Yesterday Michelle and I worked together to continue cleaning the coffee shop. The shop will open on Monday officially for business.
In the evening, we took an extended bike ride. We picked the closest looking mountains and decided to bike until we reached them. Surprisingly it didn’t take that long and it was a lot of fun.
Then we went over the Sadowitz’s for some Japanese Pizza Hut. Very good but very expensive. One of the pizza’s was delicious even though I had no idea what the toppings were. Sometimes it’s better not knowing. A young Japanese guy came over to eat pizza and get to know us. His name is Norihito, which I’m told means seaweed man. Chris told me that he has studied the Bible with him and that one day Norihito ran out to him and said that he believes half-way. I hope that he will have the courage to believe all the way and accept the implications of following Christ:
1) Turning his back on his family’s traditions
2) Significantly narrowing the options for someone to marry
3) Giving up his favorite pastime of Japanese archery because the competitions are on Sunday.
These are some common stumbling blocks in the Japanese culture. I really think that the up and coming generation in Japan may be poised to throw off some of these stumbling blocks (this from my limited expereince over the past couple of weeks).
Today, is Sunday and the service here went really well. Tom Carr preached a great sermon from Ephesians 1. During a testimony time a woman stood up and said that this morning she became a Christian. I asked Chris Sadowitz about it later. He said that she had been wanting to study the Bible with someone. She recently had hit rock bottom and was just ready to receive Christ. So, Chris shared the gospel with her and she prayed to receive Christ. I was impressed with her boldness in wanting everyone to know of her recent profession.
In the evening, we went to a concert put on by a gospel choir led by Tom Carr. One of Tom’s passions is music and he does a great job leading this choir. Surprisingly, gospel music is just now becoming popular in Japan, even though they do not believe/understand the messages of the songs. It saddens my heart to hear 20+ Japanese people sing gospel songs like “Jesus is the answer for the world today”, “Amazing Grace”, “Holy, Holy, Holy” and know that they’re hearts are still in darkness. Tom uses this as an outreach by building relationships, explaining the songs they are singing, and inviting the members to church events.I was given the opportunity to play the guitar in two of the songs, which was a neat experience.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
Snakes on a Plain
6/11/07
I killed not one, but two snakes today. It reminded me of Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 where it says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Boy, did I crush their heads! It was like the opening scene in The Passion of the Christ where Jesus smashes the head of the snake with his heel. Whenever I kill a snake I feel like I’m fulfilling God’s curse on the serpent. Both of them tried to strike my heel but they didn’t take into account that I was wearing blue rubber boots that are snake fang resistant. I don’t know much about snakes but I’m pretty sure one was a baby anaconda and the other was a mix between a king cobra and a boa constrictor. They were each about as thick as a watermelon and at least 60 or 70 feet long, just kidding but seriously they were about two feet long and they had huge fangs with dripping venom and eyes red enough set dry ice ablaze.
I spent most of my day splitting wood and believe me, Paul Bunyon and his lopsided blue ox couldn’t hold a candle to the amount of wood that I chopped. And it’s not the easy kind of chopping wood either. It’s apple wood, the toughest wood known to mankind. Apparently the trees from which this wood originated were plagued with every kind of knot and twist imaginable. All of the trees received the recessive gene when it came to straightness. It usually takes about 9-17 chops to complete a satisfactory split and that’s just for one log. Now I know you’re probably saying to yourself, “Evan, have you tried hitting the wood with the sharp edge of the ax?” Very funny, and yes I’m holding the ax correctly. The wood is just so dense. It wasn’t meant to be split and used for fires. It was meant to be dropped from the tops of castles on the heads of your enemies as they prepare to besiege your place of dwelling.
At night, I’ve been reading about Solomon in 1 Kings. Solomon has always interested me because he was the wisest man to ever live. My favorite book of the Bible is Ecclesiastes. In the past when I would read Ecclesiastes, I’d wonder why God allowed Solomon to do all of those worldly things such as indulging in every kind of pleasure or having a harem or amassing great wealth for himself and not have consequences for his actions. Last Wednesday, I went to a Bible study at Pastor Tajima’s church and he talked about Solomon in 1 Kings and Ecclesiastes and I finally realized that Solomon did have consequences for his actions; he just never bothered to mention them in Ecclesiastes. It was one of those “Ah ha” moments. I love when that happens.
I killed not one, but two snakes today. It reminded me of Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 where it says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." Boy, did I crush their heads! It was like the opening scene in The Passion of the Christ where Jesus smashes the head of the snake with his heel. Whenever I kill a snake I feel like I’m fulfilling God’s curse on the serpent. Both of them tried to strike my heel but they didn’t take into account that I was wearing blue rubber boots that are snake fang resistant. I don’t know much about snakes but I’m pretty sure one was a baby anaconda and the other was a mix between a king cobra and a boa constrictor. They were each about as thick as a watermelon and at least 60 or 70 feet long, just kidding but seriously they were about two feet long and they had huge fangs with dripping venom and eyes red enough set dry ice ablaze.
I spent most of my day splitting wood and believe me, Paul Bunyon and his lopsided blue ox couldn’t hold a candle to the amount of wood that I chopped. And it’s not the easy kind of chopping wood either. It’s apple wood, the toughest wood known to mankind. Apparently the trees from which this wood originated were plagued with every kind of knot and twist imaginable. All of the trees received the recessive gene when it came to straightness. It usually takes about 9-17 chops to complete a satisfactory split and that’s just for one log. Now I know you’re probably saying to yourself, “Evan, have you tried hitting the wood with the sharp edge of the ax?” Very funny, and yes I’m holding the ax correctly. The wood is just so dense. It wasn’t meant to be split and used for fires. It was meant to be dropped from the tops of castles on the heads of your enemies as they prepare to besiege your place of dwelling.
At night, I’ve been reading about Solomon in 1 Kings. Solomon has always interested me because he was the wisest man to ever live. My favorite book of the Bible is Ecclesiastes. In the past when I would read Ecclesiastes, I’d wonder why God allowed Solomon to do all of those worldly things such as indulging in every kind of pleasure or having a harem or amassing great wealth for himself and not have consequences for his actions. Last Wednesday, I went to a Bible study at Pastor Tajima’s church and he talked about Solomon in 1 Kings and Ecclesiastes and I finally realized that Solomon did have consequences for his actions; he just never bothered to mention them in Ecclesiastes. It was one of those “Ah ha” moments. I love when that happens.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Mariah's Musings
Our first Sushi Experience!
Sitting at the sushi bar.
Teaching
My Birthday!
Capturing the craziness our night!
Sukagawa Baptist Church
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Another day in Japan! Elsbeth and I are currently sitting at the Koinrandorī (koh-een-rahn-doh-rēē: Laundromat) washing our clothes. Let’s see...the last couple of days have been busy with English classes. We have been working with children and adults. The English classes have shown Elsbeth and I how little we understand our own language. We can speak the language, but find it hard to explain. I have enjoyed the classroom experience and sharing pieces of my life with the students. Yesterday we played Go Fish (one of my favorite games) with the junior high students. As the students were learning English, they taught Elsbeth and I a few Japanese words. The questions we are most often asked are: Where do you live, Do you speak Japanese, What is your favorite Japanese food, Do you like Japan, How old are you, and What is your job in America. Both Elsbeth and I were nannying before coming to Japan. They do not understand what a nanny is in Japan, so Beverly has given us the job title of “professional babysitter.” I find that funny!
It was my birthday on Friday! I have to share a little bit about the day since it was full of fun, surprises, and blessings. Everyone made Friday so special for me. I had a chance to talk with my parents in the morning (Thursday evening in the States). Then Beverly Tajima (our host mother) took Elsbeth and I to a Sushi Bar for lunch. You sit at a stool and grab plates off a conveyer belt when something looks somewhat safe to try :). I think we tried crab, shrimp, chicken, and tuna. That afternoon, we helped load and unload boxes for the Tajima’s, as they are in the process of moving into their new home/church. We also went to three English classes. The 5/6-grade class sang happy birthday to me. After our English classes, Hiromi, Evan, Elsbeth, Christine, Shigeo, Sarah, Stephanie, and Beverly had a birthday party for me. It was so special and thoughtful. After eating angel food cake and blue jello, all of us “kids” went bowling and to a ramen Restaurant. We were out til 1 am laughing, talking, and being crazy! Thank you for making my birthday memorable!
Today, we attended Sukagawa Baptist Church. Christine came and interpreted the service for us. Pastor Shibata talked how as a church, we need to share the word of God. We do the sharing as God does the changing. After the service we sat in a circle for prayer time. Though Elsbeth and I could not understand the Japanese and they could not understand us, it was wonderful to pray for each other. Though we are from different areas of the world and speak different languages, we still serve and praise the same God. We had great fellowship over lunch. I hope that our visiting encouraged the church today. Please be praying for the missionaries.
Mariah
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