First Update from Sapporo

Hello Prayer Partners and Otherwise Invested People, It’s time for a weekly update on what is going on here across the pond! So a quick summary and then some points you can pray for. I arrived late Tuesday night, was picked up by Karin Stoerzinger (our supervisor/host) and we two went out for dinner directly from the airport since I hadn’t eaten for a while. We were able to talk a lot about effective ministry and our expectations, and just get to know each other better since we only met briefly while I was in Sapporo last year. Karin has been in Japan for 22 years so she is an absolute treasure trove of wisdom- we’re really blessed to have her watching over us and mentoring our team. The rest of the team- Abi, Dean, and Tom- had arrived earlier but stayed up to welcome me- generous since they hadn’t slept at all on their flight. As for me, I seem to have hit to sweet spot of sleeping at the exact right moments to side-step jet lag, so I think maybe Jesus loves me or something? haha trick question, Jesus loves everyone. Anyways, we jumped right into our normal schedule on Wednesday, with team devotions and worship in the morning, orientation, and then our first English Speaking Society (ESS) meeting. We had a wonderful time there and met a huge amount of students. Felt very in my element there, so it was a nice way to ease into internship duties. Thursday we took a tour of campus which is BEAUTIFUL and also super huge. It’s like the size of Central Park. We met another one of the ESS students with whom I may be able to set up a language exchange, and then headed to the weekly OMF prayer meeting at the Language Center. Most of the under 2 year olds that I took care of last year are MKs here in Sapporo, so I got to see all my babies walking and talking. Precious. Friday we all slept in, especially me because I stayed up until 3 AM watching the USA vs. Germany game and trying to control my emotions (and volume) which was not easy. Am seriously considering naming my firstborn after Tim Howard because the man is a real life superhero. We had our weekly team meeting with Karin and Alyssa Mattox, another staff on the FMzero team, and then afterwards we had our first english bible study at Karin’s house and met two more students there. Played a fantastic game of Tank and Commander which me and my partner Yuuri won. We now go by the name of Team Champion. Yesterday was our day off and Abi and I went into center city to a garden festival and visited the botanical garden. At this location I accidentally littered into beautiful lotus pond and maybe killed a carp, so we left the scene quickly and discreetly. We found the famous Sapporo Ramen Street which is a tiny underground alley with tons of ramen shops. It kind of looks like you could be murdered there and never be found, but the food was good and cheap so fair trade-off. We also found a pet shop with wall to wall puppies and kittens of the cutest variety- those of you who know Longs and our cute attacks, you will understand me when I say the sounds I made were NOT human… Anyways, in the evening Me, Abi, Karin and Dean went to an onsen to relax and heal our muscles after 5 days of biking everywhere. Accidentally discovered the electric pool, so that was a shocking experience ha ha. Turns out you should read the kanji signs because sometimes they contain pertinent information such as “This onsen will mildly electrocute you”. Cross cultural adventures, am I right? And that sums up the first few days here! We have a lot of prayer requests though, so don’t stop reading yet: 1. Our team leader, Dean, has been struggling with severe insomnia. He’s already gone two nights without any sleep even with two doses of sleeping pills, and only got a few hours the night before. It is taking a toll on his energy levels, so please keep him in your prayers. 2. We are biking an average of 4 miles a day, as that is the primary mode of transportation. It can be extremely exhausting biking quite a bit and then having the energy to engage in activities, so pray that we all have the energy necessary to do our work. Also I’m a weakling. 3. Team relationships- right now we’re all sort of still in the “honeymoon stage” but we are living in the same apartment, spending 24/7 with each other and we are bound to get on each other’s nerves eventually, so pray for that. 4. We have several events coming up that you can pray for: Firstly, we are planning and hosting and International Party for July 8th. Secondly, Abi and I will be hanging out with a group of 60 girls from a Junior High School (9th and 10th graders) on July 4th to help them practice their English and learn a little about our cultures. Thank you for your support everyone!