"It happened on one of those Zip-A-Dee-Do-Da days. Now that's the
kind of day when you can't open your mouth without a song coming right
ou-Zip-A-Dee-Do-Da, Zip-A-Dee-Ay. My, oh my, what a wonderful day!"
SO CARLA WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED! We invited her on Tuesday and she just
teared up and said yes. She truly wants to. She said she just wants to be a part
of our family, and she wants to come closer to Christ and learn more about him.
Grant Shimai and I are just bouncing off the walls, we are so excited. We adore
her; she truly is a beautiful person, and has some of the strongest faith I have
ever seen. I'll tell you why...
She doesn't speak Japanese, and she doesn't speak English. She only speaks
Spanish. Grant Shimai doesn't speak Spanish. I don't speak Spanish. So when we
teach we sit around her computer and take turns typing into Google translate
what we want to say and see if the other person can understand. Sometimes the
translation can be challenging to read, but at least my years of studying French
have some good use, and I can usually make out what she's saying.
She's also moving in about a month. She doesn't know the exact date, but
she will be going to Peru to visit family, and then she will be moving to
Kanagawa, a different city in Japan.
It's pretty hard for me to face the fact that after this month, I might not
ever see her again.She is really a beautiful person. She inspires me with her
faith and her constant desire to learn more about God. She always says with her
broken Japanese "Watashi...Kamisama ichiban!" (With the help of her body
language and some Spanish words we understood that she meant "For me, God is
most important").
Kinjin, desune? (she's golden, right?)
I absolutely love her, and I am so grateful and honored that she would try
to be baptized here in Komatsu before she moves. From the moment I met her, I
knew she would receive baptism, she just glows with the Light of Christ, I just
never imagined I would be so lucky as to be there to hug her as she makes this
covenant to follow Jesus Christ.
It's days like these that Grant Shimai and I can't open our mouths without
a song coming right ou-Zip-A-Dee-Do-Da. Zip-A-Dee-Ay!!"
