new bloggidy!

I love this current blog...I really do! But as i'm about to move to Japan I realized I should maybe move over to a new format and blogsite...so from now on please feel free to check out CHANIEBON.COM where I will be doing all my updates :) THANKS!

life lately: lets the goodbyes begin

 12 days folks! 12 days til I board a plane headed to the land of the rising sun.

 The time before a departure is always a bit strange, and hard to describe. I remember the day I was leaving for Uganda...I was sitting in my parents kitchen eating Panera bread and it didnt seem real...that I was leaving all of this and moving across the globe. But here I find myself again, 12 days out from leaving my childhood home and the people I love most. Sometimes I think i'm crazy, but a good friend of mine reminded me *as good friends do* that this journey to Japan is not about me. As much as i'd like to think i'm awesome and moving to Japan is so cool and "wowww how adventurous" ....the truth is i'm going because Jesus loves the Japanese and He wants them to know His fatherly love. I'm going for them. The students i'll work with, the teachers i'll learn from, the friends i'll meet, the church i'll be a part of, for the ministry of Jesus to be proclaimed and lived out in a nation of 127 million. That's why i'm going.  I have to remind myself of this, as leaving home is hard. So heres the 12 more days at home and a future awaiting me in Japan...thankful for every moment.

 Went to the park with Minyah to watch Dad and Bailey in their dog agility class!

 Galaxy game with Dad to welcome the new star GIOVANIIII! So awesome to watch them dominate 5-1...I really have to find a sports team to watch in Japan.

 One more steak dinner with mom and dad....and D! haha.

 Noodle is such a funny girl...so full of personality and the perfect amount of sass. I love this age (19months) because she understands everything you say, but still acts like a baby which is still so cute.

 One last hang out with the only people that have ever made me feel tall...haha. Can't wait to see these two travel junkies in Japan!!

 My roomie Becky was in town from Chicago ( and recently married!!) so we had a mid-week roomie meet up in Anaheim. So crazy how exciting life is right now for all the Nesters...married off FOUR of them and about to marry off the FIFTH!!! *megs in October* !!

Last Friday was my last day working with these amazing clients. SO Bittersweet. I'm so thankful to have worked with all of them and they so generously threw me a goodbye party with delicious food and a hand made journal of letters, photos of their families, and places of recommendation! A handful of them will be back in Japan this fall so I cannot wait to meet up with them on their home turf! Praise God for connections, friends, community, and generous, hospitable souls like these people!