Ready to Move on to Chino

Friends - It's now Friday morning, 5:45AM.  It felt good to be in a horizontal position after sitting upright in the plane for 10 ½ hours.  After being well hydrated on the flight, my body decided to get rid of some of the fluid during the night - 4 or 5 times.  But being so tired, I was able to get back to sleep easily each time - until 4AM.  That time when I awoke, I was pretty alert - so instead of fighting it, I just got up and prayed.  It was a great blessing to spend time in prayer - giving thanks for getting here safely, giving thinks for my family and friends, and asking for my body and spirit to be prepared for this mission trip.  I then took a short catnap and got up to shower.  It was great to take a leisurely hot shower and not have to worry about watching dollars go down the drain.  Koby just got up and is taking a shower again.  I think we both got a pretty good rest at the bear convention in our room last night.  "Smokey" and "Gentle Ben" were hibernating pretty good last night.  On the flight from LAX, I watched a couple of movies - the first one being "Unforgiven", the life story of Louis Zamperini (excuse my spelling).  It tells of his imprisonment during WW II in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and his endurance of horrific and brutal treatment at the hands of the camp director, "Bird".  Maybe not the best depiction you want to see of the Japanese when going to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.   But what struck me was not the savage behavior of one group, the Japanese, but that many nations, if not most, exhibit the same behavior today in war and terrorist attacks.  It is not a behavior limited to one group of people, but a condition seen in people around the world.  Louis' strength of character is what we should be striving to embrace and exhibit in a broken and fallen world.  His behavior was an inspiration to everyone around him and encouraged them to do likewise.  And when the war was over and he suffered from the inhumane treatment he received, it was only when he was able to forgive his tormentors that he was able to move on and live a fruitful and blessed life.  If he could forgive his captors, what is our excuse?  There are many lessons for us to take from this film.  It's about 6:10AM and the breakfast buffet opens at 6:30 - I think Koby and I may be the first ones in line.  It's been good to have this morning to help transition from the all the worries of getting ready for the flight and the preparations for the mission, to pray and get my heart ready for the next 10 days of the mission.  Be in prayer for all of us that we would be ready physically, emotionally, and especially spiritually for our time in Japan.   It is such a great blessing to be here - and to carry your joy and love in our hearts.  God be with you and bless you richly.  Love, Don