We rode in on a wave!

So, for those of you who are following the plot - our Certificates of Eligibility arrived on March 12th. We zipped downtown to the Japanese Consulate and turned them in along with our passports - "Come back in a week". Great! That means we can plan on flying to Tokyo on... (let's see, ichi... ni... san...) the 20th!

So best-travel-agent-in-the-world Bridget Harris pulls an extra special rabbit out of her hat, and it's wearing a grass skirt - "How would you guys feel about an overnight layover in... Hawaii!" (it sounded just like Drew Carey saying "... a BRAND NEW CAR!"). So I said:
My answer
God truly does so much more than we ask or even expect! We didn't get a chance to really go anywhere for our 29th anniversary the week before, but God gave us an anniversary to remember.

Armed with our certificates and our long term visas, we bid a tearful farewell to our kids in Denver... and arrived late that afternoon in Honolulu! (I know what you're thinking, but listen: layover in LAX or layover in HNL - which would YOU pick?). The next morning we hopped the shuttle back to the airport and flew across the International Date Line (I could swear I heard Huey Lewis singing "Power of Love").

View from plane window at take-off
Does your airport look like this?
Skipping Thursday completely, we landed in Tokyo Friday afternoon. At the Immigration Checkpoint they swapped our certificates for Resident Cards.
Locutus of Bokushi

After a smile and a "Welcome to Japan" from the Customs official, we were in! Woo hooooo!

We surfed into Tokyo on a wave of God's grace!

Please pray for us as we look for an apartment and a church building! Your prayers WORK!




Comments

Heather Gutierrez said…
Wow, so thankful for what God is doing in and thru ur lives! And to think, we share in that! Can't wait to hear all the further good news!!! Miss you already, but know the time will likely fly so we can meet again! :)
March 28, 2013 at 1:16 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wilderness Pioneering

Image
Still room for one, THEN it's us 4 and no more... One of the great things about taking over the pastorate of a church is, that there are usually at least some people, and often there's a building and even some sort of equipment. You jump right in there and preach that very same Sunday night! And once you convince the faithful ones that you personally didn't chase off the previous pastor  (St. Perfectus the Kind), it's Kingdom business as usual! Now, if rather than taking over a work, you are pioneering, then you can often count on nearby (or relatively nearby) Fellowship churches to roll up their sleeves and till the soil with you. Garage-band disciples with their own bootleg CDs will rap, rasp, or rock-out until the first row (meaning you, your wife and your 4 kids) is deaf and covered with saliva. And since breaking up that fallow ground can work up quite an appetite, the flockless pastor will at least count on one last supper with the impact team at Lydia Pu...
Read more

His plans, His ways... are HIGHER

Image
It was barely over a year ago that I received an email -  A Happy New year! My name is Hiro. I am a member of Victory Chapel Saipan. I have a Father who lives in Sagamihara City who wishes to visit the church. But he is a very strong Atheist. I have been talking about Jesus to him, and I am very happy that he became interested. But I am sure his interest is still Christianity as Philosophy. I really want him to be saved but I am so worried that he might not be accepted by your church. And I know it will take a time for him to be saved. Pastor. Is it possible for my father to visit your church?  Thank you very much. I pray that my parents will be saved soon. Respectfully Yours, Hiro  Some of you are familiar with the story of Hiro's father ("Mr. N"). About a week later I met with Hiro's dad, and we began what has now become a year-long journey together, exploring the Word of God. So just this past November, Hiro got in touch with me again. Between his w...
Read more

Mr N comes to see Jesus by night

Image
Maybe you know what I'm talking about: You're preaching, or sharing your testimony. Time is standing still. Or rather - somewhere between the ticks of the clock, you've shifted sideways into eternity. The air is different. If this were a movie, the music has transitioned into something stirringly intense. I don't have the words to explain it clearly. I've felt this before (I've felt this many times before, but this is the first time I've remembered it). All of a sudden, you KNOW. You know that what's about to happen - is eternal. Oh, I've talked to people, and witnessed to people, and had people repeat a prayer with me. But sometimes, just sometimes, something happens, and it's like, they're not even hearing YOU. Like when, in The Cross and the Switchblade, everybody becomes deathly quiet, and the Mau Maus start taking off their hats. Your voice sounds like it's coming from another room, and the presence of God is SO stro...
Read more