Fall in Japan

Along with our colleagues, Don and Carol Love, and courtesy of our good friend and her certificates for a complimentary stay at a local hotel, we headed off to the mountains northwest of Tokyo for an overnight retreat. Here's the view from our window just after sunrise.

Chichibu is a city dominated by the spiral slice carving of mountains (like a honey baked ham) to produce limestone to make cement.

It's also a place of vivid fall colours. Since the frost is not as sudden in Japan, the colours tend to be muted, but the Japanese maples known as "momiji" in a park by the river are fiery red, and a "Light Up" program at that park brought busload after busload of mostly retirees, who whip out their cell phones to take shots of the foliage.

Down by the river, there is a fleet of old style boats where two men dressed in traditional garb will pole and paddle groups of people down the river. The oldest forms of this boat were planks fastened together with strips of brass like fabric sown together. The current boats are planks fastened together and then coated on the outside with a thin layer of fibreglass.

We didn't go down the river on the boats, but did enjoy a lunch on an island in the middle of the river, and climbing one of the mountains.

We also ran into our American colleagues, the Kindervaters, who were up there for a night, so that was a pleasant surprise.

A good time away for us all. Now, we head into the Christmas season and all of its busyness and opportunities.

From Edmonton to Harumi

This Christmas we're having a short term team from Edmonton with us, and they'll be busy with Christmas events and with an English day camp for elementary, middle school and high school students.

3,000 of these flyers will be distributed in the neighbourhood, to get the word out.

60 at our BBQ!

This is our third annual barbecue in Harumi, and we continue to grow in size.

The people we have some kind of contact with are invited, so that would be parents of children in the preschool or kindergarten programs, those involved in the conversational English programs, those studying the Book of Mark weekly, our believers, and anyone else who cares to attend.

Japan has a strong custom of barbecuing, but the Japanese barbecue menu is much healthier than
the Western one. More vegetables, even noodles, and small amounts of meat, often marinated or dipped in sauce. Westerners could lose weight enjoyably by adhering to Japanese barbecue customs.

So, is that the way we did our barbecue? Of course not. Everyone enjoys the juicy hamburgers and hot dogs done the Western way.

It's easier to produce the volume of food that is required when it is a Western style barbecue, since there is less work involved in grilling. Flip the

burgers, turn the hotdogs, add the barbecue sauce, and serve.

And, let's not forget the S'mores for the children. We managed not to have any flaming marshmallows or accidents with molten goo this year, so that was good. There were a lot of gooey faces and hands, though.

What's an Infiorata?

It's flower petal art, originating in Italy, and celebrated annually on Harumi island on Tokyo Bay.

This is just a few steps from our apartment building, and it is set up for about a week. Lights illuminate it at nighttime, and people from some distance come to see the artwork done by community groups.

There are probably twenty or so of these works of art arranged along the walkway on the north shore of our island.

The fact that groups work together in harmony to make the infiorata is a very Japanese cultural thing. Long ago, everyone in farming villages worked together to plant the rice and then to harvest it. Modern industrial urban life has diminished the sense of community that was once a strength in every Japanese neighbourhood.

Of course, people who come into contact with a group of believers can find a sense of community that is unique, in that it is based on mutual love, rather than some form of mutual obligation. It's been the love and the community that have drawn many to learn more about Christ.

Coffee, English and Neighbourhood Men

Carol's been doing the Mother and Child program for neighbourhood women with preschoolers, an English conversational class for women, and a Kindergarten program for area mothers and their children.

So, it was time for me to connect with the husbands of these women. We had an English Cafe a couple of weeks ago, and six neighbourhood men joined Don Love and me for discussions on a variety of topics.

One thing I learned was that the men were neutral on the topic of the 2016 Olympics going to Rio and not to Tokyo, which would have put Harumi at the centre of attention. You can see my post earlier this month about the Olympics.

We're planning to continue the English Cafe in November and in December as well, with some special guests from Edmonton attending, and we're hoping even more men will attend.

The Lunch Crowd

While Carol often has friends over for tea, once a month the women studying the Gospel of Mark in English come over for lunch after their morning study.

As is the case when Carol's having tea with friends, this is my cue to move to my second office, which is a nearby coffee shop with internet access.

I can set up there and get my work done, while Carol is talking with the women about what they've studied and is seeking to go deeper in conversation about important things.

Not This Time...

Well, we won't be seeing this spectacular sight on the west end of our island, after all. Rio has the 2016 Olympics, so Harumi will not be home to the main stadium for Tokyo's 2016 Olympics.

Right now it's vacant land, so we'll be interested to see what the next proposed use for the land will be.

Camping, the Japanese way

Our last weekend in August was spent with our group of believers and seekers at a camping area in a mountainous area near Tokyo called Okutama. The venue was beautiful! The experience was really different. After checking into the camp ground we unloaded all of our gear into a small truck that took it to our site, where we unlaoded it and set up. That`s right - our vehicle stayed in a parking lot so all of our food and supplies had to remain with us at the campsite. Each camp area, consisting of maybe 4 sites, had it`s own cooking pavillion. It was covered and had stone "counter tops", sinks and cooking areas. It even had electricity, so there were lights and a plug (for your electric rice cooker, of course). We left our food in this unprotected area all night and it was safe. If that was Ontario, the raccoons would have carried it all away!! Each tent site had wooden pallets that were used under the tent to keep the tent off the ground and allow rain water to run underneath it.

We ate our lunch on a raised wooden plateform near the check in area, which also housed a coffee shop/restaurant and a nature centre. After setting up our tents we went on a long hike up and down the many hills that make up the park, ending up at a beautiful lake where the kids enjoyed skipping rocks. The scenery along the way was magnificent. After returning to our site, we started the bbq and enjoyed a North American style hamburger and hot dog meal on the grill, complete for corn on the cob and somemores for dessert. The kids really enjoyed the campfire experience and our first talk based on the relationship between Jonathan and David. Andrew Love (a college MK in Japan for the summer) did a great job telling the story dramatically using lots of "anime" (comic book language). The kids responded beautifully with lots of enthusiasm that carried through to our talk about friendship.

We did get some rain that night and a little the next morning, but not enough to dampen a wonderful breakfast outside. One of the women made a feast of miso soup, rice and a wonderful meat and potato dish that tasted especially good outdoors! The rain held off during our talking time - this time concerning creation. Japanese kids are taught evolution as a fact, not even a theory in school and we wanted to counter that by giving a different view point. Once again everyone listened and seemed to enjoy the talk.

The camp area also has a craft centre where you could do cooking, wood crafts or, in our case, a stone craft. The kids chose a stone and smoothed it using a wheel, then made it into a pendant or key chain. We all headed home tired, but really happy that the weekend turned out so well. The next day phone calls were made home from the school warning that the kids would be let out early because of the severity of the typhoon that was coming through that afternoon. Thankfully, the storm passed through with heavy rain and high winds the day after and not the day of the camping trip!

One couple, who are not yet believers, took part in much of the planning for the trip this year and seemed to really enjoy being a part of the group, asking questions and staying up late talking about how Christ may work in their lives. Please pray that this couple would become more involved with our group and that they would recognize their need for a Saviour. Another young man who was there is struggling with depression. Pray that the God who heals will strengthen

his mind and spirit.

First Sunday at Praise Time

We spent the day before moving back to Harumi near Harumi enjoying Praise Time with our fellow believers for the first time in over a year. We were really excited to see many there including Marie and Seiko, young moms from my mom`s and tot`s class! Francis Tam, the Director of Chinese Churches in Canada, along with his wife Pamela and daughter, Joyce were visiting as they had been down to Fukuoka spending time with our new team mates, the Shaos (see our Aug. 20th blog post). The believers were really encouraged by the reports the Tams gave about what God is doing among Chinese living in Japan. We had a great time of sharing what God had been teaching us through his Word, spending time together in prayer and then sharing a meal. Because there were more people than usual this time, the believers had decided to rent the "Sky Lounge" and we really enjoyed the view and the beautiful venue for worship. Seiko san mentioned that she is concerned about her son`s delayed development, and as I watched the way the believers treated him with such acceptance and love I realized why she

probably feels so comfortable here. "They will know we are Christians by our love."

First Sunday back in Japan

August 15, 2009

We spent our first Sunday back in Japan attending the worship service at the Sayama Alliance Church. This is the church that we worked at in the 1990`s. Megan was born during our time there and we have many happy memories of church people loving her as if she was their own!

Even when we were serving there the desire of the member`s hearts was to have their own Japanese pastor and their own building. These 2 prayer requests have been graciously granted as Pastor Miyoshi and his wife are now serving full-time and on July 20th their new building was dedicated. The believers have been meeting in an office building since Alliance missionaries started the church nearly 20 years ago.

It was really wonderful to be able to meet so many of those believers again, along with some new ones and to rejoice with them in their new building. They are so proud and grateful to God for this gift of a newly renovated building to use as their church building and housing for Pastor and Mrs. Miyoshi.

The Newest Members of Our Team!

Meet the Shaos, who are currently living in Fukuoka, in western Japan. They are working among Mandarin speaking people of the city to plant a Chinese Alliance church in the city. If you look at a map of Japan, you'll notice they're about as far from us as Minneapolis is from Toronto! But, they're part of our team in Japan now, and the Chinese Alliance churches of Canada are providing support for them, both financial and on site equipping/mentoring, for which we are grateful. When we meet as a team with the Shaos, we'll be using Japanese, because it is the language we have in common. We're looking forward to it.

Back in Japan, Back in Urban Tower!

We arrived in Japan will all our luggage, including $5,000 worth of insulin pump supplies for Megan. We always sigh with relief at the baggage carousel!

We're thankful for an apartment that we could lease the morning after arriving in Tokyo. It's almost identical to our previous apartment, except for one closet and a significantly lower rent. So, once again we're in the centre of everything in Harumi, and accessible to nearby areas such as Toyosu, Tsukishima and Kachidoki. Can we see Praise Time groups meeting in each of those locations this term?

Finding A Place to Live in Harumi

Here's one possibility for a place to live in Harumi. As we've mentioned in several churches this year, the fourth floor is an unlucky floor because the Japanese word for 4 is a homonym with "death".

So, we've got a bargain on the fourth floor of the building across the street from where we lived last term. Our teammatae Don Love will be taking a look at the place and sending us some digital pictures of it. With our current economic climate, cost is a major concern, but we also want a place that will facilitate ministry and will be centrally located. We've got one other strong possibility on our list, and then a number of other choices as well. We feel encouraged by that.

Christmas follow-up!

We heard that the Harumi Christmas party presented a great opportunity to present the true meaning of Christmas to many of our contacts who attend programs as well as their friends that they were encouraged to bring with them.

Thanks for praying for the people who are involved in weekly evangelistic groups and for the on-going Alpha course. Our co-workers, the Loves, feel that one woman, who is involved in the Alpha program, is especially close to making a decision to follow Jesus. Please pray that she'll have ever-increasing understanding as she studies the Bible with Don Love. Pray also for one of the seekers who is studying with Don and wrote recently, I keep studying the Bible with Don every Tues. morning. Studying the Bible is good for me. What I learn there helps me a lot in my everyday life.

One of our believers wrote something interesting too that I thought I'd share with you. I had a tradional Japanese dance performance on Jan. 10th. As I was praying before my performance God gave me an idea. I used my performance as a special time of worship to God. As first I was nervous, but as I praised God through my dance I relaxed. Afterwards, 3 women, one a stranger, one an instructor, and the other a fellow student, praised my dance. My fellow student asked if I had taken special lessons since the dance was so different from that of the rest of the class. I said "no". I was just thinking about God as I danced and offered my dance to God for His glory. Praise God for her courage as she shared her desire to please God with others. Pray that she would be encouraged by God's work in her life.