Language school remains our primary ministry assignment during this time, and that means that I’ve been spending most of my time studying Japanese. Since the joining the group lessons in October my class schedule has shifted from the afternoons to the mornings. On a typical day I’ll ride my bike 15 minutes to get to school by 8:45am when class starts, and spend the next 4 hours in class. After that I’ll eat lunch at school (sometimes Tomo and Titus come to join me if they’re free), and then spend the rest of the afternoon at school studying, till 5pm. I have my second Japanese Language Proficiency Test on December 1. I’ll be taking the N4 level test, which is the second of 5 (N1 being the most difficult). My goal is to pass at least N2 by the end of language study, which is commonly what missions organizations expect missionaries to be at before beginning full-time ministry assignment.
We have a Thanksgiving themed English Cafe on Friday 11/29, where I’ll be giving a short talk about Thanksgiving in America. Tomo has is building a friendship with a young, non-Christian mother who attended the last two English Cafe’s with her family (her son is 1 years old). This past week the lady came to a church event to bake pound cakes to be served to people living in temporary housing on the coast as part of Tomo’s parent’s ministry to the survivors. Please be praying for this family, that as they get to know people us and people at our church, that they would be drawn to our Savior.
Please also keep Tomo’s mother in prayer. She has been struggling with a chronic lung condition that has become very severe over the last year. She was starting to do better, but then got a cold that forced her to check into the hospital for the third time this year. She has now gone down to Tokyo (about 6 hours south of where she lives) to see a specialist and will likely be in a hospital in Tokyo for a month. Please pray for healing, and for physical, emotional and spiritual strength through all of this.