Toledo to Tokyo

Update time!

Fundraising is going well and I'm now over 60%!!  Praise God!

Toledo skyline with Michigan way off in the distance

Working toward my goal of 100% by January, I've been traveling around Ohio to different missions and ministry functions - one of which was a ministers' meeting for all the AG pastors in the Northwest Ohio area.  The meeting which was held on one of the highest floors of the One Seagate Building in downtown Toledo.  We got a unique perspective of the city as we talked about various ministries and people who are affecting the city positively toward the gospel.  Towards the end, we got to pray over the city as we looked out the windows, giving us a clear view all the way to Michigan (thanks to the pancake flatness of NW Ohio). 

Tokyo's urban sprawl looking outward toward the suburbs

While we were praying, I couldn't help thinking that from 20 stories up, my hometown looked very similar to Tokyo.  I remembered looking down at the urban sprawl of Japan and praying for Tokyo just like all of the pastors gathered in our meeting were praying for Toledo. 

As a missionary, I feel like to have two hometowns.  Both are very close to my heart and I get to call both "home".  It is inevitable that when I am in one, I miss the other, and so when I was looking out over Toledo I found myself praying for Tokyo.

I love Toledo, but I long for Tokyo.  Until I get to leave home to go home, I'll stay at home and pray for my home. :)

On a different note, I've also been traveling Ohio with the Ohio Ministry Network's Celebration Tour to all of the area dinners to introduce myself as a new missionary and to make connections with other leaders outside my area.  They have been wonderful and encouraging as I get to see some of what God is doing all over Ohio. 

Quick Updates:
~ The journals project is going well and I'm up to my eyeballs in commissions!  If you have an idea for a journal that you don't see in my Etsy shop, feel free to email or Facebook me and make a request.
~ If you know me at all, you know how much I love students.  This weekend, I get to participate in an event my home church's youth group is hosting called "Insomnia".  You guessed it, it's an all-nighter!  The theme is "samurai" and I get to be the missionary guest for the duration of the event.  Can anyone say "I survived a Japanese game show?"  It's going to be crazy and so much fun! (A report on that later!)

Pray that my energy remains steady as I gear up for the final stretch of my fundraising marathon! 

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support!  This wouldn't happen without you!