Deep Encouragement

Rest is critical to our lives, as we have been given eternal freedom from our work through trust in Jesus and His voluntary sacrifice in our place. In addition, God has created the Sabbath for man so that we remember our limitations and have time to specifically acknowledge His Lordship over our lives. This weekend, I was able to enjoy my necessary rest by visiting my old church (Horizon Chapel) for Saturday night & Sunday morning services.

The first time I came out to church, each completely unfamiliar Japanese station name only furthered fears of missing the station; the half-hour train ride seemed endless. This time, it felt like I barely had time to continue reading the Japanese novel Freezing Point (an exploration of original sin) before stepping off the platform at Machida and working my way through streets crowded with Sunday shoppers. As soon as I saw the church building, I started running with excitement, eager to rejoin my Spiritual family!

Reaction of the night: Hide-kun, my closest Japanese friend. I snuck into the sanctuary without catching his eye and tapped him on the shoulder. He was so surprised that all he could say for a minute was my name! I was super-glad to see my pastor Jeremiah and former boss Kevin as well as several other familiar faces.

The message was focused applying Jesus's model prayer when on our knees (though Jeremiah stressed that only the position of our hearts is important to God). I was particularly reminded to be directly praising the Lord and giving specific thanks to Him--things we tend to omit when coming to prayer solely to receive from God. This is one of the reasons why Jesus placed worship and requests for the Father's kingdom before our personal requests.

Went over to "Auntie" Shigeko-san's house for a delicious feast, over which Michiko-san and I got to share about grace and true religion with Shigeko-san's husband. Kevin also persuaded two college students from Texas, also visiting for campus ministry, to try natto for the first time. I ended up scarfing down their "interesting"-tasting portions and thus tainting all my further cultural suggestions in their eyes. Those to whom it is given to enjoy tastefully decomposing food should accept it, right?

Today, I enjoyed breakfast at the Boeks just like old times (though I missed meeting their daughter, who's away at a summer camp). The two little dudes had a soccer tournament and took off as soon as Geigy finished making their Japanese-style boxed lunches. She then shared that she thinks Christians could be much more effective witnesses in Japan if church was moved to, say, Saturday evening and Sunday was a free day to develop loving relationships with the shoppers and resting businessmen.

The second service also focused on prayer, this time from James 5. Going to God in every circumstance with faith is clearly the key, but the verses on healing received unexpected emphasis when Scott shared about his wife's miraculous physical recovery (still awaiting doctor confirmation) last week in response to corporate prayer & oil anointing.

Finally, I was taken out to lunch (eel over rice--my favorite) by brother Stephen, a dear friend who continually shows love by Scripturally encouraging & exhorting me onward in Christlikeness. He specifically charged me with Isaiah 50:4, which speaks of the faithfulness of the prophecied Servant of Israel, to take time in the mornings to study the Word and hear from Him Who came as that Servant in order to strengthen myself and others. That's true education. May we also continue speaking the Word to one another and grow up together in all things into Christ our Head. Thankfully, that growth will develop through times of rest.

Ministry in Motion

It's been three weeks on campus so far and the weather is slowly getting summery, a nice mirror of how our team has been growing together and slowly seeing the Lord work among our new Japanese friends. One thing that has been personally difficult is that few of the students I've met have become friends--I'm not used to slowly building relationships, and my desire to move things to a Spiritual level may have alienated some of the guys I've talked with thus far. That said, one person in Gakugei University's wind ensemble with whom I had a long chat came out to our English lunch, which was exciting.

To balance this out, I am learning to rejoice with those on my team who are rejoicing, sharing in their triumphs. My co-leader Jess, for instance, struck up a near-instant friendship with a girl who works at our local bread shop; after several brief conversations while she was on the job, they met and talked for 4 hours! Jack & Kyle met someone who could speak English well and had such a great conversation that their new friend skipped work to come to our "Discover Friends" party last night!

Yes, it's frustrating to spend an afternoon walking around campus (especially on a bright, sunny day) and find no one willing to talk--partially because class schedules are more like American high schools and lounging around isn't popular. However, I can take joy in the special things God lets me do, like serving as a translator when the language barrier is high or directly addressing Spiritual things in Japanese with other teammate's friends.

While we have gotten to share about who God is and why He sent Jesus with several people, it's awesome to know that two have definitely accepted Christ as their Savior and others are seriously considering it! Considering that the Japanese culture is generally apathetic to Jesus and hostile to religion, this is amazing. The other team has been barred from returning to one of their campuses, in part because the administration thinks that we are out to recruit their students. They are wrong--God is doing the work, and He cannot be stopped!

Group Go-Round

Even now, being in Japan again as part of a long-awaited missionary assignment, everything feels slightly surreal. The cries of shopkeepers inviting customers inside, the otherwise quiet streets where no one looks you in the eye, the octopus and natto [fermented soybeans] and way-too-expensive cereal available in supermarkets...all familiar voices and vistas. This time, however, I am not alone.

No, I'm not subtly referring to Jesus, though His presence and love is the ultimate reason for my presence here. I came with 16 American brothers and sisters in Christ--from Arizona, Michigan, South Carolina and (boo, hiss) Trojan country [University of Southern California]. We have bonded over prayerful trust that our Creator and Savior would provide, as when we arrived at briefing we had about $20K of team expenses left to raise and one passport left at home in Arizona. Yet He faithfully provided for both of these and I'm glad to actually be here!

I am living with my team in Koenji, more centrally located than last time. We are in apartments that have tatami [woven bamboo matting] rooms, a wonderful feature that is unfortunately less forgiving as a mattress than I'd remembered. Despite prices, we as an apartment are still hooked on cereal, as well as juice, squishier bread, dango [rice balls covered with sweetened sauce] or doughnuts for breakfast.

Our team is visiting four major universities, so we divided in half. My half has been assigned to Hitotsubashi--back again--and Gakugei University, an college focused on training future educators. There have been several neat stories already, but in the interest of time I'll just share one.

As most of our team doesn't speak Japanese, we generally strike up student conversations by asking if they speak English. Andrew and I approached someone sitting by himself at Hitotsubashi, asked if he was able & willing to chat and sat down with him. Right away--probably clued in by my necklace--he asked if we were Christians, the obvious subtext being that he thought we were out to hunt him down and convert him. I said yes, but also explained that I had been a foreign exchange student there just a year before and pretty soon we figured out that we both knew one of my seminar professors. That put him at ease and allowed us to ask him why he was concerned about religion (most people regard non-ritualistic spiritual things with suspicion). Prior connections can really help!

Taking Shock

The written word has long let me experience life vicariously. Never mind seeing that hit movie; I know who's in it and the general idea from reading the newspaper. Rather than approaching a new band's CD with an open mind, I tend to first check out a review online. Yes, I even read cookbooks that don't have pictures sometimes because the writing is, well, scrumptious in its own way.

This background may give me a slight advantage in trivia games or light conversation, but when we move beyond questions for points or first impressions, I sometimes feel like the proverbial jack-of-all-trades: master of none.

I'd read a fair amount about culture shock, both in the pre-departure materials and through my Anthropology material, and took the time to read about the very different environment that lay ahead. From these, I falsely concluded that my experience would be different; having lived in a foreign culture already and stuffed my brain with factoids was supposed to grant me immunity after the initial adjustment phase.

For a long time, it seemed I had calculated things just right. Even as the excitement of getting by with a foreign language dimmed into routine, the excellent food and time with host families kept things interesting but not overwhelming. My English-language church and Internet contact with folks back home were safeguards against feeling isolated or marooned.

Even so, when school let out for two months in February and March, a thread of the blues snaked into my mind. The dorm quieted down as people went home and I settled in to enjoy the routine and pursue a few personal goals (writing, language study), but before I knew it those dreams had gelled into lethargic inactivity. And as the doldrums set in, my Japanese suddenly seemed totally inadequate given the length of time spent in-country. I began rewriting my time here in my head: if I had only joined this club or taken this opportunity...

Looking back on that too-long season, what scares me most is how in pride I assumed truly frustrating culture shock would never happen to me and didn't even let myself affix that title to what I was experiencing. Even anthropologists get homesick sometimes, but only the honest and humble ones admit it.

Break Amid Blossoms

About five weeks ago, this nation went through something catchier and more enjoyable than hay fever: marveling at the front of cherry flowers. Yes, I mean "front" in the same sense the weather report does, because an amazing amount of tourism cash depends on exactly when those buds open up in any given locale. In an apparently rare twist, Tokyo led the nation this time.

My campus is bisected by a long road deliberately lined with these trees, which bear token fruit but are of a separate variety specifically groomed for its profuse display of pink. Still, I saw quite a few vials of 'cherry blossom jelly' for sale as locals attempted to cash in on the yearly phenomenon.

The florified surroundings are merely the tip of the proceedings, however. To really enjoy the scenery, people are supposed to go out to parks and enjoy a meal with friends underneath the falling petals. As I did so, a gentle wind came and shook several blossoms off their branches, leading one of my foreigner friends to exclaim, "This is Japan!" At that moment, I didn't want to disagree; the suggestion of life's transience (James 4:14) and the mild weather were indeed just about ideal for our picnic.

This ritual is also a mark of democratization, in that so much which several centuries ago was only enjoyed by nobles (leisure time, disposable income, flavorings such as salt) are now regarded as basic to the average affluent lifestyle. When my grandparents & I visited the National Museum, the National Treasure on display was a wood panel painted with a scene of ancient courtiers and their boxed bento lunches taking in the flower view; I could only smile.

Metropolitan Diameter

My three grandparents just got in tonight, happy to finally see some of the places I've mentioned before. They were also treated very well on their international flight, which was encouraging given the recent downer headlines about USA flights over here.

We took a bus straight through Tokyo to their hotel (2.5 hours), and I was reminded of a few things. First, it's a huge, sprawling city--easy to say but not exactly simple to realize when your address says Tokyo but two-story suburban housing surrounds you for 20 minutes in any direction. We passed by one office skyscraper after another, where many of those people crowding the trains are headed to or from at any given moment. Even at 8 PM, most of them were well lit; sadly, not every businessman will be heading home tonight.

Second: there is something beautiful about night city scenery. This may be obvious to some of you already, but this self-fashioned country boy has never seen much to enjoy about being surrounded by concrete--if I don't find any green somewhere, I'll probably write that place off pretty quick. Well, it's time to get off that snobbish horse and admit that modern group living can be attractive at times. The light dappling across ocean water under the massive bridges we rode was particularly charming.

Finally my thoughts turned to heaven, the eternal place that Jesus is preparing for those who love Him. What kind of residence would that be, where our light is not the sun but the Lord? where countless people experience Him? Concepts of space will be redefined; it won't matter whether my temporary earthly dwelling was mostly city or country; and the only lasting beauty can be fully understood for the first time.

Come Again?

It's only fair that someone who grumps online about imports from English over here would make a stupid mistake himself. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18)

So I was eating dinner yesterday with friends at a pretty good restaurant with a picture menu--standard here if most prices are under $10 a dish--and after we'd finished we decided to split one or two desserts. I went back up to the counter with my pastor, and we investigated the sweets section. What caught our eye was the subtitle of "hot ice [cream]," apparently of the green tea flavor.

The kanji characters indicating the official title were fairly indecipherable to me, but curiosity took over and led me to order the dish. For some reason, the waiter didn't understand my simple request the first time around, but I repeated my order twice and and pointing at the menu until he took it down.

Our whole table wondered how the cooks had overcome the apparent laws of physics to produce this paradox. Finally the dish was served and I saw it swish in its bowl; guess it was just heated until it melted. I took the first trial sip and was shocked at the unexpectedly bitter taste.

It was traditional green tea, no sugar included. Suddenly everything made plain, devastating sense: "hot ice" didn't imply 'cream' but a choice of temperature. No wonder the waiter was confused! Thankfully, I had just enough sense to order two dishes and the second one didn't disappoint.

All in all, I had it easy: my only losses from the false assumption were the aura of linguistic competence and $2.10 (reflecting the dollar's recent dip).