Randomness...

• Last weekend, I was in my bedroom and I could hear this "boom, boom, boom" in the distance. I realized it was coming closer to the house so I went outside and saw this parade going past the house. When I went inside to get Liz to come outside, she totally thought the "boom" was my radio turned up loud! Anyway, we're not really sure what this parade was all about, but it went right by our front door.

• Liz and I volunteered at a dance festival in our town where lots of dance groups and teams performed and competed. In the middle of the festival, the Japan Self-Defense Military came and performed...complete with the song "Hey, Mickey, you're so fine..." and a Rockette High Kick. It was sooo random.

• Liz is from Missouri and loves sports...therefore this past week I have been getting a game by game update of the World Series. The Cardinals won, but did you know they have a Japanese player on the team? His name is So Taguchi and he's from Hyogo prefecture, the same prefecture I live in now. I didn't know this until Liz told me, but I'm happy for Taguchi.

• When Wendy and Valerie were here visiting, I told them not to worry about locking the bikes because no one would steal me and Liz's cheap bikes. A week after I said that, Liz's bike got stolen yesterday at the train station. She forgot to lock it, and when we went to get our bikes, there was just mine sitting there, looking all lonely without hers. I'm really surprised that it happened, but Liz seems to be ok. She said, "It could be worse. I could have gotten in a bike wreck and broke my legs and my bike." Yes, Liz, that would have been worse.

Quotes and a comic

• "I can marry any nationality, as long as he's not, like, a wimp." -Tamaki on marriage
• "I like boys with spikey hair. Ooh, or mohawks." -Tamaki on boys' hair
• "My back has been hurting me. So I tried to hang myself." -Ai explaining how she hangs from a bar as a form of treatment for back pain
• "My ear's broke." -Tamaki explaining she has ear pain
• And this comic explains my feelings on my progress learning Japanese...

Fit and Fab at Fifty!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BARBIE! We threw Barb a Surprise Birthday Party last night at Outback Steakhouse for her 50TH BIRTHDAY! Barb looks totally awesome at 50!! I think she should be in a magazine showing women who are fit and fab at fifty because Barb is still a hottie. Here's Barb when she came up the steps and saw all of us. She had no idea about the party.

Classic Barb expression while opening her gifts.

Barb is wearing an adult bib...compliments of Liz and me...and Tamaki is feeding Barb with chopsticks made especially for the elderly...also compliments of Liz and me.

Me with the Birthday Girl and Tomoko...and Barb's new purple walking cane...also compliments of Liz and me.

Wow, that was so quick!

Well, Wendy and Valerie are gone...sniff, sniff. I hope they had a great time because I had an awesome time with them visiting. We packed alot of stuff in the few days they were here, and then I sent them home with a packed suitcase of some of my junk to take home for me. Here's some fun pics of their time here. Me and Wendy eating some sushi. Fun fact about my head and Wendy's head...my head is square shaped and Wendy's head is a long oval. Therefore, I hate any pictures of us where our faces are pressed together because her normal shaped head emphasizes the block-ness of my head. I refused to press my head next to hers even on her wedding day.

That's Kyoto behind us. We climbed all that way up...me with my flipflops and Chi-chan in her heels. We're troopers.

We went to Fushimi Inari, which is famous for its thousands of tori (the red-orange gate) going up the mountain. And it is also a shrine representing foxes (is that the plural for fox?). Wendy's son's name is Fox. I had no idea that I was taking Wendy and Valerie to the fox shrine.

Wendy, me, and Chi inside all the tori lined up.

Fushimi Inari is also where "Memoirs of a Geisha" filmed the scene when the little girl runs through all the tori to go pray at the shrine. I'm re-enacting the scene.

Wendy and Valerie at a house church in Itami. I forgot to warn them that Japanese house churches like to put you on the spot and ask you about your relationship with Christ. Their first time to meet these people and Wendy is sharing about her experiences sharing Christ with others and Valerie is giving advice on how to raise children who love the Lord.

Wendy and Valerie on their wheels. Riding my bike is a major mode of transportation for me. Wendy and Valerie borrowed my neighbors' bikes and rode all over town with me.

I heard that going to Osaka Castle at night is beautiful. Here's the thing...it's closed at night. So, we didn't get to go inside, but we sat outside and stared at it.

Example of Japanese English...It's not sample. I realized with Wendy and Valerie that my English skills have greatly decreased since I've been in Japan. It took me a second to figure out why "It's not sample" was not good English. Which is disheartening since my Japanese skills still stink too.

THEY'RE HERE!

Wendy and Valerie have arrived safely in Japan and the adventures have begun! Here's a peek...

Valerie, me, and Wendy at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. Yep, this is Valerie and Wendy as Geisha. They looked awesome all dressed up and with their faces done up. When they walked outside, a Japanese lady wanted to take a picture with them like they were celebrities. It was hilarious! And their full kimono outfits...the kimono are beautiful. Take a look at their ginormous shoes. I am pretty excited about whether adventures we will have!!

Wendy and Valerie are coming!!!

Almost every high school group of friends has them...the friend who is the Drama Queen, the friend who is a little bit goody-goody, the friend who is the mother, the friend who is the over-achiever, the friend who is hot but doesn't know it, the friend who is the nut, and the friend who is the instigator. I was the instigator in high school...not the ring leader or trouble maker, just merely the one who thought "Wouldn't it be funny..." and then got someone else to do it. Growing up with three sisters, I honed in on my manipulation skills at an early age, and growing up with my three sisters, I might have occasionally been the friend who is the Drama Queen. In high school, God gave me wonderful friends who loved the Lord and who all decided during their teenage years that they were going to really live for Christ. One friend in particular is Wendy. Wendy was there beside me when I prayed for Christ to come into my life. Wendy was always an encourager and giving her friends verses she had read and writing notes. Our Senior year of high school, Wendy and I along with her now-husband planned and led a True Love Waits-type of weekend for the middle schoolers at church. In short, Wendy and I were really good friends in high school. The way Wendy and I live our lives now is a reflection of what we were like in high school. I was more care-free, spontaneous, and always changing my mind about colleges, boys, etc. Wendy was more mature than the rest of us, a planner, and knew what she wanted. I went off to college, graduated...still changing my mind about careers, law school, boys, etc., and moved to Japan for two years to do missions. Wendy went off to another college, married her high school sweet heart, gave birth to a beautiful son, and is now a full-time mommy and wife. Our lives are totally different now. Tomorrow Wendy and her mom, Valerie, are coming to Osaka to visit, and I can't tell you how excited I am about spending time with Wendy again! We haven't spent this many days together since high school. To show her my life here, for her to see the Japanese people and to get to know them, for her to experience Japan...it's going to be so great! THEY'LL BE HERE TOMORROW!!

Happy Boss's Day!

Boss's Day is actually October 16th, but I got my days confused and we celebrated Boss's Day today. Liz and I wanted to do something special for our supervisors, Mr. Ron and Mrs. Cindy, and we wanted to show off our ever-improving domestic diva skills. So we invited our supervisors over for dinner tonight. I also busted out my cake decorating abilities and made a cake that says "We 'heart' Ron and Cindy". And Liz topped it off by buying flowers for Mrs. Cindy. I think they were touched and they also agreed that Liz and I are becoming quite the domestic divas. Liz and I love the Reynolds so much and are so thankful for them! "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." Philippians 1:3-5

Things you should know about Japan today...

• Meet Aya and Yu, two 17 year old girls who became believers last week! Pray for these sweet girls as they grow in Christ and live their lives serving Christ in a very dark place. They are the first Christians in their families. Ask God to protect them, to reveal Himself to them in a mighty way, and that discipleship will be effective, consistent, and reproducible.

• My new hobby...watching Korean television dramas. I have recently just finished the first season of "My Lovely Sam-Soon" on DVD (in Korean with English subtitles). Korean dramas are so popular in Japan...the main reason being the dramas are so pure and romantic. And I totally became addicted to "My Lovely Sam-Soon" because it is so pure and romantic...and because there is tons of drama. Everyone is either in a car wreck, dying of some sickness, adopted, in love with their ex-girlfriend/boyfriend, or in danger of loosing their house. I learned some interesting things about Korean culture too. For instance, in Korean culture (and Japanese) it is very romantic to clean out your boyfriend's ears for him.

• Yesterday, Liz and I grabbed some lunch with our crazy friend, Tsubasa. I had some rice with some black stuff in it. When I asked Tsubasa what it was, she looked up the English name in her electronic dictionary. It's called "Judas's Ear" in English. Hmmm.

• And this morning I realized that each one of my sisters and I are living in a different time zone from each other for the first time. My oldest sister, Kristin, is in Las Vegas and is 2 hours behind central time. My third sister, Karin, is at UT Martin and is in good 'ole central time. The baby, Jamie, is in East Tennessee, one hour ahead of Karin. And me...I'm the first one to see each new day.

I love mail!

What is it about real letters that makes us so happy? Today when I saw a letter addressed to me, I literally began singing, "Mail, Mail, I love mail!". The sweet Acteens at FBC Martin sent me fun letters that were encouraging and entertaining. Most of the girls told me about their lives and that they were praying for me. One girl told me she understood what it was like having friends move away (referring to my dramatic loss of Shiona) because she had to move once. Another girl told me Martin was the exact same as when I left. Another girl told me she remembered me helping with her 2nd grade GA class while I was in college...she's in 8th grade now. That makes me feel a bit old. Thank you, girls, for the sweet and colorful letters!!