So TEAM orientation was really amazing. I did not post again because it was incredibly busy and we only had one either-net cable for three girls in the dorm. We got to experience a lot in such a short amount of time. On Thursday we went to an area of Chicago that is called Little India and participated in a contextualized worship service. This means that we went into a church that was made specifically to cater to people that are from India. The music was in Hindi and the pastor taught using a story format rather then a five point sermon. It was really interesting and I loved seeing a different way to approach teaching.
I have a bunch of pictures of orientation on Facebook but will also post some in the blog.
After the service we ate at an India restaurant and I have decided that I do like curry, I am just picky on which kind of curry I will eat. No spicy curry please! XD We went around the area shopping and working on greeting the locals in their language. I ended up buying a salwar kameez for $12.00! =D After we hung around Little India we had a lesson in travel and had to make our way to the Pier. This was not really hard because we ended up going as a group and one of us lives in Chicago. Ah well for practice! I have been been to the Pier before but it was still fun to ride the Ferris wheel! The guy to my right is John who is working with me at SonRise cafe. The other picture has Elia and I. She is working in another area of Japan. As you can see we are very high up with the skyscraper in the background!
There was a lot more stuff that happened during orientation. To make it short, I believe God gave me this time with these people to remind me that I am not alone on the field. That I have friends who are going to different parts of the world who understand what I am/will be going through. TEAM really did a great job with their orientation and I hope that I get to see these amazing people again! Ganbatte!
Now about my time getting to Japan... So God always knows
what He is doing even when I do not. I got dropped off at the airport about two
hours before my flight. I received my boarding pass, checked at the gate to
make sure I was at the right place (thought that I was already checked in because
of my boarding pass), grabbed something to eat and sat down at my gate. I had
not realized at this point that I needed a seat number on my boarding pass to
be considered checked in. A few minutes
to boarding we hear the intercom stating that the flight is overbooked and would
anyone mind getting off this flight for some compensation money? It made me realize
that I had no seat number on my boarding pass! So I go up to the counter and
ask if I need one and it ends up that I am not checked in and will have to wait
until someone gives up his or her seat for me to board the flight! A nice woman
in front of me tells me not to worry and gives me her spot on the plane. If she
had not been willing I don’t know if I would have gotten to go to my first
destination which would have meant I would have missed my second flight. Who knows?
I was just thankful to that woman and irritated with airlines for overbooking
their planes.
On to phase two. I get to New York LaGuardia airport and have to switch to JFK. I ended up getting a very kind taxi driver (a rare thing in NY probably) and he did not charge me as much as we were estimating so that's good. =) I get to the airport and had another missionary group going to India sit down next to me at my gate! We got to talk awhile and one of the ladies prayed for me. So God really took care of me during the whole process! When I boarded the plane, ANA's airplane had like a hundred seats left so we got to spread out on the long ride which was wonderful! =D Believe me that the small things really help when you have to be on an airplane for several hours. So I have made it to Japan safe and sound! Praise the Lord cuz I really needed Him during all of this process!
I will continue this story later but I think I should really get something posted so I am just going to stop here for now. Things are happening faster then I can write about them! Talk to you later then! Oh, and here is more pictures.
The one on the bottom is the group of us going to Japan! ^-^ That's why we are showing the peace signs.
Thank you for the prayers!
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