na-na-na-na nara

::: as many of you know, one of the most meaningful aspects of our placement in west kobe is the fact that we live within two hours of claire's uncle and aunt....it's hard to capture how meaningful this is to claire's family...claire's grandparents and parents have been praying for many years, decades even, that God would bring christian witness into the lives of claire's uncle and aunt...we are praying that God would use us as instruments of his love, truth and joy...

...today, we drove with yoko-san to nara...

...and spent an evening with claire's uncle and aunt (pictured below left, with yoko-san and claire)...

...not only is claire's aunt a gifted violinist (here playing a japanese wind instrument called the ocarina)...

...but, as we would discover later in the evening, she's a fabulous cook...

...this fella discovered the hard way...

...claire's uncle is a CPA by day but a gifted cellist, pianist and conductor for an amateur symphony...

...he invited two of his friends for dinner...one of his friends is a professional violinist for the kansai philharmonic...

...so naturally, after dinner, we requested a brief, unplugged concert and we enjoyed a front-row view...don't you love the passion and dedication of musicians?...

::: please join us in praying that as we grow closer with our uncle and aunt, God will use us as instruments of his love, truth, and joy :::