In 2005 I remember passing by a dog store in Bell Mall here in Utsunomiya where the display dogs were wearing a tuxedo and a wedding dress. Now if that is not ridiculous, just wait to hear what I found out tonight.
I went to dinner with my roommate Yoichi and afterwards he turned on the evening news. They had a special on dog accessories. I will work my way up from the not so amazing to the 'you have to be kidding me' items.
1) The dog stores in Japan have clothing for there dogs to wear, which is not uncommon since America has started the same trend. They also have specialty food items for dogs that cost $20-30 for one dish of food. I might as well go buy a steak from the grocery store and let my dog eat it.
2) There are dog restaurants in Japan. People actually take their dogs into the restaurant, sit them in a chair next to them and the person orders food for both of them. So imagine a very nice and clean restaurant where half of the customers are dogs.
3) Birthday parties for dogs. There are also restaurants where you can invite other peoples dogs and the people sit there and let the dogs eat Birthday cakes and they sing happy birthday to the dog. If you ask me, it seems that dogs are starting to replace children.
4) The most amazing thing I saw tonight was contact lenses. That's right. Contact lenses for dogs. They go in to an optometrists and get there eyes examined, somehow, and the optometrists then puts contacts on the dogs and gives the owner replacements. Only in Japan and probably soon in the US.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Frustrated?
Over the past 4-5 days I have become frustrated little by little by so many things because ultimately it seems I can't do anything right. I will name some of them to let you have an idea.
One of those is language. Whether it be language class or talking with friends, I will say something and there response is,"I understand but it is either to formal, to informal, just doesn't sound quite right to a natural speaker." Sometimes, there are two ways to say the same thing but it always seems that I end up using the one that doesn't fit the situation quite right. I don't know.
Second would be all those small details of life that don't seem like a big deal. I will take the example of cooking. So the vegetables here are probably the cleanest vegetables I have ever seen. The carrots look spotless and the potatoes don't have a speck of dirt on them. It seems that the carrot must be peeled. The funny thing is you can't tell were you have already peeled because there is no difference but you must peel it. The potatoes also seem to be one of those things that you must peel. So I peeled the potatoes and they had those small dots where an indentation was that still had skin on it, so I thought no big deal. Wrong. No skin anywhere.
Another thing is language study has been pretty lonely during the week. I live with one staff and two former students who work about 12 hour days 6 days a week. If I see them for 10 minutes during the week, that is a lot. So it is pretty much Tomo and I but Tomo is often gone from the house during the day, so studying can be pretty boring after a while. I came to realize this week that I don't have anyone to talk to during the afternoon and evenings while studying. Not English or Japanese. On my trips here before I have always had someone close by who I could speak English with and talk to at anytime but I don't have that now.
During the last couple days God has been teaching me a lot about relying on Him. It is so easy to rely on friendships and relationships and kind of rely upon God. So during the last week, I started to feel that I couldn't do anything right which is very frustrating and humbling. Imagine going through a 3 day time period where 90% of everything you do isn't quite right and you get corrected for it and you can't speak English back to them. That is the way I have felt. Almost nothing you do is the way you are used to doing it.
But God has shown me once again that these times of trials are to help me conform into the image of Christ. Even the small little things of everyday life for when I am weak, then I am made strong. Our Awesome God who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, He who is so great and myself who is so small is right here next to me helping me see the truth in this situation. Through all these difficulties and frustrations of the past week, he has been drawing me closer to Himself and showing me his great power with one arm and his great tender care with the other.
I have some ideas of things I can do where I can meet with students and still study Japanese full-time. Please be praying for me that I will be using the Japanese that I have learned while making deeper relationships with the students.
One of those is language. Whether it be language class or talking with friends, I will say something and there response is,"I understand but it is either to formal, to informal, just doesn't sound quite right to a natural speaker." Sometimes, there are two ways to say the same thing but it always seems that I end up using the one that doesn't fit the situation quite right. I don't know.
Second would be all those small details of life that don't seem like a big deal. I will take the example of cooking. So the vegetables here are probably the cleanest vegetables I have ever seen. The carrots look spotless and the potatoes don't have a speck of dirt on them. It seems that the carrot must be peeled. The funny thing is you can't tell were you have already peeled because there is no difference but you must peel it. The potatoes also seem to be one of those things that you must peel. So I peeled the potatoes and they had those small dots where an indentation was that still had skin on it, so I thought no big deal. Wrong. No skin anywhere.
Another thing is language study has been pretty lonely during the week. I live with one staff and two former students who work about 12 hour days 6 days a week. If I see them for 10 minutes during the week, that is a lot. So it is pretty much Tomo and I but Tomo is often gone from the house during the day, so studying can be pretty boring after a while. I came to realize this week that I don't have anyone to talk to during the afternoon and evenings while studying. Not English or Japanese. On my trips here before I have always had someone close by who I could speak English with and talk to at anytime but I don't have that now.
During the last couple days God has been teaching me a lot about relying on Him. It is so easy to rely on friendships and relationships and kind of rely upon God. So during the last week, I started to feel that I couldn't do anything right which is very frustrating and humbling. Imagine going through a 3 day time period where 90% of everything you do isn't quite right and you get corrected for it and you can't speak English back to them. That is the way I have felt. Almost nothing you do is the way you are used to doing it.
But God has shown me once again that these times of trials are to help me conform into the image of Christ. Even the small little things of everyday life for when I am weak, then I am made strong. Our Awesome God who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, He who is so great and myself who is so small is right here next to me helping me see the truth in this situation. Through all these difficulties and frustrations of the past week, he has been drawing me closer to Himself and showing me his great power with one arm and his great tender care with the other.
I have some ideas of things I can do where I can meet with students and still study Japanese full-time. Please be praying for me that I will be using the Japanese that I have learned while making deeper relationships with the students.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Pictures
I realize that some of you by now are wondering where my pictures are. I am trying to figure out a good way to publish my pictures. I am open to advice. I am seeing if there is a way to directly use blogger and do so or I know you can use other websites. If you have any ideas let me know. Thank you.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Update on New Family Member
So I had a chance to talk to Tokusan tonight. I had heard that she initially told someone she had a new boyfriend as her way of saying that she is now a follower of Jesus Christ. So when I saw her tonight, I said, "I heard you have a new boyfriend." She had a huge smile on her face and pulled me aside and she told me that last night she decided to follow Jesus Christ and prayed with Gibbs, Keith, and Wachi.
When our team was here in 2005 for two months, she was a sophomore interested in the Bible and learning more. Over the last two years, people kept wondering when she would believe as she had an understanding but something kept her from believing. Through God bringing in people in different places she said that she thought she believed in Jesus but really wanted to be sure she did and last night during the SLT meeting we looked at Ephesians 1:15-19 and she wanted to have the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of God. During that discussion she said she realized the only way to get to know God was to believe in Him, as she has been trying to know God completely without believing.
There is joy in heaven before the angels of God over Tokusan who is no longer lost and there is much joy here between believers.
When our team was here in 2005 for two months, she was a sophomore interested in the Bible and learning more. Over the last two years, people kept wondering when she would believe as she had an understanding but something kept her from believing. Through God bringing in people in different places she said that she thought she believed in Jesus but really wanted to be sure she did and last night during the SLT meeting we looked at Ephesians 1:15-19 and she wanted to have the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of God. During that discussion she said she realized the only way to get to know God was to believe in Him, as she has been trying to know God completely without believing.
There is joy in heaven before the angels of God over Tokusan who is no longer lost and there is much joy here between believers.
Speaking of Family
So as I had just talked about our spiritual family, there is some rejoicing today for a new member. Tokusan is a new sister in Christ. She is a senior who has been one of the students leading the Freshman Bible Study.
So last night as we were at the Student Leadership Team meeting, we split up into two groups to pray at the end of our time. We both finished but the one group seemed to be just talking and it was getting late so some of us left to go home. It turns out that Tokusan officially trusted in Christ last night. Man, I wish I could have been there. I will have a chance to see her tonight at Buff's going back to America party. I look forward to hearing her story.
So last night as we were at the Student Leadership Team meeting, we split up into two groups to pray at the end of our time. We both finished but the one group seemed to be just talking and it was getting late so some of us left to go home. It turns out that Tokusan officially trusted in Christ last night. Man, I wish I could have been there. I will have a chance to see her tonight at Buff's going back to America party. I look forward to hearing her story.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
SLT - Student Leadership Team
Tonight, we had our student leadership team meeting. During the week there are Bible Discussions Monday through Thursday Night and it is exciting to see that some of the students are leading Bible Discussions. On Tuesday and Thursday night is B cubed. 5 students from BEST Club lead a Bible Discussion for Freshman and they have been having around 15 students come to their study which is totally awesome. Tonight, Wachi said that the Freshman class reminds him a lot of the way his class (currently seniors) was when they were Freshman. How encouraging to hear that as the current senior class will be missed greatly when they graduate next March. It is encouraging to meet with student believers as a group and see how God is challenging them in teaching other students the Scriptures.
On a different note, I should hopefully be able to cook some meals soon. Currently I can cook curry and rice from scratch but other than that it is either instant or boiled. On Tuesday I will be getting together with Hiroyuki and he will teach me some meals to cook. Healthy Meals! Not ones loaded with salt as a preservative. I have not been able to spend much time with students because of language so I am glad to be able to set up a time with Hiroyuki on a somewhat regular basis.
As I have continued to think more about what it means to be a Christian, I have been encouraged by the Christian family that God has put together. I listened to John Piper's Sermon from 4/29/2007 which was about being single in Christ. The title can be a little misleading as he does talk a little about singleness but he talked about spiritual generations and our spiritual family, mothers, brothers, and sisters and how God originally used generations with Israel through reproduction to how generations are now mostly through spiritual fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. I would challenge you to listen to this message as it was a phenomenal message. Click Here to go to the page.
What a blessing it is to be able to go practically anywhere in the world and be united with family. The family that will last for eternity!
On a different note, I should hopefully be able to cook some meals soon. Currently I can cook curry and rice from scratch but other than that it is either instant or boiled. On Tuesday I will be getting together with Hiroyuki and he will teach me some meals to cook. Healthy Meals! Not ones loaded with salt as a preservative. I have not been able to spend much time with students because of language so I am glad to be able to set up a time with Hiroyuki on a somewhat regular basis.
As I have continued to think more about what it means to be a Christian, I have been encouraged by the Christian family that God has put together. I listened to John Piper's Sermon from 4/29/2007 which was about being single in Christ. The title can be a little misleading as he does talk a little about singleness but he talked about spiritual generations and our spiritual family, mothers, brothers, and sisters and how God originally used generations with Israel through reproduction to how generations are now mostly through spiritual fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. I would challenge you to listen to this message as it was a phenomenal message. Click Here to go to the page.
What a blessing it is to be able to go practically anywhere in the world and be united with family. The family that will last for eternity!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
What does it mean to you to be a Christian?
Friday Night during our Bible Discussion, I was in a group with 4 freshman who have probably only had about maybe 6 Bible Discussions maybe more if they go to the Freshman Bible Study night. We looked at the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. Conversation was slower than usual because of the language barrier and because 3 of the 4 students are fairly quiet.
Near the end of the study, one of the girls asked me what it means to me to be a Christian? Simple answer, right? The question seemed to come out of nowhere. I then started to try and explain but I quickly remembered I am talking to students who don't have the background of information that I do. So then I tried to make a broader example of the Bible relating it to the Prodigal Son. I have no idea how effective it was but that simple question has really challenged me. I do not think that I have ever been asked that question. In America, people have stereotypes of what a Christian is so they have no reason to ask because they think they know. Well, here in Japan, there is not a stereotype amongst many students and she really wanted to know.
I pray that the Lord will use that time tonight to bring glory to His name. I am now challenged to come up with a 1-2 minute answer or illustration to help someone understand what it means to be a Christian. My initial reaction is, do you have an hour because I want to explain the whole Bible to you.
So if someone came up to you and said What does it mean to be a Christian, How would you answer them? Assume that they have little to no understanding of the Bible. I would love to hear some comments.
Near the end of the study, one of the girls asked me what it means to me to be a Christian? Simple answer, right? The question seemed to come out of nowhere. I then started to try and explain but I quickly remembered I am talking to students who don't have the background of information that I do. So then I tried to make a broader example of the Bible relating it to the Prodigal Son. I have no idea how effective it was but that simple question has really challenged me. I do not think that I have ever been asked that question. In America, people have stereotypes of what a Christian is so they have no reason to ask because they think they know. Well, here in Japan, there is not a stereotype amongst many students and she really wanted to know.
I pray that the Lord will use that time tonight to bring glory to His name. I am now challenged to come up with a 1-2 minute answer or illustration to help someone understand what it means to be a Christian. My initial reaction is, do you have an hour because I want to explain the whole Bible to you.
So if someone came up to you and said What does it mean to be a Christian, How would you answer them? Assume that they have little to no understanding of the Bible. I would love to hear some comments.
Friday, May 18, 2007
The First Week Owarimashita.
So my first week of language school is done. Yeah! Only 7 more to go. I can't believe that I have been here for a week. Time has flown by during this time of moving in and studying Japanese. Tonight is the first night that I will get to go to BEST Club on Friday which is the big get together each week where we play an English speaking game, then we split up into Bible Discussion groups, then eat dinner, then have After Best, which tonight is games at Omnibus(the girls house).
We currently have some special guests at Utsunomiya right now called Campus Net. Around 20 people from Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Bangledesh arrived last night to have a conference focusing on reaching college students for the gospel. So they are going to be looking at the BEST Club and then they will have a couple more days for there conference. So last night when they arrived we ate at Bamiyan, a chinese restaurant, and I sat with two ladies from Malaysia, one gentleman from Taiwan, and two Utsu students. During dinner I had my first chance of being an interpreter which was kind of fun. So our guests could speak English but couldn't always get the students to understand, so I got to translate. Even though it was poor translation, it was exciting to see more of a goal for learning Japanese.
On another note for those of you who are waiting for certain statistics, here are some of them. I have only hit my head 4 times on a doorway, which none of them have been hard which is pretty impressive since the doorways in my house come to my chin. I haven't made any huge language blunders, that I know of. If I have, they haven't told me. I think I have been told that I was tall everyday counting to a running total of about 1,363 times. Oh, make that 1,364 times. If there are any other curiousity questions feel free to let me know.
We currently have some special guests at Utsunomiya right now called Campus Net. Around 20 people from Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Bangledesh arrived last night to have a conference focusing on reaching college students for the gospel. So they are going to be looking at the BEST Club and then they will have a couple more days for there conference. So last night when they arrived we ate at Bamiyan, a chinese restaurant, and I sat with two ladies from Malaysia, one gentleman from Taiwan, and two Utsu students. During dinner I had my first chance of being an interpreter which was kind of fun. So our guests could speak English but couldn't always get the students to understand, so I got to translate. Even though it was poor translation, it was exciting to see more of a goal for learning Japanese.
On another note for those of you who are waiting for certain statistics, here are some of them. I have only hit my head 4 times on a doorway, which none of them have been hard which is pretty impressive since the doorways in my house come to my chin. I haven't made any huge language blunders, that I know of. If I have, they haven't told me. I think I have been told that I was tall everyday counting to a running total of about 1,363 times. Oh, make that 1,364 times. If there are any other curiousity questions feel free to let me know.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Language School
Monday was probably one of my busiest days so far. At 8am I met with Keith and we road our bicycles over to the Language School to see if I could sit in on a class. The only concern was the language classes started a month ago. I was hoping when I arrived I could start in a class where it was past the beginning stages but yet not to far so I would have to review my previous Japanese and also learn new Japanese at the same time.
I sat in on the class for 2 hours and I think I understood about 75-80% of it. They had just finished chapter 6 in there book. So the setup of the class is that it goes from 9am to 1pm. You have four 45 minute classes with a 15 minute break after each one and it goes from Monday to Friday. So Keith helped me get signed up for the class, which was at a perfect position to start. We then returned home about 12:45pm and then at 2pm Bryan called me up and we went out and purchased a bicycle, a desk, a chair, a cell phone, and signed up for my alien registration card. We got back about 8:30pm after all of our shopping. I then had to review for todays language class.
So today was officially my first language class. Listening and speaking Japanese for 4 hours straight is extremely tiring and very hard to stay focused but I have a great sensei who is very energetic and helpful. She does not allow any foreign language used during classtime. So I am in a class of about 18 students which most are Chinese, one Thai, one Arabic, and me the tall American. The class is very challenging because nothing is explained in English at all but this is by far the best way to learn.
During Kodomo no Mori Camp, there was the question what one word describes you best? I said Takai, which is High often used for tall. I chose this word because 80% of the BEST Club told me that when I first met them. So now I am in a new class and the same word describes me the most, Takai. I have also had some funny initial questions asked to me from fellow language students. One girl asked me if I was married. Another girl asked me how tall my girlfriend was. I have also been able to see different cultural barriers with these students at Language School because the idea of space is a bit different when talking with different people.
I still have not unpacked or setup anything in my room, so I hope to get some work done during the rest of the day.
I sat in on the class for 2 hours and I think I understood about 75-80% of it. They had just finished chapter 6 in there book. So the setup of the class is that it goes from 9am to 1pm. You have four 45 minute classes with a 15 minute break after each one and it goes from Monday to Friday. So Keith helped me get signed up for the class, which was at a perfect position to start. We then returned home about 12:45pm and then at 2pm Bryan called me up and we went out and purchased a bicycle, a desk, a chair, a cell phone, and signed up for my alien registration card. We got back about 8:30pm after all of our shopping. I then had to review for todays language class.
So today was officially my first language class. Listening and speaking Japanese for 4 hours straight is extremely tiring and very hard to stay focused but I have a great sensei who is very energetic and helpful. She does not allow any foreign language used during classtime. So I am in a class of about 18 students which most are Chinese, one Thai, one Arabic, and me the tall American. The class is very challenging because nothing is explained in English at all but this is by far the best way to learn.
During Kodomo no Mori Camp, there was the question what one word describes you best? I said Takai, which is High often used for tall. I chose this word because 80% of the BEST Club told me that when I first met them. So now I am in a new class and the same word describes me the most, Takai. I have also had some funny initial questions asked to me from fellow language students. One girl asked me if I was married. Another girl asked me how tall my girlfriend was. I have also been able to see different cultural barriers with these students at Language School because the idea of space is a bit different when talking with different people.
I still have not unpacked or setup anything in my room, so I hope to get some work done during the rest of the day.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Kodomo no Mori Camp
The camp was a success and the students who prepared it did a great job. We traveled about 30-55 minutes towards Nikko (it only took 55 minutes if you happened to be in a car that took more roads than needed. aka lost) to a camp ground. We made our own fresh curry over the campfire. Some chopped up potatoes, onions, and carrots while others worked on making six fires. We divided up into six dinner groups since we had about 58 people there.
After dinner we split into 8 groups and had a Bible Discussion on Luke 12 about the man who coveted his brothers inheritance and the rich man who built larger barns so he could eat, drink, and be merry. This is a great parable for the Japanese culture since possessions are so huge here. We then played a game in the woods where we had to find hidden plastic bowls which were numbered for points.
As I said before, most of the students stay up all night long, which I found that to be true. Since I was so tired from jet-lag I went to bed at 1am but thanks to jet-lag I could only sleep until 3:30am. I felt better then but really cold. It was a very cold night to be outside as everyone was wrapped up in blankets. When morning came around we ate breakfast and split up and talked with a breakfast partner and mine was Masaru. We then cleaned up and went to the local gymnasium where we played floor hockey for 2 hours which was a lot of fun. We had six teams so each team played 5 games. My team ended up winning with a 4-0-1 record.
Thanks to Keith I stayed awake all day and went to bed and slept for 11 hours. I know feel a lot better and I think the initial feeling of jet-lag is gone. I am about to go play outdoor basketball at 3pm. We are meeting at Beishe, one of the best grocery stores around.
After dinner we split into 8 groups and had a Bible Discussion on Luke 12 about the man who coveted his brothers inheritance and the rich man who built larger barns so he could eat, drink, and be merry. This is a great parable for the Japanese culture since possessions are so huge here. We then played a game in the woods where we had to find hidden plastic bowls which were numbered for points.
As I said before, most of the students stay up all night long, which I found that to be true. Since I was so tired from jet-lag I went to bed at 1am but thanks to jet-lag I could only sleep until 3:30am. I felt better then but really cold. It was a very cold night to be outside as everyone was wrapped up in blankets. When morning came around we ate breakfast and split up and talked with a breakfast partner and mine was Masaru. We then cleaned up and went to the local gymnasium where we played floor hockey for 2 hours which was a lot of fun. We had six teams so each team played 5 games. My team ended up winning with a 4-0-1 record.
Thanks to Keith I stayed awake all day and went to bed and slept for 11 hours. I know feel a lot better and I think the initial feeling of jet-lag is gone. I am about to go play outdoor basketball at 3pm. We are meeting at Beishe, one of the best grocery stores around.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Is This a Dream?
So I woke up this morning at 3:15 then went back to bed at 5:30 and then woke up again at 7:30am. From the time that I got on the plane I feel like I have been in one long dream. The only way I know that I am not in a dream is because I can't speak Japanese fluently or fly.
For lunch today Keith, Buff, and I went to the Seikyo (student cafeteria) for lunch and ate with Teppei. As I was walking around everything was very familiar but I felt like I was still in a dream. Now as I write I am ready for a nap. Don't you love jet-lag. For all I know, I will fall asleep and then dream that I am in Japan but hopefully realize by my superpowers that it really is a dream.
I definitely feel overwhelmed with how much stuff I need to try and do over the next week to get settled in to my new living situation. I also need to figure out what to do about starting language school here in the next week or so.
For lunch today Keith, Buff, and I went to the Seikyo (student cafeteria) for lunch and ate with Teppei. As I was walking around everything was very familiar but I felt like I was still in a dream. Now as I write I am ready for a nap. Don't you love jet-lag. For all I know, I will fall asleep and then dream that I am in Japan but hopefully realize by my superpowers that it really is a dream.
I definitely feel overwhelmed with how much stuff I need to try and do over the next week to get settled in to my new living situation. I also need to figure out what to do about starting language school here in the next week or so.
I have arrived!
I have arrived in Japan! I feel like I am dreaming right now. Is this really real? Have I finally reached Japan for 2 years?
Check-in went great with no problems. I was able to take my guitar with me on the plane. On my first flight it was able to have its own seat and then on my long flight from Chicago to Narita it flew first class. The 13 hour flight was long and miserable. I slept for maybe 1 hour. When I arrived at Narita I felt like a deer who had just been hit by a car but I was warmly welcomed by Yuta and Gibbs. We then hopped into the van and drove the backroads home to Utsumoniya. We stopped at coco ichiban which is a curry restaurant and I had my first meal back in Japan, chicken katsu curry. Oishikata. It was very delicious.
We arrived in Utsumoniya about 9pm and came to my new home at Blue Sky. I had yet another warm welcome by my new roommate Tomo, who was very kind in buying me some breakfast food, which I am about to eat at 4am this morning. There was a Bible Discussion going on when I arrived and was able to see Keith, Hiroyuki, and Yamato again and then met Hiroko and Kazuki. I went to sleep about 9:45pm and woke up about 3:15am. 5 and 1/2 hours isn't to bad considering I slept for 1 hour in the previous 26.
I look forward to this evening as we leave for Kodomo no mori camp where we will go camping tonight. When we get there we will cook out and then have a Bible Discussion along with some games. From my understanding most of the students also stay up all night long and then in the morning we will play gym hockey which sounds like a lot of fun. I believe there are 58 people going which is a huge amount so I will probably be forgetting names just as fast as I learn them. (In the end, I will just blame jet-lag if I keep forgetting peoples names).
Check-in went great with no problems. I was able to take my guitar with me on the plane. On my first flight it was able to have its own seat and then on my long flight from Chicago to Narita it flew first class. The 13 hour flight was long and miserable. I slept for maybe 1 hour. When I arrived at Narita I felt like a deer who had just been hit by a car but I was warmly welcomed by Yuta and Gibbs. We then hopped into the van and drove the backroads home to Utsumoniya. We stopped at coco ichiban which is a curry restaurant and I had my first meal back in Japan, chicken katsu curry. Oishikata. It was very delicious.
We arrived in Utsumoniya about 9pm and came to my new home at Blue Sky. I had yet another warm welcome by my new roommate Tomo, who was very kind in buying me some breakfast food, which I am about to eat at 4am this morning. There was a Bible Discussion going on when I arrived and was able to see Keith, Hiroyuki, and Yamato again and then met Hiroko and Kazuki. I went to sleep about 9:45pm and woke up about 3:15am. 5 and 1/2 hours isn't to bad considering I slept for 1 hour in the previous 26.
I look forward to this evening as we leave for Kodomo no mori camp where we will go camping tonight. When we get there we will cook out and then have a Bible Discussion along with some games. From my understanding most of the students also stay up all night long and then in the morning we will play gym hockey which sounds like a lot of fun. I believe there are 58 people going which is a huge amount so I will probably be forgetting names just as fast as I learn them. (In the end, I will just blame jet-lag if I keep forgetting peoples names).
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Check-in Time
Well, I am about to leave for the airport in about 14 minutes and you can say I am a little nervous, mostly about the check-in though. I have two packed suitcases both at the 70lb limit and my guitar which I may or may not take. That solely depends on how much they charge as extra baggage since it is over the 45" linear carry on. I also have a one-way ticket which means I will probably get cavity searched, at least extra checked.
Once I get into the airport, it should be beautiful sailing as the weather is very nice. Thank you for all your prayers and help in getting me to Japan.
Once I get into the airport, it should be beautiful sailing as the weather is very nice. Thank you for all your prayers and help in getting me to Japan.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
One More Day
It officially hit me today that I am about to leave for 2 years. After so many goodbyes I felt that I was about to leave but it was not until I started to pack my suitcases today that I realized that this was for 2 years and not 2 months.
I am almost done packing and I have a few more errands to do tomorrow before I leave on Wednesday. This evening my Mom and I went and watched Spiderman 3 in an Imax theater. I had never been to an Imax before but I was a little disappointed. The only thing that really seemed different was it was shown on a bigger screen, but overall, I think the movie was alright with a great final fight.
I am starting to get nervous and excited at the same time. In 31 hours I will wake up and head to the airport. So little time and still to much to do before I leave.
I am almost done packing and I have a few more errands to do tomorrow before I leave on Wednesday. This evening my Mom and I went and watched Spiderman 3 in an Imax theater. I had never been to an Imax before but I was a little disappointed. The only thing that really seemed different was it was shown on a bigger screen, but overall, I think the movie was alright with a great final fight.
I am starting to get nervous and excited at the same time. In 31 hours I will wake up and head to the airport. So little time and still to much to do before I leave.
Recap
Dear Family and Friends,
Thank you so much for all that you have done to help me reach my goals while fundraising. Praise God that my visa went through with no problems and I was able to get a cheap plane ticket. I wanted to let you know what will be happening now that I am leaving soon. You can quickly scan each Bold topic if it applies to you.
DEPARTURE DATE:
I am leaving on May 9, 2007 from Madison Wisconsin and am arriving in Narita airport on May 10, 2007. What will I be doing until I leave? I will be leaving Lafayette on Wednesday May 2 and head up to South Bend, IN. I will be in South Bend on Thurs, Friday, and Sunday. On Saturday I will be up in Michigan visiti ng family. I then plan to leave South Bend on Sunday afternoon to go up to Wisconsin where I will proceed to do my final packing and then fly out on Wednesday morning.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
1) Language Acquisition- Language can be hard and difficult at times, especially when that is my focus for the first month. Please pray that God will humble my heart so that I will be practicing Japanese with many people and not worry about making mistakes and a fool of myself for saying the wrong things. Also for patience and perseverance that I will study hard and not want to give up.
2) Living- This involves transition to the Japanese culture like cooking, conserving energy, and many things that I probably don't realize. During my summers I have found little ways to avoid things for 2 months and will become problems if I don't learn how to do them for 2 years. Cooking is the best example as I would like to learn how to make real, actual meals at home instead of ramen and curry.
3) That God would show me 2 guys that I will b e able to be great friends with and disciple them in God's Word and that these 2 guys will become great men of faith in the country of Japan as Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists,...
4) Please pray for my goodbyes, that they will be an enjoyable time and also for my travel and safety when flying.
5) Pray that I will continue to grow deeper in love with God and His Word and that I will not be distracted from Him from all of the new circumstances of living in a new country.
6) Please pray for my fellow staff in Utsunomiya: Bryan and Renee Gibbs (3 kids), Ruth Ann Hurd, Keith Brooks, and Tomo.
Thank you very much and if you have any questions please let me know.
Alan
Thank you so much for all that you have done to help me reach my goals while fundraising. Praise God that my visa went through with no problems and I was able to get a cheap plane ticket. I wanted to let you know what will be happening now that I am leaving soon. You can quickly scan each Bold topic if it applies to you.
DEPARTURE DATE:
I am leaving on May 9, 2007 from Madison Wisconsin and am arriving in Narita airport on May 10, 2007. What will I be doing until I leave? I will be leaving Lafayette on Wednesday May 2 and head up to South Bend, IN. I will be in South Bend on Thurs, Friday, and Sunday. On Saturday I will be up in Michigan visiti ng family. I then plan to leave South Bend on Sunday afternoon to go up to Wisconsin where I will proceed to do my final packing and then fly out on Wednesday morning.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
1) Language Acquisition- Language can be hard and difficult at times, especially when that is my focus for the first month. Please pray that God will humble my heart so that I will be practicing Japanese with many people and not worry about making mistakes and a fool of myself for saying the wrong things. Also for patience and perseverance that I will study hard and not want to give up.
2) Living- This involves transition to the Japanese culture like cooking, conserving energy, and many things that I probably don't realize. During my summers I have found little ways to avoid things for 2 months and will become problems if I don't learn how to do them for 2 years. Cooking is the best example as I would like to learn how to make real, actual meals at home instead of ramen and curry.
3) That God would show me 2 guys that I will b e able to be great friends with and disciple them in God's Word and that these 2 guys will become great men of faith in the country of Japan as Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists,...
4) Please pray for my goodbyes, that they will be an enjoyable time and also for my travel and safety when flying.
5) Pray that I will continue to grow deeper in love with God and His Word and that I will not be distracted from Him from all of the new circumstances of living in a new country.
6) Please pray for my fellow staff in Utsunomiya: Bryan and Renee Gibbs (3 kids), Ruth Ann Hurd, Keith Brooks, and Tomo.
Thank you very much and if you have any questions please let me know.
Alan
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