I Will Survive... Sing it!!

It is so weird to look down at my computer and see that it is 1:30am, and you are just starting Tuesday when I am already halfway through the afternoon.

So, since I last wrote, I have done quite a few things. One thing I discovered lately was that you really need to check what you think you're using when you're cooking. How do I know that? Because I used vinegar oil to cook garlic and noodles in. I made a few funny faces while trying a few bites and in went my lunch to the trash can. I ended up having toast.

Since then, I have made some progress in my cooking skills, just so you know.

So, last night, I went to a life group with Amy... actually I met her there-- it was at a McDonalds, since all life groups are done at public places, for all kinds of cultural and practical reasons. It was with a girl named Saki, who is so adorable! We're doing discipleship with her (well, not "we" yet), but the topic of last night was our identity in Christ. It was basically looking up the "I am" and "I have... in Christ" statements... We looked them up and then made up the "I" statement and discussed them.

It was really cool to watch Saki's face at one point when we talked about the verse that says we are God's temple. At first, she didn't understand it and asked if it meant that we have temples inside of us. Then when we explained and used examples, her face really just lit up. It was cool because you could see that it clicked and that she realized that God lived inside of her and that she already has Him, she doesn't have to go to a "place" to find God.

That was probably the best-- watching that moment she understood-- wow! And a big smile came over her face.

Of course, she came to know many other things too, and one that was particularly special to her was If God is for us, who can be against us?-- because at times she felt those pullings of going one way when Jesus was saying to go another way-- and she knows now that no enemy is undefeatable.

Anyway, it was really cool! I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's interesting, because in Mexico and in the States, you had some basis for explaining things to people... they generally have an idea, even if it's skewed. But here, it's like a blank slate-- and so like last night, we explained what redemption meant, and all those kinds of things.

Anyway, today after the prayer breakfast and Fuse team planning meeting, Yuiko took me to register for my Alien Registration card (sounds fun, huh) and health insurance. I think it's a rule that if you're in Japan for more than 3 months that you have to have insurance. So, I have it now, and a nice little card to carry around. In about 3 weeks or so, I'll go for my alien registration card and that'll be the equivalent, I guess, of my Drivers License Identification (only, I can't drive, but I think for identification purposes, it's its equivalent).

So, fun times. I'm learning more every day, exploring more everyday-- oh and did I mention that I found my way all the way to the church today? And that's a good half-hour walk. I also learned how to use the rice maker, whose buttons I completely don't understand. Nonetheless, I have rice, and it's the right consistency. If all else fails, I can survive on rice.

Yeah, that's what I thought too...