms, hallway and stairway. We worked on the kitchen today but didn't quite finish. So that's been fun. I've gotten better at painting which can always help me in the future. The Newsome' s think that I should give up my medical pursuits and start painting for a living. Not exactly what I had in mind...but if the LORD's will...I'll go for it.

We've been able to do some really neat stuff this week. Yesterday, we woke up really early and traveled about two hours away to the Japan Sea for a beach day. This was the 1st the Newsome's had done something like this and weren't very sure what they'd fine. But the beach turned about to be wonderful. The water was so clear and it was really pretty! Japan is so mountainous and cities where there isn't mountains. So...you have a small beach and a mountain like 100 yards away. Therefore, the beaches are pretty few and far in between. But we spent the whole day there on the beach and it was wonderful! I'll show some pictures later...I'm on a computer that I haven't downloaded pictures yet.

Tonight we went to the Nagakute town festival. I mentioned this last post but Ohbon (most likely miss spelled) is going on right now (basically vacation time.) People go back to their hometowns and there's always a festival where there is a dance for/to the dead spirits. Ok...so not so awesome maybe but it shows the religion and culture that we're dealing with. They worship their ancestors and pray for them, offering up sacrifices to make sure that they are taking care of. This ritual dance is done to lead the spirits on their way. Where? I'm not sure! The really cool thing about these festivals is there are always fireworks. I've told a little about Japanese fireworks...but they are awesome. The shows are incredible and I'll never see anything like it in America. So that was today...and it was a lot of fun. We biked there because it's the town that the Newsome's live in.

Thanks for those that have been praying for me. I really appreciate the prayers. I've been giving the opportunity to stay longer. That was a prayer request I had last post but I think that all is working out about that (thanks Mom and Dad!) I am trying to stay until Oct 4th. This will give me time to see the English students again and for me to make sure that I finish all the projects that I can for the team. It is a whole month more than I thought I would get. The LORD is so good in that He provided all my money to come in and have blessed me tremendously while over here. His grace is more abundant everyday and never runs out on a wretched sinner like me. I've been reading in Romans for my quiet time and have been amazed at how I have for most of my life...put God in a box. He is way bigger and more knowledgeable than I! The truths that Paul writes about and how the Spirit reveals those to me have been of great encouragement. To learn more about the Scriptures and how the Holy Spirit works in our lives, has given me much more understanding about myself and the greatness of our God.

Please continue to be praying for me. There are many needs here yet God has also blessed the team very much. Please continue to lift up the men of Japan...for which there is a need for Godly husbands, church leaders, pastors, and Christian workers in the work force. Please pray for the struggling churches that are here. Some only have a few members. Some don't even have a pastor. Some are on the brink of stopping. It is very hard to grow in numbers in Japan because of the type of people Japanese are...very slow when it comes to something new or foreign. Pray for motivation and strength for the missionary families. Most of the team is coming back from vacation. Pray that they will use the energy and rest they gained from that to pour more of ourselves through Christ's strength into those we are ministering too.

I am so excited about what the LORD is doing not only in my life but also in many of the people's live here. Please pray that God will make new His Gospel to us everyday so that we can share and spread His Word excitedly and energetically everyday.

Sorry...no pictures but I'll try to post some later on if I can. Much love to everyone. And thanks again for keeping up with me.

-Richard

They made me take a day off!

Konnichiwa!

Well...I'm back on the once-a-week blog again. And I'm sorry about that. I guess I could look back but I'm not even sure when I posted last. Anyways...thanks for the comments. I've said this before but I really am thankful for the prayers and all the support. It's really encouraging to get on and have a sweet comment or email from someone. Thank you!

For this week, it was my goal to finish the painting at the Newsome's house before they returned from their vacation. I didn't do it! And I felt horrible about it. I've been working on re-painting some of the areas in their house and it took me a lot longer than I wanted it too. But I'm glad to hear that they like it and i hope to finish up at least the initial stuff very soon. I thought about putting some of "before and after" pictures but I'm not sure the Newsome's want pictures of their house floating in cyberspace.

It's actually kinda funny. I'm sitting in an empty house right now because the Wilson's left today for vacation. My family back in the states are on vacation (i hope the beach is fun without me.) And the family I'm about to go live with for a few days are just getting back from vacation. Here is Japan...there is a week or two that is called something that I won't even try to spell. But it means "dancing with the past spirits" or something. I can't remember exactly. But it's a week or two. Anyways...it's a time when many Japanese families take vacation. Kids aren't in school yet. Men will take their 5 vacation days off for the year! And plane tickets get expensive. But it kinda a time for travel and for people to go see their families in other towns. Many towns have festivals and things where they celebrate their dead ancestors and light lanterns to "lead" them back to where ever. You can probably tell that I don't really know a lot about it. haha . This time is called O-ban (I think). I can't remember but it's basically vacation time for many people and they visit family in their home town...therefore travel.

I haven't done a whole bunch this week. I usually would wake up around 8:30AM, eat breakfast, sometimes have a prayer time with T & T (which is always such a blessing and encouraging) and then bike to the Newsome's in Nagakute about 30 minutes away. I usually stopped my the grocery store or a convenience store (better known as a convenie) to pick up lunch for later. I'd paint for most the day and then bike back to Togo a little after dark. I had a few things that broke that schedule. I was invited to lunch at one of the English student's house on Wednesday. It was a lot of fun and I got to experience Japanese culture even more while being in their house. A lot of speaking English...practicing...which is always fun. Teresa's brother was in town for some of the week and I loved to stay up with them and talk. Dr. Randell Short is a professor at Tokyo Christian University and it was his daughters that helped during the KGW a few weeks back. A really smart man....loved talking with him. I had two Japanese lessons this week. I love my sensei ("teacher"). Etsuko Sensei lives just down the road and is teaching Ian and I usually twice (sometimes once) a week. Japanese is hard but really fun. It's going slow but I can pick small words out of a conversation or the radio sometimes.

I've also really enjoyed my time in the Bible. Today, I re-read the passages from the sermon yesterday and then re-read the sermon. Since the church is in Japanese, they have handouts in English for people to follow along. I can't believe i haven't done this in years past. I think that that is the hope of many pastors...is that their sermon will give us encouragement the week through and not just for one hour at church while we listen. I went on a run afterwards and prayed. Our God is so good! When we live our life in obedience to Him, He is not slow to shower His grace down in our lives with peace. That's what I felt while running and praying. I've been reading in Romans and I have to focus really hard on what Paul is talking about sometimes. But it's mean amazing how God opens my eyes to things I've never noticed or understood before. Things about my sinful nature and the Spirit battling within my body; one leads to destruction and the other to life. Who will we follow? I've seen and experienced the necessity to hear the Gospel message everyday. I'm always to quick to forget. Once moment I'm praying and "feel" so close to God. The other moment...I'm angry for something that's happened in my life. I'm so quick to forget His faithfulness and love in my life. He has shown more grace in my life. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to understand how much.

*Please pray for the Wilson's. They are on a much needed vacation time right now. Pray for great family time. Pray for rest, relaxation and re-energizing for the ministry ahead.

*Please pray for my brother, Sam, as he is deployed with the Army Rangers and is away from his pregnant wife. Dorsey is expecting in a little more than a month. Please pray for health, protection and a constant source of understanding to be on them as they are apart.

*Please pray that ministry opportunities will continue to arise for me. I'm still meeting with a few people on my own. I have several jobs to still be done for the team. I want to stay busy and to be helpful to the team and people of the church. Please pray that I'll be swift in finishing jobs so that I can move on to others and really help those that need it.

*Please pray for wisdom as I try to make some decisions. I am hoping to stay a little longer in Japan than I initially thought. The LORD has provided for me in a way that I never thought possible. He is so good and truly watches over His sheep. I am trying to work it out to stay until Oct. 4th. Pray that if that is God's will, plane tickets will be able to be changed and the money will last that long.

Thanks for many prayers and words of encouragement. I very much appreciate the support and love. I thank those that are and have supported me. God is using this tremendously in my life...revealing truths and drawing me closer to Him through His Word. Thank you for making this possible for me.

With that last prayer request, I sure hope my parents read their email before reading this blog!

For His Glory,

Richard

The Start of a Different Month...

Dear Friends,

I thought I'd start with prayer requests this post and then give an update afterwards. Prayer is so important. That is one thing that I've learned (or re-learned) while being in Japan. The team here holds prayer as something so imperative to a Christian's life, their ministry. I am very thankful for those praying for me and the time God's has for me over here...very appreciative!

*Please be in pray that I will put God FIRST in my heart; that He would be the center of my heart and mind. I've listened to a sermon about idols and how we can't be a good evangelist when we don't understand grace and have idols (things that are more important to us than God.) Prayer for me (and Christians all over the world for that matter) that God would be our "Rachel" like Rachel, Isaac's wife, was for him (Isaac worked an additional 7 years for her and it felt like no time). God's love for me surpass anything, everything that I could fathom. Pray that I would return His love in the small way only a mere man can by giving Him my complete heart, future, hopes, dreams and life!

*Please pray that the additional money that I need to complete my trip here will come in. The last time I checked, I was still ~$300 short of my total amount. I am so thankful that I've made it that far...this is nothing to the initial amount. I am so close and this would enable me to stay the whole time. Pray that God will provide. He is good and knows my every need. He knows what I need to do and where to be. Pray that I'll trust Him with these finances.

*Please continue to pray for my friend Mikiya. I had a great time with him two weeks ago but we haven't been able to meet again since then. Pray that God would open a door for me to share with him about God's love and that I could introduce him to others in the church. Like many Japanese, he is caught up in the pressure and anxiety of this culture. Success is so important. Pray that I would have a heart to minister to him and others with a joyful and loving spirit.

*Pray for the missionary families that are on vacation now or about to leave for their time off. The Newsome's and Bakelaar's are out of town on vacation and the Wilson's will leave soon. Please ask God for this time to be refreshing, energizing and relaxing for them so that they may come back even more ready and strengthened my the Spirit to do our Savior's calling.

This week has been different. As my title may portray, August will be different than July. July met me with an already packed schedule with classes, practices, activities...busy! August has a more flexible schedule where I can kinda make up how my days go. I've been busy with projects this past week. I pressure washed the Wilson's sidewalk and house. And then a spent the other part of the week starting with a painting project at the Newsome's house (the mission house) while they are gone. It's been nice being able to serve the families in a way that I know how...in a way that I know that I can practically do something for them. Sometimes we help in ways that show no benefits for others. This might be a wrong way of looking at it but I'm thankful to God for giving me gifts and allowing me to use those to bless others. I can see that I'm doing something for others and it's encouraging to see them blessed for they work so hard over here. I've also been able to play the piano for the church to help Tom out with some of the music which has been great and alot of fun! I played with the worship team today in church and got to play for the Kids Gospel last week.

I did several cool things this week on top of those things even though pressure washing and painting are always fun! In addition to that, I had one of the English classes take me and Miss Linda out to a tofu restaurant. When I first heard that...I immediately thought of that nasty white stuff my mother always swear tasted just like the food she cooked with it and was good for you. Well obviously...we immediately think it's disgusting. BUT in Japan, they are extremely creative with their tofu and it was really fun. The class wanted to give us a traditional japanese dinner. The table and set up was beautiful. The food was always designed in a pretty way, making it even more enjoyable to eat. We had a really great time as a class and appreciated them taking us out.

Also, last night the Wilson's and I went to Gifu (a town on the opposite side of Nagoya than Togo) for a hanabitaikai ("fireworks show".) Ok so pictures or word...maybe even video can't describe the awesomeness of a japanese firework PRODUCTION! It was incredible!! An 1 1/2 hour show of what Americans would call "grand finale's" with an actual Grand Finale at the end. It was so cool and I think I'm spoiled when it comes to firework shows now (even though sparklers, pops, and firecrackers will always have a special place in my heart!) Hope that ya'll like the pictures! We sat along the banks of a big river with 10,000's of people.

Anyways...this upcoming week is much of the same as last. I'll be painting and doing odd jobs around (babysitting and meeting with people). It's definitely a different feel of a month but I think it'll be good for me. People are telling me where to go and what to go to (even though I'm fine with that.) But now, I'm able to experience Japan in a different, more in-depth way. I won't see just the nice things but are able to be involved in lives, seeing the good and bad. It think that's way being here for a longer short-term missions trip is nice. I really do get a feel for how it's like to live in Japan.

Much love and thankfulness to you all. I serve a gracious God who loves me. I am a sinner who needs to hear the Gospel everyday and be reminded of my position in Christ. Help me LORD to hide Your Word in my heart and remember it in times of need.

God is good and great,

Richard

Kids Gospel Week (July 27th-31st)

Today (Monday) is my day off for this week so I thought I take the time to write about the things Nisshin Church did this week with the ~40 kids we had come to Kids Gospel Camp.

• Random thoughts I have about this week:

- It's such an encouragement to have good leadership in a church. I know i've said this before in a post but the missionaries have such a grace-oriented mission here. Everything is done with prayer and asking God for mercy and direction. It was so refreshing and focusing to start each day group prayer, asking our Heavenly Father for guidance in the days activities.

- I was glad and honored to have a job in helping plan the KGW (Kids Gospel Week). I got to help design the t-shirt and plan the games for the summer festival at the end of the week. Plus help teach the kids the songs. It was an answer to a personal prayer of mine to feel that i was being used and actually helping the church while I'm here. I don't want to be a burden to the people who have been so kind to me here.

- Japanese is hard to learn, hard to sing, hard to perform, and trying to say Japanese names is almost impossible. I'm still working on all of that.

- To go along with the above comment, I start Japanese language lessons this week!

Like I said earlier, the church had about 40 kids come (Tuesday thru Friday) for the camp and then we held a performance for the parents/friends on Saturday and had a Summer Festival with games and prizes for the families. The whole week was great fun and the church thought is was a great success. Alot of people that normally wouldn't go to church were there and experiencing a good time and love in a place they know almost nothing about. We were very excited because alot of fathers came to the worship time/performance to see their kids and through the songs, heard the Gospel. Everyday, the kids had three stations to go to: Music, Dance and Crafts/Game/Snack. During Dance, they had a small Bible time. The church invited a pastor (Naoki-san) from Tokyo to come in and lead that. Naoki-san was actually in Tom and Teresa's wedding and Tom was influential in leading Naoki-san to Christ about 10 years ago. He was great with the kids. Basically, he took a segment of the Gospel each day and told the kids about that (grace, sin, man, Jesus, etc)

The camp had ages 3 to 12 years old participating with many youth helpers and adult leaders. It was of great encouragement to the mothers to see the older kids engaged in the younger children's day, playing with them and stuff. In Japanese schools, once a child gets to junior highschool, many of them are so busy with school, clubs and "cram" school that they have no time for family stuff. "Cram" school is extra school on top of the normal day and its purpose is to better prepare the child for the exams so that they can get into the highschool or college they want. Japan is success driven!! Succeed in school, succeed in work....no time for family. It's really sad because not many fathers are apart of their children's lives because they are working from 9am-10pm most the time. That is actually the norm. So the mothers are with the young children all the time. That is why the church as such a ministry for mothers and children (mother's day out, mom and kids club, vbs, bible studies, etc). But anyways, it was good to see families there TOGETHER at the performance and interacting at the festival. The kids were great all week and Tom really stressed teaching them how to sing and stuff. The camp was such a hit because Japanese people LOVE gospel music. Tom and Teresa have 3 gospel choirs right now. Many of the choir members are not Christians but just love singing gospel. The Wilson's have a great ministry getting to know these people, explaining the music they are singing and getting them in Bible studies or inviting them to church. Alot of the choir members and their friends brought their children to KGW (another opportunity to share the gospel with them!!!) The performance went great and we were very happy with the turnout. Thank you God for answering Your servants prayers!

*Please pray for the men's ministry here. There are many woman in the church but we pray that God will raise up men to lead the church. Native Japanese pastors, elders, deacons, Godly husbands and fathers to lead their own churches. There a several churches in the Nagoya area with no pastor at all so several men are pulling double duty.

*Pray for me as I have a change of position in August. I go from teaching English and holding conversations with Japanese to doing projects for the church and it's members. Pray that God will give me a cheerful attitude about whatever I will be doing. Pray that if it's God's will for me to have interaction with Japanese during that time that He will make that available. If not, that He will give the attitude that i need to be joyful in every situation.

Thanks for the prayers. I've been here for about a month and time really does fly. The end of my Japan trip will be here before i know it. God is working in my life so much in the maturity realm, teaching me alot of Himself and His grace in my life. I've seen it here for than ever that there is a spiritual battle in my body between the flesh and the Spirit. "Set your heart on things above" has been of great encouragement and challenge for me. Pray that God will continue to reveal more of His truths to me as I SEEK Him.

-Uncle Richard (as Ian and the Short girls are calling me know.)

P.S. I'm posting a couple pictures from a slide park we went to yesterday. Japan doesn't give front or back yards to its residents (not enough space I guess) but they do give them AWESOME city parks!

Tokyo has nothing on Wilsonville

Wow...my head is full of things I need to write about but am just too tired to write about. This whole week, we've been putting on a Kids Gospel Week at the church (basically a Music VBS). And today we had a performance for the parents/family and a carnival afterwards. I'm completely bushed!!! But I thought that I could atleast get on and tell ya'll about last weekend in Tokyo...

If anyone was wondering, George Lucas didn't computerize any of the cities in his "Star Wars" trilogies....he filmed them in Tokyo!!! You won't be able to get all of that from the pictures but the city is HUGE, MASSIVE! We went up on one of the towers to an observatory deck to get a good look of the city. When I got up there, I really thought I was looking a city in "Star Wars" (minus the flying cars!) Buildings as far as you could see, disappearing into the haze of the sky. It was a sight! Busy, busy, busy!! People running to and from, subways going in EVERY direction, buildings literally on top of each other. I saw children playing a game on a soccer field. The soccer field was on TOP of a building. The tallest building in downtown Birmingham wouldn't have made a dent into the skyline in the Tokyo city limits. We went to Tokyo for the weekend because Tom was invited to see a choir performance. He was in this choir when they lived in Chiba (a suburb of Tokyo) for language school. There is only one Christian in the choir and Tom made some really good friends while he was in it. Tom joined the choir to learn from the conductor on how to relate to Japanese people so he wanted to see them. It's really kinda ironic because they sang in english and swedish and all the songs were Scriptures. They just don't know what they are singing about or to who! Kinda sad. But Tom got to see them and keep those connections up. The performance was on Sunday and we went sight-seeing most of Saturday. I voted that we do all the "free" things so I saw the Busiest Intersection in the World (Shibuya), the Busiest Subway Station in the World (Shinjiku), one of the World's Biggest Ferris Wheels, ate at some really cool places and saw a shrine. Shibuya was the coolest thing ever! There were thousands of people every minute that went through that intersection. We sat up in a Starbucks and people watched. It was really cool! Hope you like the pictures. We also met up with and stayed with Teresa's brother (Randell and Atsuko) who lives in Chiba. They have three daughters who came to Nagoya for the Kids Gospel Week (Cana, Emmy, Mana.) Such a sweet family!

Later, I'll write more about what God has done this week. The Kids Gospel Choir really did bring alot of people into the church, many for the first time. God is gracious and so good! If there is one thing I've learned is that God blesses those that love and obey Him. The team here washes everything in prayer and submission to Him. It is so encouraging and yet challenging to learn from those working with the church. Thank you so much for all the prayers! God is working and I really appreciate many of ya'll making it possible for me to be here through your donations. We serve a great and awesome God!

Anyways...I'll write more soon. And for those that are wondering, Japanese is about impossible to learn! YAA!

~Richard-san

Prayer requests

I just want to ask for two specific prayer requests for this week very quickly.

*Please pray for this week (Tuesday through Saturday). The Wilson's and Nisshin Christ Church are putting on a Kids Gospel Week. We start this morning at 9:30am and go to 12:30pm. Please pray that we have alot of children come and learn gospel music. And that they will bring their parents/family to the concert on Saturday. This music will bring God's Word into their homes. Please pray for everyone helping in putting the camp on.

*Please pray for my interaction with Mikiya this afternoon. Mikiya and I became friends through a Campus Crusade event at the church. He is not a Christian. He wants to practice his english and is really excited about hanging out with me. Please pray that I can use this opportunity to share with him about Christ.

Thank you so much for the support and love!

Richard

I know what I want to be when I grow up...A sumo wrestler.

Well I'm just on the ball with this blogging thing. Two days in a row. Ya'll should be proud! But seriously, I'm leaving for Tokyo tomorrow and will be gone all weekend so I thought that I'd write now about what happened today...just real quick.

Inoue-san (Mrs. Inoue) and Kimura-san (Mrs. Kimura) are the two ladies in my Thursday English class with Miwa-san (the sweet old man below in the picture that taught me calligraphy). They all three are in the class together. Well...they wanted to do something special for me. i don't even know why because i've only been at their class for three times. But they are so, so sweet! The two ladies took me, Tom and Ian to a near-by sumo stable. this is where the sumo wrestlers pracice, train, sleep and EAT! We watched a morning practice. They had many young wrestlers and two high-ranking sumos. It was really neat and we were like 15 yards about from the ring. Pretty neat. Inoue-san is in one of the Gospel choirs but Kimura-san is just really interesting in English. I just thought that ya'll would enjoy the pictures. It was cool to see how they did stuff and get an insiders-scoop on how things are done. Please pray for Inoue-san, Kimura-san and Miwa-san for they are not believers. Pray for Tom and I as we travel to Tokyo this weekend. It is a 6 hour drive.

God is good,

Richard

I ate raw fish and didn't throw up

Ok so it's not actually the third week but I am trying to write more. I definitely have been thinking about America more and trying my hardest not to miss. Staying busy has been my answer for that and that's exactly what I'm doing. These last couple of days have been really busy. I have left the Wilson's at like 9:45AM and haven't returned until 10:30PM. AND it's been nice because I got a mode of transportation this week. A bike! The Newsome family are letting me borrow a bike...and a cell phone. So that's been nice because I don't bug Tom & Teresa and haven't had to bother them with driving me around. The last two mornings I've biked to the church where the English classes are. It takes about 30 min...and Japan right now feels like an Alabama summer. Hot...so that's nice. War Eagle! I show up to class nasty and sweating and then seat next to a sweet old lady and talk American with her. I'm sure she's loving me!

Classes for the most part are coming to an end which is kinda sad. But I've got to do some cool things with the classes. On Wednesday and today, both the morning classes took me and Mr. Peter out to lunch (ate sushi both days) and we got the opportunity to know them better. I've been praying that I would be willing and that God would give me the confidence to talk about my faith in ways that they would maybe understand. There is still and pretty good language barrier even though this is an English class. I'll talk about going to church or looking to God for strength and I'm just not sure if they understand what I'm talking about. But it's not me who is talking but Christ that lives within me which is encouraging. I just do what the Spirit tells me too. Therefore, the classes are keeping me busy in the mornings and some at night. In between classes this week, I have been helping the Newsome's paint their house and remolding their bathroom. So that's been fun, working hard and getting to know their family better.

Something really fun and interesting happened today. Miwa san (Mr. Miwa is English) is an elderly man in our Thursday class. He actually has pretty good English and we communicate just fine. His wife is in the Wednesday class (so that's sweet). But since today was their last class, he wanted to teach me calligraphy...therefore writing the Japanese language called kanji (i think). Anyways, he spent about two hours teaching me how to write "horse" and "love" in Japanese characters. And then framed it for me to keep. It was so awesome. He was totally into the horses and ask TONS of questions about the horses last week. I'll post a picture of him and me writing them and practicing it.

Thanks for the prayers and comments. I love hearing from ya'll and really appreciate the support. I have been really encouraged about what the LORD has done personally in my heart over the last two weeks. We serve a God that is a personal God, One that love US, cares for our own personal needs and knows what we want and think. I love when God reveals things to you and through that we are left with such a joy and peace...we just want to go tell people. As sad as this sounds, I've felt that this week for the first time. Though time spent specifically for Him, the LORD has made issues and concepts more clear to me. And I love that He uses Scripture to speak to us, especially when I have a particular situation I'm struggling with. He knows is and brings me the Scripture to me to find encouragement.

Please pray for those in my English classes. Most are not Christians. Pray that God would use the few words we say to make them more curious about the Gospel and that God would open doors for Christians to minister and share with them.

Please pray for protection on the missionary families...protection for their families and children, from the Devil temptation and ESPECIALLY from discouragement. Japanese are hard to minister to because one does not see fruit very fast at all.

Please pray that we would be able to minister to more Japanese men. The church is mostly women and Japanese men are very busy and consumed with work. Pray that God would raise up men who love Him, serve Him and take an active role in leading the church here in Nagoya.

Pray that I'll not miss family and friends too much. I'm loving it here and I try not to think about America too much. I want this time for Japan and not for counting the days until I return to my comforts in Birmingham.

Love you all and God Bless!

Mr. Richard (what Ian Wilson calls me)

Week Two....I am trying to update more than once a week I promise!

Howdy from Japan!

If only I could get someone to say that...that would be awesome! I don't exactly know where I left off last time (I guess I could look below and find out...whatever) But things this week definitely picked up. The first thing I want to tell ya'll about is my English classes. I absolutely love them! They are so much fun but it might be because I'm the new guy and everyone wants to know about me. Even if that passes (which I'm sure it will), I know I'll still love them. I really do enjoy "teaching" and talking with them and answer questions is about all I do. I am not the only one in there. I just help the actually teacher (Miss. Linda Wixon or Mr. Peter Bakelaar depending on the day). But since I'm new and the intern, i think they like it if I come it and allow them to rest alittle because they don't have to plan as much. The classes are all pretty small, ranging from 3 to 6 in a class. I had a total number of 5 classes this week and I'll do that again this upcoming week. English classes are almost done for the quarter and won't start back up until Sept. I've kinda arrived at the tail end and will really miss it but have greatly enjoyed what I've gotten to do already. The Japanese students (I call them "students" but they are all older than me) are mostly women but there are a few men. They love hearing about my family, our farm, the horses, how I was homeschooled, the Iron Bowl, Robyn and Jay's family (my sister and her husband) and why I am in Japan. I had one class where all I talked about was horses!! The elder man in our class wanted to know everything from feed and diet to horseshoes and types of horses. We also talked about how horse meat is a specialty meat here! Gross!! I told them how different that sounds and how nasty that would be to find in the grocery stores.

*Disclaimer: If horse meat is found in hotdogs....Richard does not want to know. Do not tell him.

I have also gotten a pretty good picture of many of the things I will be doing during the summer. I was kinda thrown right into the English classes because they wanted my help with conversations and that they will be ending soon. But I got to sit down with Tom earlier and schedule things out. I got to see some of that go into play when I seat down with Mrs. Amy Newsome! She has put me to work and I've really appreciated the help she's offered to me. She gave me the job of designing the t-shirt we will be using for the Kid's Gospel Week at the church next week. So that was fun, using Microsoft Publisher and getting that sent in. And then helping direct and plan things for the carnival the church is having next weekend. I am basically the handy man which is I think is cool anyways so I'm fine with that. I'll paint signs and organize the booths after buying everything for them. There are other jobs and minister things going on but I'll write about those later.

Today was alot of fun! It technically was my day off but we spent the whole day in downtown Nagoya, seeing some of the sights but mainly because the Nagoya Sumo Wrestling Tournament was at the Nagoya Castle! It was awesome and hilarious at the same time! A life-changing experience! Tom took me, two other missionary kids and a Japanese friend who explained everything to us. It was definitely something I'll remember and it'll be cool that I experienced. Not everyday that an Alabamian gets to go to a Sumo tourney! Hope you like the pictures...haha.

I need to go to bed. Church is tomorrow and I'm getting to play again this week. Later this summer, Tom wants me to play for the whole service which will be fun. But it'll be a huge help for him.

Please PRAY for my English class students - that they will understand the Gospel I tell them and the GOD I love; that I'll be able to continue to form relationships with them and that they will see God through me.

Please PRAY that homesickness doesn't get the best of me. I never experienced jet-lag which was great but I do feel homesick slightly. I do NOT want to wish my time here in Japan away at all!

Please PRAY for the missionary families here (Newsomes, Bakelaars, Miss Linda Wixon, Wilsons and many more) who are VERY busy and tired. They also have summer break coming up soon and will need time to re-energize.

Please PRAY that God will use this tremendously in my life. I don't want to get carried away with they things I get to do or the things I need to get done. This isn't just a job! This is a special ministry that God's has called me too. I want to be here serving HIM and growing towards HIM everyday. Pray that daily time with HIM will be put first and my to-do list will come second.

Please PRAY for my little sister, Rainey, as she is leaving today (17th) for Belize with my home church. I love you sis and will be praying that God's uses you and that you and the team grow in a deeper knowledge and love for HIM!

Thank you for the comments! I don't get on the computer much but when I do I really enjoying hearing from you all. Sorry that i don't respond personally to all of them. Thank you for the prayers!

In Him,

Richard

P.S. Some people have asked so here you go...Tom and Teresa Wilson's address (where I am staying for the next few weeks)

2-9-15 Mitake

Togo-cho, Aichi-gun

Aichi-ken, Japan 470-0156