This morning as I write I am glaring out my window at the big-beaked birds on the wires outside! Akihiro ran back up the stairs this am to inform me that those awful birds had tore open my garbage and strewn it all over the road! Thankfully our little gravel road rarely sees much traffic, so not too many people could see me picking up my garbage! I'll have to put it in the cages around the corner, I guess! (We don't have huge garbage cans here like they do in America! Today is the day to put out burnable garbage in the special blue bag I bought at the grocery store for our neighborhood's trash collection. Today was also the day for PET bottles to be collected. Taking care of our garbage is quite a deal here!)
Yesterday I stopped at the Christian bookstore on my way to meet Akihiro at the American Embassy. I was on the second floor near a big window facing the busy street outside. I was looking at some scripture flip calendars when I noticed these 4 little girls with their little yellow school hats and red leather backpacks standing near the phone booth on the street below. One little girl saw me and started waving and smiling. The rest of the girls followed suit! I waved and smiled back. Periodically they would wave again as I would look up from my shopping. It warmed my heart to see the openness, friendliness, and love of children.
Speaking of American Embassy...Akihiro is applying for his green card so that if he would spend a considerable amount of time in the U.S., he could work and make money. At this point he cannot work in the U.S. So, this requires a ton of paperwork and wading through the legal jargon! You couldn't pay me enough to be a lawyer! Anyway, we had the first of three meetings and it went well. We easily convinced the smiling man on the other side of the glass screen that we had a loving relationship! I did tease Akihiro earlier that perhaps he married me just to get a green card! I know that's not true! If he gets this green card, we will have to go to the U.S. at least once a year to keep it, so that is good news! (Not that we wouldn't make the trip once a year anyway!)
A prayer request was forwarded to me recently....Ellen Cox, a wife and mother of three children has cancer and is having many compications. Please pray for strength, encouragement, peace, and healing. Her personal prayer request demonstrates a wonderful attitude, "that I would be willing to do what the Lord needs me to do."