Cali (short for California) is our Golden Retriever that nuzzled her way into our hearts when the boys found her under the Christmas tree in northern Japan 4 years ago. It was a real blessing for us since we thought we'd never be able to have a dog since we move often and always rent. She was God's answer to the heartfelt prayers of our boys.
It may seem a little frivolous for us as missionaries to have a pet, but God has really blessed our family through this fluffy canine; providing our boys with a little bit of consistency in the midst of our life of constant change. In Hokkaido we called her our "missionary dog" since she was a natural avenue to meeting people in our neighborhood and all the Japanese elementary kids would stop and pet her on the way to and from school. 
We brought Cali with us to America when we went on home assignment 2 years ago. We really aren't big dog people, but she quickly won us over with her sweet, mellow temperament and it was just too hard to leave "part of our family" behind.
Friends in the States graciously watched her these last 6 months until Tim was able to bring her back with him last week from America. It is terribly complicated to take a pet back and forth across the ocean and I don't think we will attempt it again. It was quite stressful to make sure all the tedious paperwork, shots and tests were up to the Tokyo airport quarantine's standards. Someone told us that there isn't rabies in Japan. They plan on keeping it that way!
Every day on home assignment our family prayed for God to provide a house for us in Tokyo...and specifically one that we could have our dog. God graciously blessed us with this great house to rent...and the added extra reminder that He hand picked it just for us with the Golden Retriever sign on the front gate. Every time we see it, we are reminded of how God answers prayers. He graciously grants our family little blessings that mean a lot.
