New Year Reflections
It's hard to believe that not only is it 2023 already, but January is almost over! The last few weeks have flown by, but have been filled with many sweet opportunities of connection and mentoring with my students. Whether it is a conversation over a meal, time with my middle school girls during our discussion at youth group, or a Zoom call with students not currently in Japan, I have been so blessed by these chances to listen, encourage, and facilitate self-reflection. While most of the fall semester felt so packed and busy that I barely had time for anything extra, January has been a slower month and I have had some flexibility in my schedule that has allowed me to pursue deeper relationships with those around me.
After much prayer, time in the Word, and feedback from my fellow team members, I have joyfully decided to transition to long-term status with MTW. What this means is that I will still return to the States this summer for my planned home ministry assignment. Lord-willing, I will spend from this early July through early January 2024 in the U.S. visiting churches and supporters and spending time with my family. Then if I am fully funded, I will return to Japan next January and be back at CCSI for the second semester of the 2023-24 academic year. While this current term has been three years, my next term will be four years (with regular, shorter visits to the States during summers). Please join me in praying for this application and interview process over the next month or so. And also please join me in praying for the Lord to provide any extra support that I may need, as long-term missionary budgets are usually slightly higher than short-term ones.
In my language learning journey, I have reached a new milestone that is simultaneously exciting and frustrating. With context clues and careful listening, I feel like I can understand a great deal of what is happening around me in daily conversations. I can successfully make phone calls and schedule appointments. And I can follow a lot of television shows. These are all really exciting steps and I am so thankful for the way the Lord is using my study. But at the same time, I often feel like I have no voice in Japanese. I may be following the conversation and have things I could contribute, but a combination of self-doubt and a lack of grammar and vocabulary skills often render me mute. Please be praying for the courage to speak up and for the words to flow.
While I am discouraged that I still can't communicate the way I want to, I am nevertheless so blessed to see the ways the Lord is using my ministry, even when it is mostly limited to English. I so cherish the students' happy smiles and greeting hugs before morning devotions, the laughter and silliness when I eat lunch with my high schoolers, and the little ways that show that my students are growing (like when a usually pretty self-absorbed 7th grader happily complies with a request to help clean up some spilled trash).
These things are small, but they speak to the larger impact that faithfully walking alongside my students, patiently listening, and compassionately loving them can make in their lives. One of the students who graduated from CCSI back in June thanked me recently for our classes. He shared that he had been worried about college, but as he finished his first semester, he realized that he was well-prepared because of our classes together. And my prayer and hope for my students is not just that they can be academically prepared for their future studies or careers, but that they can also have the foundation and depth in their faith to equip them for when they leave the safety of the CCSI community. Thank you for your prayers and support that make it possible for me to serve in this way. I am so grateful for each of my students and for every moment that I have with them. And I am so grateful for each and every one of you.
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