tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post8545434050836545557..comments2013-07-13T08:54:12.084-07:00Comments on The Otherside: Living in Japan: The hardest partAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11183176687608087156noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post-87317226971112926062013-07-13T08:54:12.084-07:002013-07-13T08:54:12.084-07:00Thanks Jenna!! I think so, I enjoy it all. The eas...Thanks Jenna!! I think so, I enjoy it all. The easy and the difficult, Everything has been a good experience. Thanks for your encouragement! Means a lot coming from you.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183176687608087156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post-3116844599015918282013-07-13T08:45:07.275-07:002013-07-13T08:45:07.275-07:00Thanks Ashleigh! I've been thinking about you ...Thanks Ashleigh! I've been thinking about you quite a bit lately. Actually, when I first heard you were returning to the States I felt a little more crazy for having one less friend living abroad. <br /><br />Yes, there are many things I really love about living in Japan so I will start working on that this weekend. I just wanted to give readers a true glimpse into my experiences, both the trying and the wonderful, because God makes both beautiful. <br /><br />Returning has always seemed pretty hard, more difficult than going, so I'm interested in your experiences, you should definitely blog about coming back! The way God uses us is indeed so beautiful.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183176687608087156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post-28120159461759330622013-07-13T08:32:47.336-07:002013-07-13T08:32:47.336-07:00Wow Travis! I hadn't heard that story before, ...Wow Travis! I hadn't heard that story before, that's so amazing! I've always just remembered how quickly you got your Doctorate, I didn't understand the darkness God brought you out of! Your story sounds like scripture out of the Psalms from David or Asaph. How powerful!!<br /><br />Can't believe Asher is 14 months! I've been in Japan for 15 months now! I'm really excited for Annalise Marie as well! I look forward to meeting them! Can't imagine better parents!!<br /><br />Thanks Travis! Love you as well!!<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183176687608087156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post-31615263533463419592013-07-12T11:45:23.555-07:002013-07-12T11:45:23.555-07:00I miss you too, David. I'm glad that you get t...I miss you too, David. I'm glad that you get to be in Japan, and it will be great to hug your neck again (maybe at yours or Hannah's wedding someday).<br /><br />My baby Asher Jadon is 14 months old now. He's started talking to me on the phone and saying lots of different words. He's walking around by himself and feeding himself at the dinner table. Just like me, he's fascinated with video game controllers. Pretty much anything we're interested in, he's also curious about.<br /><br />Asher's name means Happy Grateful. I went through the darkest depression and hopelessness I've ever felt in the middle of grad school, and God spoke to me in that depression as I cried out to him. As I told God how hopeless I was in my loneliness and in the crushing statements my teachers had made to me about my failures, God told me that he could make the woman of my dreams for me out of the ground in front of my eyes. As an encouragement, he gave me the end of a song I had been writing while I was depressed over several months of loneliness. I called that song Hope, because God was showing me that he would bring me through the darkness into his light, and that I could trust in him. I went from poverty and failure to extreme blessing financially and familialy over the course of the next year and a half. Because of God's extreme generosity to my family against all odds and barriers, we named our first son Asher Jadon.<br /><br />We're having our second baby in November (Lord willing). Her name is Annalise Marie. Annalise means God's covenental grace. Marie is a family name passed down from Amanda's family.<br /><br />We love you! Hang in there, and we'll look forward to seeing you again.Guesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01824758705736889688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post-23879377909841043012013-07-12T09:52:56.192-07:002013-07-12T09:52:56.192-07:00David! You're experiencing things that will on...David! You're experiencing things that will only make you a better friend, brother, person when you finish with this chapter of adventures! When you're feeling homesick, go for a run and let your mind focus on good memories =)<br /><br />jennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01546389220320512858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post-37259305835165176062013-07-12T09:49:14.409-07:002013-07-12T09:49:14.409-07:00David,
I am so glad you got the chance to write a...David,<br /><br />I am so glad you got the chance to write about the hard things. I am finally getting a chance to read these, my morning read along with coffee at my house in OR! It's pretty unbelievable that I am back from my years in Spain - and I can definitely dig into your feelings and things that you miss. I'm also looking forward to a blog you might write about your favorite things in Japan. That is helpful, because one day you will be writing something about the hardest part in coming back to the US. That's my hardest thing moment right now. I love home, and there are gorgeous things and people, that I am blessed to be surrounded by. But life as I knew it for 2 solid years, a new language to think in, a group of friends that became family - now I'm so far from it.<br /><br />We are blessed to know others who understand these cultural changes and experiences. And we are beyond blessed to have these experiences! God is using us in these ways, and it's pretty beautiful.<br /><br />All my love,<br />AshleighAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post-91006917610229058502013-07-11T08:01:58.702-07:002013-07-11T08:01:58.702-07:00Thanks Sarah, yes, I'm feeling torn in both wa...Thanks Sarah, yes, I'm feeling torn in both ways, so it's definitely interesting!<br />Thanks for the encouragement. There's definitely a lot to be excited for!<br />Mito isn't the same without you and your family! I hope the transition back to the States is going smoothly!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183176687608087156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post-28677549019855502492013-07-11T07:54:18.016-07:002013-07-11T07:54:18.016-07:00Hey Thanks Glen! Thanks for reading and thanks for...Hey Thanks Glen! Thanks for reading and thanks for your comment! I'll need to check up on your adventure in France! Do you have a blog?<br /><br />Yes, I think those feelings are such valuable experiences, as I am learning now. It definitely gives you new perspectives!<br /><br />Life in Japan is really good but there are certainly challenges. After my cousin emailed me, asking about the hardest parts, it hit me that I haven't really written about the subject for friends and family following me through my blog. I've been blessed to do some amazing things here, I just wanted to give friends and family some of what's going through my mind, and remains in my heart. I didn't feel I would be doing this blog justice if I didn't include some of the harder things about being so far away, things definitely on my heart.<br /><br />Thanks for your comment! I appreciate you reading!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11183176687608087156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post-52955593504396947562013-07-10T16:38:31.035-07:002013-07-10T16:38:31.035-07:00It's an interesting struggle, isn't it? Lo...It's an interesting struggle, isn't it? Loving your old friends, loving your new friends. Enjoying the new experiences and stretching yourself outside your comfort zone, yet missing that comfort zone. Hang in there, keep leaning on The Lord, and keep sharing. Thanks for the glimpse into your experience! Take care! Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08450348572116072588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4412323161334093162.post-7722818950009061642013-07-09T16:43:51.099-07:002013-07-09T16:43:51.099-07:00Hey David. It's been a long while since we'...Hey David. It's been a long while since we've talked, but I saw your blog on facebook and really wanted to comment after I read it.<br /><br />I spent the last year in Lyon, France and felt a lot of the same feelings you mentioned! Loneliness in a crowd, dearly missing people back home, missing familiar foods and being able to talk normally.<br /><br />I'm not quite sure where you are in the timeline of adjusting to culture and all that, but stick with it! I made some great friends and had some awesome experiences after a few months in France.<br /><br />Now I'm traveling with my parents and it's amazing to realize how much I have come to understand this foreign culture and language. Good luck with your adventures and soak it up! You'll have a lot to share when you get back home. :)Mouchehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00088763477601234885noreply@blogger.com