They that were afar off are made nigh

Can I call on you for more prayers again?

Tues., Joyce will be going up to mainland Japan for the Bible School graduation. It turns out God wanted me to stay in Okinawa for something else--and it is for this I am soliciting your prayers.

Wed., my cousin Rumiko, pictured on the left before leaving for Bible School, will be coming to stay here.

She is the cousin on my Mom's side who labored for the Lord on the island of Izena even after her husband passed away. Now in her 70's, she lives on social security in an apartment on the southern part of the island. I feel the Lord has given her a special gift to reach souls.

Rumiko's deceased husband's sister will be bringing her here Wed. by bus.

Rumiko has felt a burden for Kazue, our cousin on Dad's side. We've prayed God would open up a way for the two to meet and talk.

Since she lives 3 mins.' walk away, and we could think of no other way to do it, we decided to simply ask if they might be able to meet. They are cousins--distant relatives, after all.

Rumiko & Grampa Nagata; Little Kazue and Grampa Kawasaki (that's Daddy!)

Some readers may remember Grampa Nagata, who came from Hawaii to help work with the elderly in Okinawa. He ended up leading his brother to salvation and then his granddaughter--Rumiko! Unfortunately, Kazue did not have a grandfather who knew the Lord to show her the way of salvation. Grampa Kawasaki, the wealthiest man in the village (he was responsible for taking in my Dad and family during the Depression), could not pass on eternal life to those he loved and cared for.

Perhaps after Tues.' talk, these ladies, formerly mere distant relatives, will find they are, in Christ, inseparable relations forever. Would you pray with us this be so?

BEARDED LADY

A Bearded Lady came for my grandson Yusei's Birthday Celebration in 2023?! Well, to tell you the truth, I'd taken a photo of the family in the kitchen and drew a picture of it. (Last picture of post.)

But I'd stayed up the night before making preparations for the day so got real sleepy while doing the sketch, and I found I couldn't concentrate. Instead of drawing simple shadows under the nose and chin, I ended up giving myself a moustache and beard!

Actually, my favorite picture of Yusei is when he was several months old and still in his baby crib. He'd been having a crying fit when nothing his mother did seemed to settle him down. Exasperated, she'd dumped him in the crib and gone out to the kitchen. I took off my glasses and quietly scolded him in English about how much God, his parents, his grandparents loved him anyway. Yusei, of course, doesn't understand English, much less speak Japanese yet, but he seemed to listen, amazed, and even smiled. Unbeknownst to me, my daughter got the whole thing on video behind me.

Today is Yusei's 4th birthday. My prayer is that he wouldn't do as I did working himself silly with efforts to make life succeed, but one day find a Heavenly Father to call His own so that he too would know a smile that could never be taken away from him.

But I Looked for Carp, Not Minerals...

I couldn't find it! Usually, the local church worship service is streamed on Discord, but this morning, the church icon wouldn't show on Discord...I looked and looked until I managed to find it.

YESSS--! I KNEW it had to be here! Then I looked forward to the honey I knew my heart was going to get treated to for a while.

That was what I remembered doing at the park up in Iwatsuki. I'd go to the creek, to a certain spot just around the bend where I KNEW there were carp under the brush and peered hard.

At first, I couldn't see anything, but after a while, I would see something move and then something else.

Then I could see them clearly, sweetly--about four or five carp--because I was EXPECTING to see them there. Other people walking thru' the park would look in the water in the exact same place but see absolutely nothing. These people would scratch their heads, look at me kinda funny, and walk on. Of course, they would never hang around to see the baby carp come out from the back or witness delightful rare antics of swimming things!

EXPECT God's blessings, we're told, and "mine for wisdom as for silver, gold, or precious stones. (Job 28)" But I know how to look for carp in the water, not mine for minerals in the earth...