We've Moved!

This will be the last post I'll make on this Blogspot site. I've been working on a personal webpage for God's call in our life, so now we'll be posting blogs, pictures, movies, etc on there instead.

If you would like to bookmark our site, go to http://www.lifeinjapan.org/ , then go to Bookmarks on the top bars, click it and then select Bookmark This Page (Or whatever is closest, depending on the internet program). Thank you again for your love and support!

In Him,
Jason Capp

What A Glorious Ride...

Well, right now I'm genuinely killing time, as it is 2:45am EST and our plane to go back to Myrtle Beach leaves two-and-a-half hours.

I guess you could say that I'm reflecting on our time spent here in Boston-area. Spending time with Rachael's family was definitely a blessing, even though we might have felt smothered at times. Getting to see family and friends through parties, Bible studies, going to church, hanging out, etc was also a pleasure.

When we first got here, I told myself that I needed to get some rest, and boy did I. I haven't that well in a long, long time. Not having to worry about waking up by an alarm, but just going to bed and waking up (Some days were better than others, in terms of waking up). It was was refreshing, and despite keeping myself up in the wee hours of the morning, I feel very relaxed by the majority of the trip.

My time spent in the LORD's word has been awesome! There's something about being in darkness that always causes me to scurry to my Bible and read, read, read. I started reading a loose commentary on the Gospel of John, and God has been teaching me some wonderful things that I was not aware of (Or at least didn't think about). Rachael and I are also reading a wonderful book called Love and Respect, and it has been a great challenge for the both of us. I feel we've been learning a lot through it, and it has definitely opened up healthy conversations about our relationship and how we respond to each other in certain circumstances. So for any couples out there, we both highly recommend the book.

Another thing was coming into the area and thinking about fund raising. I don't think we honestly knew how to tackle it here, because we didn't want to seem like we were ignoring Rachael's parents and sisters by making appointments. But things lined up nicely, and Trinity Community Church has partnered with us and allowed us to speak at their church today (Technically yesterday, but who's checking, seriously?). We got an absolutely powerful response, and a whole lot more pledges than we were expecting. God easily reminded us who was in control of this ministry, because we truly didn't expect the outcome of what came.

So thinking back as a whole (As what was written was quite brief), God did a LOT while we were here. A lot more than I can even comprehend at this moment. And I can guarantee one thing; God was here. Whether it feels like it or not, He is moving powerfully through this state in ways we will never understand.

For those willing, please continue to pray for His ministry in our lives as we are still in need of monthly commitments. We are about halfway there, and we have a lot of pledges that just haven't come in yet, so we might be closer than we think. Praise His Holy Name. Amen.

Flashback Friday!

See the theme here? I've just been Flashback Friday-ing the past few times with my couple posts in the past few months. hahaha. Good times.

Well, since I haven't updated in a while, I figured I'd just use a Flashback Friday to share what's happened over the past few weeks... with pictures (We've been busy)!

We celebrated Christmas with my family on December 19th, and it was a blast. We had great food, good company, and lots of love expressed before Rachael and I headed up here to Boston for the holidays. My mother got us a GPS in hopes that it would work in Japan when we get there, so I've been researching to see how we could go about that. It was a very thoughtful gift, and if we get an international map system on it, THAT would be awesome!

We came to Boston on December 20th (Technically the 21st, since we didn't get to Rachael's parent's house until 3:30am), and got ourselves immediately into the Holiday celebration. We had a Sunday brunch with Mom B's side of the family right after we woke up, and it was a good time watching football with the guys and playing Uno later on.

We did a lot of our shopping in the next couple days, where we had a get-together on the 23rd, Christmas Eve Party on the 24th (Naturally), and Christmas itself on the 25th (Also, naturally). We were a bit partied out by that point, but it was wonderful seeing everyone's faces and sharing about what God has been doing in our lives. The topic of Japan was all over the place, and it was wonderful to her the enthusiasm.

We were introduced to Rachael's home church this past Sunday (December 28th) as they want to be a part of our financial support team. We will be doing a proper presentation on January 18th before we head back to Myrtle Beach. Talking to her pastor was a huge encouragement, and we look forward to the love and support that they will be providing in these coming years. We also hung out with Rachael's old youth pastor, John Grothjan, and a few other friends out in Hamilton, MA (Pictured above). It was also a blast, and John gave us some very encouraging words for our future.

New Year's was kind of a bore, as we decided to just stay home and watch TV and movies. hahaha. Maybe it was because we were still partied out, or maybe because it was REALLY cold and snowy outside. Either decision was fine.

This is how Honey galloped in the snow. Isn't she cute?!

I guess that concludes this blog and it's semi-Flashback-ness. hahaha.

Flashback Friday!

Yeah, yeah. I know. I haven't done one of these in a LONG time. hahaha. But I thought this was a funny one, so here we go.

Okay, two things; Yes, that is my real hair, and no, those are not my glasses. hahaha. This picture also tells a couple stories. 1) To prove that I had some beautiful, long hair, and 2) Just how obnoxious I was to one of my roommates my first semester at Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, MO. His name was Timmy (We called him Timmy Phantom on account that he would appear and disappear at random. You were never aware of his being in the room.), and he came to the Bible college straight from serving with the military. We clashed like no other. I looked like a hippie with my long hair, and he was prestinely clean with a shaved head. I had nothing but t-shirts, and he had nothing but dress shirts. I listened to crazy music of all kinds, and he... well, lets just say he didn't enjoy what I liked. hahahaha.

Now, the story merges. These glasses were Timmy's. He wore them at the end of the day when he was relaxing in the dorm room (His previous glasses had broken.). Many days, I would put the glasses on and act a fool, even more fun when I added my Disney songs to the background and did dance numbers. One time, he was napping, and my other roommate dared me to sing "Kiss The Girl" from The Little Mermaid to him. I turned my volume all the way up, prepared my face with the appropriate attire, and sang a number so memorable, I don't think Timmy was able to fall asleep until he knew I was for the rest of the semester. hahahahaha.

Timmy decided to go back to the Marines, and in the back of my mind, I think I might have pushed him there. hahahaha. Okay, we actually enjoyed each other's company a lot, but this was my favorite prank against him all semester. Good times.

It's Thanksgiving!

It only takes a holiday for me to go, "WOW! I haven't blogged in over 20 days!" hahahaha. But I just wanted this to be a "What we're thankful of"-blog, so here we go!

- For my God, who for some reason loves me unconditionally, gave His Son's life for me, showed me mercy and grace in times where I clearly didn't deserve it, blesses me when I don't return the favor, and gently speaks to me through His perfect word.

- For family and friends. All of them. From close and extended family to best friends and people you only chat with once-a-month. All the same, the people are in our lives and that is something to be thankful for.

- For my dog, Honey. Isn't she CUTE?!

- For food, water, and various other drinks.

- For a roof over our heads, air conditioning during the Summer and heat during the Winter, blankets and pillows for comfort, and a working shower and toilet (You don't know how much you'll be thankful for those until you don't have a working one).

- For clothes. What a gift to be able to cover and warm ourselves all day long.

- For pens and paper, because some phenomenal people have been able to write wonderful words of encouragement, poetry, short stories, epic tales, and commentaries that we would be without today without writing utensils and paper.

- For music. All kinds. There is truly so much talent out there, and just being able to hear God's gift in other people's lives is awesome.

- For means of contact; Email, snail-mail, telephones/cell phones, blogging, Skype, Facebook, etc.

- For different nationalities and cultures, because seriously, if everyone were the same, this world would be rather boring. Also, for languages. There are so many beautiful means of communicating around the world, and English is only one language to do it.

- For children, because they are the future (And when you get old, you best know they'll be taking care of you!).

- For TV and movies (Of which I know I might watch too much here and there).

- For games (Of which I might do the same. hehe).

- For hot tubs, because they feel SO nice after a long day. hahaha.

- And lastly, but not the least (At least for me. hahaha), I'm thankful for sweet tea! Oh, what would a Southern state be like without the comatose-inducing sweetness that is Southern sweet tea?!

It truly is a day to think about all the things we are thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

He's President. The End.

So Barack Obama won in a landslide last night (Who seriously didn't see that coming?), which means America has truly overcome a major racial barrier by electing a black man as president of the United States. I'm honestly very proud to be an American on this day, because I've always assumed that racism and hatred for one's fellow man would always continue. Despite that still being true, with 70ish% of the voters yesterday being white, I can guarentee that a good number of those people overcome some hatred during this past year or two. And for me, that's something to be proud of as an American.

Now, if you're thinking I voted for Obama, I didn't. I'm just boldly stating that he is the president-elect, and that's just where we are as a nation. I respect the man for what he's done and how hard he's worked to get to where he is. And there's one thing I can be sure of, he's got a whole lot of mess on his plate when he steps into office.

I've been reading 1 Chronicles in the Bible, and God has been showing me some beautiful truth through the history of His people. I've read the names of people I know truly loved God, and I've read the names of people I know who turned away from Him and did some of the most defiling acts in the Old Testament. However, these men are still related. And not only that, God used both of them equally for His plan. The outcome of their lives may have been significantly different, but it's a sure sign of knowing that the LORD is in control. Coming to terms with that, Barack Obama winning the election doesn't bother me at all. Apparently, God has a plan for him as leader of this country, and what I am called to do is to respect my governing authority. And in this case, it is Barack Obama. Whether we like it or not.

Again, I do want to say that I'm proud to be an American, and seeing the racial barrier coming down more and more is not only encouraging, but a true blessing to see in my life time.

Flashback Friday!

Happy Halloween (Or not, if you can't stand the holiday)! hehe. I figured it would only be appropriate to share a sweet Halloween story for the Flashback Friday, since they do fall on the same day.

(Me at youth swordfighting with the Wiseman's daughter.)

A couple years ago, my friend, The Bert, and I came up with this brilliant idea to dress up as Nintendo characters. Naturally, I wanted to be Link (From Zelda), and my hair at the time only further supported the notion. Bert wanted to be Mario, and also, that worked out quite well. However, we didn't feel right with just the two of us doing it, so we ended up recruiting TONS of people to join our Nintendo cause. People claimed they would dress up as Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Luigi, Toad, Bowser, Mega Man, Princess Peach, Princess Zelda, Wario, Waluigi, etc. It was going to be a grand Nintendo-themed Halloween! However, this was all the people who ended up dressing up...


And not only that, April took SO much convincing, and I think ultimately, she was the least likely to dress up. However, she didn't just dress up as Princess Zelda, she hand-made her entire costume from scratch material. Not only did she end up dressing up as her claimed character, but she put so much more effort and looked 10x's better than the Bert and myself.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! Lots of love!