August

Greeting from Caitlin and Thomas Berney!

It has been quite the summer! Not only did we return to America and make wonderful memories with family friends, we also got married! It was a wonderful trip, and we are so thankful to everyone who made it possible.

We were married in Westminster, California on July 27 (see photo). We were blessed by all of the family and friends that came out to celebrate with us there, and those who joined us for a separate celebration in Oregon in August.

We got married!

We also had a lovely honeymoon driving up the west coast from Los Angeles to Portland. It was a great chance to relax and get to know each other on a new level and we got ready to start this new part of our lived together. We also enjoyed seeing this part of America up close!

At beautiful Crater Lake in Oregon.

We returned to Japan on August 21, and have been spending time getting Caitlin moved into our apartment and finding a rhythm for our life together. Caitlin started teaching the three and four year old class at Jubilee Kids International Preschool this past Monday, and Thomas will return to classes at KIU Academy this Monday. We're excited to be serving God at these schools and to see what this new season brings!

What else has been going on?

• Caitlin has been in the process of having her visa status changed. There have been a few set backs, but we hope to have it all figured out in the next couple of weeks.
• We started taking Japanese lessons at the city hall. We're nervous about the extra work involved in studying language again, but excited at the prospect of increasing our ability to communicate.

This month, please remember these prayer requests:

• Praise God for our new life together! Pray that we will grow together and be a blessing to each other and to those around us.
• Praise God for safe travels! Pray that Caitlin will adjust quickly to her new work environment and that fall classes at KIU will get off to a great start.
• Pray that Caitlin's visa process will be wrapped up quickly
• Praise God for the opportunity for language study! Pray that we will rise to the challenge and learn quickly.

Shalom,

Caitlin and Thomas