Min Joo & Sharayah

Min Joo

This week we welcomed back both Min Joo and Sharayah from the last DTS.  They  studied together, graduated together and even returned together – meeting at Narita airport and coming into Tokyo as new staff.

Sharayah

Min Joo, from Korea, and Sharayah, from Texas, live in the team ladies apartment which is across the corridor from ours.  We and the rest of the team are very excited to welcome back and receive into our family these lovely ladies.

Introducing Gary

Yeah!  This is Gary from Liverpool.  It was great to welcome someone from my homeland.  Gary did his DTS in London attended university and volunteered for a mission trip to Japan with OMF last summer.  It was during that time that he got a heart to come back for a longer period to serve in this nation.   Gary arrived in Japan on the 2nd of September and joined our team on the 9th.

We have three new staff arriving this month and next month. They all bring a new dimension of culture to our team:  Gary from Liverpool, Carolina from El Salvador and Jae Hyun from Korea.

Gary  & I chatted many times during his application period and he even bought some proper English Biscuits for our family to enjoy.  It seems he really knows how to make a good impression on his leader.  Hee hee.

This picture was taken at the welcome barbeque we held to welcome Gary and introduce him to our team.

Brandon

Yay,  Brandon came.  Now all my children are in, hee hee.  Brandon is also from Canada;  it seems that there is an invasion from the far north.   Brandon was a student on our last DTS so he already has several friends here on the staff as well as those who remember him in the local community from his time as a student.

Well, now that everyone is here we all headed off to the city office to register them as legal aliens in the nation.  Here you see our new staff guys standing in front  of the foreign registration desk at the Meguro City Hall.

There are lots of papers to fill out including application for health insurance.  All went well and they were on our way home in time for Hege’s birthday party this afternoon while I went on to have lunch with my friend, James.

Hege

Yay,  our first lady staff for the new season.  This is Hege from Norway.  Hege is the only new staff member who has not done their DTS here in Japan.  We met Hege while travelling in UK when we were visiting our family friend, Phil Leage, at YWAM’s Kings Lodge in Nuneaton.  Phil introduced us to Hege, then one of the DTS students, as someone who had a heart for Japan.  Now here we are welcoming her onto the Tokyo team!!!  YAY for Norway!  Oh, yes,  I forgot to mention that Hege is from Norway It is good to add another mix to our culture with a fellow European.  Interestingly enough our senior staff both did their DTS in the British Isles!  Chloe did hers in Ireland and Derick his at Holmstead Manor in southern England.   Hege joins Chloe in the ladies’ apartment across the hallway from ours so we hope to see them both often!!

Kyle & Olivier

YES!  Here is number two, Olivier, from Quebec, Canada.  Like Ryan, Oliver was on our DTS last year.  He looks pretty good for having flown for over a day with looooooong layovers.  I think we were more frazzled than Olivier was, as owing to a mis-communication, we were expecting him yesterday  It took several phone calls to Canada and a visit to the local police station  before we figured out he was arriving today with Kyle.

Kyle is also from Canada but from the other side -  Vancouver, BC  Kyle was in the DTS two years ago, our first one.  For me it is special as Kyle was my one-on-one.  Well, we don’t just have Canadians here but very excited ones owing to the recent events at the winter Olympics in Vancouver.

This brings our new staff to three and there are two more to go so keep watching as they keep coming……..

RYAN

Yay!  Our first new staff – a graduate of our last DTS  – arrived here on Monday.  Ryan Otero is one of five new staff joining us here in Tokyo this week.  Ryan has been busy preparing to come and raising the support he needed to be on the YWAM Tokyo Team.

Actually, when he arrived Ryan tried to call us but somehow did not get through.  So being the bold pioneer he is, Ryan sent his baggage by delivery service and travelled to the DTS house only to find no one at home.

We were all at our monthly Worship night, praising God with all our hearts.  When we returned from the worship time there was Ryan on the door step.  a little cold but very happy to be back in Japan with us again.  Let’s hope things go better with the other four coming later…….