"He's got the whole world in His hands...."

I know, I'm way behind on this whole blog updating thing.... Sorry, cyberspace.

The last 2 weeks have been packed with...well, packing, for one. We're in the last week of the Evangel team being here, and trying to finish up as much of the major projects and moving as possible before they leave. It's meant long and often tiring days because we're trying to negotiate American sized furniture through Japanese sized doorways and into mini-vans. Then of course, there is the issue of having 5 people living in a house with 10 people's stuff and a bunch of random church stuff. The floors downstairs are supposed to be getting replaced, but we aren't sure if they will be able to get put in before we have to move all of the heavy furniture.
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Evangel Team + Melissa photo op!

Indian restaurant

Update... we're done! The projects list has been finished, and there is an entire weekend ahead with nothing critical on the to-do list! It feels so great, knowing that all of the major things to do have been taken care of. Hopefully once I return from Osaka there will be a few days that I can go back to campus and hang out with people again. We were supposed to go to Ueno Park tomorrow for a "fun day" but that plan has been altered since a) Tokyo is supposed to meet what remains of Typhoon Neoguri and b) several of the Carters, plus Justin, are currently under the weather with some random bug that's going around. Keeping my fingers crossed that I don't catch it. So far it seems to be staying away, and I really hope it doesn't decide to surface when I'm in Osaka. That would just be no fun at all! PS: Don't worry too much about the typhoon warning. We're stocked up on groceries, and the church is perfectly stable and dry. By the time it gets to us it's supposed to have been downgraded to 'tropical storm' and be further towards the coast.

Precious... :) 

Alletha and I had the joy of experiencing a Japanese "juku" or "cram school" this evening. We were asked to come teach a lesson to two different classes. The woman who runs the school is a Christian and she attends the JICA  Bible study each week. Lindsey has apparently gone to this juku and taught before as well. Because it is a Christian, English-emphasis school, it's okay to talk about the Bible stories and stuff. I wasn't sure what to expect or to prepare for, all we knew was to have an hour long lesson ready to go. We chose to do the story of Jesus walking on the water / calming the storm (apt timing due to the incoming storm). And we had a few Sunday School songs ready to teach them as well as a game and a craft in case time kept going. The first hour was going to be 1st graders, and the second hour 3rd-4th graders. I was pretty nervous going into it, since I've never really taught anything for small children, let alone via interpreter. And the stories about Japanese jukus can be a little intense. I imagined a very rigid school structure and kids that would not be very interactive. What I found however, was completely different! Maybe this was the exception to the "juku-school rule", but I was blown away! Here was this Japanese Christian after-school tutoring program, where the kids are hugged and greeted every day, and given treats for their birthday. One little girl's birthday was today and the class sang to her and she got a prize out of the box. Precious.

These crazy 10 year olds... 

Here's what else I loved seeing. I loved seeing how God is raising up this new generation in Japan. I loved hearing Miki testify on the drive to the juku about this mother who recently got baptized, and her belief that the harvest was coming. I loved watching little kids learning English, and then being taught the Bible stories in Japanese at the same time. There is HOPE for these kids to change their nation. A new generation, that is aware of who Jesus is, and even grew up hearing about His power and ability to change lives and care for their needs. And apparently, the Bible stuff doesn't bother their parents at all, it is sometimes a selling point for people. What an opportunity! I'm excited to return after my trip to Osaka for two more encounters with these kids. They are living proof that God can be explained in a Japanese context, and He is just as relevant to their lives as He is to people in any culture.  And I really want to talk with Karen now about the juku system, Japanese education, and her philosophy on things.

Last week we also had the opportunity as a team to go with Melissa to a conversation class that she teaches at the community center in Tsukuba. It was mostly 50-60 year old Japanese people who wanted to continue to improve or maintain their English skills. Each week they read an article and discuss it. She invited us to join as guests this week because the article topic was "Christianity's History in Japan". Listening to the discussion between all of the class members was fascinating. We had such  fun conversation about religion's impact on a society, and also their opinions on Christians.
At one point in the article, it had mentioned the discrepancies between the word 'sin' and the way it is translated in the Japanese Bible. No joke, one of the guys asked "What is sin, exactly?" Can you say open door? Wow. And then we spiraled into some fairly blatant telling of the Gospel and the importance of Jesus to the Christian faith. It was great! Not in an "evangelical, we-will-convert-you" type of way, but just in a "Hey, this is why Christians talk about Jesus all the time...we think He loves people and wants to bring us back together as a family of God" way.

God is so relevant here. The work is hard, but the truth is truth despite the difficulties. And the love that the Christians in Japan have for each other and for their lost friends and family is inspirational. Nothing brings out the deepest parts of faith like living in a country where you are a minority. I've got just over 3 weeks left here. I'm loving every moment of it...even when I'm struggling to understand what's going on or why. I know it will be incredibly difficult to leave. Increasingly, I tell myself... "It's okay, you'll be back again one day."

*He's Got The Whole World In His Hands, Sunday School classic?

Panorama of a Japanese arcade!