New Years in Tottori

Dear Family and Friends,

This New Years I had the opportunity to go with a Japanese friend to her hometown in Tottori. Tottori is beautiful because it is right by the sea of Japan. It's also famous for its sand dunes, but unfortunately they were covered with snow so we didn't go there. I had heard that there were camels at the sand dunes, so I wanted to ride one, but not during the winter months! It was pretty cold, and the winds were strong, so the waves were amazing!

This is my host family. They were very kind to me :)

So I got to try some traditional Japanese New Years food, called Osechi.
Every type of food has meaning and significance. I liked some of it :D

It was a good chance to see what a Japanese family was like, what they do during New Years, and enjoy lots of new things. I had lots of chances to speak Japanese too! Hopefully I can remember some of the new words I learned!

Birthday Gift

For my Birthday this year Tsuguto and I got a special treat! One of the Pastor's and his wife gave us two coupons to go on a mini ocean cruise around Kobe, which included tea and cake. We started at 4pm and went for 2 hours, so we were able to see the sunset and it was very beautiful :) It was really special for both of us and I'm very thankful for the people who love and care about me here in Japan!!

This year has come with new challenges. I thought I was starting to understand the Japanese way and culture, but there are always new surprises. They are very private people, so it takes a long time to get to know my students well. My Japanese friends are very helpful and have tried to explain why things are done the way they are.

On a good note, I played piano in two different churches this month and last week for the first time a student came to church to hear me play. This was big news for me because I have been teaching at this church for 2 years now and no one has ever come before!! This year it was the doctor from my advanced English class that came, and he is interested in learning more about Christianity and the Bible so please pray for Him. Also another student told me recently that he started attending church and has gone now about 5 times and he's enjoying it! PTL!!

So after hearing this news I can't complain about my struggles. Hopefully they are valuable lessons for me and ways for me to better understand my students. Thanks for all your prayers and support and Birthday presents! It made my day!

I love you all,

Melanie

Update! Cheesecake and Children!

Well, we had such a good time making and eating "Canadian cheesecake" that I wanted to share it with you all! :)

During our class on Friday we made cheesecake and because it needed to sit overnight, I invited the ladies to church on Sunday and then to eat cheesecake afterwards, which they all thought was a great idea. Me too!

The ladies hard at work!

During the service I shared my testimony and
explained how to become a Christian.
It was my hope and prayer that they would start to think
more about Jesus, and becoming a Christian

This is the pastors wife, and she translated my
testimony into Japanese

The cheesecake turned out really well, and I made the topping
myself from frozen berries bought at Costco!

smiles all around!

Delicious in Japanese= Oishii!

Afterwords, we had a kids program. Our team was the
Panda's. The little boy in the front is a new student
and he was very excited to join the party for the first time!!!

Thank you for all your prayers and support. It meant a lot to me to know that you were praying for a successful day, and that God heard your prayers. I had a nice talk with the ladies that came to church. It was the first time for some of them. Continue to pray for the students, the pastor and church members, and for me. Becoming part of a different culture has some challenges and I want to be sensitive to the needs of the people. I'm learning that building relationships takes time, but its so worth it. Arigatou!

Thanksgiving!

This year we had a big feast at Japan Mission for the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday. It's better this way because the American Thanksgiving holiday is way to close to Christmas, so then we barely loose the weight from Thanksgiving and we're putting it on again at Christmas!

We made these cool-looking turkey's out of my feet and hands.
It was a great way to tell them a little about Thanksgiving Day!

The Star Swing

This weekend Tsuguto and I found a beautiful park near Ikoma. It was a gorgeous day so we decided to check it out. Here is a huge suspension bridge in the middle of the forest! Amazingly, it was only 15 minutes from our house!!

Nara

This is my new coworker Renata from South Africa
We went to Nara together

sight-seeing in Nara

Deer in Nara- safe???

Relaxing in the sunshine :)

Found a unique cafe and delicious cheesecake!

Where I stayed :)

So here are a few pictures of where I stayed in Shanghai. Not too bad hey?? :)

View from the 11th floor

I think this is Shanghai's city line