Saying Good-bye

With just two weeks left until our departure from Japan we have started to say our goodbyes. Our first farewell party was last Friday the 27th at our Japanese class in Kawasaki.
We had a nice dinner of building your own sandwiches. Our class only consisted of about four students, but there was a hand full of babysitters to watch Grace and Sophia each week. While this party did make it seem that we were leaving so soon, the party we went to next day made the whole reality of leaving Japan so real. On saturday the 28th Grace's Yochien class had a going away party for her. It was the sweetest thing that nearly brought tears to my eyes.
(Grace's whole class and in the picture below is Hitomi Sensei from last year and Grace's current teacher Yumi Sensei.)
All the kids participated in group games and then we had snack time and learning how to make Onigeri time. Grace and Sophia had lots of fun. Her class also made her the greatest present ever. They made a photo album. Each child had one page in the album to put what ever they wanted in it about them self. It was the perfect memory book. As I am sure Grace wont remember much about her school days in Japan in a few years.
Then tonight we went to a dinner hosted by Murata High School (where Lane teaches english). It was at the Italian restaurant in town. The teachers that attended where ones that have known Lane well over the last two years. We had a very nice time with them. Even the kids from the English club showed up.
Last Sunday we also took some picture of some of the people that I know Grace and Sophia will miss. While this was not our last sunday, it was our last time at our church building. They started construction on it this week to expand it.
This is the our church building. We attended the Nagamachi ward which is just south of Sendai.

Sophia with her Nursery teacher. She was so great for Sophia. She learned a lot of english for our little girl.

This is Grace and Sophia with Chiba Kun. He joined out church about 1 1/2 years ago at the age of 16. Sophia and Grace just loved him. He would play with them after church each Sunday. And even though he can't speak any English, the girls always got him to do what they wanted him to do.

This is Mion (Me-ohn) on the left with her sister which I can't remember her name. The girls would play with them after church as well. Mion was so nice to them all the time. She would take them to their classes and pick them up from their classes when church was over and would play with them until we went home. She is also the one who watched our little girls while we went threw the temple in Tokyo. She was almost like an after church babysitter, better yet, like an older sister. We will really miss her.

I also got to say goodbye to my Japanese class. I stopped going about two months ago and I came back Thursday to say goodbye to my teacher and there were only two students there that I knew. Luka is sitting on the left and Menchi is on the right. They both were very good friends to me and they spoke English. Kawamura Sensei is the one standing and I am so grateful to her for putting up with my horrible Japanese. I will miss these three dearly.

I still have next week to say some more goodbyes. I am not looking forward to it.
While I am very happy to be entering into a new chapter of our life, I am very sad to end our chapter in Japan. I have really grown to love the friends that We have made in Japan and I am very sad to leave it all behind. I know we must move forward, so I am glad I am leaving Japan while I still love almost (I will never love natto- fermented soy beans) everything about it. I just want to say thank you to all the friends who have made our stay in Japan wonderful.
We have a song in our Hymn book at church that is called, "God, be with you till we meet again." I feel so strongly about that statement. I know I will see all of the friends that I have made in Japan sooner or later in this life and If not in this life then the next.