5 Years

Dear Gail,

I'm sure that you know this, but Lauren and Justin just graduated!!!! You're looking on all of us and interceding and cheering for us, just as Jesus does.

I know that it pleases you to do his will. Now you can experience that intimacy first hand and be close to Him.

Being close to Him and, at the same time being far from us is still hard.,because we miss you.

We were able to celebrate Mother's Day @ Peter's cafe with Greg as usual. It brought back good memories of past Mother's Day@ Peter's with all of us.
I'm thankful for those memories...

Tomorrow is Father's Day and Devon offered to go to the morning prayer time with me as a Father's Day present
because he knew that it would bless me. It did, and it hasn't even happened yet!!!

We all miss you. Devon and I are going to practice driving this morning @ CSM then go to Farmer's Mkt, then breakfast.

Love you,

Jono

Thanksgiving 2011

Hello Baby,

Wondering what you are doing now. Singing a song, dancing around, watching over us? Yes, you are. Yes, you are.

Everyone is growing up well, not because life is easy or grand.
In fact, in a lot of ways, life has been hard, painful.

But not everyday is like that. Jesus rules over all of our days.
The sun still shines.

There was a great cause for prayer recently. You may have heard prayers coming in your direction, toward Jesus. I wonder sometimes if you hear them.

I hope you do.

You would hear your son still lamenting about his Mom. Still pained.
And growing up.
I'm sure that you are proud.
God has His mighty hand on Dev, allright.

I'm thankful for that. Very.

At 56, I am still growing and learning.
Mom said that after 57 years of marriage that her and Dad are still growing.
There Is hope for me.

BSF is great. Acts this year. It's like I'm reading it for the first time!
So Alive!

Jackie and I are close, learning and growing.
I know that you are happy and at peace.
That makes me both sad and happy at the same time.
but you understand. Always have. Always will.
That's what makes you, you.

Bye for now,

Jono

Four Years Plus

Dear Gail,

4 years have gone by now...That's a long time!!! I have realized lately that God gave you back to Devon and I by bringing us up here to Half Moon Bay. We had wonderful years together. Amazing!!!! We enjoyed life together up here for 9 years. Devon told me earlier this year that he could not have had more time with you than he did!!! What kid can say that??

I'm glad that we kept our life simple and pretty uncluttered. Although I am still full of clutter, our focus was not. I'm glad for that.

I know that you are watching down from heaven and enjoying being with Jesus, Grandpa, Uncle Paul Kumagai, Aunty Tye and all your other friends. I know that life is good for you there....You're still getting mad at Grandpa for trying to cheat at scrabble.

Devon is working his butt off. He took it upon himself to type up his new availability for his Manager and he was rewarded with 30 hours plus instead of 20. He is dependable. He is. I'm sure that you're very proud.

I've been learning just to keep trusting no matter what. God is shaping my character. Sometimes it seems so brutal, but as I learned in Isaiah this past summer, God is Sovereign!

This past year I was at Tioga Lake with the guys as usual and I could not sleep as I was among a host of zombie snorers including myself. Anyways I was up at 3:00. I thought just three more hours til fishing....What I am I going to do for the next three? I thought that I would pray for awhile, so I walked outside the tent and stood for about an hour next to the picnic table looking up at the sky and praying. I was a pretty night with the sky full of patchy clouds. For some reason, I stared at one small spot of blackness amongst the clouds, like for a long time, and there appeared a star!!!

I immediately turned around to see if there were any other stars peeking through the dark spots between the clouds, and....there weren't. What I saw was your face that that star looking down at me. It blew me away.

It was like you were saying that even though I can't see you, your love is always there. This pointed me to Jesus, very much the same way. That light that pierces the darkness.

I relayed this story to grandma and she says that when she is washing dishes, and she looks out into the stars from her kitchen window, she sees you in the stars.

Devon is going down on July 13-20 to visit family. Aunty Joy is taking the cousins to Knotts. It should be fun.

Westminister Cemetary finally did you right with the marker. It was nice to visit with Dad and Grandma on 6/6/11. I hope that you liked the flowers....

Love,

jono

Open Letter to Gail on Mother's Day 2010

Hi Gail,

We miss you. Devon said that he doesn't know I feel cause my Mom is still alive. Devon is missing you. Last night grandma called and then Auntie Joy got on the phone.

All I heard in the other room, was, "Yes, Auntie Joy", "Yes, Auntie Joy." It was like you were talking to Devon. I can just hear Devon saying, "Yes Mother." He didn't need a lot of talking to, as I remember, because you would just give him one of those 'looks'.

Like usual, Greg, Devon and I had breakfast. This time at Denny's at 5:45. We miss Peter's Cafe though cause that was our regular Mother's Day place.

I wanted to eat Japanese with Devon tonight, just like we used to. So you could have your fish. I have been enjoying this place called Tampopo in Gardena. Killer ramen. Here is San Mateo it's either Himawari or Santa's. Oh yeah, we went to Himawari and I was dumb and ordered the chili ramen, which I could not eat. Sorry about eating your ramen with the steam pork. That was a good choice.

I miss basketball with Special Olympics. The season was short due to budget cuts. Everyone misses you being there. You would be so proud to see everyone. We almost finally beat coach Greg's team, but lost by two points. Good game though. It was kind of sad that Devon missed most of the season due to work. He works most weekends.

In fact, most of the family hasn't seen him, cause he hasn't been down. The finish of his first year at college is around the corner. He has done well. He's learned the bus system, is ironing his own work shirts which he wears to school on work days because he has to go straight from the bus to Safeway. They seem to like him there.

He did quit Kuk Sool Won. He wasn't going any more. By the way, teacher Paul is going to become a master in October. I know that it would have meant a lot to him if you were there to see him get promoted. But I know that you are rooting us all on, and are so proud of us.

Devon made it through another year of BSF, and rarely complained. He always wanted to go the the fellowships for the free pizza. He liked snack time going to the Country Store on Alameda de las pulgas for his free snack. Next week is our last week in BSF.

It's almost time for Devon to register for CSM. Department of Rehab is not going to pay anything anymore because he's working. It's gonna be a challenge with so much more homework.

It's good that he is going to relax this summer and hopefully he will be able to get his license. In a few weeks he's gonna go with Michelle and Richard and Diane to Disneyworld. He's not going to June Lake for the first time....boo hoo!!! A lot of the regulars are not going to be able to go this year. Please pray for the time. The theme this year is called 'God Colors'. Leigh and Katie and their family and Derek are going to be in Mammoth. Hopefully we will be able to see them @ June.

I saw Adora today at church and she was wearing a necklace that you had made for her and she told me that when you gave it to her, you asked her to tell you where to put the clasp, so that she could decide where she wanted the necklace to fall on her.

Last weekend, I went down to see Jackie and I knew that it was God that had me go on that weekend, cause also I had a nice talk with my Mom, and got to talk to Mike a little, then asked Mike if he could help with some plumbing at Jackie's. He and I hung out for a few hours.

I bumped into Meg, Susan and Dennis, Penny and Allie, Marian and June @ Tito's. That was a very nice surprise.

Say hi to everyone up there, please tell everyone thank you for cheering us on!!!

It was nice to write this, as it seems like we haven't talked for a long time.

jono

how I have been

Hello everybody,


It's been a long two years without my Mom. I have been doing good in spite of the loss of my mother. I have a great dad, great friends and yes, a great girlfriend. With these people in my life, my life has been better as a result. Over the last few weeks I have been hanging out with my girlfriend. It's been a good experince just to see what it's like to have a girlfriend. She has really made me feel what it's like to be whole. I really apperciate the fact that she is there for me and i try my best to be there for her. I love you Michelle!

I also want to thank all my friends and family for your prayers, support, and love. you guys make me want to strive for better things since i know they are all are praying for me. thanks guys so much!


I want to thank one family member in specific and that's my dad. He is there for me and he is the provider. He loves me and feeds me. (No complantes about the food.) He also has a great sense of humor that makes me laugh. Thank you Dad for being such a wonderful father to me!

I hope I can see everyone soon. Until then, I will be writing on here.



Devon Yoshimine

Devon Graduation June 11, 2009

information

I heard information that a high place adminstrator told Devon's home school teacher, that Devon would NEVER pass the high school exit exam and graduate high school.

Devon has been a kid, that would never take 'No' for an answer. I wonder where he got that from????? After Gail's passing in June 2007, we had a meeting with school administrators and Devon had a choice of either getting:

1. His GED

2. Certificate of completion

3. His high school diploma

He answered right away. I want my high school diploma. I want to graduate and walk with my class!!!

The Lord provided people like Aaron Reed, his homeschool teacher, Lisa Mo, who graciously opened her home, Aaron's generosity to allow Gail to trade admin for tuition, Nancy Z who tutored him in Math, Brendan K., who tutored him Math, Sa bu Nim Paul Carmody @ Half Moon Bay Kuk Sool Won who taught Devon to do his best and never give up, Bible Study Fellowship and Taylor McCormick and learning about God and how to walk in His Ways, Grandma and Grandpa, who always got in Devon's face and JiChan and Baachan who came up over and over again just to be with us. Greg Lim's guys, group, the fishing trips with the guys, Jeff Bovero calling Devon up. The C-Pals and Big Wave embracing Devon and me as they always have. And Devon playing on the big couagars and learning what means to cooperate, trust your teammates, Greg Off, Jeff and Val Peck, Bob Deaver, the prayer team @ Mariner's and Anaheim, the Ladida group. Pam and Joey Sayles and others that have walked the walk. Family. Lo, Joy-JOy, uncle Mike workin out and listening, Auntie Katie and Uncle Leigh shopping and doting over Devon yet making him pick up poop too!!! Uncles and Aunties and friends that walked and continue to Walk.

God, you made all this possibe. You are the miralce maker. You are the one who can bring beauty from ashes. New life out of death. You are the overcomer. You have overcome. There is NO OTHER.

Love,

Jon

2 Years..retrospective from July 2007

Hi Everyone-

We are thankful to the God for seeing us through to this point...He has made good on His promise to neve leave us nor forsake us.

Every call, card, E-Mail, prayer and just hanging out has made us keenly aware of the goodness of God in our lives. We are living proof. That does NOT mean that our life has been easy. It hasn't. There are ongoing disppointments, grief, anger and hurt to process. We are grateful that we do not have to go through this alone, but you have reached out to us. Even the 'unspoken' and 'quiet' ways, have meant the world to us. We thank God for you.

I wanted to share with you something that Devon wrote shortly after Gail passed away in June of 2007. We were on our morning walk and he asked me what I was concerned about and I told him that I was concerned that I could not be both his mother and father, and that I didn't know what I was going to do about that. I remember it was on a Sunday morning walk. I suggested that he think of eveything that he could of what was important to him at that point of his life and write it down. I told him that I would do the same thing and that we would compare notes and then order our lives around those things that were the most important.

I am sharing the list that Devon wrote as a testimony to how Father God has provided for our needs.

From Devon:

"For a successful year, I need to......

1. Do homework and turn it in on time.
2. Feed the cats
3. Clean their litter box
4. Fill up their water
5. Make my bed
6. Go to Bible Study Fellowship and do my lessons.
7. Get good grades
8. To maintain a good relationship wtih God and follow Him and his calling.
9. To organize my homework.
10. To make sure that either I have my lunch packed or have enough money for lunch.
11. To be able to have all my school supplies before school starts.
12. To be able to be a impact in people's lives.
13. To spend more time with things that are important
14. To be able to be open my heart to new ideas.
15. To be able to stay strong for my loved ones
16. To be able to honor my Dad.
17. To become cool tempered.
18. To go deeper in my faith.
19. to honor God and His commandments
20. To grow more closer with God.
21. To stay in shape.
22. to be an active member in the church
23. To be able to go from ground zero to ground 10


The Father has been faithful. Devon set his mind two years ago to graduate. In order to do that, he had to pass the Math and English exit exam. He persisted and did not give up, even though Math is tough for him.

Devon was able to attend Bible Study Fellowship this year and we studied the Life of Moses and how God made a new and living way for his people that were trapped in slavery. There were numerous stories of how God was faithful, patient and provided for his people that continually complained and grumbled. They were great life lessons for Devon and his Dad. We learned that Moses had a personal ongoing conversation/relationship with God and walked in the Lord's ways. We learned about the offerings and rituals listed in Leviticus and how the sin offering was the first in a series of offerings and why the sin offering was the first one offered. It is because no matter hard we try, there is no basis to come to God with anything that we have done, because we are all sinners, all the time, needing forgiveness.

Devon was able to participate in a guy's group on Wednesday night @ Mariners church in Half Moon Bay.

Devon will be attendng Foothill College starting June 29th-August 6th. He will be a one year program called 'Transition to Work' Foothill College is in Los Altos. It is a beautiful campus with buildings right out of 'Sunset' magazine. It has a homey feel to it. Please pray for this transition as most of his friends are attending College of San Mateo. In a few weeks Devon will be trained on how to use the local transportation system. He will be taking two busses and a train to get to and from school. He will be picking up an important life skill.

He will soon be testing to obtain his learner's permit and hopefully will be able to obtain his driver's license later this summer.

Shortly after he finishes his first quarter @ Foothill, we will be travelling to Connenicutt to visit brother Jeff and Susan Yoshimine who recently moved from Santa Barbara. We have never been back east before. Our parents will be going also. I would like to attend a Boston Red Sox baseball game @ Fenway and take the "Freedom Walk' in Boston. Other than that, we will be just hanging out.

We are still processing our grief and walk it out. We covet your prayers as we walk our future out together.

I will ask Devon to share soon about how he feels about graduating and his future.

Love,

Jon