Spring is here!!

In Japan, spring is a time of new beginnings for everyone. Not only does the season bring new life as the weather warms and the cherry blossoms bloom, but since Japanese school year runs from April to March, students and teachers prepare for a new year. So students have been busily studying for entrance exams and shops have been full of mothers shopping for school supplies.

Thomas successfully finished his first year of teaching at Kyoto International University Academy and came up to visit for his spring break. We have had a lovely time going on hanami (cherry blossom viewing, see photo) and wedding preparation.

Enjoying grilled squid under the cherry blossom trees.

I was a part of a small local viewing Nefarious. Nefarious is a documentary which depicts slavery in the global sex industry. With the core group generated by this viewing, I and other Not For Sale members in my town, are now in the process of planning a larger, public viewing in June. Our hope is that we can raise awareness in our community about this very real atrocity taking place in our world and right here in Japan, and that through our witness and the message of the redeeming work of the gospel at the end of the film, we will be able to communicate the true solution to all situations of hopelessness.

What else has been going on?

• At Family Life Group, we celebrated Easter with a pancake breakfast, worship service, egg decoration (see photo), and egg hunt. Many people were able to attend, and it was a wonderful time of celebrating our Savior's resurrection together. We were also blessed that Luke Nagai, the boy with leukemia, was able to come with his family. His body has begun to accept the medication, and doctors say he may be released as early as June.
• At Kurume Bible Fellowship, the church I attend, two adults and a baby were baptized on Easter morning. 
• Lewis and Josh, two of the children who attend the Christian Academy in Japan daycare where I work, are preparing to enter Japanese kindergarten next week. They are four and three years old, and do not speak Japanese, so they are a little nervous about their new schools.
• I received a job offer from Jubilee Kids International Preschool, a Christian preschool structured for non-Christian Japanese students near Kyoto. Pending a successful visa application, I will be starting in September as the teacher for the three and four year old class.

The kids loved decorating Easter eggs!

This month, please remember these prayer requests:

• Pray for a good start to the school year for teachers and students. Please especially remember Thomas as he prepares to begin his second year of teaching, and Lewis and Josh as they transition into Japanese school.
• Praise God for the opportunity to show Nefarious here in Higashikurume. Pray that our planning will proceed smoothly and that this will be a successful event.
• Praise God for the healing being done in Luke's body! Pray that he will continue to heal, and that he will be able to leave the hospital permanently as soon as possible.
• Praise God for the baptisms this Easter! Pray that He will strengthen these new Christians in their faith and use them to bring others to come to know Him.
• Praise God for the exciting opportunity at Jubilee Kids! Pray that the visa application will go smoothly, that I can be a blessing to the school and the students, and that God will provide the funds necessary for long-term commitment to ministry in Japan.

Shalom,

Caitlin