Japanese Hot Dog Buns

Hello! I'm so excited to finally have the opportunity to sit down and communicate with you all! We have had some fun experiences and good laughs that I've been wanting to share with you. Since many of you know how "blonde" I can sometimes be, I have to tell you what happened to me the other day. One of the missionary families invited us over for a BBQ. Stan asked if we could bring anything and Chris instructed him to ask me to bring hotdog buns. When I first heard this, I thought hotdog buns? You mean they have those here? But I figured there must be hotdog buns (since they asked for them), they must be pretty easy to pick out (since he asked ME for them), and therfore I didn't need any help finding them. The next day at the grocery store, just like I had envisioned, there were the hotdog buns in bags of 6. They didn't appear to be already cut, but that's what knives are for! So I proudly presented my hotdog buns at the BBQ! Mission accomplished! I grabbed a knife and cut open the buns only to find they were each filled with a whipped coffee flavored filling! Who ever heard of hotdog buns with whipped coffee flavored filling! Everyone got a good laugh out of my mistake. Apparently it's common to find unexpected surprises stuffed inside bread products. Well, now I know. There have been many other funny situations that I'll save for another day. I do want to tell you about my trip with Toby to a nearby park. There was a climbing wall with a soft and bouncy floor at the bottom, as well as a very large jungle of thick bungee chord to climb on. Stan took a quick break from his soccer game to climb all the way to the top. He had been eyeing it for some time and said he couldn't help himself any longer. Toby's favorite thing at the park was the slide. Instead of a flat surface , it was made of many rows of independent tubes. So, as you slid down they rolled under you making Toby slide faster than usual. Needless to say, we stayed at the slide for some time. We met Ana there that day. She is philipino but married to a Japanese man named Yuichi and has a 4 month old son named Noel. She came to the MAPS (Mothers and Preschoolers) meeting and made some good connections with the ladies. Please pray that she will join us for church on Sunday and that we can find out where she and Yuichi are spiritually. Please pray also for us. I've missed you all and I have longed to share with you what is going on here and elicit your prayers. I am constantly in need of the Holy Spirit's power, help, and encouragement. Also pray for Ako (ah-ko). Many of you will be able to empathize with her pain. A couple of weeks before we came she experienced a still born birth. She has two JOLT aged boys but this was to be her first little girl. She and her husband Takeishi are hurting but cling to the Lord for hope, encouragement, and courage. Please pray for them. Thank you so much for allowing Stan and I to come here and do what we can and for supporting us with prayer and encouragment. I hope to blog more soon. Love and Blessings, Michelle