Christmas Photos

You Are Not Alone

Last week we had our VYM Fall Retreat. It was a really education and encouraging time. I will put in some pictures from it between the story I'd like to tell you from my interaction with a random Japanese woman this week.

Thursday night I got done teaching around 8pm and decided for several reasons to get off the train when I was halfway home to get some dinner. I ordered my food and started studying some Japanese when an older woman came in and sat at the table next to me. Before she opened the menu she took out a magnifying glass. Then, even with the magnifying glass she was pouring over the menu so closely her nose was practically touching. I watched from the corner of my eye for probably a minute or two trying to decide if I should say something and what. Finally I asked, "Would you like some help? Can you read the menu?".

She said she hadn't come to the restaurant for quite awhile and was trying to see if they still had neopolitan pasta which is what she typically orders. I looked around, probably not doing much better than her because I was trying to read all the Japanese! But, finally we asked the waiter and he helped us both out! After that we started to converse together. She asked the typical questions of where I was from and what I was doing in Japan, and why was my Japanese so good? I told her about being a missionary here for the last two years and she said, "oh you Christians are always so kind!" It seems she had some prior experience with the catholic church which was good though she is not a believer.

We continued to talk together until both of us had finished our meals. She told me all about her job as a physical therapist at a senior care center, the joys and difficulties. I told her about where I teach and the variety of people I work with. She was surprised to hear how many Lutheran churches there were around Tokyo. Before she left she said she was so happy to have someone talk to her for the first time at a restaurant like that. And I said I was so happy too because I usually have to eat alone!

I tell you this story not to say I am so great, but because I felt really blessed by it! So often I think about talking to people but chicken out because I wonder if they will feel I am intruding and find it strange, or if I can get the right Japanese out, or if they are busy etc. etc.. But, usually God uses it for his glory one way or another when I get over my insecurities and excuses. I pray too that perhaps that interaction will bring the woman closer to God. Who are you sitting next to today?

Typhoon Melor

I have now been through earthquakes and typhoons in Japan. Fortunately, none of them have caused any serious damage to me or those in my area. Typhoons are quite common in Japan, typically there are about 5 a year, but this was the first typhoon to come mainland in the last two years. When my mom asked me if people prepared for typhoons in Japan like we prepare for snowstorms in MN I had to agree that was pretty accurate. People made sure they had enough food and supplies at home, went home as early as they could, and listened for school cancelations in the morning.

It had been raining much of the week, but on Wednesday when I returned home the evening they said the typhoon was coming it had stopped and was quite calm. I went to bed and was woken up at 4am by the pounding rain and wind. I got up to go to the bathroom, make sure all my windows and doors were shut securely and went back to bed. When I woke up in the morning the sun was shining brightly and there was no sign of flooding water. It was still very windy though.

As I sat eating my breakfast it looked at though there was a child playing with a light switch dimming the lights up and down, up and down as the clouds swept by with great speed. I knew that the strong winds could cause many train delays so I headed out soon after I ate lunch to get to the Center for my 2pm class. I had checked first to see if we were going to have school, but the principal said that since the weather was fine we should try to come in and teach. For some people, like my VYM director who takes the subway, it was no problem.

But...for me when I reached the station I could tell there was going to be trouble. People were walking around talking on their cell phones saying, "there's no trains, there's no busses, there's no taxis!" . The inside of the station was filled with people talking to train staff about what to do. The train ticket gates were all blocked off and no one was going in. I too talked with a train staff who was directing people to another train line called the Keisei line. They had small maps printed for people with directions on how to walk there. They also had small white paper slips that are common to give to workers for any reason there is a train delay that they can give to their bosses at work as an excuse for their lateness.

I decided I had to take the 25 minute walk to the other station. On my way I snapped a picture with my cell phone of the long line of people waiting for a taxi. Usually the street is filled with taxis waiting for people. It was quite strange to see the bare street in stark contrast. When I arrived at the other station it too was totally packed with people. I had to wait in line to even walk down the stairs to the platform. Then I had to wait for three trains until I could finally get on one. Then from that train I transfered to the subway line and got to the Center. By the time I got there my usual train line was running, but I had no way to know how long it would take! For the JR train company alone there were over 3 million people like me who were delayed in Tokyo.

Most schools were canceled for the day and so many people were unable to get to work so it was a very quiet day. After the typhoon passes the Japanese say it is tyhpoon-ikka which means one typhoon pass. The more full meaning is that after the typhoon passes it sweeps away everything and leaves a clear bright blue sky. It truly was a beautiful day after the typhoon. Usually I am pretty clueless as to when we have a typhoon in Japan, I just think it is a rainstorm until someone tells me otherwise...but this time I couldn't really miss it!

Discover Tokyo Day 2009

Discover Tokyo Day is held every year in October to welcome the new missionaries to Tokyo. It gives them a chance to explore the Japanese culture through eating new foods, visiting new places, and seeing new things with Japanese people who can explain it to them. It is also a great chance for students from different churches and schools to mingle together as we break off into separate groups. This year there were four different groups; I was a green star and the only female. We had a great time. They listened to my suggestion to head out on the last of Tokyo's street cars still in service. There used to be 40 such street cars, but overtime they were replaced with more modern busses, trains or subways. We explored a famous shopping street called "obaachan Harajuku" which means that it resembles the famous shopping street Takeshita Dori in Harajuku. But, unlike Harajuku which is filled with teenagers finding interesting fashion items, this area is for older people. Some of the highlights were a red underwear store, senbei stands (Japanese rice crackers), a place you can buy keychains with your name written on it, a tatami store, and some old fashioned hat shops.

After wandering there and eating lunch we went to an old amusement park which is perfect for families with young children. It was fun for us too though. There was a small zoo, many rides, and a fishing pond. We chose to ride the ferris wheel and get a view of Tokyo from the sky. Then we headed back the direction we came and got off at a different stop along the street car to see a park famous for it's many cherry trees which blossom in the spring. It also had some waterfalls and a fountain.

It was strange this year to be familiar with basically all of the Japanese foods we sampled including daifuku, nori sembei, baby castella, and soba noodles. I have truly experienced soo much since coming to Tokyo two years ago. I still love going out though with the new missionaries to look with eyes that are new to everything for the first time. I took many pictures for the scavenger hunt of traditional Japanese things I wouldn't think to take pictures of anymore but which are really quite interesting and nice to have pictures of. I hope you enjoy looking at them!

Summer Reflections

I've been wanting to post a blog for about a month now about my travels this summer but haven't quite known how to formulate all my experiences into concise explanations. I have decided that it is impossible to express all the thoughts I had as I traveled to China, back to Japan, and then to the US this summer so I will just have to begin typing whatever comes out to the best of my ability. We all know that the world holds a very diverse array of cultures, but it is difficult to realize exactly how different from just reading books or sitting in a world history class until you live there. Even in Asia, there are stark contrasts from country to country. For example, it is easy for people to confuse China and Japan. But, as both my brother and I can tell you they are as I have been saying, "ぜんぜんちがいますcompletely different". Though, it was interesting as I showed pictures to my Japanese students of China they kept saying how much it looked like Japan 50 years ago, so we will see what China is like in 50 years!

The question I am still contemplating relates to those differences. Is there a best way to live, a best way to raise children, a best way to think and act? It seems to me that every culture has certain tendencies, but it doesn't mean that every person in that culture falls into those tendencies. Take education for example. In Japan there is too much pressure on young children to excel in their studies. They spend all their time, even on weekends and after school hours attending cram schools or being tutored with most of the emphasis on test scores to get into a good high school or college. In the United States there is not as much emphasis placed on high test scores but rather on one's class grades, extracurricular involvement, and personality. Thus, often students slide by putting in only half the effort they could into studying and expect good results.

I typically tend to seek out the middle ground when it comes to differences. When I arrived in the airport in Guangzhou in China I felt immediately refreshed to see children running around and playing as they waited to board the plane. They freely ran up and down at times shrieking in delight as they played and sparred with one another. I kept waiting for their parents to come over, tell them to be quiet and then take them back to sit down nicely. But, it never came. On trains, buses and on the streets it was the same. People talked freely on their cell phones, listened to music, and chatted noisily whereas public transportation in Tokyo is typically completely silent and if your phone rings you will get several icy stares. I found that both of these extremes became too much for me. China at times was too loud and I just wanted a moment of peace, but Japan is so silent at times it is stifling.

Yet, the biggest culture shock I experienced the entire summer was upon returning to my home country. As I entered the Chicago airport to transfer to my plane for Minneapolis I was so overwhelmed! Now, if you know the Ohare airport that in itself can be quite overwhelming. People everywhere were speaking a language I could understand every word of, but they looked like people that should be speaking a foreign language! The woman who took my ticket looked like she was from Pakistan, and the man who was my fight attendant was Asian, etc. After being in such a homogenous society for two years it blows my mind just how diverse America is.

I got over most of the reverse culture shock about America pretty quickly, but I could not get over the size of people. It really made me sad to see so many obese and overweight people. I have lost weight myself living in Japan due to the lifestyle. More walking, probably healthier foods, and probably some not so healthy stress. I hope when I return to America I can continue the healthy habits I have here and encourage others to do so as well in order to live a longer and happier life.

One last observation....Though many people feel America is becoming less of a Christian society it sure feels far from it to me after living where there is 1% Christianity. Everywhere I drove I passed hundreds of churches and billboards with Christian messages. Even the newspaper was filled with articles featuring Christian schools and churches, often on the front page.

The thing of course that does not differ between cultures is our need for help. We all have our own problems and weaknesses no matter how strong or well-off our country may seem. We all need God's grace. I can't tell you exactly what culture in best, and that isn't the point anyway, but I think I can better understand some of the differences. Today the sermon was based on the passage in Mark where the disciples are arguing about who is the greatest. The pastor pointed out that they were focusing on the wrong question. What is important in our life is not being the best, but loving one another. We ought not focus on how our differences may make us better or lesser than another, but we can use those differences to educate us on how to show love to the person, or even what aspect of their life they may need love. So often the differences in attitude and mindset on the Japanese really frustrate me and I have a hard time loving the way I should. Thanks be to God that he pours out his unconditional love on us and enables us to do the same when we fix our eyes on Jesus.

Isaiah 43:1-3a,4a

But now, this is what the LORD says -
he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the water, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy one of Israel, your Savior. Since you are precious in my sight, and because I love you.

What a beautiful promise God gives to us. I was just starting to feel overwhelmed with the tasks of the day and I knew that my worries were getting the better of me. I decided to stop and open God's Word and I'm so glad I did because this passage has lifted a weight from my head. God has promised this not just to Jacob, not just to Israel but to the people of Japan as well. My prayer is that the people of Japan will be filled with peace like I just was now when surrounded by the comfort of their loving Savior. I tell my students over and over that God loves them, and I hope one day they will all believe this truth.

New VYM Video

Last year in December Joshua Lange came to Japan through LCMS World Missions to take video and pictures of what the ministry is like here. The purpose is to create a video which can bring to life in a more real way the ministry of Japan than just photos and newsletters for people in America, to encourage people to come and serve through the VYM program, as well as to pray for the ministry in Japan. Josh just finished the first video. There will be a second one soon with the prayer requests. Here is a link to the first...enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/lcmsworldmission

You can also click on the link on the right side of this blog. It is under the section links, titled VYM Video.

Pentecost

Acts 2

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.


Almost a month ago now, was Pentecost, but I wanted to tell you a little about it anyway. Outside the church a bright beautiful piece of red cloth hung in front of the door. Many people wore either a red shirt, skirt, jewelry, or scarf. Some even painted their fingernails red! During the worship service a family from Madagascar sang some songs in their language as special music. They hope to sing at more of the Lutheran churches in Tokyo to spread God's love and joy through music. After the service we had a red foods potluck. We ate red rice with red beans, miso soup with red seaweed, red meat, and I made a tomato and chickpea curry. After eating we watched the movie "Paul" about his life and the first church. There was a buzz of God's spirit in the air and it was a wonderful Sunday.

Perfect Timing

Tuesday is always my busiest, but often the most rewarding, fun, exciting, and interesting days as well. It usually starts with a Circle of 12 Bible Meeting at a Center Church members house. We read the Bible together, discuss it, pray, and have fellowship. I always learn something new both because of the Bible time, and because it is all in Japanese so my brain is concentrating so hard to keep up! I usually have time to scarf down the lunch they have prepared or take it to go before I head to the Lutheran Center.

At 1:30 I lead an English Bible Study for three women before their English class. It is always a joy because they really seek to know and understand God's Word even though it is really むすかしい (difficult) as they often say. We have currently been using the Manga Messiah to study about the gospels. We had just read the portion for the day, and it mentioned that "these things happened so that the prophecy in Isaiah would be fulfilled". Yuki and Kumiko then asked first, what did that mean? What is Isaiah? and then they wanted to know what the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament was and why were there two separate sections? So, I had given a brief explanation and just then Hitomi (a Center Church member) who is also in their class came in late. Yuki and Kumiko looked quite relieved to have a Japanese speaker come in, especially one who is Christian to help explain it further. So, they re-stated the question and Hitomi jumped right in and gave them a wonderful explanation.

Hitomi is always so open in sharing her faith. And the thing that I love is that she shares a very personal faith with them. She never acts like she has all the answers, and she relates to them so well by sharing that the Bible is confusing for her at times too even after studying it so many years. She said that when she first started to study the Bible she thought that the God in the Old Testament and the God in the New Testament were different. Now she understands that they are the same God, but the God in the Old Testament just seems so scary, while the New Testament God is so kind and loving. As a New Years Resolution, Hitomi has been writing one Psalm a day into a notebook. Last month she finished going through all the Psalms and she will start to again. She took the opportunity to share this in our English class and read her favorite as well as my favorite Psalm for the women. She said in this Bible Study that reading through the Psalms has really helped her gain knowledge and understanding that she never had before.

Kumiko said "I want to know God more and more and more!". Charity and I were soo excited to hear her say that we couldn't stop beaming! I continue to see the amazing ways God's spirit is working in Kumiko's heart as she learns about God's love. I want her to just get baptized right now! But I know that is not quite God's timing yet, so I continue to pray and wait for his perfect timing. In the meantime, it brings me so much joy to see Hitomi have the opportunity to share her faith and Kumiko gradually grow closer to God.

Another exciting thing to me is that the discussion from Bible Time often continues even into our class time, even though we move into a different room! There is often a transition time for them to talk together in Japanese as I go into the office to get my materials for class. Yesterday, when I went into the classroom they had been talking about trials, and if we need them in our life.

So, we talked about how God does not want to see us suffer, but he can use all things for good. I talked about how we need both the rain and the sun to make it a little easier to understand. We also looked at Romans 5:3-4 showing that "Not only so, but we[b] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope." I said, God is with us in the trials, God is with us when we are sad, God is with us in the good and the bad,

I was surprised when Yuki, who usually isn't as interested in talking about the Bible or God as Kumiko jumped in and said, "Don't be afraid, God is with you always!" God's truth is being revealed to these women whether they desire to be Christian or not! I cannot praise God enough for his goodness and grace to these women.

One of my favorite songs to sing in Japanese is "In His Time" which talks about how God makes all things beautiful in His time. It is so difficult to wait for the beautiful blossom of a flower, or in this case, to see someone baptized. But, I know He is faithful and He will do it. (1 Thess.)

Kyoto Trip - Day Three

Our third day in Kyoto was another hot and sunny day. Kim and I grabbed some Mr. Donut and headed to the river again to eat on a stone turtle in the middle of the river. After eating I wrote some postcards and then left Kim to dry her feet (they had been dipped in the river) while I went to the post office to mail them. When I came back there was a jr. high school group of like 60 girls about to cross so we were stuck on opposite sides for quite some time as they were all crossing the stepping stones. It made for quite an amusing time though because they, of course being quite curious about foreigners, wanted to practice their English. I asked them, "How old are you?" and they made the common mistake of responding "I'm fine thank you". Then, their English teacher, who I hadn't seen since she was wearing a hat, came over and corrected them. They wanted to know if I could speak Japanese so she was like, "Ask her yourself".

A group of girls began to ask me all kinds of questions. They would huddle together and one girl would run over to ask me a question like, ""Where are you from?", and then I'd answer, and they'd giggle and run back to tell the group and think of another question. Eventually they got brave enough to come over and interview me together. They wanted to know if I had a boyfriend and so I said yes, and that I was engaged. I showed them my ring, but it didn't make much difference because by then they were already screaming and squealing. "You soo happy!", they said. Then on girl began to pat her belly and ask, "Baby, baby?" I was like, "no, no, no", and shaking my head. Hah, so then another girl said in Japanese "たくさん作ってください。please make lots of babies" haha!

Our third day in Kyoto was another hot and sunny day. Kim and I g
After that wonderful encounter and waving goodbye to them for about five minutes while saying "bye bye!", Kim and I headed to meet my brothers friend Kaori who lives near Kytoto. We had lunch at a tofu shop and wandered the shopping streets. We also visited two of the most famous temples in Kyoto, the Kinkakuji (Golden Temple) and Kiyomizudera (Clear Water Temple).

We also wandered on Ponto Street, which is infamous for being an old gay district. The street now has many restaurants and venues. I read later that the restaurant owners don't like foreigners eating there, but we didn't eat there anyway.


It was a really relaxing day, and we spent the end of it sitting along a different part of the river listening to two men beautifully play the guitar.

Kyoto Trip - Day Two

Thursday, April 30

Today we went to Himeji Castle. It is so large! We even got to see a side tower that is not usually open to the public. The whole castle is definitely designed in a way to protect the people living there. The area around the castle is like a maze. Everywhere there are holes in the walls, and even hiding trap spots for people to shoot from or dump boiling water onto the victims below. Most of the 9 floors (though from the outside it appears that there are 8) were used to store weapons and gunpowder. Next to the castle was another long building where the prince and princess lived with many servants. They had quite a beautiful view from their rooms.



My favorite place though was actually a large garden next to the castle. It was built on the exact location of a samurai residence which had nine sections. In each of the sections a different aspect of Japanese gardens were focused on such as bamboo, a pond, etc. In the bamboo area there was a crane walking around and enjoying the water. There was also wisteria in bloom which I was hoping to see.
We had matcha (green) tea and Japanese sweets in a tea house with people from France, New Zealand, Canada and Japan. All-together five countries enjoying Japanese tea together!




On the train ride from Osaka to Himeji we rode a really nice express train and from it we could see the worlds longest suspension bridge.

Kyoto Trip - Day One

Last week I went to Kyoto for four days. It was my first time to visit what everyone considers the cultural center of Japan. It wasn't as traditional and different from Tokyo as I was expecting based on everyone's description of it, but I think in general the people are more friendly and relaxed. It was beautiful also to look any direction in the city and see mountains.

Wednesday, April 29

Today Kim and I arrived in Kyoto at 5:30am from the Tokyo night bus. I could only sleep maybe two hours from 1-3am and wasn't comfortable so I don't think I will choose that option again though it is about half the price of taking the Shinkansen (bullet train). First, I was using my jacket as a pillow, but then it got quite cold, so I was warmer but left without a pillow. Nothing was open in the area when we arrived so we decided to just start wandering. As we were walking, a bird pooped on my head! Fortunately Kim had a water bottle, and I had a hand towel, so we did a quick shower on the sidewalk and went on our way. (Later that week I felt another drop on my head but it was just a large drop of water fortunately!) Eventually we found a 24 hour McDonalds where we got some breakfast and made a game plan for the day. How do you like this breakfast sign! From there we walked to the Emperor's Palace where we couldn't see much because besides the park area outside you need to make and advance reservation.

So, we dropped of our luggage once we found the Kyoto Lutheran Church where we were staying which has many guest rooms. Then, we hopped a bus to the Ginkakuji temple, which never was covered in gin (silver) because of a war which took away the finances.


Overall, this turned out to be my favorite temple because it wasn't as large and crowded. It was a Zen temple, so it had very interesting sand gardens with patterns that we even saw a man forming. From there, we climbed up the Daimonji- yama (mountain). On the way, there was a mountain spring that I filled my water bottle with. At the peak is a huge area where the kanji for "big" is displayed on the mountain in August. Small fires are lit between stone rocks which spell out the kanji so large you can see it from the city. There are five huge kanji like this that are lit on various mountains surrounding Kyoto in August for their festival. We ate lunch at this site looking down at the city of Kyoto.



After lunch we continued our hike in the mountains along and the ridge and then back down. On the way we saw a mountain stream waterfall which pilgrims stand 7 meters below to pray. Along the way we said "konnichiwa" hello to many people, and chatted with a few. Everyone was very concerned when they learned we were American's and warned us to be careful when we went back home. But, I assured them that actually I was going to be living in Japan for another year. On the return route we walked along the Path of Philosophers where you can see more temples and shops. We stopped at one cafe where I ate sakura (cherry blossom) flavor ice cream with green tea mochi and azuki beans which was delicious.


It was a great first day in Kyoto, and it was so refreshing to go hiking in nature outside of the city!