10,030 words

Shyla teaching Nao about Jesus and His love

With Keiko

Odaiba tree

Odaiba beauty

Sophia Christmas party

With Chihiro

USC girls

Really cool choir people

I got an oven

Altos

love

I've been pretty busy, so I'm still planning on posting some video footage but haven't gotten to it yet.

Yesterday, I had the most amazing birthday I could have ever imagined. I was so loved! Suddenly on the train I realized something. Usually, I'm very, very, extremely happy on my birthday. I make a really big deal out of it. But this year, I didn't notice that. It's because I'm super happy everyday and am doing what I love to do.

Also, the precious gifts and spectacular ice cream party helped me to enjoy my birthday!

Tonight we somehow had 12 people in our apartment for dinner. We just moved most of my stuff into Shyla's room and used every single dish we own. It was madness but pretty miraculous.

a solid week

I really love having people over for dinner, and this week I got to twice. Last time, Yukiko and Naomi ordered Pizza Hut for us Americans, so this time I cooked Japanese. I didn't get to the miso soup, but I made yakitori (like chicken kabobs) and fish and served some tofu with ginger and crushed peanuts. There was also some salad with sesame dressing. It was a pretty big hit, thankfully, and I even enjoyed it too. We went to see the soft cream man afterwards.

Then, tonight, I made tacos for three students, a Japanese staff woman named Ayumi, and my roommate Shyla. Unfortunately, my camara didn't make it out for this one. It was cool though. The idea for this "takos" party started when I first met Aya. We somehow ended up talking about Mexican food and bonded immediately. Nao and Haruna also came and tried tacos for the first time. I'm still so excited, because Nao is the girl that lives two hours away but comes all the way to hang out. Tonight, I also realized that she is very interested in learning about the Bible. She comes to our English lunch at Sophia, so she asked me to teach her about the Bible next Friday.

I'm really thankful for these awesome times! It's been a rough week in some ways too though. Maybe I make way to big of a deal out of it, but my birthday is coming up. This week I got a package from my mom and my grandma and realized that I won't be spending my birthday with them. Usually I hang out with my family or really close friends, so this year will be somewhat different. I love it when it's my birthday. I really love it. It's just hard because I usally have a little more control in planning who I celebrate with and how.

I forgot to mention last week though, that I got to see a family from my church in Fallbrook! I hung out with them two Sundays ago, and it was so refreshing to spend time in Tokyo with them. They spoiled me too and just made me feel really alive and blessed!

The leaves are gorgeous right now.

Thanksgiving!

We had our big Thanksgiving outreach, and it was indiscribable! I'll post video when I get it from my friends.

This is a picture from one of my favorite campuses! Sophia Univeristy. From Left to right, Yuko is a super cool Christian girl and student leader of our lunch on campus. Kristen is my cute team leader that lives right below me. I don't know this guy's name, but he's also a Christian but doesn't speak English. Then me, and my fabulous roommate...she was the M.C. with Masaki, the guy below her, for the Thanksgiving party. And then there's Keiko, who is very interested in Jesus and comes to all of our events and loves them. She wants to learn more about all religions though, so she can discern which one is right.

I'm so excited, because I'm having a bunch of girls from Sophia over for tacos next Saturday (there is no Mexican food in Tokyo). When they email me, they say things like, "Christina, I am so happy for takos party!"

Today was so good! We watched the USC vs. UCLA game at 6:30 am. That was the third game I got to see, and I loved every second of it! My loving mother even sent me some USC tortilla chips that were cardinal and gold colored! Then I went to church at 11:00, and it's starting to feel a little more homey. I also met some little kids when I went on a walk this evening. The language barrier was funny, but I was really surprised by how much non-verbal communication worked. They were named Haruka, Chinatsu, and Koji and were 12, 10, and 12. They all play basketball. One girl lives in the same apartment building as some of my friends. I hung out with them for a while and they taught me a little Japanese. They were so amused when I got it! I miss my little brothers and sisters and cousins a lot, so it was super nice to meet them.

Tomorrow I'm going to Rikkio University to meet a student and watch them light the Christmas lights on the tree. Tokyo is pretty festive, and there's no shortage of Christmas decorations or Christmas music! Happy December!