One of my favorite devotional authors is Ruth Myers!

Just discovered a new book by Ruth Myers is available for FREE download for Amazon's KINDLE!    Find it here!

Kindle

see the KINDLE here!  I ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ my Kindle!  Need I say more?!  Okay, some of you out there have no idea what a Kindle is, so let me explain.    Technology has allowed various companies to develop small compact devices that a person can use for reading electronic (e-books) books.  Amazon was one of the premier developers and designed the Kindle.  I even love the name since reading books makes me want to read more and my love for reading is constantly being re-kindled!!   My preference is the less expensive version which requires downloading to computer first and then transferring to the Kindle.  Why, you ask?  Isn't it more convenient to pay with a credit card and have your books instantly downloaded into the Kindle?  Well, yes.  It is.  But, we must pay for all that convenience.  And to be completely honest...I am an impulse shopper.  And sometimes, I'll see a book I THINK I will like.  So sometimes instead of just buying and downloading the one, I'll buy the entire series before knowing if I really will like it, leading to...great disappointment.  I just find that for me, it is better to think carefully before I purchase, read the reviews, and make an investment I know I won't regret.  That being said, however, I think the KINDLE itself is a most amazing investment.  Now that I'm overseas, I find it difficult to locate the books I want to read in English.  Plus, the high cost of shipping books is a strong deterrent to buying more books.  Insert: the kindle.  It is great, because there is no shipping cost for books.  It stores hundreds of books in one small lightweight device.  It is incredibly handy to slip into your bag and carry it with you everywhere you go.  I bought myself a really sweet pink floral zipper bag from Laura Ashley and it is perfect for keeping my Kindle in the main pocket, and my connecting cords and charger in the outside pocket.  (I only take the charger when I'm traveling away from home for longer than a day, because the battery lasts soooooooo long when you don't use the wireless function for downloading!)    I usually only have to recharge my Kindle about once a week and I read a lot!!! So, that's another great thing!  It has a super long-lasting rechargeable battery!  So, no extra money going for battery purchases.

Another great thing about the KINDLE is that it is created by Amazon!  Seriously, what better place to find a great selection of books with reviews, etc.  In the Kindle store, they have rankings to you can see what other people are downloading.  Plus, every month, they have dozens of e-books that you can download for FREE!!!!   I wouldn't recommend all of the free ones, but I've been pleasantly surprised at how good some of the free books are.  And it has helped me find some new authors that I really like.  Of course, now and then, I also buy books by my favorite authors.  But, that's the cool thing.  Now I have access to all of these great books at my fingertips.

Did I mention how much I really hate to WAIT?  Anywhere.  Anytime.  Waiting is the bane of my existence.  Since the purchase of my KINDLE, though, I've learned to relax more while waiting.  Sometimes when I'm at the climax of a good book, I'm even begging the traffic to get backed up or my husband to be late to pick me up.  I just pull out my KINDLE and read another page or two while standing in line or sitting and waiting somewhere.

I also love the fact that if I delete something I've read, I can always go back to my home page on the server and download it again.  I never have to pay twice for the same book.  Whereas with real books, I'll lend it out or give it away, and then down the road I want to read it again.  So then I have to buy another copy.  Kindle has even added a lending service so that you can lend books that you have to other Kindle readers.

Overall, I just want to say that I am really IMPRESSED with the KINDLE experience.  I hope you'll give it a try, because, believe me, it's not just the wave of the future, it's the here and now best reality for avid readers!

Twenty years---where has the time gone!?

As we prepared to finish our days of formal Japanese language study during our second year in Japan, we were actively praying that God will give us clear direction regarding the location where we should be starting an evangelism and church planting ministry. After a number of visits to another part of Nagano Ken where our good friends, the Coles, were ministering, we were starting to feel the Lord nudging us in that direction. A city about 25 minutes away from where the Coles were working has a population of 53,000 people and only one Catholic church and one protestant church. Within those final months of language school, through the introduction of another missionary, God led us to meet with Mr. Aoki, his mother and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Ozawa, Mr. and Mrs. Kosuda, and a young single adult woman. These eight adults had become believers and were meeting regularly to PRAY that God would build an evangelical church in their city. They had been meeting and praying for five years for this to happen!!! Whoa--did that ever raise the inadequacy quotient? Have you ever felt God telling you that you are the direct answer to someone's prayers!? We were scared spitless. We could barely follow the conversation around the table and had to rely on our fellow missionary for interpretation. This was not the picture we had imagined--the picture of starting slowly with some classes and maybe a Bible study or two while we further developed our language ability, and then down the road, opened the doors for regular Sunday worship services.

Murray often describes these eight believers as being just like a bottle of cola, that has been shaken up well, and the lid is ready to pop!! The moment we agreed that we believed that God was leading us to move to Suzaka, to open the doors of our home to the beginnings of a church, these amazing people popped the lid and their enthusiasm for reaching their friends and neighbors for Christ enabled us to begin laying the foundations for a body of believers in Suzaka, Nagano, Japan.

Our nine years with these beloved people were filled with many challenges. Little by little, we all grew through working together. Our language improved slowly, God sent more believers to pitch in, people were saved and baptized, our son, Josiah, was born, our children grew up, and God established the work.

Hard to believe that it has been twenty years since those first days in Suzaka. We rejoice at what God has done. We are thrilled to see a growing, active local church there following the leadership of a Japanese pastor and a number of elders. We are incredibly excited to return there this weekend to be a part of special services giving God the glory for all He has done in these past twenty years in this small city. We pray that the light of these believers will continue to impact the city for Christ and for eternity.

Coming Soon! English Cafe meets Disney!!

It has been a busy summer, and now we are starting to get back into the swing of a more regular routine. That includes plans for our next English Cafe--featuring a DISNEY SING-A-LONG!! Come in costume, recommend a favorite song (in advance, please) and bring along your singing voice to enjoy the fun!! Starting at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, September 25th at our usual meeting place, Agape Bible Church near Myohouji station. We'll start doing pickups at Myohoji around 4:30 p.m. Text Kathy at kjtrim@softbank.ne.jp if you would like a ride!! Zip e dee doo dah, Zip e dee day, My oh my what a wonderful day!! Great chance to use your English in a fun, relaxing atmosphere. Of course, plenty of snacks available to munch while you chat.

Agape Bible Church now on Facebook!

You can now find us on Facebook. Click the title of this post to visit our Facebook page. Agape Bible Church

revamped "cry" room

Even though our little Japanese church is growing slowly over a long period of time, every so often we find that the building is starting to need more and more repairs. When our volunteer team was here last December, they did a fantastic job painting and decorating the Sunday School room. We have another small room on the 2nd floor. It used to be connected to the downstairs speakers so that people there could hear what was happening but the inside-the-wall wiring developed a problem and it hasn't been working in quite some time. Some months ago a young mother and her young daughter began attending church most weeks. But sometimes they would have to leave if the daughter got too noisy. So Josiah took it upon himself to figure out how to revamp some wiring so that we could use the upstairs room again for moms with young children. If you click on the title above, it should link you to Josiah's photos of this project.

This sweet mom and her little girl attend on Sundays most weeks and are also members of playgroup. For some reason, the little girl has a strong preference for the noisy toys!! For two Sundays in a row now, the little girl has been able to play to her heart's content and her mom has been able to listen from the upstairs room and follow along. The mom is so happy to have this option.

In the background of the top photo, you can see Mrs. Kurome. Mrs. Kurome is my playgroup Japanese assistant. She is such a blessing to me. She plays with the kids, talks with the moms, prepares the snacks and tea for snacktime, often helps me with Japanese paperwork, and helps with clean-up at the end.

Thanks, Josiah, for making this dream of a room with a speaker a reality at Agape!!

Golden Days

Ken and Rie, Takeshi and Tsuyosyi Sasaki

It is so hard to believe that May is already here. The winter seemed to drag on, cold and rainy, for so long, and now suddenly we have bright sunny days that feel more like summer than spring.

In Japan, April 29 is a national holiday (green day) which is soon followed by Golden Week, May 3-5. Depending on what days of the week the holidays fall on, the Japanese take several days off. This is one of the three times per year that nearly everyone in the entire country is on holiday. You could probably also call it "old home" week because a high percentage of people return to their hometowns or parents' homes for visits. Consequently, the traffic on the roads and the crowded train stations can be a pretty strong deterrent to a desire to go anywhere.

This year we made the wise choice, as we most often usually do, to stay close to home and let others come to us! What a joy it was! Rie Sasaki was an English student of ours in Suzaka about 12 years ago. Her Christian friend, Naoko, often invited her to church and Rie became a Christian. 10 years ago (on May 3rd) we had the privilege of attending her wedding to a wonderful Christian guy named Ken Sasaki (who we had previously met while helping out with an English camp ministry). Now they have two great boys, ages 5 and 3 and they all came to visit our part of Japan over the holiday. We had such a great time hanging out together and showing them some of our favorite spots in the area. Rie could hardly believe that all of our kids are adults now. We have so many great memories. It is difficult for me to even try to describe the joy of seeing Rie and her husband living for the Lord, being active in their local church in Kashiwazaki (a different part of Japan), and raising their little boys to love Jesus. Takeshi and Tsuyoshi were delighted that our little dog (Toby) prays before he eats and (usually) waits patiently until he hears the "Amen" before he starts to eat!

It was a delightful few days at a different pace, and now we get ready to get right back into the swing of daily life, starting with Moms and Tots Playgroup on Thursday mornings. This group has openings for new members so please pray that God will send us some more moms and kids soon.