Today was more bittersweetness as I had to say goodbye to all the amazing people I met at the Tome base. This blog is mostly going to be a tribute to them, and then I will finish up with the little bit about my trip to Tokyo.
Wayne: this was the 2nd person I met, and right away I felt relaxed and comfortable around him. As I worked with him, talked with him, and worshipped with him, I came to know and love him as an amazing spiritual father figure. This man loves the tar out of you and cares about your spiritual growth immensely. I hope to meet him again sometime, and I can't wait to worship our Lord together in Heaven someday.
Mike: soft spoken man who is one of the most loving and caring men I have ever met. I learned so much from Mike about being a servant for the Kingdom. We had lots of good talks at the table, and I really enjoyed hearing about how God has worked and is working in his life. Just like Wayne, I can't wait to give Mike a giant hug in Heaven and worship the King together.
Chloe: she was the first person I met, and honestly was the answer to a prayer I had prayed that day about helping me to settle in and be comfortable. She took the time to show me around and get me settled in to an unfamiliar place. We had a lot of fun working together and joking around. I will miss Mike and Wayne picking on her and will have to try to fill their shoes when she gets back to Bethel!
Nate (from mn): great guy that was kind enough to give me one of his blankets so that I didn't freeze at night. Always friendly and willing to talk.
Nate (from nm): super funny guy who always brightened my day up, even though I don't think he realized it.
Julian: love talking to this guy. Genuine and has a great heart for the Lord. Appreciate the conversations we had, even though we didn't get to work together much.
David: this man has an amazing testimony that I will outline in a later blog. David has one of the softest hearts and always asks how I'm doing and how my day went. Some guys just have that calming demeanor about them, and David is one of them. Can't wait to see him again in Heaven!
Daike and Daniel: these two translated for us. They have a genuine passion for the Japanese people to come to know the Lord. I am so thankful for their help and helping me communicate with Okaasan.
Last but not least,
Steven (Stephen?): this man stuffed old drywall into trash bags ALL day for about 2 days...an did so with a smile in his face. I have so much respect and gratitude for his servant heart. I loved talking with him at the base and laughing with him all the time. Great man of God.
I met more people than this, and they all played a role in making my time in Tome one Of the best experiences of my life. I will thank them when we are all walking the streets of gold.
So now, on to my day. After I said my goodbyes I for a ride to the train station, which was 40 minutes away. I then bought my ticket and went to the platform. The Shinkansen is well known as the bullet train, and regularly reaches upwards of 186mph. Despite the high speed, there has never been an accident involving Shinkansen. I got off a Omiya station and remembered how hectic Tokyo train stations can get. My connecting train was hard to find because I was a special train that was borrowing another line's track for their one run per day. Luckily, the train station officers are ok with English and I pointed to the name of the station I needed to go to and they directed me to the correct train. I got in the train and it was only 3 stops until I was at the station I needed to be at (thankfully, the train maps are also in English on Tokyo trains, so I could read the map).
I got picked up at the station by Charles, a missionary with SEND, and he took me to the SEND center. It is a VERY nice place, and I have an entire studio apartment to myself...little different than the shared living space and cots I was getting used to at Tome :) I ate supper with Charles and talked a lot with him. He is a sports ministry missionary here, so we talked a lot about sports and how that opens a lot of doors to share the Gospel. He is a super friendly guy, and I will spen more time with him on Monday morning before I go to the airport.
That was my day in a nutshell. Tomorrow I have church and then get to spend the day with Takuya and Sae!!
Specific prayer requests:
-thanks for getting me here safely
-all my "family" in Tome, that God would continue to do great things through them.
1 comment:
Wow Kassidy, It brought tears to my eyes to read of the love you expressed for the people. The family of God is a beautiful thing, isn't it? It is wonderful to be able to rub shoulders with others who exhibit qualities of Jesus in their unique ways so we get a fuller/ clearer picture of Him.
So glad He guided you to the right train, what an adventure! :)
Blessings on the rest of your time there. Maybe you could host a "coffee talk" time when you get back and Ethan and I could come and hear some stories.
Post a Comment