Moving Day

After 30 months of traveling in a minivan on deputation, 7 months of living with family members and then one month of living with the Winters - On January 28, 2012 we moved into our very own apartment in Japan!!  It is 736 square feet of our own space!! 

After the first week in Japan Mike began looking for a place for us to rent on the internet.  He jokingly said - "I am going to rent the first place we see.  I don't care what it looks like.  If it has four walls and a roof, I am going to take it."  Now being the wife and mother, knowing that we had certain needs, I said, "No you will not!!!  We will look at as many places as we need to until we find the PERFECT PLACE!!!"  So the next morning, Mike heads out with Mike Winters to go talk to a realtor about a place to rent.  About two hours later, they call and say they found a place and wanted me to look at it.  I went with the attitude that it would be OK but not perfect.  It couldn't be, it was the first place we were looking at.

We arrived at a small apartment.  It was on the first floor.  It had three bedrooms.  It had a small yard.  It was across the street from a park.  It was a block from the church.  It was three blocks from two stores. They were not asking for any deposit.  They didn't even want Key Money {in Japan you have to put down at least a month of rent to get the keys to the apartment - on top of the depoist money.  This can all total about 6 months rent.}  They had promised to re-wallpaper the apartment (no extra cost).  They had promised to re-do the hardwood floors.  The apartment was perfect.  The apartment was an answer to my prayers.  We sent in the application and then we waited three weeks for them to finish what they had promised.

 Eli and Jonah very happy to be in there new room!!

 Rachal on her side of the room.

 Taken from the kitchen facing the livingroom.

(Alyssa, Rachal, Becky, Kayla)

 Noah's side of the room. 

(About an hour after moving in we found out

Noah is allergic to the flooring and had

to move to the room with hardwood floors)

 Mine and Mikes room

 Noah and Alyssa watching the men unload the new refrigerator.

 From the livingroom looking into the kitchen.

(Becky is translating my instructions to the oven)

 Moving in the new frig

 The shower and bath tub. 

 It's starting to look like a home!! 

 Noah and Ethan playing Lego's

(you can tell Noah is not feeling good)

 Rachal and Kayla working on Rachal's room.

 Jonah and Eli's beds and toys

 Rachal loves PINK!!!

 Jonah's bed

 Eli's bed

Noah's bed

So very blessed to have such a great place to live.  The next post will be a video tour of the apartment.  Thanks for all the prays and support.  We feel so loved!!



The day I did the same laundry - twice

A "normal" day for me here starts with me washing a load of laundry.  After the laundry has washed, I hang my laundry out to dry.  No dryer for me!!!  So rain or shine, snow or sleet, I hang out the laundry.  I have two poles right outside the patio door for hanging laundry on.  On rainy days I hang the laundry inside the house.  I hang them on curtain rods.  But no matter what the weather is I must hang my clothes to dry.

On this particular Tuesday I put all my laundry outside.  I was very thankful for the sun.  (funny thing is when you are in Japan, a good sunny day for drying laundry can make you very happy)  The two days before had been rainy and damp.  I was glad to be able to hang the laundry out.  About 30 minutes later I went to check and see how things were going.  It was windy this day too.  (Extra blessing - clothes dry faster)  My towels had blown off the pole and were in a mud puddle.  So this little go get'em girl said, "OK no big deal it's early.  I will re-wash them and try this again."  So in the house they came and back in the washer they went.  Then after the wash and rinse, I hung them BACK on the laundry poles.  This time I knew they would stay.  I was sure I had them secure.  So I head off to do my other chores around the house.  I come back an hour or so later and guess what??  My towels are in the mud - AGAIN!!!!  I don't know why, but I just burst into tears!! I was so upset.  I just kept saying, "I don't know how to be a Japanese housewife!  I only know how to be American.  What are we doing here?"  I was talking more to God than myself.  I was angry and upset and homesick.  I wanted to see a GE dryer so bad right then.  I would have given just about anything at that moment to see one. 

Later that afternoon, while I was cooking dinner, Jonah came in the apartment.  He was beaming and said, "Mom, I made a friend at the park.  We are talking!!"  He had met a girl around 8 yrs old.  She was not afraid of the American kids.  She was trying to talk to them.  My kids would write their name in Japanese in the sand and she would write her name.  She would laugh when the kids mispronounced words and she would correct them.  The kids were so happy to have made a friend!!  I have to admit I was humbled and convicted.  I may not know how to be a Japanese housewife but God can show me.  And I do know why we are here.  It's because of the Japanese people.  It's because of the little girl who became my kids first Japanese friend.  Her name is Yuma. 

This is my laundry hanging outside to dry