"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." Christmas is around the corner and now that Thanksgiving is over Christmas music can be played and Christmas decorations can go up! This excites me since Christmas is my favorite holiday. Christmas music is going full blast and my apartment is starting to look and feel like Christmas. I was able to find an artificial tree that comes up to my waist. It is now decorated with white lights, red and gold ribbon, and white frosted pine cones. I'm pretty satisfied with my effort. I also found a snowman with a sign that says "Willkommen"(German)...in Japan! Of course, I had to purchase it. I am part German after all and it will forever remind me of the many "Valkommen" (Swedish) hangings we have at home:)

Our apartment complex put together a Thanksgiving dinner today. Today is a labor day in Japan, so we all had the day off from school. Thus, we celebrated Thanksgiving today instead of tomorrow. At the local community center six tables were put together so nineteen people could sit in one large circle. The table was decorated with red roses and yellow flowers, the turkeys started smoking at 2:00 am, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (special ordered along with the turkeys), rolls and a variety of breads, green bean casserole, yams, fruit salad and of course, pumpkin pie for dessert. Looking around the table it was a joy to see people talking, laughing, smiling, taking pictures, playing with Audrey (the three year old in our midst), and enjoying the festive atmosphere. Some I know very well and others I exchange morning greetings with, but these are the people that make up my living community.

Our count of nineteen consisted of thirteen Americans and six Asians. It was fun to watch someone experience this holiday for the first time. Explaining how we eat the food, why we celebrate Thanksgiving, what some of our family traditions are, etc. was good. It was good to be reminded of the numerous things that I have been blessed with. Then it was time to take turns sharing what we were thankful for. Even now my heart is full with big and little things I'm thankful for: having a job, being supported by family & friends, mail, living in a beautiful city, being able to pray with my co-workers, internet, an oil heater, my microwave-oven, seeing my students hunger for God, the list could go on and on. I have been blessed beyond what I deserved.

After stuffing our bellies with delicious food, we sang songs, continued talking, took turns playing piano, and had fun with Audrey as she directed the games we were playing. It was beautiful to watch people soaking in the moments, content with life, realizing all that God has blessed us with.

I turned on my oil heater for the first time today! It was exciting to have heat and to warm my hands. I felt like Eliza in "My Fair Lady" when she is warming her hands by the fire. It's been about 62F lately. This temperature feels much colder here than it does in Minnesota. It's amazing what insulation can do for a body!

I ate fugu for the first time today, and I'm alive to tell about it! Yuki (my Japanese teacher) and her Mom invited me over to lunch and one of the many things we ate was fried fugu. Shimonoseki is famous for its fugu (blowfish). If it is not cut correctly, poison will get into the meat and you will die. Chefs are trained for years before they can actually work in a restaurant or sell it. There is a thrill in eating it and taking a slight risk. It does not have a lot of flavor; it just tastes...fishy.

Heidi and I ate a full breakfast together before church this morning. Between the two of us we made scrambled eggs, sausages, cinnamon rolls, and orange juice. It was all yummy! Praise God for good friends and food!

We had a student performing in an auditioned choir from the Shimonoseki area. Of course, we went to support her but I was excited to hear a choir. They were wonderful--my ears were rejoicing! Their smiles reached their ears and their energy was contagious. We heard a variety of selections: Japanese animae (cartoon) theme songs, English songs translated into Japanese like "la la la la life goes on", and a traditional Japanese story put to music.

The evening also consisted of having the cleaning lady at school wave us down and invited to sit with her family. She even gave us a bag of candy to munch on during the two hour concert! Seeing darling six year olds singing solos, kids of all ages dancing to perfection, legends being sung in theatrical ways, and kids 6-18 lifting their voices in unity. It was lots of fun to see students doing something that they obviously love.

This evening I went to a college Bible study, which also included incredible food at a couple's house. I sat next to a new lady who is working on her English. We communicated through her book called "Let's Be Friends." It would have been funny to watch us as neither of us knew much of the other person's language. I think we both had a good time laughing and charading through our mini-conversations.

It was "Thanksgiving Day" at Baiko. Students and staff brought fruits and vegetables to school, which would later be distributed at an orphanage, nursing home, and daycare. All of the food was sprawled out on the chapel steps. It looked like a cornacopia had exploded!

After school I went to the orphanage. There were 52 kids ranging in age from 4-18 years old. Some of them are orphans and others are there because their parents cannot take care of them for one reason or another. The building is on the run-down side of things but still functional. The children were happy and looked like they were well cared for.

I started to use bricks with some of the kindergarten kids. Then one of them wanted to look at books. Before I knew it they were saying "ego hon" and starting to pull out all of the books that they had in English. So I read to them in English! They were fascinated with the different voices and expressions I was reading with. More and more kids came when I started to read. I got to read a book about a frog, Spot, number/shapes/colors, etc. I would tell them how to count to ten in English and then they would tell me how to count in Japanese. We had a great time together!

I also taught them the hi-5, which they loved. Every time they said something correct in English they got a hi-5. It was hard to leave them at the end. All the way down the driveway they were waving to us and saying "bye-bye."

Thanks for your prayers! I think that chapel went fairly well today. The timing worked out well and I feel good about it. One of the English teachers said that she thought her students could understand it, which is wonderful. Now I'm praying that maybe some of what I said will take root. Please continue praying for the students.

This weekend was exciting--I bought a microwave/oven. Thus, I can now bake! I made chocolate chip cookies and baked chicken last night. It was pretty exciting! It looks like a microwave and has three settings: microwave, oven, and toaster oven. It would be nice to have a mini-oven but those cannot be found for under $500. (And of course, I'm too cheap to invest in that;) One of the teachers brought me to a second hand store and helped me get this "micro-oven." It even comes with a three month guarantee. I'm just so excited that I can bake now!!!

Today I have also been working on my chapel talk for tomorrow. I will be speaking in chapel at school for the first time. I am fairly nervous about taking in front of so many students. I'm talking about change and how God is the only constant in our lives--He is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). God willing, it will go well. Please pray for me!

It's Culture Day and a national holiday. Thus, we don't have school. It is kind of weird to have a day off in the middle of the week. But hey, I'm not complaining!

A friend's church was having a bazaar today and I went with her. I thought that I was going with her to help set-up before hand and then I was going to attend the bazaar. But once I got there, they gave me an apron and I soon realized that I wouldn't just be helping the hour before hand. I ended up helping sort and dry dishes for the next 4 hours. I even discovered that drying dishes is not universal. For example, with cups you don't dry the inside, only the outside. Even though I really couldn't communicate with people it was a great time. It was wonderful to be a part of something bigger.

(I was able to go out right away and buy a few things. It was insane! It reminded me of shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Everyone had to fend for themselves!)