photos of the first week

Coming around the corner (after flying through customs, yeah God!!), I saw a familiar face.

A welcome party met me at the Kansai International Airport in Osaka. Every time I looked up, there was a new person, taking my picture or waiting to be introduced. It felt great knowing that these are the people that God has been preparing me for!

Bernie bravely took on the task of teaching me to drive the scooter. Isn't she cute? My little poche... She even has a basket for groceries! That's my place in the background.

We stopped by a summer festival to watch the kids and adults doing traditional Japanese dances in their yukatas (summer kimonos). One little girl caught my attention because she was so precise in her moves. She ended up being one of my future English students. Here she is (on the left) with another girl who will be my student next week.

At the end of the festival, we realized we were in a line for cookies. We didn't realize that we were all taking home a BOX of cookies! Before the festival, we had Okonomiyaki (the best I've ever tasted!). It's kind of like a pancake with cabbage topped with a brown sauce (kind of like a thick soy) and mayonaise. This version had bacon in it. Don't let the description scare you off! This region of Japan is famous for their Okonomiyaki.

This is a group photo from Tarumi Church during their welcome party for me last Sunday.

the lost words have been found

Because I have not been able to adequately describe how amazing God has been in the last 2 weeks, I thought I'd rip off a section of the Barton's newsletter for you all to read. Cheryl puts into words what's floating around in my brain but is unable to come out of my fingers.

"We’re praising God that Millie Michael arrived safely in Japan on August 21. It was a joy to meet her at the airport, along with nine people from Kobe and Osaka who represented the three churches in which she will teach English-Bible classes—the major part of her special assignment missionary responsibilities for the next two years.

Due to the lateness of her SAM appointment, it wasn’t possible to get Millie’s missionary visa prior to her coming to Japan. So she entered on a three-month tourist visa instead. Our plan was to apply for a change of status for her from within the country once she arrived. Little did we know that the Lord was preparing to do “immeasurably more” for all of us. Two days after she arrived, Bernie and Millie went to the Kobe immigration office and walked away shortly with the missionary visa stamped in her passport! What we’d hoped was only that they’d accept the application, assuming that we’d have to reappear at a later date to claim the visa. Never before, in all the visa processing work we’ve been part of, has it gone so smoothly and easily. Isn’t God good!

Because the visa came so quickly, Millie was also able to get her alien registration taken care of that very day. With that in hand, she was certified as completely legal and thus able to open her bank account. All this red tape for getting settled generally takes a lot of time, but Millie had most everything done in a very easy two days. And, the icing on the cake was that she also found a used motor scooter for a great price. The owner came down $50 in his asking price and threw in the cost of licensing and taxes, in addition to putting new tires on the scooter, changing a brake part, and even filling it up with gas! The phrase “immeasurably more” just kept resounding in our heads as we helped get Millie settled in Kobe during our nearly three weeks there last month. Praise the Lord!

Thank you for your prayers for us as we served Tarumi Church for three Sundays in August. In addition to preaching, we participated in several church programs. Among these was the monthly Mothers and Babies Class. Five mothers and their babies (ages 10-14 months) attended, learning baby massage and actions songs to sing with their infants. There was also a cake/coffee time in which the women shared personal concerns about being mothers and heard a short devotional message by Cheryl. Even without a pastor, this class meets regularly month after month. In fact, it was started by a lay person AFTER we moved to Tokyo. How good it was to see a tangible example of what we keep reminding Tarumi Church—that God has not forgotten them and is still at work there, giving visions and outreach ideas, and bringing new people into their midst.

Nevertheless, we do ask for prayer that God will provide a Japanese pastor soon.

We were thrilled to hear of yet another vision God has given Tarumi Church—that of comforting mothers who experience miscarriages, stillbirths, or the deaths of their very young infants. Atsumi Nijuken has a plan to make doll clothes-size baby gowns in which to dress these little ones for their funerals—something basically unheard of in Japan, where the tiny bodies are only disposed. She also wants to provide a venue through which grieving mothers can share their anguish and questions. Please pray that God will open the door for Nijuken-san into a hospital that would avail itself of the gowns and allow her to promote Ayumi, the support group she is forming. Pray also that the new website will lead many mothers to Ayumi, and ultimately to Christ, as Nijuken-san herself was led to Christ after the tragic death of her seven-month-old baby in utero."

Thanks for your words, Cheryl!

yes, this is for real

Oh, mercy....

plain preaching

This morning's devotions were right on:

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn't use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God's secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness-timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5, NLT)

I have a sermon brewing...

infinitely more

So,so,so much has happened in the last week. I can't believe I'm here and that I've only been here for one week. God has met me in amazing ways. His calling and leading me here is so evident right now. This scripture has rooted itself in my being:

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:16-21, NLT)

the first week

excessbaggage
narrowroads
deathhill
breathtakingviews
trainstrainstrains
summersounds
immigrationoffice
answeredprayers
okonomiyaki
newfriends
scooterlessons
godsvastlove
3oclockslump
bumpsinthenight
humidity
sweatcloths
perfectlyroundmelons
firstunderstandings
rumoredcentipedemonsters
sesameseedsaladdressing
summerfestival
kawaiigirlsinyukata

ouchy!!

I finally got my boxes under control! 9 boxes were shaved down to 5. It's a good thing too because 5 boxes were $350! Fortunately, I have the funds to do it. Just hope I have the space for everything...

I'm sparing you the picture and those of you who are squeamish might not want to read on...

When I was weighing my suitcase, I lifted up the 48lb. bag and rubbed against my toenails on the way up. 3 nails bent backwards and broke off at the quick. ARGHHHHHH!! So much for that pedicure I had planned...

photo journey to Japan

I put together this slide show to be shown at my commissioning service. For those who can't make it, I hope this gives you an idea of my experienes in Japan so far. Enjoy!

The One Million Man

Fuji TV runs a half-hour reality program called the "The One Million Man." In this program, a man must spend 1 million yen ($8,000; £6,000 or R65,000) within five hours, and he must spend it all on himself. A television crew follows him around to make the program for telecasting.

It turns out that spending 1 million yen in five hours on oneself is not as simple as it sounds, especially for a man. If the contestant does not spend all 1 million yen in five hours, he must return the full amount.

The show always opens with Mr. Tsutsui, dressed in a tuxedo, approaching a man in a street at random, offering him 1 million yen to spend on himself. If the man answers affirmatively, Mr. Tsutsui takes the cash out of his pocket and puts it in the man's hands, explaining the rules (no gifts, no gambling, no paying off debts, no sex-related services). A TV crew quickly wires the man for sound, the clock starts ticking, and someone with a camera follows him for the next five hours.

“I couldn't understand why the men needed so much time to spend the money,” a young man said. He was soon to find out for himself.

The young man first bought a computer, even though he admitted he knows nothing about computers and doesn't really need one. He then bought a set of DVDs! By that time, more than an hour had passed and he still had more than half of the money left to unload. In a mild panic, he wasted 45 minutes in a cab changing his mind repeatedly, as to where he wanted to go and spend the rest of his money. He ended up in a shop where he bought a Rolex, he did not need, and then wasted some more time in a bookstore looking through guidebooks.

Then he jumped into another cab to take him to the waterfront where he took a suite in an expensive hotel and had 11 minutes to wolf down a room-service meal.

He barely made it. He said he felt guilty and that he didn't enjoy spending the money at all. For the show's reality-TV aim, it was easy to prove that money makes "fools" out of human beings.

The disillusionment that overcomes these men as they try to spend their windfall meaningfully is heartbreaking. It shows directly and without any editorializing, that money doesn't buy happiness.

Source: The Japan Times, 2001-07-08

if I only knew then...

Tonight I'm scanning old photos from my very first trip to Japan. It's very scary looking at old hair styles, but pretty cool to see the smile on my face in all the pictures. I had no idea back then what God had in store for me today.