I hardly know where to begin! Today has been so...different. It was different from probably any other Monday I've had since being in Japan.. It was different than any other birthday I've ever had, and it was different than how I had imagined this birthday would be. (Oh. By the way, today is my birthday.) I had a wonderful day! I talked with my family this morning and they all gathered around to sing Happy Birthday to me, and while I was video chatting with them I opened the many presents they sent me. I also opened many very thoughtful cards! One card even just arrived today! Sending that one was good timing. :) Over the weekend several of my friends have given me gifts, too. Hinako and her family gave me a beautiful basket of roses, and a card. Yukiho gave me a hair scrunchy and lip balm. Aidan drew me an adorable card and gave it to me this morning. :) God has definitely blessed me throughout the weekend. Last night Satoshi and Yukiho came here for dinner. Abi totally surprised me after dinner by lighting a candle in some brownies, and having Roger play happy birthday, and everyone sang 'Happy Birthday'! Then she gave me the whipped cream and told me I could top my brownie with 'as much as I wanted'. :) Again, I just have to praise God for my 'family overseas'! He has allowed me to make wonderful friendships that I hope last forever! I praise Him for my family at home in the States who sacrificed most of their evening talking to me today. I am so thankful for all the many people praying for me as I am away from home. Today, while washing a few dishes, I began to play my own little 'what if' game. I wondered to myself:
"what if my parents and I hadn't discussed the possibility of my coming to Japan one day at a Mexican restaurant after I got off from work?"
"What if I hadn't been leaving for the other side of the world 4 days after I graduated high-school?"
"Would I have enjoyed my graduation day more...or less than I did? Would it have meant as much to me?" 
"How would my life have been different if I had stayed home after finishing high-school? Would I have started college by now? How would I be doing with it?"
"Would the night we all sat together in the den on May 11th have been different if I hadn't been flying out of the country at 7:00 the next morning?"
"What if I had had the 'mother/daughter tea party' that I had been planning for my 18th birthday?"
"Would I have been following God's plan for my life?"
As these thoughts were flying through my head, God allowed me to remember those days just before I came to Japan. I remembered some of the thoughts that ran through my head as I imagined myself living in another country....away from my family for the first time in my life... It also seemed as if he brought to mind every reason I decided to come here. He showed me each thing that helped prepare me for this job. Then I knew the answer to the last question. I am where God wants me for the present. Coming to Japan to be a nanny for these children is what God wanted me to do this summer and fall. I don't know all the ways God will use this in my life or where He will lead me in the future. But I know on this 6570th day of my life (approximately), my 18th birthday, I am in Japan because God wants me here. I was overcome with joy. How Great is our God!
I was reminded of another old hymn....
"Come, thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace,
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise....
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.
!!!
I've included a picture of my flowers, and my official 'birthday picture'. I make sure I have one every year. :) In this picture, I am wearing my birthday presents. I love then!!!
Hannah
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