Oh, Sunday.

Sundays are a favorite day all around the world. While doing five minute english when we get to the question about their favorite day of the week, 9 times out of 10 they will say Sunday. This Sunday has been a little different though for several reasons. First of all, I am typing this while I sit at a table with my foot soaking in a pot of hot water. Sound odd? I thought so too. It's actually a typical Japanese tradition to  spend Sunday afternoons soaking your right foot in a kitchen pot full of hot water. Okay, okay. I fell and twisted my ankle and now it's the size of  Rhode Island. This morning, I decided to go for a quick little run. On the road there were little dirt piles about every few feet. I thought I would be real cool and jump over them. After jumping the first one, I did in fact feel cool. So, I tried again. Mistake. I tripped on a rock, banged my left knee and rolled my right ankle. I've always kind of felt like a little old woman, so I'm actually okay with walking like one. :) What's funny is that satan is trying so hard to discourage me (and our entire team in every way imaginable) and he's just not going to. Because of this "injury" sweet Mrs. Teresa, recently re-named by me as "Mama T" will not let me leave the house so I have had more time to rest, read and study the Word. Good try, satan. The second odd occurrence of the day (it just took me four tries to correctly spell "occurrence") was that we didn't have house church this morning. Four people were supposed to be baptized at the beach but because of the rain, it was moved to a small cafe. We ate Japanese curry, then they just rolled out the little baptism bath and went at it. Two men, one woman, and a little boy were baptized. One of the men baptized was married to the woman who was baptized and their son was the boy who was also baptized. To top it off, the man is in a wheelchair so the woman baptized her son AND today is her birthday and her and her husband's wedding anniversary. Take a moment to soak that in.
After church we took one of our Japanese friends and her two precious babies home. Then we went to a pharmacy to get some things for my ankle and knee. I have now progressed from the soaking pot to the elevation stage where I am lying on the floor with my foot hiked up on the couch. I am glad two of my team members are nursing majors. I had just planned to throw a bandaid on it and go so my mother would be proud to know they are taking great care of me. Pray for our team. There are a few of us suffering from minor sicknesses/injuries. Also, there are like 12 or so girls living in this house making it an estrogen filled pit of doom at times. We do love each other but sweet mercy, it is only because of the Holy Spirit within us. One time I heard Beth Moore say that you can tell the Spirit is working in your life when you look at someone and think "you know what last year I couldn't stand you, and now you're not too bad." Haha please pray that we have the patience to make it past the frustration. Together we are the Body and we are to work together as one. This is something we all know, though at times it is hard to see each other as a valuable part of the Body instead of a hangnail or a kidney stone.
The California Baptist volunteer team leaves on Wednesday and my boy Lee Allred and the Tupelo crew come in tomorrow night! Woo hoo! One of our teams was asked not to return to Kobe University. God was really working through the contacts that we had made there so we are not too surprised that satan has thrown a hurdle in the way. My team is scheduled to go there tomorrow. Charlie knows a Christian professor there so he is going with us to try to mend the broken relationship and see if we can return to the campus. Please pray. Thank you for remembering us and know that your prayers are being heard and answered by our all powerful Creator God.

Leaving you with lyrics from the song stuck in my head today : "There are tears from the Saints, for the lost and unsaved. We're crying for them come back home, we're crying for them, come back home. Father we will lead them home, Father we will lead them home."

Love you all,
VBL