Finally!

Sorry it has taken me so long to write for those who have been checking. The flight here was definitely tiring and many of us did not sleep for almost 3 days and what little sleep we managed to get was about 4-6 hours in that. We have done a little sight seeing thus far and have started to set up our schedual for our remaining time. I did not experience the culture shock I thought I would, it is more Westernized here and in Tokyo their is more English than I expected. I am sorry to cut this blog short, I will write more tomorrow as we have our first day working with one of our contacts in the homeless aspect of our trip. Thanks again to everyone helping me get to Japan with your donations and support! Love you all!

Kyle

after a couple days of travelling we are finally in tokyo! we left for the airport in toronto at 2am sunday morning. we than travelled to chicago, to San Francisco, and than to Osaka Japan. All together it was about 20 hours of flying. when we got to Osaka we hoped on a train for about 2 hours to a hostel we stayed at our first night. Everything in Japan is tiny! i think i'm going to start keeping track of how many times i hit my head off of door ways. The following day we left the hostil and just walked around Osaka taking pictures and enjoying the sights. At 10:30 pm we got on a bus to Tokyo, which was about an 8 hour bus ride. We slept for the most part and than as the sun began to rise it was pretty cool to take some pictures out the window as we were travelling through the mountains. from the bus we got on a train to the place we currently are staying now in tokyo. Today we are going out to meat with some people who have some knowledge about the sex trade here in tokyo and we will also be visiting the emperors palace and things like that. I'll check back in in a few days!

Takin' it easy in Tokyo

So yes, we finally made it!  Nothing short of glad to know that we supposedly "survived" a brief earthquake shake this morning...hmm...8.4 on the scale? really?  Barely felt it on yet another long ride, this time on a bus to Tokyo. Speaking of rides, that 20+ hour ordeal of a plane ride from May 5-6 to Osaka, was probably my longest plane ride since well...1989...when I was headed the other way to Canada, and I was only 7 years old. :)  Glad to know I can still survive sleeping in a seated position!

Shortly after our arrival to Osaka, I got to experience some real Japanese food, sleep in my first hostel room, and take in the sights and sounds, and shopping centres of Osaka.  That was an experience on it's own.  The day was quick, but I did get my camera out for some nice shots, until my battery died, and I pouted until I got it charged :)  Oh well. Lesson learned.  Moving on...

Anyway, for those tuning in, I just wanted to take this chance to say hello and thanks to all my friends from hockey, St. Joe's, T-dot, Carter, UW, Homechurch, my family and friends, and especially to my wonderful and very supportive boyfriend, Jon, who has been with me since the start of this journey, and continues to do so via the internet and random long distance calls I'm still able to make.  Thanks everyone for all your support and prayers.  I continue to ask for them for myself and the team as we venture on with our trip!

Funny, I didn't know exactly what I was in for when I joined this group, but more and more, I can see and I'm yet to discover what God has in store.  Whatever it may be, I'm welcoming the challenge and I'm quite as excited as I am scared.  

I'll keep everyone posted! For now, enjoy the photos I've put on my facebook.  For now, take care! 

Chantal: btw, I found you some manga!

we made it!

we made it! arrived on tuesday afternoon.. spent the night in osaka and are now up in tokyo.... it's been a long few days of travel and we're taking the day to rest and catch up on the sleep we haven't been able to get until now! here's a pic of our team taking photos around osaka :) more to come soon...

may has arrived!

may has finally arrived! after months of preparations, our time to go has arrived! this weekend, hundreds of leaders and students from across canada will be going through global's orientation.... monday morning will see these hundreds flying out around the world for a life altering experience!

thank you for joining us on this incredible journey! for your financial support, your prayers and for your encouragement - we could not have done this without you :)

the japan team

bookmark us!

it's ALMOST time to leave for japan!!! stay tuned as we're going to keep you updated on this blog throughout our trip with photos and thoughts by our whole team!

to donate

there are 2 ways to donate: online or by mail.

[online donations - canadahelps takes 3% off your donation.]

TO DONATE ONLINE TO A TEAM MEMBER:

1. Click on DONATE NOW image above.

2. Enter your donation amount

3. FUND/DESIGNATION : choose "JAPAN TEAM - BROCK"

3. DEDICATIONS and GIFT OPTIONS: choose "yes, as a gift in honour/on behalf of"

4. Type in the Team Member's name.

5. "Continue" to complete the transaction.

FOR DONATIONS ONLINE & IN HONOUR OF REGIONAL/TEAM LEADERS,  NATHAN & TASHA HAKEEM*

1. Enter your donation amount

2. FUND/DESIGNATION: choose "GLOBAL YOUTH NETWORK - GENERAL"

3. DEDICATIONS and GIFT OPTIONS: choose "yes, as a gift in honour/on behalf of"

4. Type "NATHAN & TASHA HAKEEM"

5. "Continue" to complete the transaction.

TO DONATE BY MAIL:

1. download a DONOR SLIP (click).

2. Fill it in.

3. MAIL IT!

* Nathan & Tasha Hakeem are ongoing Regional Leaders for Global Youth Network. 

Your support is greatly appreciated throughout the year!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!