Ward Wanderings

Construction at Ono continues

Henry is adding new walls to the kitchen area in late November.

This is the kitchen that needs to be completely redone: new walls, counters, sink, floor.

That is a new closet to the bedroom area.

Pastor Saeki came and helped to knock out the ofuro (bathtub) area so a new system bath can be installed. It had cinder block, concrete, rock; generally a big, heavy mess.

Dan Gardner came up for a week and helped alot. He suggested changing the stairs to the second floor room which made them straight up and wider with a gentler slope.

Mr. Fukumoto painted the kitchen with a first coat of white. That corner had water stains in the ceiling.

This is Miss Murakami playing the trombone. She graduates next year from the Bible School here.

All Are Welcome is this year's theme song at Kato Baptist Church, written by Ron Hamilton and translated into Japanese by Henry. This is not the entire song because the file is too large to upload, but one verse.

We had 18 at a recent service in November. Recently several African people have been coming. They work at local Japanese factories. They come from Cameroon, Nigeria, and Jamaica. We have an international church in the making with Japanese, American and Brazilian nationals attending. The owner of the building still comes every Sunday morning, sometimes with his wife. We are praying they will get saved soon.

We found a new (to us) place to live in Ono City.

We have located a house to rent in Ono City, about 15 minutes from the new church in Kato City. The owner said we could make improvements up to a certain amount and he gave us the money with which to do that. We told him we could probably move in December, so next month will be spent making changes. It has a tatami room, large room for our bedroom and my sewing area, plus a kitchen, bath, toilet and a room upstairs. The owner is only charging 30,000 yen a month or about $300. :-)

This is the main room on the first floor and the largest room in the house I think.

This is the tatami room at one end just inside the main entrance to the right and not in the picture. This room does not need any renovation.

The kitchen will be completely redone probably. A new sink and cabinets are needed as well as cabinets, plus we will probably replace the wood flooring with tile.

The ofuro/bath room will be completely redone as it is really old and small now. More pictures coming as we progress with the renovation.

Happy Birthday Dad

August 23, 2020, Dad would have been 100 years old. Here's some photos related to my family from ages ago.

Dad and Joe about 1954, maybe in Mississippi or England

Dad's law school graduation 1971 (?) --sorry for taking such a bad photo. This was pre-digital :)

Joe, Mary and Celeste (top) Tom, Barb, Bob and Donald (bottom)

All taken in Lakewood, Colorado 1971 ish. Top is Barb, Mom and three cats, Mary and same three cats.

Around Kita Kobe in July

Orangish gladiola Pi

Pink lily

White gladiola

Beetle walking on the pavement

Heron hunting frogs

Orange mountain lilies in neighbors yard

Our tomato cage--the birds still got in :-(

One of several times the creek was really full

Same creek a little farther down, The reeds used to be standing straight up

The Kato Church update

The covid-19 virus put a halt to church in March/April. Up till that time, several people came to the services. After that, through the end of June, it was mostly Mr. Fukumoto, Henry and I in services. We broadcast live stream on the internet and a few people would "attend" church that way. It was just not the same, as everyone knows. The building owner came to service on Mother's Day, the only person besides us. He and his wife have returned a few times since then.

A Japanese-Brazilian couple started coming to church about the end of February, early March. They both work in companies near the church.
We started having limited access services in May and they brought several of their friends. There was a good crowd on Father's Day and a high attendance of 20 on June 28th; with five children coming with their parents. It has been good to see people coming again.

Below are the pictures: Mother's Day, Father's Day and the gift of drinking cups we gave them, and June 28th.

Spring 2020 around Hatacho

On my daily walk I pass some beautiful flowering bushes and plants. Here are just some of them. The streets are lined with azaela bushes.

Spring lavender in my yard. It is really a purple, not blue.

One of my neighbor's flooded rice field. The reflection is wonderful.

In the distance is a cluster of purple and white iris.

Sara is Engaged!

Sara met Garrison Snow at Ambassador Baptist College. Both will be seniors in the Fall. He is a Pastoral Major; Sara is a Missions Major. We are very happy for them. Planning a long-distance wedding will be a challenge, but thankfully there are a couple of ladies who will be glad to help wherever they can.