Eric blames my sister Beth for Ian’s latest obsession with the moon.  Several nights she walked with him outside, piquing his interest in the night sky.

Most nights since she left he has started asking to see the moon.  Several nights ago, after persistent asking (“Loon, Mommy!  See Loon!”), I agreed to take him to the park to look for the moon.  Olivia came too.

As we walked out, I commented that it was cloudy and it didn’t seem like the moon was around.  Olivia said, “Stop! Mommy!”  And she closed her eyes and asked God to put the moon out so that Ian could see it.

I didn’t know what to say.  I didn’t want to squelch her sweet young faith, but it was really cloudy and expected to rain later that night.

We walked to the park, stood in the middle of the field, and looked all around.  No moon.  Ian just turned around in circles, pleading:  “Loon – come!  Come, Loon, come!”  I’ll never forget the tone of his voice as he tried to persuade the moon to make a showing.

We walked back to the house, Ian wanting to return to the park to continue searching.  Olivia was quiet.

We walked up onto the doorway.  And just then – above the neighbor’s home across the street – was the roundest, orangest moon you’ve ever seen.  It had just risen.  Olivia was not surprised, except for how orange it was.  Ian just kept exclaiming, “The loon!  The Loon!  The Loon!”  I was busy breathing deeply and repenting, realizing how much my two youngest can teach me.

I came home this afternoon from a women’s conference in Ikoma.  Called “Advance,” it was a Pentecostal-style gathering to encourage women in ministry in Japan.  There were over sixty participants;  probably about 3/4s Japanese and 1/4 internationals.  Several friends of mine have been a part of this for the last few years.  It was a special time of worship, fellowship, and prayer.

I rode with some friends from Nishinomiya, and because of traffic we arrived after things started on Friday morning.  There were several worship leaders up front.  It was an amazing joy to discover that one of the worship leaders was Nobuko – a friend from twenty years ago!  When she saw me we hugged and hugged- neither of us had any idea that the other would be there.  Nobuko lives in Tokyo now, but travels quite a bit.

Nobuko shared with some of the ladies at lunch how we got to know each other.  When she was a shy high school student in the Tokyo area, she was walking to the train station one morning and our friend Wendi gave her a flyer to come to the Christian english school she worked at.  Nobuko ended up signing up, and Peter was her first teacher.  Peter and Wendi then returned to the U.S., (I think at that time it was to prepare to get married!), and I became her teacher.

Nobuko said what she liked about us was that we didn’t seem like Christians (hmm…)…  we didn’t seem religious.  I remember that she had the biggest hair at an all-night big hair slumber party at my small apartment.  We had a lot of fun that year!  And it was in the midst of building friendships that she started asking questions about having a relationship with God.  I suggested that she read a chapter a day of the book of Luke.  She was taken with Jesus, and gave her life to Him.

Over that year, there were a number of new believers at our little church.  I started a discipleship time for these seven or eight high school and college girls — we called ourselves the Morning Glories.  Here is a photo of some of us two years later (Nobuko is not in this picture).

Nobuko was on-fire from the beginning.  Within two years, she went to a YWAM training camp.  And then did a short-term mission with YWAM.  And then she joined staff.  She’s been with YWAM for the past eighteen years or so.  The last we saw each other was at a friend’s wedding about thirteen years ago…And then we both ended up at this small women’s conference in the middle of nowhere Japan!  She did a beautiful job leading worship, translating, and sharing words of encouragement.

Nobuko ended this story by saying, “Sue – you never realized that high school girl twenty years ago would end up going to eighteen nations and having countless spiritual children!  Thank you for telling me about Jesus.  You’re a grandmother to many.”

Wow.  Wendi’s flyer;  Peter’s fun english class;  my crazy big hair parties.  You really never know what God will do.

This afternoon before I left, Nobuko and I had a chance to pray for each other – it was so sweet.  We had taken one pretty normal picture (that’s on Facebook) – but then we needed a more fun picture. …while trying to do a crazy pose, we fell on the floor, and the photo was snapped.

No big hair, but I am convinced again that serving God in Japan can be a lot of fun.

So, I know I’ve blogged before about school lunches – I think two years ago when I first visited Owen’s first grade lunch.  We are pretty used to what our kids eat and the process in which school lunch happens now.  But after being in the US last month and talking with a couple of friends about our children’s schools, I thought it was time a blog revisit.

Yesterday we had Open School at our kids’ elem. school.  Parents could visit any classroom in a three or four hour period.  I knew that Annie was on lunch duty, so I made sure that I was there for that time.

One-third of Annie’s class has lunch duty every day for a week, and then they switch.  On her week, Annie needs to take a mask in her little lunch bag (which includes a cloth mat and chopsticks).  When she is done her week, she brings home the lunch uniform for me to wash and iron and send back on Monday to the next child who’s duty begins that day.  Below is one of Annie’s friends – he swims a bit in his uniform since they are one-size fits all:

It is pretty cool to watch these ten kids in action as they go pick up, set up, serve, and clean up lunch.  Each class serves the lunch outside of the classroom, and once it has been served everyone eats together at their desk (the teacher too!).  All the food gets served up, carried to the desktops and placed on top of the lunch mat, and then if there is any extra food the kids who want it do “paper, scissors, rock” to see who wins it.  (Aren’t they soo cute?)

What was interesting in Annie’s class was that as soon as the food was served, and everyone was seated, there was suddenly a mad scramble among about eight kids to rush back and put back a bit of their vegetables.  I guess Annie’s teacher is a little more lenient than most.

And I have to say – it really was a good day for me to be there with a camera.  Here is the main protein in their lunch (dried whole female fish with eggs in the belly – mmm! mmm!0).

Here is the whole lunch:  some kind of vegetable salad, a kind of soup/stew, rice, and milk.  Milk is every day.

Annie this week is in charge of giving out milk.

Annie caught my eye when she was seated at her desk.  She pointed to the fish and rolled her eyes.  We both giggled.  She’s still getting used to first grade school lunch, but doing a pretty good job of it.

As I stood in the back and talked with a couple of moms, they asked if school lunches in the U.S. are the same.  Wow.  I’m not sure I can think of anything that IS the same.  Oh – do they still serve milk?

Yesterday we took my sister Beth to one of our favorite little towns, Sasayama.  It is quaint and has some fun antique and souvenir shops.

We wandered into a kimono shop, where Beth tried on some fun Japanese-style wooden shoes for women.  Ahh – a tad too small.  But I found two Christmas presents, which the store owner wrapped for me.  While we were waiting, she asked where I was from, and then shared that her sister had lived in Massachusetts.  She began sharing with us that her sister had died about thirteen years ago – she hadn’t been able to go to the U.S. for the funeral.  Her sister had a daughter and son, but she has lost touch of them and her letters have been returned.  She looked so sad — I could imagine how it must have felt to lose your sister and then to lose touch with the only family who would help connect you.

I asked her if she’d like me to help track them down through the internet.  Her face lit up.  Her niece’s name, she said, is Michelle, but she doesn’t know her married name.  She couldn’t right then remember much else.  But she went to the back and returned with a faded return address label that she had in her coin purse – it was her sister’s name and address.  I promised to do my best detective work, took her phone number and gave her mine, and we left.

Upon returning home, I checked our favorite friend-finder — Facebook!  I could not find a Michelle with the last name as her sister.  But I found a guy with the same last name who’s home was a town in Mass., and — he had a sister Michelle!  She is now living in Virginia, but it listed a town in Mass. as her hometown as well.  Looking at her photo, it seemed like she may be part Japanese.  I hoped so!  That is enough background.  Here is the message that I sent her:

I  am Sue Plumb Takamoto- an American living in Japan. I think that I met your aunt today while shopping in Sasayama, Japan, and ended up talking to her for awhile (her name). She shared with me about her sister Yumiko who had lived in Massachusetts, and that she had lost touch with Yumiko’s family the last few years after she passed away, and her mail has been returned. Because of the language issue, she didn’t know how to find her sister’s family. I offered to look on the internet, and that is how I came across your name and hope that you are Yumiko’s daughter! She remembered your first name, and I hoped there wouldn’t be too many on Facebook! Seeing that you are from Mass., and have a dad and brother from there – I am hoping….
I know that your aunt would love to regain contact with you and your family in some way if it’s possible. She was such a neat lady and I could tell loved Yumiko and her family so much. I have her phone number, and would be happy to call her with any information you are willing to have me give about you and your family (address, updates, whatever). My Japanese isn’t great but is fine for communicating so let me know how I can help.
My mom died about twenty years ago and it has become more and more important to me – or helpful – to be in touch with my mom’s sister and brothers -so I wanted to give you that same opportunity if you are interested.
Take care, Michelle. (And if this is not you I am SO sorry for this long note!)
Sue

I was SO excited to get this reply today:

Hello Sue! 

I am so excited you have contacted me. I have tried for some time now to try to reach my family there – unfortunately via internet which has not worked. I had hoped because (my aunt) had 2 boys who should be in their 30’s that they might be connected on Facebook or My Space, but never had any luck. After the earthquake I was devastated and wanted more than ever to find them. This is most definitely my aunt. My mother was Yumiko and she passed about 14 years ago when I was 16 years old. My step-father hired a translator to contact my mom’s family to let them know she had passed since neither of us could speak Japanese. 

I have been married to a wonderful guy for 5 years now. We have a beautiful son who will be 4 in November – his name is Ethan. I have been working with an import/export company for 10 years. Please let my aunt know that I have been doing quite well….

I imagine my aunt is probably not on the internet, right? My mailing address is as follows:
xxxx Virginia

Sue – I want to thank you for contacting me. I am very appreciative of you offering to assist with getting my family back in contact with me. If there is any info you can pass along to me from my aunt I would appreciate it. 

THANK YOU! I anxiously await your reply.

Michelle

As I read aloud this message to my sister and a friend visiting, we all got teary-eyed.  How wonderful it is to be able to find and reunite people.  We are planning now another trip to Sasayama- this kind of information needs to be shared in person.  So thankful that a new friend in Virginia and a new friend in Japan will be able to be reunited…. I love how God does things like this.

I was totally spoiled and loved on during my birthday in the U.S.!  The boys and I were in the D.C. area on my actual birthday, and we were taken care of extraordinarily by Lyn Huff, and treated that evening to two amazing cakes – red velvet (one of my alltime favorites) made by our friend Debbie A., and then an amazing sushi cake (ala rice krispies and other fun things) made by Jennifer S.  It’s been a long time since I had a birthday cake made for me –let alone two! – and  I felt very loved.

Then, my sister Allison and her family celebrated my birthday a few days later, and made one of my other very favorites – when I saw all the freshly squeezed limes and the number of empty cans of sweetened condensed milk, I knew I was going to die of happiness.  Thanks Allison!

Meanwhile, my Dad was feeling bad because he had forgotten it was my birthday on the actual day.  So a week later at a gathering with some friends he ordered a cake from our favorite NJ bakery, had them add a few years onto the age written on the cake, and asked for black icing.  Love his crazy sense of humor.   So much great love (and extra pounds!) while back in the U.S.

Upon return to Japan, it was time to celebrate Ian’s SECOND birthday.  Can’t believe he’s two already!  His older sisters and brother made it very clear that there was only one birthday theme for this boy, and I had to agree.  I found a website that had a challenging but spunky version of Thomas the train, and decided to take the plunge and make my own fondant and try using it for the first time.  Getting the ingredients was a bit challenging, but I felt quite victorious when I found glycerine and was able to get all the ingredients in Japan!  I used the website for the fondant from this website.  I was nervous but excited.  Since I have never been able to take any cake decorating classes, I always enjoy learning something new through the great educator known as the internet.

All went fairly well, especially when I found a website that suggested using crisco to keep the fondant from getting too sticky.  Eric cut out all the pieces and put the cake together to become the famous Thomas shape, and then I had to lay the fondant over the shape and make it somehow fit snugly.  It was scary but fun.  I could improve a lot, but by 3 am I went to bed feeling OK about things.

I always make cakes the night before the party (while the kids are asleep!).  This turned out to be a problem.  It was particularly humid and just overall wet on Saturday with the typhoon on its way.  When I checked on the cake midday, I found — a train wreck.  The pieces of cake had separated, and left big gaping holes in my nice one-piece fondant.  My repair work was lame:

But I repaired it too soon… by the time time we brought it out that night after dinner, it was a literally very-sad looking Thomas:

BUT thankfully, the eyes of a two-year old are not looking for perfection, but for someone who understands what makes them tick.  And to our little boy, there was nothing but joy when he saw his special cake — and got to eat it too!

It has been a busy few weeks- not a lot of internet access nor time in the U.S. to post!  Hurricane Irene made our last few days interesting, bringing down a huge tree in our family’s yard that completely blocked the street out front.  It happened just as I was sharing with a group of friends at a BBQ about our recent experiences in Japan- ended the BBQ pretty quickly as everyone realized that Irene was pretty serious and made their way back home.

It was nice to enjoy the next day at home (churches were cancelled) with Allison, Anthony, their family and my Dad, and prepare for our return back to Japan.  On Monday my sister Beth drove us up to JFK,  (thanks to the Chus for coming to meet us there for a wonderful hour visit!)  we made the 14 hour plane trip, stayed over at a hotel in Tokyo, and took an early morning flight down to Osaka.  How wonderful it was to see Eric, Annie, and Live again!  Reunions are among my favorite thing in the world.

I love the little ways that God encourages us when we need it.  On the way to Japan, we also had to stay overnight at a small hotel in Tokyo and checked out the next morning at 4 am for the morning flight to JFK.  From the airport we took a shuttle to the hotel, and as we were getting on we noticed the bus much louder than usual for Japan.  It was filled with Americans, and their quite expansive surfboards!  They helped us load our luggage and as we talked going to the hotel we found out that they were a Christian surfing group on a mission trip to share with surfers.  They gave Owen a cool surfer CD and encouraged us greatly.

On the return trip out of JFK, the airport was full of travelers whose flights had been cancelled the two previous days thanks to Irene.  The line to check in seemed to stretch for miles!  An airline agent noticed I was travelling with two young ones and directed me to the “special line” – for those with special needs.  Owen especially was amazed – “why did she do that?”  He right away stopped and said a sweet prayer to thank God for that gracious gift.  And as we waited in the special line, a young woman from Australia came and stood behind us.  We began talking – and she is headed (eventually) to China to do a mission trip.  We had a wonderful talk — both of us tired and needing to be encouraged — and then before parting we prayed together. I love how God does these things!

The day after our return was the first day back to school for Owen and Annie.  Neither were excited about it, but I didn’t realize how much Annie did not want to go back.  When I tried to wake her up, I had little success.  The more I tried — cajoled, pleaded, order her out of bed! – the less successful I was.  Time was getting short.  Then Eric came into her room, and got down on her futon bed, and just wrapped her in his strong arms.  He didn’t say anything. He just held her while she cried softly.  For about five minutes.  And then she was ok.  Just like that.  She stood up, ate a granola bar, and did the rest of the tasks to get ready for school.  Those five minutes in her father’s arms were just what she needed to be on her way.  She did great at school, coming home with a smile on her face.

I found myself humming all day the wonderful worship song, “Ohh, how He loves us so…. oh how he loves us…”  I love how He can show us His love in so many ways.

We recently sent out an 8 1/2 x 11 laminated card to our family and friends that can be cut and folded to make a bank — for those who would like to save spare money to give to tsunami relief.  One of the very real concerns is that as the media stops coverage of the needs in Tohoku, the still-needed volunteers and giving from the U.S. will dissipate as well.  Our friend Gary, who had originally designed the bank, just sent us a photo of our tsunami relief bank put together.  Hopefully this will inspire some of you to put yours together!  (Note:  for the faint of heart you can just cut out the middle section and use it as a bookmark or on your fridge).

If you’d like to receive one, please email us your address and we will send one to you.

I had a great talk with Eric tonight.  Today has been another day in which he has witnessed God’s hands on the ministry in Ishinomaki; we are convinced more than ever that in the midst of great needs, God is doing great things.

I just talked with Eric – he was teary-eyed in sharing a story of a woman whom they helped today.  I will save that for later….

Two of our good friends from L.A., Joseph and Yumiko, came and spent time volunteering up in Ishinomaki.  Yumiko was able to stay for nearly a month, which was a wonderful gift as she provided continuity and also is bilingual.  Here are some excerpts from an update they recently sent out:

The buildings we saw in the city of Ishinomaki were mostly damaged on the 1st floor because the sea water flooded up to the ceiling of the 1st floor. Many people told us that they ran to the 2nd or upper floors when they saw the water coming. The areas with less or no flood damage seemed to go back to normal life but the areas closer to the ocean or rivers still remain in need of much repair. In the area we were working, there were 4~5 volunteer groups, and there were even town-wide volunteer meetings that tried to organize and coordinate the work of different groups/organizations. We saw many home/store owners trying to have their buildings repaired or cleaned. Since there is a lack of professional constructors/materials, the need for that is great and there are so many volunteer opportunities. There were several local young people who were joining us volunteering. 

We drove to other towns where the houses, stores, and other building were severely damaged and there were no people living. We visited the elementary school where a majority of students were killed, and felt heart broken seeing the deserted school building and a little altar with letters from their parents. The government has built temporary housing for those who had lost their houses and we heard that there will be enough housing for everyone, but there are still many people living in shelters.       

We joined “Be One Tohoku Aid” which is a house church organization.  Several members drove up 1000 miles to help people just four days after the tsunami –  when the road was closed, even though it was snowing and temperatures were freezing. There were other mission organizations and churches that have joined Be One, so volunteers are from all over the world but mostly from the US and Japan. Our daily routine started with a short morning worship and prayer, riding vans/trucks to the work sites, working until evening, going to Onsen (public hot spring), eating a late dinner, going back to Dojo (the marshal art house where we stayed) then hitting a sleeping bag around 10 pm or 11 pm.

We had a great time with the volunteers who were mostly really young (Some of them who were in their early 20s called Joseph and I “papa” and “mama”). We dug out the mud in the gutters and under the floor of the houses, tore down the houses, cleaned, picked up debris and trash, played with kids, cooked for outreach events, chased away and swatted at flies, talked to people and prayed for/with them, passed out supplies, translated, etc.

Joseph tried to built friendship with the owner of Dojo, (we called him Sensei— teacher/master in Japanese) reached out to him along with other men. One night, he was talking to Sensei about one lady I met next to the park we were working. She allowed me to pray for her needs…, and one of them was a bicycle for her grandson who now needs to go to farther school because of the disaster. Another volunteer (he is not a believer either, but he said he was touched by believers’ compassion) donated her a bike after he left for home without knowing her story or prayer part. Joseph shared his faith with Sensei that God orchestrated this blessing by using different people in different time…  

One of the things I felt was that the local people are vulnerable and open for help and love. There was rather big aftershock followed by a tsunami warning on one Sunday. Our group went up a little hill (actually, the backyard of Buddhist temple) to have Sunday Worship. We saw many cars leaving the town for evacuation while several people climbed up the hill where we gathered. Some of us had the opportunity to listen to their experiences of encountering tsunami and prayed silently that God will give them peace in that moment. They canceled the warning later and I was thankful that the Lord protected us. We’re also so grateful for your prayers.

 There were several chances that I was able to pray … out loud.  It was amazing that many women shared with me about their pain and relational struggles with their loved ones. It seemed that the event of tsunami brought up things within people’s lives and pain hidden in their hearts. I pray that Jesus’ love heals people’s hearts and relationships and gives them restoration and joy in their lives. There were about 8 neighbors … who joined our Sunday Worship the following Sunday at Be One House (a rental house we repaired).