Translation: English as a second language at Christ Community Church.
Last night was week 3 for this new ministry that has started up at CCC here in Wheaton, IL. The ESL team is rolling with the changes that are going on (almost weekly) as we try to navigate this new way to reach out to our community. Our students show up every week eager to learn. It's inspiring for me to see their eagerness as I'm trying to learn Japanese. I know a bit of their frustration and joy, being a student myself.
The majority of our students are Spanish speakers from Mexico. But last night we had a family of 3 come for the first time from Vietnam and have one French speaker from Cameroon. I'm humbled when I hear why these people are taking the class. A student told me last night that he wants to learn enough English so that he can take classes at a local college for his job. Some people need the language so they won't be taken advantage of by a dishonest boss. Some need to learn how to communicate with their children whose primary language has become English.
I don't think I was prepared to have this much responsibility when I signed up for this. It is an awesome opportunity for me to learn some skills for teaching English in Japan. But, my prayer is that the Lord will teach me to be faithful with this time of ministry now, for the sake of these students--not just looking to how this will benefit me.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
new links
Have you noticed how many posts I've put in lately? What a good little blogger I am!
Take a look on the left hand side of the screen and you will see some new links. Asian Access is the missions organization that is sending me to Japan. Japan Stories is an awesome podcast where you can listen to a short (5-7 minutes) broadcast of missionary stories from Asian Access. It's a great way to keep in touch with what is happening on the field. And, it's pretty entertaining as well!
Beyond that, I will have my 3rd Japanese lesson this week with Mick (or Mitsuru, his given Japanese name). So far it's been a huge encouragement to meet with him and to feel like this Japan thing is a reality. Last Sunday I went with Mick to his Japanese church service. I felt like I was back in Japan! We also went to a Japanese supermarket in the Chicago area! They have any kind of Japanese food I could ever want to have this side of the ocean. Praise God for this newfound motivation!
Take a look on the left hand side of the screen and you will see some new links. Asian Access is the missions organization that is sending me to Japan. Japan Stories is an awesome podcast where you can listen to a short (5-7 minutes) broadcast of missionary stories from Asian Access. It's a great way to keep in touch with what is happening on the field. And, it's pretty entertaining as well!
Beyond that, I will have my 3rd Japanese lesson this week with Mick (or Mitsuru, his given Japanese name). So far it's been a huge encouragement to meet with him and to feel like this Japan thing is a reality. Last Sunday I went with Mick to his Japanese church service. I felt like I was back in Japan! We also went to a Japanese supermarket in the Chicago area! They have any kind of Japanese food I could ever want to have this side of the ocean. Praise God for this newfound motivation!
Monday, February 06, 2006
A Window Seat on a Bullet Train into Japan
Here is a fresh look at Japan from a first-time visitor to the country. This entry was written by Ken Exner for his travelogue, and was slightly abbridged with permission from the writer. Ken's full entry can be read here: http://www.asianaccess.org/profiles/jpn-description.html
and you can see his photos, too.
Tokyo-Nikko-Hakone-Takayama-Hiroshima-Kyoto
October 24-November 11, 2002
"For three weeks now, I haven't needed or wanted the counsel of the empty page. Japan has been a warm embrace, a beguiling friend, a show of lights, a geisha bow. Twenty days have felt like two. I didn't need to write because my waking thoughts were deeply invested in Japan.This country is for me, and may always be, a flash of excitement -- a window seat on a bullet train, time-lapse travel through a time-warped land. Japan is a place that has seemingly reset the properties of time. It moves at a frenetic pace, but stops to idly sip tea. It's a place that hurls eagerly into the future with a velocity unimpeded by the weight of its reverence for the past. It preserves as much as it reinvents.Japan is a riddle of contradictions. It is as much about Zen, Kabuki, Sumo, and Geisha as it is about Sony, Toyota, and Panasonic. It is a hyper-modern sprawling metropolis; it is Mt. Fuji peering through the clouds over miles and miles of autumn-burnt parklands. It is a maze of metal and glass skyrises; it is a narrow alleyway with wooden homes with dragon-tiled roofs. Japan is heavy drinking -- sake, whiskey and beer -- but it is also a work ethic that revolutionized the world. It is Sweet Home Alabama crooned karaoke-style; it is a late-night Yakitori snack from 7-11 (or wait--was that just me?) Japan is a public bathhouse where tattooed and fingerless gangsters (yakuza) bathe communally in lavender- and chamomile-scented spas (onsens). I could go on, but put simply – Japan is an enchanting amalgam of contrasts, where the juxtaposition of old and new, delicate and bold, revelry and refrain, colors the country brilliant and fires the pulse of its people electric.Japan is also a land of gentle grace that survives long-forfeited imperial ambitions. With honorific salutations and demure bows, the people of Japan are as hospitable and polite as you may find anywhere in the world. If you pull out a map on the street and look at it cross-eyed, a random pedestrian will present himself to you within ten seconds to offer help. Say "Arigato gozaimasu" (thank you) and he may even walk you to your destination. In striking contrast to the rest of Asia (and maybe even the rest of the world), Japan is a teenage wonderland of post-modern punk. It is a Hello Kitty button on a Sex Pistols T-shirt. Gothic makeup, black taffeta and steel-studded belts seem to be as acceptable as rainbow stickers and Powder Puff Girl handbags. For all the piercings and all the hairstyles that would make even a Londoner turn his head, the youth of Japan have an enduring affinity (that seems to follow them late into their twenties) for anything that is cute. From saccharine Sanrio to the cries of "Kawaii!" (how cute!), it's hard not to notice this generation’s obsession with the commercially cute. (They even manage to make punk rock look cute.) They may try to act sick and twisted in outfits that make their parents cringe, but the kids in Japan are still cheek-pinchingly adorable. It's too early for me to know how lasting an impression this place will have on me, but what I do know is that I am compelled to visit again."
and you can see his photos, too.
Tokyo-Nikko-Hakone-Takayama-Hiroshima-Kyoto
October 24-November 11, 2002
"For three weeks now, I haven't needed or wanted the counsel of the empty page. Japan has been a warm embrace, a beguiling friend, a show of lights, a geisha bow. Twenty days have felt like two. I didn't need to write because my waking thoughts were deeply invested in Japan.This country is for me, and may always be, a flash of excitement -- a window seat on a bullet train, time-lapse travel through a time-warped land. Japan is a place that has seemingly reset the properties of time. It moves at a frenetic pace, but stops to idly sip tea. It's a place that hurls eagerly into the future with a velocity unimpeded by the weight of its reverence for the past. It preserves as much as it reinvents.Japan is a riddle of contradictions. It is as much about Zen, Kabuki, Sumo, and Geisha as it is about Sony, Toyota, and Panasonic. It is a hyper-modern sprawling metropolis; it is Mt. Fuji peering through the clouds over miles and miles of autumn-burnt parklands. It is a maze of metal and glass skyrises; it is a narrow alleyway with wooden homes with dragon-tiled roofs. Japan is heavy drinking -- sake, whiskey and beer -- but it is also a work ethic that revolutionized the world. It is Sweet Home Alabama crooned karaoke-style; it is a late-night Yakitori snack from 7-11 (or wait--was that just me?) Japan is a public bathhouse where tattooed and fingerless gangsters (yakuza) bathe communally in lavender- and chamomile-scented spas (onsens). I could go on, but put simply – Japan is an enchanting amalgam of contrasts, where the juxtaposition of old and new, delicate and bold, revelry and refrain, colors the country brilliant and fires the pulse of its people electric.Japan is also a land of gentle grace that survives long-forfeited imperial ambitions. With honorific salutations and demure bows, the people of Japan are as hospitable and polite as you may find anywhere in the world. If you pull out a map on the street and look at it cross-eyed, a random pedestrian will present himself to you within ten seconds to offer help. Say "Arigato gozaimasu" (thank you) and he may even walk you to your destination. In striking contrast to the rest of Asia (and maybe even the rest of the world), Japan is a teenage wonderland of post-modern punk. It is a Hello Kitty button on a Sex Pistols T-shirt. Gothic makeup, black taffeta and steel-studded belts seem to be as acceptable as rainbow stickers and Powder Puff Girl handbags. For all the piercings and all the hairstyles that would make even a Londoner turn his head, the youth of Japan have an enduring affinity (that seems to follow them late into their twenties) for anything that is cute. From saccharine Sanrio to the cries of "Kawaii!" (how cute!), it's hard not to notice this generation’s obsession with the commercially cute. (They even manage to make punk rock look cute.) They may try to act sick and twisted in outfits that make their parents cringe, but the kids in Japan are still cheek-pinchingly adorable. It's too early for me to know how lasting an impression this place will have on me, but what I do know is that I am compelled to visit again."
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
The Doting Husbands Association
Here's a cultural insight into the Japanese family. I received a copy of this article from Asian Access today. Very interesting...
The Doting Husbands Association?
Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:44 AM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - A group of Japanese men hoping to encourage the nation's legions of workaholic husbands to head home early and show their wives some appreciation have proclaimed Tuesday "Beloved Wives Day."
The group, which calls itself the "Japan Doting Husbands Association," urged men to get home by 8 p.m. and say thanks to their wives for all they do.
"Many men can't put their feelings of gratitude toward their wives into words. Work is number one for them," the non-profit group says on its Website, http://www.aisaika.org
"This attitude is putting Japanese marriages under great pressure."
Statistics bear this out. Japan's divorce rate has risen steadily over the years. In 2004, more than one in three marriages ended in divorce.
The group urges men to improve the marital mood through five "golden rules" including going home early, calling wives by their given name and looking them in the eyes when talking.
Many Japanese husbands call their wives "you" rather than addressing them by name, or in some cases merely grunt.
The group's homepage includes a column where husbands can write down feelings they are too shy to say out loud.
"I'm sorry I had a car accident. I'm sorry I'm away so much on business trips. I'm sorry I end up sleeping at the office so often," said one from a man in Kanagawa, near to Tokyo.
"Thank you for loving me just the same."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
The Doting Husbands Association?
Tue Jan 31, 2006 8:44 AM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - A group of Japanese men hoping to encourage the nation's legions of workaholic husbands to head home early and show their wives some appreciation have proclaimed Tuesday "Beloved Wives Day."
The group, which calls itself the "Japan Doting Husbands Association," urged men to get home by 8 p.m. and say thanks to their wives for all they do.
"Many men can't put their feelings of gratitude toward their wives into words. Work is number one for them," the non-profit group says on its Website, http://www.aisaika.org
"This attitude is putting Japanese marriages under great pressure."
Statistics bear this out. Japan's divorce rate has risen steadily over the years. In 2004, more than one in three marriages ended in divorce.
The group urges men to improve the marital mood through five "golden rules" including going home early, calling wives by their given name and looking them in the eyes when talking.
Many Japanese husbands call their wives "you" rather than addressing them by name, or in some cases merely grunt.
The group's homepage includes a column where husbands can write down feelings they are too shy to say out loud.
"I'm sorry I had a car accident. I'm sorry I'm away so much on business trips. I'm sorry I end up sleeping at the office so often," said one from a man in Kanagawa, near to Tokyo.
"Thank you for loving me just the same."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
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