Sorry I have not updated in awhile. I have been busy these past couple weeks!
I'm learning so much and enjoying every moment of being here! Being here has been a huge blessing. Thank you to everyone who has supported me. My heart is grateful :)
As of June 10th it has officially been rainy season. Everyone here says it rains just about everyday, all day long and usually lasts for 3-4 weeks. Since the official day of rainy season it has rained continuously about 3 maybe 4 times! Mostly it has been raining through the night...which is perfect for me! :D  
Sunday I was able to go to Yamagata which is two hours north of Sendai. This is one of the students hometown. She invited us to go home with her and go cherry picking. Yamagata is known for it's cherry blossoms in April and cherries during the months of May and June. We were able to meet her parents and grandparents, who were very generous. They let us pick as many cherries as we wanted to eat and take home. The greenhouse full of cherries was located next to two large rice patty fields, inviting many FROGS!!! That's right I said it, frogs! My biggest fear :/ was a reality for me. Little green frogs hopping around everywhere. I was very squirmish hah. 
I've also learned more Japanese. 
Wa-tashe-wa --> I like...
Ah-me --> rain, candy
Ha-shee --> bridge, chopsticks
In-new --> dog
Wa-tashe- mo --> me too!
Non- da-roe --> I don't know
Man-deska --> what is...?
I also found out that we pronounce many Japanese products wrong such as Mazda, Tokyo, Casio, Honda is pronounced  hown-da, Casio is pronounced cash-io, Mazda is pronounced maz-sue-da, Honda and Tokyo is pronounced toke-yo....not toe-key-o like many Americans pronounce it :)
One of the girls I've become friends with is going to driving school to get her license. She told me you go through to levels of classes. The first level is 12 hours of driving time and 5 classes. The second level is 10 hours of driving and a few more additional classes.   Then you are able to take the driving test. The biggest shock of it all is the cost, a whopping $2,500 for the entire experience. Yeah folks! A lot of moolah.
Monday night Alyssa and I lead an investigative bible study for students who are curious about the Bible. We discussed and studied Matthew 9:14-26. It was awesome to see the curiosity in the students! Please continue to pray for me and the students :) 
Tonight one of the students cooked Alyssa and I a traditional Japanese meal from scratch...if only I could remember the name lol! I actually don't know what all was in it because there were a lot of things. I do know that it was made out of rice, chicken, bamboo, Japanese potatoes, and a lot of Japanese vegetables that don't exist in America. It was cho oye-she (Japanese for very delicious). He also presented us with presents of green tea and cute Japanese china cups to drink our tea in. 
Tomorrow I am going to karaoke with GUYS Club. They have wanted to take us there since we've been here. All the students here love karaoke! So I am excited because I think it is gonna be a lot of fun! I'm gonna try to take a few videos too ;)

Leslie