Things are getting busier as we have guests come through.  Serving breakfast has been fun, and a great time of fellowship with fellow believers from around the world.  We're a little nervous about the big lunch (for 30 people) coming up, but overall - we have loved serving the missionaries here.  We're continuing to learn so much from talking with them.

We attended Hope Bible Church last Sunday, and found the service to be very interesting.  We loved the music, and we were able to sing along because they had the syllables written out both phonetically and with Japanese characters.  HBC has only about 20-30 people on Sundays, and this is actually considered to be pretty big.. (HBC is the only church in Mitaka)  The pastor works through a translator, and the most striking thing about the sermon was the absence of the word "sin."  In Japan, "sin" connotes murder, or robbing a bank, etc.  There is NO word in the Japanese language that means "little sin," so if they haven't committed a crime as serious as murder, they don't think that they're sinners.  This concept makes it even more difficult for the people to realize that they need the Savior.  We've been thinking of new ways to share our testimonies without using the word "sin."  Julie had the opportunity to share her testimony (through a translator) at a weekly cooking class with HBC.  Several women who attend this cooking class are unbelievers, so that was a great opportunity.  Tonight, we're attending a gospel choir practice at HBC... again - this is an HBC outreach program, so many members of this choir are unbelievers.  The Lord is putting a lot of opportunities in our way, so... stay fervent in prayer for these encounters.  Pray for our quiet times - it's been hard to stay diligent in our time with the Lord as things start getting busier.

Here are some more pictures.  Some of them are in the electric city, others are in Kichijoji.  Kichijoji is a fairly busy area where we found a graveyard with a shrine in it, and we found Capcom plaza where there are a lot of slot machines.  Akihabara (electric city) is bright and busy.  It's moving 24/7.  There are tons of technological happenings there, and it's the manga/anime center of the world. We went there with the Taylors at night.  (Sorry that some of the pics are blurry.)  More and more we are seeing a new "level" of lostness, but God is great and still gives us hope & courage.  Thank you all so very much for your prayers & encouragement.