my flesh & heart will fail.

"My flesh & my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart & my portion forever."-Psalm 73:26

Yesterday was the first day I have cried since being in Japan; I really, really do not want to admit it because

1) apart from people naturally assuming I'm emotional because I'm a girl, I don't want to add to the assumption & admit I really can be emotional, ha ha

&&

2) I feel lame for crying.
HAHA

Instead of my usual "oh my gosh, everything is so wonderful. . ." & so on, I am going to be real & tell you that I didn't feel so great yesterday. In fact, I have hit what I call the "oh-my-gosh-I-live-in-a-foreign-country" brick wall. I am not saying, (in any way, shape, or form) that I dislike this country & this experience so much I want to go home. . .actually, I really love this country & the people! However, I am realizing how stretching it can be to live in a foreign country; I am learning that it can be so exhausting to be out of my usual element & yesterday I gave in. Being stretched by God can hurt.

My heart failed, it became weak, but I am by no means ashamed of that. My friend Meg (I mentioned her in a previous post), was so gracious in reminding me that God is deepening my understanding of my desperate need for Him everyday, ALL day. HE is my heart's source of strength; I fail, but He never has & He never will fail. Praise God! I am so grateful to my Savior that He welcomes me to fall on Him when I can no longer stand.

Yuriko & Kame (:

So apart from all of that, I also wanted to give you a few (of many) reasons/things I love about being here in Japan:

Emi & Naomi :)

• Beautiful people who are so friendly
• Lifegroup
• Gorgeous sunsets
• Going to Japanese class
• Delicious food. . .salmon sushi, yum!
• Riding the trains
• My missions/church team
• As hard as it can be, the language is beautiful
• Bike parking lots
• Cooking parties with friends
• My adventurous & loving Japanese friends
• Riding a bike along the river
• Karaoke!

God brought me to Japan & I plan on having the time of my life while I'm here :) Japan is a beautiful country filled with people who are even more valuable than the country itself. Jesus loves these people & He longs for their hearts to know the depths of His love. I am so excited to be a part of God's adventure here!

Recently, a lot has been going on! A little over a week ago I volunteered with my friend Jolynn at a care center (a bunch of cute little old ladies come to eat together, talk, & play games ALL day). After doing some kitchen duty, we played games with the beautiful women & they taught us a Japanese song & we were able to sing a song for them too (we sang, O How He Loves)! It was so much fun & it was exciting to see these ladies having fun too. On Sunday I had my first Japanese karaoke experience ever & I had a blast!! Karaoke is different here than in the States; in the States, you usually do karaoke in public, but here in Japan you get your own private room. Karaoke is much more popular here too. I had so much fun with everybody; God has truly blessed me with these wonderful friends of mine!

Before I go, I wanted to remind you that some of my photography will be on display in The Pour House in Florence Colorado, starting this week!!! If you would like to help support me, you can visit the coffee shop. It will also be a really awesome way of helping to support Kenny (owner of The Pour House)!! I hope you all can find a day to grave a cup o' coffee & check out some of the photos :) Thank you to my mom for getting it all set up, thank you to Mrs. Robin Hall for helping my mom, & thank you to Kenny for giving me this opportunity!! Wish I was there to see it & thank you all personally.

Praise God for the miracles He is performing here in Japan & all over the world! May He continue to be lifted high in everything. Continue to pray for the Japanese hearts; that they will come to know how valuable they are to Christ. God desires to see Japan come to know Him & His great love. Please pray that we will continue to boldly declare the good news (the Gospel)! Thank you for your prayers & support! I can never thank you enough, but expect a thank you every time I end a blog :) I pray in some way or another I can be a blessing/encouragement to you! Love you all!!

"How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? & how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? & how can they hear without someone preaching to them? & how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'"

-Romans 10:14-15

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