My body is telling me that it is currently 5 a.m. tomorrow and I should be sleeping, despite the sunny afternoon and cool breeze. Yes, we are home. Wes and I enjoyed our second week in Okinawa with the Oshman's and the "Harbor" community! We were a little more adjusted to the culture, and were more familiar with the people around us. Two weeks seems just long enough to start forming relationships then, of course, we left.One unique aspect of this community is that it is not composed of one specific branch of service. It is not safe to assume the person you are talking to is in the Air Force, since there are also Army personnel stationed at Kadena, as well as Camp Foster (a Navy base) about two miles away and several other Marine Corps bases locally. This adds a touch of unfamiliarity, since all of these branches operate differently as far as day-to-day operations, deployments and even language go! (Thanks Navy)
Tuesday nights I got the opportunity to be involved with the Women's Bible study, which is currently made up of primarily married women (who are mostly wives of Active Duty). These women are from all walks of life, with all sorts of spiritual backgrounds and levels of maturity. There was also a monthly Prayer Breakfast for women on a Saturday morning. I shared a little this past Saturday about how God has used scripture specifically in my prayer life. It was encouraging also to break up into small groups and pray with these women. I saw their hearts for their families, missions, the Gospel, and their own walks with Christ. They are truly a loving and fun-filled group.
Wednesday nights Mark leads a Bible Study on base at "Project 196", the cafe ministry. It is open to everyone, and provides a good opportunity for unbelievers to come and see what this "Jesus" stuff is all about. They are currently doing an in depth study on 1 Corinthians. The men also have a "Band of Brothers" Prayer breakfast at the Project every other Saturday. Wes was privileged to share with the men some of the ways God has worked in his life too.
Being there for Easter weekend was an added bonus. The usual Friday night Worship service was focused specifically on the cross. It was a contemplative night, as we thought on and prayed about the cross, Jesus atoning work and our indebtedness. Good Friday truly is good, but should be considered with sobriety. Then Sunday was a celebration of the Risen Lord!! We scheduled a barbecue picnic, fun for the kids, and several baptisms in the East China Sea. We held out through the beginning of the rain but ultimately we had rain soaked children with soggy bags of Easter eggs and a 'bug-out' back to the Harbor. Even with the chaos of changing plans it was a great afternoon of celebration with a community joined by their Savior.
We are now lovers of sushi and proficient users of chopsticks. If you are familiar with sushi you'll know about the California Roll. Well, the creator of said roll happens to be a man named Yoshi with a restaurant on Okinawa, not far away from The Harbor. Mark and Jen took us there to eat one night and it was probably our favorite night of sushi on the island!We also took a trip further north on the island with two other couples to tour a Pineapple plantation. The northern half of the island contains most of the natural beauty of Okinawa and boy is it beautiful!! It a great time going through the plantation and the winery. We sampled Pineapple ice cream (that is the best!) wines, juices, cookies, chocolate, cakes, dried and fresh fruit, and more...
Time spent with the Oshmans was really good. It was usually laced with young young ladies who are the brightest, cheeriest, most joyful and fun little girls ever! Spending time with Jen and the girls really made me consider things I hadn't really seen yet. What is it like to have babies and raise them in "the field" as missionaries? It was a blessing to see Mark and Jen guard time with their girls, love them, discipline them, and live in the community with them.
I am sure there is more I've missed. But I'll let you chew on this for a while :) Be watching your mail box for a prayer update from us in the near future!
Please pray with us: That God would continue to be glorified through this ministry, and that we (and the Oshman's) would have wisdom in planning the next steps.
本当にありがとう
As Servants of Jesus,
Elaine and Wes
