New Year Coming

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope you all had a wonderful time with family and friends. We had a very blessed and fun Christmas here, it gets better every year as a family!

This month we had our events that we put on each year, and each time they grow. At our Christmas party, on Dec. 8^th, we had a huge group! Old and new friends and students came, we played some Hakugaijin songs, a group from Ginowan led us in some Christmas songs, and Pastor Tommy shared a Gospel message. It was really fun, everyone ate and talked, and we got some good games going. A few people accepted Jesus, and some heard for the first time. It was really fun, everyone said they enjoyed it so much.

On the 15^th we had our very first Nago women’s bible study!!! It was so much fun, we are excited to have another one hopefully this next month. Some of the women and girls couldn't be there because of children or other events, but me, Ayu (pastor’s wife), and Shizuka (mom of family that comes to church) went through the first part of John, and then fellowshiped and made stuffed Christmas ornaments. We really had so much fun, it’s a ministry that is much needed for the women here. We were all blessed (myself included!) to have our husbands take the kids and do their own craft and play time.
Please continue to be in prayer for us.

On the 16^th we went Caroling with the other churches in Nago. We played new songs this year, and a group of us played Amazing Grace on hand-bells. We didn't have many people gather to listen (last year we did), but it was fun, and people clapped as they drove by. Hoping that the people in Nago got blessed and will come to understand what Jesus did for them.


The last event we had was our marshmallow roasting/movie night. A TON of people came, we were packed out. For many it was their first time evening hearing of smores, but they enjoyed it. Everyone brought cookies, and we supplied the marshmallows and showed them how to roast ‘em! The kids loved it.

This past year was amazing. We have had some of the hardest times spiritually and living out the ministry God has us doing, but we have grown and had some of the best times of our lives.
The biggest was our daughter being born, but even before that, the whole trip of watching her grow inside, preparing for her to come, and drawing closer as husband and wife. It was amazing.

We are excited for this new year, because we know its going to be great, and were going to do many awesome things following our Lord.

Please be in prayer for us in these things:
-Elena’s passport (getting it soon, for travel to the states this summer)
-Women’s ministry/bible study
-English classes
-Christians in Nago (to come learn the Bible at church, and study it at home)
-Trip to the states
-Our car (needs new tires soon)
-New classes/continued classes for coming year

God bless you in this new year, as abundantly and more as He has to us.

Christmas party.

Getting ready to play "Frosty the Snowman" (fluffy bunny) with marshmallows.

Marshmallow/movie night!

We watched "Elf", its funny every time!

Christmas morning!



Elena's Christmas outfit! (Slippers from Germany!)

Opening her gift!

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She loves them!

'Tis the Season

It's December! These past 2 months flew by us fast! Here is a quick update, and some of the things we have this month.

Last month we got to head down south and celebrate Thanksgiving with our church family at Calvary Chapel Ginowan. It was a huge blessing, visiting with everyone and Elena getting to meet everyone.

We also were able to make it to the immigration office down south to apply for and get Elena's visa. Thank you for your prayers for this, she now has her own 3 year dependent visa! God is good!

Eder was able to go with Tim to Ie Jima (another close island), and help with an outreach to the youth the church there was having. They had a really blessed time, and hope to return again soon, possibly with me and Elena.

On the first of this month, we got to perform as Hakugaijin for students at a speech contest at Kiritan College. It was a surprise for the highschool students at intermission while the scores were judged. One of the students who attends Calvary Chapel Okinawa won an award that day!

This Saturday, the 8th, we have our Annual Christmas party. A group from Ginowan heading up to play Christmas songs and share a Christmas message from the Word. It's always so much fun, and always a great way to share with our students and friends the Love Jesus has for them.

Also, the 15th we are having our first Nago women's Bible study!! Me and Ayu will be tag teaming the teaching and then making hand-made Christmas ornaments with the ladies and girls that come. We're really excited, and hope that this ministry can continue and be able to grow and nurture the women here in Nago.

The following day, we are Christmas caroling again with the other churches in Nago. So far practice has been a blast and we know the event will be too.

Then the 23rd we are having a Christmas movie/marshmallow roasting night! We had this last year for the first time and everyone loved it. It was a good time just to relax and get to know each other better.

This past Wednesday night, Eder taught from the Word in Japanese for the first time. We have been teaching the kids in Japanese for the last year and a half, but this is the first time to teach a message for adult ears (proper grammar and more in-depth into the message points). It's not easy, and becomes stressful very quickly, but we trust God to help us and try our best to let it grow us. Please pray for Eder for this, learning to study and teach the Word in another language is difficult.

We have been praying, and are taking a new step of faith and making a commitment before God. We are planning a trip back to the states in June, this coming year 2013, for 3 weeks to visit the churches that support us and share about the work God is doing out here through us and the churches.

If you would keep these things in your prayers:
-upcoming women's bible study (led by the Spirit, women to be blessed by it and to grow in the Lord and understanding of the Word).
-Christmas party on 8th (soft hearts, gospel to be heard and understood and received).
-continued wisdom in raising Elena in a God-glorifying way.
-continued good health and growth for Elena.
-provision for new year and new things God will do.
-our desire to and ability to speak Japanese.
-Eder teaching on Wednesdays in Japanese.
-continued leading and vision for new year.
-provision for trip back to the states, wisdom and diligence in saving and preparing for it (first time traveling with a baby).

Thank you, check back on our blog to see pictures and updates at the end of the month.
God bless!

Rejoicing

What a busy two months it has been, this blogpost is very over-due, but with good reason.

Our little baby daughter is here with us now!!!

On Thursday, October 18^th, at 2:20 pm, Elena Lily was born. The whole labor was 9 hours in total (from first contractions to baby coming out), but really flew by for everyone. Elena gave her mommy an easy and fast labor. She came out on the first push! (only one push!)

We are over-joyed, she is amazing. God really knows how to bless us. She already has the most amazing little personality. God, thank You, thank You, thank You. We praise You for this precious gift.

On the 20^th, Eder’s parents flew in from the states and stayed with us for 10 days. They were so blessed to see their little granddaughter! We were so blessed to see them, and share the blessing together (and get lots of help around the house and baby advice!).

It’s a really huge thing to be parents, raise a child, and still do all the other responsibilities that life and ministry bring. But, we wouldn’t trade it for anything. It’s completely amazing and we’ve only been at it for 3 weeks. Whoever said that getting married and having a kid ends your life, was completely wrong and missed out big time. It doesn’t end your life, it begins it.

Holidays are coming up, we have our normal outreaches and events planned, but we are praying for new ones if the Lord leads. We really want to share the Gospel with everyone we know and meet. Please pray for us, to stay strong in our marriage, as a family of 3 now, and faithful to ministering for the Lord Jesus.

Thank you for all of your prayers for our pregnancy and birth, it was very evident that we were prayed for.

God bless you, stay caught up with us through Facebook and this blog, pictures are continually being posted~

Prayer request update: forgot one!

We forgot to add a prayer request to our most recent post.

We have made it a goal and are planning to make a trip back home to the states next year for Christmas. We've been praying for the past year about going back to visit, especially once we found out we were adding to our family. It's not the easiest thing to save up for and to be able to do with work and the church, but we know it's going to be possible with God. We really feel the need to make trips back.

So if you could join in prayer with us, pray for wisdom and diligence in saving and planning, that timing would work out with Eder's English classes, and everything else that goes along with making an international trip.

Aslo! We were lent a baby-seat bouncer (not sure the exact name you would call it) to use for our baby! Praise our Lord! It is a blessing to have so many loving brother's and sister's in Him out here serving together.

God bless you!

The Third Trimester: battling humidity, seeking God for vision, and preparing for the future.

This past week officially started the third trimester of our pregnancy! From this week, it’s only 10 weeks until the Baby is due to come. We are so exciting (and getting more and more excited daily), but also trying to prepare (at least as well as we can mentally and physically) for the Baby’s entrance into our lives. It’s an amazing thing that is about to happen, but it’s also a really big thing.
Our prayer is for God to prepare us every day, because we know He can do that better than any class or advice we will get (though those things are a blessing).

The past few months have been extremely busy for us, especially July. We had two youth beach events, an afternoon picnic and bible study with fireworks, kids VBS (Vacation Bible School) outreach, helped at a youth camp Calvary Chapel Ginowan did, and an English adventure day at the Aquarium. All of them were a BLAST! But it was hot and involved a lot of games and running, which made it pretty draining on us physically. But, besides a little sun burning and some sore knees, everyone had fun and no one got hurt. Kids and youth got to hear the Gospel, and we were able to share how much God cares about all of us, and just simply hang out with these awesome people and have fun.

We also celebrated our 1 year wedding Anniversary in June. We got to spend the day just hanging out, ate at a nice Yakiniku Restaurant, took pictures, and walked around Expo Park (the Aquarium). It was really special to be able to celebrate our anniversary before the Baby came, we have one special one to sort of end our chapter of it just being us two. We ended our day with buying our first item for Baby: a cute sea-animal baby bib!

We have now been in Nago for a year, and in our apartment for a year, too. It’s a blessing to look around our little apartment and see everything that God has filled it with. If you count, over half of our furniture was given to us. I think about sitting on our futon bed on the floor, and thinking how we would never fill up our entire apartment, especially not the living room! But just the other day, we had to have the trash company come pick up our recliner chair to take it away, because it was just too big and made our apartment feel cramped! Amazing, God is good. He is always giving us what we need and extra.

We have a little list of prayer requests for the coming months and the future in general, if you could lift them up in prayer:
-Physical strength for Amanda in childbirth/diligence to exercise leading up to the birth.
-Things needed for Baby: Stroller, and some kind of baby-bouncer seat/baby-rocker bed (something besides her bed to sleep in).
-Family planning to visit: provision to fly here, plans to work according to God’s will/timing.
-Diligence and wisdom to get the house prepared for Baby’s arrival.
-Continued good health.
-Guidance in ministries and growth in Japanese language.
-Continued preparation by God to be parents and family of 3.

We pray God blesses you this month and the rest of the year as much as He is blessing us and more. Thank you for your support and prayers!

And here are pictures from the past events!: