Tokyo Tower

After a very nice piano concert at the church on Sunday I stayed over at Emiko's house for the night. And then yesterday (Monday) we went to Tokyo Tower and her mother, Yoko, came too. I had a really nice time sightseeing on my day off and then getting a head start on my Christmas shopping by buying some souvenirs. I think days off are much needed for me, it's a good time to take a break

There are many cemetaries near Tokyo Tower.

This is the Rainbow Bridge in the Tokyo Bay.

Yoko Furuya, she is really sweet and reminds me of my mom sometimes because of the things she is interested in and her mannerisms.

Or maybe "don't look down" would be better for some.

Yukiko and prayer

On Saturday only one person came to my adult class in the afternoon. This class from the beginning has had a lesser number of people and the most consistent attenders called before to say they couldn't make it. But Yuki showed up and I was glad to have a student. She is a fun girl to talk to, interesting and she does like to talk. Sometimes it's hard to make her stop, ha! But it's good because she really wants to learn.

After we finished class she went to talk to Sudo Sensei, I didn't know about what but later he told me what she said. She was asking about the prayer meeting on Wednesday because she is interested in attending. Apparently she has some kind of problem that she would like to share and be prayed for. She has a Christian friend who has been encouraging her to go to church. I didn't realize until Saturday, but of all my students she is the most open to the gospel. And I think she is ready. Please pray that she would come on Wednesday and that she would have the courage to share her problem and the church members would act in wisdom and love to encourage and support her. And of course pray that through her hardships she would come to see Jesus as her Savior, Lord, and help in time of need.

Yuki also asked Sudo Sensei what she could do after I leave to continue studying English. She and my other student Sayoko, who I've mentioned before, have been wondering. (Please pray that on Wednesday I have the opportunity to share the gospel with Sayoko when I offer to give her the electronic dictionary I have.) The original tentative plan I made was to be here for these three months and then see if God is leading me to come back in April to June of next year. I have felt that this is what God is leading me to do, but I would like your prayers to make the right choice. My choices don't just affect me, but they have a great affect on many others too.

God is working

This week has been encouraging. First on Sunday when I met Misaki in the station and then Tuesday's women's class was encouraging too. Sumiko is the woman I mentioned before when we talked about religious things one class a few weeks ago. On Tuesday she brought a friend with her. That was so encouraging to me. Most of the people who invite friends along are already church members. They invite their friends to come to my English classes in hopes of hearing the gospel too. But Sumiko, not being a Christian, brought a friend herself and that class is growing without the help of other Christians but by the work of God, I believe. Please pray that I have a chance to share more about my testimony and that Sumiko would be ready to receive the word God wants to share with her. I think of anyone she is the most open to listening. I can tell by the way she is so attentive to the things I share. Oh how wonderful it would be to have her a sister in Christ! Ah! I just think she's a dear. And she is already in a way without even knowing it, bringing others to know Christ too because of how she invited her friend to class this week.

Also, during the one class I had today only Sayoko came. This is the second week she has been the only one, and I think it is a good thing. Although sometimes it's discouraging to see that a class is decreasing in numbers, I think God has designed it this is the way just for her. To have a more intimate and private time to get to know each other and for me to share even more about what I believe with her. Today as she came in and we started talking she told me how her electronic English-Japanese dictionary broke and she sent it to get fixed. The company called her back and told her that it would cost 7000 yen (roughly $700) to get it repaired. So she said she is trying to decide if she should get it repaired or if she should buy a new one. Either way it is expensive. But her said the dictionary is very useful so she'll end up doing one or the other. I was so delighted to get this information! Ha...I'm sure you are wondering why. Because I made a really silly mistake, oh but a good one I think. I love that God uses our "mistakes." Listen to my quick story:

Two years ago I studied abroad in Japan for one semester in the fall of my senior year. When I returned I felt like I would go back someday. I also wanted to learn more Japanese. So I decided to buy an English-Japanese dicstionary to keep learning. I remembered the kind my Japanese friends had used while I was studying there in Japan so I looked on ebay for one like it. These dictionaries are quite pricy. Since they are not cheap and I wasn't sure if I should spend the money, I also decided to use this as a kind of 'fleece' and asked God that if I was going back to Japan than I would win the bid for this electronic dictionary. And I did win the bid, which isn't anything spectacular I'm sure, but it is what it is and I bought it. I think I really just wanted it more than anything, but now I'm feeling like maybe it really was a God thing. Because the dictionary really is for a Japanese person learning English. It's not like it goes both ways and is just as easy for something who is learning Japanese. No, no. Not at all. So that is where my mistake lies. I had no clue what I was doing buying this expensive dictionary. But anyway I brought it along with me to Japan thinking I might find someone to give it to since I obviously can't use it.

Well, what do you know? Sayoko needs a dictionary. I have a dictionary. So I told her to wait on buying anything and I'd bring it next week to class and she can see it. I just hope that she doesn't turn down taking it because it is expensive. But I think it's a good chance for me to give and show God's love to her.

My Walk Home Today

This afternoon, after I finished the English class at the church with only church members I helped Emiko hand out fliers for a piano concert they are having next Sunday afternoon. Then we took the train home as always, but her stop is before mine so I go the last part by myself. When I got off my stop I wasn't sure, but I thought I saw one of my junior high students. I'm glad I was pretty curious and didn't just think, no just another Japanese person, because it was Misako. She is a really sweet and fun girl. She was on her way home from some martial art practice she does on the weekends. I can't remember the name of it, but it's similar to tae kwan do I think...So we walked together to my house and then she took her bike home. It was nice to bump into her like that. And she got a little extra practice with English, and I got some Japanese practice in too. I hope I get more chances like that with some other people I know. It's nice to spend some time with people outside of class. I don't get much of that other than with Sudo Sensei, Emiko, and the Arita's.

And I thought I'd mention that the lives of junior high students here in Japan are extremely busy and really difficult, academically that is mostly. Well, the lives of Japanese children in general are very demanding. Abe Sensei's wife Keiko was telling me about on Friday when she took me to Shinjuku for lunch at a Mexican restuarant. She told me that most mothers/parents are very concerned about their childrens' futures. Even getting into prep elementary schools are competitive. Normally in the States we might have to compete to get into a certain private school and in colleges/universities. But in Japan you must compete to get into a good elementary school, a good junior high, then especially getting into a good high school and university are most important. So junior high and high school students attend a preparatory school after regular school and on holidays. Today was the university entrance exam day. In two weeks will be the high school entrance exam day. Clubs and sports are canceled about two weeks in advance before those tests so that the students can spend their time studying.

Keiko told me that a third up to even half of an average Japanese salary goes to the children's education. If I haven't already mentioned it either, the priorities in Japan start with the company or business first. Bosses expect their workers to put the company before even their families and certain before their private lives. So religion gets moved down to a lower priority. Keiko also told me that it was one of her testimonies to mothers to that God will take care of the way of their children, they don't need to worry about it. As you can imagine, this kind of life is extremely stressful for everyone. She and her husband decided not to force their kids to do prep school.

And one last thing, in Japan the families miss out on the presence of their fathers. Since their jobs are so demanding and it takes so long to get to the job on train (maybe 1 1/2 hours or even two) fathers leave early in the morning and get home late. They don't eat dinner together as a family and the fathers don't get much chance to spend time and talk with their children or even wives. It is a tired exhausting life. Though Christians have different standards, it is still difficult for them to change this situation depending on where they work unless God provides them with a more flexible, close job.

This Week's End

This week has gone by as normal. I have had a chance to share my favorite verse in all, but perhaps one or two classes this week. I think it was a really good chance to show my students what the Bible is, many Japanese people just really don't even know what it is. To be honest, this is something I'm not used to. It is a bit of an adjustment to have to go from complete scratch in explaining things about Christianity. So even if I haven't really done a good job explaining even just what it is, I know that at least they have opened it for themselves and read it and heard it.

On Thursday I have a class with a woman named Sayoko. Well, normally, the class has several other students, but she was the only one who made it this week. At the end of the class, after I shared my favorite verse with her, she told me that she had been taking English classes with another woman from a Baptist church. That was interesting to me. It seems God is surrounding her with people to teach her about Himself. That woman had given her a Bible in Japanese, but Sayoko told me that she just didn't understand it and she doesn't understand things about God. I don't know if my response was the best, but I told her that for most people the Bible is hard to understand even for me it is. As I've thought about the conversation I hope I get a chance next week to ask her if she would like to understand it. If she says yes than I hope to pray with her to ask God to show her the truth about this book. But as with all things, may God lead me to do the right thing at the right time with the right person and that Satan would be kept at bay from distracting and stealing faith from those who are seeking for it.

Sayoko also informed me that her cousin's son, Kairi, is one of my students that comes to children's class on Saturday. She told me that he went to Africa this year and so is very interested in learning English. I thought that was so interesting and today I talked to Kairi about it. Maybe some day he could be a Japanese missionary in Africa. Let's pray!!

Bible Study in Yokohama

The bible study topic was from the book of Acts chapter 9, about Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus. Abe Sensei mentioned something that I felt at the time of hearing was quite profound. He said that Saul had a very sudden and unordinary experience meeting Jesus. Most people do not have such drastically life-changing one-time experiences. Really this is extremely rare. But this kind of experience happened to Saul who understood God's Word very well and who lived in the time of Jesus, understanding the significance of crucifixion, etc. Abe Sensei said that it is really challenging for a Japanese person to grasp might be thought of as simple to some because they don't share the same history or the same spiritual significance of certain things.

So Paul, who had the knowledge and history, needed an awesome experience to see Christ truly as he was. How much harder is it for people who don't have the knowledge and history to come to see Christ as he is if they don't have the same kind of life-altering experience? This was Abe Sensei's point. And as I type now I realize this is a point of struggle for any/all people who don't have the knowledge and history of the stories from the Bible. Good thing Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be a help and to overcome all difficulties.

Really you could take this and run with it in all kinds of theological debates and theories I suppose. The second Scripture we read was Galatians 1:11-24. Paul makes it clear that he wasn't persuaded by any man about who Christ was, but that the understanding came from God Himself. He even left for Arabia without meeting with any of the other disciples after he came to this understanding. I'm sure Paul's world was COMPLETELY shaken up and he needed some time to himself to put things in order and let things sink in. So he went off on his own for a while and eventually came back to see the other disciples and talk with them finally. Abe Sensei said that in a similar way Japanese people need time too to graps the understanding of Jesus Christ.

Besides the bible study time, the Abe's told me how in Japan baptism truly signifies a decision to follow Christ. Even though there isn't any persecution as in excommunication, physical beatings, or killings of Christians in Japan, this act has some weight in the minds of family members or friends who might decide to be baptized. Perhaps it's like there is some kind of emotional persecution...hmm...a new thought. Now I am taking on the thinking of Masuda Sensei and the other pastors who are so concerned and interested in the Japanese psychological/sociological mindset.

Anywa, it is hard to break free from doing what is expected of you. Most Japanese probably wouldn't consider it worth it to go against the grain for a certain strange belief. Some Japanese people who are Christians even put off being baptized, because of what their family members will think. To be honest with you, I don't think I have a real good grasp of what and why this happens, but I hope I'm not giving the wrong impression either.

To be a Christian in Japan means you are different. It means you don't participate in all the customs. For example, Abe Sensei shared that after he became a Christian his father got upset because he didn't light incense at his uncle's funeral. But he did stay up all night with the body. Now I can't tell you the religious or spiritual significance of each thing, but Christians in Japan who are truly seeking after God must reconsider the actions they do and decide which ones are ok to follow and which aren't. In any culture this is what happens when one becomes a Christian, is it not?

Thanksgiving Day

Today was another holiday in Japan, Culture Day. The Sagamihara church, pastored by Abe Sensei, had a Thanksgiving Day lunch and concert at the church. It is an outreach event to invite people to come to church and experience an American style meal and tradition. So of course they wanted me to attend and it was a really relaxed and enjoyable time--at least for me it was after I got myself lost on the way there as I rode the bike Abe Sensei let me borrow. It's been a long time since I've ridden a bicycle, and even though everyone rides bikes here--even the elderly--to get around I still felt like I was going back to childhood days.

To the left is a picture of the Sagamihara Grace church and it is also where the Abe's live. So if you haven't gotten the idea yet, Thanksgiving Day is not celebrated in Japan. This was my change to take part in the real holiday I'll be missing while you will all (Lord willing) in a few weeks be enjoying true Thanksgiving Day foods and football games with your families and loved ones. For a little switch up, why not try eating Turkey with chopsticks or sitting Japanese style on the floor this year?

Well, anyway, Tom (the Abe's son-in-law) did an amazing job on the turkey and there was even cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. I did miss my mom's yams though...As you can see there were quite a few people there, families with small children especially. Everyone had a nice time.


After the meal, there was a Christian couple who came to give a concert. They played the guitar and pianica (piano + harmonica), which I had never heard before, and some other instruments. It was nice chill music to get a little sleepy by after such good eating.

Pray a blessing for the Abe's, their family, and the church. Their vision is to grow so that they can buy and build a new church on the lawn beside the current church building/house. Right now they already don't have much room to hold everyone for Sunday morning services. To be out of room, what good problem to have!

Yori's Testimony

Last Friday I went with Abe Sensei and his wife, Keiko, to their weekly bible study. Actually, I don't know who normally attends, but on this day we went to a woman's house in Yokohama. Her name is Yoko. She is a Christian and lives kind of far from their church, but attends when she can make it. On the way to her house we also picked up another housewife named Yori. She speaks very good English and translated for me during the bible study.

When we first sat down at Yoko's house Yori shared her testimony with us. Even the Abe's hadn't heard all of it. She told us how the first time she 'met God' was when she was 18. She went to study for a year in Ohio. Before she left for the year abroad she tried to make contact with her host family to introduce herself, but somehow she could never get ahold of them. On the day she arrived in the States she had to take a plane by herself from Cincinnati to Chicago, if I remember correctly. As she was sitting there waiting for the plane she became really homesick and afraid because she was in another country and was going to be there for a whole year and she didn't know who her host family was. So if they didn't come to the airport she wouldn't know what to do because she didn't know much English at the time.

There was a woman who noticed that Yori was wearing some badge that said the name of the organization she was doing the abroad program with. This woman turned out to be the wife of the president of this organization. So the woman talked with her and comforted her because she understood how Yori felt as a foreigner in a new place. The woman's daughter happened to be going on the same flight so they helped Yori get to her host family. They exchanged information so that if Yori ever needed help she could contact them.

This organization also generally has the students rotate homes every four months so that neither the student or the family gets too stressed out, one year is a long time. But the organization couldn't find any other families to host her by the end of her first four months. She told them about the people she met in the airport, the organization contacted the family, and the family agreed to take Yori in. So Yori moved to the home of the people she met at the airport. They were Christians and took Yori to church every week.

Now, most Japanese people aren't interested in Christianity, but of course for the sake of the family they attend church with them. Yori wasn't interested either, but she found a lot of healing when she stayed with this family. When she was even younger she had been bullied a lot and she had at one point tried to commit suicide. [This is not uncommon in Japan, students that are bullied come to the point of being suicidal.]

So although Yori didn't become a Christian from her experience with her host family, she experienced God's love from them. It wasn't until years later that she came to accept Christ. She is now in her forties.

Abe Sensei made it clear to me that this is how many Japanese people come to know Christ. There is such a strong sense of doing what everyone else is doing in Japan. Don't be different, don't put yourself first, do everything for the good of the group. That is sort of the idea. It's perhaps like the ultimate bandwagon scenario. But when a person from Japan travels, as a student studying abroad for example, he or she is no longer surrounded by their friends or family. It is like they are free to make choices for themselves in a way. Of course, this would probably happen to anyone going to another country--you see things differently and are usually open to new experiences, etc. So I have met several people who have had the same experience of going abroad and meeting Christ for the first time in host families. If you ever feel God leading you to host anyone from Japan or another culture, go for it and be open to showing them what you believe to be true with wisdom and love and without apology.

Sunday's Sermon

For reasons unknown even to the Japanese, they have an old tradition where they celebrate the third and seventh birthdays of girls and the fifth birthday of boys. Normally, to celebrate this they dress up in kimono and go visit the shrines. Instead of going to the shrines, of course, in church they still celebrate when children turn these ages. So yesterday they did this celebration for two children, Tsuyoshi and Maria (who also happen to be Masuda Sensei's grandchildren). To have a chance in sharing in this tradition that I'm not accustomed to, Masuda Sensei asked me to come forward with them and pray over them. His daughter translated for the congregation as I prayed. It was a nice experience. I thanked God that He placed them in a believing home and I asked that God would give them an understanding of His Son even at a young age.

During Masuda Sensei's sermon, he mentioned how Japanese customs can be seen in a biblical way. They celebrate kids' growth at ages 7, 5, and 3. These three numbers have some importance in the Bible. Seven has many meanings, but he specifically talked about how Jesus told us to forgive 7 x 70 times. Five represents the number of loaves of bread that were multiplied to feed the mulititudes, which signifies how God multiplies man's talent when it is offered to Him. And three represents the Trinity; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

My Apologies

I know I have put off publishing blogs in the past week or so and I'm sorry I haven't been faithful in keeping you all updated especially since I know many of you are so faithful in checking each day and also faithful in praying for me. I've made it a third of the way through my time here in Japan and so I have really settled into the routine. And I am finding it more difficult to motivate myself to take the time to write, because to me it does seem to take so much time... I hope I don't let as much time go by for the rest of my stay, but I beseech your forgiveness, please! And would it be unfair of me to ask you to keep being faithful even though I've slipped in it? Well, if my words can't convince you, just look at my face to see my genuine apologetic feelings.