Shisashiburi!

That's Japanese for "Long time no see!" We have a computeer virus, so that's been making our lives a bit difficult, but at least we can still use the computer. I'm updating our blog on my mom's computer now, since our's won't let us into the blog website.

Our schools asked us if we want to stay for another year and our answer was yes! We feel really blessed to have this job and it's helping us pay our school loans off. We enjoy worshipping with the church on Sundays and meeting with the AET group on Wednesdays at the church building for dinner together and a devotional. It keeps us going each week to be able to look forward to those fellowship times. We've also been going to the church retreats, which have been great times to get to know each other.

Teaching has been going well as we've gotten more adjusted to the culture and how our schools work. We make an effort to learn the language by going to the Japanese class offered by church members once a week. We have a hard time making oursleves study on our own each week though. I (Laura) was proud of myself for studying at school after my classes a couple days ago.

Allen, my mom, and I will be cooking together tomorrow night and Saturday morning for the Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving! We were recently challenged to be more active in our thankfulness, like doing something in return or using what we've been blessed with to help bless others. And we are all blessed in many ways. There are so many people who go without food, shelter, or transportation each day. Let's encourage each other to really be thankful for each little blessing we have and to realize that it's from God and that it's not just for our own pleasure but also for helping to bless others.

Take care and God bless!

Love,

Allen and Laura