North Star

Well... I have always heard ALOT about Northstar.  (It is an adventure camp center in Japan that Josh has visited and worked for many times.)  I really didn't know what to expect.  I have seen many videos and pictures, but I never thought it would be like it is.  We arrived after a LONG day of traveling.  We traveled on four trains and one bus to get from Yokohama to Norikura Kogen.  When we arrived everyone was happy to see Josh again.  We entered just in time for dinner.  Kayo was happy to see us again.  She is the cook at Northstar.  She came to the states two years ago, and stayed at our house for a few nights.  (She is amazing!  She makes the best food and works EVERYDAY at Northstar.)  Josh introduced me to some old friends; Dan Junker (head of Northstar) and his wife Tina and their two boys Anthony and Mikey, Seth McAllister, his wife Hannah and their 6 month old Ezekiel Danger McAllister ("Danger" is his middle name, literally), Yamaken and his wife Yoriko and their two beautiful little ones Ann and Leon,  Michie who runs the office, Shingo and his fiance Saeko, B, Brad, Troy, and the list goes on.  Then we made our way over to Dan Junker's house. We listened to a girl talk about how she became a Christian through meeting the Junkers and how she and her husband felt led to move to a small Asian country as missionaries. We played some worship music, and ate dessert.  Finally, we retired to our Japanese style room and happy let our heads hit the pillows for a good night`s sleep after our long day of traveling.  

The next day we got up early for breakfast.  Then I took a small nap while Josh helped wash the vans that belong to Northstar. After I woke up, I helped by vacuuming the van.  We sort of worked a little bit, helping with small chores, since they let us stay and eat and everything for free. Then it was lunch time.  After lunch we checked our email and did some blogging.  Then we sat around and talked for awhile.  The Junker boys, Anthony and Mikey came over with their friend and took us on a hike to see the waterfall.  Josh was really excited, as he had never been to the waterfall in the summer.  He had only seen the waterfall when it was half frozen in the winter.  The waterfall was beautiful.  You hike up through the lush green Japanese forest, cross over a little bridge, and you can see the mist rolling off the fall.  Then you turn the corner and there it is, huge and breath-taking.  The boys talked us into going on what they called 'five more minutes' up the hill to a circular tree and a pond.  Let's just say, it wasn't five minutes.  But it was a very nice pond with lilly pads and a very cool tree (check out the pictures - www.stockwolrdtour.shutterfly.com).  We made our way back to Northstar, cleaned ourselves up and it was time for dinner.  After dinner we hung around with the staff and played some ping pong and finally finished the night with two games of Yahtzee.

The next morning we got up again for breakfast. We helped Michie vacuum and clean the Ofuro.  An Ofuro is like a wooden room for communal bathing with showers on one side and a huge hot tub on the other. I have to admit, I snuck in when there were no other girls in there...as I felt a little uncomfortable bathing with others, but it is a Japanese tradition, so I had to try it. We checked our email again, and did some more blogging.  After lunch Josh went mountain biking with the boys.  I got to hang out with Hannah McAllister and her baby, Zeek.  He is such a cute little baby.  He was talking up a storm and crawling all around.  We went for a walk along a path and then decided to go off road to see this pond.  Well, we didn't last long off road because there were ants everywhere.  They wouldn't leave us alone.  So we shook them off and headed back to the lodge. When I returned Josh told me about the fun he had, but that the bike he chose was broken, so he had to ride in one gear the entire time.  The boys said he did well anyway!  For dinner we had a fabulous bar-b-que.  It consisted of pork, chicken, salad, and my two favorites corn on the cob and fries!  It was the best meal!  And to top it off, brownies for dessert!  I was in heaven!  Josh played some more ping pong and foosball.  I watched the kids practice on the rock wall.  I thought I would give it a try, however as soon as I started everyone told me to stop because my fingernails were making a scratching noise on the wall that they couldn't bear to hear.  I guess rock climbers aren`t meant to have fingernails. So, I stopped and decided to call it a night.

On Sunday we got up at eight for breakfast.  Josh was really tired because he stayed up late and read, while I went to sleep.  After breakfast he took a nap while I did some laundry and did some computer work.