Same month, same fun, new person!

A new batch of Bible college students have come to Okinawa. Most of them are new faces, but one of them has come back for another round. Daniel is an awesome brother in the Lord, and I look forward to another semester with him. Earlier this month, I made perogies with Keisuke and posted a few pictures of us having fun. Well, little did I know, my buddy Daniel has some Ukranian blood in him, and knows much more about those delicious little potato dumplings than I do! So because of his mom's comment on my blog, I figured I should have Daniel over to make perogies. And we did. And enjoy them, we did! It was a great time of fellowship and food, and I look forward to sharing the love of perogies with anyone else who is interested!

Time with Todd

Todd Mryglod of Winnipeg, Manitoba came out to visit me this past week. It was a great chance to catch up on old times. It was also a chance for me to see the island again, and show it off to my friend. We went to the Peace Memorial Park in Itoman on Tuesday, followed by Kokusai Street at night. Then on Wednesday we went with Keisuke to Pineapple Park, followed by snorkeling at Cape Maeda. On Thursday we went to my ol' island, Iejima, with my friends Hazel, Aaron and Joe.
It was a great week, and I think a good time was had by all. Todd is now in Thailand visiting friends and attending a wedding.

Rob "Double Death" "Voonder" Wunderlich

My buddy Rob had has semi-big-league debut on Saturday, pitching for the Naha Samurai. His number is 44. In Japanese, "4" is a homonym for "death", hence the nickname "double death." I will not give any details of what went down that day, but will let the pictures speak for themselves. We're all proud of you, Voonder!

Myles an' Me an' Pooh

While at the Winnipeg Zoo, I found my proof that Winnie the Pooh, a.k.a. Pooh-san (プーさん) is from my home city! Here are some pics from my time with Myles. The statue in the background of our picture is of the original man who owned "Winnie" the bear. Also on my final night in Canada, I got to spend time with my brother and his wife. I might post some video of us on youtube - if I do, I'll upload it here for you all to check out. If you're reading this, thanks Ash and Nancy and Myles for the fun times!

A non-picture entry

I hate just writing stuff, but I had such a fun time tonight with my friends that I can't just leave it off my blog. My good friend Megan (who visited me in Okinawa 2 years ago) and her husband Mitch had me over for dinner, and then afterwards, Marilyn and Kyle, who are heading to Norway on YWAM, came over and so did Marie (who also visited me in Oki at the same time as Megan did), and we played games. Kyle killed everyone, except Marie, who committed unintentional suicide at the game's end. It was a fun-filled evening. I will miss them all as I head back to Okinawa in just under 24 hours. Man, time flew while I was back!

A day at the zoo

Today I got to go on a little field trip with some of my family. It was awesome - my cousin Sabrina was babysitting my nephew Myles, so my dad and I decided to join them and head out to Winnipeg Zoo. For Myles it was his first time seeing some of these animals right before his eyes. He loved it! Of course, it was fun for us adults, too. Here are a few pics.

Say hello to...

My good buddy, Todd Mryglod! I have known Todd now for over 15 years! We were high school classmates back in the day, and now he's an engineer in Winnipeg, while I'm a teacher in Okinawa. Our paths crossed briefly the other day, and will cross once again when he comes out to visit from August 20-24. It should be a great time. Todd has been to Thailand many times, but this will be his first visit to Japan. Can't wait, buddy!

My Grandma and I

The other day I got to sit down with my grandma and visit. She is such a loving, wonderful lady. I know when I was younger, I used to not really enjoy my visits to her place - it smelled weird and the candies were old and even the cookies were not as tasty as store-bought ones. They just sat around and talked - how much fun could THAT be, I thought. But now, I have a great appreciation and love for her. She has been widowed now for over 9 years, but is staying strong and in fairly good health. Later this month, she will be 89 years old. Her mind is still sharp, and still gives me fits when we're playing Upwords together. Somehow, I beat her the other day, though. What kind of grandson am I???

Meet the cousins

That is, meet the cousin's children. My dad's eldest brother's second daughter's youngest two children (twins). Anjali and Anil. They're so much fun. Anyways, after a delicious dinner chez my cousin, the kids performed their customary "mini recital" for the guests. Little did I know, they have taken up instruments other than the piano, which was all I got to hear them play when I went to Alberta (where they once lived) 4 years ago. They've grown taller and are a little more mature, but they are still sweet kids and a joy to spend time with. Their older brother Suraj (not pictured) is also fun. Apparently he is the smartest mathematician his age in the entire nation! That's something to be proud of!

Sad memories

Today I got to visit the area that I used to live in. St. Adolphe was hit with a major flood in 1997, and since my house (along with the neighbours' houses) were in an unprotected area, the government bought us out, and each family moved to a different part of town. The houses then became property of the government, who then sold them and moved them to various parts of the province. So now, I have no way of visiting the home, or yard, I once grew up in. Sadness. Anyways, they posted a sign so that at least people who walk by will see that the area was once inhabited. Some of the photos they used on the sign were even contributed by my dad!

Part-way "home"

Well I'm really not that far from Okinawa right now, but I am in fact in a different country. I love the free internet access thing at the Taipei airport! So here I am, on my way back to Winnipeg for a brief visit. For those of you in southern Manitoba, hope to see you sometime real soon! To my Oki family, see you in about 11 days!

Man I missed this guy!

Last night I was blessed with the company of someone I hadn't seen (webcam aside) in almost exactly a year! Keisuke has spent the year in China, studying the language in order to be accepted into a four-year program. The results of his exam/interview/scholarship application are still in limbo, so keep praying for him!

Keisuke arrived at my place around 7:30pm, and helped me make perogies. He said he really enjoyed making them, and that they tasted delicious! I have never had disappointed customers when sharing the good news about the best food the world has ever known! Anyways, after perogies we sat around and chatted before I beat him in 3 straight games of backgammon. Then I felt bad and "let him win" *wink wink* the final game, and drove him back to Yomitan. Keisuke is scheduled to leave for Shanghai in 3 weeks, so if you're on Okinawa, try to spend a little time with him this month!

In my selfishness, I want Keisuke to stay in Okinawa so that we can spend more time in fellowship, Bible study, and prayer. But I know he's following the Father's leading, and China is the place he's been called to. See you later this week, K-West!

If I were a Simpson...

I found a really cool website today. It allows you to be "Simpsonized". Here's me in front of the Kwik-E-Mart, and also in front of Springfield Elementary School. What would YOU look like as a Simpson???