Thank you for your patience while I took a blog break. I needed it desperately. I also wanted to thank you for your kind words on the loss of my dog. I miss her terribly. She was such a part of the family. She was a great comfort to me with all my kids stateside. I’ve been keeping busy and that helps. We called the groomers after Pixie’s death to give them the news and they brought these lovely flowers.
I was touched. They were as shocked as we were. She has been visiting them since she was a puppy, so I know they were attached to her as well.
On another note, I failed my final exam at language school. It was unlike any Japanese test I’ve ever taken and I basically didn’t understand what it was they wanted me to do. I did well on the kanji characters and particle tests, but the grammar got me. I am praying about what my next step should be. At this point, I am hoping to improve my conversation skills. Please pray that the Lord would give me wisdom in this important area.
We have been trying some new ways to make contacts for the ministry here. We had a “friend party” on Saturday with many first-time visitors! It was a blessing. A possible new opportunity is a group of Spanish-speaking people who are looking for a church or a Bible study. Only one of them speaks English. One speaks Japanese well. My husband is in the process of talking to them about a Bible study that he would teach in Japanese and then it would be translated into Spanish. It’s a unique opportunity and we are praying about it and waiting to see what the Lord will do. We live in a large city with many people from all over the world. We are here to minister to the Japanese, but we cannot refuse when the Lord sends others our way.
We had our monthly English Ladies’ Bible study today with the countries of Korea, China, Malaysia, Japan and the USA being represented. Last month was very discouraging as no one attended. Today, there were seven of us! It is exciting to see the Lord bringing some new ladies our way and the growth of some our regular attenders.
I have some things I am looking forward to sharing with you. Until then, I would like to leave you with something to think about from our Bible study today…
“…contentment has very little to do with a woman’s surroundings and possessions. It has everything to do with the state of her heart.”
~Claudia Barba in Refresh Your Heart, pg. 87
Drinking at the Springs 
Those flowers are lovely!
Our vet we call Dr. Lisa had to put both our elderly kitties to sleep. Within a week after each, we received the prettiest Sympathy card from her.
The card she sent for Storm is still on my kitchen bulletin board for it has a sketching of various kitties on it with the words “There Are No Ordinary Cats”. Doesn’t it help at least a little when you know others understand your grief?
What a sweet and thoughtful gesture.
I’m sorry about failing the language test and trust the Lord will lead you to what to do next.
The friend party sounds neat.
Sorry about tha test. I admire you for studying Japanese! That has to be very difficult. I will pray for the Lord’s leading. The beautiful flowers from Pixie’s groomer…well, how sweet. They must be very special people.