Hello! This is Luke! I hope you are doing well. I know you miss me, so I decided to show you some pictures of me! Enjoy!
I like my daddy’s phone. I wonder why I can’t play with this all the time.
Did you know I love playing with water?
I can sleep on the train! And people keep looking at me while I sleep!
This is my new pose when someone tries to take a picture of me. I can’t make a “peace” sign with my fingers like my Japanese friends.
I am happy most of the time, but I cry sometimes.
I just love chilling at the zoo.
This is my favorite ride, Anpanman.
My new favorite food. Don’t worry, I shared with mommy and daddy.
My grandpa taught me how to play the recorder.
This is me and my friend playing together. I love going to his house and I know mommy loves it, too!
You know, I was just trying to see if these fit me…
I told you I love water!!!
I can spend hours looking at fish.
I love playing the guitar and singing in the car.
This is how I play hockey in the house.
My friends came to my house to swim with me!
Hope you all had a great summer!
We went to the Anpanman Museum.
Grandpa bought me a new ukulele. It’s my favorite toy right now.
As you can see, I am growing up! Thank you for thinking of me and praying for me. Please pray for 5 friends who are coming to Japan from our church in Arlington. They are coming this Saturday and we will be visiting many places. I am excited to introduce them to my Japanese friends! Thank you for your prayers!
We have had a lot of teams come and go over the past year. We are abundantly thankful for our home church in Texas sending such a wonderful group of ladies. Not only did they minister to the kids but they ministered to us as well. Luke often takes a moment to get to know people before warming up to them but he truly took the the team right away. He was sad to see the team leave and so were we.
We are blessed to have served with Martha, Lindsey, and Kristen. We pray you take what you learned and experience here and share it with others back home. We will miss you but we pray we get to see you all very soon! Thank you so much FBCA for sending them to us.
Last week, we were blessed to have two special friends from Arlington, Texas! Cindy serves as the director of our sending organization (GCPN) and she is also our pastor’s wife. For about two years, we spent our Monday nights at her house to have a training session to learn about missions. It was such a great learning experience for both of us, and we also made some close friends who all have hearts for the world. After we found out about the radiation leak, Cindy and Dennis (our pastor) spent several nights without sleeping in order to come up with our evacuation plan. We are so thankful for their leadership and wisdom. Another friend, Cathie, has been such a blessing to Yu ever since she first met her. When we were still in Arlington, she invited Yu to her house to have lunch or take her to nice restaurants, and it was always a special time for her. She prayed for us as we went through difficult times and also encouraged us as we prepared to become parents. She has an amazing husband, two sweet kids, and a precious mom from Japan. Please pray for her mom as she is away from her family in Japan.
They came all the way to South Korea to encourage us and to take care of our baby! As you can imagine, Luke LOVED spending time with Aunt Cindy and Aunt Cathie! They blessed us and encouraged us so much. We had an amazing week together and words can’t express how thankful we were to have them with us.
Here are some pictures!
They arrived in Seoul safely! The girl on the far left is Yu’s high school friend who lives in Seoul. She took care of us last week (another blessing from God).
Clothes, diapers, wipes, toys, food, towels… It was like having another baby shower!
So excited!
A huge “THANK YOU” to those who gave these gifts!
Happy to be together!
We took a cable car to go up the hill.
With the guard in front of Seoul Tower.
We got to see an awesome show (Koreans really value their traditions).
City of Seoul is huge!
We had to take this picture!
Our favorite tea room. Luke was spoiled by these beautiful ladies!
We visited this place called “Secret Garden”.
Such a beautiful palace where Korean kings and queens used to live.
Love this photo!
With the pastor, deacon, and translator at Eunpyeong First Church. They were so kind to us.
At Far East Broadcasting Company. It is a Christian radio station that Dr. Billy Kim started. These girls are his assistants and they welcomed us so warmly. They invited us to share our story at their company.
So comfy in her arms!
Look at his smile! She took care of him while we had a meeting with Cindy. We had a devotional and talked about our plans. We are blessed to have a church family that cares about us and prays for us. Even thought we don’t know what will happen, we know His plans give us hope and a future.
One of the deacons of the church took us to have a feast! Cathie and Cindy were so brave to try some seafood that they had never seen.
We tried on the traditional Korean dresses. It was such a neat experience.
We learned so many parenting skills from these experienced moms! They babysat Luke while we went on a date! We had such a great time but we sure missed our baby boy!
We had lunch with our friends from DBU.
We also had a special prayer time for Japan.
Saying good bye (and see you again) at the airport.
Doesn’t he look sad in this picture? We already miss them both!
Cathie and Cindy, thank you so much for loving us, encouraging us, and ministering to us. Both of you are such blessings from God. We are also thankful for FBCA for sending them to see us. We are blessed more than words can express! Thanks be to God!
Last Thursday, we received an e-mail from Cindy, our pastor’s wife and the director of GCPN, our sending organization. She shared a shocking news. The pastor of our mission church in Arlington, Clint Dobson, was murdered in his church. His assistant was badly beaten. We didn’t know him personally, but have heard so many great things about him. We have many good friends who were really close to him. Since we could not fly back to comfort them, we have been praying every day for his family, friends, and our church families. You can read more about his story at http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03/09/2909796/slain-arlington-pastor-is-laid.html
In the e-mail, Cindy shared Romans 8:28 that says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
It reminded me of my mom who passed away last June. God welcomed her to heaven after a year long battle with cancer. Losing my mom was the hardest thing in my life. She was the best mom to me and my brother, and the best wife to my dad. I have asked “why” countless times and I still cry because I miss her so very much.
But God has taught me the meaning of Romans 8:28 repeatedly since we came to Japan. So many people have told me that my mom’s life and passing had helped them to get closer to God. Several believers that my mom was mentoring became more involved at church. Some young moms that my mom was ministering to at the weekly mom’s time started to read Bible and visit church. Her college friends who had never visited church came to the worship service for the first time. Her father (my grandfather), who is a strong Buddhist, started to ask me questions about God and church. Her niece (my cousin), whom my mom was always concerned about, decided to enroll her son in a Christian kindergarten and started to attend church regularly. The list goes on and on.
I am not trying to brag what a great woman of God she was, but I want you to know what Romans 8:28 means. Even though I don’t understand why God called my mom and Clint home so soon, I know He will use these situations for the good of all who love Him and who have been called according to His purposes. I am so thankful for the lives well lived.
What about us? What are we doing for His kingdom? We are here to share the love and hope of Christ with Japanese people so that they have the same peace we have and the hope to see Jesus someday.
