We made it to Japan! We landed late Tuesday afternoon after 20 hours of travel. Then we had to navigate our way through customs with our 18 checked bags, 5 carry ons, 5 personal items, 3 car seats and 2 strollers. This was quite the feat! Even Wesley helped out pushing a luggage cart. The suitcases were stacked above his head and Chris had to call out directions to him as Wesley could not see where he was going! Thankfully the customs people were very friendly and helpful.

Picture above is of the kids in front of the 777 we flew on the way to Japan.

Once we finished with customs we met up with a missionary friend, David. He drove us to Tsukuba and the apartment in the church where he pastors. Staying at the church will save us money while we house hunt. David got us settled in before leaving us and driving the hour back to Tokyo.

This farmer is working in his field that is next door to the church.

Wednesday we were pretty jet lagged. We woke very early and took in the views of neighboring rice patties. In the afternoon one of the International church members came and showed us around town. He took us to register as aliens and then to the grocery store. We knew that the cost of groceries were very high here, but we were still shocked to find cantaloupe cost $12, two apples cost $6 and a very small bunch of grapes cost $5. I guess the kids are going to have to eat less fruit!

The beautiful green of rice patties that surround us.

Thursday we took the train into Tokyo. Hudson was so excited to ride on a train. Once we got to Tokyo we met some of the other missionaries for breakfast. Then we took a tour of the missions office, the Japanese Assemblies of God headquarters, and the Bible school where Chris will be teaching (once he learns Japanese).

It has been an exciting, exhausting and fascinating few days. It is like starting a whole new life in a new world. It has new smells and new foods to try. New brands and labels that I can't read are on every item that I shop for. Even trying to wash my hair and brush my teeth takes a little bit of guess work. Is this shampoo or soap? There is so much here to explore and many new things to learn. We are especially looking forward to making friends with our Japanese neighbors. How blessed we are to be on this adventure!