Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to one and to all. This year we don't have any real plans for Christmas other than remembering our Saviour's birth. Christmas Eve will be spent with Yoko's mom and one of Yoko's cousins. We will be cooking a stuffed chicken breast dish and not partaking in the traditional Japanese Christmas dinner of KFC. We will be getting together with other members of her family on the 29th. Cool yet sunny days have been with us for a while which allows us to get out and walk quite a bit. Yoko has been feeling well and enjoys getting in what exercise she can. Our two main priorities are finding a job and place to have the baby. The job search is going well and resumes are being sent. Finding a birthing clinic that we like is proving to be a bit of a challenge. Each one has some positives but also negatives that seem to outweigh the positives. One thing we are facing at some clinics is a "set in stone" system that does things one way and that way only. There is no room for how the mother might want things done. Other challenges come in the form of not being able to make an appointment; one must just go and wait to be seen by a doctor which may be up to 3 hours.
One thing that we are looking forward to is Erik's sister will be coming to visit us on the 27th. She will be with us for a week or until she gets tired of her brother. She is teaching English in Suwa, which is about 3.5 hours away by train. We don't know for sure what we will do with her, but we will enjoy osechi.

Leaving and Returning

Much to the delight of all involved, we made it safely to Japan. Our flights were fairly uneventful except for a little turbulence on the San Francisco-Tokyo leg which upset Yoko's stomach a bit. Upon our arrival we found it to be much the way we left it 3 and a half months ago. We have settled back into "our" room in Yoko's mom's apartment (our address is under "About Us", to see video and pictures of the apartment go to the Sept 17, 2008 post) and jumped back into life here by going to Costco to get stocked up on necessities: bagels, peanut butter, fruit, cheese, and cereal.
Our time in the U.S. went quickly which might have been due to our having 30-40 "get togethers" with friends and family. It was great to see so many of you. Erik enjoyed being back at Yavapai College with many of his former coworkers filling in wherever they needed him. We both also enjoyed doing some manual labor for a friend; it had been a while since we had gotten that dirty. We enjoyed staying with Erik's parents ; it gave us some quality time with them. Our time at our church, Calvary Chapel of Prescott, was sweet and encouraging. We are so thankful that we have wonderful churches in Arizona and Japan.
Yoko has been doing and feeling well since we have been back. She had a couple of very tough days right before we left, but she is feeling "genki" now. Today, Saturday, Yoko got in a 3 hour nap which should help make up for some of the lost sleep due to jet lag.
Next week will be spent deciding where to have our baby. We have a great friend here who did research on local places where Yoko can give birth. We will be sure to keep this blog updated on how the pregnancy proceeds.

It's Freezing

Here we are in the midst of October, and it is already freezing (that would be a literal freezing). The other night it was under 32F or 0C. Nothing like a sudden change in the weather to keep one on their toes. Enough about the weather. We have been doing quite well and have been able to meet with a lot of friends. Since we have been back, we have had 15+ official get togethers. These are not just meetings at church and having a chat. These are real scheduled events that have blessed us in many ways. It has been great reconnecting with so many people.

We have also been blessed with a good amount of employment. Besides Erik's working with Yavapai College, we have had the opportunity to help a friend or Erik's sister get a house ready to sell. It has been a while since we have done such demanding physical labor, but it has been good. We have been clearing brush, planting bushes, painting, cleaning, all in preparation to get the house ready to sell.

We had some fun the other day taking pictures. First Yoko and Erik's sister Sarah got dressed up in Japanese yukatas. After that, Yoko got into her wedding dress. Since our wedding, Yoko has seen wedding picture moments that she wanted to catch. Below are a few examples of what we took.

We Back and Busy

For those of you who might be wondering, we safely returned to Arizona on August 25th. Our trip back was very uneventful and went very well. Yoko's mom and brother, and a friend saw us off, and Erik's parents and sister met us upon our arrival in Phoenix. We only had minor jet lag which was good since we had to jump right into things here. Erik started work on Thursday, the 27th, with the same program he was with at Yavapai College before we came to Japan in 2008. He is teaching/assisting/helping in whatever capacity he is needed. We signed up for a couple exercise classes at the college, and Yoko has restarted ballet which is something she greatly missed while in Japan. We went for our first mountain bike ride a few days ago which was another activity we are enjoying doing again.
On top of the physical activities, we have had a number of opportunities already to meet friends and family. Living with Erik's parents is giving us a lot of quality time with them. It is also giving Yoko some insight into why Erik is the way he is. A week ago we had a real nice time with the people who are renting our house. We got to meet their newborn baby for the first time. One of Erik's uncles and a cousin visited last week and we had a great time talking with them. On Saturday, a friend of Erik's from high school was in town, and we had a good time visitng with them. That same night we had dinner with friends from church. It was a great meal and a sweet time of fellowship. Speaking of church, we have been welcomed back with open arms to our church which has spiritually grown so much in the last year. We are so thankful we have a church we can jump right back into. We are looking forward to learning more of what God is doing with and through our church in Prescott. We are still connected to our church in Japan via the internet.

Summer Vacation Doesn't = More Free Time

Summer vacation is officially here for Erik. He has two weeks off from his subbing job. Yoko has vacation, but it starts next week. Even though time not working has diminished, it has been replaced with many other things that keep us busy. Throughout Japan towns are currently holding their "summer festivals". These festivals usually involve music, traditional dance and fireworks. Saturday night we took in fireworks at one of these festivals. The clouds were fairly low resulting in some interesting "half" fireworks on the higher flying ones (see picture). Yoko wore a summer kimono called a yukata; she sure is cute.

Monday was spent taking pictures at Sengawa's summer festival. Sengawa is the city where our church is located. Our church's worship band was invited to play at the festival, and Yoko was asked to document the day on film. She did it very thoroughly 800+ pictures worth. She ended up with around 500 good images that she was able to give the church. Our new lens that we talked about in the last post made taking evening and indoor pictures a breeze. We have included a short video of a traditional dance from the festival. This dance is called the bon odori

Don't Miss the Last Train : (

When traveling by train is your only way home, make sure you know when the last train is. Sunday we were in Tokyo for church and stayed for an evening concert. Yoko's instructor from one of her aerobics classes joined us for our church/cafe's monthly Gospel Fest. A good time was had by all, and we left around 10:30. Due to the distance that we had to travel combined with the time we left Tokyo, we soon realized that we may not make it all the way home. That is in fact what happened. In our journey back we got the last possible train that runs from the outskirts of Tokyo to where we needed to go. We were very thankful for that, otherwise we would have been stranded 10 or more stations from where we live. Nonetheless, we still didn't make it all the way home. Since we were on the last train of the night, its last stop was 4 stations from ours. Thankfully, Yoko's mom in very gracious and came and got us at 1:00 am.
Our church has a number of events and recently Yoko volunteered to take pictures at one of them. Due to the low light, she had to use a high ISO to compensate and ended up with grainy pictures. She touched them up as best she could on Photoshop, and they turned out okay. The church staff really liked her composition and has asked her to take pictures at a community event next week. So, all this to say we bought a new lens. It is a Sony 50mm F1.4. We chose this lens due to its low f-stop which will enable us to take pictures in low light with out having to use as high an ISO. This lens will be put to good use especially when crumb crunchers come along.

A Year Older, Immigration, and Tokyo Tower

How time flies! We all know that fact of life. Erik turned 35 recently and realizes that he is now closer to 40 than 30. Yoko put together a nice day for him. It included pizza, root beer, fruit tart, and friends. Erik has never had a better wife than Yoko. She is definitely his best wife.

We mentioned in our last post that Yoko took the TOIEC test. Today she received her score, 850 out of 990. With this being the first time she took the test, she is happy with her score but wants to try again in the future.

Last Friday we spend the day getting a new passport for Yoko and renewing Erik's visa for Japan. All said, it wasn't as time consuming as we thought it would be. The immigration office, as with the ones in the States, is a great place to people watch. Some of the husband/wife combinations sure are interesting (take us for example: )

This past Sunday we headed to Tokyo Tower after church. Just as we arrived at the tower, we were blessed with a full rainbow. We rode the elevator to the main observatory and found where most of the residents of Tokyo were. This past weekend marked the start of summer vacation for school kids; Monday was a national holiday, and a lot of people like to see the night view of Tokyo; all this contributed to a lot of people hanging out in and around the tower. Despite the crowds we had a good time there.

Yeah for Costco!!

With it being a rainy Thursday morning and a couple hours before work starts, what would be better than getting a new blog post up? Our last post created quite a few responses which we are always glad to get.

Last Friday Erik had a one day teaching job at JFE Steel, Japan's second largest steel company. He had posted his resume on-line, and a company that provides teachers for business found him. Erik will be back at JFE in early August to teach again. While Erik was working, Yoko went out with her mom and a friend of theirs who has a membership to Costco. That's right; Costco exists here in Japan. What did Yoko come home with? A Large block of real cheddar cheese, bagels, 2 very large jars of chunky peanut butter and cereal brought a big smile to Erik's face. Yoko said that the food section is twice as large as what is found in the U.S. due to there being most of the foods found in the U.S. plus an enormous selection of Japanese foods. The above purchased products can be found in regular supermarkets, but they are extremely expensive and in small quantities.

Sunday we unfortunately had to miss church due to Yoko taking the TOEIC test which is only offered on Sunday. This is a English aptitude test that is widely recognized throughout Japan. She feels she did alright, but we will have to wait ONE MONTH for the results. With all the modern equipment, bullet trains, high tech cell phones, and robots in Japan, one would think they could get the results out a little quicker. Lord, help us accept those things which we cannot change : )

We are currently in the midst of the hydrangea season. The flowers found in Japan are quite beautiful.

As of June 22nd, Yoko is now another year closer to 30. Yet, you would never guess it if you observed her in her Body Pump class. When it comes to the leg portion of the workout, she lifts more than anyone in the class. Seniors, house wives, business men, 20 somethings, and even the instructor cannot keep up with her. Needless to say, Erik is proud of Yoko.
We officially have a date set and tickets purchased for our return to Arizona. On August 25th we will be back in the land where the humidity does not stay above 80% for weeks on end. However, our return to Arizona will be short lived. We are returning to Japan in December and will be here for at least another year. There are 4 primary factors that lead us to this decision, and no, it’s not because Erik has started liking natto, playing the shamisen, or practicing kendo. 1. We feel the Lord wants us to be here to continue reaching out to Yoko’s family and others that we have contact with. 2. Erik needs to keep working on his Japanese. The Japanese language turned out to be a greater challenge than he originally thought. He had high expectations for himself but soon found out that it’s going to take some time. 3. Yoko would like to give birth here in Japan (no, we are NOT pregnant at this time). 4. Teaching jobs that provide housing are plentiful. If you would keep us in your prayers, we would greatly appreciate it. On the right side of our blog we have a section titled “Prayer Requests”. There you can find specific things to pray for.
Other than the above news, we don’t have anything major to report. June 23rd was the 3 year anniversary of our engagement. Yes, we are still newly weds and keep track of all those meaningful days. The below picture was taken from the spot and right before Erik proposed to Yoko.
Recently Japan has been very wet. We are currently in the rainy season which will soon give way to the hot, humid, typhoon season. Even when the weather man says it is only going to be cloudy, we must be prepared for rain at any moment. Erik has learned this the hard way.
The Japanese government gave us money to help stimulate the economy. We were pleased to receive a notice that Yoko would be getting 12,000 yen (about $120), but we were really surprised when we found out that Erik would also receive the same amount. Thanks Aso!

Learning About Japan Through Us

Here are a few interesting things that one may not learn about Japan without having spent some time here; this includes knowing what kind of garbage you have (see picture and #2).
1. In the Japanese baseball league there can be ties. If the game is tied at the end of 12 innings, it ends in a tie. One explanation we heard for this is that most people come to the games by train and if a game goes late into the night, the fans may not be able to get home.

2. You as an individual separate your garbage. There are various colored bags that need to be bought, each colored bag is for a certain type of garbage. Then you put your colored bag with bags that are the same color in a specific place to be collected. They are then loaded by hand into the garbage truck by the sanitation workers. There are no dumpsters.

3. One cannot buy a car without having a parking space for it.

4. Women tend to stay in the hospital/birthing center for a week after having a baby.

5. School kids clean their own classrooms and schools. After the classroom is cleaned, each student has a part of the school to clean.

We have been pretty busy since we last posted, mostly with work. Despite our schedule being full, Erik was able to get some sort of stomach illness for one day (thankfully not on a day with work) resulting is him not doing much other than just laying around. Yoko has had the opportunity to get to know one of the instructors at the sports club we go to and as a result Yoko has invited her to a church event that will be happening later this month. We are praying that she will be able to come with us. At church we had John Scott Evans, a very talented guitarist, visit us and bless us with his music. If you visit his website you can hear some of his music. Erik's mom had another birthday this week, and Erik had a chance to wish her a happy birthday by phone.

Erik and Yoko's Yokohama Tour Service

Since we turned down the offer for Erik to teach in China, we have seen an influx of teaching opportunities for Erik. This week he started a long term sub. It will last 2 months and is 3 days a week. He also acquired a new private student that he meets once a week. On top of this, he will be teaching 2 all day classes (one in June and one in August) for Japan's second largest steel company. The Lord is truly blessing us. This increase in income is coming at a prefect time as it will provide for our plane tickets back to the U.S. Also, the long term sub teaching does not fall on days that Erik has his Japanese classes. God sure is good to us!

Last Monday we had the opportunity to give 10 college students from the U.S. a tour of Yokohama. These students are from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and are in Japan for a summer study program. We have this connection with ERAU since they have a campus in Prescott, and the professor that heads up this Japan program, we know from church. If you came to our wedding, he is the Japanese man who did the translating during the reception. We had a good time in Yokohama. Yoko did a great job getting us all on the correct trains and translating anything the students couldn't read. The 10 students we had were great. There were no attitude problems; nobody got lost; and they all were happy to try food they were unfamiliar with at a Japanese restaurant we went to for lunch. We went up to the top of Landmark Tower; it provided a great view of the Yokohama area. We had hoped to take the students to the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Museum , but it is closed every Monday. So, in place of that, we let the students loose in a local mall.

In our last post we mentioned that we would be going out to eat for our anniversary. We did that and had a great meal. It was a buffet, and we took full advantage of that. We hope to get a link up for the restaurant so keep an eye out for that in our "What and Where We've Eaten Recently" section. Below is an "anniversary picture" we took to mark our two years of marriage. Aren't we cute in the matching shirts. FYI, that wasn't Erik's idea : )

Going to Work in China!!!!

Since our last post was two weeks ago, you'd think we'd have something to write about and a matter of fact, we do. Before we get to those details though, we are doing well. Yoko had 4 days off from work due to the Golden Week national holiday. She spent time with her mom and put in some good time working on her web site. When that is completed, we will let you know.
Now to the highlights, let's start with Friday, the 1st, at 10:00 am. Erik received a call from the English language school he subs for with the offer to go teach in Shanghai, China for at least a month starting on the 4th. Since it was to start so soon, we had to make a decision quickly. After some discussion and prayer, we decided to decline the offer for a number of reasons, the main one being that we will be seeing a friend from Arizona on the 17th and 18th of this month.
Tuesday, the 5th, was our 2 year anniversary. We had plans for the day, but due to it being a national holiday, Children's Day, and some scheduling conflicts, we didn't get to do all we wanted to do that day. As a result, we are celebrating our anniversary over a week or so. Tuesday the 12th we will go out for our anniversary dinner. Today, Saturday, we ate tiramisu and took anniversary pictures at a near by park.
Wednesday, the 6th, found Erik in Tokyo washing dishes at Kick Back Cafe; this is the cafe our church owns. Yoko stayed home so that Erik would not be able to depend on her. This was Erik's first time to take the 2 hour train ride (with 3 transfers) to our church/cafe by himself. Thanks be to God, he got there without too much difficulty and was on time. The day spent washing dishes was enjoyable despite the piles of dishes due to it being a very busy day for the cafe. Erik's prayer was that he wouldn't break anything, and again, thanks to God, he didn't. A few dishes were dropped, but nothing broke. Erik stayed for the Wednesday night service, stayed the night with some guys from the church and then came back home Thursday morning. Thursday morning was again spent on the train this time with the hordes of people heading to work (Click for a video of what it is like. I was already on the train so I didn't actually get pushed. Don't want to do that again. Japanese people are nice, but I don't need to be that close to anyone other than Yoko).
So those are a few of the highlights from the past two weeks.

What to Report?

Since we last updated this blog, we haven't had all that much going on other than the "normal" everyday things: eating, sleeping, studying, reading, praying, cooking, cleaning, shopping, exercising. The biggest thing that has happened didn't even happen to us. A friend of ours from church and who lives is the building behind us, gave birth to her first child Friday. Today we were able to see the beautiful little girl. The clinic (click her for a few pictures) where the birth took place is something else. It reminded us of a resort.
One thing that was supposed to happen was that Andrea Crouch was going to be at our church from the 22nd through the 27th. If you are not familiar with who Andrae Crouch is, he is a major figure in the Gospel music scene. However, much to every one's disappointment, his time here had to be canceled due to him being admitted to the hospital on the 21st with severe pain in his feet. We are all hoping that he can reschedule and still make it in the near future. Andrea has visited our church before and his visit had been eagerly anticipated by everyone at the church.
Here is a video clip from our local park. This duck likes to hang out with people even when there isn't food around.

Sakura in Bloom

We have been having a great Spring so far. The cherry trees or sakura were beautiful and we had a number of opportunities to get out and enjoy them. Last Saturday we spent the day with Yoko's dad, her brother, and his family. We were celebrating Yoko's dad's retirement. We started at Shinjuku Gyoen enjoying the sakura along with half of the people in Tokyo (to see a bigger version of our spring slide show, click here). We ended the evening with a meal of traditional Japanese food, Yoko's dad's favorite.
We also recently took a 23 mile/37 km round trip bike ride to see the Tulip Matsuri. One down side to all of Spring's beauty is that Yoko's allergies are in full swing. She has itchy eyes, uses tissues by the fist full and is very good at sneezing.
Some of you may have heard that Erik has been looking/applying for a teaching job. So far nothing has come about. Since we are returning to Arizona in August, it is hard to find something that is short term. However, he continues to substitute teach for a language school when needed. Erik's Japanese language learning has changed from formal language school to a community program that meets 3 times a week and is free. Also, with Yoko, he is reviewing the book that he studied in language school. This is helping reinforce those things that he learned some time ago.
For Yoko, in addition to putting up with Erik, she continues to teach at a nearby cram school and work on her graphic design/web development.
Sunday we had a wonderful Easter service at church. It was an all day event. We left at 9:00 pm and even at that time it was still going strong. After the "normal" morning service (11:00 -2:00) we had lunch and then there was baptism. This was the first baptism that the church has had since we have been there. In total 58 people were baptised. It was a wonderful time celebrating the new life the comes through a relationship with Jesus because of His Resurrection. After the baptism there was a break for dinner and then from about 7:30 on (we don't know when they finally called it a night) was a time of worship and sharing.

"Grab a Bunch of Food"

The cherry blossoms are officially in full bloom, and people are marking off spots in parks all over Japan to take part in the cherry blossom viewing event called "hanami". We don't know if we will have a hanami this year, but we are enjoying the cherry blossoms.
Both of Yoko's parents retired last week from teaching JR high school after 35+ years of teaching. They both are really looking forward to what they will get to do now. Yoko's dad will be taking gardening classes at a community college, oil painting and working on ballroom dance (his hobbies). Yoko's mom will be helping a friend who is having a baby this month and working on getting her parents house sold.
The last day that Yoko's mom worked, the three of us went out to eat to celebrate. He had the buffet lunch at the California Restaurant at the Radisson Hotel. Now this is a nice hotel and the restaurant uses cloth napkins, the kind of place you wouldn't expect to hear from the waitress "grab a bunch of food". Much to our surprise that is what we heard. The buffet was closing and the waitress said to Erik in English (all three of us were at the table), "The buffet is ending in a few minutes, go ahead and grab a bunch of food." Erik didn't say anything back to her (partly because he was surprised by the choice of words and the fact that she spoke to him only) but looked at her like she had 5 heads. There was a moment of awkward silence then she repeated herself to Yoko and her mom in polite Japanese. Since then, we have enjoyed telling each other to "grab a bunch of food".

We Took a Trip

For the first time since arriving in Japan, we traveled more than 2 hours from where we live. Saturday night we got on a bus in Tokyo and Sunday morning we arrived in Tsuyama. Tsuyama is the city Erik lived in 10 years ago. This was the first time for Yoko to visit this part of Japan, so Erik played tour guide and showed Yoko some of the local sites. This region of Japan is famous for Momotaro aka Peach Boy. Tsuyama in listed as one of the top places to view sakura (cherry blossoms) in Japan. With spring coming early this year, we were hoping to see the sakura in bloom, but we were about a week early. Here is how the sakura looked for us and how they look when in bloom (enlarge these pictures by clicking on them).
Most of our time was spent with friends. We had a great time catching up with them which usually involved a delicious meal. It was a quick trip as we left Tsuyama Tuesday night and arrived back in Tokyo Wednesday morning. We used the night bus for transportation as it is economical and day time is not used for traveling, but it doesn't provide the best night's rest. As a result, we both had to take a nap on Wednesday. We really enjoyed our trip and look forward to the next time we can see Tsuyama and our friends.

Common in Japan

Here are a few images that you might find interesting if you have not been to Japan or are not from Japan.
This picture was taken on the train. The 5 "masked" women were traveling together. This time of year it is very common to see people of all ages wearing masks. The mask wearing say 1 of 3 things: A) "I am sick, so stay away" B) "I don't want to get what other people have" or C) "I am trying to avoid the pollen that is prevalent right now".
While these plants look like cabbages they are not for eating. They are planted in winter as decoration.

Broiled whole fish. Yes, you eat the entire thing. There are a number of fish here where you eat the entire thing. These are about 5 to 6 inches in length. Itadakimasu!!!

Sea World Fun

Last weekend we went to Sea World in Kamogawa (this can be read in English) with Yoko's mom. Is in a great setting as you will see by the map, and has a lot of great things to see. We were able to see the Killer Whale (video below, Sea Lion (video below) and Beluga Whale shows. In addition to the shows, we enjoyed seeing all the marine life that they have on display.


Yesterday, Friday, was Erik's last day at Japanese school, but this is not the end of his studying Japanese. The past 6 months he has learned a lot, but the one thing that was lacking in the class was conversation practice. So we are currently looking for places where Erik can work more on his listening and speaking (good thing we are in Japan : ). This past week, Erik's class took the beginning level Japanese proficiency test. With much relief, Erik can say that he passed the test. Demonstrating his proficiency via a test is not a goal of his, but since everyone else in the class passed, he is sure glad he did too.
We continue to have dinner every Thursday night with Yoko's dad. It has been a real neat time for Yoko as she is really getting to know him again. Since she moved to the U.S. some 9 years ago, her contact with him had been very limited. These regular meetings have enabled her really connect with him on an open and personal level.

Yes, Most of Our Events Involve Food

All is well in here in the Land of the Rising Sun. We are "genki". We had our first real snow of this winter yesterday. It covered the ground, but that was about it.

At our church there is a couple we have become friends with. He is from Germany; she is from Japan. They met in England, and their common language is English. The have an infant daughter who gets cuter every time we see her. Saturday they had us over to their home where we had wonderful fellowship and excellent German food (dinner and breakfast). We spent the night at their home and then went to church with them Sunday. It was the first time we have spent the night away from our apartment since coming here. It was a nice change. (German Dinner: Red Cabbage, Potatoes, Beef with Veggies and Salad -Oishii!)

At church on Sunday we had a special event after the service. A couple that was on the verge of divorce had a recommitment ceremony. About a year ago their marriage was basically over. She hated him because he was not what she had come to want in a man. He came to our pastor for marriage counseling (our pastor is a marriage counselor by profession). During the ceremony, our pastor mentioned how the husband was like "crushed tofu" when he first came to see him, but soon the love of Jesus touched his heart, and he was born again. In the mean time, the wife also came for counseling through the urging of a friend who attends our church. She stated in a session that she had no intention of changing her mind about divorcing her husband no matter what our pastor said to her. Needless to say, she did change her mind, a full 180 degrees. In seeing the change in her husband from his new found life she came to the Lord also. Our pastor said that the husband went from "crushed tofu" to "jelly" to "iron", and the wife now says that he is the best person for her. This change, especially in her life is a testimony to what only the Lord can do. It encouraged us about those we are praying for. It was a wonderful ceremony and celebration about the restoration that is found in our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

Who Likes Cold Wet Windy Weather?

Let's talk about the weather. If any of you have extra sunshine or snow, we wouldn't mind some of either of those. A change to our cold windy rainy weather would be nice. Thankfully we can spend most of our time indoors although Erik's travel to school by bike results in wet pants.
Last Friday Erik went bowling for the first time in 3 years with a friend he teaches English to. 100 was broken by both of us, and the nice old ladies using the lane next to us applauded when we got a strike. Yoko is her same wonderful self. Over the weekend we were able to have dinner with a friend of hers. Yoko and her friend have known each other since Jr high school, but the last time they saw each other was 3 years ago.
At church on Sunday we studied Mark 14:32-39 and looked into the prayer life of Jesus. We were reminded of the importance of prayer. Prayer was a real and necessary part of Jesus' life showing us that if He needed it, how much more do we need it. Out of Sunday's message came a renewed commitment to prayer, so if you have a request please let us know. We would love to pray for you. Also, we thank you for your prayers; it means a great deal to us that you are lifting us up to our Creator and Lord.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!! With all the pressure to give a meaningful gift on this day, you would think that Erik would be spending a good amount of time to find something nice for Yoko. But to tell you the truth, he had no pressure all. In Japan, Valentine's Day is a day for women to give men gifts (but Erik is a rebel and gave Yoko something anyways). The primary gift is chocolate (which Erik gave Yoko). Today Erik did get chocolate and peanut butter, hot sauce, and 2 types of pesto. Since the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, Yoko definitely has Erik's heart : ) So, this seems like a good deal for men, but women, don't lose hope. In March, White Day comes around and men then need to give something in return. (The picture is of the chocolate we gave each other.)

Last week Erik's school had "Speech Day". All the students had to give a speech in Japanese. Needless to say, Erik was nervous and glad when it was over. Wednesday was a holiday, so Yoko and her mom were able to spend some time shopping, having lunch together, and working on a Bible study they belong to. It was good girl time. On Wednesday, Erik was able to talk to his folks. They are doing well and reported that the Prescott, AZ area got a real nice snowfall early in the week. Where live here in Japan, snow is rare. We had flurries a few weeks ago, but that has been it. It would be nice to see some snow.

Time Does Get Away

Since we last posted, over two weeks ago (sorry parents and grandparents), things haven't changed much in our daily lives. However, when school (for Erik) and work (for Yoko) are not occupying time, we have managed to find ourselves with not a lot of free time. Erik has subbed as an English teacher several times recently and been involved in PR events at local elementary schools. The PR events are put on by Narita International Airport (20 minutes from us) and are to encourage the students in their English learning. English speakers are brought in, and we interact with the kids in whatever activities the school has set up. These events are usually an hour or two in length and provide a little extra income. Other than the very cold gymnasiums (that's where the events are usually held, and there is no heat in them), the events are fun and seem to be enjoyed by the kids. At one event they asked for our autographs.
Last Saturday Yoko got dressed up in a kimono. It was the first time for Erik to see her in one; he thought she looked beautiful, but then, he always thinks she in beautiful. Click here for a few more kimono pictures.
On Monday Erik didn't have school, so he was able to watch the Super Bowl. He had hoped for a different outcome, but the game was still a lot of fun to watch. We had pancakes for breakfast to make it an all-American morning.
On Saturday the 24th, Erik got to play chauffeur for Yoko's mom, our sister-in-law and our two nieces (Yoko had to work, so she stayed home). Our destination was Herb Island. Erik had fun eating good food and playing with his nieces.
In being here, Yoko has had a chance to get reacquainted with people she hasn't had consistent contact with for quite a while. One of them is her cousin, Keiko. Keiko goes to the same church as we do, and she and Yoko have been able to help support each other through various events since we have been here. It has been a blessing for both of them.

Getting in some extra work

In our last post, we mentioned that Erik had so lovingly given Yoko his cough. She is fine now; however, Erik came down with an ear infection Friday evening that required a visit to the doctor Monday. It turns out that he shouldn't be putting sharp objects into his ears. Erik is now on an antibiotic to clear up the infection.

Last Thursday and Friday Erik had the opportunity to do some work for American Language School. Thursday's event was at an elementary school. Each foreign teacher, there were about 9 of us, had a group of 10-14 5th and 6th grade students, for around 30 minutes, to do some activities in English. After our break out time, all the kids sang for us. It was a lot of fun. Friday, Erik was able to substitute teach 5 classes. He had one adult class and 4 kids classes. One class was three 5 year olds and the others were 9 and 10 year olds. It was a good evening especially since none of the kids cried.

FYI, sumo is back on : )

Didn't get to wear a kimono

As a married couple we have had to learn to share with each other; however, Yoko is not so grateful that Erik gave her his cough. She feels okay but sounds bad. As a result, she had to postpone getting dressed up in a kimono, and we weren't able to go to church today. Since we didn't go to church, we had church at home on the Internet. We listened to a good message by Greg Laurie about temptation.

Work and Japanese learning are going well. Erik is improving and communicating about daily things in a basic way. Yoko is now not only teaching English but also Geography and History. At the athletic gym we belong to, we have been enjoying the ofuro they have. An ofuro is a hot tub or bath. In Japan it is not used for bathing, but soaking and relaxing, and in the case of the gym, it is communal. Growing up using an ofuro, Yoko loves it. Erik is learning to enjoy the very hot (for him) water.

2009 Greetings

2009 came for us without much fan fair. New Year's Eve, we stayed up till 11:30, but that was only because we had watched a movie. Our winter break was very relaxing and actually felt long. We were able to visit a friend of Yoko's and watch a few movies. New Year's Day was spent at church. Narita Temple, which is just 15 minutes away by bike, is visited by a couple million people over New Years, but we decided not to fight the crowds. Many people visit a temple at New Year's to pray for blessings (money, good test scores, marriage) in the coming year. Monday it was back to work for Yoko and school for Erik.
Being white, Erik stands out in Japan and recently had two amusing encounters with kids. The first was here at our apartment building, we were waiting to get on an elevator that was arriving. The people who got off were a mother and her 5 or 6 year old daughter. When the little girl saw Erik she said, "eigo no hito" which is "English speaking person". It was the first time Erik had been addressed that way. The other encounter was at the grocery store. We were waiting in line to check out and the people in front of us had a girl around 7 or 8 with them. When she saw Erik she started singing the ABC song. It was really cute especially as she mixed up the order of the letters. Being white, there is no way to blend in.