It is so beautiful in Karuizawa! I'll just start with that.
Going from Tokyo to a smallish mountain town is a bit strange, but it is a refreshing sort of change. The bus trip up here was so lovely. I couldn't sleep at all because everything was so interesting and stunning! God truly has made a lovely world. He is so creative. I loved getting to see farmlands and small little towns.
Up in Karuizawa I am staying in a cabin with the Kaufmans. The area we are in is called Team Center (Team is a mission organization), and it is a very shady, secluded place. But if you walk just a little bit you enter the town. So you get the mountainy, treeish place with rustic cabins and missionaries, then you get quaint, touristy town full of history. A lot of the history of this place was founded on the work and influence of missionaries. It's fascinating! One of the churches here is one-hundred years old.
People come up here to get a break from the bustling city life. Also, they come to escape the heat. It is nice and cool up here! So basically Karuizawa is a vacation spot, and a great place to meet people and share the gospel.
The Kaufmans just made a huge move, so they are understandably feeling worn out and unprepared. So my work here will be less steady. I'll get to do plenty of relaxing, while still helping them transition and whatever else they may need me to do. Tomorrow we are going to pass out Manga Messiah to all the people coming up for the weekend. I am working on learning more Japanese so I can be more effective.
That is all the news for now. To sum up:
Karuizawa is as beautiful as they say. I don't really know what all I will be doing here. And the Kaufmans are a wonderful family.
If you have any questions, please ask! I may not always write as clearly as I should, or I don't explain things enough.
In Christ,
Mercy Burklin
Oooh, that sounds really neat! I'd like to see that old church! =)
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