Kelly - Home is where the heart is...

At first I was going to title this "home" or "happy to be home", since Dave and I have safely and uneventfully returned to the US, but if is true that home is where the heart is, then, I'm still back in Japan. Yes, when I wasn't napping, I was being Dad of the house and getting things back in order (leaving for Japan always seems to leave the house looking like a tornado hit it... remnants of craft preparations etc... oh and the drink we forgot to dump out before leaving) but my heart, was not here - I was going through the motions, taking the garbage out, collecting the recycling - I even began asking myself, is this plastic, PET bottle, burnable... then I realized that I didn't need to worry about that... (that's a living in Japan in-side joke.) My thoughts constantly are drifting back to the team just prepping for their week of VBS at the Nokendai Bible Fellowship; to Tom, Sharon and Tim who are taking some very needed time to renew their strength with the Reasoners at a camp near Mt. Fuji. How I wish I were there, yet my heart also knows there's a reason Dave and I needed to be back.

I do want to thank all those who supported us. I know Dave and I are different, I really need some time to process all that's gone on to fully take this all in. That's why I'm truly grateful that my boss approved attending the Willow Creek Leadership conference as a part of my Leadership development training. While I might be somewhat jet-lagged, I'll be attending the conference Thursday and Friday, and I'm truly wondering what God has in store for me there. And, I'll be "working".

My prayer concerns now:
For the seeds that have been sown, that the soil they fell on, is fertile soil, that thorns and weeds don't grow, that birds are kept away...
For those I have had the privaledge of meeting (and those I haven't) who are called to stay and water those seeds, and tend the ground removing the weeds.
That God would send the rain
That He allows the sun to continue to rise, at least until this harvest is done.
That there are still harvesters, that they are there when the harvesting needs to be done, that none of these fruits rot away...

I know that TODAY Japan may not yield as mighty a harvest as other fields, but I also know that our good shepherd will leave the 99 to look for the 1... and I do believe Japan's season coming...