Day 23: City and Sea (都会と海)

It’s been a great past couple of days. On Saturday night, we had an event at Agape called “English Cafe.” It’s an outreach opportunity where people can come eat with us and practice English too. We had a really good turnout, so hopefully we can get even more folks to attend next month.  

Sunday was quite a day as well. Since Murray is in America, we had a fellow from the Japanese chapter of “The Gideons” speak to us. He was a very friendly guy, and I think everyone liked him a lot. Something pretty funny happened when he had to leave, though. There’s this very absent-minded older gentleman who comes to the church often—Not just on Sundays. If we leave the church door unlocked, it’s not uncommon for him to come waltzing in, maybe even in the middle of a Bible study or English class, just to hang out. On Sunday, he slipped out early and didn’t have tea with us—We didn’t really think much of it until our guest speaker had to go home. He couldn’t find his shoes anywhere. For those who aren’t familiar with the concept of a “genkan,” Japanese leave their shoes outside the main home in a special room connected to the front door called by this name. Usually, public places like stores and offices don’t have genkan, but a church is different—So no one wears shoes inside the sanctuary. If you haven’t figured it out yet, we eventually surmised it was probably the forgetful old man who had taken the wrong shoes. He lives extremely close, so a very kind lady from our church took a walk to his apartment, returning with our guest speaker’s shoes in hand! It was a bit embarrassing for us, but admittedly quite funny—And the speaker took it with a very friendly sense of humor. All’s well that ends well.  

Sunday evening, Kathy took me to an area about 25 minutes away by car called “Tarumi.” After about 2 minutes of being there, it definitely become my favorite place in Japan so far. Those who know me know I love the ocean, and Tarumi’s right on it. A variety of impressive shopping centers and smaller venues line the beautiful seaside, overlooking the breathtaking Akashi Kaikyo Bridge—The longest suspension bridge in the world. Adding to that spectacle alone, the suspension cables glow a variety of bright colors, lighting up the night and the dark sea. Basically, whether day or night, Tarumi is stunning. For dinner, we had okonomiyaki—A sort of Japanese “pancake” made from ingredients such as cabbage, shrimp, octopus, pork, etc — All topped with a special sauce mixed with mayo. It tastes much better than it may initially sound, I promise! After some shopping, we drove a little farther down the road and drank coffee at a Starbucks that overlooks the sea. This certainly won’t be my last visit. 

Today, after working at the church for a while, I went with Kathy to do some more looking around Sannomiya—A district which seems to never end when it comes to things to do. Any ladies reading who love to shop best plan to visit this area of Japan before they die—You probably couldn’t cover all this in even a week. One of the first places we stopped was an actual Christian bookstore—It’s literally hidden away on the second floor of a building whose first, initial floor hosts a sports shop. One small room filled to the brim with Japanese Bibles and theology books. As spiritually deprived as Japan is, it’s humbling to know that there are actual Japanese shining small lights even in the middle of a downtown district.

A large crosswalk in Sannomiya.

A few hours ago, I was able to teach a new class of two students. One is a longstanding student with us, a very intelligent high school school boy named Kodai, and the other is a full grown man with a wife and child named Yuuichiro. It’s an interesting duo not just because of the age difference, but also because Kodai’s English far outmatches Yuuichiro’s. It can be difficult trying to adequately factor their different skill levels into the same lesson, but I think it will be a good class when it’s all said and done. 

For those who have been wondering, my ear is improving—So thanks for the prayers. Much of my hearing has returned, and the ringing has largely subsided as has the infection itself. The doctor has me on medication meant to drain a large amount of fluid trapped behind my eardrum. The fluid has drained quite a bit, but there’s still a noticeable amount lodged back there that won’t seem to go away. I hope it will drain before Friday. If not, I face the possibility of having my eardrum purposely cut open in order to drain the ear. Not desirable, but I’m also sick of this ordeal at this point—So whatever.

This coming week in Golden Week here in Japan—A national holiday where many Japanese get rare time off. This weekend, I’ll be traveling about an hour south of Kobe to “Sakaide.” Akihiro, my university student friend that you might recognize from our karaoke trip, has invited me to go back home with him for a couple days. Our friend Manae is returning there as well, so I’m sure the three of us will have an awesome time. Manae and I are Christians, but Akihiro is not—So you can pray that Manae and I will be good witnesses. This is a super cool opportunity for me, especially being able to stay with a Japanese family for the first time. I’ve already accepted the fact that I’ll probably make an idiot of myself. Oh well. Often we must fail in order to learn. Thanks for reading. 

つづく。見ていますか？　この偽光

Day 18: To Teach Alone 一 (人でも教える)

Hello again. Murray will be in America for the next three weeks, so it's up to Kathy and I to hold down the fort. This is a bit stressful for both of us (more so Kathy) but also very exciting for me especially. I get to teach some classes solo now, without Murray's help, and will probably continue to teach them after his return. In addition, I'll be taking over one his Bible studies with a fellow my age.
So I'll be teaching that Bible study tomorrow morning (4/24) -- I've never really done a one on one Bible study before, but I think that, Lord willing, we will get along. After all, I don't think we can look at the Bible and be left in awkward silence. Just not that kind of book.

So in total there were two English classes I taught alone this week, not counting all the children's classes I assisted Kathy with. The first was with two junior high boys, and the second was with a very successful businessman. The two junior high boys have a pretty low level of English, and of course, I have a low level of Japanese. Sometimes it can be difficult to solidify the ideas I want to get across, but we mostly work out of a textbook, which streamlines things. It's not easy, but doable with a bit of preparation--Plus it's only a 30 minute class.

The second class I actually enjoyed a lot. The gentleman is very high up in his company, but he's not condescending at all--Extremely friendly and conversational. He does lots of international travel for his company, and wants to learn more English because of it. His English is semi-decent. While not super great, it's enough that I can break down complicated English concepts into simpler English words that he does know. And, for when I just need that one Japanese word, my iPhone dictionary usually does the trick.

Which reminds me--I finally got a phone here in Japan. Much needed! Kathy handed me down her practically mint condition (bless her) iPhone 5s, and upgraded to her coveted iPhone 6+. I prefer Android when it comes to phones, but phones (smartphones especially) are tricky business here in Japan--So I'm not passing down a free iPhone 5s for a mere $80 a month. Seven gigs of data and 4G--Plus, iOS has made some improvements since our last rendezvous. The iPhone 5s is snappy little machine to boot so--Yeah. I'm happy. My beloved Moto G will go into hibernation for the time being.

My ear has seen little change. Still the same hearing loss, swollen feeling, and ringing. I go to the doctor's, yet again, tomorrow. Hopefully something will come of it.

Anyway, I stayed up way later than was probably good for me writing this. I need to wake myself up in time to get ready for Bible study tomorrow. In closing, I'll leave you with the congregation of Agape Seishou Kyoukai sitting down for tea after the service--A weekly practice at the church.

つづく。見ていますか？　この偽光。

Day 14: Ear (耳）

Hey guys. Sorry I haven't been as active lately. Actually, there's a reason my activity has been down, and also why there haven't been a lot of posts about ministry. I've actually been sick, but didn't really want to tell anybody until I thought it was a good time.

The cold I had when I first arrived eventually subsided, but it developed into a nasty, nasty ear infection during its course. On the flight here, I experienced severe barotrauma during landing. It was extremely painful, and I think I may have slightly damaged my ear. Best I can figure, while I was sick with my cold, the gunk in my sinuses must have made its way to the damaged part of my ear and infected it.

For a while, I was in some major pain and had some less than pleasant things coming out of my ear. Eventually, my ear drained and most of the pain went away--However, at the time of this writing, my ear is still infected, swollen, and my hearing ability has been affected to a very inconvenient degree.

My experience with the Japanese medical system has been interesting, though not necessarily unpleasant. Japanese medicine is socialized, so it is quite cheap to get medical care and medications here. The detriment, of course, is the lack of personalization. You don't have a personal doctor--You just walk in and see the doc on duty. I've had to go multiple times, so it can be a little frustrating not seeing the same doctor. They take detailed notes that get passed on to future doctors though, so at least there is a sense of progression. I've been on multiple medications the past week or so, and today I was described Prednisone as a more extreme measure to beat this heavy inflammation.

I have received a couple hearing tests, and they have shown that the hearing function in my left ear is currently quite low. The nerves inside my left ear are also being affected, unfortunately. The doctors seem confident that if we can beat the infection soon, my hearing should slowly return. Please pray that I can be rid of the infection, and that the healing process can begin--Permanent damage would be heavily unfortunate, as you can imagine. To me, it basically feels like my ear is swollen shut. I can hear myself inside my head when I talk, and the ear rings. Loudly. All the time. It's very annoying, and makes talking to anyone in a group setting disorienting and frustrating--Especially when they're speaking Japanese.

This has obviously been a rather depressing and discouraging time for me. I am thankful God has brought me this far, and that he has been caring for me even in this sickness. But I just can't help but question--Why bring me this far and allow these problems that have inhibited my ministry and ability to perform? I've been thinking of my mother though all this. Though she's not here in person, her influence reaches across the sea, into Japan. She knows more than anyone what it's like to be struck with illness and not understand exactly why. Pray that I'll be able to exhibit the faith and Christ-likeness she has exhibited over the years through much worse experiences. When I was talking to her this evening, she reminded me of Paul's thorn in the flesh. He did not understand why God placed it there, but trusted Him despite it.

To everyone who's been praying for me--Thanks.

In lieu of a picture set, here's a video I took of Murray and Kathy rehearsing for some of the worship music during Sunday morning. It'll give you a good feel of the music style here at Agape. Please understand that it's difficult for me to get actual pictures/videos of services in progress. As you can imagine, the reason I don't attempt to get them is that it feels disrespectful to be whipping a camera out mid-service.

つづく。見ていますか?　この偽光。

Day 11: Football (アメフト)

Welcome back, everyone. Today I got to go watch some sports. Since I’m here in Japan, I wanted to watch something culturally relevant. So what better way to bask myself in the Japanese way than…American football!  

Alright so maybe American football isn’t so traditional here, but it’s still interesting to see the Japanese play. Murray’s son, Josiah, goes to a university a little ways from here and they play American football, so we went to a see a game today. The rules are, of course, the same as anywhere, but it’s intriguing to see the small idiosyncrasies noticeable only here in Japan. The most noticeable thing is how low the all-around “energy” is compared to America. Of course crowds gasp and get excited if something unexpected happens, but there’s no constant roar like you’d hear in the States—And you certainly won’t find a rabid fan ripping his shirt off and dancing with his body paint on. Japan likes to maintain a quiet, reserved persona, and it’s even evident at sports events. The most noise was being made by the cheer-squad. Speaking of which—Check out this guy who leads the crowd in cheers. He’s awesome. 

In any case, our team slaughtered the opposition. I hear that they’re the best team in their league, so it makes sense.  

I got to ride the train system quite a bit today as well, which was beneficial. It’s something I can always learn more about, as it can basically get me anywhere in Japan—For a price of course. It can be a little overwhelming at first trying to read what you need to read and then go where you need to go, but I think I’m getting the hang of it. 

Tomorrow’s Sunday, I just remembered. Maybe I can try to give you guys an idea of what our service is like at Agape.  In the meantime, pictures.

Football!

The mountains around the field were breathtaking.

This is a popular shopping square in Myodani Station--The closest station to where I live.

Oh--And for those of you praying for the Bible study I was supposed to have today, I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, we had to cancel due to some complications. I assure you that these complications weren't "cop outs" by either party and we hope to reschedule--So I'll keep you all posted on that. Thanks for the prayer.

つづく。見ていますか?　この偽光。

Day 10: Men, Women, and Marriage (男と女と結婚)

There's a huge outcry in the United States pertaining to sexism, but Japan has its own problems as I've come to find out. Women are afforded basically the same opportunities here, as men, but sketchy things go on behind the scenes. It's important to remember that Japan embraces a "shame culture," which means that, unlike America, it's less about "standing up for yourself" and more about "making sure not to shame yourself." So, for example, the woman who gets abused by her boss or molested on the train is very unlikely to speak out against it. It's not to say, of course, that such a thing would never happen in the West (it does), but it's fair to say the the social consequences are even more severe here in Japan. You simply just don't make a fuss. It's shameful and unseemly.

The same sort of thing goes for men to a certain degree, but the rules are more lax for them. Men can simply get away with more because of their gender and this unfortunately allows them to take advantage of women quite often. These problems can really even be traced back to childhood. It is common for boys to be disciplined quite lightly and for parents to be more strict with girls. The idea is, "If we spoil a boy now, he will spoil us later in life when he's rich. Right?" Once again, we sort of see the thoughts of the Japanese loop back to work and money. 

These unfortunate mindsets don't make marriage any better either. Murray has told me that there are more marriages in Japan based off nothing but money than one would expect. Apparently there is even a saying--"A good husband is healthy and absent." In other words, a good husband is one who is healthy enough to work, and spends all day there making money. Japanese men, as a general rule, spend obscene amounts of time at work, often 6-7 days a week. When the men do happen to be home, they more often than not expect their wives to be there too.

The members of Agape Bible Church are mostly women, and there are many women who would like to come but don't--It has a lot to do with these problems. The church is mostly women because most of them are wives who have the time and opportunity to come on Sunday mornings. There are next to no men because they're either still working on Sunday, or are taking their "well-deserved morning off." Then, there are many women who would like to come but don't because their husbands forbid it, as church is simply robbing them of their wife on the only day they have off. And, as mentioned earlier, the wives don't want to speak up or take a stand--It's all ingrained in the culture. 

There are a lot of difficult cultural barriers to overcome here. It's evident why Japan is not the most popular mission field, but its rocky soil is nothing to an Almighty God. We trust in His ability to break down even the most troublesome cultural walls. 

On a lighter note, have some pictures. 

A very pretty pedestrian area near where I live.

Young children and their mothers watch English class.

つづく。見ていますか?　この偽光。

Day 8: School (がっこう)

One thing about Japan that's really hard to swallow sometimes is the incredible strictness of the school system. Pre-school to early middle school is pretty much the same as the States, but let me tell you--At the end of middle school, it gets real.

Here in America, I'd say that college is pretty important. I mean, it's a good thing if you can go to a well-respected college, but the most important thing is just having some sort of degree. Even then, unless you're going into an incredibly specialized field such as medical, your options are pretty broad.

It's nothing like that here in Japan. Here, college pretty much decides the kind of job you can get. Want a good job? Get into a good college. But it's not as simple as that even. See, to get into a good college you have to get into a good high school. And how do you get into a good high school you ask? Rock those high school entrance exams. So it's pretty fair to say that your whole life starts to be decided during the end middle school. A lot of stress for young kids.

And as you've probably guessed, school in general is no cakewalk either. Even more so than the States. Tonight, I taught one of our Wednesday night English students for the second time. He's beginning the 11th grade, and attends one of the top high schools in the area. He showed us his schedule for the new semester tonight, and it contained about eleven classes total, with seven periods a day. He told us that he pulls at least a couple all-nighters a week just to get his work done. These kids aren't working just so their parents will praise their grades--They're working towards their future. It depends on this stuff to a very high degree.

It's kind of a weird thing to swallow. I mean, yeah, there were times during high school/college where I was busy, but I always had time to pursue my hobbies. An all-nighter before exam day here and there perhaps, but I never felt all that overworked. I've heard it said that many Japanese schoolkids are robbed of their childhood--And that's sad.

It all comes from the work-a-holic culture here. Work is the most important thing of all. Doing good work means you have value. Doing poor work means you don't. It kind of defines you. Just another ugly blemish that makes the gospel all the harder a message to preach.

つづく。見ていますか?　この偽光。

Day 6: Immigration (イミグレーション)

Hey guys. Still trying to fight off this darn cold, so it's gonna be a short one today. Went to a English class this morning with Murray where we taught three older women. One was a visitor, so hopefully she'll come to future classes.

After that we went to Sannomiya to visit the immigration office. I was able to get all my paperwork in line and I received a Visa of Ministry! This allows me to stay in Japan doing mission work for up to one year. It's an ID of sorts, as well, so it opens up some necessities like being able to buy a phone and such.

You can be in prayer for me and a fellow named "Taka." He was one of the guys I met at the Bible study I attended at the Godwins on Saturday. I've been texting back and forth with him, and we agreed to meet up and try for a Bible study together on Saturday. The Godwins have their Saturday study bi-monthly, so I'd like to study with him every Saturday the Godwins are not. This is my first solo ministry opportunity here in Japan, so please be in prayer for me and Taka.

Today, I'll share some older pictures you've never seen before. These are all of Sannomiya. Definitely my favorite place in Japan so far.

つづく。見ていますか?　この偽光。