This is a picture of the school gym uniform that they wear year round. This picture was taken recently so you can imagine how cold it is!! I dont think I would ever complain about dress codes in America... 

January 10th was "Coming of Age" day for the Japanese women who are 20 years old. They all dress up in their kimonos as seen here to celebrate the day. They are so beautiful! 

We had a great time visiting the Oji Zoo near our home. They have all kinds of animals and are known for the pandas they have there. It was a great time. 

Mark and a little buddy. 

These animals from Madagascar "like to move it, move it, they like to move it." 

One of Jennifer's favorites was the koala bears. They look like cute old men. 

This is what penguins look like in Japan...HAHA 

PROTECTION

" I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, My God, in Him I will trust." Today was a national holiday in Japan so we made our way to Mino Mountain to once again see the monkeys and feed them from our car. We decided to drive up the mountain and visit the waterfalls. We parked in a parking lot with several other cars and began the fairly long walk to the falls. Halfway to the falls, we decided that we in fact did not want to make the long walk down since we could see them from where we were. So, we walked back to the car and as we opened our doors we were suprised to find a Japanese man in our passenger seat beginning to look through Jennifer's purse. It caught us both off guard and for an instance we thought we were getting in the wrong car. When we realized it was OUR CAR and he was in it, Jennifer almost threw up. The man began to say "Gomennasai, motte nai" which means " I am sorry I did not take anything." However he was not quick to exit the car and it was a very awkward moment leaving us not knowing what to do. Mark then held Jennifer's purse and said "kore wa dai jobu deskah?" which means is this purse OK? or in other words, "did you steal from this purse?" He said no and then exited the car. Mark gave him a Bible and told him Jesus loved him and I just hid behind Mark because I was scared! All this to say, we praise God that He did not allow us to go all the way down to the falls and we returned before our things were stolen. (yes we had locked the car, for all of you wondering) It is such joy to serve a God who protects His children. We pray this man will not only experience our forgiveness, but also God's. WHAT A DAY!!!

Why are you here?

"Why are you here?" is a common question we get asked here in Japan. It is similar to a question some people from America may ask.."why are you THERE?" We received a Christmas card from my grandparents recently with a verse that answers that question... "Proclaim His glory to the nations, His mighty deeds to all peoples." Psalm 96:3 AMEN..this is why we are here...why are you where you are?

Amagi

Mark and I just returned from a 4 day trip to Amagi. We went to meet up with all the other missionaries in Japan with the IMB. We celebrated families that have served here for 10-30 years and heard from two couples that are retiring this year. It was a great time of Spiritual Renewing and being reminded of our call to do God's work here in Japan. We talked about brokenness, holiness, and faithfulness. WOW...it was challenging and encouraging. We wish we could bottle up all we are learning and experiencing here and bring it to the USA. Know that God is here among us and we expect Him to do great things here in Japan as well as in us this new year. Please continue to pray..."the prayers of a righteous man are both powerful and effective"..we have felt your prayers in 2005 and need them for 2006. We love you all.....