November past . . .

Another month has gone by, and I am still enjoying my life here. Can you believe it's been over three months since I arrived? Sometimes I can't believe it has been that long, and other times I can't believe it's been that short! With everything I've been involved in, it feels like I've been here a year already, but at the same time, there are a lot of things I have yet to experience.

For Halloween, Tonya hosted a costume party at Green House. Most of the people there were associated with Lighthouse in some way. Lighthouse is an off-base Christian ministry that is geared toward Navy families in the area. Here are some of our costumes:

On the left is Tabi (with a mask on), I'm in the center (supposed to be Cruella DeVille), and Martha is on the right. Tabi is one of the missionaries from RCA who is teaching at Yokohama Eiwa. She and Tonya are both at the same school and about my same age. They're both a part of the Green House ministry as well. Martha is one of the directors of Lighthouse. She's been so great in helping me fit in there.

Aren't these great costumes? I guess it took 'Optimus Prime' a month to make his costume! Nina, who is the alien, actually made her saucer to light up!! Impressive, huh? Now, can you imagine what all the Japanese people thought as they saw these two going through the train stations to get to Yokohama? Makes me laugh . . .

From the left: Yoko, who attends Lighthouse regularly, Aki who I met that night, Risa who is in college and comes to Lighthouse regularly as well mostly to practice her English, and Yuki who lives on the 3rd floor of the Lighthouse complex. The other two ladies I don't remember. They are Risa's friends who I met for the first time that night.

November 2 and 3 were the days we set aside for Ferris Festival! Here you can see the ENORMOUS banner that the girls in the art club worked on. It's a huge net, and they weaved ribbon in and out to create the picture. Isn't that so impressive? The first night after hanging this banner, it rained. Surprisingly, it withstood the weather!! That takes talent.

Here is a picture of the front of Ferris. We had beautiful, clear skies for both days, but the second day, the temperature dropped down to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Pretty cold for my standards. Nevertheless, Festival was a success! If you look closely enough, you can see a few students standing right above the entrance on the balcony. You can also see how big the banner was in comparison to the school.

For Festival, they usually have about 10,000 people attend between the two days, but this year, because of the swine flu scare, they decided to close Festival to the public. Only the students' immediate family and recent graduates were allowed to attend. I guess a lot of extremely disappointed people were turned away. They still had a good turnout, though. I think they said about 3-4,000? The purpose of Festival is to give the girls a chance to show off what they've been working on in their clubs, as well as a chance for the school to market to prospective students. My favorite club that I visited was by far the orchestra. They were amazing! They played several movements from Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, and they played as well as a college orchestra would play! I went to their dress rehearsal and the performances both days.

Above are some of my J3 students who are in the tennis club. The girl standing in the back is beginning to attend Green House regularly. Let's pray she continues to come!

Here is a picture of me with some more of my students. This picture was taken on the Friday before their Festival days. I walked around with my camera and took lots of pictures of the girls in all their excitement as they were preparing.


Ok, now moving on from school (not that I don't love it) . . . one night I met up with Dana in Shinjuku, which is one of the prime spots in Tokyo. She showed me this GREAT book store. It's seven stories, and one floor is designated for only foreign books! There is a huge selection for me to choose from. I was so excited that she introduced me to this store because so far the only bookstores that I've been to have one shelf designated for foreign books, and that just isn't going to cut it for me. After the bookstore, we walked around to enjoy the city lights.

Shinjuku is a really fun place -- actually all of inner-city Tokyo is fun. There is so much to do, it's unbelievable! Later that night, Dana and I met with some other missionaries that she has been working with. Really, I was the tag-a-long, but we had a great time. We went to an izakaya for drinks and food.

Here is a picture of Dana and me!! I used my growing Japanese skills to ask someone to take the picture for us! :o)

One thing that I missed was Thanksgiving with the family in Paw Paw. Don't worry, though, I did get to enjoy a delicious, American-style Thanksgiving meal. Green House hosted, and we invited Ferris graduates, the Director of Global Missions for RCA, all the Green House leaders (minus one who could not make it) and their families, and others who are involved in Green House in some way. This is our conglomeration of friends here.

We really did have a turkey -- it was 17 lbs! We had to order it from the 'Foreign Buyers Club' otherwise there is no way we would have been able to buy a turkey that large here in Japan. Nozomi did an excellent job cooking the turkey! Seriously, it was delicious. The rest of the Green House leaders pitched in by making a dish as well. Some people brought two dishes, so our table was definitely overflowing onto the table in the next room. I made sweet potatoes. mmm . . . nice and easy.

Now you might be wondering why on earth did Katharine take a picture of shoes in the genkan? Well, I just wanted you to be encouraged by the number of students who showed up for Green House one night! It's a school policy that I cannot post pictures of students on the internet when they are in uniform. So, instead of posting a picture of the students, I posted a picture of their shoes! Pretty soon we are having our Christmas party at Green House and I am hoping that we have shoes overflowing to outside the door that night!!

a few pictures...

This is Green House, where we hold our after-school ministry for the school girls in the area, as well as my aparment on the second floor. It's a great space for me. The area I live in, Yamate-cho, was once designated as the spot for foreigners to live so the houses are bigger, ceilings higher, and the area is westernized. I could not ask for a better place to live.

Here is the lovely school that I teach at: Ferris Jr-Sr Girls' School. This is the front building, next to the main entrance.

This is the view of Yokohama from the top of one of our school buildings. It's such a pretty view. I wish the camera could do it justice.

Frollicking in the rain, experiencing the nightlife of Harajuku. Dana took the pic, so don't worry, I wasn't acting like a weirdo all by myself. I had company to entertain. :o)

new semester at school

Last week, we began a new semester at school. This was great because my first three weeks here, I was able to experiment and discover my teaching 'rhythm,' then start over with a new group of students. The English teachers all switch students halfway through the year so students experience a variety of teaching styles, speaking styles, and accents. I teach two writing classes, which are the only two classes that have the same students year-round. Otherwise, my other 12 classes all switched!

I am still experimenting with different activities to do with the girls. (Here are more teaching ideas for you, Jeff.) The other day we did a classroom bingo activity. I created a bingo sheet that had a phrase in each square. Since the lesson focused on likes, dislikes, and pets, I used phrases like, "likes volleyball," "does not like spiders," or "has a hamster." We practiced asking a few of the phrases as questions, then practiced answering the questions. After that, I had the girls get up, walk around, ask their classmates questions from the phrases on the bingo sheet. The first person to get a bingo won a prize. They finished pretty quickly, though, so I gave another prize to the first person who filled the entire bingo sheet. They enjoyed it because it was a fun conversational activity.

I am also toying with an idea that I had, which I am calling 'Conversation Stations.' Cheesy name, I know, but the concept seems really practical because in real-life, we engage in conversations in different locations with different people. So far the students are used to memorizing a pre-written conversation with their designated partner, but that is not real-life at all. I want to create an activity that uses stations for initiating conversations. There are students who are in charge of the stations, and other students travel the classroom to the stations and engage in conversation. I tried it with my S1 students (10th grade) but discovered the activity needs to be more structured. It's back to the drawing board at this point, but if anyone has suggestions, I am open to them!

We also had our first 'official' day of Green House. Our theme, to go along with autumn, was harvesting. We had two huge apple pies, which were baked homemade by Nozomi, one of the managers of Green House, and I baked two pans of apple crisp. We also had vanilla ice cream, hoping that would stretch the apple dishes. There were about 60-70 girls there, all except one from Ferris, so they wolfed down the food, especially after a long day at school. We definitely ran out of food! Liz, one of the Green House leaders and teacher at Yokohama Girls' School, gave the message. She used an apple as a visual to explain the Trinity. She compared the Father to that of the apple skin because He wraps us and protects us like an earthly father would do as well. The actual 'meat' of the apple is Jesus because he came to us as a human being--he became flesh--and he was the ultimate sacrifice. We think of the Last Supper and how bread is a symbol of Christ's body. Well the apple flesh was compared to that as well and tied into Christ's body as a sacrifice on the cross. The apple core was compared to the Holy Spirit because it contains seeds, and those seeds are spread around and planted in our hearts to help us grow in the faith as well as share the faith. It was a great, simple, and well-illustrated message that the girls could all understand. Plus, it tied in so nicely with our 'harvest' theme and apple desserts. Nozomi translated for the girls just in case some of them did not fully understand the English.

Yesterday was the official two-month anniversary for me. I am so well-adjusted that I feel like I've been here longer! Two months seems too short! At first I didn't like living alone--it's quiet and the apartment is pretty spacious for only one person. I didn't like coming home from school to . . . nothing . . . but now I don't mind it. I keep myself busy enough that I am only alone in my apartment only a couple days during the week. The rest of the time I am at school, at church, volunteering somewhere, tutoring, walking around, at Bible study, have people at Green House, etc.

The temperature dropped below 60 today! I turned my heat on for the first time after I got home from school. The windows are so old that the wind blows right through them almost, so my apartment gets pretty cold. I hope it does not get too bad during the winter. But then again, the average temperature during January and February, the coldest months of the year, is about 35-40 degrees. That's nothing compare to Michigan! We also have another typhoon on the way. It hit Okinawa yesterday, has been traveling north toward mainland Japan all day today, and will barely hit us tonight. By tomorrow, though, it'll have passed already so we will still have school. We look forward to typhoons here like snow days in Michigan! Just a side story: at Sunday School we asked the kids (ages 3-7) what they were thankful for. One boy said, 'typhoons!' No explanation necessary. We all laughed.

Tomorrow I am giving the chapel message at school. After I finish editing, I will publish a separate post that contains my chapel message. It is simple and straight-forward. I cannot get fancy for two reasons: 1) I do not have a theology degree and 2) my audience does not speak English as their first language. Unforunately, I don't have a translator, but before I begin my message, the principal will give a brief outline in Japanese, then I have the rest of the time to speak. We are also able to choose the hymn we want to sing at chapel, which is pretty exciting. I miss singing good ol' hymns in English.

Next week at school is Ferris' festival, or bunkasai in Japanese. The purpose of the festival is to show-off to parents and relatives what the students have been working on in their after-school clubs, as well as to "advertise" to prospective students. Ferris is a prestigious enough school that, other than their festival, they do little advertising. However, since they do little advertising, this makes their festival extremely important. Thursday and Friday this week are big cleaning days to prepare for festival. Thursday we have no PM casses and Friday we have no classes at all. Lucky me, huh? I still have to be at school, though. I'm not sure what I will do. I am already preppred well until their next exams.

The clubs in Japanese schools are pretty interesting. There is the drama club, art club, YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association), tea ceremony club, flower arranging club, sewing club, mountain hiking club, orchestra club, choral club, popular music club, handbell club, badminton club, volleyball, running club, basketball club, and so many other clubs! Basically, instead of extra curricular activities, students join school-sponsored clubs and they meet after school and sometimes on Saturdays. Especially now that festival is just around the corner, students attend their clubs on Saturdays. These girls are so busy! I am being nice this week and not assigning any homework. I want to give them a break.

Last night the pastor next door and his family invited me out for dinner. We went to an Italian restaurant really close to where we live. I had a great time sitting around and getting to know them better. It was really relaxed, family-style, which I haven't been able to experience in a long time. We ordered a few large dishes and all shared--so much fun! It's such a nice treat for me to eat a meal with a family now.

If you think of it, pray for my chapel message. Also, please pray for the Green House ministry. We are already off to a great start, but pray that it continues throughout the year!

a month later . . .

A month later, I can honestly say that I am adjusting well to the Japanese culture and lifestyle. I feel like I have found my rhythm and teaching style at school, and I am finding my way around Yokohama. Exploring the area I live in has been ejoyable now that the weather is cooler and less humid. When I first arrived it was miserable! I cannot imagine what it will be like in the dead of summer.

School has been getting better and better. My writing classes are the best because it is an elective class so the students are truly eager to learn. Plus, they are the S2 level, which is the equivalent of a high school junior in the States. Their comprehension of English is developed enough that I can speak normally and they still understand the basic idea of what I am communicating. That makes class fun. When they try to speak to me in return, it's lots of fun. I appreciate their efforts in speaking English because I know they are shy, but still willing to try. I keep having to remind myself, though, that these girls are working in a foreign language so I cannot pack the class hour with tons of different activites. I usually end up skipping different parts of my lesson because I over-plan. I guess that is better than not planning enough.

I guess my only complaint about school (which really is not a complaint at all) is that I get bored really easily. Now you are probably thinking that I'm a slacker and not working hard enough. Ok, let me explain to you why I get bored easily . . . While student teaching and long-term subbing, I had only one class hour of prep during the day, totaling 5 prep hours a week. I taught all five classes in a row and had last hour as my prep hour. That was rough. I had a headache at the end of every day and often felt light-headed from having to talk so loudly non-stop from 7:45 AM to 1:30 PM. Since my schedule was hectic, I learned how to manage my time so I could leave as soon as possible. Even though it did not always work that way, for the most part, I got better at time management. With my current schedule here, however, I have so much prep time during the day that I get bored. I teach 18 classes per week out of a typical 40-hour work week. Each class is only 45 minutes long. We also have a 30 minute chapel every morning and get 50 minutes for lunch every day. We are required to arrive at 8:10 AM and can leave at 4:10 PM. I always leave right at 4:10, which is really nice. Basically, if I did my math correctly, I teach 13.5 actual hours during the week and have 13.5 hours of prep. All other time is lunch, chapel, and time between classes. What a cushy job, huh?

Last week I filled my time by tracing and coloring pictures of pets for my J1 level classes (7th graders). I laminated them to use in class for a team-version of tic-tac-toe. The girls had fun. Plus, it was nice to have a tangible, visual of the pets to pass around as we were learning about them. This week is mid-term exam week for the students. We have half-days all week long, which is great for us conversaional teachers because since we do not give any tests, we can leave right at 1:00. The other teachers, though, stay later because they have test grading to do, as well as lots of averaging. They calculate grades the old-fashioned way--with paper, a pencil, and a calculator. Talk about time-consuming. Then once the final grade has been calculated, teachers enter students' grades into the special grade computers at school to print out report cards, progress reports, etc. That is where the information is stored. I also have to calculate grades, but once I determine a final grade for my students, my grades get averaged with the English teachers' grades for one overall measure of the students' abilities in English. Basically once my average is calculated, I am done with grades. It's easy.

Aside from school, life is good. I will start teaching Sunday school at Yokohama Union Church, which is right next door, beginning the first week in October. Apparently the church has not had a Sunday school for kids for several years now, so another lady came forth and volunteered herself to start one. The problem was, though, that she could only commit to the 2nd and 4th Sundays of every month. The situation was mentioned to me, and I volunteered to cover the 1st and 3rd Sundays. I would love to teach every Sunday, but for now we are alternating. Apparently there are a lot of English-speaking children in this area, so if we can build a strong enough children's program here, I think that will draw in more numbers for the church!! Let's hope so!! Pray for us . . .

Green House is also going well. We do not officially open until October 22nd, though, but students have been coming anyway. We never turn them away if they come so we have been gathering together just to hang-out. Most girls at the schools that we (meaning Green House team members) teach at are not Christians, so when they come, we really try to welcome them by making it an enjoyable experience. It's time for fellowship, English-practice, snacks, and tea. :) Once we get started with Green House, I'll be able to give more information and specifics on how it is set-up or run.

The longer I am in Yokohama, the more I try to figure out what my purpose will be here. You know me, I am organized and like to have my ducks in a row, but in this situation, I am learning to let God lead. I think of it as a dance--just God and me. If I try to lead, the dance is not fluid, not beautiful, and we end up stepping on each other's toes. However, if I let God lead as it should be, the dance is smooth, enjoyable, breathtaking. There are surprises with every turn and spin, but going through the thrill of the surprise and then returning safely to the arms of your dance partner is what makes the dance so liberating.

first week of school

Finally coming to Friday was such a great feeling. The only downfall is, though, that I did not teach a full week of classes because school did not officially start with students until Wednesday this week. I at least got in three days of teaching. Every class went better and better, which I am thankful for.

My very first class was kind of a flop because my pace was too quick and I'm sure the students didn't understand what I was communicating to them. Also, this class is a writing class, so comprehension is key. I am not allowed to speak in Japanese to the students, though. The native English speakers get in trouble if we do so! That really makes things difficult for writing. My next class after that went great, though. This class is the youngest grade level: J1, which would be the equivalent of 7th grade in the US. They're really cute and I felt bad because they sat there with their mouths gaping open, completely overwhelmed with all my English. I think I was speaking too fast as well. Nevertheless we played some singing games to help them practice their introductions and practice saying things like, "this is..." or "that is..." Fun stuff.

A lot of my classes are giggly and wiggly and just plain girly. They like to snicker and turn around in their seats to say little things here and there to each other. I nipped that in the butt right from the start with all the classes I have had so far. I simply explained that when I am talking, they are not. Most of them sat there with their mouths gaping open in shock, but I didn't have a peep out of them during inappropriate times for the remainder of class.

These girls are so funny. On the first day of classes, I was walking with Nathan (another conversational English teacher who is also the manager of the Green House long with his wife, Nozomi) to our first class because they were near each other. Some girls said, "atarashii sensei?" asking if I was the new teacher. Nathan nodded and the girls responded by saying, "kawaiiiiiiiiiii!!" They were calling me "cute." It's funny hearing that come from students who are younger than me. Anyway, I got that a lot during the day. Other girls would see me and, not recognizing my face, call out, "Kyasarin?" (katharine?) I would turn, smile, and wave. During class, though, I asked my students to all call me Ms. Herbert as we are instructed to be called by the English department. I thought it was cute that students were calling me by my first name and so excited to see me.

Definitely, the welcome from the students has been the greatest. They are so enthusiastic to meet me! Most of them are shy and hesitant to come up to me, but I simply smile a lot and try to be as welcoming and approachable as I possibly can be. At the same time, though, I make sure to start off strict so the students come to respect me as their teacher rather than a new foreigner. I feel confident about the year so far, so that is reassuring.

We also had our first Green House meeting on Thursday. We are hoping to use the first month as team building time so there were no students. We prayed over the ministry and shared our summer events with one another. I am hoping for an excellent year. Please pray for us.

all settled in...

These past few days have been so busy! I am so lucky to have my Mom here to help me with everything. We have been going around getting "things" taken care of . . .

We flew from Detroit at 8:00 AM on Monday, Aug. 24. There were definitely tears shed at the airport, more on my end after I was out of sight, probably. Nevertheless, I had a mission. With a connecting flight in Chicago, the entire trip took way too long. We finally arrived at Narita Airport at 1:50 PM (Japan time) on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Unfortunately, I was stuck sitting next to an elderly gentleman who was quite the talker. He explained to me that he switched seats with another man so that man could sit next to his wife. That was really nice of him, but 15 minutes into the flight with non-stop chatter, I wished he hadn't switched seats.

Upon arriving at Narita Airport, Mom and I took the limousine bus into Yokohama City Air Terminal, which ended up being about an hour-and-a-half ride. That was where we were met by Kobayashi-san, an office worker from Ferris Girls' School, the school I will be working at. She greeted me with a name card and everything. :0) I felt pretty special. We took a taxi to my new apartment in the Green House, which took all of 15 minutes. Kobayashi-san called Nathan and Nozomi, the missionary couple who manages the Green House. They let us in and were able to make introductions as well. I received a set of keys, a brief explanation of the apartment and other things I need to know, and then Mom and I were on our way to the nearest grocery store.

I can't believe how helpful everyone is! Nathan and Nozomi, including their three sons, are so great! Nozomi was extremely thoughtful because she had juice, milk, and pastries in the fridge of my apartment for us to have for breakfast in the morning just in case we were too tired to go out that evening. Wow, talk about going out of your way! Nozomi walked with us to the grocery store to show us where it was. Nathan caught up to us to give me some more information about the apartment and life here in Yokohama.

Mom and I were exhausted that evening. We did go to the TINY grocery store as well as the 7-Eleven nearby to buy some things we needed, but all I really wanted to do was go to bed. Since we had to leave for the airport at 3 AM, I didn't go to bed that night. I watched movies and journaled during the plane ride to Japan. All in all, I went 48 hours without sleep. You can begin to understand how good a bed sounded.

I don't want to make this extremely long, so I will compose a "condensed version" of the next few days. We arrived on Tuesday, so on Wednesday, Mom and I met with Kobayashi-san so I could go to the city office and register as a new resident. Eventually I will receive the US's equivalent of an alien registration card. Right now I have to carry around a 8 x 11 certificate in my purse that I can't fold until I receive the other paperwork and card. Talk about annoying. I also opened a bank account at Bank of Yokohama. Eventually, Mom and I ended our day by shopping on Motomachi street, which is a tourist-attraction, shopping street that is VERY close to where I live. Unfortunately, though, this makes the grocery store on this street quite expensive.

On Thursday, I met the principal at Ferris, Tabei-sensei. What a nice man! I feel so comfortable being at this school knowing the excellent reputation it has and being able to meet the man-in-charge. I learned that I have a meeting with all the other English teachers on Monday. I'm so excited! Then school starts the very next day. After meeting Tabei-sensei, Mom and I went to Yokohama station for some more shopping. (Just a disclaimer: at this point, when I say shopping, I don't mean shopping for clothes, I mean shopping for necessities for my apartment. I just don't want anyone to get the wrong idea.) After another long day of walking everywhere, Mom and I crashed on the couches before finally making it to our beds.

Today (Friday), we went to Yokosuka Navy Base so I could go to Navy Federal Credit Union. Even though I'm in a foreign country and having LOTS OF FUN, I still have those nasty college tuition loans to pay. I am trying to figure out a way to bypass all the fees that are included with wiring money internationally to pay my loans. My only option is to make a friend on-base. It felt so nice to be on a military base again, and I realized how much I miss that lifestyle. Mom and I were both reminiscing.

Afterwards, we wet to AU (Japanese cellphone network) and I got a cellphone!! I may have made my first Japanese "friend" as well. Apparently I needed another person's phone number who is also subscribed to AU in order to start my own plan. Since I got here only a few days ago, I didn't have a number to give. The guy (whose name I later learned is Morita-san) looked concerned and was thinking of a way to help us. He explained that I really needed a number, otherwise I'd have to come back. I said I would wait until school started and ask some of the teachers if I could use their number as a sponsor. However, Morita-san offered his number as a sponsor. He said it's against the rules so it has to stay a secret, but he'd help me out. (By the way, this is all going on in Japanese and I understood the basic idea.) Once that was settled, he asked us to come back in an hour to program my phone and get it all set-up for me to use right away. Mom and I went to a coffee shop to sit and chit-chat, and once we got back, Morita-san helped me again. He said he programmed his cell phone number in my phone, explaining that he really wants to learn English. He offered to help me learn Japanese as well. :) What a good deal. Anyway...that's the story of my first, possible, Japanese "friend."

Tonight, Mom and I enjoyed a bottle of wine together as we sat and relaxed from another long day of walking almost everywhere. As of right now, she is asleep on the futon, and I am typing away.

And just to let everyone know, it's either the jet lag, or because Japan is know as "Land of the Rising Sun," but I've been waking up at 5:30 AM these past few days. I want to sleep in, but the sunshine in my room is way too bright. Sunrise is probably at 5AM!! Waking up early is NOT my usual self . . . perhaps its better this way?

And so it begins...

Well, I've never written a blog before, nor have I ever thought blogs were a cool idea, but with all the requests I'm getting to "Keep us updated so we can pray for you," perhaps a blog is a good idea. I do appreciate and NEED the prayers. Plus, now everyone can stalk me and see what I'm doing in Yokohama, Japan.

No, don't worry, I am not actually out of the country yet. I am still in tiny, little Paw Paw until August 24th when my mom and I fly out. She is so great--she's coming with to help me get set up and adjusted to the different lifestyle over there. We better hope I make all my cultural faux pas while she's there for correction so I don't embarass myself any further.

At this point, we are at a countdown until take-off--26 more days. I just retured from our Ecumenical Mission Personnel Orientation in Chicago where the Reformed Church in America, the denomination that I am volunteering with, met with mission personnel of other denominations such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Presbyterian Church (USA), Episcopal Church (USA), and the Capuchin Franciscan Volunteer Corps (Catholic). I met some great people, some of whom will be going to Japan [shout-outs to Dana, Lizzie, Doug & Sue, and Don & Akiko], as well as friends from RCA going to Hungary [yeah for Trazy and Jeff]. We've already discussed plans to visit one another. :)

Just in case you're wondering exactly what I'll be doing in Japan, here it is. I will be teaching Conversational English at Ferris Jr/Sr Girls' School, a prestigious private school in Yokohama. My class sizes will be relatively small in comparison to the grammatical English classes--I've been told about 25 students?? We'll see. My apartment is within a five-minute walk from the school in a building called the Greenhouse. The second floor will be my apartment, and the first floor is like a youth center where we can gather to socialize, hold Bible studies, etc. I'm still unsure as to exactly what we do there, but I will find out soon.

Well, now you know the same amount of details that I know as well, which is not very much. That has been the greatest thing about this new chapter in life: I have been taken on this rollercoaster ride in which I don't know where the turns or drops will occur, and yet I still have complete confidence that at the end, I will arrive safely. I can look back and see exactly where those turns and drops occured, and it is at that point that it all makes sense. The Lord works in wonderful ways and I love not knowing what is in store for me--the people I'll meet and the places I'll go.