School's Out For Summer

Phew, I survived the first part of teaching here in Japan! It's been a whirlwind but quite rewarding and fun. It's been especially fun to see the growth in learning of the children that I teach. On Saturday I went to a concert of some students I teach at the Lutheran Center. They sang some traditional Japanese songs and played recorder. They sang one song that was like London Bridges where at a certain point in the song they would trap one person between their arms.

Friday the 25th was my last day teaching at Suginami before the summer break so we made crafts for fun. The yochien, or pre-school age made jellyfish since we've been learning about the ocean. The first graders made lions since we were learning about the letter L and it was also a vocab word. Aren't they adorable when they aren't causing a ruckus hehe?

Random Pics

Here I am inside the Emperor's Palace. It has many beautiful gardens! It used to be very difficult to get through, you had to pass many gates with the approval of the samurai. That day I just walked right in and took a plastic number from the security guard which you return as you leave. I had offered to take a picture for a group of women since they were taking turns being absent from the picture. They thanked me and left. And then they came back asking if I had a camera. I said I did on my camera so that's how I was able to get this picture!

One day I was walking to the train station and while crossing the canal I always see I noticed there were all these kayaks and jet ski's in it! It was so bizarre to see all these kayaks in the middle of the worlds largest metropolis. I wonder what they were doing that day, maybe a race and how you get to do that!

Here is an advertisement for a movie I saw in the subway one day. I'm quite curious what it is about seeing as there is a woman with beautiful makeup and then a mustache!


The other week I went to eat monja at a restaurant with the women in the Tuesday afternoon class I teach. One of them lives in Tsukishima which is famous for having a monja street with many monja shops. It was really delicious and you get to see it get cooked on the table right in front of you. You even eat it while it cooks so it's interesting to see how the flavor changes as you go.

Spirit of the Dead Festival みたま まつり

This week in Iidabashi at Yasakuni Shrine there has been a big festival. It's a festival that many other shrines have this time of year for the spirits of the dead. Apparently people believe that spirits come back once a year and so people often go visit the grave site of family members, or put out special things in addition to the daily incense they burn at the small shrines in their houses.

At the festival there is a long street leading to the shrine which is lined with hundreds of little stands selling Japanese festival food. You can buy everything from yakisoba (grilled noodles with some veggies) to takoyaki (fried octopus balls), to flavored shaved ice, and corn on the cob. They also have a few stands with games. One is called kamesukui which means rescue turtle. You use either some kind of net or a cup made from ice cream cone like material to make it difficult catch the animal and then you can keep it as a pet. They also have this game for fish. So, it's like the japanese fair version of trying to get a ping pong ball in a glass to win the fish.

Many people at the summer festivals for fireworks, and at this festival are dressed in yukata which looks like kimono but is much lighter and for more casual situations. It is light fabric for the summer heat. Men also wear yukata but they are not the bright and beautiful flower patterns women wear. They are often more neutral and natural colors like blues and grays.

Up on this platform around in a circle these women were leading a dance and anyone could join in. I also heard some singers performing music on another stage. There were thousands of lanterns. Some were probably advertisements from sponsors etc and others were painted with special poems or pictures that I think were a sort of competition. Here are pictures of the dance platform and statue during the day and at night.


Here are some colorful cool streamers hanging in front of the temple entrance.

It's been a long time! おひさしぶりですね！

I have much to share about the happenings going on in Japan lately. But for this entry I want to share about a story I heard at the last Circle of 12 gathering. I'm also going to intersperse some recent pictures for your enjoyment to break things up a bit. Most are from a beautiful rose garden I went to with a women's group from church.

Circle of 12 is a group that functions like a cell group or bible study. Each week it is held at a different church member or person who is interested in studying the Bible's house. Each week there are some regulars who attend and some who can come only when it is near their house, or held at their house. It's a great opportunity especially for people who want to study the Bible but are intimidated by going to a church, as well as for people whom it is difficult to get to church on Sunday mornings.

We usually begin with someone reading a short verse and sharing a recent realization or story from their life and a prayer. If there are any new people then we do an icebreaker question. We also sing a song together. There are always lots of little snacks and deserts, and of course tea and coffee. The main part is reading the gospel reading from the previous Sunday, and a leader guides discussion with various questions. Pastor Saito is usually there so he can help answer any questions about sections that are confusing etc. After that we close with prayer and enjoy lunch.

The last Circle of 12 I attended there were a few members I hadn't gotten to know very well yet. As I walked from the train station to the house (in the pouring rain) I got to talk with one woman who spoke English and lived in the US (which I had nooo idea until that day, I'd only heard her speak Japanese). She shared a bit about how she became a Christian at the age of 40 and is really praying that her husband and two sons would as well one day.

The other woman, who is 70 years old, had a really amazing story to share as well about becoming a Christian. She lived in the same neighborhood as Pastor Saito. Two years ago she was very depressed and thinking about wanting to die. So, she was pacing the area on a walk with her hands on her head. She happened to walk past their house and see the sign that said bokoshi, or pastor and thought "I think I am supposed to go ask him some questions." So she rang the doorbell and amazingly Midori, his wife was home from a day off of work.

So she invited the woman in for tea, they talked, and three days later was Easter so she invited her to the service. Well, she came to the Easter Worship and has been coming ever since then. Recently she was baptized and that day I think she prayed in a group by herself for the first time! It was really moving. She really enjoyed the study and kept saying that she really understood the scripture this time and was so happy.

It made me stop and think, why do they need me here if the spirit is just leading people to them already? But, I know that God is using me and the other missionaries here in many other ways. Sometimes, it's not to bring in new Christians, but just to support the ones who are new to faith. Sometimes it's just to teach English so that church members in the class have a chance to share their faith with the other students during chapel time or after class as they build relationships with them. Sometimes it's to plant a seed that someone else will harvest. Sometimes it's to give the church fresh ideas and probably countless other ways that I am completely unaware of right now.

I've also realized that it is foolish to get jealous of other people, other churches, other countries who are helping many people come to faith. It seems so obvious, but it's so easy to forget that we are not working for ourselves but rather God is doing His work through us. Therefore, anytime we hear a story like I did, or about countries like China where Christianity is exploding, we too can rejoice because it's accomplishing the same goal. It's more people who will join us in heaven and not be lost!

Tallest Building In Japan...

is in Yokohama. Yokohama is also the second largest city in Japan. I have not been to the top of the building, I decided instead to pay to ride the world's tallest ferris wheel.