Okinawa

Here are a few pictures from summer vacation earlier this month. Enjoy!

Churaumi Aquarium is AMAZING. This is the biggest tank there is, housing three huge whale sharks, among countless other ocean friends. The glass is 60 cm thick. It was incredible!

We visited the Himeyuri peace park, the site where students at a girls' school were trained to be nurses to attend to wounded soldiers during World War 2. Just beyond the flowers was the opening to a cave where many of them hid during battle. I learned a lot this day. It was one of those experiences you come away from changed, unable to speak.

Ryuku Glass! Isn't it beautiful?

The beaches were indescribably beautiful. I've never seen the ocean that color. I took about a bazillion pictures of it!

Shuri temple with Michi. She's a friend from Ibaraki that I went with, and we will definitely go back again. We had a great time!

ひまわり

When my brother and I were little ones, our family bounced around the map a little bit, eventually coming to find pretty permanent residence in the Sunflower State. Regardless of whether or not I actually consider myself a Kansas native, two things are true: 1) I want to be Dorothy when I grow up, and, 2) I love sunflowers (ひまわり)!

Akiko planted six or seven of these beauties in the church garden. Love it!

This poor guy's head is a little too heavy. They are so BIG!

Tanabata decorations, ひまわり style!

tanabata

As I remember it from experiencing this festival in Sendai and from the couple of years I lived in Korea, the story goes a little something like this:

The king of the sky had a daughter that wove beautiful fabrics. As the princess grew, she became more and more beautiful. The king noticed that she was also lonely and that her designs became were becoming less and less colorful. He took her across the river (the Milky Way) to meet a young cow herder. They fell in love and were married immediately. For a time, the princess's designs were more bright and beautiful than they ever had been. However, the two were so in love that they began to neglect their work. The princess left her weaving and the cow herder left his cows to wander all over the sky. The king decided to separate the two, granting their one wish by allowing the two to meet only day a year.

Tanabata is the celebration of the day the two stars meet at the Milky way. One of the biggest ways this holiday is celebrated is by wish-making, since the celestial couple was allowed one wish. A few of the other activities you might happen upon at a Tanabata celebration are fireworks, wearing yukata, and making paper decorations.

wishes tied to a bamboo stalk

detailed shot of the huge hanging star-like decorations

It's fun to walk through the hanging paper and let it glide over your face. :)

Usually, businesses and some homes will have a personalized bamboo stalk at their entrance, like this one at my apartment.

A detailed shot, showing the kanji for Tanabata: "Seventh Night" The actual holiday is July 7th.

fondoooooooo!

Hanging out with Sasha and Akiko and enjoying some wonderful cheese fondue was a nice break from the normal dinner routine. Ahhhh...cheese.

Before...

...after!

friends camp

Here are a few pictures from this year's Friendscamp. We had a good mix of church members and LST readers. We discovered a BEAUTIFUL campsite in Rifu about 40 minutes by car from Sendai that we will DEFINITELY be using again!

Sleepy Aiki with Yuko

The girls of the LST team: Mina, Crystal and Marci, in a missionary sandwich

Relaxing on the porch outside the dining room and...

...enjoying THIS view!

japan party

Every year when a "Let's Start Talking" mission team comes to work at the church for the summer, we host a Japanese party for them to show them what a summer festival is like. Many of us wore yukata, the summer kimono made of cotton.

We made mochi using usu (the big wooden bowl) and kine (a wooden mallet). Yuko san made a special kind of rice and added water between swings of the mallet so it wouldn't stick. She is very brave. :)

We also made takoyaki (fried octopus). Oishii!!!

Lots of kids from my kindergarten class came, and kingyo sukui (fishing for goldfish) was all they did! To their great delight, they all got to take one home in the end. :)

Some of them skipped the cup and just grabbed with their hands! :)

new life

Last month our friend Kaori, a student at Ibaraki Christian University, was baptized at Mito church. We rejoice with you, Kaori!!!

Young Adult Camp

Every year, the young adult weekend camp has a really awesome theme. This year, the theme was mission. The most amazing thing about the gathering this time was we spent time talking our experiences together, and then actively embarked on new experiences together. The group of about 30 people broke up into smaller groups, each to set off on its own mission project.

We spent fellowship time in and around this building. The scenery was gorgeous!

Sharing and discussion time

The small mission group I was a part of prayed together about how we could be used and then went several places where we thought people might need some help. It was rainy, too, REALLY rainy. On our way back to clean the church, we gave one of our umbrellas to a boy walking home.

We spent most of our time with an older church member in Hitachi. She made us tea and told us stories! She has a great sense of humor and is very expressive! Her joy is contagious! I loved that time.

It was really good to see everyone in Ibaraki. I'm always really encouraged by my time there. The cell groups are strong and growing. A new one has just started on campus as well!

Amazing weekend!