wahaha, so I have not updated in awhile. GOMMEN!!!

Just came home from dinner at Skylark with the church group. I'm waiting for my water to heat for my shower.. my long awaited shower... I am in need of one! what did i do? okies, here's the low down.....

Saturday
Amanda, Olivia and I bought a tent and decided to test out our camping skills... well, we bought one because we're going out to Sado Island in Aug for a taiko festival. Oh yes, your's truly is now learning taiko.... but that's another blog...Anyway, we had two peeps' birthdays coming up, so we combine celebrated with a BBQ and camping excursion. What fun! we headed out to one of the 5 lakes around Fuji-san, Saiko was it's name.. pronounced "psycho" though not knife in shower, violin screaming Psycho. Saiko.
Yes, so I hung out with some peeps I had not seen in awhile, ate some good Kimi O cooking, acted my shoe size when we lit the fireworks, and played glowy bracelet frisbee in the dark. it was AWESOME! we even had s'mores! S'mores in Japan! talk about internationalization! Our Japanese friends got a crash course in S'mores 101 and all passed with flying colours. all in all, we had a good time unwinding from teaching and being human again. No, we're not humans during the weekdays. We're English "Gaijin da!" teachers. Nothing is better than dancing/ mock fighting with sparklers in hand, or throwing glowy bracelet frisbees to people who you think are there, but can't see because it's too dark and there is nothing to mark their position.

Sunday
Woke up to a riot of birds and silent fishermen (remember, we're at a lake and I think the Japanese are the most fanatic rec fishers in the world!) with a stiff back and grubby eyes. Wonderful Kimi O made us yakisoba for breakky and we finished it off with watermelon. Mmmm will be eating heaps of that once I get home!
We left still early and went on a hike. By this time it started to rain, and rain plus muddy trails plus slippery slopes are not fun. Especially if you're not preped for hiking in rain. anyway, we trooped along, but had to bail before we got the the top. Amanda, Leslie and I had a concert to go to. And we did not want to miss this one!
It was a Gospel choir from Texas who were holding a concert in Kawaguchiko, and we were excited to see them. The Fujiyoshida Baptist choir also sang a few songs in the beginning. I have some students in that choir and I'm totally psyched to know that some of my students are Christian. Despite them being my students, I have some Japanese brothers and sisters that I know! God is Good!
All throughout the concert, I was praising God and I couldn't help imagining what a noisy place Heaven's going to be. Heaven's going to resound with the praises and songs of it's people. It's going to be one heck of a partee! God was in the concert hall today, and I could imagine Him and his angels listening in and singing along. How happy He must be to see his children come from different corners of the globe to celebrate and sing under one roof. Despite our differences in language, culture and skin colour, God's love is universal, and through His love, we are connected and a part of His family. God is Good!