Do you have a job in Japan?

Yes I do. Here are the major "hats" I wear in Japan:

(Well I wear these first two no matter where I am). I'm grateful that my roles are largely home-based and flexible which means I can be around before and after school and on weekends for my family.

I'm a writer. I haven't written a book, but I've had many stories, articles and devotionals published in a variety of publications and periodicals. I write non-fiction, much like this blog.

It is my writing that led me into one of my main roles as the Managing Editor of Japan Harvest, a quarterly English-language magazine for and by missionaries to Japanese people. 

As I worked with missionaries I could see that some needed help with their writing. So I developed and taught writing workshops in various places in Japan.

With some experience in publishing, I've used my skills to help OMF Japan with publishing projects like the 31 Days of Prayer for Japan.

Another small role I have is responding to people who contact OMF Japan via our website: http://omf.org/asia/japan/. This is a traffic-directing role where I point people in the right direction. It takes a little bit of the strain off our leaders. I've continued in this role while in Australia.

I've done a little volunteer Occupational Therapy work at the school where my husband teaches (and boys study).

This is one of my favourite "hats", another one I can wear because my roles are flexible and based at home. I get to be a friend to a number of people, Japanese people as well as missionaries and expats. It's been a real joy to share in other people's lives, especially when I know how easy it is to be lonely in another land.

So these are my "hats". I've taken them to many of the groups we've spoken to these last 12 months. They've been a helpful, concrete metaphor to assist in explaining what I do with myself in Japan. Not just what I've done, but what I'm going back to do when we get back to Japan.

But as we're now finished our official speaking, I've taken the signs off them and am preparing to give them away: to friends or back to second-hand stores.