Sunshine and more sunshine!

Thank you so much for praying and remembering the Lord's work here in Sapporo! You wouldn't believe all the the awesome things that have been happening since I sent out those last long emails asking for prayer. I'm sending this out in a hurry as blue and pale grey criss-cross the sky, face sunburned from cherry blossom viewing, Heidi playing the guitar nearby, the apartment smelling of freshly baked cookies.

The two of us are getting ready to go to our Christian friend Takako's apartment for an evangelistic tea party (and we've been asked to sing! Who needs prayer most - us or them??!) :) Takako is unusual in her boldness for Christ. It's so hard for Japanese Christians just to go about their lives here - being accused of not being Japanese, being associated with cults and subway gas attacks, not praying to traditional family altars - but to be outwardly evangelistic? God has truly given Takako "power, love and a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7) rather than a "spirit of fear."

But before that, I'm meeting IMB photographer Matt Jones, who has been here since last Wednesday snapping photos for a Commission magazine article. It's been so much fun - opening a huge box stuffed with great stuff from my best friends in Richmond, hearing news from my co-workers and those I love, running through Sapporo trying to meet friends, walk through parks full of pink and white cherry blossoms, inviting neighbors over for pizza, eating ramen. Matt will be here until next Wednesday, so we still have a few more days of work/fun/adventure. Wonder if I can get him to eat sushi... :)

One last quick thought - remember the ESS club with two members? Well, it seems that 55-year-old Shinobu recruited SEVEN of her classmates to come last Thursday night - leaving me staring at NINE young people sitting happily around the table!

On the way to the bus... pray we don't miss it!

More sunshine...

Man, there is nothing like a brilliant blue sky full of sun to start the day off right! I feel alive again, invigorated, ready to run into the fresh spring air and throw my arms up to the sky in gratitude.

The good news just keeps coming...

Last night I went to a Hawaiian gospel concert with my friend Aki, who I meet every week at her home. Besides the shock of meeting a pile of Christian friends there, Aki and I stopped for doughnuts :) on the way home. As we ate and talked, I felt the prodding to ask her about her beliefs - I did; she answered. For the first time since I've known her we had an amazingly open spiritual conversation about her beliefs and how Jesus can change her life.

"I believe in God," she said. "But when my father was sick, I prayed to God every day, and he still died. And my parents are Buddhist."

I told her about Jesus and how He changed my life, how He answers prayers and opens the door to God.

And she listened!

The day before my two friends had come back to the apartment after seeing cherry blossoms all day - one Christian (Yuko) and one non-Christian (Natsuko). As we sat on pillows and rested, I showed them the unusual English I found (and bought) on my shirt: "The word of the Lord remains forever."

They both wanted to know where it was in the Bible, so I pulled out my English Bible and grabbed the Japanese Bible off the shelf. As we paged through Isaiah, Natsuko asked suddenly, "When did you decide to be baptized?"

So I told her my story... God's story... of how He loved me before I loved Him.

Today Matt and I will go to the Cookseys' house church, then to meet with an awesome, rowdy bunch of young people who have been going to English worship each week at Sapporo Baptist.

Thanks to my friends in Richmond, my Texas Pete hot sauce supply is well stocked, and I have an entire photo album of pictures to show the Katsuis when we meet for dinner tomorrow.

Our now SIX Christian youth outreach members are gearing up to meet Saturday to plan our first meeting.

The ground is pink outside with scattered petals.

Mike and some friends in Richmond are thinking about a possible mission trip to Sapporo in early fall.

Our team leaves for a retreat in Okinawa next week.

I speak in chapel at a Christian university next Friday - about HOPE.

I found an email from my beloved brother Dan in S.C. this morning that started, "Dear sister..."

The 16-year-old girl who lives next door is planning to come over Tuesday night to study the English Children's Bible (which she's been reading).

The sun, the sun - it's shining bright!

Please keep praying!