preparations...

We are preparing to leave Hachinohe- it is a rainy Monday morning here, and there is last-minute packing and cleaning and praying to be done. Many of our readers and church members will　be meeting us at the Shinkansen train station to say final farewells, though the church gave us a touching goodbye yesterday. I don't think any of us are prepared adequately to say good bye. We are all praying for another opportunity to share time with the people in this community.
We are thankful for members like the Matzuzaka's, Masako, Masayo, Etsuko, and Chieko for preparing our lunches during the week and for anwsering the church office phone. We are thankful for the futon beds they prepared for us when we arrived two weeks ago. We are thankful for their generous hospitality. We have seen the fruits of the Spirit in abundance here. The gifts have been physical and rich and also spiritual and of the kind that we will treasure in our hearts for much longer.

Please pray for us, as we travel. We will go by train to Sendai, fly from Sendai to Tokyo, and fly from Tokyo to San Francisco. Sometime late tomorrow (maybe technically Monday night??) we are supposed to leave San Francisco for Dallas, where LST will hold the end meeting. (Our layover in SanFran will be until very late and we are arriving in Dallas at midnight!!) We should leave Dallas Tuesday afternoon for Los Angeles and Boston (Tomi is headed out that way.) Pray for Tomi, who is busy preparing for studies at Oxford in the summer. Pray for Dennis, who has a small pain in his hip, that he is comfortable. Pray for me and Lisa, that we can find some sleep and comfort while we travel!!

Finally, pray for the church here in Hachinohe and for the non-Christian readers who we have met. Pray for the church to grow and to be motivated by our presence to continue shining light over this city. Pray for our readers, who are all special for so many reasons, that they continue to think about what we have read and shared with them, and that fires will be lit and kindled. Pray for bravery and confidence, especially for those who are open to Christ but who do not make the next step because of familial pressure and Buddhist/Shinto roots.

I will try to be thinking of this verse as I travel:
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:14