All good things must come to an end

Well hello America. I knew we’d meet again one day. I can’t say I’m as excited to see you as I imagined. You’ve changed a lot in two months, but then again, so have I. For starters, you are ginormous. Roads, cars, portions, and even people have at least doubled in size. Everything is very spread out, and no one recycles. Everyone speaks to me in my own language, and I can read the signs. This will take some getting used to. 

It is so nice to be home though. I missed my family tremendously. Thankfully they haven’t really changed, except that puppy I could cradle in my arms before I left, can now knock me over in one swift move. While it really is so good to be home, I’m not going to lie, I already miss Japan. It was such an incredible summer, and I am so blessed to be able to have that amazing opportunity. It was super busy and crazy at times, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. It went by way too fast. If you didn’t already notice, my storytelling and sharing of my experiences kind of went out the window towards the end of my trip. Sorry about that. It was not at all my intention to leave y’all in the dark that last leg of my summer, but in hindsight, it was kind of brilliant. Now I’ll have some good stories to tell you in person that you haven’t heard yet :) Does God have a plan, or what? 

But seriously, when I say I miss Japan, it's not just one of those formalities you say out of obligation to try to prove to onlookers that you actually had a great summer. I actually do really miss that place.

I miss the sunrise at 4:30 AM, even though I was almost never awake to see it.

I miss my bike.

I miss C. C. Lemon.

I miss trying to eat everything with chopsticks, and often failing miserably.

I miss getting lost on the train.

I miss nodding and smiling when someone speaks to me in Japanese because I have no idea what they are saying. 

I miss the Arabian nights music playing at the elementary school next to my house that I could hear out my window every Saturday morning.

I miss baby Os.

I miss pictures on menus at restaurants, and never knowing what to order.

I miss toilets with sinks behind them and a million buttons, so it becomes very confusing to know how to flush them.

I miss Jusco.

I miss rainy days in Tokyo.

I miss jammin out to Taylor Swift at Karaoke.

I miss taking my shoes off when I walk into a house.

I miss really long, sleepless bus rides to Tohoku to help with earthquake and tsunami relief.

I miss coffee jelly.

I miss taking the labels off my plastic bottles and recycling everything.

I miss walking paths.

I miss concert of prayer.

I miss ramen.

I miss Wednesday night volleyball.

I miss passing out chirashi.

I miss CCSI and all the awesome kids that go there.

All in all, I pretty much miss everything about Japan.

I'm so thankful that I was able to go on such an incredible journey, and I'm so thankful for all of you who prayed for me and supported me through the whole endeavor. I really and truly could not have done it without you, and I am so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!! I also really appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules to get a quick (or sometimes not so quick) update of my summer in the land of the rising sun. I was blown away by your encouragement, and I can't even tell you how much it meant to me!

It’s still kind of hard for me to process life after Japan, but it gets a little easier each day. I know my heavenly father is there every step of the way, and he has been using prayer as a vehicle to keep me connected to my Japanese brothers and sisters in Christ. He never gives me more than I can handle, and I’m so thankful for his faithfulness to me throughout this whole journey.

The country of Japan needs the gospel, just like we all do, and I would challenge you to continue to remember all those who are still there in your prayers, just as I am challenging myself to do the same thing. God is absolutely working there in ways that maybe numbers cannot adequately express, but individual stories and personal experiences proclaim his powerful presence. It is certainly a different mission field than I had ever experienced before, but one that is capable of doing great things for the Kingdom of God. I was inspired and encouraged in my own faith having conversations and just being in the same room as some of these Japanese Christians, watching them selflessly work without ever complaining or seeking recognition. God certainly did such a work in my heart this summer, drawing me closer to him in ways I would have never expected.

I heard someone this summer tell a story of a man who ended his prayer each morning with a phrase similar to “Help me today Lord, for I am afflicted and needy.” That was so powerful to me, as I constantly need to remind myself how helpless I am apart from the Lord. I tried to adopt that into my own prayer life, and it really altered the way I lived out my day. As I'm entering back into the real world, I long to had the same attitude as I did when I left for Japan. I’m sure I’m going to offend some people, and I’m fairly certain I will do most things incorrectly, but I can’t wait. My prayer is that God continues to use me wherever I am for his glory in his timing.

Well I guess this is goodbye. I feel like my life lately can be described perfectly by the John Mayer song, "All we ever do is say goodbye." Super cheesy I know, but it fits.

Thank y'all again so much for sharing in this incredible summer with me! If you ever want to talk more about Japan or have any questions for me, please let me know! I will take any opportunity to converse about this amazing country and the awesome people that live there. Or if you just want to call me up to talk about your summer, I would love that as well! Goodness knows the least I can do for y'all is to lend a listening ear after all you've done for me! I am so thankful for all of you, and I love you so much! If you wouldn't mind, I would still love y'all to keep praying for Japan and myself; I really am afflicted and needy. Hope y'all have a wonderful day :)