Day 13, 14 & 15
Wednesday/Thursday/Friday, July 25-27, 2007

Hello everyone!
 
I am glad to write you tonight! So many things have happened since I last wrote! We arrived safely in Yamato, where one of the pastors and a seminary student from Yamato Calvary Baptist Church, picked us up from the train station. The took us to Starbucks on the way to the hotel, VERY exciting! They are very nice people and we had a good talk with them. They helped us get checked into our hotel. It is such a blessing to be able to stay here. Later, Mikio and his wife (coordinators of second half of the trip) brought Erica to us!! They picked her up from the airport and brought her to us by train. Her flight was good, she arrived safe with no problems, just a little tired! That night Naomi Maruyama (met her on our 2005 tour, she is coordinating the Noborito part of our trip) took us to a really fun restaurant nearby.
 
On Thursday, the Yamato pastor and student, took us out to eat for lunch and then we went to rehearse at their church for Sunday's performance. After that, we took a train to Noborito to work with Naomi Maruyama's church. We were able to meet her pastor and his wife, who have a really great story. One of the neatest things was hearing about their family. Both of them are children of missionaries. Their parents were missionaries and all the brothers and sisters are missionaries. Now they are married and their children are missionaries!! It is so awesome to hear about families following Christ and passing it on to their children. And not just passing it on, but inspiring them to have a passion for the Lord and live their lives for Him! Praise God!

For the next 2 nights we were split up into different homestays. I stayed by myself, with a very nice couple who attend the church's English lessons, but were not Christians. They welcomed me, and were very kind. We had fun tying to communicate, with my little Japanese and their little English. This was a wonderful opportunity to shine the light of Christ in their home. In the end, they said if I come back to Japan next year, I have to call them, because they want me to stay with them again. Erica and Gwen stayed together with someone from the church, Naomi stayed by herself with a really nice family, and Alyssa and Hannah stayed with a very sweet girl from the church. This girl has given her life to the Lord. He saved her from a hard life and now she is on fire for Him! She has a passion for youth and for spreading the gospel! All of us have great stories from our homestays, you will have to ask us all about it when we get home!
 
On Friday we had a very busy day. First, we taught a workshop for a mother and child group there at the church. We ate lunch and then got on a train to go to a mental disability center. We danced and taught a workshop for adults that were mentally disabled. They were not Christians and neither were the people who worked there. We were able to talk with many people afterwards, including some of their parents who came that day. This was a really great experience, one that we haven't had before. We then walked to the next building, which was for mentally disabled children. Again, we danced and did a small workshop with them. The lady who worked there thanked us and said that the children hardly ever get an opportunity so see things like this, especially something so professional. She was touched that we would come. We were also told today, that one of the parents who was there, called the lady from the church who translated for us, and told her to thank us. She said that we really made an impression on the kids and she was very thankful.

 
We got back on the train and headed back to the church. That evening we held the last of our purity seminars for this trip. It went really well, God is so good. The assistant pastor's wife was so excited about us being there, she said that was one of the best seminars she had ever been to, (all the Glory goes to the Lord!). She and another mother were so thankful that we would come and talk to their young girls about this subject. Right afterwards, Christine, that pastor's wife, was talking about next year and how they want to start advertising as soon as possible so that many more can hear us next time. Everyone is really excited about us coming back, and we haven't even finished this trip yet!
 
Gwen is on the mend! Thank you all for praying! Please continue to lift up the team's health, as little things try to affect us. Pray for Naomi's back, it is hurting more the past few days.  For Hannah, she triggered an old injury in her shoulder and has been in some pain when we dance and practice.  Pray for energy for all of us as we continue on a tight full schedule. We want to shine the joy of the Lord where ever we go!
 
Your sisters in Christ,


and the CMA Japan Team