Great is Your love [O God], higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth.
-Psalm 108:4-5
Today marks one month since I came back to Japan!! I can hardly believe it's ONLY been a month....seems a lot longer than that. The inactivity on my blog and emails recently is a reflection of the hectic pace life has been moving. Though it's been hectic, things are going really well...I'm getting more and more adjusted to Japanese culture again, am using/studying the language intensively everyday, and I'm reconnecting with some good friends while also meeting new people.
I've taken a few pictures here and there but don't have as many to show you as I'd like. In no particular order, here's a look at some of what I've been up to lately...
Barb and I still go to the basketball group at least once a week, and instead of only playing until 8:30pm we have the gym until 9:30pm. What a difference that extra hour of scrimmaging makes! We're usually pretty tired by the end of the night. I've gotten to meet lots of new players who just started coming or who joined while I was in the States. There are also a handful of regulars from last year who still come consistently.
I became friends with Iida-san (above) and Yuko (below) when I was a member at their fitness club a couple of years ago. They worked at the front desk and always let me stop and chat with them on my way to/from the gym. In January Yuko had a baby girl named Koyuri. She occasionally sent me pictures of Koyuri while I was in the States, so I've been dying to meet her in person. What a cutie!
Went to karaoke with the summer interns and another friend one afternoon. I'm not usually big on karaoke but this particular day we had a blast! I even got to sing a few songs in Japanese. Can that be considered language study, hehe?! Moe, Sara, Katie, Izumi, and Allen
First time to do purikura in a loooooong time!
Dinner with Ai-chan and Chris at their apt. Ai-chan created a delicious spread of food. As we were finishing up dessert a surprise visitor knocked on the door. Her mom stopped by to say hi! Over the last three years I'd gone to Ai-chan's house many times for dinner with her and her mom and grown close to them. I was so happy to see them together again.
Yumi has been studying at the YWAM training school in Hawaii since April but recently had short break between semesters and came back to Japan. Shoko and I met her for coffee one afternoon and had an awesome time together. We exchanged stories, looked at pictures, and prayed for each other.
Last Friday my language school celebrated the tanabata festival. The holiday is actually today (7/7), but since we only have class at this particular school on Friday evenings, last week was the better day to have the festival. Some of the teachers helped us students dress in yukata!
Students and teachers chatting
Hanging her wish
Folding origami
Nakai-sensei, my Japanese teacher for the last couple of years at this school.
All the teachers at this school volunteer their time to teach us foreigners Japanese. We really appreciate them!
Went to Shoko and Nori's house to hangout with their immediate and extended family. Their brother Moto just returned home and their cousin Naru-chan came over with her family. She has two kids, Raiki and Hina-chan. They are such bundles of energy, so we took them to the park and played lots of games. Hope I get to see them again sometime soon...they're so much fun!
The inactivity on my blog and emails recently is a reflection of the hectic pace life has been moving. Though it's been hectic, things are going really well...I'm getting more and more adjusted to Japanese culture again, am using/studying the language intensively everyday, and I'm reconnecting with some good friends while also meeting new people. 
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