All God’s Creatures

So we’re starting off the catch-up with a completely random post, but I don’t believe you’ve met Henry yet and you MUST do that!

Our extremely low-maintenance feline.  He is fully “ours”, but we still don’t expect to bring him back to the States with us next year.

He’s about the same size as D’Artagnan.  He’s not quite as tolerant as Clark was, but then Clark was extraordinary—I think Clark thought she was a stuffed animal.  Logan has gotten nipped a few times by Henry, but Henry has also gotten his tail pulled rather more than a few times.

In the non-pet realm, we found this fascinating creature in the tree over our hammock one evening.  I actually think the bats here are kind of cute . . .

But this lady is decidedly NOT cuddly.  This is a banana spider that has caught and is eating a cicada. 

I certainly don’t mourn the loss of the cicada—those pesky things are LOUD!  The banana spider made a nice meal out of it and it really was quite interesting watching her do it.

As a size reference, here is my hand next to another, equally dead but not web trapped, cicada. 

This cicada is not only not dead, but it is very newly hatched.  

Another one of God’s creatures :)  Logan shows off his new shirt that he got in the mail from Daniel Kai (who moved to DC and sent him this from the Smithsonian).  Logan was demonstrating how a space shuttle goes up high!

Nearby, Naomi demonstrates both her climbing and pointing skills.

Don’t worry, there won’t be any more spider pictures for a while ;)  Check back soon to see what else I have for you!

Where I’ve Been

Okay, so there was Logan’s birthday back in June.  Then, the next day, we went to Kume-jima (one of the outer islands).  The day after we got back from Kume, my parents came.  They were here for about two weeks.  After they left, I had about three weeks to finish putting together my portion of VBS for our church.  And it is currently the middle of VBS week, which, by the way, is going very well.  So, yes, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.  But first I’ll show you what I’ve been working on with VBS.

Welcome to Inside Out and Upside Down on Main Street: Where Jesus Makes a Difference Everyday!  I was in charge of decoration and gathering supplies.  Patti and Craig coordinated volunteers and we had a whole team of translators.

Heidi Claire (yes really, that’s the character’s name) greets everyone at the door underneath my 14’ tall lamp post.

My particular favorite corner of the stairs. The smaller arrows have the Japanese translation on them.  There are also yellow road stripes from the front door, up the stairs, and into the sanctuary, which we have found very helpful in directing traffic!

At the top of the stairs, Chef Pierre Mon Frere waits under another lamp post while bus driver Justin Time welcomes the kids into the sanctuary/Sidewalk Celebration area.

Of course, the kids sing (in English and Japanese) and dance at the Sidewalk Celebration.

Heidi Claire, Justin Time and Chef Pierre Mon Frere perform their skit for the kids.  The screen shows Japanese subtitles for the skits.  (About half of the kids who attend are Japanese.)

Then, of course, the kids break off to go to the different sites.  Parable Productions is the Bible lesson area, set up like a movie theater.  Each day looks at one of Jesus’ parables and draws from it a Word of the Day lesson: Gratitude, Compassion, Forgiveness, Grace, Faithfulness.

Nearby, the giant fire engine both lends color to the preschool room and directs the way to the Firehouse Fitness (games) section.

Back downstairs, there is a bus stop near the entrance to the Fun Factory (crafts).

The Brown Bag Bistro (snacks) is particularly cute, both inside and out.  I wasn’t responsible for decorating the inside of any of the classrooms though, which is why I haven’t shown them to you. 

Chef Pierre helps direct traffic to and from the Bistro.

The exterior of the Bistro is part of the entrance to Main Street.

I had amazing volunteers who did a great job putting the decorations together.  Check out this cute little flowerbox tucked away in a corner that needed a little extra color!  

I snapped both of these pictures through the windows of the kids’ classrooms.  The ghost-chef is a weird reflection, but you can see they’ve got some fun stuff going on in Logan’s room.  And in the nursery, Naomi has become great friends with Mas (who is also one of our neighbors).

Keep checking back.  There is a lot more I need to get posted if I’m going to be caught up before Rachel comes to visit!