An Old Japanese Saying: "Climb Mt. Fuji once, you are wise; climb it twice, you are a fool!"...

10:30pm we left for the mountain!

Still smiling on the way! The way back they don't look as happy :)

There are 10 Stages of Mt. Fuji this is stage 7.

There were 3 groups of people who climbed the mountain: Fast, Medium, and Slow. Meaghan, Lisa, Chris, Masashi, and Kyle were in the fast group. The true Mt. Fuji champions were the women in the group. They were super genki!!!

On Top of Mt. Fuji 5:00 am! God's creation is so BEAUTIFUL!!!

This is a great picture of Masashi that represents what it feels like after climbing Mt. Fuji...

Maybe the saying is true, maybe I am a fool... :)

please pray...

we felt the earthquake around 10:15 am here in tokyo, but not nearly the way it was felt in niigata...hundreds injured...seven dead...i honestly hadn't thought much about today's events until getting online now. i was so alarmed to read these sentences from an article concerning the earthquake:

Japan sits atop four tectonic plates and is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. The last major quake to hit the capital, Tokyo, killed some 142,000 people in 1923, and experts say the capital has a 90 percent chance of suffering a major quake in the next 50 years.

...90 percent...in the next 50 years...no wonder it's dubbed "the city that's waiting to die"...

makes me realize how much this city and this country and this people need the gospel. i'm a little jolted now...sad...realizing we don't always have as much time as we might think... i'm resting in God's sovereignty and goodness and amazing ability to use the insignificance of our lives to impact His Kingdom...

please pray for this country and this people, that they might know the truth

here's the link to the whole article if you're interested: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19778870/

the set'ers!

Here's some pics of our summer team folks (or SET'ers as we call 'em in Tokyo - Student Exchange Travelers) They have been great to learn from and learn with and we're excited for what their final month in Japan has in store for them, for the students and for us!

Lisa, Ariel and Meaghan

Lisa, Rebekka and our teammate Mary (notice the couch theme anyone?) :)

Jennifer and Ariel

Curt and Meaghan

more pics to come soon!

girls night!

here's a few pictures from a recent girls night. and by recent, i mean two weeks ago! it was so fun to get together with some of the BEST club girls. we had a great discussion on love and relationships and what the Bible says about both.

the spread: jin's tuna salad sandwiches, jo's homemade biscotti, mary's cucumber sandwiches and crackers with cream cheese and jam and my fruit salad! kie brought yummy apricot cookies too! eating in style, don't you think?

kie and jin admiring our goodies!

clean-up is a breeze with these girls by my side! kie, jo, saaya, ayumi and mary in the kitchen!

it was a great night; i'm very thankful for all these women and what they mean to me!

simply the best!

this post is dedicated to kyle, my partner in crime.

you're great, i love you and i'm thankful God chose you for me!

now more than ever, i appreciate your listening ear, your kind heart

and how you can always bring a smile to my face!

you are the best!