New Attitude 2007!

I had the privilege of attending New Attitude 2007 this weekend. We heard messages from men such as John Piper, Al Mohler, Joshua Harris, C.J. Mahaney, and Mark Dever. Here are some photos of what it looks like to worship God with 3,000 other believers. It was one of the most wonderful weekends of my life and I am not exaggerating! We had such heavenly times of singing praises, hearing God's word preached with power, and fellowship with wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ. The theme of this year’s conference was discernment. The goal was to learn how to look at our relationships with others, our enviroment, our world through the lens of Scripture. “Discernment is more than what we should do or shouldn’t do as Christians. Discernment is examining what we think and do and say in light of God’s Word.” I am so thankful for events like this that remind me that a day is coming when the praises will never end, when cries of WORTHY will honor the Lamb for all eternity!

Here's a chorus we sang over and over that I so loved:

O Praise the One who paid my debt

And raised this life up from the dead!

John Piper preaching Monday night

We did have some silly and fun times, too. I had a great time of fellowship on the van ride down to Kentucky and back. Lots of good memories!

More photos of friends...

Visiting friends in NYC

I am so blessed to have so many beautiful friends that give me great joy. Here is a photo of my dear friend Saori and her family in Queens, NY. Her baby is named Karin. She's so cute!

Here are some photos from another party for Japanese friends at Young's house. It was a great Easter-themed party!

Heading Back to Japan

Here is a nice photo with my friend Keiko and my friend Beniko's two adorable children Yume and Taro.

I was approved as a missionary to Nagoya, Japan! I am so thrilled to be going back to Japan. Life is very busy these days. I have to raise support to go to Japan, so I am praying about that daily.

Above is a photo of the Oh family who I will be working with in Nagoya. I am crazy about their four little girls, all very cute and precious. Here is a photo of Michael who spoke at the Lausanne Younger Leaders Conference in Malaysia last September. What a privilege to hope to work with such godly people as the Ohs.

March Happenings

Cherry Blossoms in Japan!

I am still playing piano. I love Chopin!!! To the left are my dear friends Yoko, Erika,Young, Sueen, and Joe. Yoko (black and white shirt) came from Japan to help out at her parents' church in Philadelphia. She left in March and is missed very much!

My star piano student Gio...what a kid! He really is that cool. :)

Movie and lunch at Hironobu and Ayako's house.

More pictures of friends 2007

Here is a photo from a fun party at Mayumi and Eiji's house. We enjoyed Japanese food, games, and dessert!



Okay, Japanese people say that one of the most noticable differences between American and Japanese culture is the size of the food portions. This is definitely PROOF! Erika is holding a piece of chocolate cake almost as big as her head and Yoko is enjoying a slice of pecan pie.


Here are some photos from a Christmas party at Young Hwangbo's house.

Japanese kids are the cutest!

Can you tell that I love Japanese kids? I really enjoy having fun with Japanese kids (in case you didn't know). This little girl, Marine, is the daughter of my friends, the Uemuras, who just went back to Japan in the fall. I miss them very much.
These little girls are Hanako and Mayu who go to Proclamation Presbyterian Church.

Playing "kitchen" with Yume

Here are photos of Yume and I - I got her a kids' baking set that she loved. She is such a cutie! .She has taught me so much Japanese...she speaks English very well, though.

Thanksgiving party 11/18

Last night some friends and I had a big Thanksgiving party for Japanese people. I think everyone had a great time. We had turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, vegetables, stuffing, and corn, plus pie for dessert!
I had such a great time!

More fun with friends!

A dear Christian couple named Ken and Maira Diaz invited me and some Japanese friends over for dinner recently. We had a wonderful time and were very blessed.
I also went to New York City recently and had a great time eating soba for lunch in Manhatten and ramen for dinner at Mitsuwa in Edgewater, New Jersey. We were so happy to eat authentic Japanese food again!

JOY and Loving the Poor

I heard another missionary speak on Sunday. He was so humble. I was thinking that if I didn't already want to be a missionary in Japan, I'd be a missionary to China! The thing that struck me the most was the tangible evidence of this missionary's relationship with God: the JOY on his face. May all Christians be as JOYFUL as this missionary! I once heard a story of a man who was rejected by a church as an elder candidate because "he wasn't joyful enough." Christians should be the most joyful people on earth!

Also, I have been thinking a lot lately about the poor in this world. The Bible has so many things to say about this such as:
He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered.
How blessed is he who considers the helpless.
He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.
The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor.
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth...defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
Happy is he who nis gracious to the poor.

Who are "the poor"? Well here are three orphans in El Salvador. They are three of those whom the Lord considers the poor and loves dearly.

I myself used to be an orphan. Meeting oprhans in El Salvador was a profound experience. I was moved by their stories, especially of one of these girls, whose mother was a prostitute who died of AIDS and whose father was a drunkard who committed suicide in 2004.

I have been thinking a lot about these verses a lot and wanted to share them.

Meeting a Missionary

Recently I have had the privilege to meet and hear from Michael Oh, missionary to Nagoya, Japan with Mission to the World (MTW). I am praying about going to Nagoya with MTW to work with Michael. On Monday I went to a dinner hosted by a young woman from Renewal Church in West Philadelphia and heard Michael speak about this work. There is also a support group from these church called FONTS that meets once a month to pray for Michael who is the president of Christ Bible Seminary and is training the future leaders of Japan.
Michael was also gave the keynote address for the Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering 2006 in Malaysia last month. I was personally challenged by Michael to remember that EVERY Christian is called to be part of sending the gospel out into the world by being either a sender or goer.

Keeping Busy

Things are busy these days, but it is a very lovely kind of busy. I have many chances to meet with Japanese friends and chat, hang out, go shopping, and have lots of wonderful conversations. Occassionally I get together with a Mexican friend who lives in South Philly, but like most Mexicans I know, she is crazy busy with work so we don't meet very often. I am really enjoying teaching piano these days. I taught piano for a few years during college, but I have some really talented students right now, including Gio (see photo). He played "It Don't Mean a Thing (if it Ain't Got That Swing)" as his recital song this past June - he was awesome! Besides teaching, I keep busy with studying Japanese, reading good books, and working two jobs. I have been thinking a lot lately about how God is in control of everything, even down to the most minute detail. It really relieves any temptation to worry about the future when I focus on the sovereignty of God. Right now, I am not sure what I will do in the future, but I am thinking these days that I will pursue serving with MTW in Nagoya next summer and then return to Sendai next September for at least two years to focus on language study and serving the missionaries I used to work with there. I would love to see old friends living in Sendai. I think of Japan almost every day and remember fondly how beautiful the people and nature are in Sendai.

Happy Birthday, Yume!

The daughter of my wonderful friend Beniko Iwakura celebrated her 4th birthday recently. We thought it was funny that her store-bought cake read, "Happy Birtday."