November 7th 2013

So, I'm definitely overdue on an update on this blog! Sorry about that, the time has really just flown by and I got lazy! Also, It's hard for me to remember all that has happened since my last post...I need to take more notes to remind myself what I've been up to!
First off, Gary and I met with our other realtor. she took our information and we look forward to hearing from her to go look at buildings soon. See Gary's blog for an update on our building search saga! http://pioneeringjapan.blogspot.jp/

One of the unpleasant things about pioneering a church is hunting for a building to use. Japan has been especially interesting.  Some days it leaves you feeling like this:
                                                          

I've been having some fun trying out the new crockpot, it's large enough that I think it'll hold a small turkey if I can find one! So far, I've cooked the beans Gary's teacher found us and they turned out nicely..they are like navy beans so Gary is happy. I'm still on the search for pinto beans for my Mexican dishes, though I can find some canned ones of those for emergencies. They are quite expensive though...like $3 a can!

The weather is definitely beginning to turn more wintery, we haven't had to try the heater yet though thanks to my friend Minny Paws.

We received an email from a lady in Saitama who wanted to meet up with us so we could teach her about Jesus! She is the sister of a lady in Holland who knows the son-in-law of an old pastor friend of ours from Mexico! Figure that out! We met up with her at a coffee shop in Koenji and had a very nice visit which will hopefully be the first of many! It's a very interesting thing to try to explain Christian concepts to a person with absolutely zero idea about even the basics of Christianity. We did have some literature in Japanese to give her to read and were able to answer some of her questions as well. After our meet up Gary and I spent a few hours exploring Koenji, we had been there for a short visit before but this time we walked all over the place. We found a nice import store and picked up a few things..some carmel corn,bbq sauce, and some doritos ranch chips! Sometimes just having a little taste of home is nice!

I have a new neighbor young lady in my apartment building. I noticed her English name on her mailbox so I left her a note and offered to help in anyway I could. Gary and I had her over for dinner a couple weeks ago for pizza. Today I took her to the local library and helped her get a library card and showed her how to use it when she brings back books etc. So that's been fun, it's nice to get out with a gal and talk some English!

　

　

There will be no On to Food this post because mostly what I've been making is repeats! Lasagna, meatloaf, filipino pork adobo, some green chili enchilada suizas.  I did get a new book from the library today though so we'll see if I find any new interesting recipes to try!

 

That's it for today!  And remember....Breathe!