So it's been about 3 days since I got back from Nihon. I think it's finally hit me that I'm back in America, and the thing that made me realize this was when I went to the OC fair today. It wasn't the diverse crowd, or the fact that there were so many dang cars, but it was because of all the deep fried foods. I finally experienced a deep fried oreo/deep fried klondike bar/deep fried snickers. I've always wanted to try these things, but after a few bites, my stomach began to fight back. So for the whole day, my stomach was trying to process the unfamiliar food. I think after eating Japanese food for the past month, my stomach began to become fond of non-greasy, non-oily, non-fat foods. I basically killed my body by eating such unhealthy (but delicious) substances.
I think this year is definitely easier adjusting to American culture. One reason is because I've been hanging out with my team from last year ever since I got back home. They've kept me company and helped me process a lot of things. I don't know what I would do without them.
I think for the past few nights I've been up since 4am, so I think it's time for me to get some sleep! Short posts are the best!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
7/27/10- Last Japan blog post =[
Yes, unfortunately this will be my last blog entry for my time here in Japan. Even though it's only a blog entry, I'm getting kind of choked up just typing this. I'll make it short and sweet so I don't break down and cry during the middle of this entry.
Today we had time with the Lord from 9-10:45am. I spent my time just roaming around Osaka and found a place to sit and read the Bible. From around 10:45-2pm we had a team meeting discussing the issues that might come up while we're back in America. It was a good time to just prepare ourselves for what's to come within the next couple of days, weeks, and months. There was a lot of things to discuss, and by the end of it, I think that people were more aware of what challenges they may face whether its at school or at home.
After our meeting, the team took a trip to the Osaka Aquarium! The aquarium in Osaka is said to be the second largest Aquarium in the world (don't quote me on that). Even though I went to the aquarium last year, it was still fun to walk around and look at the different marine life. There were other things that made this trip special as well. After our time at the aquarium, a group of us headed towards Umeda to see a really tall building and go to the top (I forgot what it was called, but it was super scary at the top). We watched the sunset while at the top of the building, then went to a nearby mall to walk around and eat dinner.
I think I'm in denial about leaving Japan. It's so hard for me to actually say goodbye to this culture and country. I know that God has made me Japanese for a reason and at the same time I know that God has definitely placed Japan on my heart for a reason. This country is such a beautiful place with wonderful people, and they deserve to know the good news about Jesus Christ. Although Japan is technologically advanced, there's so much pressure and suffering within this country. I know for a fact that God loves these people, and He will always be there for them.
Today we had time with the Lord from 9-10:45am. I spent my time just roaming around Osaka and found a place to sit and read the Bible. From around 10:45-2pm we had a team meeting discussing the issues that might come up while we're back in America. It was a good time to just prepare ourselves for what's to come within the next couple of days, weeks, and months. There was a lot of things to discuss, and by the end of it, I think that people were more aware of what challenges they may face whether its at school or at home.
After our meeting, the team took a trip to the Osaka Aquarium! The aquarium in Osaka is said to be the second largest Aquarium in the world (don't quote me on that). Even though I went to the aquarium last year, it was still fun to walk around and look at the different marine life. There were other things that made this trip special as well. After our time at the aquarium, a group of us headed towards Umeda to see a really tall building and go to the top (I forgot what it was called, but it was super scary at the top). We watched the sunset while at the top of the building, then went to a nearby mall to walk around and eat dinner.
I think I'm in denial about leaving Japan. It's so hard for me to actually say goodbye to this culture and country. I know that God has made me Japanese for a reason and at the same time I know that God has definitely placed Japan on my heart for a reason. This country is such a beautiful place with wonderful people, and they deserve to know the good news about Jesus Christ. Although Japan is technologically advanced, there's so much pressure and suffering within this country. I know for a fact that God loves these people, and He will always be there for them.
Monday, July 26, 2010
7/26/10- First day of debrief in OSAKA!
Sorry for not posting yesterday, I just flat out forgot to blog. And since I have a 6 hour memory span, I shall just write about today.
I woke up extra early (around 7am) to do some laundry for the next couple of days since I figured there wouldn't be any local laundry mats in Osaka/Tokyo. It was nice just waking up early and not being rushed by other people to use the sink. The morning weather in Kyoto was humid as usual, but it was just another beautiful day that was blessed by God. We basically cleaned the house out from 9-11, then headed to Osaka for our debrief.
We took the bus to Osaka, which took about 1 1/2 hours. In America, that would be considered a long trip to me, but since our team has so much fun together, time just flew by. Once we got to the hotel, we unpacked and had lunch. We then had a meeting for about 2 hours just going over things that we might experience when we go back home. After our meeting we headed over to a city called Namba (I might have spelled that wrong). Osaka compared to Kyoto is almost like night and day. You can compare Kyoto to a leisure world type of environment, and you can compare Osaka to a Los Angeles type of world. The atmosphere and weather were just completely different, and it honestly felt like we were in a different country.
For dinner, we went to this place where you can make your own Okonomiyaki (A Japanese type of pancake). It was so good! After a good time of fellowship, we headed back to the hotel, and that's where I'am right now! I've never been in a hotel like this, because all of our rooms are single room. You literally walk in and there's a bed. And that's it. But it's nice to have a quiet room to just sit and relax. It still hasn't hit me that we'll be leaving in a couple of days. Please pray that I won't cry like a baby when we head to the airport.
I woke up extra early (around 7am) to do some laundry for the next couple of days since I figured there wouldn't be any local laundry mats in Osaka/Tokyo. It was nice just waking up early and not being rushed by other people to use the sink. The morning weather in Kyoto was humid as usual, but it was just another beautiful day that was blessed by God. We basically cleaned the house out from 9-11, then headed to Osaka for our debrief.
We took the bus to Osaka, which took about 1 1/2 hours. In America, that would be considered a long trip to me, but since our team has so much fun together, time just flew by. Once we got to the hotel, we unpacked and had lunch. We then had a meeting for about 2 hours just going over things that we might experience when we go back home. After our meeting we headed over to a city called Namba (I might have spelled that wrong). Osaka compared to Kyoto is almost like night and day. You can compare Kyoto to a leisure world type of environment, and you can compare Osaka to a Los Angeles type of world. The atmosphere and weather were just completely different, and it honestly felt like we were in a different country.
For dinner, we went to this place where you can make your own Okonomiyaki (A Japanese type of pancake). It was so good! After a good time of fellowship, we headed back to the hotel, and that's where I'am right now! I've never been in a hotel like this, because all of our rooms are single room. You literally walk in and there's a bed. And that's it. But it's nice to have a quiet room to just sit and relax. It still hasn't hit me that we'll be leaving in a couple of days. Please pray that I won't cry like a baby when we head to the airport.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
7/24/10- Kyoto station day
I tried sleeping in all day, but failed because I woke up at 11am and couldn't fall back asleep. So I tagged along with most of the team for a day at Kyoto station!
I've been to Kyoto stations many times, but today was especially exciting because I discovered some new shops that i've never been to. We stayed there for a good 4 hours just walking around, then walked to a nearby mall called Ieon. I didn't expect to get anything since I didn't have too much per diem left over, but then we went to a Gap and they had a sale on jeans. The original price was $44, but it was on sale for $9!!!!!!!!!!! (Of course I had to get a pair)
Overall, today was kind of tiring but it was a good time to just spend with the team. Please pray for the health of our team, because some people are feeling under the weather. It's most likely due to the weather change and constantly going from hot/humid weather into a cold airconditioned room. I can feel a little fatigued when I'm in the hot sun, but I feel fine for now. I still can't believe that today was our last saturday in Japan, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I've been to Kyoto stations many times, but today was especially exciting because I discovered some new shops that i've never been to. We stayed there for a good 4 hours just walking around, then walked to a nearby mall called Ieon. I didn't expect to get anything since I didn't have too much per diem left over, but then we went to a Gap and they had a sale on jeans. The original price was $44, but it was on sale for $9!!!!!!!!!!! (Of course I had to get a pair)
Overall, today was kind of tiring but it was a good time to just spend with the team. Please pray for the health of our team, because some people are feeling under the weather. It's most likely due to the weather change and constantly going from hot/humid weather into a cold airconditioned room. I can feel a little fatigued when I'm in the hot sun, but I feel fine for now. I still can't believe that today was our last saturday in Japan, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Friday, July 23, 2010
7/23/10- Last day on Campus =[
It still hasn't hit me that today was our last day on campus. I almost don't want to blog because I don't want to accept the fact that we're almost done with project. But because I love all of you, I will blog what happened today.
Today at campus, I had lunch by myself for the first time. Although I looked like a loner, it was a good time for me to prepare for the goodbye's that I'd be saying to our contacts. I was able to process a lot of what God has been doing through our team and in Kyoto. At around 2pm, I went to the student store (next to Tully's) to buy Sato a card. Once I got a table, it seemed like everyone that we met at Kyodai came to our table! We literally had to get the table next to us because there were so many people hanging out. Sato came around 2:30ish and we had a great time just hanging out. He said that he was still unsure if he wanted to fully believe in Christianity. I know that it isn't in my power to try and convict him, so I just decided to leave it up to God. I gave him the card/gift and he was so surprised. He really liked my gift to him, so he gave me one of his accessories, which was a cross necklace! Although I wanted him to keep it so that he would continue to seek God, I couldn't reject it because that would've been very rude for me not to take it.
We basically hung out with all of our contacts till about 4:30. We decided that we were going to go to Shijo and eat sushi as a team to celebrate. But it was so cool because most of our contacts wanted to come with us, so they came with us. I'm so thankful for the time that we got to spend with them while we were at the sushi place. After dinner, we all went to take pirikura pictures (those small picture stickers).
When it was time to leave, it was hard for me to say bye to Sato because I had gotten close to him over the past week and a half. I really wish that I could have gotten to know him better, but I'm not questioning God's plan. I'm so thankful to have met Sato, and I pray that God will grow the seed that was planted in his heart. Sato is a very caring, gentle, intelligent person and I hope that God will be evident in his life. I told Sato to create a facebook so that we could keep in touch, so he'll be making one in the next few days. I still can't believe that we're officially done with campus ministry, but I could totally see how God has been moving within the campuses of Doshisha and Kyodai over these past 5 weeks. I'm so in love with God, and all my praise goes to Him.
I guess from now till the day we leave for American, we'll be processing all that God has done. I'm dreading the day that we leave for home, because a huge part of my heart will be left in Japan again. Please pray that the transition from Japan life to American life will be smooth.
Today at campus, I had lunch by myself for the first time. Although I looked like a loner, it was a good time for me to prepare for the goodbye's that I'd be saying to our contacts. I was able to process a lot of what God has been doing through our team and in Kyoto. At around 2pm, I went to the student store (next to Tully's) to buy Sato a card. Once I got a table, it seemed like everyone that we met at Kyodai came to our table! We literally had to get the table next to us because there were so many people hanging out. Sato came around 2:30ish and we had a great time just hanging out. He said that he was still unsure if he wanted to fully believe in Christianity. I know that it isn't in my power to try and convict him, so I just decided to leave it up to God. I gave him the card/gift and he was so surprised. He really liked my gift to him, so he gave me one of his accessories, which was a cross necklace! Although I wanted him to keep it so that he would continue to seek God, I couldn't reject it because that would've been very rude for me not to take it.
We basically hung out with all of our contacts till about 4:30. We decided that we were going to go to Shijo and eat sushi as a team to celebrate. But it was so cool because most of our contacts wanted to come with us, so they came with us. I'm so thankful for the time that we got to spend with them while we were at the sushi place. After dinner, we all went to take pirikura pictures (those small picture stickers).
When it was time to leave, it was hard for me to say bye to Sato because I had gotten close to him over the past week and a half. I really wish that I could have gotten to know him better, but I'm not questioning God's plan. I'm so thankful to have met Sato, and I pray that God will grow the seed that was planted in his heart. Sato is a very caring, gentle, intelligent person and I hope that God will be evident in his life. I told Sato to create a facebook so that we could keep in touch, so he'll be making one in the next few days. I still can't believe that we're officially done with campus ministry, but I could totally see how God has been moving within the campuses of Doshisha and Kyodai over these past 5 weeks. I'm so in love with God, and all my praise goes to Him.
I guess from now till the day we leave for American, we'll be processing all that God has done. I'm dreading the day that we leave for home, because a huge part of my heart will be left in Japan again. Please pray that the transition from Japan life to American life will be smooth.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
7/22/10- Good Soil
Bleh, I always forget what happened in the morning so I'm just going to fast forward to lunch.
.
.
For lunch today, Jared, Carrie and I went to the Italian Cafe to meet up with a couple of contacts. We were split up because we couldn't move tables together, so it was just Jared, one of Jared's contacts and I. Jared's contact was actually born in Gardena and grew up there until about elementary school. So most of the conversation was about Gardena and the things that Shun (Jared's contact) remembered. He's actually just doing research at Kyodai, so he's really busy most of the time. It was pretty cool just chatting with him because he speaks like a native English speaker.
After lunch, we went to Tully's to initiate with more people. I approached this guy sitting by himself near our table. He was reading a book about Anne Frank, so I asked him if he was interested in the Holocaust and he said yes. He told me that he wanted to learn about the Holocaust because he doesn't want history to repeat itself. After about 15 minutes we got onto the topic of love. I then told him that I was a Christian, but he immediately cut me off and said "really?". I thought I had offended him, but then he looked through his backpack and pulled out a Bible and a daily devotional! I was so shocked! We then talked about Christianity and Evangelism in Japan and how difficult it is for him to share the Gospel with Japanese people. I was so encouraged by this man, and I flat out told him that he has given me hope for the people in Japan. I said a few encouraging words to him and told him that I would pray for him and his ministry. What's even crazier is that he attends the same Church that our team has been attending on Sunday's. He only attends the Japanese service in the morning which explains why I haven't seen him there. It took me a while to process what happened, but I realized that meeting a genuine Japanese Christian has given me hope. If you look at it from a statistical standpoint, the guy I met was in the category of the "less than 1 percent" Christians in Japan. How cool is that?
At night, our team had an outreach event at a community center near Kyodai. There was a good turnout of student contacts that attended! We watched a short film called "Good Soil" and discussed it afterwards. It was pretty interesting hearing the perspectives from the Japanese students. I'm not sure if the film provoked any questions about Christianity, but it was interesting to all the students.
Tomorrow is our last day of ministry on campus. It literally feels like I've only been here for a week, but at the same time I miss everyone at home so much. Please pray for our team and that the seeds that we've planted will be taken care of by God.
.
.
For lunch today, Jared, Carrie and I went to the Italian Cafe to meet up with a couple of contacts. We were split up because we couldn't move tables together, so it was just Jared, one of Jared's contacts and I. Jared's contact was actually born in Gardena and grew up there until about elementary school. So most of the conversation was about Gardena and the things that Shun (Jared's contact) remembered. He's actually just doing research at Kyodai, so he's really busy most of the time. It was pretty cool just chatting with him because he speaks like a native English speaker.
After lunch, we went to Tully's to initiate with more people. I approached this guy sitting by himself near our table. He was reading a book about Anne Frank, so I asked him if he was interested in the Holocaust and he said yes. He told me that he wanted to learn about the Holocaust because he doesn't want history to repeat itself. After about 15 minutes we got onto the topic of love. I then told him that I was a Christian, but he immediately cut me off and said "really?". I thought I had offended him, but then he looked through his backpack and pulled out a Bible and a daily devotional! I was so shocked! We then talked about Christianity and Evangelism in Japan and how difficult it is for him to share the Gospel with Japanese people. I was so encouraged by this man, and I flat out told him that he has given me hope for the people in Japan. I said a few encouraging words to him and told him that I would pray for him and his ministry. What's even crazier is that he attends the same Church that our team has been attending on Sunday's. He only attends the Japanese service in the morning which explains why I haven't seen him there. It took me a while to process what happened, but I realized that meeting a genuine Japanese Christian has given me hope. If you look at it from a statistical standpoint, the guy I met was in the category of the "less than 1 percent" Christians in Japan. How cool is that?
At night, our team had an outreach event at a community center near Kyodai. There was a good turnout of student contacts that attended! We watched a short film called "Good Soil" and discussed it afterwards. It was pretty interesting hearing the perspectives from the Japanese students. I'm not sure if the film provoked any questions about Christianity, but it was interesting to all the students.
Tomorrow is our last day of ministry on campus. It literally feels like I've only been here for a week, but at the same time I miss everyone at home so much. Please pray for our team and that the seeds that we've planted will be taken care of by God.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
7/21/10- An earthquake woke me up today.
Yes, there was an earthquake in Japan this morning. I'm still not sure exactly where the center of the earthquake was, but it must have been pretty far from Kyoto because it was kind of weak. It happened around 6am, and all I remember was the house was moving slowly. I knew it was an earthquake, but since I'm so used to earthquakes I just laid there and expected it to get bigger. It stopped after a few seconds, so I just looked at my clock and went back to bed for another 2 hours.
I led this morning's Bible study on John 8:1-11. This is actually my favorite passage from the Bible, and you know who taught it to me? That's right, Wayne Katayama (I guess I have learned something from him). It was a really blessed time, and the Holy Spirit was moving throughout the meeting. I think I'm getting more comfortable in leading large group discussions, which is so awesome because that's one of my worst fears. I actually enjoyed preparing for the Bible Study, which is shocking because I thought that I would hate it. Of course I need more guidance and knowledge in the Bible, but God has provided me with people who can teach me those things.
Today was especially hot! I think it hit about 90 degrees with the humidity. I decided not to take my backpack because I knew my back would just get drenched with sweat. It was actually refreshing not having to carry my backpack around, but there were some times where I freaked out because I thought I lost it. Anyways, campus time was especially sad for me today because today was the last day that I could meet with Moto. We met up around 3pm and went to an Italian cafe to get some parfait. I knew that Moto wasn't too open to hearing the Gospel, so I didn't want to force it upon him. Instead, we just talked about life and deep things. He told me that he really likes talking with me because it gives him the opportunity to practice his English, but more importantly because he enjoys just hanging out with me. I almost choked up when he said that. When he had to get going, I was able to take a picture with him. Even though I didn't get to meet up with him as much as I wanted, it was still hard for me to say bye to him. I pray that God will soften his heart and that one day he'll be open to hearing the Gospel. Here's a picture of us (sorry I look so sweaty, it felt like it was 24857234897 degrees)
I led this morning's Bible study on John 8:1-11. This is actually my favorite passage from the Bible, and you know who taught it to me? That's right, Wayne Katayama (I guess I have learned something from him). It was a really blessed time, and the Holy Spirit was moving throughout the meeting. I think I'm getting more comfortable in leading large group discussions, which is so awesome because that's one of my worst fears. I actually enjoyed preparing for the Bible Study, which is shocking because I thought that I would hate it. Of course I need more guidance and knowledge in the Bible, but God has provided me with people who can teach me those things.
Today was especially hot! I think it hit about 90 degrees with the humidity. I decided not to take my backpack because I knew my back would just get drenched with sweat. It was actually refreshing not having to carry my backpack around, but there were some times where I freaked out because I thought I lost it. Anyways, campus time was especially sad for me today because today was the last day that I could meet with Moto. We met up around 3pm and went to an Italian cafe to get some parfait. I knew that Moto wasn't too open to hearing the Gospel, so I didn't want to force it upon him. Instead, we just talked about life and deep things. He told me that he really likes talking with me because it gives him the opportunity to practice his English, but more importantly because he enjoys just hanging out with me. I almost choked up when he said that. When he had to get going, I was able to take a picture with him. Even though I didn't get to meet up with him as much as I wanted, it was still hard for me to say bye to him. I pray that God will soften his heart and that one day he'll be open to hearing the Gospel. Here's a picture of us (sorry I look so sweaty, it felt like it was 24857234897 degrees)
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