Dear Praying Friends and Family:

Getting Squared Away

The last two weeks of April and the first half of May were all a blur.  Tying up every loose end was a monumental task; add to that, packing everything that we could into twenty totes and three suitcases (not to mention nine carry-ons plus personal items. )  It seems like a lot of space until you try to pack in nine and a half years of marriage and everything accumulated along the way.  Every shipping quote we received came back astronomically high, so we called the airline and found out the maximum weight and dimensions we could take and maxed out our allotted items.  The day we left American Airlines started charging for a second bag, and we just made the cut.  I’m glad God knew that already!  

What we couldn’t pack, we determined to sell. Everything had to be gone through, and a decision made about each piece: pack, pitch, sell, store.  We would probably still be doing it, had it not been for our Pastor, his family, and the many friends that gave up their time to come and help!  We were constantly reminded of the blessings of God in our lives as many friends and pastors simply came by and/or called the last couple of weeks in the states.  After doing all we could, we loaded the luggage, nine Wilhites, one helper, and an entourage of friends and family into four vehicles and headed to the airport: we were quite a site!

Getting Settled At – Home

The Lord graciously provided bulkhead seating for the trip (aka – more leg room) and the flights were fairly uneventful.  Tokyo was a scramble, - but we made our connection (barely).  We landed in Sapporo ) – tired  and bedraggled – but intact.  :o)  We spent the night with missionary Tony Evans, and left the next morning for Nayoro; with a quick lunch with the Alan Minks family along the way.  The next three weeks we spent living with the Smiths while we prepared our house to move into.  Events in Japan seem to move at a slower pace than in the States  (that’s not always a bad thing :o), and everything in order.  So we had to go to the city office to get this card in order to get some paperwork so that I could get my personal stamp (which I had to order) registered so I could open a bank account with said card and stamp so I could pay the rent and set up the utilities. . . got all that?  Me neither. Anyway, we are official “aliens” in Japan and all the paperwork is done – for now.  As of the writing of this letter, we still do not have phone service, but should have by the time you read it (maybe).  When we’re back online our last months worth of updates should make it to the website. Also Bro Smith has some things posted too that might be of interest: http://nayorosmiths.blogspot.com/  
After  a few construction projects, we moved into our new home.  Linnea Coons (our helper from NY) extended her stay for a month and helped us as we  settled in.  The Smiths are our constant helpers; without them, I have no idea how we' could navigate Japan.  One of the Smith girls is  over every day to help us adjust and to just help.  Shellee has done a great job making the house a home, and we are adjusting to living here.

Getting Started  A’learnin’

I knew that learning a new language and culture would be difficult, but I had no idea how much else I would have to RELEARN.  We began observing and learning the “new” things when we landed in Tokyo (BBTI prepared us much for that) but having to unlearn everything in order to simply live has been a challenge.  Contsruction is done differently, gardening is done differently, and everything is in Japanese.  We expect that right?  Well, we didn’t think about the washing machine instructions in Japanese, or the rice cooker, or the furnace, or the propane, oven, stove, etc.  It puts you on a quick learning curve, but is a shocker at first.  
Sooooooo – we start school.  Our official book studies have been limited with all the necessities of getting settled in, but the plan is to begin full time in July.  The kids are already picking up quite a bit of Japanese as there are some neighborhood children that come over frequently.  One nine year old, Mana, has taken a particular interest in us and is constantly teaching us new things.  All in all it is a new lesson in humility: we cannot function without help, everything I thought I knew I could do, I can’t do here, and a nine year old girl is my best teacher.  We thank the Lord for all of it!  You all are in our hearts and prayers, thanks for praying for us!

Prayer Requests

• Salvation for the Japanese in our neighborhood.
• Grace as we learn and adjust to living in Japan.
• Linnea's dad, Bruce, as he recovers from Quintuple By-Pass surgery.

Ja Ne! (See ya later),

Duane for the Wilhites