Over the past two weeks I have had a lot of excitement and traveling. Ryan came and visited for a week, then I went with the midtermers down to Karuizawa for a midtermers Christmas party, then hopped in the car with Keiichi, Keith, and Yamao and drove down to Osaka.
Because of the holiday season in Japan focused over New Years, we decided to drive overnight because it is common during this week to have 60 mile backups on the interstate. We left at 8pm on Saturday the 29th and arrived at 6am Sunday morning at Keiichi's parents house. We went to church and then made mochi the old fashion way with a stone bowl and a wooden mallet (Mochi is where you take steamed rice and smash it until it becomes one ball of rice). On New Years Eve we went to Kyoto and ate some zenzai which is a red bean soup with mochi. We then had some Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba at a nearby restaurant. (Notice the trends of food during this time) We then came back home and ate Nabe together at the house. Keith and I were the only ones that stayed up for the New Year. Here in Japan it is not as exciting to stay up and watch the new year come in as compared to New Years day as a day of celebration in comparison to America where you only watch football.
On New years day we ate the tradional New Years day meal. Before we ate the meal, I was told by Keiichi's Mom that it was not a delicious meal but we eat it because of tradition. I was then told by Keiichi that I did not need to eat very much of it because we were going to Costco later in the day and we could eat something there. So we then went to Costco and I bought Granola Bars, Goldfish, Ruffles Potato chips, Quakers granola cereal, tomato soup, cream of mushroom, and rootbeer. Mmm. Yummy.
On the 2nd we went to Himeji Castle which was absolutely gorgeous and then to a hotel with their family to celebrate Masanori's 20th birthday. While at the hotel we ate a huge dinner which was 95% fish. It was a four course meal of every kind and style of fish that you could imagine. I think we were served over 50 different kinds and styles of fish in one meal. Each plate came out with a variety of things. After suffering through a huge meal with a lot of raw fish and their babies yet unborn (fish eggs) we awoke to a breakfast of...guess what...FISH!
Luckily the day changed as we went home and went to a yakiniku restaurant for dinner. I am not sure why there are not restaurants like this in America but my guess is because of health codes. Here you have a small fire in front of you and you order a plate of raw meat and you grill it to your liking. You can order several flavors and cuts of meat. We started off with some thin sliced pork and a plate of sliced cows tongue. I realize that may sound gross but it is extremely good and a specialty in parts of Japan. We then received two plates of rib fingers and slices of the cows thigh. We also received one plate of what I will never recommend eating to anyone, cows intestine. The taste isn't bad but it was like trying to eat my Mom's overcooked porkchops when I was a kid and you just kept chewing but it would never break down and you eventually had to swallow. Then the chef gave us some grade A meat, the best he had in the restaurant. It literally melted in your mouth. One city over from us was Kobe. Kobe beef is the most famous and expensive beef in Japan. They feed their cows beer with the grain and they massage the cows so that the fat in the cow gets evenly distributed throughout the meat. Well, his best meat looked similar to that and tasted wonderful. After it was all said and done, I think I ate around kilo of meat(not quite a kilo but probably about 24 ounces of pure cow. Oh how I have missed meat in huge portions.
We also ate Takoyaki (Octopus in a battered ball), Sukiyaki (steam beef and vegetables), Gyoza, Fried chicken, Spring rolls and many other things. The amazing thing was these were all home made by his Mom. I think I gained a lot of weight in the last 2 weeks. In the last 14 days I think I have eaten about 12 Christmas size dinners. Now that is a holiday feast.
In the end we had a great time traveling, we all gained weight, visited Costco, and are extremely tired.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Monday, December 17, 2007
Christmas Season
This upcoming Christmas will be very different than any normal Christmas. My first start to the Christmas season is having my good friend, Ryan, coming and visiting for a week here in Utsunomiya. He will arrive on the 18th and leave on the 25th. I am excited to be able to spend time with him and catch up on life together and to pray and spend time in the word together.
On Friday December 21 is the BEST Club Christmas party. We will have two guests sharing about Christmas. Whitney, a summer friend from 2006, is visiting for one week and Ryan will be sharing. Please pray that this will be an enlightening time for the students to see more of who Jesus is and why he came to earth.
On Saturday the 22 to Monday the 24th, Ryan and I will head to Motomiya and I will visit a friend whose parents own a campground in the mountains. We will check it out and see if it is a place that the BEST Club might be able to use in the future.
On Christmas Ryan will fly back to America and I will leave with Ruth Ann and Keith to head to Karuizawa, Nagano for a 3 day retreat with the mid-termers that are in Japan. We will return home on the 28th.
On the 29th Keith, Keiichi, and I will leave for the Kansai area which is in Keiichi's hometown of Kobe. During the next week we will visit Osaka, Kyoto, and Himeji's Castle. We will make Mochi at his grandmother's house and do various other things like stopping at Costco (Yeah! Some American food). We will then return on January 6, just in time for the school semester to resume from winter break.
Pretty soon, I will have very little time to check email or respond to things that are happening. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and take time to remember that our Creator, Almighty, Powerful God became a baby on the earth to deliver us from the domain of darkness and transfer us to the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
On Friday December 21 is the BEST Club Christmas party. We will have two guests sharing about Christmas. Whitney, a summer friend from 2006, is visiting for one week and Ryan will be sharing. Please pray that this will be an enlightening time for the students to see more of who Jesus is and why he came to earth.
On Saturday the 22 to Monday the 24th, Ryan and I will head to Motomiya and I will visit a friend whose parents own a campground in the mountains. We will check it out and see if it is a place that the BEST Club might be able to use in the future.
On Christmas Ryan will fly back to America and I will leave with Ruth Ann and Keith to head to Karuizawa, Nagano for a 3 day retreat with the mid-termers that are in Japan. We will return home on the 28th.
On the 29th Keith, Keiichi, and I will leave for the Kansai area which is in Keiichi's hometown of Kobe. During the next week we will visit Osaka, Kyoto, and Himeji's Castle. We will make Mochi at his grandmother's house and do various other things like stopping at Costco (Yeah! Some American food). We will then return on January 6, just in time for the school semester to resume from winter break.
Pretty soon, I will have very little time to check email or respond to things that are happening. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and take time to remember that our Creator, Almighty, Powerful God became a baby on the earth to deliver us from the domain of darkness and transfer us to the kingdom of His beloved Son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Thank You
As I sit hear typing this post, I give thanks to God for all of you who have been praying with me and for me here in Japan. My heart feels blessed right now. Thank you for praying for the seven students this last week with us here. I am looking forward to what God is going to do in the hearts and lives of these students.
I also give thanks for all of you who are financially supporting me in being here. It is a blessing knowing that God has used you to provide for me in Japan. It is hard to believe that 7 months has already passed since being here as it has only felt like 2 or 3.
I also wanted to let you know about my Japanese test I took in early December. I will not find out my score until the middle of February but I am pretty confident that I passed the test. Thank you for your prayers.
For those of you expecting a Christmas letter with my prayer card it will probably be a very belated Christmas letter. I have almost finished the prayer card and then need to organize the mailing from the states. Please be patient and I hope that the letter will find you soon.
I also give thanks for all of you who are financially supporting me in being here. It is a blessing knowing that God has used you to provide for me in Japan. It is hard to believe that 7 months has already passed since being here as it has only felt like 2 or 3.
I also wanted to let you know about my Japanese test I took in early December. I will not find out my score until the middle of February but I am pretty confident that I passed the test. Thank you for your prayers.
For those of you expecting a Christmas letter with my prayer card it will probably be a very belated Christmas letter. I have almost finished the prayer card and then need to organize the mailing from the states. Please be patient and I hope that the letter will find you soon.
Saturday, December 01, 2007
The Time Has Come
The thing that I have been waiting for has finally arrived. For 3 months I have been waiting and studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). Keith and I will head down to Oyama tomorrow morning to take the entry level test (Level 4). So they estimate that you will need to know around 800 words and 100 Kanji. There are three sections to the test: writing & reading, listening, and grammar & vocabulary.
Sadly, we won't find out our actual grade until February so it will be a long time before I can let you know how we did. Please pray for us to have clear minds and to remember what we have studied. If we do well, it will make our teacher happy and a happy teacher is a good teacher!
My goal is to try and take the level 3 test in December of next year, 2008. In order to do that, I would need to double my vocabulary to 1500 words and know about 300 Kanji. がんばります。
お休みなさい。
Sadly, we won't find out our actual grade until February so it will be a long time before I can let you know how we did. Please pray for us to have clear minds and to remember what we have studied. If we do well, it will make our teacher happy and a happy teacher is a good teacher!
My goal is to try and take the level 3 test in December of next year, 2008. In order to do that, I would need to double my vocabulary to 1500 words and know about 300 Kanji. がんばります。
お休みなさい。
Monday, November 26, 2007
Bandai Sports Camp
This last weekend the BEST Club took a trip up to the Bandai Mountains where we had our fall Sports Camp. We had about 30 students and staff come from Utsunomiya and about 10 students and staff come from Shizuoka University. When we arrived there was about 3 inches of snow on the ground which ruined our outside sports that we wanted to play on Saturday.
On Friday afternoon, we had our Bible Discussion, then Dinner, and free time sports in the gym where we played Volleyball and Basketball. On Saturday morning we started our tournament and played Volleyball and Basketball. We then ate lunch and had free time in the afternoon because we could not use the gym due to another group that was there. During our free time, Bryan, Keith, Tsubasa, Miura, Akun, and I went driving around the huge Lake of Inawashiro. We stopped and fed ducks with the other Japanese tourists. It was an amazing site to see a couple hundred ducks huddled together trying to get bread from the people. We even were able to feed them out of our hands. Don't worry, no one was bit. The most amusing part was giving one duck a huge chunk of bread because it could not eat it quickly. As a result, all the other ducks would attack it trying to get the bread from its mouth. We also saw a handicapped duck with only one leg. It seemed to get picked on a lot and wasn't able to eat much. So the 6 of us fed the handicapped duck and huddled around it so that the other ducks couldn't eat its bread.
We then continued to drive around the lake to find out that the road didn't actually go around the lake. But in the distance we saw a huge Buddha, so we drove up and stopped to take a look. It turns out that it was a 57 meter statue of Mama Buddha holding baby Buddha when he was born. So once again a familiar song popped into by head about Big Mama Buddha. We went inside and climbed up to the top to see out of the window. It was a beautiful view as it was a pretty clear day and snow on the mountains surrounding us. Looking at the Buddha made me remember once again of the Israelites placing their statues on the highest places so that you could see them from far away. Well, this one looked over a city in the flat land in the mountains. It is amazing to me to be able to go with students as most of them respect it but show no signs of worship. To them it is something of the culture but not necessarily something they truly believe.
We then had dinner and played some indoor soccer on Saturday night. On Sunday morning we played Dodgeball, Japanese style, to wrap up the tournament. Sadly, we weren't able to play outdoor soccer, softball, or our final relay race because of the snow. In the end it was a fun weekend and a great experience with some of the students.
On Friday afternoon, we had our Bible Discussion, then Dinner, and free time sports in the gym where we played Volleyball and Basketball. On Saturday morning we started our tournament and played Volleyball and Basketball. We then ate lunch and had free time in the afternoon because we could not use the gym due to another group that was there. During our free time, Bryan, Keith, Tsubasa, Miura, Akun, and I went driving around the huge Lake of Inawashiro. We stopped and fed ducks with the other Japanese tourists. It was an amazing site to see a couple hundred ducks huddled together trying to get bread from the people. We even were able to feed them out of our hands. Don't worry, no one was bit. The most amusing part was giving one duck a huge chunk of bread because it could not eat it quickly. As a result, all the other ducks would attack it trying to get the bread from its mouth. We also saw a handicapped duck with only one leg. It seemed to get picked on a lot and wasn't able to eat much. So the 6 of us fed the handicapped duck and huddled around it so that the other ducks couldn't eat its bread.
We then continued to drive around the lake to find out that the road didn't actually go around the lake. But in the distance we saw a huge Buddha, so we drove up and stopped to take a look. It turns out that it was a 57 meter statue of Mama Buddha holding baby Buddha when he was born. So once again a familiar song popped into by head about Big Mama Buddha. We went inside and climbed up to the top to see out of the window. It was a beautiful view as it was a pretty clear day and snow on the mountains surrounding us. Looking at the Buddha made me remember once again of the Israelites placing their statues on the highest places so that you could see them from far away. Well, this one looked over a city in the flat land in the mountains. It is amazing to me to be able to go with students as most of them respect it but show no signs of worship. To them it is something of the culture but not necessarily something they truly believe.
We then had dinner and played some indoor soccer on Saturday night. On Sunday morning we played Dodgeball, Japanese style, to wrap up the tournament. Sadly, we weren't able to play outdoor soccer, softball, or our final relay race because of the snow. In the end it was a fun weekend and a great experience with some of the students.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Deer Season
As I type this post, it is about 40 minutes into daylight of opening day of gun season in Wisconsin. Most people ask the question, "What will you miss about home while you are in Japan?" Maybe, the number one answer is deer season. Over the past day I have been telling students all about deer season.
I went down to Tsukuba today with my roommate, Yoichi, and Mori and E-chan. On the way back home, I kept telling them what would be happening right now at the farm. Examples: 1) Right now, Tom, my stepdad is probably up making coffee and fueling the fire while everyone else sleeps for another 40 minutes. 2) Everyone is probably up right now since it is opening morning and starting to drink coffee and eat breakfast. 3) Right now, the people that either have a far away stand or those who need to go on top of the hill are leaving the house. In fact, they are probably on the hill driving up to the top right now. 4) Hey Keiichi, guess what? Right now, is the first 5 minutes of light for deer season. You can probably hear the first shots being taken in the distance.
Things like this make me realize how much I miss deer camp and things like this either frighten the students or make them interested. I love telling deer stories. They are always amazed that we butcher the deer ourselves. Good luck to the crew hunting this year. I miss you guys and gals and hope you have a record year even though the Skyscraper will sadly sit empty.
A few memories of the past.
I went down to Tsukuba today with my roommate, Yoichi, and Mori and E-chan. On the way back home, I kept telling them what would be happening right now at the farm. Examples: 1) Right now, Tom, my stepdad is probably up making coffee and fueling the fire while everyone else sleeps for another 40 minutes. 2) Everyone is probably up right now since it is opening morning and starting to drink coffee and eat breakfast. 3) Right now, the people that either have a far away stand or those who need to go on top of the hill are leaving the house. In fact, they are probably on the hill driving up to the top right now. 4) Hey Keiichi, guess what? Right now, is the first 5 minutes of light for deer season. You can probably hear the first shots being taken in the distance.
Things like this make me realize how much I miss deer camp and things like this either frighten the students or make them interested. I love telling deer stories. They are always amazed that we butcher the deer ourselves. Good luck to the crew hunting this year. I miss you guys and gals and hope you have a record year even though the Skyscraper will sadly sit empty.
A few memories of the past.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
The Need for Laborers
As I was sitting in the cafeteria this morning, I was reminded about the need for laborers to share the good news about Christ in Japan. As each person walked past the window outside, I thought to myself, "Will they every hear the good news about Christ and if they do will they ever come to an understanding of the gospel to believe?" A couple weeks ago I was riding my bike and as I pasted by each house I thought, "The family in this house has probably never heard about Christ." "They have probably never seen a Bible or even thought about studying the Bible."
I tell people I live in a smaller city in Japan. Well, compared to Tokyo it is a small city of 450,000 people. According to the Joshua Project for 2007, they estimate that 1.5% of Japanese are adherent to the gospel. In the city of Utsunomiya, if you knew 200 people there might be the possibility that 3 of them are Christians.
There is a great need for laborers in Japan and this weekend we are having our Young Laborers Conference. Believing staff and students will be joining together from the different campuses for this upcoming Friday through Sunday. This is a time where the believing students from around Japan can come and encourage each other and learn from God's Word together.
Please pray that this will be an uplifting time for the believers as some of them have graduated and live in the work world and are struggling with having the time to grow closer to God as the demands of work are far higher than in America.
Please pray also for future laborers to be brought forth. When Christ looked upon the crowd he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Please join us in this prayer.
ONE other thing. Please visit the website http://summerimpactjapan.com
There is a video that was made by the staff in Tokyo about Japan and the need which can be found at the bottom of the website. I would love for youth groups and college ministries to see this video and to spread the word about the need in Japan.
I tell people I live in a smaller city in Japan. Well, compared to Tokyo it is a small city of 450,000 people. According to the Joshua Project for 2007, they estimate that 1.5% of Japanese are adherent to the gospel. In the city of Utsunomiya, if you knew 200 people there might be the possibility that 3 of them are Christians.
There is a great need for laborers in Japan and this weekend we are having our Young Laborers Conference. Believing staff and students will be joining together from the different campuses for this upcoming Friday through Sunday. This is a time where the believing students from around Japan can come and encourage each other and learn from God's Word together.
Please pray that this will be an uplifting time for the believers as some of them have graduated and live in the work world and are struggling with having the time to grow closer to God as the demands of work are far higher than in America.
Please pray also for future laborers to be brought forth. When Christ looked upon the crowd he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Please join us in this prayer.
ONE other thing. Please visit the website http://summerimpactjapan.com
There is a video that was made by the staff in Tokyo about Japan and the need which can be found at the bottom of the website. I would love for youth groups and college ministries to see this video and to spread the word about the need in Japan.
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