Smithlife

You’ve heard of culture shock – going to a foreign country and responding to all the changes. After being out of our home country of America for four years, we are experiencing some of the same things here upon our return. For instance, counting out money to pay for purchases seems awkward and unfamiliar. I remember feeling that very same way about using Japanese money at one time. The kids are amazed that everyone speaks English all around them, and that the kids waiting for buses aren’t Asian. A funny one that shows how Japanese culture has been integrated into our children’s lives is Chloe in the fitting room. She was trying on new jeans, and when she called me in to look at how they fit, I found her standing on the bench seat in the fitting room. Puzzled, I looked to see if the mirror was too high up for her to see herself in, but, no, it was floor-length. Curious, I asked why she was standing up there. Her reason: “I don’t want to step on the floor in my socks where everyone walks in their dirty shoes.” (In Japanese fitting rooms, you remove your shoes before entering.)

Taking showers is another instance of change. In Japan, I roll up my pants, enter the completely-enclosed, tiled shower room, and using the hand-held shower head, I wash my younger children. That is pretty much impossible in American houses. To Melodie (age 5), the thought of leaning back to place her head under a roaring faucet of running water was as appealing as having a scary dog chase her down. (I had to use a cup to wet and rinse her hair instead.)

But, no matter what changes we face, we know that God is the same no matter where we live. We are so thankful that He is with us even in Wal-Mart, when we don’t know if we should pick up our bags on that carousel thing or wait till the clerk packs them fuller. And if you meet us and we give you a blank look when you say a newer phrase or lingo that has been coined in the last four years, please understand that we most likely simply haven’t heard it before!

We arrived in Chicago on Tuesday, January 24 and have been tired and cranky ever since. Not that different from the usual I suppose.

We are visiting Susan’s family in WI until mid February when we will head south to Alabama to be with my family. Furlough will be a busy time with lots of travel for us. Not sure we are quite ready for it!

We are now in the middle of packing the “keepers” and tossing the “nopes.” This past Friday, Norman and a friend loaded a 2-ton truck and took our first load to the missionary-owned storage building two hours from our home. Great fun was had by all, I’m sure. Even our kids got involved, lugging whatever they could hold. Swinging on the truck’s mirror was also a hit.

Now, we have the last 1/3 of our things to fit into boxes, the house to clean, and the last load to cart away. So far we have thrown away 15 bags of trash. Makes us wonder what we’ve been doing living in the middle of so much junk for the past year or more!

The kids and I went around to several neighbors this morning to tell them we’re moving, say good-bye, and give them a few cookies we baked. One of Chloe’s friends was so shocked, she kept saying, “What are we going to do?” She came back later to take a picture of them together and give a return gift to the children.

We also ran into some Jehovah’s Witnesses on our way. Not too happy to see them out and about in our area. Pray that God’s truth will be seen and sought after!

We have 11 more days until we return to America. God has blessed us by giving us a friend who has opened his second home to us for a week while we finish up our house cleaning and packing. It will be a huge help.
See you soon!

Don’t ask me about new year’s resolutions. For some reason, I can get melancholy when I think of another year ahead of me. Instead, I am blessed when I look back over last year and see God’s hand, His work in and around me. I like to think back and see what happened, what milestones were reached, what difficult times we survived.

*This year, Cameron learned to ride a bike and Melodie learned to read.
*Our friend Ryouji accepted Christ.
*We had opportunity to make new friends and share God’s truths with them.
*Norman has gotten deeper in the art community, being interviewed by a newspaper, magazines, and was even on TV!
*We were not adversely affected by Japan’s earthquake and tsunami.

The Year 2012 means a new chapter in the Smith family. It’s the furlough year! The last time our parents saw our children was 4 years ago. Melodie was 1 year old; now she’s 5! That’s a big change! Seeing family and friends again is a highlight of our time in the USA. Keep us in your prayers as we adjust to life on the road, living out of a suitcase, and, in many ways, fitting into a “foreign” culture to our children.

Psalm 1 has been a blessing to me lately. Verse three talks about the righteous being like a tree planted firmly by the streams of water, producing fruit in season, not withering. Furlough has a real sense of being “uprooted” and “unplanted” for me. We are a family without our own place to call home. We won’t even be in the same state for very long. Yet, as a child of God, I can be firmly planted next to my source of strength. God Himself resides in me! It reminds me of when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman and offered her the springs of living water so she’d never thirst again. I have access to that same spring of never-ending life and hope and strength in spite of my circumstances.

We trust that God has been visible in your past year and that you know He will be with you in this new year as well.

We don’t have as many as we would like but I have had a few this past week. I meet with Joel once a week for mutual accountability and encouragement, one of my Japanese friends as seen our relationship and how we constantly help each other. He asked several questions that gave me a good opportunity to share what the family of God is all about. If church relationships are what they should be, they are really attractive to unbelievers. Maybe Jesus was on to something with all this unity stuff He talked about… : )

I have been doing a terrible job of keeping this updated. My apologies! I do not promise to do better….

However, we have had a busy summer and have recently met several people who have some small level of spiritual interest. It is definitely a slow up hill battle in Japan. Along with day to day life and ministry we are beginning to prepare for furlough in 2012. It comes at a bad time, but then furlough can’t really come at a good time.

The kids are great, growing fast and smarter than me. Susan is busily teaching home-school and reaching out to neighbors and friends. I spend as much time as possible reaching out to men in Kumamoto. Life as we know it!

We will be at the Obiyama church on Sunday, teaching a discipleship training course on Sunday afternoon. Should be fun! Daniel Son has arrived for a 3 month internship. He is from TN and attended GRIT in 2009. We have a few projects for him to work on that will keep him busy this summer.
I have had a few good opportunities to talk to several men about spiritual things recently. Susan is continuing to disciple Tsugumi and rejoicing in recent evidence of growth.

Our coworkers, Tom and Paula Carr working in Miyakonojo, are going through a bit of a trial as Tom was arrested Saturday night. He is falsely accused and is awaiting the end of an investigation to clear him. I won’t go into detail here but it is a result of the Carr family reaching out to a homeless boy who was kicked out of his house by his family. Hiro has been living with the Carrs for about 1 month, he accepted Christ and has been showing evidence of a changed life. Praise God who works in ways we wouldn’t always choose! Others in their church are growing through Tom’s trials. We are praying for continued growth and Tom’s quick release.