I've made the switch to blogspot...

Here's where I'll be blogging now! http://princess-hill.blogspot.com/

See you later xanga!

I realize that I should be working on my ethnography right now, but my brain needs a break so I decided to blog about a few random things!

I keep forgetting to mention this, but the other day when I was shopping, I was browsing through some t-shirts. I came across a shirt that made me laugh for a long time! all it said was "I am puppy. Please love me." the "I am puppy" was in big letters in the middle of the shirt and the "please love me" was in smaller letters underneath! For some reason it struck me as super funny! It was a guy's t-shirt so I think that's why it made it even funnier to me!

I also keep forgetting to mention that I got to feel my very first earthquake on Thursday night!! I was excited! I know, it's a little strange to be excited about an earthquake, but I've always wanted to feel one! It was just a tiny one (2 point something) and I barely even noticed it, but I was sitting on my couch really still and I felt it move a little bit! I thought I was going crazy, so I checked this website that I found that shows the most recent earthquakes in Japan and sure enough, even my tiny little town of Hirao was listed under the places that felt the earthquake! I thought it was pretty cool, but I am thankful I live in a prefecture that doesn't get earthquakes very often!

This week is the 5th week of June so we canceled class for last night and today and we went for lunch at Flower Land today with some of the students instead of class. It was fun, but certainly an interesting experience with the rainbow of personalities we have! We had 8 students show up which was really nice! (Some had to work and a few are traveling at the moment!)

I had a really good break and I was able to make a lot of progress on my ethnography (still have a ways to go yet!) I even got to make zucchini bread for the first time!

Anyway, it's back to the regular swing of things tomorrow so I should get to bed soon... or maybe back to my ethnography!

Happy Canada Day tomorrow! What are your plans for Canada Day this year?

Happy Father's Day!

I wanted to do a special little 'ode to my Dad' today since I can't be with him today. It's not very original, but this is my way of letting the world know how much I love my Daddy :)

Dad, you are an amazing man. It always astounds me how people just gravitate to you because they feel comfortable around you and they instantly know that you're someone they can trust! Thank you Dad for teaching me how to love others and for teaching me how to love the unlovable.


(Day at the zoo!)

Thank you for being so willing to stop what you're doing and talk to me even when you're exhausted. I know that you're always there to listen to me and I love that I am able to talk to you about anything from boys to something I learned about God. Thank you for protecting me and looking out for me. I'm so thankful that I've never had to wonder if you love me or not because you've shown me love in so many ways. Just like Mom, you're so good at catering to my multiple love languages!

Thanks for always having your open chair for me... I'll never be too old or too cool for a snuggle with you! On the days that I wish I didn't have to grow up, there's no place I love being more than sitting in your chair with you!


(Christmas Day 2007)

Thank you for teaching me the essential life skills like fishing, throwing a football and a baseball, driving and how to use a lawn mower! Thank you for all the times that you've taken a break from studying or preparing a sermon to play catch with me... and thanks for all those "one last throws" that turn into another 15 minutes together!


(Mini Golfing date... playing around with the dinosaurs!)

Thank you for the countless ways you have bent over backwards to make me happy...I remember when I was little, pretending to be so tired that I couldn't walk down the hall to my bed just because I wanted you to carry me."Daddy, carry me!" seemed to be the magic words when used with an irresistable sweet and sleepy voice! I'll also never forget the way you hunted high and low all over Moose Jaw to find me a gerbera daisy for my grad pictures! Thanks for always thinking of me when I can't be with you... thanks for all the times you've saved or bought 'special' food for me... like bringing me home McDonald's chicken nuggets when I had to work instead of going to the city with you and Mom!


(an example of Dad's thoughtfulness... posing as a sumo wrestler at the Japan pavillion at Folklorama which happened when I was in Saskachewan)


(Picnic at the zoo)

You're always so thoughful of others and I love that you spontaneously decide to bring home flowers for Mom 'just because'. Thank you for always being so quick to compliment me even when I haven't showered or I'm in my pj's! I love how you choose to say "you make that shirt look good!" instead of "that shirt looks good on you"! Thank you for loving Mom with all your heart and for helping me set such high standards for my future husband because I want him to be like you!


(Skating on the Red River... can you tell who the better skater is by this picture?!)

I cherish each and every date we've been on! From the 5am fishing/Tim Horton's dates before you went to work when I was little to the day at the zoo and the skating dates last year, I love spending time with you! Thanks for all the teasing over the years... just another reminder that you love me!



Thanks for stretching your comfort zone and spending 3 weeks in Uganda with me (including spending a week with the local family I lived with!) I love watching you serve the Lord in so many ways. There is no doubt in my mind that you love God with all your heart and desire to please Him in every area of your life! Thank you for setting such a wonderful parallel example of the love that our Heavenly Father has for His children.



Thank you for your humble love... always letting me know that you will probably let me down because you're not perfect, and always directing me towards my Heavenly Father who is perfect and will never let me down. Thank you for always encouraging me in my walk with God and teaching me ways that I can grow closer to Him.

Thank you for loving 'your girls' with all that is within you! Melissa and I are so blessed to have you as our Dad and I wouldn't trade you for the world!! I can't even imagine what life would be like without you!



Even though we've had our share of  silly 'spats' because we're so much alike, I hope that the good memories we have together outweigh the not so good ones. Thank you for your love and patience through the many challenges of raising a strong willed red headed girl. Thank you for never giving up on me.

I love you, Dad. I'm sorry that I don't tell you that often enough. Happy Father's Day! Wish I was there with you...

Hey... it's me again!

Nothing much to write about these days... as you can tell by the lack of blogging! I've been pretty busy, but nothing out of the ordinary happened this week! I went for a walk on Sunday evening and I got to watch the sunset! It was so beautiful! I also got to watch a bunch of fish jumping up out of the water! I posted a few pictures on Facebook but here are some of my favorites...





 

I also posted some flower picture in that album (the new pictures start on page 4)... it's hydrangea season now!

Monday nights' class went better this week. I was pretty nervous about it wondering if anything would happen this week, but on the surface, it was peaceful!

I'm still plugging away with my language studies...with much frustration at myself! I just can't seem to retain things! Today when I was waiting for my train, I was sitting next to 2 ladies who were chatting and I heard one word they were repeating several times so I was going to write it down. As I was getting out my pencil, I kept straining to listen to them to see if I could catch anything... I got excited that I understood that the one lady asked asked her where her daughter was and then I realized that I already forgot the word I was going to write down.... :( My memory is terrible and it's so frustrating!

I realized tonight as I ended up teaching a one on one beginner lesson (for some reason this class that usually has 5 or 6 students in it, tonight only 1 showed up!) that I am blessed with an incredibly patient Japanese teacher! As I had to exercise my patience with this student and wait for her to get the words together that she wanted to say, I put myself in my Japanese teacher's shoes and realized just how much patience she has with me! She does have the advantage that she speaks English and can help me out when I am dazed and confused but she's really good about using almost all Japanese during my lesson. I must be quite a challenge for her I'm sure... I know I have to 'take deep breaths' before my beginner classes, and they know more English than I know Japanese so I'm sure my teacher does the same!

Tomorrow is my 4 month anniversary in Japan!! It's funny how it feels like it was ages ago that I stepped off the plane and at the same time it feels like that was last week!

Tomorrow we're having another 'Friday Night' so please pray for us! I'll try to remember to take pictures this time!

Anyway, I think I am going to go to bed soon... I've had too many late nights and early mornings this week and it's catching up to me now!

thanks for reading! don't forget how much I love/need feedback!! :P

Yesterday, after putting it off for 3 months, I decided to go for a long bike ride around Hirao, with no real destination in mind. I brought my Bible with me in hopes of finding a new spot to spend some time with God.

I biked around for about an hour or so, and I really enjoyed it! I had been putting this off not just because I am a little afraid of 'trying new things' but because I usually prefer to enjoy things with other people. But, I am actually glad I did it by myself yesterday... I had quite a peaceful time just soaking in my surroundings! Yes, I had to turn around a few times because I went the wrong way, but it was worth it! I tried to be as brave as I could! It makes me feel pretty proud of myself for stretching my comfort zone and changing my routine... of course I feel silly for this pride because I know there's adventurous people out there who are probably laughing at me because this is something they would have done the first day they got here... but it was a stretch for me and I'm going to be proud!

Sure there was probably a lot of other things that I could have been doing at home, but I really enjoyed the refreshment of being outside in the sunshine and alone with God. I ended up finding a really nice path by the water! I took in many deep breaths because the smell of the ocean reminded me of being at Brule Beach as a kid! (I was thinking of you Laurla!) The tide was out while I was riding my bike and it just brought back so many memories of the many hours that were spent on the sand bars... digging holes as far as we could dig, enjoying the 'tickle fish' around out toes as we walked in the shallow water, searching for starfish, basking in the sun on the raft (even when it was stuck on a sand bar!), trying to get the 'razor fish' to squirt water out of their holes and many other memories!

I found a set of stairs that went down to the water and I sat there for a while just enjoying the scenery... I love the ocean SO much. Guess it's in my Nova Scotia blood! Then I read my Bible for a little bit and went home with a big smile on my face! (the only reason I left was because I had a class to teach!)

I am so excited to have a new spot to meet with God on my day off! I didn't have my camera with me, but I will take pictures next time!

I did however, take a picture of the dinner that night I made because I was so proud of it!! I'm slowly getting better at cooking! Although it looks like I am eating worms with my stir fry, those are udon noodles! (a new favorite!) I found a bunch of reduced veggies at the grocery store and I even made my own sauce!


Even though I got them a while ago, I never posted pictures of the amazing roses I got from one of my students...




Aren't they gorgeous?! I loved them! Bobby and I are so spoiled by our students! They bring us all kinds of treats! Everything from flowers to steak to 'monster beans'... aka the biggest beans I have ever seen in my life!
I just took this picture of one of them on my keyboard to give you an idea of just how crazy big they are!

Well, I suppose I should get to bed now! Hope you enjoyed the update! Have a great week

-Hill :)

       Greetings from Japan once again! It’s hard to believe how fast time is flying! I’ve been here for 3 months already! That means that my official Cross Training internship is over now and I’m just finishing up some of my assignments for that. Nothing really changes now though- I’m just no longer “under the umbrella” of Cross Training.

I am still not sure how long I will be staying here, but I still hope to stay until after Christmas. Thank you to those who have contributed and continue to support me with your finances!

 

April and May have been full of many answered prayers and I’ve been really encouraged! It is such a privilege to be part of the work God is doing here in Japan!

 

The beginning of May brought a few Japanese holidays which becomes “Golden Week”. (Because the holidays are so close together, they make it almost a week long holiday.) I enjoyed the break from teaching and I got to do a little bit of traveling with Yumi San! Click here and here to see some pictures of my latest adventures! Yumi, Bobby and I went to a pro baseball game in Hiroshima at the end of April and I had a blast! Click here for more pictures. Then at the beginning of May she took me to a limestone cave/park and Safari Land! We had a great time together and we sure laughed a lot!

            It has been so good to spend so much time with Yumi! I’ve mentioned it before, but her friendship is a real blessing to me! Recently, as a team, we’ve been really excited about what’s been going on in Yumi’s heart.

A few weeks ago, after a little language lesson, she asked Bob and Teresa and I a question about something she had been wondering about from the Bible time in English class. It opened the door for a Spiritual conversation which actually continued the next Sunday after church! (She came to church again!)           

She admitted she has been thinking about God and the Bible more than she has in the past so we are really excited about this! Please pray that she will continue to seek God and have the courage to ask questions when they come up. Pray that her heart would be opened and that she will soon make a connection between her head and her heart!

 

Even though I enjoyed the break from teaching, when I got back into my routine last week it was really special to see the joy in my students as they expressed how much they missed me and my class when they came back!

Please keep praying for these students who need Christ in their lives. Pray that they will pay attention and interact well during the Bible lessons after English class and that they’ll really start desiring to know more about God and want a relationship with Him!

*I still want to have someone praying for each student as an individual so if you are interested in praying for someone, please let me know. I will send a picture and updates as I get them so that you can put a face to the name. So far I only have 9 out of 37 students covered, so please consider joining this partnership!*

 

Also at the beginning of May, I decided to host a ‘nail painting party’ for some junior high girls that Yumi knows and it was really fun! Even though I couldn’t share a Gospel message with them because of my lack of Japanese, I did send them home with a bookmark that I made that had 1 John 1:6 (“God is love”) written on it.

Please pray for more opportunities to interact with these girls and that the seeds that were planted during our time together will grow and bear fruit.

 

Our “Friday Night” singles ministry has been going well! Usually we have food together, play games and have a little devotional at some point.

We always have a blast and usually end up finishing around midnight! It’s been a great time of fellowship and more importantly, more people are coming in contact with the Word of God and are interacting with believers! Please pray for this ministry and that God will continue to prepare the hearts of those who come.

 

I mentioned my neighbour, Noriko San in my last prayer letter so I wanted to update on her a little. We haven’t gotten together again, but she did end up coming to our last “Friday Night” which is quite amazing because she didn’t know anyone else there! Keep praying for her salvation and more opportunities for me to connect with her!

 

Thanks so much for joining my ministry with your prayers and finances! God is definitely at work here and we are seeing fruit because of your help! I look forward to hearing from you!

Happy Mother's Day! One of my Mom's friends once asked her daughter what she wanted to be when she grew up and she responded, "I want to be a mudder" :) So I have affectionately called my Mom that ever since I heard that story!
I realize it's been a while since I have updated but today I wanted to post a little tribute to my Mom because we can't be together today... and I was a bad daughter and didn't send her a card or present in the mail because I didn't think of it soon enough!
My Mom really is a fantastic Mom! She's always put her children and her husband above herself and always makes sure everyone is happy! She's always been there for me no matter what... whether it's to help me with a last minute project for school (or a Christmas cookie exchange!) or just taking the time to listen to me "oogle" on and on about the boy I had a crush on that week!
Thank you Mom for the countless ways you have supported me in the last 23 years... Thank you for the wisdom you have shared with me and thank you for the unending love you have shown me. You are so special to me and I thank God for blessing me with such a Godly Mother!
Thank you for all the ways you show me love... I know that having a daughter with multiple love languages must be tricky, but you have done a fantastic job of always making me feel loved. Whether it's leaving me a note in my suitcase when I go on a trip or simply giving me a hug 'just because', I have never had to question if you love me or not!
I'm sorry for the many times I've made you cry in frustration over my strong will and 'red-headed temper'. I'd take back those many moments in a heart beat if I could! Thank you for never giving up on me and always trusting that God has big plans for my life. Thank you for leaving me in God's hands as I left for BC, Uganda, Calgary, and Japan.
Thank you for doing whatever you can to make my dreams come true! (thanks for the many times you've given me 'princess days!' and done what I wanted to do instead of what you wanted!) Thanks for all the special memories we've made together! I pray that one day I will be as good of a mother as you have been to me! I couldn't ask for a better example to follow!!
Momma, I LOVE YOU!! Wish I could give you a hug and spend the day with you...and add another picture to our collection of 'self portraits'  , but I hope this has reminded you just how much I love and appreciate you! I hope you have a fantastic Mother's Day!

So today I seemed to get myself into 2 awkward moments in class today... and both of them involved men in their 60's!

The first one came as I was asking my class about things we have in our class and writing them on the board, leading up to making an 'inventory list'. Amongst items like pens, CD player, chairs, out popped the words "beautiful women!" Let me clarify... there was only 2 students and myself in class today... one which happend to be a married man (whose wife was absent) in his 60's. Hmm... what to say??!! The other lady and I just laughed for a while and I awkwardly changed the subject and did not write "beautful women" on the board!

Then, in my evening class, I was introducing a unit on 'describing people' so I proceed to describe myself as an example. I said something like "My name is Hillary. I am wearing a purple sweater and I have black glasses....etc." Then one of my students (again another married man in his 60's) pipes up and says "and, you are cute!" Hmm... again, what to say??!! I laughed awkwardly and I think managed to say a thank you and again quickly changed the subject!

Oh how I love my students...  In all seriousness though, I really do love them and I am really enjoying getting to know them! It's also been fun to watch the light bulbs come on and see them apply what they are learning into their conversations!

I need to get going but I hope these stories made you smile... I thought it was quite funny they happened on the same day! Never a dull moment as an ESL teacher!

Hello again!

Just wanted to post the link to some more pictures... I love having a digital camera! (even though it's not the greatest one) Much better than having to ration out rolls of film like I did in Africa! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=98122&id=517722436&l=693e009d8b There's little notes on almost all of them so make sure you check them out by clicking on them to make them bigger!

This week has been quite enjoyable so far! It was nice to have a break yesterday and today! I actually had my team mates over for supper last night and tonight (I had to split them up because I don't have enough dishes!) because I had time to make a decent supper for them! (I made shepherd's pie and it was a hit both times!)

Today we went for lunch with the Tuesday students who were able to come. It was a really fun time and it was neat to spend time with my students in an "outside setting"! Apparently they are hoping to do Karaoke for our next month that has 5 weeks in it... I'll just be observing that one!!! (IF we do it) I don't even sing in the shower when no one's listening... I could not get up in front of a bunch of strangers (and my students!) and belt out a song! (although it's probably better to do it with strangers because they'll never see you again!

Tomorrow I teach 4 classes in Hikari... My afternoon class is taking Bobby and I to look at cherry blossoms which will be a fun time! I'm really looking forward to it! I'm excited to be in Japan for this gorgeous season!

I need to get going... still have some stuff to plan for tomorrow! (surprise surprise hey Mom?!) Thanks for keeping up with me! Remember how much I love comments!!  (which I haven't gotten lately!)

-Hill