My City

This is a post that I'd started while in Japan and never got to finish.  It's written about the last day of adventuring I got to have before leaving Tokyo - and oh what a day it was!  :)  The date referred to is July 25th.

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So, yesterday was a day that can only be described one moment at a time. I had an awesome day of touring, adventure, and silliness with Liz, Amanda, and Tony in my favorite city: Tokyo.

It began with meeting Liz for my first real taste of Japanese ramen.  She had consulted with a friend to find the best ramen in Tokyo and it happened to be right near Takadanobaba station. 


We had a small difficulty finding it (due in part to both of our lack of kanji-reading skills) but find it we did.  I had never been to a ramen shop before but let me tell you, this stuff is delicious.  We walked in, placed our order via a vending-machine-like thing that spit out both our change and a ticket telling our order to the chefs, and found a couple of stools at the bar.

We already looked odd being two white girls in a ramen bar frequented by mostly Japanese businessmen, but we couldn't help but accept the added oddness factor when the chef offered us two white paper aprons to protect our clothes from the sloshing ramen.  We looked amazing, let me tell you.  Sitting there, eating the most delicious ramen in the world (take note that ramen you get in America that comes out of those little inexpensive packages is not real ramen and should never be considered ramen), Liz and I both giggled over the fact that we recognized various American boy bands being played over the speakers.  In case we weren't being stared at enough, Liz started singing along to the songs from our adolescent years, much to the ramen guy's amusement.  I had to laugh.  It was a good experience. :)


From there, we headed down to Harajuku to visit the Meiji Jingu shrine (dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken) which is surrounded by a large forest planted in 1920 with trees from all over the world.  The forest was a pleasant change from the busy, humid life of Harajuku, and the garden within is beautiful.  After passing through two huge tori gates, we passed through the shrine area.  I would tell you all about it but frankly, shrines leave me with an empty feeling, so we'll move on.

Our moods improved significantly as we walked back towards Harajuku station and down Takeshita street, one of my favorite places in all of Japan, to get one of my favorite things in all of Japan: crepes!  Thin, light crepes rolled into a cone filled with lemon sorbet, fresh berries, and whipped cream!  Ah!  Oishii! (Yummy!)  Crepe stands are a familiar fixture in this part of town and you can get a crepe filled with anything from ice cream, to fruit, to ceasar salad!  (We brought the team from Pennsylvania here on their sightseeing day.  They thought they were just as amazing as we said!)

After thoroughly enjoying our crepes, we moved on to Shibuya to see the famous street crossing.  On any given day, thousands of people cross at this one intersection, creating a chaotic scramble of pedestrians every 30 seconds.  
We watched a few from the ground before actually crossing the street and heading up past the busiest Starbucks in the world to meet Amanda and Tony.  Together, the four of us crossed the street yet again and headed up to the upper floor of Shibuya station where you can get a bird's eye view of the crossing.


From Shibuya, we headed to Shinjuku (home of my notorious day of disorientation) to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (which was a lot easier to find this time around). 

At the top of each tower, there is an observation floor where you can see an almost 360 degree view of Tokyo.  It is absolutely breathtaking to see.  You feel like you're right in the middle of it, yet so far above it all that it's hardly even real.  Miles and miles of city stretch out before you so that you feel like you're in an ocean of buildings from horizon to horizon.

 Isn't my city lovely?  :)  From Shinjuku, we headed off to see the most famous structure in Tokyo: Tokyo Tower.  I was most excited to see the symbolic tower of all the things we saw that day.  Looking a lot like the Eiffel tower, it stretches 333 meters (1,092 feet), making it taller than it's French cousin.  It is one of the landmarks that can be seen from almost anywhere in the city, helping easily-lost people (like me) find their bearings in the city where nothing goes in a straight line. 

We had a good time taking pictures and resting for a while by the foot of it before heading off again to find a good place in the city to see it lit up at night.


 Amanda took us to Roppongi Hills, the theater district and one of the more high-end areas of Tokyo. From there, I caught this beautiful shot of the tower glowing against the backdrop of the city.  I think this is one of my favorite shots taken the whole trip

 

Well, do you like it? This is my city.  A little place I like to call Tokyo.  I really feel like I could spend the rest of my life exploring it and never know all of it's mysteries.  Each day I spent in it was an adventure and every day I long to go back reminds me of the awesome times I had there.  One day, the Lord will bring me back and I will get to experience every-day adventures once again.  Just typing these words brings a smile to my face as I look both forward at the future and backward at the fond memories I keep close.

Thank you for reading and I hope to post another of my fond memories of my time in Tokyo soon!

God bless you,

Amanda

The Trains

Now that I'm back in America, I've been reviewing my time in Japan and I've come to realize that there are an awful lot of holes in this blog that I still have to fill in!  Like all the times I told you I would write about an experience... and never did.  Honto gomen nasai! (I'm really sorry!)  From now on, I'll be working to fill in those gaps and hopefully give you a more rounded picture of my time in Japan while keeping you updated on my process of returning to my favorite country. 

Firstly, everyone keeps asking why I would continuously get lost on the Tokyo train/subway system.  Let me explain it this way: imagine a plate of spaghetti with each of the train lines as a string of spaghetti.  Those are the JR (Japan Rail) lines that run above ground. Now imagine that plate of spaghetti on top of another plate of spaghetti.  The second plate represents the metro (subway) lines that run under ground.  Nothing goes in a straight line.  Some intersect, cross, or end randomly.  Almost nothing is in a language you can understand.  And once you find the correct line to follow, at the end of it is another equally perplexing set of options as to how to either connect to another line or properly exit the station at which you've just arrived (more of which is in a language you mostly don't understand).  Asking for directions would help, except for the fact that everyone around speaks a language you mostly don't understand.  Even with a map, some of the stations are so confusing that the Japanese themselves get lost if they're in an unfamiliar station. 

In fact, let me put it this way:

These are the subways (the bottom plate of spaghetti).

 

Which live underneath the JR lines (the top plate of spaghetti):

Which sometimes intersect at certain stations, creating an interweb of convenient (yet confusing) transport to anywhere in the city.

The station I most often got lost at was Shinjuku station.  It is the busiest station in the world, processing more than 3 MILLION people PER DAY.  An architectural brain-bender, it has several levels, various shopping centers, and over 300 exits.  It wasn't until Amanda Fosburg gave me a tour one day that I finally got the hang of the giant station.  The first time I tried using the trains alone took me through this station and was responsible for one of my seasons of disorientation that day.  It was this underground walkway that so befuddled my brain:

The trick is to know the color of your line and then follow the signs.  Trouble sprouts when the color of your line suddenly disappears from the signs above your head.  I had never been adept at reading maps or looking for signs until I spent the better part of 2 months learning Japan's rail systems.  It is comforting to know that I am not the only one who got lost.  Even Pastor Shelley got lost once when I was with her, which is another story worth telling (another time!). 

Trains were just one of the many ways God used to humble me during my time in Japan.  I don't take it for granted that I know where I am going now that I am back in my hometown, nor that I have a car to get me there.  Although, I have to admit that I do miss having an adventure ever day, as one never knows what route one will take on the trains in Tokyo!  :)  To God be the glory, I enjoy every memory I have of those moments this past summer.  And it taught me this; Every day is an adventure - if you're willing to look for it!

Stateside Again

Here I am, stateside again.  I've been spending the last couple of days unpacking and generally getting used to life back in America again.  The jet lag has been a struggle to deal with, but the wedding I came back in time to be a part of went beautifully and I was glad to have been able to celebrate my dear friends' special day. 

I got home early Thursday morning around 2:00 am by way of Tokyo then Toronto then Chicago then Detroit.  After spending over 35 hours awake, I slept for a while before waking up and heading to wedding rehearsal Thursday afternoon.  Friday was the wedding (which was simply lovely), and Saturday I spent in the fine company of my family.  Sunday was my first time back at my home church since leaving for Japan and it was great seeing the faces of people that I missed. 

Today, Monday, was a lovely day in Toledo, Ohio.  I got to catch up with two of my good friends during breakfast this morning and bid them farewell as they both soon return to other parts of the country. 

Being back in the US again is somewhat strange as I have not gotten used to things quite yet.  Like this morning I got confused trying to pay for my bagel when I pulled out a 1,000 yen bill from my wallet.  I stared at it a minute in my jet lagged delirium until I realized my mistake and changed to dollars.  Driving on the right side of the road again is making my stomach feel all twisty - like I'm in constant fear of running into someone.  I can't shake the feeling that I'm on the "wrong" side of the road!  Driving at all is strange since I haven't had need or want of it in over 2 months.  I miss walking places and being able to just run down to the combini to pick up a bento or some onigiri and milk tea.  I miss fish.  And rice.  And a lot of other things.  I made Japanese chicken curry for my family the other night and was surprised to find that they liked it!  It sure satisfied the craving for Japanese food I had that day!  My stomach is not used to eating so much bread and meat and I feel heavy and full after every meal.  I keep wanting to use Japanese phrases in my normal conversation but have to stop and realize that the people around me no longer understand what I'm saying.  My siblings think it's funny how I translate for myself automatically after saying something in Japanese.  Some things are just best expressed in another language!

All of these adjustments are taking place gradually, but as I get used to life back in America again, my heart still longs for the days of adventure when every time I stepped out of the door commenced a new and unique learning experience.  I am learning new things about my hometown that I didn't know and am noticing all the various changes that have happened since I've been gone.  But my heart still yearns for Japan.  Some have asked me if I am having a hard time being back since I love being in Japan so much.  Truthfully, I am content in my situation.  I have comfort in knowing that some day I'll be back and that each day I am in the US is just one day closer to my return.  God has something in store for me in America in the near future, I'm just not sure what it is just yet.  Learning to trust in God has been one of the best by-products of my time in Japan.  Now I'm exercising that learned trait concerning both my near and distant future.  He has successfully gotten me to Japan and back.  I'm sure he's got the rest completely under control. :)

Pray for me as I continue to seek God's will in my life and that I may finally conquer jet lag and sleep on a normal schedule once again.  Thank you for all your prayers and keep looking for more remembered experiences from this summer in Tokyo, Japan!

Sayonara Time is the Hardest Time

Today was spent in the company of the wonderful team from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania as we explored the city and visited some of my favorite places.  We went to Harajuku and walked Takeshita Street, ate lunch at a kaiten zushi restaurant, shopped at the Oriental Bazaar, had delicious crepes, saw the Shibuya crossing, took pictures at the Hachiko statue, walked through the Meiji Jingu park, and made it all home safely!  Whew! 

I really enjoyed showing them my favorite spots in Tokyo today and had some nostalgic moments as I remembered the good times I've had there in these past two months.  Wednesday is my last day here and it will be a short one since I leave around noon for Narita airport.  God has been so good to me these last few days in Japan and I can say that I have been blessed beyond reason or measure to have been here so long. 

Now I am packing and my heart is breaking a little more each time I place something in my bag.  I don't want to leave.  I never want to leave.  But God is calling me home right now for a time until His plans are revealed for me to return here again.  Everyone keeps asking me "when will you come back?" and I always answer "as soon as God lets me."  I'm attached to this country now more than I ever have been to another place, people, or city.  God has truly placed me here for a season to prepare me for a lifetime of ministry in this place and I can't think of a better plan for my life.  I will cry rivers on the plane, no doubt, but I have comfort in the knowledge that I will come back and it will be for a much longer season than the short 2 month period I was here.  If anything, I can trust in the fact that if God got me here once, he can do it again!  All in His plan and His timing. 

So, I'd love to tell you of the last few days.  Like how we've seen 3 new people come to Christ since I last posted, how the Lord has brought a team of worshipers from Pennsylvania to usher in the sound of hope to this city, or how I've been swept up in a trillion emotions over leaving and yet seeing a hundred lovely faces in my mind that all hold good memories for me.  I can't wait to return to see them again.  Some will be older, some will be taller, some will be farther away, but every one of them will always be near to my heart. All of these stories I'd love to tell you, but they're going to have to wait until I return home and continue to recount all of the amazing adventures God has allowed me to experience here in Japan.  Please continue to read this blog if you could spare a few minutes and never stop praying for Japan.  We need your continued support and blessing in this country like never before!  God is definitely starting to do something new and we can't quite see it yet.  But one day, the day will come when we look back on these moments and say, "Wow!  Way back then, God was completely setting us up for the awesome things He's doing now!" 

Next time I post will be back in the states, but I hope you will continue to pray for me and God's leading as we discover the path for my life.  Also, keep praying for those devastated by the earthquake.  They need your help, but above all, they need the Lord's help.  Thank you and I pray each of you have received a little bit of a blessing from reading my posts all the time I was in Japan.  You are faithful readers, each and every one of you and I admire you for that.  Arigatou gozamiasu.

Mata ne!

This post has no title because honestly too much happened this past week for me to cleverly come up with an all-encompassing one.  Let's review the past week starting from where I left off - trying not to get lost on the trains... again. (Recent story of my life.)

On Monday, I went to Harajuku with Amanda and Liz for shopping and sushi, both of which were amazing.  It was good to just get out and walk around and for that, one of the best places is Harajuku!  Being the center of Japanese fashion, it has the best people-watching in all of Tokyo!  After hitting up some of the stores on Takeshita Street, we went to kaiten zushi, a sushi bar that has a conveyor belt that circles the room that carries sushi right in front of you.  The plates are different colors and the colors correspond to how much the sushi costs.  At the end, they just add up your plates and pay that way.  Very entertaining (and delicious!) experience. :)

Tuesday, I worked cleaning the office with Pastor Shelley in the morning, cleaned the upstairs of the Mission House for the Snider's who returned that night, worked on my sermon for Sunday, and prepared for Wednesday night youth service!  Whew!

Wednesday began with working outside (only for a short time since it was close to 100 degrees and about a zillion percent humidity).  The rest of the day was spend finishing preparations for youth at Yokota, traveling to the church, and having a blast with some of the best teenagers in Japan.  I was sad to leave them but it was a good experience that taught me a lot.  (I hope they learned a little something, too, lol)

Thursday found me furiously working on my sermon for Sunday as it had to be sent to the translator by the end of that day.  That afternoon, I went to help the lovely Miss Amanda Fosburg teach her last English class of the year at Megumi church.  It was sad again, leaving the kids, but they were so much fun I can't help but smile when I think of them.  You'll have to see my facebook for the cutest pictures of them.

Friday dawned a little too early for my taste (after I had stayed up late finishing my sermon...) and I found myself again on the road up to Tohoku for relief work.  It was a lovely day that made for great pictures of the mountains that rose up out of the rice fields and clear pictures of the devastated city of Shichigahama once we arrived.  The pictures from my previous trip were blurry due to the perpetual rain that weighed down the mud we dug up out of the rain gutters.  This trip was for a different purpose: bicycles.  We arrived Saturday at Higashi Matsushima at 10:00 in the morning to discover that 70 adult bicycles had already been delivered and were standing in neat rows (very Japanese) for distribution.  In the course of the morning, we installed a bunch of baby seats, unloaded a truck full of 70-some more children's bikes, correctly distributed each bike to it's new owner, took a ton of pictures, and got some unfortunately nasty sunburns.  (Lucky for me the Mission House sports three lovely aloe plants for which I am eternally grateful.) 

Sunday was another scorching hot day.  I preached in both the morning and afternoon services which were translated line by line into Japanese.  I'd never preached to a real congregation before, nor to an international congregation, nor with translation, nor an entirely scripted sermon.  In some ways, it was great since all I had to do was basically read what I had written, but in other ways I missed the spontaneous creativity of extemporaneous preaching.  Glory to God though, several people told me later that it was just what they needed to hear and they identified with what I had said.  Knowing that my words somehow made a way for people to get closer to the Lord is the greatest congratulations I could wish for.  

Monday was a blissful day off after a long week of traveling and preaching.  I met up with Amanda Fosburg and Liz Dunagan in Shinjuku for shopping and my first purikura (photo booth) experience.  Japanese photo booths are possibly the most fun/entertaining thing I've seen since I discovered DDR my freshman year.  Speaking of DDR, I couldn't leave the arcade without dragging Liz onto the game with me for 4 complete songs of awesomeness.  After that, we went shopping for some souvenirs (since we're all leaving somewhat shortly) and then off to this amazing burger place for dinner with some more friends.  I'll never forget the inspirational conversation that happened afterwards at Starbucks, however.  You'll just have to wait for a few years to hear the completion of that story, Lord willing. ;)  Good stuff.

Tuesday and Wednesday required my utmost concentration and detail-oriented attention (which is difficult to get for more than 5 minutes at a time).  I addressed envelopes for a mailing Pastor Shelley is doing soon for Teen Challenge in Japan.  Some days you preach, some days you address envelopes.  Such is the life of a missionary intern.

Thursday (today) is the day written about in my last post.  It was chilly today as a cold front replaced the super hot weather after the typhoon swept through the country.  I wasn't complaining even as goose bumps broke out on my arms as I walked down the sidewalk today.  It is a welcome change from the sticky-hot days of last week.

Tomorrow may foretell another COSTCO adventure.  Lord preserve me, but this time I will get pictures!  Ever day this week, I've been trying to get out of the house at least once a day and have a convenience store adventure.  There are so many unique foods to try, some of which should remain untested.  One of my snack attacks led me to buy a small bag of chips that were supposed to be sour cream and onion flavored (as opposed to their seaweed and shrimp-flavored neighbors).  I just wanted something crunchy to go with my old favorite: a bottle of milk tea. Well, either the milk tea and chip flavors didn't mix or they were seriously confused when they wrote the katakana on the packaging, but the chips tasted more like sour coffee creamer and dried herb flakes than anything remotely what I am used to.  Not exactly the appetizing distraction I was hoping for...

Well, there you have it.  All that and a bag of chips.  A bag of unsatisfying, wanna-be sour cream and onion chips.  But at least they were crunchy :)

To God be the glory!  Thanks for another adventurous week, Jesus!  Looking forward to my last 2 weeks.  I'm gonna bet they'll be memorable!

By the Skyline of the City

Something beautiful happened today by the skyline of the city.  I was with Pastor Shelley at the 9th story apartment of a woman from Tokyo ICA, looking out over the skyline of Tokyo listening to the sound of something that brought tears to my eyes.  I stood there in disbelief, wondering how on earth I was special enough to be present at that moment.  Standing there, my heart understood what my ears could not - a woman giving her life to the Lord in Japanese. 

All of my life, I have prepared for something so significant - but there in that moment, I was mystified that I would be allowed to witness such a beautiful thing.  God truly did a work of the miraculous in that woman's life and I was privy to the life-changing experience.  Listening to her voice trembling with emotion as she repeated the words of the prayer in Japanese stirred something deep in my heart... something I don''t even understand.  All I knew as I looked out the window at the Tokyo skyline was that the horizon never looked so full of promise and potential than at that moment.  I'm here to hear this sound, I thought.  The sound of the hearts of your people speaking to you in the language of their heart.  It is something truly beautiful. 

And now I'd like to offer my routine apology for not posting as often as I'd hoped.  My next post will be a compilation of what's been happening the last week or so and a short description of each day that has passed.  I don't think I'll be able to fully describe it in these posts, but this country has fully and completely captured my heart and I don't think I'll be going back the same.  No... I'll never be the same again. 

Mosaic Tiles of Life

This post has been a long time in coming and for that I apologize.  I've been sick the last few days and have not been able to do much besides rest.  In the midst of that, the Lord has gotten ahold of me and reminded me of a few things I'd forgotten, such as the fact that I'm not the center of the universe and I don't steer the ship.  It's been an interesting ride the last few days for sure.  But one thing I discovered yesterday was that I simply love the people around me at ICA and I'm incredibly lucky to be able to be here with them at this time.

This post is going to be a bunch of little stories all smooshed into one.  Consider it a mosaic of my life at ICA and in Tokyo right now.  I simply love it!

 These Philippina ladies (plus 2 Japanese ladies) are the diligent and most excellent cooks for our Sunday lunches each and every week.  They always serve with a smile and get things together so effectively it amazes me.  I'm always so grateful for their cooking since we're at church all day.  It is so refreshing to sit down with members of the church and just talk and laugh together after the service is over.  If you ask me, we've got a good thing going here. :)

This is Kevin, one of our more active boys in church. :)

It's really the small things that make life worthwhile - especially if those small things are kids!   I've been privileged to serve with Children's Church during the morning service and have tons of fun with the kids, teaching them and learning from them, too.  Last week, I taught them the fruit of the spirit song that I learned from Pastor Chad in Kid's Church when I was in elementary school.  The kids really got into making the noises of the fruit and they kept adding verses to include cherries and  even some things that I don't think can be considered fruit, lol.  This week, they heard the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors.  They made their own coats out of plastic bags and construction paper and wore them around all day, rustling here and there.  It was too cute!  Zeeki, one of the boys, is teaching me how to fold origami.  He is very patient with me since I'm old and can't catch onto things quite as quickly.  His little sister, Zuvi, has finally warmed up to me after weeks and weeks of smiles and offers to help color.  She asked me last week to wear a long dress, so I wore my long, multicolored  skirt and she wore her pink and white dress that twirls when she spins around.  She drew a picture of us as princesses that almost made me cry.  After Children's Church, she held me hand and we twirled around while lunch was being set up. 

Not sure why these are sideways... sorry!

This is Marvelous, the oldest of three siblings, a brother and sister who are named Daniel and Radiance.  She was having a hard day yesterday and I could tell she was tired of having to put up with her younger siblings.  She was drawing something I thought looked like a castle... only to find out it was a cake.  I told her it was a very nice cake and that she could draw anything she wanted.  When I was walking out the door to make our weekly Starbucks run, she barreled up to me and showed me her picture of a castle (for real this time) with a prince and princess standing in front.  I told her it was beautiful and that she was a wonderful artist.  Her beaming face bid me farewell as I walked down the stone steps between the buildings.  I don't think there are many things better than that.

 This is one of our monthly birthday cake candle-blowing collaborations.  Each month, a cake is baked for all the people whose birthdays are in that month.  All of them gather around and we sing happy birthday, then they blow the candles out together.  I love it because it's a real family thing.  In my family, family cake for someone's birthday is a long standing tradition of celebrating just for the sake of celebrating.  It's stuff like that that makes a family, I think.  Just wanting to be together and celebrate each other's lives.  It's beautiful. 

We have a wonderful mix of nationalities in our church and that makes for a lot of comings and goings among the congregation members.  It seems there is always someone coming in, going out, getting married, finding a new job, going on vacation, having kids, etc.  There are teams who come in and out, the Chi Alpha/GAP group that adds to the mix and a whole ton of languages to boot!  It sure was confusing at first, but now I couldn't love it more.  I enjoy worshiping in different languages and hearing the voices of other words crying out to the same Father I love.  I think this is something similar to what heaven will be like.

Irma, a friend of Pastor Shelley that I met 2 weeks ago, asked me yesterday if I'd ever worn a yukata (a summer kimono).  I said I had once or twice and she insisted that I let her dress me up in one of her yukata for church one Sunday!  As you can imagine, I am stoked and truly honored.  Look for pictures on FB in a few weeks!

Dale, one of the guys on worship team is leaving the same week I am and asked me if I would sing a special song with him and the rest of the worship team.  If you know me, you know that I've never ever sang in a microphone and never in front of people.  Yet, it was touching to know that I'm part of the family, so I said yes.  We practiced it yesterday and had a really good time.  I'm looking forward to next week when we sing it!
 
I wish I had time to share with you the whole story of when the Brazilian church and American IHOPU team put on a Pentecost celebration and Dawn, the 9-year-old girl to the right, had some questions for me about the Holy Spirit.  It took everything within me not to cry laughing.  She was concerned when a woman, overcome by the Spirit, lay down on the floor.  We call this "slain in the Spirit", but try explaining that to a 9-year-old.  She just looked really concerned and asked me "Is she dead?!"  Once I explained to her the situation, she said "Can you do that to me?"  A full 15 minutes of explanation later, we went to the back room for some crackers and raisins.   I don't think I've had a more memorable and adorable conversation in my life.  :)

Last night at GAP (the young adult service), one of the Japanese girls, Mio, sang in worship for the first time.  She's a piano teacher, and listening to her harmony almost brought me to to tears.  It was the best worship service I've been to in a while.  We had to say goodbye to Kohei, one of our guys who was home visiting family in Japan for 3 weeks before heading back to Australia for school.  We got to hang out with him a few times and I was always amused by his Australian/Japanese accented English (yo, lol).  He'll for sure be missed.

For those who are wondering, we caught the mouse in our house last night - finally!  I'd seen it twice and have discovered many different pieces of "evidence" that it has been here, but last night was the turn of fate for our small intruder.  I heard something banging in the kitchen around 4am this morning but was too chicken to go check it out (judge me all you want) at the time.  I woke up later this morning to find out that P. Shelley had found it stuck in one of our traps and had taken it out with the garbage this morning.   How thoughtful of her. :)  I'm actually very impressed that she handled it so effectively.  I would have been spazzing, without a doubt. 

Tonight, I'm headed out for sushi with Amanda Fosburg and Liz Dunagan.  We all admitted to each other last night that our lives in Japan would be significantly more lonely without each other and we need to spend more time together.  So, I'm off to Harajuku to meet them for dinner.  (Wish me luck in not getting lost... again.) 

Blessings,

Amanda

Recap: God's Work

I haven't posted in a while because honestly I've not felt that there was anything exciting enough to post... until today when I realized that while I've done next to nothing this last week, God has been at work all around me doing things I could scarcely do myself.  Let's recap, shall we?

Monday, I went to the Ghibli museum in Mitaka, which is an awesome place to go, especially if you love Miyazaki's films as much as I do!  I got to see the giant Totoro at the entrance and sit inside the cat bus!  I wish I had pictures to share, but photos weren't allowed inside the museum.  It was a great time, though and I'd encourage anyone to go if they're in Tokyo.  

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were spent mostly at the Mission House doing homework, office work, and generally recovering from the CA team's trip.  While it was amazing and tons of fun, it sure was exhausting! 

Then came Saturday and Sunday, in which God got ahold of me yet again and really spoke words of life into my heart.  Let me break it down by saying this: I was really in a bad mood all week due to compounding stress and me moving into the second phase of culture shock in which you start feeling irritation and frustration towards your host culture.  I had gotten lost on the trains yet again going to the Ghibli museum on Monday and by that time, the train game had stopped being so much fun.  I just wanted to get around by myself without getting lost every time.  The language wasn't coming as easily as I thought it would and I was generally depressed about not knowing what my true purpose was in coming to Japan (such as, why do you want me here, God?).  That was my attitude for much of the previous week in which I sat at home and did next to nothing while God quietly worked on my heart and in my life (most of which without me knowing.) 

Saturday night, the Brazilian church that meets at our ICA building on Thursday nights hosted a special Pentecost celebration together with another IHOPU (International House of Prayer University) team.  It was a true Pentecostal meeting that last over 5 hours!  Through it all, I felt the Lord was speaking to me and so during one of the worship times and He truly confirmed a lot of what I had been praying about for a long time.  Sunday night came with more of the same. One of the things I prayed about that night was working with youth in Japan.  I've always wanted to work with youth and have a dream of seeing places like Harajuku come to Christ.

Monday came along with the 4th of July party at Yokota ICA near the US military base in Yokota.  The new missionary family currently living upstairs (the Williams) and Pastor Shelley and I piled in the van and drove an hour up there to fellowship with other missionaries and Japanese believers.  I haven't eaten such good American food since coming to Japan!  I don't think I've eaten so much since coming to Japan, either!  It was really good food and good fellowship.  I got to meet the pastors of Yokota ICA, pastor Dan and Linda Alvarez.  Coincidentally, they were looking for a youth leader for this month since their only youth leader took a leave for a month this summer.  I happened to be sitting at the table with the Alvarezes when Pastors Bill and Carol (who know of my desire to work with youth) pointed straight at me and said "she'd do it!" 

I cannot believe God answered my prayer so fast.  But then, I almost think He was just waiting for me to pray it so it could be answered. :)  He knows the desires of our heart and wants to give good gifts to His children.  Apparently, I'm going to be leading the Yokota youth group for the next two Wednesdays and possibly one more week after that.  God sure does work miracles, ne?  I can't believe I'll be doing what I've always dreamed about - tomorrow.  Wow.

Despite all of my shortfalls, God is always at work.  Pastor Chad's favorite verse is Ephesians 2:10 which says "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do."  I also like the Message version of that verse and the surrounding verses which say: "Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus.  Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish!  We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing!  No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing." (Eph. 2:7-10)

As usual, it's not about me.  I am not the subject of the sentence.  God has merely invited me to participate in the wonderful works He is already doing.  My ministry is not really mine - it's God's.  It's not really my time - it's God's.  And it's not really my life - it's God's.  If I remember that, the pride that so easily entangles me falls away pretty quickly.  I can't believe that a God so big would choose a small person like me to do His work.  How awesome is that? 

I'll try my best to keep posting more often from now on.  Please excuse my moment of weakness and humanity.  I'd like to share with you more of what God is putting in my heart and doing in my life and the lives of others around me next time.  I'll let you know how tomorrow goes!  Ja ne! Matta ne!

Tohoku, We Love You

So yesterday our dear CA team departed our beloved Japan and headed back to the land of cacti and hot, dry weather. I managed to guide them properly to the correct location in Ikebukuro so they could catch their bus to the airport and waved goodbye until I could see them no longer. On the way back to Komagome, I was having a difficult time trying not to cry and boarded the wrong train from Ikebukuro station by accident. It ended up being a good thing, however, as I decided en route to journey to a beautiful garden in the middle of Tokyo where the irises are currently in bloom.

It was beautiful. The land once belonged to a feudal lord who designed the garden around eastern philosophical themes. I wandered around by myself for quite some time, just taking in the scenery (which was stunningly beautiful) and going over in my head the past 10 days. I had not really prepared myself for welcoming a wonderful group of high schoolers and leaders to the land I had just recently met myself. They surprised me by working their way into my heart and in the short time we were together, they became another family to me. As I sat in the garden, I found myself profoundly sad that they were gone but grateful to have been part of their journey to Japan. Lord knows that they were a huge part of mine.

The week before had been a difficult one, but one I wouldn't change for the world. We all traveled north to Tohoku (the larger area covering the earthquake/tsunami stricken area that encompasses Sendai and many other devastated cities) on Monday and returned Thursday night in time to debrief, pack, and send the CA team off the next morning. We really held together well those few days in Tohoku and in all of it, I can say that I'm deeply grateful to have been able to help those who have so little hope in this time. Here's the breakdown of our week :

Monday we loaded up the vans by 8:30 and were on the road by 10:00 to make the 6 hour drive up to Sendai. On the way, we got to see our first glimpse of Japanese countryside which was a welcome shift from the busy life in Tokyo. Tightly packed buildings gently gave way to endless rice fields punctuated by steep, green mountains that brushed the low, grey clouds with the promise of rain. Rivers ran between bamboo clusters and small clusters of houses clung to the bases of the mountains. We arrived in Sendai in the late afternoon and unloaded into the houses in which we were to stay. The guys all stayed in the local ICA church and the girls stayed in the volunteer center down the street. We slept on tatami (woven straw mats) in futon and ate breakfast at a low table on the floor of the volunteer center. In my head, I was geeking out since I had never slept on tatami before and was excited to experience such a unique part of Japanese culture. Tatami has a comforting smell that reminds me of straw and hay from a barn but also has a clean sensation about it.

I slept well and we all woke up each morning for group prayer at 5:45am at the church. Prayer lasted until about 6:40 and then we headed back to the volunteer center to eat breakfast before driving another hour north to Higashimatsushima where we checked in at the local volunteer center. For two days, we shoveled mud out of the rain gutters along the roads in neighborhoods around the center. It was hot, smelly, nasty work, but I loved it. The mud had to be shoveled into bags and hauled to a dump site which left us all exhausted but feeling fulfilled. Many of the neighbors came out of their houses to either help or talk to us as we worked. Some women came out with their children and they cheered us on. Although we could not communicate very easily, I expressed my gratitude to be able to do something small to help them in the massive efforts of rebuilding their houses. (Many of them in that neighborhood had lost everything on the lower floors although most of their homes were still standing.) Two little girls (2 and 4 years old) played in the street the whole second day we worked, giving us encouragement and splashing in the puddles. It is encouraging to know that we helped real people with real families even though it was just something small like cleaning out the rain gutters.

Later, after working to clean up a small part of the widespread disaster, we took a drive through areas closer to the shore that had been completely wiped out by the water. It is difficult to imagine, but these pictures were taken 3 months after the tsunami. According to those who saw it shortly after the disaster, these places have been 50% cleaned up.



I know it might be difficult to see, but in this picture there is a boat in front of that house. This kind of thing is all over the place in the affected ares. We saw a huge buoy (like 20 ft tall) being drug out of the middle of a rice field, cars sticking out of standing water, and tons and tons of debris. After three months, it still looks like this in many of the areas and in some areas, the houses are just flat gone. All that's left are the foundations and driveways leading up to empty lots. I tried to imagine what it must have been like but nothing in my imagination compares to what the real thing must have been like. Once you've seen the desperation in the eyes of the people who must now clean up and rebuild their whole lives, it changes something inside you. It creates a fire in you that wants to help, but you also come to realize that this is a huge mess. It spreads miles and miles of coast where things were wiped out. It will take years for this mess to be cleaned up and many more long years after that before people rebuild their houses again. It will take many people long hours of labor and huge amounts of money to see it restored. But through it all, God will be with them. God is already doing wonderful things in the midst of this chaos.

One man in particular comes to mind. His name is Mr. Sasaki and he has been living in the shelters for 3 months (over 100 days). He is trying to find a place for he and his family to live but housing is scarce these days. Through the grace of God, Pastor Shelley was able to make contact with him shortly after the disaster and supply him with some appliances he will need to outfit his future apartment. She introduced us to him outside the shelter on our way back to Tokyo and later we drove by his house... or what is left of it. The entire inside was gutted from a team who came to help a while ago. But the hollowness of what once was a beautiful home echoes in my heart even now. While we spoke with him, tears began streaming down Mr. Sasaki's cheeks. We prayed with him and offered words of encouragement, reassuring him that everything would be alright. I think that was just what he needed to hear to keep him going a little while longer. I walked away from that meeting with tears in my own eyes. I think that no matter what I do, I will always remember Mr. Sasaki when I think of Tohoku.

And now here we are. Finally caught up again. I'm sorry it took me so long to write this post, but to be completely honest, it was a difficult post to write. I hope you will continue praying for Tohoku and for all of Japan. For those who are concerned, we experienced an earthquake of 6.4 magnitude while up north, but what we felt of it was mild and nothing was damaged. Some of our team didn't notice it at all. I write all of this to say: quakes are happening all over Japan, but I pray every day for quakes of a different sort. The kind that shake the heart of Japan for Jesus. We will see it one day.

Pray for Tohoku. Pray for Japan.

With love,

Amanda

Catching Up

So, I've got some serious catching up to do! I'm deeply sorry I haven't been very consistent in my posts lately. With a team here from California, it's all I can do at night to get 8 hours of sleep!

I realized the other night that I never posted about how my adventure day went this past Monday. It's a good story, one too good not to post. See, here's the thing. I got horribly lost that day. Like 3 times. All in one day. And yet it was one of the best days I've had in Tokyo. Here's how it goes:

I left the house that morning at about 11:30 am to meet up with the IHOPU team who were going sightseeing around Tokyo. I had yet to explore much of Tokyo but I was feeling gutsy enough to try and find them and tag along as they traveled around. This plan was fatally flawed for one primary reason: I had yet to travel the trains by myself to an unknown location, much less traverse one of the biggest and most confusing stations and then locate an unknown building outside said station on foot. It was not supposed to go this way. But, after getting lost in Shinjuku for about 45 minutes (it was raining by the way) and asking for directions in Japanese several times (most of which I did not understand), looking at you-are-here maps of the area (more of which I did not understand), I finally managed to locate the building where I was to meet the team.

They weren't there.

They had moved on to another location while I was blundering around Shinjuku. Good times. Well, I called them (on my handy dandy Japanese cell phone) and they sent one person out to find me. Now, I'm a tall, white, curly-haired American wearing a neon yellow t-shirt in the middle of Shinjuku. You'd think I'd be easy to spot. The guy they sent couldn't find me! He was on a level of the street that was 3 stories down from where I was standing. We were literally on top of each other, but couldn't see each other. Finally, we figured it out and I found him on the lower level, went to meet the team, and walked around Shinjuku for another hour before I was scheduled to meet Amanda Fosburg, Liz Dunagan, and Tony Nicaud at Seikei University for Japanese class.

Now my challenge was to traverse Shinjuku station (in which I had already gotten lost before), make it to another station I had not yet been to, get on a bus outside that station, and walk to Seikei to meet the group in under 45 minutes. Foolproof plan it was not.

I got lost another 2 times before making it to Seikei. The first time was due to me getting on the wrong train (the right line, just going the opposite direction) and the second was due to me not knowing the correct bus to get on outside the station (but after talking with a policeman and two information desk ladies I found the right one). But, since I was 10 minutes late for class by the time I arrived and did not know the location of said class, I waited outside the building I hoped contained my friends for an hour until class was over and ate my lunch (that I had picked up at a conbini, which is Japanese shorthand for convenience store).

Eventually, class let out, I found the group, and we traversed the long hike back to the station to avoid paying the bus fare. (At that point I had been walking for 4 collective hours that day and was getting pretty tired.) Getting on the train back towards the middle of Tokyo, we managed to make it to Toudai Univeristy (AKA: Tokyo University, which is like the Harvard of Japan) in time for the Chi Alpha Bible study/goodbye party for the IHOPU team. We met in a small room that would comfortably fit about 15 people ... and fit about 40 people into it. It was a great time, let me tell you! We had almost no room to maneuver, so it was easy to make new friends! Liz and I made friends with a group of nursing students from another university who spoke a little English and had a great time trying to communicate cross-culturally all night. The music and the people were refreshing and by the time I made it back to Komagome that night, I was full in my spirit though empty of physical strength.

I made it through the day, and though I was exhausted and got lost quite a few times, it was one of the best days I've had here so far. Great memories were made and it was a great confidence booster to know that if I get lost, I can find my way back... eventually. :)

Here's the rest of this week in a snapshot: Tuesday, the team arrived, Wednesday was orientation and passing out tracts around the church, Thursday was our awesome day of awkwardness, Friday was sightseeing day (I have a ton of pictures to be uploaded to Facebook soon and another post to go along with it), Saturday was our English party for the students we met at the Jr. high and high school (which went smashingly, by the way and is also a good story), and Sunday (today) was all day church and Father's day! Whew!

While I still have more catching up to do, in the mean time, please remember to pray for our team as we leave for Sendai tomorrow to do relief work. We'll be leaving in the morning and returning on Thursday evening. I doubt I'll have internet up there, so my next post may be a week or so in coming. Just please keep us in your prayers and remember to pray for all of Japan, even the places not directly hit by the earthquake/tsunami. Thank you so very much! We appreciate all of your prayers more than you may ever know. Blessings!

Awkwardness Abandoned

Today was a day of awkwardness, there's just no way around it.

Well, first I should begin by telling you that since Tuesday, we've had a team here from Bishop, California who are just awesome. They flew into Tokyo on Tuesday night and Pastor Shelley, Pastor Bill, Pastor Carol, and I all went to go pick them up in Ikebukuro. We successfully managed to get them back to Komagome on the train (an amazingly engineered feat of skill), feed them dinner, get them to the JAG campus, and settle them in. Wednesday (yesterday), we got everyone to the church by bus (amazing again) and had orientation. Then, it was out for bentou lunch (Japanese lunch boxes) and then we began cleaning the church and tracting (stamping, folding, and handing out tracts in the neighborhood around the church. In Japan, it's not illegal to put things in individual mail boxes.). Wednesday ended well and early (praise God) with homemade chicken curry (made by Pastors Bill and Carol) at the mission house.

Now, on to today: the day of awkwardness. We went to a school. A Japanese Jr. high and high school. It was an all boys school. It was awkward. Firstly, it was awkward because we're white Americans in a school full of Asians. Secondly, it was awkward because we were the only native English speakers on the campus save for three English teachers at the school. That made us a rare and special commodity that turned us into a type of celebrity for the day. Thirdly, it was awkward because it was a school full of boys and I was one of three girls in our group. It was just an awkward day, guys.

It's probably sounding like it was an awful experience, but on the contrary; it was one of the best days so far! We got to go around the school from class to class and introduce ourselves to the English classes (in English, of course!). The students were all very glad to see us and had a great time talking with us and trying to say our names. After a while, we ate lunch and tried talking with more of them as we ate. Then it was off to more classes and finally we sat with two graduating seniors who spoke very good English and had some spare time on their hands. We gave everyone our names so they could look us up on Facebook and invited them to our English party on Saturday at ICA church. It's going to be an awesome time. Many of them really enjoyed talking with our high school students (the Japanese guys especially loved talking with the girls and taking pictures with them) and wished to have more time with them. So we're hoping and praying for a good turn out on Saturday!

After school, we were worn out. It was a lot of nervous, awkward situations (you try being stared at all day long by people who think you're fascinating!) but we made it through the day. Now, on to the evening. There is yet more awkwardness to come.

The leaders from the Bishop team who elected to stay back decided not to go shopping for dinner but rather have everyone go out for dinner instead. This turned out to be a fortuitous plan since we had decided to go to an onsen (Japanese bathhouse) later in the evening. It was still up in the air about who would actually go into the baths, but everyone ate together and then some of us went in to actually take baths. Let me tell you, I was more than a little trepidatious about it since I had never been to one before and heard stories from the other team about how interesting they can be if you don't read Japanese - like me. In case you don't know, Japanese bathhouses are totally separate for men and women - and totally naked. I told you the awkwardness was coming. It so happens that you go in, put your stuff and clothes in a locker, and go wash before getting into the bath. I was mentally prepared for this, as Pastor Shelley explained it all to me before going in. But it still was a shock for about the first 5 minutes. After that, it just became semi-normal and by the time I hit the hot water, I no longer cared about much of anything. It was too relaxing. There were various pools that had varying temperatures, a dry sauna, a misting room, and an entire outdoor area (walled in, of course) that opened up to a cool night sky with Japanese maples, rocks, and screens to separate the sections. It was beautiful. I felt the stress of the week just melt away and all the tension stored up in my neck and shoulders was eased off by the gently falling rain. I think I have a new favorite thing about Japan.

After the bath, there is another little room that connects to the locker area with hair dryers, brushes, and lotions so you don't have to walk out on the street looking like you just came from a bath. It didn't really matter, however, since it was raining when we walked outside. If anyone has seen the movie "My Neighbor Totoro" by Hayou Miyazaki, you will remember the part where they are waiting at the bus stop and the rain is falling on the umbrellas making noise. Walking home reminded me of that. It was calm, cool, and peaceful and I felt a peace settle on me.

I think out of all of the awkwardness today, it was well worth it to see the faces of the Japanese school boys and to experience the wonderful relaxation of the onsen. I would do today again, but tomorrow seems to be another day of interesting and exciting discovery as we go sightseeing and exploring with the California team. It will be a day full of pictures, I expect, and a lot more stories to come!

Keki o tabete kudasai!

Today dawned cloudy and humid, which is typical for Japan during the rainy season. We (Pastor Shelley and I) were picked up promptly at 8:10am by Pastor Bill and Carol to head over to Tokyo ICA church for the day of services and fellowship. During the Sunday school hour at 10:00am when the adults were praying, the kids and youth were feverishly making paper flowers, a card, and decorating a cake for Pastor Carol's birthday.

I, being versed in many things culturally Japanese, cannot make an origami anything to save my life. It took the patience of a 7-year-old boy 15 minutes to teach me each fold one at a time all the while berating me for my mistakes. Eventually, I produced a flower-looking object out of pink construction paper that was added to the growing pile of flowers, stems, leaves, and hearts for Pastor Carol's birthday bouquet. I did not tell her that mine was among the expertly crafted origami creations of the children. Needless to say, she received her bouquet, cake, and card with gratitude.

Later, the team from IHOP University came and did worship, prayer, and a skit for the GAP service at 4:00. It was a wonderful time of learning and seeking the Lord as Pastor Bill's sermon hit right on some topics that have been surfacing in my life. After prayer with the team and the pastors, everyone from Chi Alpha, the IHOP team, and some GAP people went out to the place that I'm going to call heaven on earth: Sweets Paradise.

In Ikebukuro, there is a place where cakes, ice cream, candies, soda, tea, and pasta abound. It is called Sweets Paradise, a dessert buffet that has some pasta to make you feel not so bad about all of the sugar you're consuming in one sitting. It has got to be the best fellowship I've had since coming to Tokyo. We scattered amongst ourselves and got to know one another over the best desserts I've ever tasted in my life. SEU people will remember the dreamlike days of Valentine's at Chartwells. This beats it, hands down. I had been going through sugar withdrawl since coming to Japan but this evening made up for all of it - with interest.

I think what made it so enjoyable was not the sweets but the company. We had some really great fellowship time getting to know one another and I honestly felt my emotional stress levels decreasing as we sat in each others' presence just laughing over silly things. Making connections with people and being able to laugh heartily was just the medicine my heart needed to feel more at home here in Japan. I have to say though, after hearing some of the stories from the IHOP team about the sentou (Japanese public bathhouse), it will be interesting getting a group of highschoolers to experience it when they arrive next week. According to one member of the IHOP team, it is a milestone experience in one's life. I'm looking forward to it with some trepidation, but I'm sure it will be an interesting cultural experience. Pray for me! Lol.

Tomorrow is our day off, so I have decided it will be adventure day. I'm off exploring to see if I can find more interesting places around our small town of Komagome. Then, I hope to be able to find Seikei Univeristy to attend a Japanese class. Finally, if all goes according to plan (lol), I will be at the goodbye party for the IHOP team who are leaving on Tuesday. Pray that they have safe travels and that my adventure tomorrow does not end in me getting hopelessly lost on the Tokyo trains.

I'll let you know how that goes. :)

Rodent vs. Missionaries

The trials and tribulations of missionary life are wide and varied. Perhaps greater than the cultural boundaries, the language barriers, or the spiritual warfare are the daily obstacles that can grate on the spirit in surprising ways.

For the past three nights, Pastor Shelley and I have been suspicious of a small rodent having taken up residence in the mission house. It was not a welcome intrusion. The bagels I purchased at our mighty COSTCO trip have been assaulted each night by this small visitor and the evidence left on the kitchen counter each morning.

Amanda was not a happy intern.

However, as I devised a cunning plan to hide my precious bagels from the small thief, it seems that Pastor Shelley and I have momentarily won this round of rodent versus missionaries. Rodent - 3, Missionaries - 1. We shall have the ultimate victory after Pastor Shelley obtains some rodent killer next week. Rest easy tonight, little vermin. Tomorrow, you perish.

On an completely opposite side of life, we have been feverishly preparing for a short-term missions team from Bishop, California to arrive next Tuesday. We will be in Tokyo for a few days before heading up to Sendai for 4 days to do some relief work. Today was the 3-month anniversary of the catastrophic event that killed thousands and has left thousands more homeless, jobless, and without a foreseeable future. The tv today recounted many stories of those whose lives were permanently affected by the earthquake/tsunami as well as the memorials being held in memory of the deceased. It was a sobering meal as Pastor Shelley and I watched the evening news while we ate dinner. Somehow, knowing that we go in a few days' time to that area of the country to help the people there recover from such a disaster seems like just a splash in the pool compared to the massive effort it will take to rebuild. But I have to remind myself that to those whose lives we will touch, it will mean the world. If we can reflect Christ's love into just one corner of that dark place, we have truly loved like Christ.

The team arrives next Tuesday. That following Monday, we leave for Sendai to return on Thursday night the 16th. Pray for those we will touch to accept Christ's love shining in our lives and for our team's physical, mental, and spiritual strength as we go into the darker part of Japan. Tokyo needs help. Sendai needs help as well. Pray for Japan.

Ahhhh....

After a day of weeding around the mission house and trimming up the bushes so that the team coming next week can get into the apartment upstairs more easily, I'm bushed! (lol) Dinner tonight was grilled fish we bought at the market on our way home with rice, miso soup, and edamame on the side. After dinner, it was time for a Japanese style bath (which I have decided is on my list of best things in the world) to relax my sore muscles from working outside all day. A pair of sweatpants and a square of chocolate later, Amanda was a happy intern.

Now it's 10:00pm and I'm sitting listening to the light rain out the window with the low hum of the washing machine and the dishwasher in the background. I think this is the first time I've sat down since 9:00 am, but I don't mind it at all. It was a relaxing day despite the hard physical work. My brain had the chance to relax and not worry about bustling people, unknown languages, and awkward situations for one day. I'm starting to feel more at home here and shopping the small streets and dealing in different currency. It is reminiscent of our time in Israel. How I miss shekels and falafel... Soon, I'm sure to have those feelings about Japan. I've already acquired a taste for fish and rice that is semi-Japanese. I have a lot of things left to try before I can make up my mind about Japanese food in general. But so far, things are looking in it's favor. :)

More on our weekend adventures later! Oyasumi nasai! (good night!)

Adventures in Food

This morning I woke up early to skype my family who were all sitting around the dinner table on their Tuesday night while I sat eating my breakfast Wednesday morning. It was a blissful, time-traveling morning. :)

After signing off at 9:00am, the three of us (Pastor Shelley, another Japan missionary named Catherine, and I) piled into Shelley's car and headed off to COSTCO, which is an hour drive from Komagome. Once up there, we divided into 3 carts (I had the responsibility of gathering items for the short-term team coming next Tuesday) and headed into the chaos. I'm sure most of you are familiar with COSTCO or SAM'S CLUB which are basically a large warehouse filled with items sold in large quantities. Well, in Japan, the same is true - with one modification. It is also filled with Japanese. I by filled, I mean traveling from one end of the store to the other might take you 15 minutes, given foot and cart traffic. After two hours of shopping, we managed to pay for our 3 carts (full of stuff), travel up the *escalator* (the carts locked on the the escalator track and we rode up to the parking garage above the store!), load it all into the back of the car (a challenge in and of itself), and head off for some lunch.

We walked from the parking garage to the mall right next to COSTCO called LaLaPort. This was a mall that was partially outside and partially inside, creating an interesting mix of aesthetics among the shops and restaurants. Lunch was at a natural foods buffet which served various healthy Japanese foods and drinks. I had fun at lunch. :) Things I now know I like: manjuu buns (small rice cakes filled with an - bean paste), chidashi zushi (a tossed sushi salad served cold), and cold soba noodles (buckwheat noodles eaten with a dark sauce and veggies on top). Things I now know I don't like: grapefruit juice (always knew, but had that fact reinforced today), hijiki (a black seaweed salad served cold that tastes like the bottom of a lake), and pickled radish (it's just a weird consistency... like the pickled cauliflower in Israel). Today was certainly an adventure in food, both buying and eating. I hope I get the chance to have more food adventures soon!

Now... off to put away all of this food from COSTCO.

The wheels on the bus/train/car go round and round...

So, the last few days have been a whirlwind of activity and I apologize for not updating as soon as I'd hoped.

Saturday found Pastor Shelley and I taking the bus to the church where we spent most of the day organizing and setting up a small office area. We ate packed lunches (I had peanut butter and jelly with warm vegetable croquets which are basically deep fried veggie patties with corn meal holding them together) with Pastors Bill and Carol Paris - the pastors of Tokyo ICA church.

Prayer meeting was held in the afternoon and I got to meet two people closer to my age - Yuri and Teiko who invited me to the XA (Chi Alpha) center later that night. There was an IHOP team there holding a special worship night and I agreed to go. To fill in time between, we went shopping in Ueno which was an experience indeed! To get there, we took the train, which was my first time on the Tokyo train system. Boy was that an experience! (With my bad balance combined with the train's speed, I almost fell into a couple of people but regained my balance by holding onto the handholds for dear life.) It was easy to navigate once I was on the train since there were announcements in both Japanese and English. The trick, of course, is getting on the right train in the first place! I'm sure it will become easier with practice but for that day, I stuck closely to Yuri and Teiko. At the XA center, I met Amanda Fosburg (I am known as the "other Amanda") who has been in Japan for 11 months and is planning to return to the states soon, and Liz who arrived in Japan just one day after me and is doing the same type of internship as I am with XA. We were both recovering from jet lag and had an interesting time relating to one other that night. :) I also met other wonderful and friendly people such as Hyunhee and Anna who helped make me feel right at home. Speaking of home, getting back to Komagome (where I live) from the center was interesting. The person I was originally supposed to follow home was not able to make it that night, so I was blessed to follow Tomohara-san, a Japanese woman, back to Komagome station. Between her little bit of English and my little bit of Japanese, we eventually made it back without trouble. :) Good times.

Sunday dawned bright and early at 6:30 am to get ready and leave for church by 8 am. We stayed at the church all day with services at 11 am and 4 pm and meetings, sunday school, children's church, and Starbucks (praise God) in between. I met a ton of people from other countries with ICA being an international church. Services are held in English with Japanese and French translation since those are the common languages. There are people there representing Japan, America, the Philippines, Singapore, China, Korea, and several African countries (where the French comes in). And everyone worships the same AWESOME God! :) I really enjoyed Sunday, but by the end of it, all the languages had my brain scrambled! The Lord is good and has really blessed me to be in a place of cultural crossroads where I can experience so many flavors of people (and food!).

Today is Monday and is our designated day of rest. I don't plan on doing much of anything today except head to a XA meeting tonight. Let's see if I can make it to the center by train without getting lost. :) Life is always an adventure when you're following Christ.

Peace,

Amanda

Only in Japan

My new favorite phrase is now "only in Japan." As I am beginning to absorb more and more of this fascinating and complex culture, I am struck by how unique this country is compared to all the other places I've been. Here is a prime example:

Yesterday, Pastor Shelley and I were doing some office work when we noticed some guys outside looking around the house, talking to each other, and pointing. Shelley stuck her head out the door and asked them in Japanese if there was anything she could help them with and if everything was okay. It turns out they were from the cable company and they were here to inspect the house for our cable installation - next Tuesday. The 4 men eventually were invited inside to do some investigative work in the walls which involved them asking a lot of questions (which I could not understand), opening up the switch plate on the wall behind the tv, and taking down a section of the bathroom tile ceiling so they could track where the wires used to be. After about an hour of searching, they bowed themselves out and circled the house one more time before departing. Shelley and I could do nothing but laugh. Only in Japan could you get 4 men to come out not only on they day they said they would come but also a week ahead of time to make sure the job could get done on they day they promised. Only in Japan. :)

Last night, Pastor Shelley and I were invited to another missionary couple's house in Wako, which is about 40 minutes from Tokyo by car. They are a young couple who graduated from Southeastern about 10 years ago and are now on their second term in Japan. They have a beautiful little girl, Bela, who sat on my lap after dinner as we talked and played cards. It is not often that missionaries get together and just fellowship and this was one of those rare occasions. For me, it was good to listen to their conversation and experience a small portion of their daily lives. This will be me one day, Lord willing, and I want to know what I'll be facing when I am in their position. God is good and these people are wonderful examples for me.

Today we get to ride the bus to the church (which for me will be the first time) and organize an office area for the church to use. Yesterday we went shopping at the large super market (which we had to drive to) and bought things to pack for our lunches today. I can't wait to be able to go shopping on my own one day... and maybe know what the signs mean, lol. My Japanese is severely lacking, but at least I have some foundation to go on. The Lord is good about keeping me on track with my learning. He is so good and gracious to me in all of my humanness. Today will be a great one, I can tell; and then tomorrow is my first church service! I can't wait!

Rain rain, go away...

Yesterday succeeded in raining all day long and thus kept us largely in the house. It was a slow and steady rain that did not drench so much as it pitter-pattered on the roof tiles, creating a wonderful background symphony to the overcast sky. I worked inside the house, rearranging and organizing my room so that I no longer have to live out of my suitcase. Pastor Shelley and I ventured out into the rain to ask the office ladies in the Japan Assemblies of God office about some unintelligible kanji and as we walked by the small fish pond in the middle of the campus, I saw dozens of little orange and black koi swimming near the surface, darting between the falling raindrops. It was a beautiful and peaceful day that ended productively with the house being better arranged and our dinner of fish and rice with spiced tomato sauce. I got some reading for my internship done and paperwork completed. Just the necessary stuff that makes up life. (No one thinks of a missionary having to do paperwork and laundry, but that's real life.)

Today poses to be an excellent day with the sun shining and our plans to go to another missionary couple's house for dinner tonight. I get to learn how to ride the bus today! (Secretly, I'm still really stoked for learning how to ride the trains.)

This morning as I was doing my devotions, I was feeling a little downtrodden. I had been preparing for coming to Japan my whole life it seems, and I feel so underprepared for what I need to know. But the Lord reassured me that I am exactly ready for this day and this time at this point in my life. Although I may not feel prepared, with my not knowing enough Japanese and all, I am here right now for a reason. I am needed. And that makes me feel like I can do anything - with the Lord's help, of course! Praise Him who always knows what I need. :)

Day 1: Around the Town

My first day in Japan was an interesting one. Pastor Shelley and I went out and did some errands in Komagome (our small section of Tokyo) in the late morning and I got to see more of my new home. Down the hill from our house and up the street to the train station, we got a phone for me to use while in Japan and a train card so I can ride the trains by just swiping it instead of having to purchase a ticket each time. After that, we visited the post office and then the grocery store to pick up some food. That was a fun experience! After bagging our groceries, we walked just a bit farther to a sushi stand and got some lunch to take back home.

After eating a wonderful meal, we got to unpacking some boxes and reorganizing the house. Packing peanuts and bubble wrap were everywhere! After a while, it was time for Miss Megumi's walk. So, we all went out for a stroll around the neighborhood and got to see more of Komagome. Smiling faces peeked out from behind fences and others out walking their dogs waved as we passed by. Every house it seemed had some small pot or container with flowers in it to add a bit of green to the cityscape. In the course of our walk, we went by the bible school and I got to meet a few of the students. Some of them spoke a little English and with my very poor Japanese, we made introductions. :) I was really happy to meet them and we made plans to practice English and Japanese soon.

I'm really starting to understand that this country is a lot more than I could understand through textbooks and reading. It is a country alive with organization and quiet happiness. I can't wait to see more of it through the lens of God's heart. We will do and see and accomplish more together than apart.

Good Morning, Japan!

This morning I woke up in Japan. And let me tell you, I was extremely excited about it! Not only is it a culmination of my life's dream, but it was some really good sleep after my very long flight and travel to the other side of the world!

I departed Monday morning at 8 am for Detroit where I bid my family a tearful farewell and boarded a plane to Toronto. This plane to Toronto was interesting. It was small. It held only 18 people. It had propellers. It had manual controls which I could see from my seat in the 6th row. I thought I was gonna die. But by the grace of God, we made it into the air and over to Toronto in under an hour with no mishaps. But it sure was a fun ride!

From Toronto, I made it to my next flight and boarded the plane to Tokyo. I sat next to two Japanese women who talked the entire flight in Japanese but were very polite and apologized every time they had to climb over me since I sat in the aisle seat. The food was good and after 4 movies, a 1-hour nap, and some reading, we arrived in Tokyo-Narita in under 13 hours.

By the grace of God, I navigated immigration, picking up my bags which were the first off the conveyor, and made it through customs by answering just two questions from the officer. After changing my dollars to yen, I got a bus ticket to the Sunshine Prince Hotel in Ikekuburo, Tokyo where I was to meet Pastor Shelley. That was a timing moment from heaven as the next bus was leaving in just 2 minutes! I directly boarded the bus and rode an hour into Tokyo, taking in the scenery of Japan out the window. That bus ride was a nostalgic and important moment for me. The Lord helped me to rest in knowing that I am exactly where I am supposed to be and at exactly the right time. I felt a peace (which had permeated the entire trip but only deepened in that moment) settle into my heart and I simply enjoyed seeing the place where I would spend the next 2 months of my life scroll through the window.

All throughout the drive, I couldn't help but compare Japan to the other places I've been. The speed limit signs - Israel; some downtown areas - Dallas; the bridges - Israel and South Florida; driving on the left - Scotland; bamboo forests - the Philippines; the road signs with pictures and rice fields- uniquely Japan.

I got to the hotel an hour before Pastor Shelley was supposed to meet me and breathed easy for a while before she got there. Before long, she arrived and we loaded my suitcases into her van and walked to Sunshine 60 - a large business/shopping/restaurant building just a block away. I had a rice omlette and we talked about Tokyo and what we'll be doing the next few weeks. It'll be exciting to see how all of this comes together!

We drove back to Pastor Shelley's house in Toshima-ku (about 15 minutes) and unloaded the van. I stayed up until my eyes were closing on their own and went to bed at 8pm. I slept like a rock for 11 hours and woke up this morning at 6 am with the sun and feeling refreshed. Now I have to go figure out how to use a Japanese shower.

I have a feeling the adventure is just beginning!

Blessings,

Amanda