Dear Journal friends,

I apologize for this tremendous delay of news. I keep waiting to have all my ducks in line before writing. That still has not happened so I’d better let you know that I am among the living here in Japan.

For 4 weeks I flitted around here and there, staying with missionary friends before I could move into the residence where I planned to live for a short time in Musashino town in Tokyo. In the meantime I found that I would be living in the residence for at least one year. That shed a little different light on how permanently I should move in. Some of my new responsibilities have already begun in spite of not having gotten settled in.

The moving-in process, registering with the city, starting garbage service etc. took longer than I had expected since I had to do it myself, without the help of a central mission office in Tokyo as we’ve had in the past. I’m happy to say that I moved all my possessions from N. Japan at the end of last week. Although I’ve been camping in this house for 10 days already, today is the first day I’ve been home all day. What a relief it is!

I still have a number of things to do which are essential to living. Each thing needs to be done in priority of necessity and time. Some baggage from the US still awaits inspection at Tokyo port (prayer needed here!) I know it might be hard to believe, but arrangements like this take priority over calling about installing a telephone. Having internet was not top on the priority list in spite of the dire necessity and hardship of not being able to communicate by email. Occasionally I go to an internet café to try helplessly to catch up. Some of your emails remain unanswered.

During the first few weeks I had the daunting task of driving in Yokohama/Tokyo where often one cannot just go around the block to find where one started. I put out the money to buy a GPS. It’s been extremely nerve-racking, frankly speaking, and one person traveling by car costs the same as using the trains. The GPS has helped my confidence even though I don’t understand all the driving terminology of the lady in the box whom I have named Tabi-ko. Tabi means trip! It has been exhausting traveling by TRAIN as well, climbing zillions of steps to catch trains. I’ve sought the use of ESCALATORS where I could find them. But I would still return at night bone-tired. I’ve learning that I can’t schedule as many things in one day as I could in NE Japan where I used a car almost exclusively. The weather, being hot and muggy and sometimes with pouring rain just takes it out of me.

But the GOOD NEWS is that yesterday I went from one end of this Tokyo/Yokohama area to another and back (two hours each way), using only the stairs. I hadn’t even noticed it until I fell into bed and was searching for things to thank God for. I found a number of things, one of which was the fact that my stamina seems to have improved to the point of using the stairs! My mind keeps going back to Philippians 4: 6-7

ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING, but in everything by PRAYER and supplication with THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God. And the PEACE of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ. I try to dwell on this passage as I look at the “To Do” list.

Although this is longer than I’d like, I wanted to mention one more thing.
My new duties will include the receiving and placing of volunteers. I’ve met many pastors in the last weeks who are interested. Chris Nielsen is the very first volunteer to arrive under this new program. He’s having an incredible time at the Nishi Okamoto Church in Kobe. There are another six volunteers arriving August 10th. I still have a number of arrangements to make for them. I’d appreciate your prayers for those arrangements, as well as for Chris.

Your journal friend,

Roberta Stephens, Japan