I was beginning to think our lives were getting boring, then all these things started happening!
As youth leaders with the Jr High group, "Lost and Found", we tagged along as chaperons for a weekend retreat to a camp called Okutama Bible Chato. It was Mike's first retreat ever, and my first Jr High retreat in a long long time. Let me just tell you, the experience was so so amazing. We had time set up for "Jesus and Me" in which all the kids would go off by themselves and read their bibles and answer little devotional questions that were geared towards the lesson. After 30 minutes of "Jesus and Me" we'd get together into groups of about 6 and just talk about what they'd read and what was going on at school and in their faith. It was so so so so so cool! I got to know the kids a lot better and several of them mentioned that Mike and I should take over the group when Barron, the current leader, leaves in August. It's something to pray about because at this point Mike and I don't feel strong enough to lead such a wild group of kids who have so many questions. Still, something is pulling me in that direction - if only God will provide a little more support for us.
After a month of being in Japan, without a job, lonely all day... I was desperate for a dog. I wanted someone who had to stay with me at home so I didn't have to go the Red Cross and distract the workers there. =) One day, Mike came home and asked if I wanted a dog, and I said "Duh! Of course I do!" Someone he works with, named Brianna, recently got divorced and her ex-husband is PCSing (moving) to Germany for his next duty station and was unable to take his share of pets. They were looking for homes for their two dogs, a boxer and a miniature schnauzer (scottie dog). The next day, the miniature schnauzer was at our house ready to move in. When they brought her, we made an agreement that they would pay for grooming and food, and that we would give her a place to stay for about a year. She's been with us ever since, and let me tell you it's really opened my eyes to the world of doggies. She's nothing like my dog back home, Sara. We could just kick Sara outside whenever she misbehaved, not Chickita!
Chickita (cheeky for short)
- is very lovey and will jump up right into your lap to cuddle,
- she'll go CRAZY when you come home, and
- she dances for treats,
- drags in bugs, dirt, leaves, pine needles, and mud in after her walks.
- messes on the carpet if it's wet outside
- cries all night if cooped up in the kitchen cause she's lonely. (I think they let her sleep with them...)
- cries when we leave her at home
- LOVES going for car rides, jumping on people, and licking the inside of your mouth. gross.
I think the experience has left me and Mike wanting an outside dog. I've never vacuumed so much in my life until we got this dog. She's completely adorable when she's playing... but after she's eaten or drank anything she either drips all over the kitchen or leaves crumbs on the furniture. What trouble she is!
About a week after we got Chickita, I got a call from the pool! I've been a lifeguard/office assistant for about a week and a half now. It's been good to get back into the water, and I'm really looking forward to getting back into the lifeguard chair at the outdoor pool. Nice golden tan, here I come! Yokota has two pools, an indoor one (that I'm currently at), and an outdoor one. The indoor pool is HUGE, it's 50 meters long - all the pools I've worked at back in the States have been 25 meters! On some weeknights they actually have kayaking classes in the pool, that's how large it is! A requirement of being a lifeguard at this pool is swimming 2000 meters every week - I'm also hoping to get that swimmers figure back. 2000 meters is a lot!
Also... I'm not sure when exactly I joined, but I'm in a group called Taiko Drumming. It's a Japanese style drumming that is a very old tradition. Today I saw a professional group play and it sounded a lot like war drumming, I hope we sound like that too! Taiko is a very visual drumming, when you're not playing you're supposed to have your arms above your head - which gets pretty tiring! Also, you have to hit the drum pretty hard, which also gets pretty tiring. My first 3 practices I was sore for days after, I just wanted my arms to fall off. I've gotten batter since then, but still get sore from time to time. The practices are 2 hours on Tuesdays, and 2 hours on Thursdays. We usually take a lot of breaks, which is why it's 2 hours long. I went to one practice where a very experienced Taiko drummer came to teach us better form and a new song. That was the hardest practice ever because we didn't take many breaks - for instance, we played a fast back beat for 30 minutes straight! I had blisters on my hands that have since turned into gross calluses. They protect my hands from long taiko sessions though, so I'm thankful!
I'm looking on Amazon right now for a new charger, it's looking promising - maybe we'll have another charger soon!!!
i like you're "i've gotten batter" statement. which is either a spelling error, or it's a phrase stating that you now have batter's arms from swinging big drum sticks that look like baseball bats.
ReplyDeleteso you're liking japan?
i so i wish i could visit you.
...would that ever be a possibility? (it's okay to say no :)
lol - it was a spelling error, although your definition makes sense as well! =) Our sticks aren't quite baseball bats, but the profesional team I've seen play did have baseball bat sized sticks.
ReplyDeleteI'm definately liking Japan.
Of course that's a possibility - just let us know when you're stopping by! We've heard it's best to stay for more than a week because it takes a few days to adjust to the time traveling. =)