Looking ahead to 2026

Happy New Year to you all!

I started 2025 by writing that it wasn't going to be a dramatic year, and it really wasn't, compared to the previous two years (during which we moved countries twice and transitioned two boys to independent living outside of our house). But we did fly to Australia three times during the year, which is more than we've ever done before. It was also our first full calendar year in Japan without any kids with us.

This was the scene outside our apartment when I went
out at about 7.30 on Monday morning to head over to
OMF Japan headquarters for our monthly prayer and
fellowship meeting. About five cm of snow fell on
Friday night and some that was in shade all weekend hadn't melted by Monday morning.

Looking ahead to the next year, the main "big rock" we know about in 2026 is a 10-and-a-half week home assignment (HA) mid-year. In our 25 years in this missionary life, we've done four year-long HAs and one six-month one. Each of those involved a lot of work in Japan as we handed our roles over to others before we left and rented somewhere to live in Australia. In this new phase of our service, we're going to try something doing a much shorter one. There are several reasons for us, but we hope it will mean we can catch up with supporting churches and keen supporters without a big disruption to our ministries in Japan, and it won't mean renting somewhere in Australia. It also means we can keep our apartment here in Tokyo, which is a huge advantage. I'm sure I'll be writing much more about this topic in the coming months, but for now, that's the big thing that we know is coming this year.

But, aside from that, going into 2026 feels like it's going to be even less dramatic. There are few changes in our immediate lives that we can foresee, though we'll be watching our granddaughter grow (from a distance).

Some changes in focus

I'm working on some changes in the things I focus on in daily life, some of which I've listed below.

Lots of reading, as usual, but with a smaller goal to allow for longer books. I've aimed at (and achieved) reading 100 books a year for the last six years. This year I'm aiming at 90, but we'll see how that goes.

Regular walking (and riding) with my husband, but I'm considering if I should add something else to the mix.

Investing more concentrated time in writing is one big change I want to make. I'm pretty skilled at writing short pieces in-between other things in my life, but as I wrote here back in November, I've been challenged about writing a book. But to make progress on that I need to make more regular time in my weeks to write, otherwise this is going to stagnate as a goal. How that will look, I'm not sure, but I'm trying out different ideas and see what progress I can make before I go on the writing retreat in October.

Unlike other recent years, I didn't listen to sermons in English mid-week during 2025 because we've started going to a church that is in English, but I did listen to the whole Bible through the year. I haven't found myself a Bible reading plan yet, but do intend to get back into this again. I haven't set a specific goal, but do intend to continue listening to podcasts by John Dickson (see here: Undeceptions).

Lily pads

It's been a while since I referred to the concept of "lily pads". It's a helpful concept for maintaining mental health and includes things that you've got planned for the future to look forward to. Here are some of my lily pads for 2026 (the one's I know about now):

• trip to Okinawa this month with the high school girls wrestling team from school (you'll hear more about this later in the month)
• missionary women's retreat in March
• personal camping trips in March and October
• writing retreat in October
• the aforementioned HA during which we'll see family and friends and hope that will include our granddaughter

So, let's see what God brings during 2026. No matter what, I know that he goes before me and will be with me and I have no need to fear (Deut. 31:8).

This was on the inside of our toilet door in
November last year. A great verse to read every
time I used that tiny room.

Figuring out what God wants me to do

A close friend recently sent me a link to a very helpful Facebook post. It’s written by Martyn Iles, an Australia Christian who has had an unusually public profile in recent years (in Australia Christians don’t typically get much press). Who he is isn’t as important as the wise things he’s written, so I won’t write any more about him. He wrote this in a Facebook post, but sharing a Facebook post is only helpful if someone has a Facebook profile, so I’ve copied the text here (for my future reference, if nothing else):

How can I know what God would have me do?

When I speak to people personally, some variant of this question is possibly the most common question I am asked.

There is a four principled decision making framework which has never failed me yet.

Importantly, all four principles are to be discerned in the context of sincere prayer about the decision.

1. Circumstances

Your circumstances will change (or not), without your manipulation or control, in a way that enables or reveals the right course of action. Because God is sovereign and works providentially.

2. Scripture

If you are a habitual student of scripture, it is likely that your reading and study will speak into your circumstances in a way that confirms the right course of action. Because God speaks to us reliably in His word.

3. Peace

It may take time - it's often the final confirmation - but ultimately you will be at peace about the right decision. That is to say, it may be hard or daunting, but your conscience will quietly confirm it. Because the Spirit of God works in our conscience.

4. Patience

Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait!!!! STOP RUSHING! The scriptures are packed full with exhortations to "wait on the Lord." There are countless examples of God's slowness in the face of our hurry. Learn the discipline of patience or you will constantly make bad decisions. And you will *never* be worse off, or miss out, because you were patient. If you do, it just means it was never meant to be.

Now, you can be mistaken on one of the above - misreading circumstances, wrongly applying scripture, etc - but it is utterly unusual to be wrong about all four at the same time, especially in the context of patience and prayer.

When all four line up, that tends to be when I act. But often they don't, so I simply resist action, which is very hard.

Now, for matters of very great importance, I may have thought that all four principles were in alignment, yet the gravity of the decision was such that I was still reticent to make it.

In such circumstances, you can do a Gideon. You can pray for special confirmation and clarity - a "fleece." In His grace, God is ordinarily willing to provide it.

The alternative to the above is to plan your own way and make your own decisions, and expect God to catch up. That simply is not a life of faith. (End of the quote)

_____________

(Very annoyed right now because I've just lost several paragraphs here that I'd written here the other day...so on to to remembering what I wrote...)

What we see on earth is but a poor reflection of
what's truly going on (a much worse image than
we see here in a photo of the pond in the Japanese
garden at Mt Coot-tha).

I imagine that many people think that the decision of becoming a missionary must be one of the biggest we've ever made and that other decisions would be easy in comparison. While I could write much about the original decision, I will just say that there have been quite a number of times since then where decision making (and waiting for God's plan) has been hard.

A sample of times when this has seemed especially true in the last 25 years:

• When we were working towards to come to Japan and it took longer than we’d hoped
• When there was no teaching position for David in Japan for five years after we made ourselves available for that
• When my Japanese language ability never made it to a level suitable for working in it
• When I spent more time with sick kids than in doing any kind of outside ministry (or language learning) in our first term in Japan
• When our attempts to help our eldest learn Japanese language and culture by enrolling him in a Japanese primary school failed (we had to move him out after just 15 months)
• When we nearly didn’t get back to Japan in a timely fashion five years ago due to financial reasons
• When one of our sons encountered difficulties significant enough to derail our plan of moving him to Australia in 2021

Right now, as I've mentioned before, we're walking through the situation of seeking affordable rental accommodation for our younger two sons so that they can carry on their lives here while we head back to Japan. For various reasons we want to do that sooner rather than later.

What adds to the difficulty of this is not just that the rental system is under great stress here, but that our "public" lives mean that we've asked lots of people to pray about it, including our church. And people keep wanting updates. I want to jump straight to the end of the chapter and tell them a "success" story . . . but it's taking a while.

I really appreciated the wise older gentleman in our church who asked me last month, "Are you making progress?" 

This was a gentle and discerning way to ask and I could answer a wholehearted "YES". I felt encouraged, rather than needing to explain where we were up to and why we hadn't "succeeded" yet.

Back to the earlier quote, I really appreciate the emphasis on "wait". I am not naturally good at that, in general I tend to barrel ahead at considerable speed. Though I'd have to say that I have grown in this area in the decades since I became an adult. This particular waiting seems to be trying my patience and trust in God more than usual. But I'm trying hard to keep my eyes on Jesus.

I had coffee with a new friend this morning and we reflected on how we often don't know why God is doing something, or what his timing is, but we need to trust him regardless because he's so much wiser, more loving, and more powerful than us. That his thinking isn't the same as ours is clearly seen throughout the Bible, but perhaps no clearer than in the book of Job.

Here are a couple of verses I found along this line:

God’s voice thunders in marvellous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.  (Jobe 27:5 NIV)

‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.' (Is. 55:8–9)

So, we still await the end of this chapter of transitioning our sons to accommodation separate from us. It's going to be a good one! I can't wait to tell you about it!

Waiting with grace?

I started this blog post a couple of weeks, just after I sent out our latest prayer letter. Writing (mostly) monthly prayer letters is something I've been doing for over 23 years now. It's a useful time to reflect on the month past and look toward the month ahead. It would be a normal month when we look back at the calendar and say: "Wow, that only happened this month!" Of course at the end of the calendar year it's traditional to look back also, so I included this brief paragraph at the start of our letter:

For many, including us, this has been a hard year. There are many things that have happened differently to what we’d hoped or planned for. How are you coping? We’ve found comfort in doing the daily things that God’s given us to do and leaning hard on him in prayer about the things that we wish were different. As we come to the end of this year we know that God’s been with us the whole way, holding us and helping us. Let’s acknowledge the hard things, but also be quick to thank God for all he’s done and the hope he continues to give us.

This has been a year of disappointments and angst. Also waiting. That theme has continued to pop up for me in various places. How do we wait and do it with grace? Recently, a friend asked: How do we Christians do it with our hearts right with God, resting in his Sovereignty?

Waiting isn't new to me. I guess we all know about waiting, but somehow missionary life brings a different angle, maybe even a greater challenge to waiting. Just getting to Japan meant disappointment and waiting (we were turned down two, nearly three times for a lack of financial support in 2000). Every time we go on home assignment we wait to find accomodation and wheels, last time we left Japan without an address to go to in Australia. The last two times we've been on home assignment, we've waited for house sitters for this place in Tokyo too. With limited financial resources, we're thrown on the generosity of others more than perhaps we would have been if we had remained in Australia in higher paying jobs.

In some ways it's easier to describe what waiting badly looks like. A lot of times it's due to attitude. Waiting badly can look like complaining, it can look like frantic activity to fill the blank left or to distract ourselves. It can also look like scheming to "fix" the problem and manipulate the situation so that it "works". It can look like worry and even physical sickness that's induced by worry. It can look like insomnia or tears. And yes, I know this because I've got personal experience in waiting badly!

But of course you can't look at someone and easily determine if they are waiting well or badly! However, by talking to them, you might get a glimpse.

Good waiting, in my experience, is much more peaceful. There's a quiet trust in God that this too is in his plan. Waiting well doesn't mean inactivity, but rather seeking what is the right thing to do now. That's been a big challenge for us this year as we've waited, especially, to see how God would guide us for the next steps for our nearly-adult kids.

One key to waiting well is to find pleasure in the now. Find ways to enjoy your current situation. Don't forgo celebration, instead seek out reasons to celebrate, reasons to give thanks. Another key is to find ways to serve others, within our limits, of course. When you're waiting it's easy to turn inwards, to be selfish and self absorbed. But when we turn our thoughts upwards to God and outwards to others we gain a better perspective on our situation.

Some lights we often walk past at night. This
is a little unusual in Japan.

We're about to go away for our traditional pre-Christmas holiday. I've been waiting for this break for too long. I'm thankful God's given me the strength to make it through to now and that I'm not a messy heap on the floor. But I'm also glad he's given me things to do while I waited that kept my eyes off myself (most of the time).

I don't know what you're waiting for, but I do know the Lord who can help. Don't miss him in the midst of the wait.

If you're interested, here are three other blog posts I've written on waiting:

I told our waiting-to-come-to-Japan story is here (a summary, really).

The value of waiting for your prayers to be answered: http://mmuser.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-other-end-of-answered-prayer.html

Waiting expectantly, but like a jellyfish: https://mmuser.blogspot.com/2021/04/waiting-expectantly.html

Thoughts at the end of a 16-week "term"

We're nearly there: at the end of the first "block" of school. In Australia they have four terms: each of 10 weeks. I originally wrote "we are used to", but the truth is we've rarely had our kids in that system, so we really aren't "used to" that anymore, though we grew up in such a system and hanker after it every now and then. 

Here, we get only two breaks of a week or more within the school year. The first one is over Christmas-New Year and is about three weeks. The second is just a week, at the end of March. [Of course we then get a rather long summer holiday of nearly three months! But I honestly would rather have it split up through the whole year.]

School started over 16 weeks ago  we've had just a couple of long weekends in that time. Plus, this year, two hospitalisations during that period. Not to mention that the last four weeks of our summer break was fraught with stress as our middle son, with the assistance of David, completed a whole year subject of high level maths. [Long story about how that happened, but it was much more than we expected.] I was working from home (as usual) during that period, and the daily saga of wondering if he'd get through this mountain of work, and sitting in relatively close proximity to the drama, was stressful.

When the boys were younger it was crazy by this time of the year: fatigue, plus the excitement of Christmas overwhelmed our household in early December. Now the boys are older that is lessened, but we have noted that these older boys are having a bit more difficulty getting out of bed. That's compounded by the fact that it really is nicer in bed than out on these cold mornings, and that the sun doesn't get up until after 6.30 (not as bad as many northern European places, I know, but still, it doesn't help).

A Christmas morning tea in a past year.

Needless to say, we're all looking forward to next week. We're going away for a seven-day break, back to the house we stayed at in July. Loaded up with books, movies, games, and food, we'll apply ourselves again to intense relaxation.

This pre-Christmas holiday week is one of the few traditions that we've managed to maintain as a family. At least "big" traditions. This year it will be a bit strange as we get used to doing it as a family of four, rather than five.

I'm looking forward to time away from the relentless-ness of my work. My never-ending pile of editing, email, and social media responsibilities will be put on hold for a week. And no WiFi will certainly help! I'm also glad this Christmas that we are not looking down the barrel of lots of travel: though seeing family in Australia is always good, for us it means hours and hours of driving. Last Christmas we also were in the midst of transition as we packed up our lives in Australia and shifted focus back to Japan. Not starting 2020 like that will be a huge bonus! But now I'm moving onto an end-of-year post that I can write after Christmas.

I hope the lead up to your Christmas is not too fraught. At Christmas there can often be a lot of pressure to be perfect and to have it all sorted. We see ads and social media posts with happy families that have it all together, with piles of presents or food, and with intricately decorated homes. No one is arguing, or hiding in their room. We don't see the struggles people have with finding time or money or even enthusiasm. We don't see the loneliness that often comes with such a season. We don't see the families that are torn apart with divorce, and the parents who can't see their kids on Christmas day.

If any of the above describes you, please don't despair. The ads and the social media only show a sliver of the truth, not the whole truth. No family is perfect, many out there are hurting. You aren't alone. If you need help, please reach out. To a friend, to a local social service, to a trusted pastor. If any of my personal friends need an ear, know that I'm around on Messenger, or via email if you need me.

We ourselves aren't doing badly. We have friends here, tomorrow night we are celebrating with a few of them. Christmas Day will be quiet, with just the four of us, but we typically connect with family back in Australia via video calls as well! After a busy year we won't be disappointed in a quiet Christmas. It is our first Christmas without our eldest son with us, but then both of us did that to our families when we were in our early 20s, so it's not such a strange thing that he's growing up and doing his own thing.

Well, this has turned out to be a rambling blog post. I hope it gives you some insight into our "on the edge of ordinary" life at the moment. A friend just sent me this video, I thought you might enjoy it too.

Home or not

Notes that two different friends gave us yesterday. Both from people
we didn't know when we came back three years ago.

Where is home? 

That's a good question and one that keeps coming back at people like us.

The best I can say is that we have two homes. We have, now, roots in two places. Different roots, but roots nonetheless.

Consider what I've done this week:

1. I went to the doctor and got asthma medication that will probably last me through the whole of our six months away. Yes, I could get this medication in Australia. But probably it is more expensive there, so I decided to get it here and avoid the hassle of going to the doctor there for that. Our doctor here is about a kilometer from our house and an easy five minute ride. The errand was done in just over an hour, including travel. Our doctor in Australia is more than 20 minutes drive (including an expressway) from where we'll be living.

2. I got a haircut. Again, something I could do in Australia, but I did it here because again it's convenient and what I know. Also cheap (under AU$20). 

Our free "shop".

3. Yesterday we had a see-you-later party. It doubled as a way to get rid of a bunch of food stuffs that we'd not managed to use up. No one who came, came primarily for the giveaways, though, they came to see us. We had 14 adults, 9 kids, and 2 babies come over the course of the afternoon. They all wanted to see us! But most took our food with them too. All of them are expats like us and have been where we are multiple times. There is community in that shared experience.

4. I put roughly 2/5 of my wardrobe into a suitcase this morning. Not all of it.

5. I rode home along our city's rivers this afternoon (after my haircut). Saying goodbye in my heart all the way.

Our corner of Tokyo is particularly beautiful. I ride along our rivers as often as I can
while going about my life. This afternoon I rode here, probably for the last time
for six months. Just gorgeous. Those trees lining the side of the river are Cherry Blossoms
with their summer clothes on.

Considering the above, does it sound like Australia is totally home for us? I don't think so. We definitely have a home here.

But Australia is also home. Consider the things on our to do list (no particular order):

1. Have as many BBQs as possible.
2. See as many good friends as we can reasonably do so.
3. Spend time with family.
4. Spend time at our home church.
5. See a live cricket match.
6. Go to a Sons of Korah concert.
7. Have a hot Christmas.

And even (for me):

• Eat mangoes.
• Buy new underwear (yep, haven't managed to integrate into Japan that much yet, sorry for the TMI).

I'm sure there are many others.

Yep, Australia is home to us too. Part of the ever present tension in our lives is that we can never be in both places at the same time. We always have to be absent from one (and all the people who go with that place). So our hearts aren't just full of anticipation at going to Australia, they have corners of sadness at leaving our home here too.

This is where the two rivers that slice through our city (Higashikurume), join together—just down the road from us.
David and I often ride over that bridge on our way home from church.

Two more sleeps and we will farewell this home-corner of Tokyo. One more sleep after that and we will farewell Japan, but just temporarily.

Anticipation

One thing I love is looking forward to things. I think it is a very special gift that God's given us: the ability to hope, to anticipate. It is said that hope was the key difference between people who made it through concentration camps and those who didn't. I can totally believe that. Without hope, it's hard to get through each day. But indeed God is called the "God of hope": "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13 NIV).

After Christmas in Japan I always look forward to spring. Before I lived in Japan I didn't realised how important the seasons could be to me. 

I find winter in Tokyo challenging, mostly because of the cold (single digits in Celsius, and inside our house is mostly unheated), but also because it is a bit dreary. I know I could be living in a far more dreary place: a place that has a grey, drizzly winter. But I (now) know that that would be a very difficult place for me to live. 

I love sunshine and the bright colours of nature in the warmer months. Winter is dreary in Tokyo, not because we have lots of grey days, but because many of the trees have lost their beautiful, green leaves, leaves which helped to cover up some of the grey dreariness of so much concrete. Also, there are very few spots of colour from flowers. My first two visits to Tokyo were in winter and they really didn't favour me towards the place. We didn't move here for the climate!

So, I look forward to spring, those warmer days full of hope for more warmth and more colour in our days. 

But there is a dark side to spring in Japan, it feels like two steps forward  and one step back, as the days swing between warmer and colder weather. In fact Japanese have a saying about it: san kan shi on, literally "three cold four warm". Yesterday we had an especially cold day, so cold that it snowed! Thankfully I haven't put away my warmest winter gear yet. But it was mentally a bit tough. I kind-of get used to the cold mid-winter, but when the temperature is leaping around I find it much harder.

One advantage of living in the same place for a long period is knowing what you can look forward to in your immediate surroundings. For example, these two trees that I see at least twice a week as I ride to get groceries.

 This first tree is a magnolia. I know the photo isn't much to look at, it was a dreary day when I took the photo, but it was a joy to see it blooming on Monday.

The second is a type of cherry blossom, a weeping-kind. I love to see this every spring!

I found these as I rode home from church on Sunday, just down the road from us. I'd forgotten these bulbs were there. Such a joy to see them, especially yesterday when the sky was unseasonably chucking down snow.

Now speaking of looking forward to things. In the midst of everything, we've been working on plans for entering Australia. We've made plans and booked accomodation for a week's holiday in-between here and settling in Queensland. Exciting plans that have finally come together this week! I'm looking forward to that time very much.

More answered prayer

I've been metaphorically holding my breath during this last week. The first week, indeed month of school Jan/Feb were so challenging this year that I dreaded the start-up blues happening again after two weeks of holidays.

However my worry was unfounded. They've had a great start, all of them.

But backing up a little, I wrote in late February a little about our struggles with one of our boys. At that time I wrote: 

This Saturday it's only four months till we go back to Japan. And at times we're wondering how we're going to make it through the four months. My husband says, "One day at a time." I say, "And on the prayers of others." So I've confided more of the details to a few close friends and am relying on their prayers.

And looking forward to seeing the answer to those prayers!

It would be remiss of me to not acknowledge that we're seeing answered prayer. The particular boy I wrote about that day is coping better with everyday life and school. Praise God!

With only nine weeks and one day left of this chapter in Australia, we're very conscious that Japan is close. It comes the time of increasingly mixed feelings (just like this time last year when we faced coming back to Australia). We're dealing with a lot of details, both sides of the ocean and actual flights, so in many ways we're busy with practical details that keep us anchored. It's a blessing to have things to keep us busy.

However it doesn't stop the flights of thought: "Oh, I can't wait till I get back to my grapefruit spoon in Japan." Yes, I did actually say that this morning. I've heard the boys talking similarly.

But back to the details: this afternoon I'm working again on my cross-stitch. I'm nearly done, nearly able to take it to the framer, and get them to do their amazing stuff! But I need to get back to finishing it off, another of my goals for this home assignment.

Whole gamut of emotions

Approximately four months from now we'll be in an aeroplane headed for Australia. In an IM conversation yesterday, a friend wrote:

I hope everything's coming together for your home assignment. I feel stressed even thinking about it.

Here's an extended reply to a question like that:

Moving into this house. Our entry looked like this (after a while)!

Hating the process of upheaval.

Happy to be going to our home country, where most things are just a little bit more familiar and easier.

Sad about saying goodbyes here.

Placated that many of the goodbyes are actually, "See you later."

Excited about seeing friends and family that we've missed while being away.

Depressed at how much there is to do.

Impatient to see it all over and us settled on the other side.

Relieved that I'll be able to speak English for 12 months.

Thrilled to see some things starting to fall in place.

Daunted by the pile of things to get completed.

Lightheaded about the possibilities in Australia. (Like writing and editing courses for me, wrestling club for the boys.)

Grieved at missed opportunities here while we're away.

Enthusiastic about new opportunities we'll find in Australia.

Fearful about how the boys will "land".

Joyful anticipation at being able to easily buy things that we can't here.

Apprehension at facing large Australian supermarkets again (so much choice).

Nervous because I know that all the above emotions are only going to intensify as the time draws closer.

Does that give you a broader picture about how I'm feeling? I'm usually a pretty steady person, emotionally, and times like this I don't like because I get a bit more thrashed around than usual!

Waiting

I'm feeling a bit at sea again today. I think I'm in a bit of a trough between peaks of excitement. There's wrestling, of course, the next meet is tomorrow night. But also coming up is: 

• the changing of bedrooms on the weekend (see yesterday's post), 
  
• an entertaining night on Friday to look forward to (the Seniors put on their annual Talent Show fundraiser for their March trip to Thailand), 
• and a fun Australia Day gathering on Sunday evening.

Plus I'm waiting. I've got someone interested in taking on the Managing Editor's position. Yay! But she and her husband are taking some time to consider it. I'm waiting.

I'm also waiting for a number of other things: people to get back to me on various questions related to the publication projects I'm working on, and waiting for the next round of submissions to come in for the magazine (due next Friday).

Then there's longer-term waiting to 

• begin packing up,
• know what will happen with this house, and our car,
• find out where we'll be living in Australia and what car we'll be driving, 
• find out how our boys fit into life there, and
• know what this next phase of our lives will look like.

I tend to thrive a little on excitement and the adrenaline of wrestling is clearly messing with my brain, but obviously our upcoming transition is beginning to work havoc as well.

There are things I could be or should be working on, but I'm really having trouble working up the enthusiasm to do so. Grrr. It's time to head to the gym and have lunch. Perhaps after that I'll feel more motivated.

Dizzy from remembering

Oh my, I've just made myself dizzy by writing our prayer letter. Every month I write a prayer letter and one "column" is "On the Home Front" where I write about what we've all been up to in the last month. It normally looks a little crazy, but this month is just insane. Here's an edited version of what I've written:

To say March has been busy would be an under-statement. It was rather like musical chairs around the dining room table, and difficult to keep up with everyone’s schedules.

To add to the craziness, our younger two started karate classes! 

  Our eldest went with his class to Kyoto and Nara overnight. He had a great time, although is now trying to complete the project that went with the trip: a detailed scrapbook about what they saw (which included much history). Earlier in the month he went on three day youth group camp in the snow and had an outrageous time.

  David held the fort while Wendy went away for two nights to the women’s retreat. His absence for nine days in Thailand, gave Wendy plenty to do at home. It got even stranger as  trip away was during David’s absence. So for a couple of days it was only Wendy, and the younger two at home. 

  The same day David returned from Thailand, our 7 and 10 y.o.s left for soccer camp, but they missed each other by half an hour. So David, Wendy, and our 13 y.o. had a very quiet weekend without them at the start of CAJ’s Spring Break.

  Thank you for your prayers this month!

B is where we're headed.

In Christ, David and Wendy

Tomorrow, though, we're going away. We're starting the 2013 camping season a little bit early! Today is a bit chilly at 11 degrees Celsius, but the rest of the week is forecast to be warmer than that, even up to 20 degrees on Thursday, so we're hoping for a joyful departure from the city for a few days.

I've warned the boys that tonight we're drawing up a list that will cover almost all the jobs required of us over the next few days and they will be volunteering for jobs! Hopefully this will make their responsibilities very clear to them and we'll all be able to relax a little more.

More camping thoughts

Time for contemplation

I have some other random thoughts about camping that didn't make it into yesterday's summary.

It was great to see Japanese families out camping together. It is easy to generalise about how bad a state Japanese families are and how bad fathers are at being with their families. It was, therefore, really lovely to see dads out camping with their families.

We had two older guys camping on the next plot to ours. They did little else except talk! From dawn to past dusk. A short silence while they fell asleep, then they snored! But it occurred to me as I lay in the tent that the noise wasn't much more than at home in Tokyo. Actually we don't hear much of the neighbours here, despite being only centimetres from houses on both sides. In summer with all the windows open our bedroom is the place when we hear the most noise at night-time. Often we hear conversations and occasionally an older lady going off about something! Usually at about 9.45 we hear a man blowing his nose very loudly, probably in the bathroom.

It was very satisfying seeing our most conservative child relax and enjoy camping. He doesn't cope with new experiences easily. On this occasion his biggest beef was the insects, but that faded as the time went on. Actually you could tell we have city kids who don't have a backyard to play in. As soon as the tent went up they were inside. They weren't really sure what to do with "the great outdoors" that surrounded them. Again, that improved a little over the two days. We're hoping that next time they'll be even more bold in exploring and enjoying the outdoors.

Next time it won't be as new an experience, the boys (and their parents) will know more of what to expect and we'll be starting to establish a routine. Our kids are always easier to handle when they're in a routine and not confronting different experiences. I know they are already looking forward to the BBQ and cooking marshmallows and Doughboys again! 

This is what I slept on!

I'm know I'm looking forward to it, we just need to find me a more comfortable sleeping mattress. Just a plain old air-bed would do, but we haven't found a single single air-bed yet!

Thoughts turning to Japan

Now that our big summer adventure adventure is over (summary: visit family across Queensland for Christmas, do Scripture Union camp, take family holidays) our thoughts are turning to the rest of the year. The biggie in 2010 for us is, of course, returning to Japan. No one is letting us forget, either, the question frequently gracing our interactions with others: "So, when are you going back?" The way I think of it is that people are thinking of how much longer they have to put up with us hanging around OR they're wondering if they can already say goodbye and forget about us. Either way (or possibly neither), we don't need much encouragement to turn our thoughts to Japan. Our boys are missing their Lego and other toys which were packed away and stored with 95% of our belongings. They're missing friends (and we are too). We're not yet tired of this crazy deputation lifestyle, but it is going to start to get tiresome as we tell the same stories again and again. Not to mention answer those questions, especially..."How much longer till you go?" We've started to accumulate some of those things which we cannot get in Japan and specifically want to take back with us, like an ironing board cover, two-handed-oven mitts, an Australian atlas etc. Later on I'll get over-the-counter medication stuff stocked up on too. Oh yes, Golden syrup, Promite and Vegemite as well. I've also been shopping for summer clothes for myself, which has been fun. Now I'm waiting for some winter specials to replace my aging jumpers and skivvies. I noted with interest that stirrup pants are back in...I must be getting old, I still have some stirrup pants from last time they were 'in'! Ah well, I guess I'll just be ahead of the curve this time, instead of the other way around. But, please don't plan our funeral yet. We WILL be around until early July, even if we start planning for our return early!

Masks, Musicals and Manilla

I had some reverse culture shock this morning while shopping. The lady in front of me had a mask on. A common sight in Japan. Not common here. In fact someone told me that they daren't wear a mask because you get shunned like you have the plague. I didn't say a thing to the lady in front of me, but obviously she was feeling pretty self conscious. She volunteered, "Don't worry, I don't have IT." ('IT' being Swine Flu.) She continued, "I've been sick for so long that I'm just trying to avoid picking up any more bugs." I wonder if Swine Flu has been more rampant here just because of the anti-mask culture. On a lighter note. I've just bought my husband's birthday/our anniversary present. Tickets to Les Miserables (how to I put that proper bit over the 'e', I wonder?). I'm happy. I've seen it once before, but he hasn't. It is a marvellous production and I'm so pleased with myself for having figured out a way to celebrate his birthday. I'm leaving for Manilla on his birthday for a week - leaving him in the middle of school holidays with the boys. Pretty bad timing, but not much I could do about it! Why am I going to Manilla? Tune in next time...suffice to say, it is a bit of a career change.

Looking forward to home

Our second term in Japan has been categorised by a growing sense of contentment - that "we're finally where we are supposed to be". This has been matched by a gradual decrease in "I wish I were still in Australia" which is otherwise known as homesickness. After nearly eight years away, you'd expect that, I guess. At least it sounds healthy! Imagine living and working for years in a foreign culture by your own choice without at least feeling it was somewhat tolerable. It doesn't sound good, does it? On the contrary, we're anticipating our arrival in Australia with joy. A couple of months ago when we bought out plane tickets, we were excited, though restrainedly so. As our departure draws near, I note within myself again the stirring of excitement! What is so good about Australia, you might ask? Here's a list of the things we most miss or look forward to:

• 'Australian' food eg. beetroot, sausages, sausage rolls, pies, Mars Bars, mangoes, sultana grapes, custard etc
• Freedom of expression. I long to be able to talk to anyone and to be able to freely express my thoughts. I feel quite limited here, like not being able to easily walk into a bank and express my needs. That feeling is unsettling and even demeaning - I'm reduced to the capacity of a preschooler!
• Being able to read anything (which goes with the above, really). With this goes libraries, bookshops, newsagencies etc.
• English church services
• Shopping centres. They really aren't the same here. No good ones near us, at any rate.
• Friends and family who've known me longer than the time I've been in Japan.
• Summer Christmas.
• Cricket (of course!).
• Long open roads.
• Working together with my husband again. Him not having a 8-5 job will be lovely. We complement each other in the work we'll do in Australia and we're looking forward to being together more of the time.
• This time we're looking forward to all our children being in school!!!
• Being Australian. Here our identities get a little muddled, along with our vocab and accent. We're looking forward to being amongst our own kind again.
• Space - here everything is tight. The roads, the shops, the houses...