Today was a bit more relaxed than the last few days. We leisurely got out of bed and mosied around getting ready to leave. We were blessed to be able to assist our friend, Ginna, in a few household tasks that needed to be completed before we could trek up the mountains to Kariuzawa! One highlight was getting to ride bikes to the grocery store. That was one of my dreams of living in another country. Perhaps it's just the romantic side of world travel...exploring busy streets by bike. Well, that dream was fulfilled. It was fun to buy groceries and carry them home in the little bike basket. My bike even had a little bell I got to ring. It's the little things in life!
I'm grateful for a short nap on the drive north. We were given a short tour both by car and by foot of the little mountain resort town of 40,000 people in the winter and 4 million in the summer. The little cabin in the forest where we are calling home is quite quaint and cozy. I'm pretty sure I could get used to living in a cabin in the woods. However, I'm a full-fledged island gal and that became quite clear when we stepped out of the car into the crisp coolness of the mountains. I'm sorry, that wasn't quite the right phraseology...the crisp freezingness would have been a better description, but I don't think that's a word. Let's just say it is quite cold here! We enjoyed a nice dinner with friends, including 3 new friends who accompanied us to Kariuzawa. We were blessed by one of the ladies who decided we needed to practice our Japanese and stopped talking to us in English. She was cute and offered to teach us Japanese if we would move to Tokyo.
The Christmas Illumination at Megumi Chalet Kariuzawa (MCK) is quite impressive. Tom worked very hard at programming Christmas lights to dance to music and designing the decorations. It really looks amazing. We had fun taking pictures, drinking hot chocolate and eating cake in the coffee shop and listening to a famous musical group. We came home slightly earlier tonight than we will the rest of the week. Tomorrow through Sunday night, Lew and I will be at MCK from 4:30-10:00 pm to hand out tracts, take pictures for people, sing on the human Christmas Tree, and just be the hands and feet of Christ. Please pray for many non-believers to come and leave knowing the true meaning of Christmas. Pray that we don't freeze in the process. I think I will need to put on a few more layers in order to not have the cold nip at my knees!
I'm blessed to be here at Kariuzawa for a few reasons, but one major one is how much this little town reminds me of Flagstaff. The landscape and intense cold are just a few aspects that remind me of home. How great a Creator who knew how much I would need to be reminded of home this Christmas.
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