...I was fresh out of college, having only just completed my student teaching and received my teacher's license several weeks earlier.
...I was 22 years old (almost 23).
...I had never traveled overseas; the only "foreign" travel I had done was in Canada.
...I hated sushi; my only experience with sushi being from the WalMart in Sioux Center, IA.
...I rarely ate white rice.
...I thought green tea tasted like grass.
...I had not ridden a bike in more than 10 years.
...The biggest city that I had ever lived in was LeMars, IA (population 10,000).
...I could count the Japanese words that I knew on two hands (and could recognizably pronounce maybe half of them).
...I thought karaoke was an activity held on stage in smokey bars.
...I had only dreamed of visiting places like Tokyo or Hong Kong.
...I knew exactly four people in the CAJ community.
...I stepped off the plane at Narita airport for the first time.
...I planned on my adventure in Japan lasting only a few months.
...I was exhilarated.
...I was scared to death.
Thankfully, God works through us despite our inexperience, our limitations and our fears; three years later, and the destination that seemed so adventurous to me has become my home. I could not have predicted this, might not have chosen this path three years ago--how fortunate is it that our advanced planning sets absolutely nothing in stone? I could not think of a better way to have spent three years, and I have a feeling this is only the beginning.
Thank you Lord!
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