From Christmas to New Year's!

We had a great Christmas here in Japan! It was filled with new traditions, some old ones, and lots of Skyping with family. We were able to exchange presents with family and watch them open and vice versa. Skype is wonderful! We always say that it's God's gift to missionaries. 

Christmas Eve was a wonderful day as well. We went to the park and Dana did face painting. 
As we drove there we prayed that the Lord would use us and that we would maybe even speak to someone who spoke some English. We were a little nervous about going there and doing this because we didn't know how it would be received. So, we also prayed for boldness. We parked our car and got out just as the lady in the car next to us was walking up to put her 2 year old in the car. She read the sign that Dana was holding and asked her son if he maybe wanted one. She began speaking to us in Japanese but we couldn't understand everything. We did understand her asking us where we live and where we are from. When we told her we're from America, she said in perfect English,'Oh, what state are you from?' We were very surprised. We told her Oregon and she lit up. "I spent 2 months in Oregon. I love it there!", she said. Smiles illuminated our faces. To be able to talk to someone about Oregon was surreal. She told us she teaches English and wants her son to be able to speak English, but he only understands English right now. We are finding that to be very common here. If only one parent speaks English then the children will understand, but will not know how to respond so they don't speak it. We gave her our business card and told her she should come to our house some time so we could talk and our boys could play. Her son likes Thomas, too. We told her that maybe Caden could get her son speaking English if they become friends and she was very excited about that. 

The picture above is of 4 boys that came and got their faces and hands painted. At first they were kind of acting like it was too much of a little kid thing to do, but soon they were fighting at the bit to get Santas and Rudolphs painted on their cheeks. We were able to give them Christmas CDs with the gospel message on them. We are hoping that their families will hear these CDs as well. The park was dead other than that because it was a little chilly and Christmas Eve. We were thankful for the answered prayer of meeting someone who spoke English and for the 4 boys we met there. 

On the evening of Christmas Eve we were surprised by two visits from our neighbors. One from K-san and T-san. They wanted to wish us a Merry Christmas and even brought us a gift. It was a beautiful 5 frame picture frame. We had also bought them a Christmas gift since we have become friends with them. They think our Starbucks mugs are huge and laughed the first time they saw them so we bought each of them a huge Starbucks mug. They told us they will never use them but thought it was funny. Our other visit was from our neighbors the H-sans. They are our neighbors that live around the corner and have the two boys who play with Caden. She made cookies and they also brought us styrofoam wrapped apples. We have great neighbors!

The day after Christmas we met up with a couple that we had met at the store our first day alone here in Okayama. We met them at a restaurant here called Mr. Donuts. We were so impressed that they remembered our names and so embarassed that we didn't remember theirs. They were very forgiving and we asked them to write their names down so that we wouldn't forget. We had a great time with this couple. After our visit we invited them to our house some time and they were very excited about coming over. The best part about them is that they are very loud and goofy. Just my kind of people! We are really hoping that this couple will soon consider us friends.  

Today we have a family coming  over that we met through our hoikuen. The have two children, No-kun (4) and Em-san (5 months). M is the husband and he is an American from Ohio. His wife is Y-san and she is Japanese. He is very interested in spiritual things and is especially interested in Dana. He says that it is humbling to be around someone who is so sure of what they believe in and wants to know more about our beliefs. We went to their house last week and saw their shrine in their tatami room. When Dana began asking about it M told him that he is an ordained Buddhist priest and that he had spent 6 months with monks in order to become one. I find it interesting that he has devoted so much time and energy into Buddhism yet still seems to be unconvinced. Just goes to show how every other religion is unfulfilling.  I am so thankful to have a religion that is unlike any other because it is a relationship above all else. 

Please be praying for:

1. The woman and her son that we met at the park. Please pray that she will call us and a relationship will be formed.

2. For the 4 boys that Dana face painted and that they and their family will listen to the CD and their ears would be opened to the message.

3. For the family we met with at Mr. Donuts. They are the Sh-sans. Pray that we can meet with them again soon.

4. For M and his wife Y-san and their children. Please be praying that he will continue searching and questioning and that we could point him to the truth that is Jesus Christ. 

Thank you so much for your prayers of support and encouragement. We are continually blown away by what God is doing around us and through us. Please know that your prayers are being answered and we feel so lifted up by your prayers everyday. 

Love and prayers, Amy

Merry Christmas!

Well, I wish we had as exciting news as our family and friends in Portland! We are so bummed to hear that you have received so much snow and we're not there to enjoy it, though it sounds like it's so bad that no one is enjoying it.  Two white Christmas' in a row, wow!

This past week and a half has been uneventful for the most part, which has been good because we've been able to focus even more on our language study. Language study has been getting more difficult and more time consuming. The vocabulary is growing and growing and that can get a little overwhelming, but little things keep us encouraged to keep going. Also, our senseis are very good at making us feel successful. I find myself feeling more and more like a child in class. You get to feel that way when you get a huge smile on your face from receiving a Hello Kitty stamp on  your homework for a job well done. 

Caden is doing better in his hoikuen. He is making more friends and the children, especially this week, are accepting him more and more. We met with his sensei this week to check on how he is and she said that he is very involved in what the other children are doing despite the language. Ashton's teacher sat with us and had some questions about his eating habits. The Japanese feed their babies very different than we Americans and it's going to take some time for me to get used to it. They are very surprised at how much he eats. He's eating almost 3 bowls of food at lunch and then they have to stop, though he could keep eating. I told them it's because he's an American. We tend to eat a lot.

We are revving up for Christmas though we know it will not be the same. Caden is very excited about Santa coming, but he wasn't so sure that he would come to Japan. Well, Santa must've understood his worry and showed up at his hoikuen to visit with the children and pass out some early presents. We've posted a picture of his visit below. Does Santa look familiar at all?

Today, our Christmas Eve, we will be going to a very popular park here in Okayama. Dana will be offering face painting and we will be passing out tracts to those who get involved. Please be praying for the people that we meet and that it will be something fun for all the children. 

We pray that you all have the best Christmas! To our family, we miss you immensely and I know we will be hopelessly waiting for you to arrive at our door. May the Lord bless you all this holiday season! 

Merry Christmas,

The Shadburnes

What Would Lottie Moon Do?

First, we would like to thank each of you for your contributions to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. As many of you know the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goes to support over 5,000 missionaries with the International Mission Board, including us. Without this support our work wouldn't be possible. So, it is literally because of you that we are able to be here. Thank you!

This week was such an exciting week. Dana and I were able to share the gospel with our language helper, M-san! We were running our regular errands with her on Tuesday and were on our way home in slow traffic. We were at a light and looked over at a Buddhist temple not far from our home. The temple is beautiful and there is a large stone with four sides that has writing on all sides in kanji. We asked her what it said and she told us it said,"We are all equal under one god." That started us into a conversation with Dana and I asking some questions about Buddhist beliefs. We asked her questions about what god the Buddhists prayed to and what they believed happened when they died. Now, when we first met M-san she told us she was Catholic so I asked her, as a reminder to myself, if she was Catholic and to my surprise she said,"No". So, I asked her what she believed in. She said many things and then some things that she has made up herself. I asked her what she believes happens when we die, to which she answered,"I believe you get to decide where you go." I asked her what she believed her choices were and she didn't really know how to answer. Instead, she began asking us questions. She wanted to know how someone gets to heaven and why people go to hell. Before I knew it I was explaining to her what sin was, why God sent Jesus, why Jesus died on the cross and that He died for her sins whether she decides to believe in Him or not. This just lead her to more questions, which is understandable. It was nearing the end of our time with her and she had to head home, but she thanked us for answering her questions and we told her to please ask us questions whenever she has any. Our prayer has been to be able to share our faith with someone in English. Prayer answered!

The next day I had a language lesson with my sensei, O sensei. She also works as a tour guide part time in a famous garden in the city and she invited me to go there on New Year's day because it's the only day out of the year that admission is free. She told me that she wasn't working that day so she and her family were going to go as well after they went to the temple. She went on to tell me that every year the Japanese people go to the temple to pray for the next year. She said that you  have to wait a long time to enter the temple because so many people go on this day. She said the following day she and her family will be going to another temple where they pray for their children and their education. I asked her who it was that she prayed to when she prayed. She thought for a moment and said, "God." I asked,"Creator God, or someone else?" She thought for awhile and shyly said,"I don't know. He must not be that special if I don't even know who he is." She talked for a little while longer about the temple and the tradition of it all and then I asked her if she ever noticed a difference in the things she prayed for once she prayed them. She quickly replied,"No."  I then shared with her how faithful God is and how He has answered my prayers. I then told her about how Ashton was sick and the doctors here in Japan didn't know what to do for him because they didn't know what was wrong with him. I told her how our family prayed for his health and that our friends and family back home were also praying for his recovery, and I believe it is because of Him that Ashton is better now. I also told her that I didn't have to go to a temple to pray to my God. I could pray to Him in the seat of my classroom if I wanted to. I then said, "My God is very faithful." And she quickly responded,"I believe He is." Unfortunately she redirected our conversation back to the lesson but I was so encouraged to be able to share that with her. She seemed to be very open to what I had to say.

On Friday we were able to meet with a couple in our neighboring city, Kurashiki. They have spent some time in the states and know English and are also believers. It was great to be able to encourage one another and also establish a friendship with them. At the end of our visit we took them to the train station and sat down to visit until Dana had to go to language study. As we sat around a table and talked a very old man at the table next to us seemed to want to talk to Dana. Dana turned to him and started a conversation in the little Japanese he knows. Once that ran out Dana asked our new friend if he would translate for him so he could possibly share his story with him, but surprisingly our friend was very reluctant since religious talk is a taboo here, but our friend very quickly changed his mind and dove in.  The man asked Dana what he was doing in Japan and Dana told him that God changed his life and that he came to Japan to tell the Japanese people that God can do works in their lives as well. Dana then shared with the man his testimony and the man listened very intently. At the end of his testimony Dana asked him if he had ever experienced the joy that God can give and the man answered, "Yes. I do love God. I'm a Buddhist." Unfortunately Dana had to get running to language class since he was already 10 minutes late because of talking with this man that Dana excused himself, but before we could leave the elderly man told us that the reason he wanted to talk to Dana was because he looked so happy and he wanted to know why. Encouraging........

Please prayer:

1. For our language helper, M-san. Also, for O sensei and all of our senseis that we see each week. 

2. For our attitudes and our focus.

Please praise God for the wonderful encouragement He gave us this week. We have been so excited with what has happened this week and know that this isn't it!

Oh, young grasshopper

Caden had his play and he did so well! He played a yellow grasshopper and he knew exactly what he was suppose to do. My favorite photo is of him hiding from the wasp that came to get all the little bugs! He was giggling behind that stair the whole time. Adorable! All the kids did so well and the teachers did a fabulous job of teaching them what to do. Our only complaint was that the program was 3 hours long! I love watching kids perform, but my goodness that was a long time. Afterward we took Caden out to lunch to celebrate. 

Ashton had his first week at hoikuen. When the hoikuen takes a new child they want to ease the child into the school so they only take babies for one hour the first week and then increase the amount of time from there depending on how the child does. So, Ash began by going from 8:30-9:30. Ashton did so well that he was staying until 11:30 by the end of the week and then today he stayed until 4, which is when we pick up Caden. His sensei couldn't believe how good of a baby he is. I'm so thankful it's working out so well but Dana and I miss him during the day. It's bizarre not having him with me all the time!

This past week was a hard one. Dana and I hit our first wall in our language study. My brain just didn't want to cooperate on my Thursday lesson and I was getting frustrated along with my sensei. Dana's Friday lesson went about the same way. We knew our stuff but we just couldn't get any of it out for some reason. The great thing is that we were able to be there for one another and know that this was something that would eventually happen, and it will happen again. You just gotta move on! We each had lessons today and they went great! 

On Saturday evening we went over to T-san's house and had dinner with her and her family. She made Chinese food and it was tasty! Oishi des ne! When we all gathered around the table to sit down we noticed there was a somewhat new high chair at the table for Ashton. We thought that was so sweet of them to put their daughter's old high chair out for him. When we thanked them T-san told us that her parents, whom we met once in passing, had wanted to give it to her because after meeting us they knew we would be over some time and would need it for Ashton. We were blown away! We met her parents our second week here and we didn't even begin going to eachother's houses until our 4th week here. That was nice to hear that older people in Japan approve of us! While we visited with T-san, A-san and K-san they informed us that K-san would be going on Christmas and New Year's vacation for two weeks and they would like to do something with us whenever we are free. I'm not sure what we will end up doing, but we are so grateful that their family has welcomed us into their lives the way they have. I asked T-san if she would ever like to go to Starbucks just the two of us and she said she'd like to, so you can definitely be praying for that. More than anything I don't want them to ever feel like a project, but please be praying for us to have opportunities to share our faith with them. We want them to know nothing is more important! I genuinely care for this family and they are such a blessing to my life. They are so transparent and really seem to care about our family and I am so thankful for that. I am so honored that they consider our family their friends. I am also so grateful for how great our kids get along. Before and after dinner Caden and A-san played so well together. I have not seen him play with a child like that since we've been here.

On Sunday we were invited to H-san's house. They had come over to our house with their two boys once before and we visited while the boys played. We were excited to be able to go into their home and share a cup of tea and coffee with them. When we arrived the oldest boy immediately began putting a bag of his trains together for Caden as a present. We couldn't believe his enthusiasm for this gift! Caden was so excited! They all had lots of questions for us, especially about Christmas. They commented on our decorations and wanted to know what we did for Christmas. Many of the questions centered around the gift giving and they wanted to know who bought for who and what. I wanted to stress to them the true meaning of Christmas to us. I didn't want them to think it was just about gifts, so I butted into the conversation and told them why we celebrate Christmas and that it is to celebrate Jesus' birthday. They seemed to know what I was talking about so I didn't elaborate much more than that, but it felt good to share at least that with someone. At the end of the visit we exchanged our phone numbers and told them to call anytime. We had a good visit and I look forward to seeing what happens with this family.

It was a hard but rewarding week for us . We are so thankful to you all for your support. We are so thankful that the Lord has provided us with the S-sans and the H-sans and their hospitality, a great hoikuen for both of the kids, and our family and friends back home.

Please be praying for:

1. Language school....need I say more?

2. All of our health during the cold/flu season.

3. Continue to pray for us through the holiday season. Being without family during this time of year is difficult. 

4. Please pray for our family. The holidays are a hard reminder that we're not there. Please pray that this season can still be joyous!

We love you all and until next time!

Hoikuen Play

This is one of Caden's friends who always runs up to me to give me hugs and try her English on me. As you can see this is when she spotted me behind the camera.

This was Caden's first friend at the hoikuen. On the first day we asked if he made any friends, and he answered,"Yeah, the big one with the chubby face."

Caden may not know Japanese but he and his partner nailed every dance move, unlike the other partners!

We were so happy to see him involved and having fun!