Schedule

It is hard to believe that in 167 hours (as of when I'm writing this) I will be touching down in Japan...it's still surreal! I have been so busy the past couple weeks that it hasn't even had time to sink in, but then there are times where I am able to think about it, and a huge rush of emotions hit me. That nervous/excited/scared/thankful rush will only get stronger as the 167 hours tick away, but that's ok with me...It reminds me that God is the one in control, not me!

One of the biggest times so far that those feelings have hit was when the Japan base sent me my finalized schedule for my trip today. While I am not going to include details for safety's sake, here is a general framework of my schedule:

Thursday, 3/1--Fly out of Minneapolis bright and early
Friday 3/2 (Japan time...night of 3/1 in MN)--arrive in Sendai and meet with Dave, a missionary with SEND
Saturday 3/3 & Sunday 3/4--Attend the Samaritan's Purse/Franklin Graham event with Dave...this is a big celebration that will be full of relationship building with believers and non-believers alike.
Monday 3/5-Saturday 3/10-- Serve the people of the Tohoku region by gutting houses and/or rebuilding houses... I will board the Shinkansen (bullet train) Saturday evening and go back to Tokyo, where I will meet Anne Marie, my coordinator.
Sunday 3/11-- Go to church with missionaries from SEND and debrief..after that I get to spend the rest of the day hanging out with Sae and Takuya!!!!! I am so excited to see them again and hang out around Tokyo!
Monday 3/12-- Breakfast and meet with the head SEND person in Japan.. board a train for Narita Airport around 2pm. That evening I depart Japan and arrive back in the states (which is at nearly the same time as when I left...12 hour flight with a 14 hour time change).

Thank you for your continued prayers...God has great things planned! I should have internet access the first few days while I'm with Dave, but then after that I have no idea...we don't even know which area of Tohoku I will be at; it will be a game-time decision depending on where the greatest need is. That's ok though, the unknown is great because it forces me to give up control and give it over to God (where it belongs).