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I am furiously busy now -on Wednesday I received an acceptance letter from Wheaton College for admission to the Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies. So in addition to packing for my two months in Tokyo, now I have to make arrangements for a move to Wheaton Illinois from Seattle as soon as I return. I leave for Japan in just over a week on June second and I return on August 14th. The first day of Graduate student orientation is on August 25th, it is going to be a very hectic week when I return so I need to get as much done now as I can so I won’t worry too much while I’m in Tokyo. Please pray for me that I can get everything sorted out. I am so blessed.

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4 that he has learned to be content in all circumstances and is enabled to live so through the strong arm of the Lord. Recently I have been learning a similar lesson about material possessions.

In April I was laid off which curbed my normally free flowing spending habits.  At the end of April our lease was up, Shaw and I moved into Peter Kwok’s townhouse. I am not exaggerating when I say that my new room at Peter’s place is less than one third the size of my previous room, and with meager storage space. In order to be able to move around I had to make decisions about what I should keep and what to get rid of. The week before we moved out I was busy on craigslist giving away things -tables, cabinets, my aquarium. Since moving in I have been busy selling things on eBay, tossing things and giving things to charity.

In two weeks time I’ll be heading to Tokyo to live out of a suit case, this is going to be the ultimate lesson in simple living. I have plenty of possessions that I’ll probably hold onto, like my books, but when I come back I’ll have more choices on what to keep and what to find a new home for.

Long term I would like to be able to move freely without the chain of possessions holding me in one place, each day I have to make choices in order to live more simply.

In a little more than two weeks I am going to be heading to Japan for two and a half months! There was an opportunity for me to go and serve at our Tokyo church and help out with the preparation for the Summer Mission Trip. I am really excited about the chance to spend more time with the members of BBC Tokyo and grow deeper in my relationship with them. I am also very excited to see how God is going to work this summer in Tokyo.

This past month has been very busy. My roommates and I moved out of our duplex and into another brother’s town house -I have been busy unpacking, repacking, selling, giving away and throwing away my possessions. I’m still waiting for word back on my graduate school applications to Wheaton and Fuller -please remember me in your prayers.