Ray Rpt – Feb 4 ’16

Hi,

We have decided to go to the States for 2 months.  We have not been there for 4 years.  We are needing some good fellowship of family and friends and reporting to churches.  We have our tickets to Los Angeles and back, but the rest of the trip will be fluid.  We will leave Feb. 10 and return to Japan on April 7.  We will stop in LA for about a week and a half and then to Texas.  From there we will decide as we go.  We will probably go to Houston after staying in Dallas area for a week.  Then to Memphis and back to Dallas.  If there is time, we will go to Oklahoma for a couple of days.  After that back to Calif. for a couple of weeks.  The schedule will be determined by where I can speak and my health.  If you know of somewhere I can speak about Japan, I would appreciate you telling me.  If it isn’t possible to speak to your congregation or a Bible class, maybe you could invite some interested people to your house to see and hear about the work in Japan.  My email address while in the States is mihara136@gmail.com

We had a very busy holiday season.  About 50 came to Thanksgiving dinner, and everyone had a good time.  I invited my dentist and she came with her family.  Two turkeys and cornbread dressing disappeared quickly. Most Japanese have never eaten turkey or cornbread.  Their “cornbread” is some corn kernels in white bread.

After Thanksgiving was Christmas.  We baked more than 400 Santa face cookies and passed them out to 3 nursing homes and the School of Life parties.  We also baked several hundred other cookies to eat at the parties.

Then camp!  December 28-30, we held Winter camp.  It was cold.  We tore down one old cabin and burned it for heat.  There was no snow this year.  The attendance was good, about 20 members.  I couldn’t do much, but I enjoyed it.

We really appreciate all you have done to keep us in Japan and all the prayers for our health.  The doctors told me there is nothing more they can do for me, so I will keep working as long as I can.

We love you all and hope to get to see you while in the States.

Serving Him in Japan, Marlin and Jean Ray