Greetings, everyone! Sorry about the very late blog post update! Been busy hanging out with family, giving a talk in front of church about Japan, and traveling here and there. Or I was, until some unexpected circumstances came up, sadly. Let me tell you all about it:
Lakeside Christian Church had graciously let me speak up on stage about my time in Japan! Jacob, the youth pastor at LCC and my cousin, asked me some basic questions about Japan, Japanese needs, ministry, etc. If you want to see my nervous self up on stage giving the talk, check out the video below. It should start at my interview, but if not, it starts at 17:50. Thank you Pastor Marshall and all of Lakeside Christian Church for your prayers, support, and opportunity to share about my experiences as a missionary in Japan!
First of, Christmas went wonderfully! I visited my parents up north in Vancouver, Washington for a few weeks. As many of you know, my mother has Parkinson's, and a few weeks ago underwent brain surgery to install a DBS (deep brain stimulation) device to help with her tremors and muscle stiffness. The day after I arrived, she went in to the hospital to have the device programmed to her condition, so it can accurately correct faulty nerve signals in her brain. Very complicated and new tech, but the immediate results were amazing! She feels way less pain in her jaw, able to walk more steady, and sleep better! It's not a cure, but praise God for the leaps in medical technology which allows mom to live her best, even when struggling with this disease!
Sadly, I will not be visiting family and friends in Wisconsin, North Carolina, or Tennessee like planned. Due to the holiday rush, harsh winter conditions, and the omicron surge, my flight to Milwaukee was canceled numerous times, no matter how much I tried to reschedule it. And even if I was able to secure a flight out to Wisconsin and/or North Carolina, there is no guarantee that I'd be able to return to San Diego, where I'm departing for Japan, by the 21st of this month. Therefore, I had to make the heartbreaking decision to not visit the mid and east coast of America for now. Someday, I will journey out there, preferably in the summer/fall, but it won't happen this time. I apologize to all those I didn't get to visit.
Speaking of disappointing travel, free tip: never ever take the Greyhound. After my flight was canceled, me and my parents agreed it was best if I head back to San Diego for my remaining time in America, considering their house is very small and the after mentioned reasons in the last paragraph. Instead of taking a plane, which is unpredictable in its availability, we looked at other methods of travel. Taking the train was out of the question, since it arrived in San Diego at 1am. Yeah. Nope. The only other option was the Greyhound bus line, which supposedly took 28 hours to reach San Diego at 11am. Pretty dang long, but a better arrival time. Right?
After an emotional goodbye to my parents, I arrive at the Portland station early to load my bags and get settled. But guess what? It didn't matter how early I arrived, because the driver was two hours late! Yes! Two hours of just sitting on my rear, going nowhere! When he finally arrived, apparently he was woken right at our departure time by the Greyhound company, who forgot there was a bus departing Portland... Very professional.
Finally, we were on the road, but just like a city bus, the Greyhound has to stop at every single town along the way, big or small, to pick up more passengers, taking a good hour and half per stop before heading back to the highway. By the time we reached Sacramento, it had been fifteen hours since we left Portland! Fifteen hours! I've easily made that same distance in a car in about 7 hours myself! It's like simulated torture Navy Seals go through for training. Except I'm not going uncover in enemy territory: I'm just trying to get to my home away from home!
Now, despite how slow the bus is moving, the smelly seats, the sketchy passengers, or even the unexpected delays increasing our arrival by hours, I could handle all of it. But the straw that broke the camels back was when we arrived at the Sacramento station...
What was supposed to happen was when we got there, we were gonna hop onto a new bus driven by a new driver and continue the journey south. But upon our arrival, there was no one there. No buses. No drivers. No one. Our driver called the company, and their solution was to comp us all with hotel rooms until they set up a bus in the morning. Not bad. But then our driver saw some random person walking around inside the deserted station, and exclaimed: "Oh look! There's a bus driver! Everyone off the bus!"
Having no other choice, we got off the bus and hung around the gloomy bus stop, our driver conveniently driving away. After an hour of waiting, there was still no sign of a driver or bus. No one was in charge. No clear communication. Nothing. A mentally unstable person outside snuck in, screaming obscenities' at the top of her lungs. Some guy thought I was staring at him and was sizing me up. It at that point I was done. I had enough. I pulled out my phone, booked a flight to San Diego, got a Lyft to the airport, and that was that. If I had stayed with Greyhound, my guess is that I would have gotten to San Diego at least three days later if at all. Never again.
Despite that hiccup, it has been a real blessing being back in the USA for a time, seeing family, friends, and supporters. It fills my heart with joy and gratitude that there are so many of you out there who have helped me to be where I'm at today, doing the good work God has set out for me to do. Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support, and have a most blessed day!
James 1:2-4
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
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