"You look cute today. What happened?"

The title of today's blog entry are loving words from Yoko to Erik. Good thing her love for him is not based on his looks or else he still would be single.

We have settled into life with Grandma living with us. At times, Erik is the only one at home with her. Needless to say, communication is a real challenge. Yoko is doing a great job in caring for Grandma. Her biggest challenge is cooking "right" in Grandma's eyes. Since Erik will eat just about anything, Yoko hasn't had to worry about getting things "right".

Right now a sumo tournament is taking place. If you are interested you can watch it on-line. It starts at 4:00 pm Japan time; that's 11 pm PST, 12 am in AZ and 2 am EST.

We have enjoyed hearing from many of you recently. Keep in touch.

Name this fruit and win a prize.

Chchchchchchanges

Job changes, living arrangement changes, and hair style changes, all we can say is that the Lord thankfully remains the same. The last week saw an assortment of changes for us. Yoko no longer works at the photo development shop. She dropped that job in order to teach English at a cram school and to work the front desk at a conversational English school. Both of these jobs are part time and in the evening which gives her the time she needs to take care of her grandma during the day.
Grandma is now living with us. She moved in with us yesterday because her home is cold during the winter, and we will not have to travel in the winter weather to see her.
Erik has a new hair style; this is the forth is his adult life. While in the U.S., Yoko wanted Erik to change his hair; however, he politely refused and instead, agreed that Yoko could choose how his hair is cut while in Japan. So, if you would like to see how stylish Erik is now, click on the link above.
On top of all these changes, we also meet some relatives of Yoko's for the first time. We met Yoko's dad's two sisters and some of their family at a ceremony for Yoko's dad's aunt who passed away a year ago. This is a special ceremony conducted at the one year anniversary of some one's death. The aunt who died did not have any children, so her nieces and nephew took it upon themselves to take care of her arrangements once she died. It was great to meet some more of the family. We had a real nice time with them. One of the highlights is that we ate fugu and lived.

A Week in Review

Great fall weather here, we are looking forward to the trees changing color. Yoko's grandma is moving in this coming weekend and once that happens, Yoko will be able to firm up her work schedule. Erik continues to enjoy class and is learning a lot. Look for a video clip of him speaking Japanese soon. Last Wednesday we celebrated Yoko's dad's 60th birthday with him, a very special day for Japanese people. We took him to dinner and had a real nice evening with him. Recently the Lord has given us many opportunities to share the Good News with him. It has been very exciting; please keep him in your prayers. Yoko's mom is doing well and keeps busy with teaching and making sure grandma is being taken care of. Look for more to come as we have a family event this coming weekend.

Can anyone help this seemingly lost tourist?

Something to eat and work for Yoko

The other day we went to Mos Burger (click for the web site) and Erik had the Kinpira Rice Burger. Yes, instead of a bread, you see rice. The inside is burdock and carrot, a combination Erik really likes (I know what you are thinking Peter). As you can see, compared to a cell phone, it isn't all that big, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in taste.
Yoko is set with employment. She has a part time job at a photo development shop right next to our appartment, and she will be taking care of her grandma starting in November. Grandma will be moving from her home to stay with us durning the winter. All of this is answered prayer. Thank you for praying for us.

Taiku no hi (Sports Day)

Monday was a holiday, so we went a little road trip to Ibaragi prefecture (just north of where we live) to see a friend of Yoko's mom. It was a perfect fall day with clear skies and a gentle breeze. After visting with Yoko's mom's friend, we stopped by Osugi Jinja (click for larger slide show), a Shinto shrine. This site is around 800 years old, but has been recently refurbished. Being a nice day, it was a great place to snap a few pictures.
We went to a driving range the other night. You might never guess this was only Yoko's second time golfing..

Job, Japanese (food, people, language) & Jumping

We had hoped to get a post on earlier than this, but the past week turned out to be pretty busy.
~On Wednesday we were able to join a friend from Tsuyama (the city Erik lived in 10 years ago) for dinner who was in our area on business. It was great to catch up since the last time we had seem him was at our wedding.
~Yoko got a part time job at a photo development store right next to where we live. She picked up the paperwork on Saturday and will be starting soon after a training session in Tokyo. Because this is a part time job, she is still looking for more work.
~Erik completed his first week of Japanese language school. He is really enjoying it and has learned the days of the week, the months, 15-20 new vocabulary, how to count and how to write in Hiragana to name a few things. ~We joined a fitness club very near where we live (did we mention that this is a very convenient location) and went there 5 times last week. There are a wide variety of classes offered along with the full assortment of exercise equipment and a pool. One of the classes that we really enjoy is Body Combat. We box, kick and jump around. In 45 minutes we work up quite a sweat.
~We are staying healthy and not going hungry. Currently there is an issue with food coming from China so shopping takes longer as we are checking where each product comes from. This is a little hard for Erik, because he is frugal and would rather take the risk than spend more money. Yoko is patient and helping him through this.
Look of a new post and for new foods in the next few days as we are going on a little trip today (Monday).

Shopping, 1st Class, Job Searching & Public Speaking

-Since our last posting, we went shopping at Lalaport (for those of you in the U.S., if you have time to kill, have a look at the mall map and see how many shops you recognize.)

-Sunday we did some public speaking at church. On the first Sunday on the month, after the regular service, the monthly financial report of the church and cafe are shared. After that, there is a time of personal sharing. The pastor calls on individuals to share what the Lord is doing in their life. This Sunday we were called on. Erik spoke and Yoko translated. We were able to share why we are here and how the Lord has been leading and providing for us.

-Yoko is still hard at work looking for a job. Thank you for your prayers. We are trusting in the Lord daily for this.

-Today, Monday, was the first day of school for Erik. There are 12 students in his class: 3 from Thailand, 3 from Taiwan, 3 from China, 1 from South Korea, and 1 from Pakistan. Today he learned how to say はじめまして。わたしはエリック　ベントレーです。エリックとよんでください。　アメリカのアリゾナからきました。　2008ねん９がつ３みかにほんにきました。　おやこどんがすきです。どぞよろしくおねがいします。　This is a self introduction with name, where he is from, when he came to Japan and something he likes.

The half way point on the ride with Yoko's dad a couple weeks ago.