A PARTIAL REPORT

I asked you to pray God would keep the temperature down and my health up to be able to make it out to church today. 

Altho' they have made sure I can always "fellowship" via  livestream (like on the left), there are some things that can be done in person only. So...

I asked God to make today's visit to physical assembly possible. Well, I'm sure you've heard the Biblical phrase, "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think". May I give, in this post, a partial report of the answers to our prayers? Mrs. Kishimoto, the lady in the middle of the photo, offered to pick me up for the worship service.

Of course, the obvious first answer to prayer was that altho' Okinawa is already in air-condition weather, God winked, allowing a sprinkling mist to envelope the island for Sunday and yanked down temperatures to what it was like 2 months ago. Joyce commented you could even don a cardigan, it was almost cold!

And through the worship service and visiting preacher's message, I felt perfectly fine. (I kid you not, it was when we began taking group photos afterwards my head began bothering me, and a few minutes later, I realized I needed to lie down!) It was after waking up from my nap refreshed and feeling much better I recounted various blessings and wrote this post.

One of the mothers was not staying for the fellowship and meal but leaving right away for an errand and, seeing I needed to go home, offered to drive me. God had, of course, hand-picked her to be my driver that afternoon. Her children had interest in art but didn't go to art school either, and on the way home, she showed me 2 places to get art supplies.

Also, she had a friend who has problems with epilepsy, so it felt easier to talk with her. Oh--this is an old photo of Rieko, from one of Daddy's Birthday Banquets. Rieko's husband, now with the Lord, is in the center of the picture. He loved art too.

SPECIAL DELIVERY

A friend, Kristine, was supposed to drop in yesterday, and I was so looking forward to her coming. She's an art lover too; married to a Japanese; and yes, she loves the Lord. Afternoon possibilities, including eating at an inexpensive sushi chain, fell through at the last minute; and she had to return to mainland Japan without visiting.

I tried going out to church the first time since coming out to Okinawa--it was still a bit warm, but temperatures are coming down a bit, and it IS air conditioned at church, so the only place I will actually be in contact with the outside heat is the few seconds on the church staircase between the parking area and the sanctuary. This is a photo from our visit in Jan. We didn't know then that Shohei would be leaving us to train as evangelist in northern Japan.

I noticed a framed picture of the cross superimposed on the island of Okinawa and was told it was painted by Sze Wan, a person from Canada I'd met here when we visited then (Jan.23 and Feb.18 posts). I had to take a picture. But as I photographed it, I noticed the titles of the books I loved on the bookshelf.

The person who told me who that painter was and who I ended up getting in a conversation about those books is the mother of the young man talking with my sister Janice, visiting in Jan. from the U.S.

(Oops; next paragraph pic!)

Kishimoto-san, the person who gave me the ride, said not to make supper tonight, that she'd be coming at 5 p.m. with a gift. I could see the Father smiling merrily as she handed me through the door, a large plate of luscious, "Welcome to Okinawa" sushi.

Sorry. WE ATE ALL THE SUSHI before I thought I should've taken a picture first!