Has HP struck again?

My saga with my old computer continues. For those of you who don't know what happened, I posted a short article found in the Ginowan Times a few months ago. In any case, after a major run-around with HP, I finally understood that my only option was to ship my computer back to Canada for repairs - at my own expense! Well, after them wasting a month to diagnose the problem and fix it (the computer's under warranty), I decided the best thing would be to sell it to my father and buy something new, something local.

I wound up buying something online, as most computers in Japan are about twice the cost of the computers in the West. So anyhow, I asked my dad to burn all the data from my old computer (pictures, videos, music, work files, etc.) onto DVDs and mail them to me, so that at least I wouldn't have to start all over from scratch. After a long wait, I finally got an envelope in the mail last night. I ripped it open excitedly, and pulled the CD out of its sleeve. To my surprise, it said "Camile Backup" on it. "Hmmmm..." I thought to myself, "My name isn't Camile!"

I put the DVD into my computer, and found a folder for iTunes, and another for My Pictures, so I thought maybe everything was OK. But the pictures are not mine, and the music isn't either! (Although there was a lot of stuff that I used to listen to as a teenager!) So I'm left thinking...

HP must have sent the WRONG computer to my Dad! If this is the case, then first of all, someone else has MY old computer with my old data! And that kind of frightens me! (Not that I have anything to hide... but I don't want some stranger somewhere in Canada to be looking through the past year of my life!) It also means that the problems my Dad says he's been having with the computer (and that it has some kind of virus and that HP didn't fix that problem while working on my computer) are not actually problems with MY computer, but with some stranger's computer. Man, HP is definitely on my black list!

So anyways, I'm left puzzled and wondering if the data I had on my old computer will ever find its way back to me. *SIGH*

Hula Classes

Our fellowship was blessed with a visitor from Ishigaki Island. Her name is Teresa, and she is originally from Hawai'i, though she has lived in Japan for some 21 years now! So she came to our li'l church and offered to teach us "gospel hula." Being a mix of white and brown, and having gotten the dancing skills of both my parents (I'm just guessing here as I've never seen them dance), I decided to skip the actual lesson in favor of taking pictures. However, my camera ran out of battery half-way through, so all I got was a bit of the action! Anyways...

Teresa gave a short testimony at the start, while the people sat down and listened to all she said. It was cool because she translated for herself, and her Japanese is incredible! If her Japanese ranks 10/10, mine's about a 5! Anyways, it was awesome to hear how God is blessing her as she reaches out to the people of Ishigaki via hula and other things.


While this was going on, the kids (Julia, Alondra and Nico) were in the back room watching a movie and snacking. I actually took part in their stuff, and it was so fun! Nico sat in my lap and chilled... made me wish I had my own kids! Check out Nic eating a sandwich in the video below. He's so CUTE! All in all, a night well spent!

Back-blogging

Well since I did take a few pictures while I had no computer, I do have some stuff I can update on my blog. And since they allow bloggers to change the date of each post, I will do so and it will look as though I didn't miss a beat! Hahahaha! Enjoy the "old news"...

Look who's back?

Well folks it's been awhile. HP basically welcomed me to the harsh realities of their customer service (I use the term loosely). Fortunately for me, I was able to get the computer fixed under warranty (unfortunately it cost me $100 to ship back to Canada), sold it to my dad, and now have bought a new computer. So now I can get schoolwork done with greater ease, update people on my life more regularly (as in, actually updating the blog at all), and even prepare for sermons better! Life is somewhat back to normal... and I welcome you to come back frequently to see what's going on. Hallelujah!!!

Just church stuff

The day after Vunder's triumphant return to the mound, I was sitting in church and felt like taking a few pictures of the people I call 'family' here in Oki. Andrew leading worship, with Naoko singing back-up, Vunder playing the electric and Hide on the bass. Tommy giving the message in English, and Natsuki making it make sense to the Japanese people. And then there's me. Just sitting in the back, taking pictures. Church is such a blessing. Keep praying for our fellowship, that the people would be fed the Word.

(Incidentally, as I update this blog on December 20th, I can now say that this picture of Tom is actually the next-to-last time he has given the message on Sunday morning. The following week I was up, and then he spoke once more - I was sick and missed it - before Pastor Tim took over. We're going through the book of Mark now, and Tim is giving the message in Japanese! He's hired a few good men to translate for him. Pray that it will bless the people and the Lord!)

The Return of The Man

A shaky outing last game wasn't enough to deter Robert "Vunder" "Double Death" Wunderlich from taking the mound on Saturday. His team of formerly great ballplayers were slated to face Meio University of Nago in the first round of what was a grueling tournament. Not for the Naha Samurai, though, as they bowed out after this game. But for Meio it was a tournament to be remembered. They took home the championship trophy (a shiisa baseball player batting with a goya stick) and declared themselves the best among the washed up and the never-will-be's.



OK enough of the sarcasm. Back to the main point. Vunder came out smokin', but his team came out chokin'. Despite allowing no hits and just 2 walks in the first inning, somehow the score was tied 2-2. Then after allowing a mere single (and a walk), Meio took a 3-2 lead after 2. Then the dam broke. A couple of consecutive hits followed in the 3rd, followed by a couple of walks, and that was all she wrote. But Vunder struck out 5 of the 7 batters he retired, and definitely would have lasted much longer were it not for a plethora of errors causing multiple runs to score. It was a lot of fun to watch, and we're all so proud of our buddy Vunder, the best pitcher on island, possibly soon to be scouted by the Yokohama Bay Stars?

Harvest Carnival

Last night, Calvary Chapel Okinawa hosted its annual Harvest Carnival. The kids gather together and have a whole lot of fun at various booths. There are games, candy, Twinkie-eating contests, live musicians, bouncy-houses, and even the occasional scary person! It was a real blessed night, as I got to see a few people that I hadn't seen in a long time. I also got to invite some of my former students out to the event... eight of them showed up somehow, and got witnessed to by my buddy Shawn Shavers. So I don't know what's happened since then, but prayerfully they will come to know the Savior soon!

Another former student of mine showed up on her own and it was cool to catch up with her. She was always a lot of fun to talk with at school, and even though her English is limited, she was never afraid to try. So it was cool seeing Shino again - the cool thing is that she goes to the same school as one of the girls at CCO, and they're the same age. They had never met before last night, but now they know each other, so I'm hoping that maybe Shino will start going to church or youth or something! Anyways, fun night!

Special Guests = Party

At Okisho, whenever we have special guests from abroad, we always have a little party to welcome them to the island and to the school. So the other night, we welcomed a man named Dave Bennetts from the University of St. John's in Minnesota. "Dave", as he likes being called, is one of the men responsible for sending us American ALTs. This year we have Paul Telthorst, Mary Wagner, and Grace Brogan. All three are great additions to the Okisho team, and we have Dave to thank for them! So after a night of speeches (eloquently translated by our vice-chairman, Mr. Masaichiro Nashiro) and eating, we took a commemorative photo and the fun night came to a close. Thanks, Dr. Bennetts, for coming to Okinawa and giving us an excuse to eat good food and get together like we did!

Welcome Grace!

Back in July, my dear co-worker Aaron left Okinawa and Okisho behind, and moved to Tokyo. It left a huge void in our office. You see, me and Yukiko and Kenney love having a fourth companion. Well after 2+ months of loneliness, we were graced with a new co-worker from Minnesota: Grace! So at the end of her second week, we celebrated her arrival by going out for dinner together. It was a great time of getting to know her, and I look forward to getting to know her better and working with her!

Below is a short clip of my co-worker Kenney explaining the circumstances of his class' basketball practice in the park. Quite funny, especially if you've ever met Kenney.

Live from the Koinonia Cafe...

Hakugaijin! That's right, the one and only, the man who wowed the crowds at the Franklin Graham Festival. Our very own Pastor Tim Newell assembled an all-star band to back him up as he mesmerized a packed coffee house of teenagers and 30-something photographer(s). It was really cool, and the guys all did a great job. The side room was equipped with a projector, so those who couldn't clearly see the "stage" could see it projected on the wall of the room they were in. Click on the upper-right picture - you can see the screen right in the middle of the picture. There were fun games, great songs, and lots of Jesus. We look forward to Hakugaijin's next performance, rumoured to be some time in late January!