Merry Christmas
& Happy New Year
Funding update: We would like to thank our old and new partners (supporters) for working with us! We wouldn't be able to stay here without your prayers and support! Thanks to increased support and a couple of new English classes we are teaching, we are approximately only $1500 a month underfunded. We see how mightily God is working here and with faith that God will provide for our needs, we are going to apply for our new visas for Japan next month. Donate to the Olsons (as always please click our names in the "donation to" dropbox)
Baby Billy is here!
What an amazing testament to God's blessings! Billy was born on October 9th, 2014 in Noborito, Japan. He was a week overdue and born between the departure and arrival of two typhoons. After some intense labor he arrived at 5:54pm and 7lbs. 14oz. and 20 in. long. I had an amazing support team consisting of Will, Yoshiko and many midwives. The hospital (literally a two minute walk around the corner) was top notch and fed me alot of delicious Japanese food. He is now 2 months old and growing beautifully! He now talks to us in gibberish, smiles and loves his mommy, daddy and sister!
Thanksgiving
We definitely had a lot to be thankful for this year with Emmaly completing a full year of Japanese school, Billy's birth, growth in the after-school program and our financial support raise.
We enjoyed three Thanksgiving meals this year. The first with our missionary friends. The food was amazing! I was so grateful that I had gotten my hands on a can of yams! The sweet potato casserole was my favorite part! The second Thanksgiving meal was with our cell group and Japanese friends! We had a few new families participate and they were able to learn about why we celebrate this holiday. The third was for Emmaly’s cell group and their families. We have been teaching these kids for a little over a year now and this was a great chance to talk with the parents about who we are and what we are teaching their children.
Christmas
The afterschool program just completed their 2nd annual Christmas play. The kids did great! We will also be passing out flyers to the school for upcoming church events. So please stay in prayer that God will work in the hearts of the Japanese people who we come into contact with.
This last weekend we went to an Illumination at a local theme park to enjoy the Christmas lights. It's rare to see a house decorated so this helped to make it feel a little more like home! Merry Christmas everyone!
Visitors from afar
We were really happy to welcome Will's mom here to to Japan back in October. Soon after, we were given a nice surprise when Will's aunt flew in for a day (she's a flight attendant) and we got to visit and experience a Japanese festival in Narita. I also was able to meet up with an old co-worker and meet her daughter and new granddaughter. Such an awesome way to wrap up the year with all these familiar faces.
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