Japan or Taiwan?

When we first approached the C&MA about service in Asia, we were told that there were needs in Taiwan and Japan, and we should pray about which country we felt led to serve in. Twenty five years later, we find ourselves with a connection to Taiwan through our role as team leader overseers, coaching two teams working in that country. So, in answer to the question of twenty five years ago, the answer turned out to be "both".

We're of course serving in Japan, but our second trip to Taiwan is ongoing as we post this. As for the scene you see here, this is the Taipei Grand Hotel. While Japan has adopted many architectural aspects from China, the red pillars are distinctively Chinese.

What's Holding It Up?

A group from Harumi spent the weekend up in Ishinomaki in the disaster zone, cooking lunch for 70 survivors and doing some other volunteer work. One  task was to haul some rubble to this house, which has two walls torn away by the tsunami. The city will demolish the house and haul away the rubble with it. Looking at the place you could ask "What's holding it up?" but that question could be asked about the Tohoku recovery efforts more than 18 months after the triple disaster.

We arrived in Ishinomaki as the morning program for tsunami survivors was in progress. Miyuki of Enka Friends was performing, and you can see a video clip of the Enka Friends concert in Harumi by scrolling down on this blog. This program and lunch have been held weekly since March 2011, and  people have found Jesus through it.

So, let's get the food on the grill and get going! I've got mushrooms and leeks cooking on the charcoal here, and the strips of thin sliced beef for yaki niku are cooking on the left. In the middle are the noodles and cabbage of yaki soba. We were so glad to have the vegetables and meat prepared before our arrival. With a 90 minute traffic jam en route, we couldn't have been ready on time any other way. 

While in Ishinomaki we watched a two block long procession of Buddhist priests walking, ringing bells and chanting. Since Buddhist priests are best known for doing funeral rites, their presence in the neighbourhood reminded us again of what has been lost and how far the area has to go to get back to "normal".

You've Never Done This Before...

It's the summer, and if you want to waste a little leisure time and see a little of Japan via your computer screen, this link gives you a unique opportunity to drive a commuter train in Japan. The line is the one our daughters have used to get to school our entire time in Japan, so we know the scenes you'll see from the cab very well.

http://www.realrailway.com/en/ikebukuro/simulator60.html


When you hear the annoucement for the next station, you need to apply the brakes hard, and then ease off as the train comes into the station, being careful to stop at the exact place indicated. That's the way the real drivers do it.

The News Is Not Good...

This report from a credible news source gives some alarming statistics about health in Fukushima, near the reactors: http://www.businessinsider.com/a-stunning-36-percent-of-fukushima-children-have-abnormal-growths-from-radiation-exposure-2012-7

Our Last Post About High School Adventures

This is the third graduate in our family from Christian Academy in Japan. Megan is pictured here with friends (and a spectacular view of Tokyo) at the grad banquet.

Our other two graduates arrived back in Japan in time for the graduation ceremony. They're getting some hours in teaching this summer, helping to finance further studies back in Canada.

Megan also will move on to teaching at an English school, and then in the Spring to the Kingfisher Project of Capernwray. Next summer we return to Canada for home assignment, and Megan will start the next phase of her studies.

Thanks, Whoopi!

The movie "Sister Act" really struck a chord in Japan, and gospel choirs have sprung up all over, singing in the style of black churches in the US. The uninhibited joy in the songs really connects with people who don't know what the lyrics mean. Christians and missionaries have formed choirs as a means to explain what those joyful words mean.

We had a concert in Harumi arranged by a believer in our Harumi Praise Time, and it included a local gospel choir that two of our people are involved with. The poster behind these happy singing faces announces that it's a concert in support of the Tohoku region, which was hard hit by the triple disaster of March 2011.

We also had gospel music in traditional Japanese styles.  Enka Friends performed, and a video of one of their songs, based on I Thessalonians 5:16-18 is included here. This particular song is in the style of music used during the "matsuri" or festival season in late summer, and the actions resemble "bon odori" style of dance at those occasions. Remember, you saw it here first!

西洋料理 Means "Western Cuisine"

In the case of our two weeks of cooking classses held in four locations, it was chili with taco salad in a tortilla bowl, pizza and lasagna. There were classes for children, who were assisted by their mothers, and then classes for adults. Lasagna was the recipe people expressed the most enthusiasm about learning, although judging from the leftovers (none) there was considerable enthusisasm about eating all the culinary creations.

"Gramma Eva" came to us from Westburne Alliance Church in St. Catharines to share her recipes and cooking tips and her walk with Christ with the women and children.

The classes enabled us to make first time contact with a number of people, and also were a benefit to churches like Sayama, where we lived and ministered in the early 1990s. That church now has its own pastor and building, something we couldn't have imagined back in those early days.