December 9, 2006 (Special Farewell Dinner)
I'm extremely thrilled, cause Yoshinori has invited me to have a special dinner at Seiyoken, Ueno. It's a French Restaurant, and this restaurant has reminded him very much of his grandma, who often brought him here when he was a kid. This will be our special dinner together (only two of us) before I'm going back to Jakarta, Indonesia this Thursday. I'll be giving birth in Indonesia, and won't be returning back to Tokyo till next April. The dinner was really delicious, and we ordered a special menu which is called "ダリ”special dinner menu. The restaurant often has special menu for special occasion, such as naming after a special exhibition which is held around Ueno area, and "ダリ”is the exhibition currently held in Ueno. Yoshinori has also ordered a special crepes dessert which was made right before us (not in the kitchen). It's extremely delicious with the thick fresh orange sauce covering the crepes. Conversation just flow continuously and smoothly between us...and we laughed when we thought that maybe it will be hard to come to such a place with the kids. Maybe not till they are older. Having married for about 6 years and we feel real delighted to be blessed finally with this first pregnancy. It was a really memorable dinner for both of us, and we both really pray for safe delivery and safe trip back home. God, please bless both of us when we're being away from each other, and provide us with your warmth love and grace always to keep us close in heart. Amen.

December 06, 2006 (Baby Shower)

It's my first Baby Shower. My dearest AzabuJuban HG brothers and sisters have organized it especially for me. They have prepared many delicious sweets, cakes and fruits. We started with the normal Bible Study led by our sister, Lily. It's her first time to lead the HG, and she really did a great job. We greatly appreciate her time to prepare for the HG. Our Host, Jinhe and Christ have prepared delicious Thai curry for us :). It must be really hard for our sister, Mindy, to carry the balloon all the way from Hiroo to Kamiyacho with "It's a Boy" written boldly on it. People might be wondering if she's pregnant...:). It's our last HG for the year of 2006, and I couldn't stop thanking God on how much I really love this HG and all the prayer which I received profusely from my dearest brothers and sisters. I do continously pray for those brothers and sisters who still have troubles in their life, struggling for their work, uncertain of their future career, coping with school works and studies, as well as those who are looking for life partner. I wish them all the best and that they will be blessed soon with answered prayer. Honestly, the easiest thing we could ever do is to ask God...and Pray continously. Merry Christmas everyone, and may all of your wish come true. God Bless you always.

Luv,
Ninih :)

The weather here in Tokyo is getting pretty cold. And it was raining almost the whole day today. The weather forecast mentions that Winter season will officially begin starting next week. My dear baby is kicking more vigorously recently and I'm going to be 8 mths pregnant tomorrow (according to Japanese calculation). It's funny that we always believe that we're normally pregnant for 9 months, but in Japan, the calculation is made based on 10 mths basis. So, they divided 40 weeks by 4, and when you're 5 weeks pregnant, you're considered as 2 months pregnant and so on. I was pretty confused myself in the beginning. But now, I just need to declare my pregnancy based on Japanese system so that when I made any maternity shopping, I need to make sure I have the right months to get the right products. Well, the tummy is growing at tremendous rate. And I started to have backache. Just have to keep my posture right when I walk or sit. Every night, I think I have crams as well. I fell out of my bed once when I realize that I couldn't stand still due to the cram while trying to go to the toilet. Fortunately, there are many cushions falling off the bed at that time and I have some protection. Just have my hair cut tomorrow. I cut off around 20cm length of hair. The stylist kept asking me if it's fine to cut that much. It took me around 2 years to grow my hair. But I assured him that it's fine, cause I think my hair normally grows pretty quickly. Well, I'll post you my new look with the new hair style soon. :)Next Wednesday (Nov. 15, 2006), I will be having my next doctor's appointment. I'm going to ask for my doctor's permission for travelling back to Indonesia. Yes, I have finally decided to give birth in Indonesia instead. It's going to be really cold here in Tokyo in February, and after discussing with my hubby, we think it's best for me and the baby to deliver the baby in Indonesia since I'm not really comfortable with cold weather. Ok, will continue to keep you posted for the next progress of the baby.

1st Baptism Anniversary (Oct. 16, 2006)

I couldn't stop being so thankful for all the blessings that I have received in this past one year since I have my baptism at TUC (Tokyo Union Church) on Oct. 16,2005 with 4 other sisters. Sometimes I could be over enthusiastic when I tried to explain to those who haven't experienced receiving Chist as their savior. God is good...all the time. Despite of all the ups n downs in life, by trusting in His love, grace and mercy, we could always feel the inner peace. Thanks to all my sister n brother who celebrated with me at Mrs. Sohn's house in Shibuya. :)

I was just happened to see the list of things which I would like to accomplish in year 2006 together with my wishes. Surprisingly, 80% of them have been answered. It's amazing how powerful is the meaning of prayer. And it's best when I can share everything with my HG's brothers and sisters and having the time to pray together. I'm most thankful with this first pregnancy. Making confession is one of the things which I've done as well. God is merciful and He would never abandon us when we need Him. And everything is definitely in His timing. I strongly believe that God always has a purpose for everything that we needs to go through no matter if it's a good or bad experience. Those experiences lead us to rely more on Him and trusting that He would guide us step by step through the way.

I'm now still praying the salvation for those whom I love the most. I really hope that they receive Jesus Christ as the savior of their life. Through this, I am very much looking forward to spend time with them not only in this world but also in eternity. God, please open up the hearts of the people whom I love and that they may receive your mercy and grace and accept you as their savior. Amen.

November 18, 2006

It's amazing how time has flies. I'm now on my 25th week, and it's been about 20 weeks since I last posted about my pregnancy. Well, I've been experiencing serious nausea, and to open up the computer is the last thing I'd like to do. I've never experienced feeling so horrible in my life. Throwing up for about 3-4 times a day for the first five months of the pregnancy, and the only thing I can possibly consume is fruits. Honey and ginger also help to work reducing the nausea. But, thank God that the progress of the baby goes smoothly despite my malnutrition diet. I'm now more active in everything and feel much more enegetic even though I still need a lot of beauty sleeps. Somehow, the feeling of drowsiness just appears now and then. But I'm sure that's because the baby is encouraging me to take more rests. I'll be posting all the ultrasound picture of my baby since the first time we have them till the latest progress...guess what??....from our last USG scan, we've been so curious about which gender of baby we're expecting. It's funny that the doctor never wanted to say for sure about the gender of the baby. I wonder if it's the policy of Japanese doctor or it's just that he is really not sure. However, he has printed out about 3 USG scan pictures of the pictures that represent the little "bird" of our baby. It's really cutey. From the beginning of the pregnancy, I already have a strong feeling that I'm expecting a boy. Several symptoms have actually strengthened my perception. First, of course the seriosu nausea is the main cause...it's definitely the strong hormones of a baby boy. The hormones have also worsened the condition of my skin. However, once the nausea is over, the skin's condition has improved gradually. Now, there are still a lot of saliva production in my body; inconveniently, I always need to spit out the saliva cause it's still making me feel kind of sick when it's stored too much in my throat. And I also noticed that the skin's pigmentation on my neck has darkened as well. According to many people, when your tummy grows outward instead of sideward, most probably I'll be expecting a baby boy. So, maybe all the above symptoms have supported my perception that I'm expecting a baby boy. Honestly, I don't really mind as to which gender we're going to have for our first baby. The blessing and grace that He has shown to us have really made me to be so thankful of my present condition no matter how hard and how serious is the condition of my nausea is. This is what we have longed for, and we just keep praying that my pregnancy will go well throughout and the baby can grow healthily physically and mentally inside me. We also pray for safe delivery as well. Presently, I'm praying a lot for God's guidance as to where I should be delivering this baby, Indonesia or Japan??? Since my mom is in Indonesia, I would very much like to be close to her and needs her help cause this will be my first experience of having a baby. She can possibly come to Japan as well, however, since my expected due date is in February, it's the coldest time in Japan, and I know that she doesn't really used to the cold weather. So, God, please give me your guidance as to where you want this blessed baby to be delivered...amen.

I'm finally pregnant :)

June 7th, 2006 (Wednesday)

"Congratulation.....!," It's the word that both Yoshinori and I have been yearning for a long period of time. Having married for almost 6 years, God has finally listened to our prayer, by blessing us with my first pregnancy. His steadfast love and unlimited grace is what we have been praying for all these times. "Halleluyah..............., praise the lord and give thanks with a grateful heart!" I cried and sang with joy.

Yoshinori is extremely thrilled when he sees the ultrasound picture of our little embryos with 6.1mm in size. I was only 5 wks and 3 days pregnant. Our due date is written clearly on the picture by our doctor. We will be expecting our first-born kid on February 4, 2007. The thought of having a new family member has brought an exhilirating feeling and chills throughout my body. I couldn't express how much appreciation I have for all of my brothers and sisters at TUC, especially sister Mindy and brother James who continuously pray for me in the HomeGroup. Frankly speaking, I'm so blessed with so many answered prayers which I've received since I first joined this HG. And through this great experience, I just want to share with everyone about the greatness of God's love and grace. For many times, the following verses echoed in my mind whenever I feel discouraged :

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

"For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back."
Isaiah 54:7

"In a surge of anger, I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you," says Lord your Redeemer. Isaiah 54:8

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

Truly, I received enormous peace from the above verses quoted from several sections of the Bible. And indeed, when we believe and seek for His guidance in whatever troubles or difficulty that we're experiencing, we'll be led to a righteous path.

Bless all of you, and please continue to visit this blog to receive all the update about the progress of my pregnancy.

Love,
Ninih