We have internet!!

Hello everyone!

We are so excited that we finally have internet in our apartment! It hasn't been in the least bit convenient to use the computer at school or other places, so that's why we haven't updated our blog until now. It's been a process trying to settle into our routine here, and we just keep getting busier and busier it seems like. Now we have Japanese class every week at the Mito church with ladies from there. That's been really nice and helpful. The LST (Let's Start Talking) group has been here for 4 weeks and for 2 more weeks helping Japanese people practice their conversational English using the Bible. Allen's really excited that God has worked through him to reach out to 4 teachers from his school to come to the church for LST. We've enjoyed going to the LST parties on weekends - meeting their readers and playing English speaking games with them.

Allen has also been helping out with the children's singing ministry in the church. He's enjoyed teaching them a song he made up. We're enjoying being involved in the church on Sundays and the AET group study on Wednesday nights, which we also invite Japanese people to come to, so we usually meet someone new on Wednesday nights. It's been really cool that a few new people have come to the church recently just by heresay about the church.

I (Laura) try to mention the church every opportunity I can at school, so they have a positive picture about what the church is and that Japanese people can be Christians and still be Japanese. Here in Japan, Christianity is seen as American culture, and Japanese are very proud to be Japanese, so becoming a Christian would be like leaving their Japanese lifestyle behind.

The Japanese Christians at the church here are wonderful people and we've enjoyed getting to know them. There is a new preacher here now. He and his family came here from Abilene Christian University in Texas. I told them about my family that lives there and works at that school, but he said he doesn't recognize their names. The church here is really going to miss their preacher and his family who are leaving to move to California. The church had a goodbye party for them, and Allen put me on the spot to sing an Ethiopian song with him for them. I think they liked it. They have been are very great couple for the church here, but they feel called to go do God's work elsewhere. The new preacher and his wife have been great too. His wife, Mari, has helped many of us AETs out when we've gotten sick and needed a ride to the store or the doctor and for translation. She's such a sweet lady.

Allen's also enjoying soccer with the AET's and some young Japanese boys who have started playing with them. We've been getting stronger physically but also tired a lot because we ride our bikes to school everyday and to places we have to go to after school, like church and meetings.

School Life -
Working at Japanese elementary schools and nursery schools has been a neat and interesting experience for us. They are pretty different from American schools. The teachers are all in one room (the teachers' room) - they come back to this room before and after classes, and the students learn a lot of other responsibilities at school besides schoolwork, like gardening, cooking, cleaning the entire school almost everyday, and cleaning outside too (there's no ganitors here at the schools). And the vice-principle does a lot of the outside yard work. It's interesting and surpising sometimes. And we, as AETs, are expected to help out with all of it during specific times of the day. The day goes by pretty fast when we have classes and all these other things we help out with and playing with the kids a recess (which is a lot of fun). It's starting to get hotter and humid now though, because rainy season is here.

It's been really nice that my mom can be here. She's doing so well adjusting to the culture and life here. She loves working with her teachers at school, especially her translator who is studying to be a teacher. Her name is Konoko. She wants to take her to Tokyo and she seems interested in church because she asks mom questions about church.

Please keep the people mentioned in this message in your prayers (including us). We really want to shin Jesus's light while we're here, but many times it's hard when we have the communication barrier and we get tired and weary. So pray for our strength, health, and faith. We are going to get Skype soon, which is a way we can call people through the computer and it's really cheap! Whoever wants to talk to us please download skype onto your computer like we're about to do, and we can talk for free!

Talk to you all later!

With love,

Allen and Laura