Dear Family and Friends:            Christmas  2023

What is so special about January 23, 1924.  It is my Mom’s birthday.  This year she will be one hundred years old.  She certainly is in an elite group.  Less than 1% of Americans reach 100 years old.  She certainly is a living legacy.  I wish there was a way to capture all of her history and memories of the past.  Her memory of the far distant past is remarkable.  My Mom’s past dates back to the depression and includes many painful memories.  Let’s revisit some of her past and then you will gain an even greater appreciation for her life. January 23, 1924 my Mom entered this world with the help of a midwife.  She was the only daughter of my Grandparents.  My Grandpa left Japan in very early 1900 to America with hopes of a better life.  According to my Mom, he paid 5 dollars and got a fake ID to enter the USA.  Unfortunately he got on  a boat that took him to Mexico rather than America.  He apparently swam the Rio Grande River and began working on the railroads.  Even though he later received his US citizenship, he began as an illegal alien.  He then traveled north and settled in Auburn, Washington, where he rented land.  The land was rocky and he was overcharged for the land. He must have been very determined to turn that rocky soil into his dream.  He plowed and plowed and removed those rocks.  My Grandpa planted berries.  However what he was most noted for is growing rhubarb all winter long by building “hot houses.”  He was so successful that others tried to copy.  Imagine bright red rhubarb, wrapped in green paper and placed neatly in a box to be sold around Christmas time.  Around 1920 Grandpa went back to Japan and got a wife and brought her to America.  They had 5 children and my Mom is their only daughter and born right in the middle.  She grew up somewhat like a Tomboy.  You best not mess with her.  She did take up Kendo, a Japanese martial art with a long wooden stick.  She showed us her moves and even her yells. She must have been a force to be reckoned with.  Growing up on a farm is a lot of work which never gets done.  Everyone learned the meaning of hard work.  My Mom was a senior in high school when WW2 broke out.  There was a lot of prejudice against Japanese people at that time.  She even remembers her teacher saying, “There may be spies in this classroom,” as she looked at all the Japanese students.  Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942.  The order led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Amerricans during World War II, two-thirds of whom were US-born citizens.  My Mom’s family was rounded up and brought to Puyallup Fairgrounds until the building of the internment camps was completed.  Living conditions were humanizing with no privacy and sleeping on straw mattresses in horse stables.  That was their home until they were relocated to Tule Lake, California.  Tule Lake was the largest and was the high-security segregation center.  Those who answered “no” “no” to questions #27 and #28 on the “loyalty questionnaire” were placed in Tule Lake.  Question #27:  “Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?”
Question #28 : “Will you swear unqualified allegiance to the United States from any or all attack by foreign or domestic forces, and forswear any form of allegiance or obedience to the Japanese emperor, or any other foreign government, power, or organization?”  
To keep their whole family together they all answered “no”, “no”.  Grandpa was actually held in a federal penitentiary, in New Mexico along with my other Grandpa. Everyone was only allowed to carry as much as they could carry.  My grandmother carried a pot and rice, not knowing their future.  Four years with guard towers with guns facing inward to prevent escape.  When the war ended they went back to their farm.  Everything was taken or sold.  My Grandmother wanted to return to Japan and no amount of pleading would change her mind.  The US government would provide a free one-way boat ride to Japan, but if you were a US citizen, you would have to renounce your US citizenship.  To keep their family together, my Mom and Uncles and Grandparents boarded that ship.  Tokyo was burnt to the ground.  My Mom worked for Barclay Company in Japan and went to Sophia University, a Catholic University.  My Mom was so moved and impressed, she became a Catholic. In Japan my Mom became good friends with Sarah Sato as they lived in Japan in a building call Nissei Building, where many Japanese American lived after leaving the USA.  After four years in Japan, the Aoyama family decided to try America again.  My Mom and uncles were able to receive their US citizenship back thanks to an attorney Wayne Collins.   They both went back to America and settled in the Seattle area.   Sarah Sato set up a blind date with my Dad.  Sarah’s husband and my Dad lived together during college in a Japanese house.  My Mom loves to tell stories of their first date and I never get tired of hearing it.  My Dad was born in Juneau, Alaska.  My Mom asked him some very funny questions on their first date.  Like, “Did you ever live in an igloo?  Have you ever eaten whale blubber? The rest is history.  My Dad got accepted into St. Louis University Medical School.  My Mom thought that they were going on their last date as they rode Victoria Clipper to Victoria.  On the deck my Dad got down on one knee and proposed to my Mom.  Sadness quickly turned to joy.,  My Mom said, “Yes.”  My parents had 5 children in 7 years- no easy feat.  They both gave us children their very best.  October 1978 our family was shaken with the news that Dad had colon cancer. They tried everything but the cancer kept advancing.  My brother, Dave, and I were at University of Washington and we were told to come home, which we did.  My Dad died a few days later.  My Mom now 53 years old had to take care of all the finances, legal decisions, education and daily family concerns- all by herself.  She tried hard to keep things going, like family dinner, school activities, outings, birthdays and holidays.  Things were never going to be the same and that is something we each had to come to grips with.  She wanted to be able to be at home so she took night classes at Gonzaga University and began to learn about the stock market and buy and sell stocks.  She became so good at it that her stockbroker used to ask my Mom which are the up and coming stocks.  That got us all through college and she even bought a couple apartments, which she still has.  She loves the simple things of life, like watching the birds, flowers, trees, fishing (she always catches the biggest trout), talking (be ready she is a night owl, at midnight she is just getting going).  My Mom has been through so much.  Sure she has her rough days, but don’t all of us.  She overall has a “gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” (1 Peter 3: 4)  She also has such a strong faith in God.  She is such a blessing to all of us and has played such a vital role in molding us into who we are.  Mom, thank you for bringing me into this world and pointing me to God during some of my lowest times and loving me and sticking with me when I didn’t deserve it.  You are such a blessing to me.  I am so proud to be your son.  May God give you many more years.  Maybe you will actually live to see the Mariners win the World Series.  Keep eating those Hershey Kisses!  Maybe you won’t be able to  accomplish everything you wanted but you certainly finished doing some of the most important things in this life. For my whole life, I've never doubted your love and trust in God. I remember that when you turned 90 years old while we were in Juneau for the Empty Chair dedication, you and I talked about our faith in Jesus. After that talk, I never doubted that we would see each other in heaven. I believe my Dad is there also. Many of us go through life never considering the life after death. We have this life only to determine where we will spend eternity. There are not many ways to heaven. Jesus said that, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father, but through Me.” (John 14:6)  Many people do not live as long as you have, but you have done the most important! Jesus lived on this earth only 33 years but accomplished the most important. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."   (Matthew 1:21, NASB)  People can not save themselves, and need a Savior.  Saved from what? Saved from the punishment for their sins against God.  Since God is just and good, He needs to punish sin. Only God can forgive sins against Himself. I could never make God forgive my sins. Jesus took the penalty of my sins when He died on the cross. The innocent dying for the guilty. You may ask, how do I get my sins forgiven? What does the Bible say: “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;   (Romans 10:9, NASB)” Lord” means ultimate authority not only of your life but the highest authority. As God raised Jesus from the dead, so will all of His followers. If this sounds too good to be true, actually it is, but true. God is reaching out to you. He is inviting you. Will you accept His invitation?  If you have questions or would like to know more, please contact me.  It would be my honor to help you with this most important decision.  With Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you may not live to be 100 years old, but your life will be full.  Christmas will never be the same.  Have a blessed Christmas.  

Now my favorite:  UpCloseAndPersonal:
Jairus (17)  This has been a year of change and overall for the better.  About one year ago, Jairus became a Christian. For his whole life, he has heard and been taught who Jesus is. He said that he felt God drawing him to Himself.  Jairus attends Peninsula Bible Fellowship and fairly recently he got baptized there by Pastor David. Jairus is now an intern with Pastor David. 2023 Jairus went on a mission trip to Kentucky to help a family whose house was destroyed by a tornado.  2024 he along with several in his youth group will be going to Puerto Rico.  The previous school year, Jairus was doing online homeschool.  Being the last of 9 children, he spent his whole day alone.  He is the first in our family to not be homeschooled during high school. He is enrolled in All Saints Academy, a private Christian school in Silverdale. He is making new friends and now actually applying himself.  His teachers love him and he is getting the opportunity to learn new skills like art and singing.  This is his senior year and he has plans on attending Geneva College in Pennsylvania, with plans on getting a master’s degree in computer science, cybersecurity.  Jairus is also working remotely doing computer programming with a startup company called Steer Finance/Steer Protocol.  What do they do?  If you understand this you are way ahead of me: from their website: “help you write cross chain apps with support for 10+ programming languages! Connect with reliable external data, execute on any blockchain, and monetize your work with our all-in-one easy to use platform.”  Jairus is their youngest employee and I’m sure very valuable. What else does Jairus like to do?  He likes to write his own programs, play video games, biking (bought his own bike), hiking (went on several hikes and for his birthday with several of his friends, we hiked StornKing above  Lake Crescent.  Hard but gorgeous views from the top. With this being his senior year, I see my time to prepare him for life coming to an end.  Is one ever truly prepared?  I’m glad that no matter what he is going through, Jesus is there with him.  With that in mind, I see a bright future ahead for him.  “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” (3 John 1:4) 

Lily (19):  Sometimes good things come in small packages.  That is the case with Lily.  She is not one to just sit back and watch things happen.  She makes things happen.  Where does she get this strength and confidence?  I believe it comes from her relationship with Jesus.  People and circumstances mean a lot to her, but God does more.  When circumstances don’t go as she wants, or people don’t treat her as she would expect, this doesn’t shake her world as much as you’d expect, because God doesn’t change and He never lets her down.  Lily loves her church, Clifton Baptist Church and is looking forward to getting even more involved.  This may mean that she may stay in Kentucky over the summer.  Sure we’ll miss her, but being in the middle of God’s will, one can never go wrong. Lily also ran for student council and won.   This year she bought her first car, a Toyota Camry.  She was all set to buy it that day, but the seller wasn’t ready to sell it that day.  The title had both he and his wife as owners.  He had to call his wife to come over and meet us, and the bank was going to close in a few minutes.  We really did not want to travel all the way back.  The DMV was right there and the bank was around the corner.  We got to the bank and they locked the doors behind us.  Wow!  That was close!  We celebrated with Thai food.  That same car, Lily and I drove to Boyce College in Kentucky together.  What a fun trip together!  We visited my Mom in Spokane, went to Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful, slept in a teepee. I taught Lily to drive.  How much do I trust her driving?  Well the only way to find out is to fall asleep while she is driving.  I closed my eyes and actually slept.  Yes, I do trust her driving. I got to meet some of her friends and help her move into her dorm room.  She came for a surprise visit this Thanksgiving.  We all celebrated at my sister’s house in Seattle.  There were over 40 people there.  What a fun time.  Lily flew back, but will be back for Christmas.  There have been some difficulties in her life, like a car accident, lost wallet, laid off from her job, but these did not keep her down.  I am so excited to see what God has in store for her this new year.  She is an inspiration to me.  

Noelle (21) Noelle was at Boyce College this year and finished her associates degree in Biblical Studies.  Just about one year ago today, Lori and I got a text that she wanted to do face time.  She informed us that she is interested in a guy who lives in Georgia.  At that time I don’t believe they even met each other in person.  How they got connected- well ask them.  I believe it was not long after that that we did another facetime, this time with Nolan in Georgia and Noelle in Kentucky.  They wanted to inform us that they wanted to begin “dating” with the intention of evaluating marriage.  I know it is difficult in one conversation to really know someone but I really liked Nolan.  Both really pretty young.  I believe their first date was January 2023. I heard that they’d spend hours on the phone talking.  I wanted to meet Nolan in person. Both were busy.  Noelle with church and school.  Nolan is the freezer manager for a food coop and works along with his Dad and Nolan is also involved with Upper 90, which is a Christian organization that sets up soccer camps that introduces its players to Jesus.  He has been involved with this organization for several years and even set up soccer camps in Lebanon when their family lived there for one year.. They decided to fly out here on Memorial Day. It was a packed weekend.  All the girls went out, so Nolan and I had time together.  We did some practice shooting with a pellet gun, did some archery and then explored our property.  After we got back to the house, I asked Nolan, “So how interested are you in Noelle?” “I would like to marry her and want to receive your blessing to marry her.”   We talked more.  The more I got to know him the more impressed I was.  At the end, I gave him my blessings to marry Noelle.  Nolan proposed shortly after this trip and Noelle said, “Yes.”  Noelle flew out for a bridal shower.  We all flew down to Georgia for the wedding.  I thought us with 9 children was large.  Nolan is the third oldest of 10 children.  I really liked Nolan’s parents.  Everything in the wedding went off so well.  Even the mosquitoes didn’t bother us.  Noelle looked stunning! I arrived at the wedding venue with just a minute to spare as I forgot the wedding gift at the AirBNB. My heart was so full of emotions as I walked Noelle down the aisle  She has grown up so fast!.  God blessed them with a beautiful house as a missionary from thire church was going to Nepal just days after their wedding,and was allowing them to staytheir homer until April 2024.  This house is walking distance from Nolan’s work and soccer fields.  

Aaron is still working at Pabco (makes roofing shingles) in Tacoma as a mechanical engineer.  Just about one year ago, on Tanaka Family messenger site, we got a picture of Nae, Aaron’s girlfriend.  They met at a car show.  They both love fast cars.  Nae graduated with a teaching degree. Kristi did a photo shoot. She teaches underserved students, giving them an opportunity to develop their creative art skills and express themselves.  She got to meet our family, which can be overwhelming. Food and games really help and we all had fun together.  I enjoy helping Aaron work on his car.  He now has a self storage unit that is large enough for 4 cars to be worked on, out of the weather.  He shares this with coworkers and friends.  Aaron’s car is fast.  But he wants to make it faster.  He took me for a spin in his car and his friend’s car.  “Which is faster?”  Now that’s a loaded question!  Aaron took Nae on a date, picking her up in a Maserati Ghibli.  Now, that would be fun to drive!  Other exciting news:  Nae and Aaron have a baby coming this January 2024.  Our whole family was invited to their baby shower.  Now they really know how to celebrate!  They rented out a venue and decorated it so nicely.  Delicious food, friends and family, fun and a bit of painful games :-).   Nae comes from a very large family and oh so welcoming and fun!  Nae designed and created for Lori and I:    “My Baba (Lori’s) Loves me Beary Much” and “Loved by My Papa.”  onesies.  Now we can hardly wait.  

Kristi about one year ago to this date, moved back from Washington DC.  DC was a good experience for Kristi.  Since she works remotely, she could live wherever.  She attended a wonderful church.  I got to visit her church twice and both times I was really impressed with the people and sermon.  Besides wanting to move back, there was another reason and maybe more compelling.  She met a guy through an online dating service.  I know, this is new for me also. Do you know, God can use a dating service to draw two people together even if they are across the country?  Ask Kristi or Devin their story. Well, I am glad to have her closer.  I really like Devin and enjoy our time together.  He has joined us on a Mt. Rainier camping trip, going on multiple hikes together, Leavenworth trip. We all love Devin. We all went into the freezing cold Leavenworth River and Devin joined our craziness.  As we were hiking we asked what what is God cultural heritage. He asked us. I told him that we used to think we were 100% Japanese but through Ancestor.com we found found that we are5 percent Koresn. I told him that the strangest thing is that we are also 5 percent Turkey. Devin was amazed.  “Wow!”  “Wasn't too know something even stranger?”  “What?”  “You won't believe this, not only are we 5 percent Turkey,  but 5 percent chicken!”  “Got you!” We all had a good laugh.  They have been together one year now.   Kristi has found a great church in the heart of Seattle called “Downtown Cornerstone Church.”  We were able to attend her baptism and now she is a member of that church.  She is making some good friends and looking into ministry opportunities.  She and her friend named Blessing planned a trip to the Bahamas.  From her texts, it appeared that Blessing would not make the connection and Kristi would have to vacation by herself.  That would be too sad.  I think I would cry.  I am not certain of all the details but the last flight there was delayed 30 minutes and Blessing made it by seconds.  They had a wonderful time together and no tears had to be shed, other than “happy tears.” Our Tanaka Family messenger gives us updates on their dates, Les Miserable, rented yacht trip, lost phone, hip hop dance lessons,  Seafair, dates, etc.  We all like oldies from the 70s and 80s and Devin got Kristi a record player.  We should have a game night and Kristi, Trotters and I will bring our old records and play oldies as we play games.  Now that sounds like a “groovy time!”  ;)

Bethany has friends from all over the country and maybe the world.  She spent some time in Florida and made many friends there.  She has good friends at Central Market, where she has been “courtesy clerk” (bagger) and now she works at Town and Country on Bainbridge Island.  Now she’ll have friends at two stores.  This involved a pay raise and this allowed her to move out.  I am so happy for her.  There is something about being on your own and making it.  Prior to moving out, Bethany purchased two parakeets, Sunshine and Starr.  They both got along very well and often talked to each other.  Well they didn’t last for long as the house she rents out a room with, does not allow pets.  Fortunately Petco took them back. She ended up getting a pet robot. We had a couple of Bethany coworkers over for dinner and games. They introduced us to a game called: Mexican Train.  What a fun game.  The Tanaka Band has disbanded, but you never know.  If they ever make a record, I’ll be the first to buy one.  Music is still her best way to communicate her feelings. Bethany often posts a song that speaks to her.  She remembers the book, “Black and Green” written years ago.  From her posts on the Tanaka Messenger I see many old pictures and videos.  There is something about the past that still holds us.

The Roses moved out of their old home, which was quite nice.  Their new home is likely only ½ mile away.  One thing nice about their new home is that it has a remodeled garage that is converted into the Rose Music Studio.  It has a heated waiting area and even a 150 gallon aquarium.  Their two year old Xanthi is always thinking up funny things to do that are so unique.  Dancing and jumping  with two lightsabers, doing a headstand by herself, sitting in a mud puddle with jeans on. Elisha has his own wood shop, including bandsaw, lathe, planers and tons of clamps and sandpapers.  New to his music studio is preschool bell classes. Check out Rose Music Studio:  http://rosemusicstudio.com  Even Xanthi is learning this and she has an excellent teacher and coach.  Stefanie still works one day a week at the church.  Both have done music during the church service.  Stefanie still likes to collect sea glass and are a lot of beaches around us. 

Jonathan and Emma: We all got to see them at Nolan and Noelle’s wedding.  This has been a year of changes for them.  Jonathan’s boss decided to go into ministry and end his law practice.  This meant that Jonathan would go into solo law practice.  Change is never easy.  Job change ranks high on stresses in life.  Fortunately Jonathan had these many years of experience behind him.  Check out his website: http://tanakalawfirm.com  Emma keeps busy as a nanny and sell’s candles.  Emma sell things on Instagram. I know nothing about this but we received an amazingly nice candle.21fqqqqJonathan still has some of that Northwest in him.  Maybe no one else is tent camping in the summer in Texas, but Jonathan found a way.  Since he was doing some work remotely he decided: why can’t I camp and work at the same time.  What about the heat and humidity?  Why not have a portable AC unit in his tent.  Well it worked.  Maybe that will be the new trend in Texas. He was hoping to ride his bike 1000 miles this year.  He and I are on a mutual App called Strada.   One advantage of being solo practice is that he can make decisions on his own (with Emma’s input).  He also has a home office so no more hour long commute.  I’ll need to find a time we can talk again as we used to talk during our commutes. 

Amy and Jon: They may be back from South Korea, but there still was a lot of travel for Jon.  He went to the Philippines for a couple weeks and then Ft. Knox in Kentucky.  Fortunately Lily and I just arrived in Kentucky and Noelle was already there, so we got to have dinner together.  Being separated is difficult for everyone.  At least, they live closer.  They used to live in Seabeck in a tree house.  At least that is what we called it.  They lived on the second floor, which must have been 14-15 feet off the ground.  Where they live now is close to Bremerton and Silverdale.  Now they live close to everything.  Before they live close to nothing except some excellent hiking trails.  I love taking out Jet and Rezi.  One day I took them down to Poulsbo waterfront.  They wanted to catch some baby crabs, which hide under rocks.  I brought a small bucket and we caught several small crabs.  They looked scared and weren’t moving.  Jet asked, “What do crabs eat?”  I knew they ate dead things but I didn’t want to tell them that.  “They eat grass.” They looked around and found some grass.  They threw the grass into the bucket.  “Papa, why are they not eating the grass?”  Papa has to be able to think fast:  “Because they are scared, because you looking at them. Throw some leaves in and they can hide under the leaves.”  “I can’t see them Papa.”  “That’s good because now they can eat and not be scared”. Their new house (rented) has a playground right outside their front door.  So convenient! They also have small woods to explore and make forts.  We got great news that they were expecting their third child.  Shortly after this we got news that Amy needed surgery to keep her baby from being born at 21 weeks- just about 1&½ pounds and unlikely to survive.  Surgery done twice but successful.  Baby now at 39 weeks and can be safely delivered.  Pray for safe delivery.  I bet none of you have ever heard of Jon’s home town.  It’s called Down, Kansas.  Not certain if it ever will be famous.It’s so small that Jon made the front page when he became the manager of the city swimming pool.  There is a book and movie coming out called Sod and Stubble.  Will Down Kansas become famous?  We’ll just have to wait and see.  

Lori became 60 years old this year but this did not slow her down.  When most people get her age, they are looking at retirement. Last year she received a master’s degree in Biblical Counseling. Instead of jumping into private practice, she did an internship with Fieldstone Counseling.  After 6 months she wanted to work for them and applied and was accepted.  She is now a full-time contract counselor with Fieldstone Counseling. Fieldstone Counseling “exists to engage with life’s experiences through Biblically based, Christ-centered, and clinically informed counsel. Check them out: http://fieldstonecounseling.org  One of our favorite musicals is Les Miserable.  We got to see it at the 5th Avenue Theatre.  What a performance!  I really like the dynamic battle between mercy and justice, portrayed by Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert. The famous line: Jean Valjean: “To love another person is to see the face of God.”  We celebrated our 35th anniversary this year.  Our marriage began in Chicago.  This is Lori’s hometown and I lived here 14 years, so it does have such sweet memories.  One of my gifts to Lori was  a pencil drawing of the Chicago skyline with the lyrics to “our song”: “Always” by Atlantic Starr.  That was the song of our first dance.  Here is just a few lines: “You’re the perfect one.  For me and you. Forever will be. And I will love you so for Always.”  Always seems like such a long time.  Always- isn’t that what marriage vows are all about?  God’s love is like that: God said: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” (Jeremiah 31: 3)  For our 35th anniversary we flew to Virginia Beach and combined our anniversary and a counseling conference.  Actually I do a lot of counseling in my practice as most of my patients are in their 70s, 80s and 90s and there are so many struggles at that age.  Unknown to us, Lori’s sister and brother-in-law also were there and we had a fun time connecting over dinner and even played pickleball together. Lori’s other hobbies are sewing and quilting.  

Rich (64)  I can hardly believe my age, but my left hip reminds me.  Last year, my main story was about Dr. Pattillo, who saved my life.  He and his wife live near Atlanta, Georgia where Nolan and Noelle got married.  We were making arrangements to getting together in person.  He ended up passing away May 3, 2023 just before his 90th birthday.  I shared with his wife my condolences and how much I was looking forward to thanking him in person for saving my life.  Mrs. Pattillo shared that she wanted to meet me, so we arranged lunch from 11 am to 1 pm on the wedding day.  What a blessing!  She shared about her family, her church, showed me pictures, showed me Dr. Pattillo’s office.  Over lunch she shared with me:  “Jesus is not part of my life, He is my life.”  This was the same with her husband.  I will see Dr. Pattillo again.  I am so glad we met together.  I’ve been asked so many times: “Are you thinking of retiring?”  I have been a family doctor for almost 39 years and I still have that love for medicine and helping people, sometimes through life’s most difficult times.  For many, I’ve been their doctor for over 25 years. In the morning I look at my schedule and see so many familiar names and this excites me.  With 9 children there is always something going on.  So often beyond my control, but somehow I feel responsible to do something, even if it means just praying for them.  I really want to be more involved in helping in the care of my Mom.  I need to get a better snow car as my Prius is the world’s worst snow car.  It has been faithful for 250,000 miles and still running.  What do I like to do?   Meeting with people, actually I love Grandkids, yard work and gardening, making wood candle holders, traditions, fishing, hiking, backpacking, kayaking (made front page of Kitsap Sun), ping pong, pickleball, mentoring, and helping others.  Over the past few years I have had episodes of rapid heart beats, but I’ve been able to control them.  November I had an episode where my heart was beating 170-180 per minute and I could not get it to slow down.  I got Lori up and she drove me to urgent care, where I was given a medication that basically stops your heart and allows it to restart.  Like a “restart” for a computer.  This worked.  I do have a cardiology appointment on the 15th.  We’ll see what he/she recommended.  My two sisters and my youngest brother have provided 24/7 care of my Mom.  Seems like things are settling down here and I look forward to helping out more. Every day is a blessing from God.  I want to live for His glory.  Never know, I may get as old as my Mom and I hope to bless others for many years as she has.  I love you, Mom!  Always!  Another unexpected highlight of this year was reunion with an international student I met at Olympic College, as I was helping with English Corner Fellowship, an outreach to international students at Olympic College.  He and I were reading through the Gospel of John.  COVID made it difficult and he eventually returned to Taiwan.  He told me upon returning to Taiwan, he was interested in continuing to read the Bible and got a Bible in Mandarin.  He came to my church and became interested in attending a church near his home.  He found three near his home and began attending one.  The pastor helped him to understand the Gospel more fully and he became a follower of Jesus.  His parents are happy for him and are actually reading the Bible also.  He is the first Christian in his family and prays daily for his family. He is now attending Arizona State University and studying psychology.  We have been in touch through Messenger and Lori and I invited him to stay with us for one week this Christmas break.  It was so nice to be reunited and now as brothers in Christ.  We are going through the Gospel of Mark and will continue online.  He is like a new son to me.  

Christmas is my favorite holiday.  Yes, I did watch Charlie Brown’s Christmas twice.  For years I have been wanting to see free Christmas lights Port Orchard.https://g.co/kgs/UuDMRD

I agree with Charlie Brown:  Christmas is too commercialized.  “Can someone please tell me what Christmas is all about.  Linus said it so well.  May this Christmas be a time to draw near to Him.  I would love to hear from you.  You may email me or check out my website - see below.

Have a blessed Christmas from my family to yours.




Rich



Email:  [email protected]
Website:  http://teamtanaka.com

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