Dear Loved Ones - It's Friday, August 5th, 11:45PM. We've been home just two days now yet Japan seems so far away. I've begun driving on the correct side of the road and haven't made any blunders. If you saw the photos from the mission, you probably saw the one with the women in kimonos. Hisako, from the Sendai church, helped each of the gals get ready, one by one. She did their hair and got them fitted in their outfits. They looked great. The guys were just wearing shorts and t-shirts - we were able to get ourselves ready. We just had to remember to button our pants and pull up our zippers. We then went to the site of the festival, expecting maybe 150-200 people. But there were over 500 people, I believe, when we got there. A stage was set up for people to perform from and we were the third group to perform. The first group was about a dozen boys, about 10 years old who danced and sang like pop performers you would see. I'm glad we didn't have to follow them. Next up was a group of about 12-15 seniors. They sang a few songs and then it was our turn to perform. We sang two songs, and with my fading memory, I can't remember the first one we sang. Tsuguru accompanied us on the guitar for the first song and then we sang "Amazing Grace" a cappella. Even without Hiroko to help us out with her wonderful singing, I think we sounded good. The man who is in charge of the community center near the church also seemed to be in charge of the festival. I think that's how we got the invitation to sing. You just never know what God will use to touch the hearts of people, so maybe even our singing can be used by Him to reach out to people.
Some people have asked me whether I would prefer to go back to Chino or Sendai if given the opportunity to return. Of course, I haven't been asked yet. Before going to Sendai I said I'd like to go back to Chino. Now, having gone to Sendai, I don't know. I shared that with the people of Sendai - that they were just as wonderful as the people of Chino. And then, just to make things even more unsettled, Hajime and Sanae Yumoto from the Chino church came to the Haneda airport to share dinner with us and then see us off to return home. Seeing them brought back many wonderful memories of the people from Chino. Going back to Japan - Chino or Sendai....I don't think that is a decision for me to make. It is up to God and will be made by church leadership whether I ever go again. It has been such a great blessing to go to Japan six times and be part of a mission team. But we really do need new people to be part of these teams, younger people than me and Koby. We need different people to have this experience so our church body will grow and mature in the area of outreach and missions. I say this every time I return - please give serious thought to joining a mission team in the future. The work we do is critical in a land that is less than 1% Christian - but you will also be transformed by the experience. Thank you very, very much for taking the time to read this blog. I hope that it has given you a sense of what the mission has been like and will encourage you to consider missions, also. Thank you for your good wishes, financial support, and especially your prayer support. God bless you and be with you always. Love, Don
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