First full week of school

We have all officially been back in school one week and are still adjusting to the early start and longer school day. School begins at 8:15 and lets out at 3:15 each day. The kids are up at 6:45 and out the door by 7:30 to be at school on time.

They are enjoying new friends and both say they really like it here. I am not sure if Miss Yamada’s class rabbit, Gracie, the turtles the 5^th grade teacher is getting and oh yeah, you can share food at this school, have anything to do with their perspectives.

Bob and I are busy with lesson plans and teaching. I have two classes and spend about as much time prepping as Bob does for 3 times as many classes. I am really enjoying my English class and made my first vocabulary test yesterday. We will take our first test in my class tomorrow. The students are great and the staff really supportive. We are glad to be here and establishing a new school year routine.

We attended Nara International Christian Church (NICC) on Sunday. The Sunday service is in English and translated into Japanese. We are looking for the right church and plan to attend a few more in our area. There are not many churches with English services each week and many are an hour or more away by train or car.

The pastor and his wife hosted a BBQ after service that lasted until 4:30. We met many wonderful people, ate great food and even met a gentleman who attended Eastern Washington University when I was there. Amazing how small the world feels when that happens. He is a huge Seattle Seahawks and Mariners fan, go figure!?

Donna Reddington and friends at the NICC BBQ

Please pray we will soon find a church community where our whole family will thrive.  There are not many Sunday school options in English in our area. NICC has forty members and is pretty large for a Japanese Christian church. I anticipate we will be back again in the next couple of weeks since we all liked it so much.

Still waiting for our car and internet service but we are making progress. We now have the parking space approved and they are coming next week to pull the internet cabling into the house. Not having a car or internet service is inconvenient but we are managing. Just means more planning and prep time on our part for grocery shopping, getting to school and all internet communications must be completed on campus.

We made it through our first typhoon. It was not as exciting as it sounds. We had rain for 9 days straight and yesterday was just like a really heavy rain storm. We shuttered our windows only to have a friend tell us Heguri does not get that kind of typhoon activity. Because we are in a valley and virtually land locked, and typhoons generally mean heavy winds and rain our way. More frequently just A LOT of rain. So our shutters are now open again, and it has stopped raining this morning.

This past week one of my favorite people and biggest fans passed away. My grandmother, Sheela Stevens died September 2, 2015 at the age of 90. She was an amazing woman. She was so strong, loving and caring. Her support and love have been constants all my life. I lovingly nicknamed her “Plain Grandma” as a child because I did not want to explain which grandmother I was talking about when I said grandma. In my mind Plain Grandma was grandma Sheela. She signed my birthday cards and notes, “Plain Grandma” all my life. She loved well, whether it was baking your favorite cookies, attending a special event or remembering your birthday. She made you feel special and deeply loved.

I will miss her notes of encouragement, blessings and reminders she loved me. She was the kind that hugged you so tightly you just knew she could not get enough of you. I am grateful she is at peace now, free from her earthly body and with the Jesus. I admire her for so many reasons and I rejoice knowing one day I will see her again in Heaven. May we all love as well as she did. I am indeed blessed to have been loved so richly, fully and unconditionally by her. I love you my dearest Plain Grandma.

Grandma Sheela aka "Plain Grandma" at her 90th birthday.

 One last note, thank you to our faithful supporters. We really appreciate your commitment to pray for us as well as your generosity. We are grateful for your partnership and are excited about what God is doing in Japan and at Kansai Christian School.

In Christ,

The Chadducks