We celebrated Christmas with our church family today and it was subarashi – absolutely wonderful! We got up a little earlier than usual so that I could put together the food that we were taking for the big potluck meal after the service. Everyone was in a festive mood when we arrived and it quickly struck me that while we’re far from family this Christmas, we’re part of a whole new family and so privileged to share this special time with them.

When the service began, the lights were dimmed and with the auditorium lit by a single candle, we all sang Happy Birthday to Jesus (in English). It was very moving. Next we sang several familiar carols in Japanese and then Pastor Steve delivered his Christmas message.

The meal was amazing. The food line passed through three small rooms and the tables were laden with a wide variety of dishes – everything from pizza to sushi! It was impossible to sample everything but we tried as many as we could.

Following the meal, we moved back into the sanctuary for the Christmas program featuring performances by a variety of groups from the youngest children to an adult choir. I took a few photos throughout the day but it’s impossible to capture what Hope Church has come to mean to us in either pictures or words. We feel God’s love so strongly in that place and in a short time we have developed wonderful relationships with many people there. We came home bearing gifts from some of our special friends but, more importantly, we made memories today that will stay with us and when future Christmases roll around, we’ll remember our subarashi Hope Church Christmas with joy.

Today truly was our Christmas celebration. We have one more day of classes and then on Tuesday morning, we fly to Vietnam. On Christmas morning, we’ll be picked up at our hotel in Hanoi and driven to beautiful Halong Bay where we’ll board a junk for an overnight sightseeing tour. Christmas dinner will be a seafood feast on board the boat and if the weather cooperates, we’ll also enjoy some swimming and kayaking. After returning to Hanoi, we’ll travel the length of Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and then fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see beautiful Angkor Wat. We’ll arrive back in Japan early on January 5. I don’t know if we’ll have access to the internet while we’re traveling so the blog may be silent until that time but I’m sure there will be lots to share when we return. In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas wherever you are and we wish you all the best in the New Year.