Why it's good even when it's not so good...

Well, it has been a while. Since I got back from my brother’s wedding, it has been pretty hectic and exhausting. But not so much for me as for two of my good friends here. One of them is Ann White. Ann and I were friends when we were at OC together and now she is here teaching English in a city about 30 minutes by train from the city where I teach English. She has been sick to her stomach literally for over a month and a half which is forcing her to make a trip back to the U.S. to see if her doctor can help her. She went through something similar about 2 years ago which kept her in the hospital for a whole summer. It wasn’t pleasant then and it certainly isn’t pleasant for her now considering she can’t keep any of her food down, she is incredibly malnourished because of this, she is always feeling sick, and the doctors here really aren’t helping any. Please pray for her – for her safety in returning to the States, for her doctor so that he can help her get better, and for her physical and spiritual well-being.
Another friend of mine, Blake Blackwell, just found out last Friday night that his mother has cancer. They had to do surgery to remove some of the cancer, but there is still more in intestines they can’t remove, so they will start chemotherapy as soon as she is recovered enough from the surgeries. Of course this is a very trying time for Blake and his family, especially since Blake is so many thousands of miles away teaching English here in Japan. Please pray for the Blackwells.
Many of you who read this blog know my two friends who need prayers and many of you don’t, but please join with me and so many others in praying for them.


Onto brighter things, I was reminded yesterday (yet again) why I am here teaching English and why I am so blessed by God. Above are some of my 6th grade students trying to make kanji with their bodies. They ask me “What day?”, I say a day of the week in English, and they proceed to make the Japanese kanji character for that day with their bodies. I seriously prayed in the morning before work that this game would be fun and educational for them (you never know what the “cool” 6th graders are going to decide to like or not). It was incredibly enjoyable for me, for the teachers I taught with, and for the majority of my 5th and 6th grade students. It was especially funny to watch them get creative while trying to make the kanji for Friday (金).