I am blessed...

Happy Birthday in Japanese is TANJOBI OMEDETO!
And I recieved so many of those today. :)
Nansaideska? (How old are you?)
nijusansai (23)
And something I haven't quite caught on on how to reproduce:
You're so young!!
hahaha grins
So, happy birthday to "young" Rachel. ;)
Today began, kind of, shortly before 7 am, when one of my dad's Mexican workers Pepe (also has partially adopted me as his gringa granddaughter) called me to wish me a happy birthday. I was way out of it (woke me up out of a very sound sleep) and I kept wanting to answer him in very broken and limited Japanese. It took me a little bit to get my mouth to follow my head in acknowledging that Spanish was being spoken to me and I needed to respond in kind. Poor Pepe.
I went back to sleep.
I was jolted out of sleep again by the evil alarm clock calling me to get ready for church.
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect out of the day, and what I got wasn't anything that I had come close to expecting. I enjoyed the church service (sitting next to my friend Keiko and the Pastor's son - married with a very adorable [menkoi] almost 3 yr old daughter - who translated the message for me). And afterwards we had the customary tea time with delicious snacks that always seem to run out too quickly. ;) Lots of tanjobi omedetos and nansaideskas and "you're so youngs". grins I stayed at church for a quick lunch, followed by Bible study. English Bible study. The first Bible study I've ever led. The first time with non-Christians. The first time with a group of Japanese people. Lots of firsts. Not the first time I wish I spoke perfectly fluent Japanese (hehe), though moderately fluent would have been just fine. Thankfully, there is a wonderful 24 yr old girl by the name of Ai who studied English for 3 months each in England and Malta and Mrs. T, the Pastor's wife, who has studied English for a number of years, and most of what I said was able to be understood. There is grace and blessing for you. I talked about milestones in my faith... trials, how the Lord brought me through and out of them... we looked at a lot of verses, and maybe I'll write it all out some time and post it. We had "Bible study" for 3 hours. It was an incredible gift to be able to share my heart with these women (there were 4 altogether plus Mrs. T). At the end of our time together, Junko - a new student, 40-something, who has been to my classes twice - said that she was very "moved." An older Buddhist lady, Tokiko, said that she was very touched by my story. And I know that those words were not my own. If Junko was moved and if Tokiko was touched, they were moved and touched by the power of the Holy Spirit. Another tanjobi omedeto.

Coming back to this on Halloween...
I went back to the church that night at 7 for a "birthday party." Delicious food, wonderful people (from church, English class, and friends I've met through friends), and wonderful fellowship... even though I could understand very little. ;) It was a very joyful night. After eating came music. One of my students, a 31 yr old woman, Isako, who is also deaf, picked up violin lessons 6 months ago because she decided she wanted to learn how to play (she doesn't let her "disability" keep her from doing ANYTHING). And she, accompanied by our friend Keiko on the organ, played a song for me for my birthday present. Her violin was badly out of tune, and the notes not-quite-right, but it was absolutely beautiful. One of those things that is beautiful because you know the heart behind it and in it and her heart is beautiful. It was beautiful to me. Then the lights went off and out came 2 little cake/pie/tarts lit up with candles, joined by a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday' and clapping. Delicious, of course. Then more fellowship, and finally presents. Surprise after surprise. Keiko asked me what my aspirations were for the year to come. And since most of that year - well, pretty much all of it - will be spent in Japan, I said: To learn Japanese well enough to be able to express myself (within reason) without needing an interpreter, and to build relationships with the people here. Eventually our group dwindled to the Taguchi's, Naoko, Keiko, Takaaki, and myself. The Taguchi's and Noako were talking together about Christianity (not sure exactly what because it was in Japanese, but I figured that's probably what it was because Naoko is not yet a Christian, but is SEEKING, super seeking.), and Keiko drew me aside. She and Takaaki were giggling and whispering and I thought... hmmm... And proceeded to be the first to know of their engagement and be invited to their wedding. Ah! hahaha They were so cute! Sorry, but cute is the only word that properly described them. For now their engagement and wedding plans are a secret. I'm not sure exactly why - something about not knowing which church they want to become members of or where they want to get married - something like that. So, wow! what a birthday present! After Takaaki said buenas noches, er um, I mean - oyasuminasai - Keiko and I joined the Taguchis and talked with Naoko till well after 11pm. Mrs. T asked me to share with her what I talked about during Bible study, I think Keiko shared with her a bit of her testimony, and that was my birthday. I couldn't have spent it in a better way here. It was a birthday full of blessings in all sorts of shapes and sizes and people. :)

TANJOBI OMEDETO!