Andrew Wowin' 'em at Cheer 'em Up Shows

Throughout 2009, but especially the past few months, Andrew stepped in to do what I did last year-- perform in our many shows in hospitals-- especially children's wards-- and in adult-care facilities.

Andrew is very good at meeting people and making them feel comfortable. With a big smile and his ever-improving balloon-sculpturing he's a big hit. This Christmas, Andrew was 'Santa's long-legged brother's helper reindeer.

I've posted a few more shots of Andrew here:


http://picasaweb.google.com/bruce.japan/2009AndrewPerforming#

A Deluge

We're getting ready for a deluge of family members this month-- two daughters, a son-in-law and a granddaughter from Hungary, one daughter from Australia and two from Tokyo will be with us for varying times nearly all month.

Aiko, with her baby Izumi, husband Andi and sister Erica, will be coming from Hungary on Monday, then after a short visit here, they'll go to Tokyo with Sharon, then return with three more sisters in tow-- Naomi, Izumi (baby Izumi's namesake), and Angie-- for a week or so.

Clockwise from top-left:
Mom, Naomi, Angie, Izumi, Andrew, Andi, Aiko, Erica and friend, and baby Izumi.

It will be the first time that the five sisters have ever been all together at the same time, so we're really excited. I'll be posting more pics over the next weeks.

Here are some news we received from Hungary:

Our work here in Budapest, Hungary began nearly five years ago with five missionaries and their children. We grew until we were nearly thirty living and working together for Jesus with a multitude of projects-- so many people and projects that our team recently opened another center, closer to the center of Budapest, to fulfill the vision the Lord has given us for reaching the youth-- the world's future.

We will be training new missionaries, giving bible studies and conducting outreach at music festivals and universities. We are all very excited! God is already doing miracles with our NOMAD band-- including interviews on radio and television and their CD in being sold in shops throughout Hungary--- and a music video too.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=106188835

http://www.nomadband.hu/

Nagano Skiing

We've been snow-covered continually nearly all winter-- with temperatures hovering right around freezing in the day and well below at night-- of course colder in the surrounding mountains.

And that's just were we went two weeks ago. That's Andrew in the photo. He did quite well for his first attempt.

The skiing here is world-class-- impressive and beautiful, even to a non-skier like me. My big dare of the day was to sled halfway down one of the slopes-- the fastest I've ever gone on a sled!

Photos of the resort we went to:

http://www.kashimayari.net/album/index.html

Kashimayari English Home Page

http://www.kashimayari.net/eng/index.html

Lumangwe Falls in Zambia

My daughter, Amy-- in Zambia with her husband and six children-- sent me this note. They live in in a remote-- and beautiful-- area and she had an opportunity to enjoy it that I want to pass on to you.

(from Amy) I wasn't looking forward to my birthday at first, but then I was invited to go with some friends-- who are in Zambia as volunteers-- to see two of the amazing waterfalls in our area.

The following day two of the same girls came over and cooked me an Indian dinner while my kids baked me a chocolate cake with orange butter frosting.

The waterfalls are about 2 1/2 hours away from us-- the last hour is a dirt road. At one point we hit some wet mud and slid out of control for a bit before the driver was able to pull us out of it. Very scary! We also hit some large potholes and, since I was in the back of the four-wheel drive, I hit the roof a of couple times. Definitely a new experience-- since I am so short, my head rarely hits anything.

(If you want to see a photo and read the details of where she is about to tell us about, you can look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumangwe_Falls)

The falls were absolutely breathtaking. It really puts life and its problems in perspective. Like I said, I hadn't been looking forward to this birthday, not because of a number or anything-- I think it was more that I was just worn out and needed some time to myself and my brain latched on my birthday.

When I thought there was nothing to do for my birthday, I got a bit depressed-- but then the falls trip opened up. Standing there looking at the vastness of the waterfall, being drenched by the mist, it was all so awe-inspiring and reminded me that the same One who made these incredible sights was the One who was looking after every detail of my life. Who was I to grumble, worry, or get worked up?

I am amazed that more people don't visit the falls up here but the roads aren't paved for the last hour and there really aren't facilities around it to make staying here a possibility. Such a shame. On the other hand, it was so nice looking at a marvel of nature not surrounded by tourists and signs absolving whomever of any liability-- no gift shops, etc. I wish the whole world knew about these falls and, at the same time, I wish I could keep them all to myself.

There are two falls close to each other. We went to the first one and after looking at it from the top we climbed down the gully to the bottom of the falls so we could swim. I hadn't brought a swimming suit since I rarely go swimming-- preferring to read at the water's edge. But since this was a big day for me I decided to go for it all the way and swam in some of my clothes.

My kids were horrified when I got home. First of all, they were disappointed that they missed out on seeing me in the water because they are always begging me to swim and second, because they couldn't believe I swam in anything but a regulation swim suit.

After swimming for a few minutes we drove down to the second waterfall. In order to see this one we had to follow an overgrown path. I use the word 'path' in the loosest of terms-- We had to push our way between tall grass and thorny vines, climb over and under fallen tree trunks, and navigate slippery slopes. A couple of times we couldn't tell where the path was and had to guess.

Then, all of a sudden the path opened up and we were standing on this bluff looking at this amazing waterfall. The mist was blowing over us and the water was rushing down. It felt like perhaps we were the first ones ever to see this sight.

I got quite the workout that day-- climbing down and back up the first gully and then navigating the second path. As I was working my way back to the vehicle I was thinking how the memories of this day would last me a lifetime and my muscles would remember it for at least a week.

Thank you for the birthday greetings! It made me feel so loved to open my e-mail and see them there.

Amy

You can see more of Amy's family's work or write her at these addresses:

http://www.missionaryfamily.com/

missionaryfamily@gmail.com

One of My Last Christmases

I just received an update from friends in Fukuoka, Japan concerning a place that we visited each Christmas to share some warmth and cheer

(that's Naomi-- lower left-- and Erica-- lower right in 2005).

"Every Christmas, members of our Family International community visit a nearby retirement home. This year, after dancing and singing, we sculpted balloons to the delight of many of the residents.

One of them, a fireman who had only recently moved to the retirement home after his wife had passed away, was particularly interested in our work and projects.

“I am so happy to see you children,” he said with tears in his eyes, “because I haven’t seen my own grandchildren in a long time. You remind me of them.”

He reached out and gave each of the children a big, warm hug.

“Thank you for coming today. You have made my Christmas very happy. I’m old now, and probably won’t live much longer, but I am glad to have spent one of my last Christmases with you.”

He continued. “Please don’t stop sharing what you have with other people. People need love and warmth at Christmas, and you are providing that. I admire you so much.”

Please pray for them and for us as we visit dozens of similar centers here, sharing love and the message of Christmas. Thank you!-- and thanks, Olivia-- on the right in this photo-- for this story.

Things seem to have stabilized...

...an update from Amy in Zambia regarding my grandkids.

"Thank you for all the prayers and notes of encouragement. I copied them down and will share them with everyone.

Jennifer and Jasmine are doing much better. Their eyes are still sore and weak but they have regular appetites now and are getting stronger every day. We have been discharged from the hospital and are staying with friends in this town until Monday when they will repeat the blood work and chest x-ray.

Tom is at home with the the other four children who it now seems have come down with measles. We are attacking right away with antibiotics and forced eating. We won't let them get weakened the way the other girls were. Knowing what is happening is a big help. So far they are all doing okay.

Please pray for their cases to be light and that Tom will have the strength and wisdom for taking care of them. The medical care is usually my department so God is testing us all in every area. I am in regular contact with them and have been able to send boxes of food and medicine on the local buses so Tom has what he needs for the kids.

We still don't have a water pump or Internet due to the lightning strike. We don't know which piece of the Internet equipment will need to be replaced. Our water pump control box will need to be replaced (this was just installed 3 weeks ago and had a surge protector on it!).

Please pray for God's supply for this and the medical bills and other expenses related to the medical care.

God has been so faithful during all this. Please continue to pray for full recovery for the kids and for our strength. We love you all!

Amy for all the Morrows"

Some Welcome Good News From Africa

I promised to update you about my grandkids in Zambia:

...Dear friends, family, loved ones and all who have prayed:

We love you all dearly and thank you for standing by our side in the Spirit this last week. I am writing from Mansa as our Internet still has not been replaced/repaired.

The girls are doing much better! Praise God! I wanted to fill you in a little on what has been going on and what the Lord has brought us through.

A few weeks ago we had a baby brought to us that was severely malnourished. We began to integrate him into our program. The second day he came he had a fever and cough so when his guardians came we asked them to take him to the clinic and care for him before bringing him back to join the orphanage. We also told them to come each day to collect milk for him.
We didn't hear anything for some time and later found out he was diagnosed with measles. We asked them to keep the baby at home until he was fully recovered but to continue to collect formula to keep up his strength. Unfortunately, they did not do this and we heard that he continued to get weaker.

About a week later Jennifer came down with a fever and two days later Jasmine also fell ill. When the telltale symptoms of measles showed up and the girls were not able to eat we decided to take them to a local hospital for monitoring and treatment.

Jennifer responded well to treatment but Jasmine got worse. The crux came when she was given a different IV fluid and began having facial seizures which caused her tongue to curl up and she could not swallow. Her condition was first diagnosed as hypoglycemia since she had not eaten for 5 days and the new IV did not contain sugars.

Thankfully she continued to be able to breathe, her pulse remained strong and she had all her mental faculties. When she didn't get completely better and her legs and arms began to have muscle problems and her jaw was clenching tightly shut the doctor was concerned that it could be meningitis or cerebral malaria. He told me that if it was his child he would pray and that she may have only until the next morning. As you can imagine this was scary to hear when we are 12 hours away from the best hospitals and things move so slowly here.

We decided to take Jasmine to the nearest large city (usually 4 hours away--although this time only took 3) and contacted a doctor to meet us there. A friend from the city where we first took the girls offered to drive us to Mansa and he has stayed with the girls and me the whole time-- being such a help-- another blessing since Tom had to remain with the work and the other kids.

After desperate prayer we got on the road and, miraculously, after the first few minutes, Jasmine-- who still had trouble with her jaw clamping shut involuntarily-- fell into a peaceful sleep for most of the drive.

Upon arrival at the next clinic both girls were put on two antibiotics and blood work and other tests were done.

The doctor diagnosed Jasmine as having encephalitis (a complication of measles) and said the antibiotics should fix the problem. Jennifer's x-ray the next day also showed traces of bronco-pneumonia. Both girls have severely low white blood counts.

Since arriving here though both girls have made steady progress. They are still quite weak but are getting better day by day. We know this is testament to the many, many prayers that have been offered up on their behalf.

Working within the local hospital system here has been very challenging and frustrating at times but God has been so faithful. Someone asked me at one point if I trusted the doctor and I said no, I trust God. That is what it has come down to. Our lives are in God's hands and His are the best there is!

The girls should be able to go home by Friday or Saturday, God willing.

Continued prayer requests:

• For the girls complete recovery--especially that their white count can come up to normal-- and that none of the other children contract measles

• That our water and Internet problems will be sorted out--It looks like we may have to buy the equipment again.

• For our encouragement, as the little baby that originally had the measles passed away yesterday. This is very hard for us as we already fell in love with him. We feel discouraged that his family didn't take better care of him despite our best efforts.

• For the work here to continue to grow.

Thank you so much for all your prayers. They saved us! Praise be to God!

Amy and all the family...

Urgent Prayer Request For My Granddaughter In Africa

I was in the midst of planning a post to introduce my daughter, Amy Morrow, and her family's work in Zambia, Africa-- where she, her husband, Tom and their six children recently begun receiving orphans into an orphanage they are building-- however, circumstances brought my plans forward...

(Written from a message sent by JoAnne Leppo --Tom's Mother:)

...I just received a call from Tom in Zambia. Two of their daughters were very sick from measles that they contracted from one of the orphans last week when, yesterday, 12 year-old Jasmine's fever got so high that Amy took both girls to the local clinic.

They were tested for malaria and it seems that Jasmine possibly has cerebral malaria-- which can be fatal. She hadn't eaten for five days and reacted badly to the medicine the doctor gave to stop the vomiting.

Both girls are now on IVs; Jennifer's fever has subsided-- but Jasmine is still serious.

The clinic doesn't have facilities for further testing, and she couldn't survive the 12-hour ride to the capital's hospital-- so they are taking her to a hospital two hours away, where a Russian doctor is going to meet them. If they can't help her, they will possibly life-flight her to Lusaka or South Africa.

So please desperately pray for Jasmine's life and health-- and Amy as she makes many needed decisions.

Tom is at the mission with the other children. He just returned from a trip in the bush trip-- three days of Bible classes and ministering to tribes. As soon as he got back, lightening struck-- damaging their Internet system and the control box for their water-pump. They are also in the midst of the longest power-outage they've ever had.

So, on top of the children's sicknesses, they also have no Internet, no running water-- and only emergency battery lights.

They are, as you know, quite isolated, so please pray for their encouragement, strength and against any further problems...

I'll write more as soon as I receive news. I don't think there will be any updates on their site for a while-- due to the lightening strike mentioned above-- but you can learn about the Morrows and their work here:

http://www.missionaryfamily.com/

Ta-da! A new baby!

Izumi Nora

Born to Aiko and Andi Foder at 12:30 AM, October 20th in Hungary.

Izumi weighed 8 pounds and is 22 inches long.

P.S. Don't tell anyone... I'm sleeping with a grandmother tonight.

Airport Open House

Mountainous Nagano's only airport had a open house today.
There had been a drawing for for rides, but we weren't selected. Nevertheless, we went to explore and, in spite of non-stop rain, we enjoyed it.


Enjoy the photos and Andrew's (10) account with the photos here: Airport Open House

Holiday Hitching Japanese Style

Andrew (10) and I took advantage of our being free from school for about three weeks to visit our friends in Fukuoka (see pics here). We used our (now) tried and proven method of travel- hitchhiking at toll-road service areas with signs.

The 'thumb' method isn't really understood by Japanese motorists, but by positioning ourselves near the restaurants and restrooms with signs explaining what we're doing and where we're going, we get plenty of interest -- especially as 外国人 geijin (outside country people). A few folks picked us up for free English lessons, but most seemed to be motivated by a blend of various degrees of curiosity and kindness.

We had beautiful weather nearly the entire week that we were gone-- though we had to wait out the typhoon that grazed Fukuoka the night before we left to come back. Even a late night wait on the way down meant I could put my feet up and enjoy the full moon while Andrew dozed beside me.

A big THANK YOU to all the folks we met along the way and to the families with whom we stayed and played-- the Fukuoka Firecracker Home and Crystal and family-- also Funatsu-san, Aiko, Pamela, and their families-- Claudia, Megumi, and others . We love and miss you (that's why we visited!) and will look forward to seeing you again.

Big White Dog

Andrew [age 10]

One day was really hot. It was summer. I didn’t want to go out, but we went anyway. I was a little sad because it was so hot. When we got to the park, I saw a big white dog, and I started to cheer up a little.

I asked the man if the dog bites, and if I could pet it. He said, ‘yes’. So I started witnessing to him and I gave him a tract. He said he had a flower shop and where it was.

The next day, we went to the flower shop, told him about Jesus and he prayed to ask Jesus into his heart. We also met his wife. He and his wife just retired from the Air Force. She was in ‘intelligence’- a spy! And he gave us a picture of himself flying a fighter jet.

We went back to visit them and they told us they really liked the Activated Magizine that we gave them. We kept going back to visit them, play with their dog and give them more Activated mags. They told us that they really appreciated them.

I’m happy I went out that day, even though I didn’t want to. Today we got a letter from them and a photo of their dog, so I wanted to write about them.