Just About Halfway There!

I cannot believe that it has been almost three months already! There are only five weeks of classes left (out of fifteen) and after that we will do a month long internship right up until we leave. I feel like there is still so much to do and see but I am aware of the reality that I will surely not be able to do and see everything and that's okay. The only travel time we will have is during the Christmas/New Years break perhaps we will make it up to Mount Kurama during that time but I don't know for sure. Anyway, now that Christmas season is upon us we are severely missing home. Thanks to my mom for sending cans of fake snow to add a little seasonal spice to the apartment. I find myself listening to Christmas music daily missing the baking of seasonal sweets, and decorating the tree. I do suppose it is good to be away being that I haven't endured a Christmas yet in which I had given up flour. So I guess being here helps me stick to that. Although I am now determined to invent primal substitutes for my favorite Christmas treats. I do enjoy the questions we get about Christmas..like how we celebrate it. I get the strangest looks when I say we have a Birthday cake for Jesus ;-P.  Most people in Japan don't know the holiday as the celebration of the Christ the Savior's birth (heck people in America don't really know it that way either these days...) so it can turn into a pretty interesting conversation.

I don't quite feel like it its my senior year of college and I probably wont until I start back at NCC in the spring for my final term. I feel like I just moved into Rall yesterday and now I will be graduated in about six months and married in about seven! I think I am just about ready for a change though life was starting to get comfortable lol. Yes I have finally uploaded photos onto facebook so if you use it please check them out. Love and Blessings!

I am thankful for...

Well seeing as it was just Thanksgiving in the States I thought I might make today's post about things I was grateful for this week. First of all I am thankful for the Grace, mercy and love of God because we would all be miserable and lost without it. Truly all things come from Him to begin with so really the following are just a few of God's blessings I am specifically greatful form right now. I am most thankful for my wonderful husband to be. Truly without him I would be freaking out all too much, worrying about everything, and surely straying from the spiritual path far more often than I do. I am thankful for my friends and family at home who have been so loving and supportive of me these past few months even while web are half a world apart. I am also grateful for the wonderful "family" of my brothers and sisters in Christ at the church (and boy was I really glad to have them yesterday, but I will get to that later). I am grateful for  beautiful scenery of Japan and the opportunity that I have ton see it. I am grateful for heated floors and hand warmers when it is cold. Finally, I am thankful for my health which is returning!

Now on to the latest happenings. Recently it seems my health has been taking a hit. I guess it is just further proof of the temporary nature of things but being that I have never been sick or injured often it is quite the challenge. For the past few weeks I had noticed a slight cold lingering probably from biking to and from school everyday in the cold. But I am far too cheap and stubborn to stop biking because of something like that (we save 10$/week/person biking). So then my right knee began to bother me And of course me being me I ignored it until I found that I could no longer sit with my knees folded with my feet under my butt (this is called seiza) which I must do for my traditional culture practice class. So after some googling I figured the problem sounded like tendonitis above the knee which can be brought on by biking especially when you didn't often do so before. So it is back to the bus at least for three days a week. But that works out OK anyway as it is getting colder as well. Finally we have the trip to the hospital yesterday early morning. We had stayed Thursday night at the church because we were going to join the trip on Friday to Shirakawago. We were leaving early 6:30am so we would stay the night. To my very unpleasant surprise the next morning I had found that a nasty Bladder infection must have set in. Serious enough to need antibiotics but other than that not a major problem. But thanks to Gods plan I was at the church where many people were there to help. Within one hour I was taken to the doctor, checked out, and received the medicine from the pharmacy and all with Japanese/English/Korean speaker Eunyoung to help! I made it back in time to go to the trip to Shirakawago (a beautiful historical village I will post photos on facebook later) and got lots of rest during the eight hours of driving there and back. Please don't worry as I am alright and in good hands! Have a great week! And Thank the Lord!

Well Now This is Embarrassing!

Yes it really has been almost a month since my last post. I apologize for the lazy posting but it only attests to the fact that life here is just as busy as at home! We are now just over two months into our six month stay and there is still so much to do and see. Our one year engagement anniversary passed (and mama's Birthday!). Reality is setting in again and I am remembering that there is going to be a whole lot of stuff to do when we get back. You know like graduating college and getting married! Yikes! But truly I am excited for what is here in front of me now and what will come in the future. I know God is teaching me many things through this experience to prepare me for life in a spiritual, relational, and practical sense. I have come to miss home quite a bit and have gained a warm appreciation for things I don't think I could have appreciated before. Its not an attachment or a longing for those things per se, its more of a recognition of Gods perfect blessing upon my life and the gift that those things are. So I guess I am a bit excited to get back and appreciate those things. Before then, however, I am sure I will have many more lessons to learn! God Bless you all! :D