Home Update...

Dear Friends and Family,

I know it’s been a little while since most of you have heard from us and there is a lot to catch you up on. We lost internet connection a few days before we left Shimonoseki and have only had a couple of chances to check email since then.

Our last days in Shimonoseki were filled with great blessings. Even though we were very busy with packing up and getting ready to visit Nagoya we had plenty of wonderful opportunities to study God’s word with a few friends there. The church there is still going through many trials, so please pray with us that they will follow God’s word and be strong in Him.

Our friends Megumi, Masako and Kazuko, Taka and Brian worked tirelessly to help us move our things into storage and clean our home before leaving (pic of Megumi cleaning the vent). There were lots of tears shed as Megumi, Masako and Kazuko waved goodbye to us as our train left for Nagoya. We will miss them all dearly, but know that the Lord has knit us together forever.

We had a wonderful couple of days with the Shimizu’s and Sakae Church. What a blessing it was to worship God with these warm, gentle and welcoming believers! It was exciting to see the city where we will be living and serving when we return to Japan. Now Sarah and Sam have something to picture when we talk about going to Nagoya, instead of it being just a new unknown city. Getting to know the Shimizu’s better was a great joy that we are very grateful for.

Our friends the Delps, who are members at our home church but attend Sakae when they are in Nagoya, were at Sakae while we were there as well. David and Fumiko were able to speak to the congregation along to share with them how the partnership between the two churches will work.

Things got a little bumpy when we arrived at the airport to head back to the States. After they had weighed and accepted all our bags and were in the middle of processing our tickets they told us that my (Marcy) passport was expired. We had checked the dates on our Visas and Landing Permits, but unfortunately we didn’t check the passport. It was a simple mistake that was very disappointing, but it worked out very well. We were able to stay with the Shimizu’s a couple of extra days and the process of getting an emergency passport went very smoothly. I can’t say the same thing for the flight we did get on a couple of days later. We had more turbulence than even David had ever seen. Drinks were flying and the stewardess was tossed from her seat two times! Sarah and Sam did beautifully, but Sean was a bit of a handful but was pretty good for a little guy his age. All in all, the trip went very well.

We were welcomed home by David’s parents and plenty of friends! When we arrived at our new home we were blown away. Not only is it just beautiful, but it was completely stocked with EVERYTHING we could need by our Barnabas team and David’s parents. We have a beautiful view of a lush green valley, plenty of room for the kids to play, great spaces to do ministry and room for visitors (so come on down!). God has provided for us above and beyond what we could have ever imagined…once again!

David’s parents stayed with us for a few days as we settled back in. We were so excited to have this time together and having them here made the transition so smooth for all of us. The kids were so young when we left and having their grandparents here made it all feel “normal”.

Please pray for us as we are in the middle of a week of VBS at Grace Fellowship. Our team sent out invitations to the Japanese community here and we have almost 20 Japanese children coming as well as 12 Moms attending a English conversation tea time (while the kids are in VBS). David will be leading a discussion on Japanese missions during the snack times each day. So, every 40 minutes a new group comes rolling through and he will need a lot of energy to interact with the kids. I am leading the tea time from 9-10:30 each day and will need strength to host and keep the conversation going for 90 minutes each day. Please pray for the kids and moms heart’s to be opened up to all that they are learning about God during this week. We’ll post pictures in a few days.

Please also continue to pray for my health, as the medicine has been working but I am still having contractions each day. The next step might be bed rest but I am hopeful that won’t be necessary. We were planning to travel to visit family in the coming week but we will see if that is really a possibility after our next doctor’s appointment tomorrow afternoon.

I think you are all caught up for now, but I also want to give you our new contact information:

David and Marcy Crane

233 Ridge Hill Dr.

Highland Heights, KY 41076

859-992-3353 cell / 859- 441-0424 home phone

Dacrane1@funnote.net (same email)

As always, we love you and are praying for you as well. Please keep us updated on how we can be praying specifically for you too!

Thank you for your continued love and support.

Marcy

June Update

Hello all,

This is going to be a quick update as we start our last full week in Japan for a time. We will lose internet connection at home on June 30th, meaning we will only be able to pick up emails from time to time at the church. Also, we’ve been having trouble with our internet server for over a week and a half, so if you’ve been trying to contact us we may have never received your emails.

We will spend this last week packing up, putting our stuff in storage for our return to Japan, having a few last Bible studies and saying goodbye to friends here in Shimonoseki. On July 5th we will leave here and visit with our new friends at Sakae Church and link up with Eric and Fumiko Delp in Nagoya before returning to the States for our furlough. The Delps are part of our Barnabas Team from Grace Fellowship Church and have been our link to the partner church. This will give our whole family a chance to meet the folks at Sakae and to see Nagoya. We will fly to Northern Kentucky on July 8th.

Here are some requests…

Marcy’s brother, Eric, (who has been struggling with a drug/alcohol addiction for the last 15 years) fell off his 2nd story balcony while under the influence and broke his back last week. He had successful back surgery, but will be in the hospital for 3-6 weeks. Please pray that this would cause him to bend his knee and cry out to Jesus.

Please pray that we would finish well in Shimonoseki. The church here is going through many trials and is in turmoil, but God is using it for His Glory. Please pray the believers here would stand firm on the Rock and worship and serve Jesus Christ alone.

Please pray for all the details of packing up our belongings, putting them into storage for our return for Japan and a smooth transition for our family as we return to the States for a time of refreshment, training, fundraising, team development and having our fourth child.

Please pray for the health of our family. In the past few months, David has been having increasing problems with his ears. It started out with a lot of popping, but has now progressed to almost continual popping and occasional pain. Please also pray for baby Crane #4. I am 5 ½ months along but am already having actual contractions periodically. We are all ok, but both of these issues are complicated by moving, the stress of our environment and a very long international flight so we would appreciate your prayers.

Please pray for Sarah Grace, Sam and Sean as their young minds wrap around the idea of “moving”. They are excited to be coming back for a visit, but because they are young it’s harder to understand. Sam was only two when we moved here and Sean was born here so they don’t remember as much (or at all in Sean’s case) as Sarah does and may be a bit nervous in the “new” surroundings. Pray they would adjust well and we would have extra love and patience with them during this busy time.

We will fly to Northern Kentucky on Tuesday the 8th. Please pray for safe travel, health, good behavior from the kids, as little jet-lag as possible and a good goodbye to our nephew Alex who has been staying with us over here for the last two months. When we arrive in the States he will return home to Buffalo as we return to Norterhn Kentucky.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer and support. We can't wait to see you!

Serving together…

Dave