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