A Rowdon Adventure

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We’re moving to Japan!

That’s not a surprise, considering all the posts we’ve done on this blog.

We’re moving to the mountains of Nagano, Japan to intern at a business-as-missions adventure lodge, called Northstar Alpine Lodge!

Alright, there’s the surprise. 🙂

How we found this opportunity: Like any classic mutual connection situation– a friend of a friend introduced us to another friend, who sent us a book, which brought us to Northstar’s website.

What drew us in: Besides having a heart for Japan, we both LOVE nature, mountains, and outdoor activities. Along with this, we’ve both thought on several occasions that it would be right in our wheelhouse to work at a hostel/lodge. After looking through the website and talking more with our contact, we realized this was the perfect place to use our specific giftings: Mark with teaching English and outdoor activities, and me with administrative skills and hospitality. We also really connected with Northstar’s value for community, both within their staff (who are from all over the world and Japan), but also with the surrounding city.

What are the details: If all goes well with applying to visas (we’re still waiting for Japan Immigration to open up applications as it’s closed due to COVID), our official start date is December 15, 2020. This may get pushed back, but as soon as we can go, we’ll be there. Our internship is officially a year-long, but we hope to stay in Japan long-term. Ultimately, we have our hands and minds open to whatever may happen.

While interning at Northstar, we will be working full-time at the lodge, with part of that time being missions-focused (though we consider it all as missions). Because of this, our very basic necessities are covered by the lodge, and we will be fundraising the additional costs. If you are interested in supporting us, you can give online here. If you have any questions or want to learn more, please feel free to reach out!

We are so excited for what is to come. I especially am excited, as living and serving in Japan long-term has been on my heart for a long time.

We’ll keep you posted along the journey. 😊

With love,

Laura & Mark

Long Time, No Write

So, who else has felt like nothing super interesting has happened since quarantining?

Same.. It feels like our life trajectory was put on a stand-still. We came back from Japan six weeks earlier than we expected, then sat back and watched as the rest of our 2020 plans disappeared.

We’ve spent the last 4.5 months in Florida with Mark’s family. Though we were disappointed about the changes in our plans, it was so good to connect with our family.

It’s such a weird year to be in, and I know we’re not the only ones who feel this way. My heart goes out to all of you, especially those who are struggling– whether financially with losing a job, emotionally with being alone for days on end, physically with the change of pace and routine, mentally with the loss of annual events and major life plans.

I think a lot of us feel shame for having sadness over losing the “little” things from our 2020 year, and, I don’t know about you, but I often talk down my emotions in it. It’s okay to grieve the little things; to be sad and to recognize where you’re at and not hold it against yourself.

Okay. Okay. Back to the topic at hand: Long time no write.

Our summer has gone like this:
・Mark teaching English to Chinese kids at early hours of the morning.
・Laura studying Japanese, trying to pick it back up from four years ago.
・Laura hurting her knee and not being super mobile. (Mark setting his Nursing Degree to good use 😊)
・The Florida Rowdons playing a lot of Five Crowns, hanging at the beach, and watching (probably) too much Netflix..Apple TV..Hulu..
・Laura taking a side gig at a Tax Consulting Firm– Who knew I knew so little about taxes??
・Mark and Laura spending the past 4+ months or so trying to figure out what the heck they feel called to do in Japan.

Dave and Buster’s Game Day with the Rowdon Siblings 😍

And so on, and so on.

All of that to say, to be honest we haven’t known what to say.
But we wanted to give you a brief update and let you know, we have some exciting plans in the process!!
Of course, these plans are dependent on COVID and how everything plays out, but we’re looking towards the future with expectant hearts and open hands for what is to come.

A gorgeous sunset welcomed us back to Minnesota for the first time in 9 months.
We’re back until November. If you’re here– let’s catch up!

As with what comes with any classic cliffhanger– more on that next time 🙂

With love,
Laura & Mark

Friday Favorites

Written by: Mark R.

This is a new segment we are trying, based on a blog Laura follows called, “Mix and Match Mama”.

Side note from Laura: Mix and Match Mama is one of my favorite blogs to follow for simple and delicious recipes, and to learn more about adoption. Her family has adopted two girls from China and they have a huge heart for adoption, which I love! We’re starting this now, but hoping we can share more about Japan through this when we move there. ☺️

We are simply going to take some time on Fridays to share with you some of our favorite things of late. Enjoy!

Favorite Person

I thought I’d start out with my favorite, favorite! It’s Laura! I love her. She’s remarkable. Anyone who’s known her has seen how caring and thoughtful she is. She is incredibly bright and she loves learning new things, especially about languages and cultures. She has a unique way of truly seeing people and making them feel known. Laura’s desire to grow and mature is inspiring and I’m glad we are in this together.

Favorite Book

I’ve been on a sci-fi kick again and I’d have to recommend, “Ender’s Game”. It touches on themes like identity, manipulation, leadership, and legacy. If you’re into sci-fi fiction and haven’t read this one, it’s worth the read (or listen 😉).

Favorite Food

This is based on my time in Japan recently and I’m gonna go with the obvious— Sushi. We ate at this traditional restaurant with a pastor and some missionary friends and the eel was fantastic. It was slightly grilled on top and had a wonderful smoky flavor. 🤤

I have to give my honorable mention here to Atsuka and her ginger pork! She taught Laura how to make it and I can’t overstate how delicious it is.

Favorite Movie

For recent movies I’m gonna say, “A Quite Place”. It’s a sci-fi ish movie staring John Krasinski (Jim from The Office). The overall message of love breaking the weight of shame is beautiful. A quick note, this movie is a bit scary. Laura needed a little more light heading to sleep after we watched it.

Favorite Bible Passage

I’ve been studying through Acts again and I love how God uses these fundamental people in Jewish history to foreshadow who Jesus is to the Jews.

In Acts 7, Stephen is trying to persuade the Jewish people to accept Jesus as the Christ with an awesome recap of their national history. He points out that both Joseph and Moses were not known or received by their brethren at first, but that salvation came for Joseph’s brothers and the nation as a whole the second time they were seen. Joseph saved his brothers from famine and Moses led them from slavery in Egypt.

It’s crazy to me that God had these events occur so that when Jesus was rejected, and killed, Stephen could present his case to the Jews that even though he was rejected at fist, the promise of His kingdom is valid and he is ready to establish that now, if we all accept Him.

Obviously this was rejected by the Jewish nation at the time as they went and killed Stephen, bringing about Paul and salvation to us Gentiles. It’s beautiful to me how Old Testament history can be used to present such remarkable illustrations.

That’s all for now! We’ll see you next week for Laura’s Friday Favorites.

Week 5 Update

Written by: Laura R.

Week 5 was unexpectedly our last week in Japan.

Originally we had a few more weeks planned, working with the Sunrise Team and then going back to Osaka and Tokyo. Due to how the virus would affect flights back to America, we decided to fly home early.

Our goal is still to move to Japan next winter (hopefully early winter!), but we have yet to decide in what capacity. We’ll keep you all updated as we pray and move forward!

As far as this blog, we still plan on keeping it up. ☺️ Whether that’s with lessons the Lord is teaching us, or what’s been going on in our lives— we want to stay up-to-date with you all.

Speaking of which, here’s our last Japan week:

Tuesday, March 17th

At this time we still had no clue we were heading back to America. So we met with the Sunrise team to plan for our spring break camps and to catch up on how we were all doing.

Wednesday, March 18th

Online classes all morning. In the afternoon… I really can’t remember 😓 But I bet it consisted of working out, going for a walk, and hanging out with Andy!

Thursday, March 19th

I went for a long run/walk in the morning along the river.

Picture from a bridge overlooking the river.
Japan was cold almost the whole time we were there.
This was the first incredibly sunny and warm day.
I loved it 🙂

In the afternoon while Mark taught online classes, I met with Wendi. We went for coffee and got to know each other more. It was super helpful asking her questions about their time in Japan and the work they do! Looking back, I’m so thankful we had this time before Mark and I had to leave. 🙏🏻

Friday, March 20th

Morning hike with Christopher and his son, Kenichiro! We met Christopher at Peter and Wendi’s house church. He’s lived in Japan for 15 years now and runs his own English school in Sanda.

The night before, Mark and I learned about how flights to America would most likely be affected by the virus. We spent an hour or so talking about what we should do. Afterwards we met with Peter and Wendi to talk it over with them. Ultimately we decided to come home.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur of packing and saying our goodbyes. It was a sad night, and honestly I felt shocked at the change. There are so many unknowns going on with this virus and how people and governments will react. We trust though that going home was the best decision.

We tried to take a selfie with Peter and Wendi’s family on a Polaroid.
Cut out only two people, so I’d say it was a success. 👍🏻🙃

Saturday, March 21st

A long day— travel day back to Florida, USA from Sanda, Japan.

Peter and Wendi were so kind to bring us to the airport. 🙏🏻

Thank you for following our Japan Vision Trip journey! Though it was shorter than expected, we’re so thankful for the experience. We’re thankful for everyone we met with and got to know along the way.

With love,

Laura & Mark