Saturday, July 20th - Transitions
Dear Friends - It's now 4:30AM, Saturday morning. Donny and I have both been up for a while now. I think it's a little past noon back in the L.A. area now, and we still haven't made a complete transition to Japan time, yet. It is getting better and last night I got about 4½ hours of very good sleep. Donny & I share a room on the second floor, Mason & Jonathan share a room downstairs, and Seiko & Jayden also share a room. I feel sorry for Seiko since Jayden is such a raucous, noisy young person. (That's a joke - she is just the opposite, for those of you not familiar with her.) We've only been together for a few days now, but it feels like the team is coming together as a team - not a group of individuals. The young students and Donny have enjoyed a bond from before the mission, but I think they are beginning to learn the personalities of the two senior members and learn our habits and our quirks. Seiko and I have known our hosts, the Kawano family, from the past, but it seems that the other members are quickly developing bonds with them.
Yesterday, we were allowed to sleep in late and had breakfast at 8AM This allowed us to relax after nearly 24 hours of travel before arriving at the Utsunomiya church. After cleaning up from breakfast we had free time until going to the nearby University of Utsunomiya. This is a small campus of maybe a few thousand students. We went to the cafeteria to eat and look for opportunities to speak with students. Mason, Jonathan, Jayden & Seiko sat together and seemed to blend in easily. Then there was Donny, Kawano-sensei, and me - not a collegiate looking group. We met an acquaintance of Kawano -sensei's while there, a missionary from the United Kingdom who's been here for over a dozen years, working throughout Japan ministering to college students. It was interesting listen to him - his Japanese seemed very good, but the British accent when he spoke English. Then a colleague of his joined his, a young man from China who also spoke very good Japanese but spoke English with a British accent, also - a very jarring picture. Talking with Kawano-sensei, it seems that it is even harder trying to share the gospel of Jesus Christ is even harder in Utsunomiya than it was in Chino and Nakashibetsu - the two previous places he served as a pastor. It sounds like the other group was able to speak with some students as well as the group of missionaries that we spoke with. As for the food we had in the cafeteria, it was very good and inexpensive. The food seemed to be most like what the students would have eaten at home - rice, noodles, chicken katsu, tsukemono (pickled vegetables), salad, and soup. There wasn't a hamburger in sight. And you could easily eat for under $5 - a complete meal, tasty and nutritious.
After returning to the church, people took another break until we met with the church pianist. We practiced the songs we will sing at the worship service on Sunday. Two of the songs Kieko was familiar with and the other she was not. After a few run-throughs we seemed to be doing okay. This mission team does not have the really strong singers that some past teams have had. But everyone is enthusiastic and we will be fine. (Your prayers for our singing wouldn't hurt, though.) After dinner, we were visited by Takie & Daito Ono. Takie is a member of Crossway Church (the Japanese-speaking congregation) and went to Japan the first four years of our partnership with the Kawanos here in Japan. She has maintained a close relationship with them since first serving in 2007. The Onos are also the grandparents of Jayden & Jonathan of our mission team. It warms my heart to see the relationships of these family members - God has truly blessed them.
Chihoyo-sensei, Chi-chan & Seiko went out to do some grocery shopping after the Onos left - getting ready for a class that Seiko will present today. At 11AM, she will present a class in making Spam musubi - a type of sushi roll with slices of Spam in the middle with a seaweed wrapping. I can see those of you frowning and squinching up your faces, even over the internet. Spam musubi is actually loved by the Japanese community in America, and tastes far better than my description may sound. We have 3 or 4 different flavors of Spam that we brought from the U.S. I believe most of those participating will be church members. After the class, they will eat their creations along with other dishes Chihoyo-sensei and Seiko will prepare in advance. Then this afternoon we will have English Conversation classes for the community to participate in. In past years here in Japan, the numbers have varied - so it's hard to anticipate how many will attend. We are prepared to have a beginner's group, an advanced group, and a class for moms and their children. The class with children will have crafts for them to do. Usually the moms will help their children and we will spend time in conversation while this is going on. We would appreciate your prayers for plenty of participants and opportunities to share our faith with them. I just looked at my schedule and forgot to mention that we will have "playtime" with children at 3PM, prior to the English conversation classes which will begin at 4PM. The four young folks on our team will do games and activities with the children who come to the church. Sometimes, these families stay to participate in the English classes, also.
So that is a brief description of our time yesterday, and what will be doing today. It's now 6AM and I'm getting a little groggy, so I think I'll take a quick catnap before our 7AM prayer meeting and message from Kawano-sensei. Kawano-sensei's messages are always encouraging and enlightening - I look forward to what he will share with us. I haven't had the chance to proofread what I just wrote, so I apologize for errors in grammar and spelling (and clearness of thought). The team seems to be energized and enthusiastic (in between our naps), a great sign for things to come. Thank you for your prayers and words of support - God bless you as we have been blessed. With love, Don
Yesterday, we were allowed to sleep in late and had breakfast at 8AM This allowed us to relax after nearly 24 hours of travel before arriving at the Utsunomiya church. After cleaning up from breakfast we had free time until going to the nearby University of Utsunomiya. This is a small campus of maybe a few thousand students. We went to the cafeteria to eat and look for opportunities to speak with students. Mason, Jonathan, Jayden & Seiko sat together and seemed to blend in easily. Then there was Donny, Kawano-sensei, and me - not a collegiate looking group. We met an acquaintance of Kawano -sensei's while there, a missionary from the United Kingdom who's been here for over a dozen years, working throughout Japan ministering to college students. It was interesting listen to him - his Japanese seemed very good, but the British accent when he spoke English. Then a colleague of his joined his, a young man from China who also spoke very good Japanese but spoke English with a British accent, also - a very jarring picture. Talking with Kawano-sensei, it seems that it is even harder trying to share the gospel of Jesus Christ is even harder in Utsunomiya than it was in Chino and Nakashibetsu - the two previous places he served as a pastor. It sounds like the other group was able to speak with some students as well as the group of missionaries that we spoke with. As for the food we had in the cafeteria, it was very good and inexpensive. The food seemed to be most like what the students would have eaten at home - rice, noodles, chicken katsu, tsukemono (pickled vegetables), salad, and soup. There wasn't a hamburger in sight. And you could easily eat for under $5 - a complete meal, tasty and nutritious.
After returning to the church, people took another break until we met with the church pianist. We practiced the songs we will sing at the worship service on Sunday. Two of the songs Kieko was familiar with and the other she was not. After a few run-throughs we seemed to be doing okay. This mission team does not have the really strong singers that some past teams have had. But everyone is enthusiastic and we will be fine. (Your prayers for our singing wouldn't hurt, though.) After dinner, we were visited by Takie & Daito Ono. Takie is a member of Crossway Church (the Japanese-speaking congregation) and went to Japan the first four years of our partnership with the Kawanos here in Japan. She has maintained a close relationship with them since first serving in 2007. The Onos are also the grandparents of Jayden & Jonathan of our mission team. It warms my heart to see the relationships of these family members - God has truly blessed them.
Chihoyo-sensei, Chi-chan & Seiko went out to do some grocery shopping after the Onos left - getting ready for a class that Seiko will present today. At 11AM, she will present a class in making Spam musubi - a type of sushi roll with slices of Spam in the middle with a seaweed wrapping. I can see those of you frowning and squinching up your faces, even over the internet. Spam musubi is actually loved by the Japanese community in America, and tastes far better than my description may sound. We have 3 or 4 different flavors of Spam that we brought from the U.S. I believe most of those participating will be church members. After the class, they will eat their creations along with other dishes Chihoyo-sensei and Seiko will prepare in advance. Then this afternoon we will have English Conversation classes for the community to participate in. In past years here in Japan, the numbers have varied - so it's hard to anticipate how many will attend. We are prepared to have a beginner's group, an advanced group, and a class for moms and their children. The class with children will have crafts for them to do. Usually the moms will help their children and we will spend time in conversation while this is going on. We would appreciate your prayers for plenty of participants and opportunities to share our faith with them. I just looked at my schedule and forgot to mention that we will have "playtime" with children at 3PM, prior to the English conversation classes which will begin at 4PM. The four young folks on our team will do games and activities with the children who come to the church. Sometimes, these families stay to participate in the English classes, also.
So that is a brief description of our time yesterday, and what will be doing today. It's now 6AM and I'm getting a little groggy, so I think I'll take a quick catnap before our 7AM prayer meeting and message from Kawano-sensei. Kawano-sensei's messages are always encouraging and enlightening - I look forward to what he will share with us. I haven't had the chance to proofread what I just wrote, so I apologize for errors in grammar and spelling (and clearness of thought). The team seems to be energized and enthusiastic (in between our naps), a great sign for things to come. Thank you for your prayers and words of support - God bless you as we have been blessed. With love, Don
Thank you for the update, Don! Hope you're able to get more sleep! Praying for you guys.
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