Thanks to many prayers and God's blessings, we had a safe and blessed trip to the States! Interestingly, the first thing I missed about Japan was the heated toilet seats! I didn't remember them being so cold before! The first few days were filled of a constant comparison--US to Japan. It felt funny to cook and eat American food so much! Amazingly, I actually missed eating rice! (not 3 meals a day, though!). Jana Klaus had warned me that life seems almost "too easy" when going back the the US. She is right! It seemed funny to put all my garbage in one big bag--no sorting, washing of recyclables, taking different items out each day for recycling. Going to the stores and being able to read everything--wow--what a luxury! Going to church with nearly 500 people was a big change too--very overwhelming after going to Shioda with less than 20 in attendance most Sundays! I only drove on the wrong side of the road once--familiar roads help! We made good use of our big oven and fixed casseroles--Akihiro's parents loved them!
We enjoyed having Akihiro's parents join us for 5 of the 10 days and his brother and sister-in-law for a few days as well! We don't spend much time with them here in Japan, so it was a wonderful opportunity for them to take part in our devotions, prayers, and just routine life. Hard to know how to describe it but to say that prayers are being answered! It was fun to see America through their eyes--Thanksgiving feasts attended by almost 50 people, shooting rifles, seeing pigs hanging ready for butchering, taking walks in the woods/prairie grass, shopping, learning about deer hunting, spending time with my brother's families, playing with children, holding babies, raking leaves for the first time in their lives, walking down Main Street in Tremont, etc! They were also missing rice and miso soup, so Akihiro took them to the Asian store in Peoria and they got some Japanese food for me to cook! It made us all pretty happy!
We also were very thankful to arrange for a new house sitter for our house since Sharon Koch will be moving to Minnesota after her January wedding. Doug Rocke and Trisha Kellenberger will be married in March and will be moving in.
Our 12 hour flight from Minneapolis went fairly well and our little home looked very good when we walked there from the station Tuesday night. The yellow ginko tree leaves have started falling and made a golden path for us to follow home! Waiting in our mailbox was "Flat Stanley," a rather cute little guy from my nephew Logan who is supposed to learn about Japan over the next month! We look forward to taking him around and maybe I can share some pictures of his adventures! Today is a bright sunny day, so it will be a joy to ride to the grocery store to stock up my bare refrigerator!
Upon leaving the US, we commented that we felt so very blessed in many ways. We know, though, that with these blessings come responsibility. We pray we will have the wisdom and grace to use our blessings in a way that would be pleasing to God.
A knock at the door....my most frequent visitor, the delivery man (like Fed Ex in US). He's delivering our four 50 pound suitcases! With the crowded trains last night, we are glad we didn't have to take them by train! I've got to get to work unpacking more moving goods!