Game Night

A common theme I quickly noticed when talking to young people around Karuizawa was that "there is nothing to do at night in this town!"  And so, I created something to do at night, Game Night.

Every Friday night at 7 is Game Night in Nate's apartment.

I started this up in April and it has been going strong since.  We've had attendees from America, Japan, Canada, Germany, Korea, Australia, and probably more.  Attendance ranges from 4 to 12 ppl, which effects what games we can play.  Games like spoons, mafia, pictionary-telephone, risk, catan, uno, are the norm.  Every once in a while we'll have a cook-out along with it.

A couple hours of fun one night a week has been a great blessing for me and I know for others as well.  Whether it be a break from the constant studying for the language student, or an event the overwhelmed missionary can just enjoy without having responsibilities for, or a way for the homeschooler to get away from little siblings for a while, I hope that it's a time of mental refreshment for all.

August

August came and brought with it summer holiday for the school kids, several church and missions conferences, and lots and lots of tourists to the cool, shady, resort town of Karuizawa.  Every cabin here at KTC was full on July 31st, including the cabins I've been working on the past several months and was able to finish July 30th.  Times were busy and a little stressful in July with the deadline looming ahead in the near future.  But with the help of some good people, we finished in time and I think everyone has enjoyed their time here.

KTC seems like a different place when it's full of people, it's great to see all the missionary kids playing together when they only get to see each other this one time each year.  The missionaries also enjoy the fellowship in English, and English church services.

Because of the influx of tourists in Karuizawa in August, and with KTC being full in August, we don't do any construction work during this month.  So I've been up to other things:

The first week of August was the Union Church Annual Conference where I helped with the Jr/Sr high group.  The second week of August was the TEAM Annual conference.  During the mornings we had a time of worship and messages tailored specifically towards missions work in Japan, and then in the afternoons I helped with the kids program.

During this week and next week I'm getting organized for the next few months by drawing up blueprints for the next cabin, ordering materials, organizing the shop, etc....

While discussing all the work that needs to be done before winter, we have realized the need for more help.  We could really use some painters and some carpenters for a period of 1-3 months this fall before winter hits.  Please be in prayer, and if you are interested, or know one who might be, let me know.

More to come later......