Serving in Japan, Part 4

Origami Cranes made by Janine

Interests

I have a variety of interests. Lately, I am most interested in writing. I very seriously have 2 books that I’m going to write, but I won’t tell you what they are about (bah-ha-ha!). It’s at the encouragement of a friend that I am pursuing them—she also encouraged me to produce Therefore, a play we did at CCEA in 2013, which was 8 years in the making. In the meantime, I like to keep up with our blog (nipponalva@blogspot.com) and occasionally write short pieces.

I also love art, design and creativity in general. I love origami as well, and did 501 of the 1001 traditional cranes for my wedding (ran out of time), as well as all the floral center pieces (origami flowers). My nails were a wreck after all the folding.

If I had the opportunity, I’d love to be a hairdresser from home, and use it as a way to both bless people and make an extra buck. (Of course, I’d have to go back to school for that).

I love to read. My favorite book is The Count of Monte Cristo (the unabridged version), but I love all the classic Jane Austen books and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. I love missionary biographies as well and hearing about the amazing things the Lord has done.
On that note, I’m thankful for the invention of Kindle, as books are too heavy in luggage!

I also like to cook and experiment with that. I like hosting people over at our home for small dinners (I work better in small groups!).

I love language learning. My original goal was to learn five languages, but after Japanese, I figured three was just fine (English, Spanish and Japanese).😉 My new goal is to become fluent enough in Japanese to be able to be used for translation at church, etc. And to be able to easily read my mail.

Well, I think this is more than enough to know about me. I appreciate your patience though and congratulate you if you did indeed make it to the end. I thank you for your prayers and always appreciate communication. So feel free to drop me an email (nipponalva@gmail.com). Please know that we do pray for you guys, so it helps to have specific requests.

Again, thank you for your love and support. It truly is a blessing to know that you are remembering us and there’s someone “holding on at the end of the rope”, as we hold on to you in love and remembrance from over here.

Blessings! Janine Alvarado

Editor’s Note:  You can follow Janine’s blog on Facebook at
nipponalva@blogspot.com