Duk-Sun has wanted something we all want for a long time...which is...more time. Today I think I gave it to her. Bless her heart, she always tries to do all the laundry herself. We try to help out, but our laundry room wasn't organized quite enough for multiple people to go in and help. We had a laundry sorter for the dirty laundry, but nothing but 2 baskets for the clean stuff. Check out the change. Now each person has their own basket for their clean laundry. With this new system, now whoever does laundry can sort, but they don't have to fold or put away the clothes. Each person can do that with their own laundry.
There are several ponds near our house in Marietta. I'm sure that's why we see a lot of Canada Geese. They fly over our house often to land in the pond just through the woods, and on the day I took this photo, I had to be careful not to hit them while I was driving down the road.
It was really nice seeing old friends. We were honored to have the Kono's and the Sakakibara's spend time with us after all those years. We hope they come back every year for as long as they are able.
Day five was filled with fishing and canoeing, mostly. Everyone in our group got to go up river in the canoe. It was a 3-seater capable of supporting an electric motor, so we used the motor until it we were surrounded by branches, and then we used the paddles. It was so peaceful. That clear spring water was nice, too. On the first canoe trip, Mr. Sakakibara and I used the paddles and no motor, and Hannah and Naomi were with us. Somehow at the end of the trip I had no camera any more. I guess Naomi tossed it in the creek. That's why from the second day my photos disappear. Thankfully Daniel had his camera and Mr. Kono had his.
My sister and brother-in-law, Cindy and Richard go above and beyond the call of duty to share the blessings God has bestowed on them with others. They have a ranch called Horse Creek that we sometimes borrow for a couple of days at a time. At first when my friends said they'd be coming here this spring, I thought I had better take them on a Carribean cruise or something, since they have already seen Atlanta and most of its tourist attractions. But they would only be here a week and the dates they came didn't match any cruises. Plus, cruises can be expensive!
Imagine how happy we were when Cindy and Richard offered their second home to us for our friends to see and enjoy. Although Japan has plenty of natural beauty, one thing it lack is wide open spaces. Horse Creek is spacious and never feels crowded. Perhaps that is one reason our friends said the trip to the ranch was the highlight of their visit.
Okabe, Japan is home to a lot of natural beauty. There are mountains, a clear clean river, rice paddies, clementine (mikan) groves, tea fields and bamboo forests. Mr. Sakakibara, who just retired from 50 years in education amazed me. He loves gardening, and he was the hardest worker who hardly broke a sweat when we transplanted our 10-year-old Japanese Red Maple tree from the old house to the new house. After we brought the tree home, a neighbor offered us some rich soil that had once been horse manure. We took her up on the offer and went to get some. Mr. Sakakibara kept gardening at our house until we had to almost drag him indoors. He loves it! He is also a rare person to find. He was chief of the board of education in Okabe for 13 years--including the time when I was there. He went out of his way to take great care of me when I worked in his school district. He has been to Georgia twice before, and Duk-Sun and I have been welcomed in their home since we came back to the states to live. He and his lovely wife Sachiko are so friendly and easy to talk with.
Mr. Kono and I became friends while teaching at the same junior high school in Okabe, Japan, which is not very far from Mount Fuji. He is a little shy, and actually he took about a year before he approached me to try to strike up a friendship, but I am glad he did. He is the type of person who is as genuine as pure gold. This was actually his 4th visit to Georgia to see me and he is always a delight to be around. His wife Tsukie is very nice, too. She just recently retired, so it was a good chance to take such a trip. They have a second home in Cambodia. Why Cambodia? Well, after Mr. Kono retired several years back, he took a contract job teaching music to Cambodian children and he made many friends there. You can find Mr. and Mrs. Kono if you scroll through the photos in this slideshow.
Two couples that we are very fond of came all the way from Japan to pay us a visit. Since we had not seen each other for a decade, it was a special treat to have them stay with us. Here are the photos of their arrival at our house.
What a blessing! This special lady, Aleeza, will be Naomi's case worker for adoption. In case you haven't heard, that'll be her new name if we get to really adopt her. Now get this! Aleeza was also Hannah's case worker for adoption, so we already have a good relationship with her. Is this cool or what!
I joined the Faith Lutheran Church softball team, which plays at the park down the street from my house. Daniel tagged along during the first practice, and the coach let him participate with us. He did quite well for the first time.
Daniel's flight arrived at 5:15pm, but we didn't see him emerge from the gut of the airport until 4 hours later! Apparently the customs folks wanted to interview him, so they detained him for a while. We were so glad to see him at last! Welcome to Atlanta, Daniel! If you want proof it took 4 hours, just look at the expression on Hannah's face.
We are happy to welcome Daniel Won to our home today. This is a picture of him (he's the eldest son) and his family. Daniel is Duk-Sun's high school friend Helen's husband's friend's son. Helen lives in Los Angeles by the way, but Daniel is from the coastal south of South Korea. We'll post more photos of his arrival soon.
March 12th was my sister Connie's birthday. A few days before that she was baptized. I'm so grateful proud of her decision and thankful to God for answering my prayers for her. She admitted that Jesus had not been the Lord of her life and she took steps to make it right. It takes a lot of humility and conviction for a person her age to admit that there was something missing in his or her childhood salvation experience or their life since then. She had done the usual outward things one does to become a Christian as a child, including going down the isle, praying with the preacher, getting baptized and joining the church. Still, there was something missing.
The Bible says we are to repent and put our faith in Jesus and accept Him as Lord and Savior of our life. If we want proof of our salvation, we need to look to see if God has changed us. We will never be perfect in this life, but there should be a changed heart, genuine repentance, the desire for fellowship with God and other Christians, and the fruits of the Spirit. If this evidence is not there, we may want to study and seek advice about our salvation experience or ask what needs to change to see God's hand in our lives.
I think in some cases the person didn't understand enough or have the right heart to have a true conversion at the time they thought they became a Christian. For others, it may be that they were instructed correctly about salvation, but they didn't follow through on their decision. Just as a baby without milk will die, a person who has been born again will suffer quite a lot without the milk of the Word of God. There are many sins that cannot be overcome without fellowship and accountability. God made us to be interdependent with other Christians. If we try to go it alone, we will not get very far.
Below are a couple of videos to offer more food for thought. If you have never repented and put your faith in Jesus, and made him Lord of your life, why not do it today? If you sincerely repented and began following Christ, but lacked the personal involvement of other Christians in your life for encouragement, accountability and guidance, why not repent of this, obey the Lord in this area and begin experiencing the kind of changed life God wants you to have?
Here is a clip of Ray Comfort witnessing to a man who has false confidence about his Christianity.
Here is a clip of Ray Comfort confronting Christians about sharing the gospel.
Here are photos from the trip to my sister Connie's.
It snowed at church last week. Wow! It was coming down and the kids loved it. Trouble is, when we got home, there was almost no snow at our house. Too bad.
Baby S often comes to me when I'm at my desk. Yesterday, she took interest in the Winnie the Pooh mug that was on the desk, so I showed her the Winnie the Pooh theme song on YouTube. There was also this Korean pop song with a Winnie the Pooh slide show for the visuals. Baby S seems to like music. No one at our house but her dances when they hear music.
