It's been a full week since I blogged and I'm going to have to rely on the camera's memory card to remember what we've done.
School has started back in Japan....and it's always fun to watch the new kindergarten glasses. They wear yellow hats, carry yellow umbrellas and have yellow covers on their back packs to let us know they are new students. Darling. Poor picture -but darling sight to see.
Monday was full of shopping....for the RETREAT coming up next weekend. It was a bit jarring to change hats and I'm not sure I'm doing it well....but I'm trying. LOL I've got a great retreat team and it seems to be putting itself together with very little help! Monday night was the first session of
Faithful, Abundant and True at
PWOC.
Tuesday a.m. I organized and did paperwork during most of the video part of Faithful, Abundant and True, as I'd seen it Monday night.
I ENJOYED both discussion groups (Monday night and Tuesday morning immensely) and God spoke to my heart LOUDLY.
I spent quite a bit of time early in the week trying to keep up with emails from folks asking about helping, donating etc etc. I also did a fair bit of inventorying and organizing for the ongoing Chapel Transition Home Kit project. Somewhere along the line I realized I'd outgrown my clipboard. I created a notebook - and promptly out grew it.
This led to buying the biggest notebook I could find and filling it with the many forms, schedules, handouts, directions to cities etc that I've compiled for the project.
Wednesday was our second kit assembly day! Wow - so much easier. We've worked out a routine. I'm sure we'll keep tweaking as the weeks go by. I LOVE this is a project that Moms can do with children in tow. On assembly days we have lots of children and youth who show up to help. It's WONDERFUL! It helps us all to know we are doing something concrete to help out.
Susane has been my partner in crime or I have been her partner in ministry for two years. I'm going to miss her when she moves this summer. See....we even point alike now. Though I wonder if we were answering two different people or simply confusing one. ::snort::
We seem to have gotten ahead of the city officials so this week's batch of kits were assembled and stored. Ready for delivery when CRASH determines their best spot of service.
This was my shopping funny of the week....
Can you make it out? Horse Fat Shampoo
Jared was disappointed this week when we encouraged him to quit soccer. It took about a week of practice but we finally realized his horrendous headaches were coming after practice.....and he'd been told it could make months-year for his concussion to heal. He wasn't ready for soccer. He talked to coach and Coach asked him to stay on as a manager and morale booster. Thursday he left for Iwakuni and Hiroshima for games down there. Our home has been strangely different with him away.
Thursday and Friday I spent time updating my stock inventory sheet and making shopping lists of what was needed this week for the home kits. I was able to give all the ladies shopping logs, Japanese words to explain what they are doing to the curious, Japanese shopping list and YEN to go shopping by Friday. We're getting the system down.
Friday, Susane, Annette and I zipped over to Komaki to see the meeting room and onsen we'll be using for the
PWOC Spring Fling next weekend. Then we headed back for the Good Friday
Tenebrae service. It was meaningful and thoughtful.
The weather changed somewhere during the week and my lack of coat wearing caught up with me. I'm sick....and taking zicom every 3 hours.....trying to kick it quickly....much too busy to be sick long.
Mike stayed in late last night to welcome home our first plane load of returning Voluntary Departurees. Is that a word? It was fun to hear of all who have made it back and know who is coming back tonight and tomorrow. I'm a bit sad I'm leaving and won't have time to really visit with so many friends who have been gone....and yet I'm going to have all NINE BABIES IN ONE HOUSE for a week! Can you imagine the blessing of THAT?
Today, Tina took my lists and went shopping. What a BLESSING. She told me I needed a break. I came home to sleep but spent the day researching OR Beach homes, hotels in Eugene, flights from TX to OR etc....I also found graphics for Mike's sermon, fielded phone calls and moaned and groaned.
Mike is at the office writing and OPR and making sure all is ready for tomorrow. I happen to know three women have called about how to get their purchases into the storage room - so I'm betting he'll be taking breaks. I think I'll grab a blanket and snuggle on the couch. I wish I had Orange Juice or chicken noodle soup or CHOCOLATE but I'm too tired to care enough to go shopping. ::snort::
Michael and the kids will be leaving on Tuesday to go to OR. I will head out as soon as the retreat is over. The first plane I could catch out was Monday (bit difficult to travel from here these days with the trains and roads out - the plane is solidly booked. We have to retrain ourselves not to wait to buy our tickets a couple of days before flight). I'll keep busy with one more Kit assembly day, the last minute details for retreat and the retreat.....I'll sleep across the ocean and wake up in EUGENE, OREGON.
Choosing Joy!
©2011 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
