Thursday morning cam early for some at our house Thursday, especially since dear friends, the B Family, arrived late for a very brief overnight. We hadn't been together for 2 1/2 years (they serve far across the sea) so we had a lot of catching up to do.
While other slept, I rolled Clara, Abigayl & Sayoko out of bed, loaded in the car and headed to the State 4-H Center so Sayoko could begin her journey back to Japan.
This was the sunrise view from my front window as the girls slept...
The kids had played late into the evening with our friends so they slept the entire trip to the Center! Needless to say, we made great time and arrived a little early.
It was time for hard goodbyes...
Sayoko came to the States on a 4-H joint program with our State and Japan. It is a language immersion program, most of the students who come have very little if any English. Sayoko's English was slim to say the least. But... she worked hard to listen and learn during her month here. She was great at watching and learning and always willing to help out. She taught us all a lot!
I think one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a worldview beyond our borders... to challenge them out of their comfort zone to listen and learn from others whose language, culture and lifestyle are different than ours. I am so thankful for the gift of cross cultural relationships that God has given our family.
We love you Sayoko and we miss your smiling face around our house!
Thanks for sharing a little of Japan with us the last month!
