It is with mixed emotions of excitement, fear and trepidation, that we ramp up our preparations for our move to Japan (October or November 2008). For me personally I'm moving to a new country, new career, new friends, basically starting over from scratch after 35 years making a life here in Australia. I know for Ritsuko she'll be moving back to her country, but it is not that easy for her either since she has very little contact with her family who are not so happy about her faith in Christ.
We have everything that we could want in Australia (although there are plenty of people with more than us here), but by World standards we are very well off. We have a nice house on 560 square metres of land in a quiet cul-de-sac location not far from shops and public transport. We have two reasonable cars that work well even if they are both 4 cylinder, and one of them is 17 years old now! We both have good jobs that pay reasonably well with stable organisations and very manageable levels of debt to equity. God is calling us to Japan, I'm not even sure exactly what I do for a living there yet, but I know God will work things out for us.
So this arrangement in the photo represents the preparations that I need to do. Firstly the Bible for the spiritual preparation and the fact that we bringing God's word to Japan. Secondly the History book represents Japan's long history and culture I need to be sensitive to. Thirdly my passport to remind me that I have to prepare for the immigration process. Fourthly a Learners Kanji Dictionary to remind me I have much to learn of the Japanese language. Fifthly the Japan Profile of a Nation book which I can learn about modern Japan's laws and society. Sixthly the Rough Guide to Japan has a lot of useful information for both travelling and working in Japan. Seventh a Post Card book from Kyoto because this is the city that God is leading us to. There are many more other preparations so stay tuned.