Weapons — “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD.” Isaiah 54:17 I love this picture . . . and it’s framed perfectly before one’s eyes every time people enter the kitchen at Cordova, Alaska’s Little Chapel. Notice that not one of these knives is […]

Yesterday we drove to Fukuoka City (in the olden days this major metropolis was called Hakata) to see a seven-artisan joint stained glass exhibit. As we were about to leave the exhibit on the 8th floor, someone told us that the street was lined with people getting ready for the race-parade of floats that are […]

Sunday, May 10, 2009, was a powerful day at Munakata Bethel Christian Center here in Japan. We celebrated our 2nd Annual Praise Festival in the afternoon with people from eight or nine different churches around Fukuoka Prefecture. Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth were represented by people from USA, New Zealand, Gurkistan, Zambia, Tanzania, […]

Have you ever gone for a drive and come around a corner to be astounded by an awesome sight? That’s what happened early last week. We rounded a corner and this field of rape flowers with a backdrop of an azure-blue sky, green trees, white clouds and a strong invisible wind greeted us. After suddenly stopping the […]

Police protection ⎯ Today is officially the first day of spring, and a national holiday here in Japan. People will be taking advantage of the three-day weekend to go and view the cherry blossoms. They will travel to near and faraway places with their families, picnic baskets, cameras and probably even pets to sit beneath the awesome, flowering trees that are […]

Made In Japan ⎯ Meet Yosuke-kun, born last Monday, 3/9/2009. In Japanese 3 (for March) is pronounced “san,” and 9 (for the 9th) is pronounced “kyu.” Put them together and we get “san-kyu,” which, when spoken, sounds like the English phrase “thank-you!”  The Japanese word “kun” is a familiar suffix added to a boy’s name. The English equivalent means “master.” About two years […]

SMILE! It’s a muscle builder! “The joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 This calligraphy card was written by Eiko Kimura of Kumamoto, Japan. The doll? It’s an original hand-made creation by Ruth McGibboney, a co-worker and friend of Nils’ mother, almost thirty years ago.  We call this little guy by the name of Mad Manny, and he always brings us […]

Meet Grandpa Clarey. Clarey and his wife, Hiroe, have been surrogate grandparents (on Nils’ side of the family) here in Japan for our children, Lisa, Mark and Caroline. Lisa is here with us for the year-end holidays (holy days), so we decided to take a drive up to see Grandpa Clarey. We were welcomed and […]

Meet Mao Nakamoto, 35, of Fukuoka City, Japan. Mao is a floor rep at this wholesale fashion shop in Fukuoka’s Tenjin Ward. In Japan, the name “Mao” is quite unusual and rarely heard. When he told me his name, I asked him if it had anything to do with Mao Tse-tung, the chairman of the Chinese […]

Doesn’t it almost take your breath away when you see a full moon rising in early evening sky? This picture was taken in mid-October a couple hours after the moonrise over the horizon, just as it began its journey into the darkness of night. Did you know that the white light of a full moon is actually […]