great is Thy faithfulness.

I dreamt in Japanese last night.
Its' been a while since that has happened.

Yet, here I am. And it's all happened so quickly, here in Nagoya.
I've been here 4 days, and already I can see so much fruit.
But I suppose that's what happens when head knowledge is finally allowed to work.

I've already met so many new friends and been pushed outside my comfort zone so many times...when I finally get to sit down and process it all, it gets overwhelming.
In the best way, of course.

There's a much bigger Work at play than I can even comprehend.

But I see glimpses...every now and then.

I see it in new church family and in Japanese baptisms...in new friends from all corners of the globe and in little-people laughs that make my heart swell.
They make me realize that God connects people from all over the world in beautiful ways...
for His purpose.
It makes me thankful for a common Inheritance as brothers and sisters...working to the glory of the same King.

I see His hands at work in my Japanese friends' lives and in my class mates who I have more in common with than I thought - in fellow military connections and in similar hearts for Japan.

Sometimes it's in small things - like homemade dinners with local ingredients and quiet walks home in the sunset breeze. In lugging groceries home from the subway station and in lunches that consist of samples from sweet-faced grocery workers.

I see it in the shadowy mountains off in the distance, and in the trees all over this beautiful campus...in the smell of the trees and in whiffs of someone's dinner that come floating into my apartment around 6:30.

It makes me so thankful.

Because I'm so genuinely happy to be here.
My classes are going to be difficult - I've placed into the highest level of Japanese language, along with Japanese economics, politics, and culture courses.
This is no vacation - my days will be fullll.

But, once again, I feel like a kid on a ride - overwhelmed with the exhilaration of the journey.

I'm so very happy about every single thing He has placed in my path so far.
I've seen his provision so fully.
It's all for His glory in my good.

And so, my heart has been singing.

Great is Thy faithfulness.

Now and forever.

Always,

G

p.s. Sorry for all the iPhone photos...one of these days I'm going to actually bring my camera with me, I promise. But sometimes, you just gotta snap a memory with what you got. And most often, that's my trusty phone.