Cool wallpaper

Iruma is a pretty place. We are adjusting and noticing more sunsets and beauty in our area.

We had a friend send us these coffee cups that rock. I can almost fit my Japanese six cup coffee maker brew into one cup. To Japanese these are so huge and they love them. Thank you for sending them. We are limited on cupboard space and we haven't been able to use all six so we have to put them on our stove backsplash area and that displaced two plants. I put the plants into two of the cups and it looks great.

Family Radio Fun

Last Monday we as a family all went to the radio station to record the next weeks broadcast. We had fun. The kids love to hear themselves on the broadcast and it makes for some interesting feedback on the stories we are reading about. The station doesn't mind as long as I don't let things get too wild. We took a bike ride down to Costco after the radio broadcast and we were super tired when we got back Jane fell asleep in the kid seat on the back of my bike.

Iruma needs Jesus

Hey everyone I just want to tell you about a project underway for us to upload every week our Friday night bible study bilingually. I am praying that Mihoko will have the time to translate it and that way we can post it every week.

We have started this on a new blog at www.irumaneedsjesus.blogspot.com

Give it a look

ESL is such fun

Well the classes are going better than we expected the kids are loving it. We are so excited at what the Lord is doing. We are so blessed. The mom's are feeling comfortable with us that they are no longer hanging out during the classes they are just dropping them off. I feel that we are gainning their trust. This week we are beginning two Bible studies. Mihoko has a Joyful life women's Bible study on Friday morning and then in the evening we have a Friday night home fellowship Bible Study. It is so fun to serve the Lord. Pray for the kids in the ESL classes and for our Bible Studies. To God be the glory.

Bird Flu spreading? Hmmm

The Bible says in the last days there will be plagues. Hmm can something like this be one of those of Biblical proportions?China treats toddler for bird flu - BBC
A girl aged two is critically ill with the H5N1 strain of bird flu in Shanxi, northern China, in the second case reported by China in as many weeks. The girl was discovered ill on 7 January in the central province of Hunan and taken to a hospital in her home province, Chinese state media say. Health officials did not say how the child had become infected. A woman infected with bird flu died in Beijing earlier after buying ducks at a market in Hebei province.China's health ministry said that the girl had been transferred to another hospital after her symptoms grew worse.

Fresh bird flu outbreak in India

By Subir Bhaumik
BBC News, Calcutta

Birds being slaughtered in Assam to prevent bird flu
Thousands of birds have been slaughtered in the state of Assam. Authorities in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal say they have identified the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in thousands of dead chickens. Tests on poultry from two villages around Englishbazar town in the Maldah district have returned positive results, a health official said. He "few thousand" birds in the area will be slaughtered, he said. The H5N1 strain of bird flu is regarded as highly pathogenic and can also cause disease and death in humans.

Japan vaccinates bird flu workers

Health officials wearing protective suits put ducks into sacks to bury them at a poultry farm where the bird flu virus was found in Muan, South Korea, 8 April 2008
Bird flu has mainly affected countries in East Asia. Japan is to become the first country in the world to vaccinate thousands of officials against bird flu. Six thousand health workers and other staff will be inoculated over the next few months, and the programme might be extended to cover millions more. Although bird flu has caused 240 deaths since 1993, none has been in Japan. But there are fears that an outbreak elsewhere in Asia could spread quickly in Japan, which has some of the world's most densely-populated areas. Bird flu is currently relatively difficult for humans to catch, but health authorities fear it could mutate into a form that is much more easily spread among humans, which could cause a pandemic.

Sensible or over-sensitive?

Japan has already stockpiled 20 million doses of so-called "pre-pandemic" bird flu vaccine for use after a major outbreak. The vaccine has been made using the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease collected in Vietnam and Indonesia. Japanese Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe made the proposal for vaccination on Tuesday, and it was backed by a government-appointed panel of experts on Wednesday.
The plan is to initially use 6,400 doses of vaccine to inoculate doctors, quarantine inspectors and other health and immigration officials. If successful, the government aims to expand the programme to others.

Edo Museum Tokyo

We had to go to Tabata in Tokyo to get a blood test on Rachel again today and we decided to make it a field trip day and we stopped in at the EDO Museum in Tokyo. We had a great time learning about the history of Japan and it's rapid rise to greatness. The speed this country has come into the modern era is remarkable. The Japanese sometimes do seem confused on many issues of life and it is because of the rapid assimilation of world culture and turning external traditions into Japanese ones. They have pulled a world view that conflicts in many area and they have chosen to live with compromise as the rest of the world. According to the encyclopedia of philosophy the Japanese are a mixture of Confucian, Buddhist, and animistic traditions. They have also pulled from Christianity and Daoism and other ideologies to form a very interesting world view to say the least. But as we travel around the people here as the rest of the affluent world lives for self. No matter what worldview that is held it goes out the window when there is a sale at the department store. God is moving in the hearts here and people are seeing that just living for self is not the answer they are looking for. Pray for an awakening. Pray for my back as I hurt it today and I am in a lot of pain. It is mostly muscle pain but not fun to say the least. God bless

Hey it's snowing

We woke this morning to a wet snow. The flakes were melting on the ground but it was beautiful to watch as the white flakes flutter down to the ground only to meet their fate of destruction and assimilation into the dirt. Nathan was so excited and went outside at 6AM just to experience the sensation of his first snow here in Japan. He is like a caged dog now forced to do homework when the promise of snow awaits. Sadly the forcast is for warmer weather and there is no more snow in the forcast for a week here. So we wait. We hear February is colder. I personally am missing the even temperatures of Southern California.

Ameyoko Market

Mihoko and Rachel after a hospital visit to get more antibiotics for Rachel's inner ear infection they treated themselves to a shopping spree in Ameyoko. This is a Japanese outdoor market that has the Chinese style market where you can get bargains and fresh stuff. Rachel was enjoying the time. It has been cold here and we are expecting snow and there is Rachel eating ice-cream. She is nuts.

Hey what a great day. We had our first ESL class. We were bumming as of the 5 kids that we expected it looked as if only 2 could come. But we prayed and had others praying and we had 4 kids show to sign up and there was one more who really wanted to come but was fighting off Chicken pox. Yikes! So we will have 5 students. What a blessing. We were just praising God. For us this is huge to move to a new place and meet people and then get them to come English classes. I am blown away as the Lord's hand is in this. The parents are really cool too. We were able to hold classes in our apartment and the mom's sipped tea and talked while I wrestled with the kids. I mean taught the kids. We practiced the sentence, "What is that?" We play a game and handed out goodies and the kids were shouting and screaming and we just had a great time. Pray for the Relationship to build. I am hoping to begin the Bible study real soon. May God use it to bring others to Himself.

Chinatown Yokohama

On our way home from Kamakura we stopped in Yokohama again to see some friends the Hamadas. It was 20 years ago that Mihoko and I were dating and we went to lunch with the Hamada's and stood and took a picture together under this gate to the Chinatown. They have two kids Shion she is 11 and then Nana who is 7. We had some great fellowship over bowls of hot Genmoku ramen and gyoza. The kids had such fun and didn't want to part company.

The sisters Miyuki and Yukari were living in the US when Mihoko and I first began to attend Budo no ki Japanese church in La Mirada. The church is now in Fullerton but we had some great times of fellowship and growing in the Lord. God bless you Hamada's and we'll see you again soon.

Kinokuniya

After church at Kamakura there is an expat store there where they sell US products. Mind you the prices are because these are exported to Japan and there are comparable products here that are local and about half price. Still I was very shocked to see these prices. The exchange rate has dropped so much that things are now going in the opposite direction. The parmessian cheese is 11.83 US. The brownie mix is 8.28 US. The Kelloggs cereal might not suprise you but the trick is to look at the grams. This is literally one fifth of a normal box in the US. You thought things were pricy where you are? I am showing this to my family please don't send me these items. Thank you God bless you all.

Kamakura Calvary

What a blessing we had to go and hang out with the family at Calvary Chapel Kamakura. We shared the 21 chapter of Luke and talked about end times and the coming year. Jesus tell us to Pray always to hope to be accounted worthy to escape these things. He was writing to a Jewish audience but we too can benefit from this advice from God. Prayer was the key to hopefully escaping dangerous times but more so the physical effects of a weighed down heart. Let's pray always as both an offense and Defense from the struggles we will encounter ahead in this new year 2009.

Christmas Day with the Bolingers

On Christmas Day we had a great time opening our presents but we also invited a family to come and hang out with us. The Nishizawa's came with Mao (3) and Momoka (5. We just played and enjoyed the day. The Nishizawa's have never celebrated Christmas before with Christians. We had a great time and they were so thankful. There was a special moment as Mihoko was helping Momoka fold some origami and the sun light reflecting into the room made for a great effect on the picture. It felt as a holy moment when the mom who was very overwhelmed with life was relaxing and we were ministering to the kids. God is good. I hope they come to our Bible Study.


The kids didn't have big presents this year but it was special. Jane would always play with this restaurant ordering device at a local restaurant. The Jonathan's chain which is like Denny's has toys at the cash register and Jane would run ahead of us to enter the restaurant and play with this device and then would finish early to go and play before we left. It was $10 so when we got it for her she was so blessed. I just love to give my kids things they really want. I believe God is the same way. He will give to us His blessings and we get to enjoy his Grace. Pray for the Nishizawa's salvation.