No longer using this blog...

In case anyone is actually checking this, I changed my blog! E-mail me if you want the address!
-Danielle

Off to Japan

I haven't posted on this blog in a long, long time! I've been very busy with preparing to go to Japan. I will leave for Japan on April 1st. I am very thankful to be able to go! Sorry this post is short, but I have to get to bed!

Off to Japan...I hope!!!

With some girls at a new IZAKAYA in Philly


Ahh...weird Japanese-English on my English student's shirt. MUST HURRY A QUIET STREAM OF TIME COMPLETES MY GRACIOUS AND ELEGANT METAMORPHOSIS


With Yume and Taro

It's been an eventful few weeks. It is looking as though I might be going to Japan at the end of March or beginning of April. Needless to say, I am excited to be able to go. I have a lot to do. It snowed today so I took the day off from work and I'm working on Japan-related things. I have so much to do before I go. I have to figure out what to pack and ship to Japan, work on my visa, contact the people who are supporting me to go to Japan, etc. I have a LOT of people I want to see before I go and need to make a list of everyone I want to see in the next five weeks. I will also have to travel to New York City to try and get my visa.
Yetserday I allowed myself to indulge in some fun memories...I went over in my mind all the wonderful places that used to be so special to me in Sendai. Some of my favorite places were downtown Sendai with the many colorful shops and sights, the rice patties of Natori, the mountains on a road to Sumiyoshidai...I will not be going back to Sendai but to Nagoya, Japan. It will be a totally different place to live, but I hope to be able to at least visit Sendai and see my old friends and former English students.
I was watching my one of my favorite Japanese movies last night. It is called "sekachuu" in Japanese and the English transation of the title is so awful I won't bother. I've seen it so many times I have it memorized, I think. I am looking forward to being able to speak Japanese day in and day out. I really love Japanese. I didn't when I lived in Japan, though. I haven't been using it so much lately. Until last June I was using it almost every day since I had Japanese lessons for several hours a week and was meeting Japanese friends for language exhanges almost every day. I think I am going to be a little rusty for the first few days but I hope I am able to remember what I've lost quickly.
Work this week has been very difficult. My supervisor at St. Joe's was arrested over the weekend for 116 counts of drug possession and a possible link to a September 2006murder and several other horrible crimes. It is very upsetting to me because he was a nice, old man with a family. It is big news in the Philadelphia area. When I saw his mug shot on the local news web site, my heart sank. Tears filled my eyes - he looked like a broken shell of a man. I am still feeling awful about it, because he was a very nice boss and kind to everyone, including me.

Big decision...

I just wanted to write on my blog that Pete and I have have decided not to be engaged. We are thankful for God's grace in this situation and in our lives and are praying for God's direction in our relationship. We invite you to pray for us as well. God is so good to us.

Happy New Year!

Here are some photos taken during the last month or so...


My favorite 5-year-old - Princess Yume!




Yet another reason why we Americans are..a little bigger than the Japanese! These are perhaps the hugest pancakes EVER!


Four of five of the boys I've been living with since last June...adorable!


With my dear Mexican friends Ernesto and Maria at "El Vez"



With Chie D. on New Year's Eve


With Japanese friends on December 4th


John and Christy, two of the best friends anyone could ask for!

Check out my Slide Show!

Martha or Mary???

These days I am soooo busy, but I am learning that God wants me to be a Mary in a Martha world. I am so busy with working full-time, helping with my pastor's family, trying to raise support to go to Japan, spending time with Pete, studying Japanese, seeing friends, reading good books...


How easy it is to let prayer get "squeezed" out. But I am thankful God has been gently, yet clearly showing me that "without Him I can do nothing." I need prayer just as my body needs air. Without it, I die. And I want to be praying for others faithfully, too!


Life these days is GOOD. I lack nothing, and I am growing in the Lord. There are so many things to praise God for.


Here's a cute photo of the Ohs (who I'll be working with in Nagoya):

I think it's funny that I currently live with five little boys and will soon be around a family with four little GIRLS.

If I go to Japan in April as planned, it's only 5 months away - yikes!!!!

My dear friend has gone home to be with Jesus. My last memory of him is lovely - talking and laughing at a diner together with my friend Elizabeth.

Stevenson, Jon, Jr. 33 of N. Wildwood, was suddenly taken on October 22nd to be with his Heavenly Father and his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. A 1992 graduate of Wildwood High School, Jonathan worked at various businesses in the county, most recently as an administrative assistant at Crest Community Church of Wildwood Crest. Beloved son, brother and uncle, Jonathan is survived by his parents, Jon and Marian Stevenson, sisters Jeni Richline (California), Judi Boyd (North Jersey), Jolene Harrison (Delaware), and brother Jeremy (Pennsylvania); nieces Sabrina, Jessica and Julia, and nephews Jared, Joshua, and Isaiah. Services will be held at Crest Community Church 5901 Pacific Ave., Wildwood Crest on Saturday at 2:30pm. Friends may call at 1:30pm. The burial will be at Tabernacle Cemetery, Erma, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hope Pregnancy Center, PO Box 767, Rio Grande, NJ 08242 or the Christian School Scholarship Fund, Calvary OP Church, 119 E. Rio Grande Ave, Wildwood, NJ 08260.

Life is Busy!

Wow, life is busy these days. I am working in Center City from 8-5 and live with my pastor and his family helping take care of five boys –yes they are all boys! I really need to post a photo of their adorable boys on this blog. They range in age from 1 to 10. Before living with them, I used to wonder how people could have so many kids. Now I really can see why having a big family is such a huge blessing.
Between work and helping take care of the kids, I try to fit in seeing friends and Japanese study when I can.
Things with Japan are evolving again – It seems as though there’s a high probability that I will go to Japan for one year instead of two. I am so glad God is in control of things and not me.

Favorite Photos of Japan

I was given a scanner so I'm using it to scan old photos from Japan. I lived there from 2001-2003 and am looking forward to going back sometime in the Spring. I won't be in the same city, though. Instead of Sendai, I will be in Nagoya. These photos were taken at a photo booth called "Print Club." They say Pu-ri-ku-ra for short. It's really fun! This is a photo of my host mom and her son. Here are more of my favorite photos:





This photo was what I saw every week when I left the class. The kids and moms saw me to the door and formally said good bye to me every week for two years! In the third pic the kids are wearing summer kimonos. They wear them to watch fireworks or to go to a local festival. They are so cute, aren't they?
I met Osaomi (bottom left) and Taka (bottom right) in Japanese class. The three of us were born in the same hospital in El Salvador! But God brought us together in Japan. The girl is dear Christina, now living in South Korea. The guy in the middle is Osa and Taka's brother, Takeshi.

I went to a shrine New Year's 2002. It is located in Niigata, Japan where my friend Chiemi lives.

This giant statue is a "goddess of mercy." I didn't like it very much, and I don't think many people in Sendai enjoyed having it in the city.

This is a "god shelf." I am not sure of its purpose, to be honest.

This is a family Buddhist altar to honor relatives that have passed away. It is called a Butsudan in Japanese.

BIG hair in Japan

I stole this image from my missionary friend Sue's website. She write that big hair for guys is "in" in Japan these days. Hilarious!!!