Work, Play, and Dry Skin

On this warm (it's 16 C or 61 F) but windy day, we did 3 loads of laundry. When clothes are dried outside, warm weather must be taken full advantage of. We are well except for Yoko's very itchy back. For about 2 weeks now, she has been dealing with very itchy and dry skin. She is keeping well lotioned which is resulting in Erik having nice and soft hands. The pregnancy continues to go well, and we will have another checkup the beginning of February.
We are working; it's not full time, but at the moment we will take what we can get. Yoko is consistently used at the cram school to teach English while Erik has been subbing for the same company he worked for last year. In addition to the subbing, he is participating in public relation events for Narita International Airport. During this time of year the airport contracts with a local English school to provide native English speakers to go to the elementary schools and promote English. The last school Erik went to gave him miso which was grown and processed by the 4th graders of the school.
Last Thursday we were treated by a friend to a live play in Tokyo. She took us as a thank you for us helping her with her English. The play was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Japanese actors. It was about the first Englishman to come to Japan, William Adams or Miura Anjin as he was named in Japanese. The play was done in both English and Japanese with subtitles for both languages. It was a very enjoyable show and gave us a look into Japan in the early 17th century.

Entertainers

In case you didn't hear it from us, Happy New Year! New Year's Day was spent with Erik's sister but more on that in a moment. Since Christmas we have found ourselves enjoying the company of family and friends. Christmas Day was spent with Yoko's mom, and Christmas evening was spent with her dad. On the 26th Yoko's brother and his family were able to come over. We had a great time playing with our nieces. Erik was all excited because they are now calling him by his name. On the 27th Erik's sister, Sarah, met us at church in Tokyo. Sarah is currently teaching English in Suwa which is about 2.5 hours west of Tokyo by bus. Sarah stayed with us for a week, and it was great having her around. A few of our activities included visiting Costco, bike riding, eating Indian food, attending the New Year's Day service at church, watching movies, having dinner with Yoko's dad, brother and his family, walking along Tokyo Bay, and driving a long the east coast of Chiba prefecture enjoying the ocean. Sarah returned to Suwa on the 3rd. That evening we had a woman from church and her 6 year old daughter come stay with us for 2 evenings. Yes, Yoko's mom is very gracious as her home was like a hotel. We had a nice time visiting with them and getting to know them better. Now we are back to "normal" life. On the 4th Erik applied for a job with the Narita city school district. We know that the Lord has a job for us, so we keep trusting in Him.