a book and a movie

Just thought i’d take a moment to review write something about a book and a video dvd.

The dvd, i was sent for my birthday. its called “Faith like Potatos” and, set in the late 70s, is the true story of a south african farmer [Angus Buchan]. It tells the story of his life from being an angry, troubled farmer, to his encountering Jesus, and entering into a life of the miraculous. The movie was made locally, even on the real farm, and a large part of the cast are actually his children/locals. They have kept as much realism as possible. definately worth a watch, or if you arent into movies, read the book.

for a real review check out http://www.joymag.co.za/mag/3-2006/3-2006-angus.php but be warned, it contains spoilers, but maybe they make you want to watch it more. i recommend this book for anyone. even potato farmers in the middle of a drought.

It is both inspiring and faith building. definate watch. i’d never heard of him before, but having a quick google of his name has brought up many pages, so he’s obviously still going strong about God’s work.

*******************

oh and now the book.  whilst at HQ  a book jumped off the shelf [in the library] at me [you know how that happens sometimes] and i felt like i had to read it.  Well it was one of those ‘devotional’ books. ive never been into those really. ive tried a number of times, and most of them seem to give a bible verse and then an illustration about them [usually to do with baseball, basketball or american football], or an explanation of what it meant to them or something… so i was a bit like “hmm…God…Why this one?” but i took it up with me despite my reservations.

but amazingly [thankfully] this isn’t one like the others i’d tried and got nowhere with. rather than seeking to give you an understanding of a scripture, or an illustration from someone’s life to the outplaying of the verse, this book is written, to quote, “in true prophetic style, The Highroad brings you God’s own word to your own heart…that it stimulate a hunger for a deeper appreciation of the Bible, the supreme revelation of all truth.”

Its title is On the Highroad of Surrender, by Frances J Roberts [and has a copyright from '73, so its been around for awhile, but is still relevant]. It is written prophetically, and is topical rather than verse-ical [if i can make up a word] as God speaks truth [even the hard bits] into different areas of our lives, thoughts and attitudes, as He calls us to surrender our all unto him. For example a few of the topics are “Praise transforms”,”Identity”, “Spiritual house”, “the law of plenty”, “inner calm”, “Quietness”, “Pride”, “Trust” etc.

I’m currently still reading, but am finding it inspiring, even if not all new, its bringing a freshness back into my quiet times, that has not been there for awhile, making me check my attitudes and thoughts, and drawing me ever closer into God’s heart.

So, maybe there is a devotional book for me. And here at this time, God knew enough to throw this one off the shelf at me. Thanks Lord. its just what i’ve been looking for.

so next time God throws a book at you, pick it up and have a read. Or maybe he just does it with, me, as its about the only way i get around to reading these days.

later.

PS: Oh, and ive yet to come accross a passage about american sports. ;o)

After the blur.

Wow. if they werent a couple of exceptionally quick weeks. just blurred by.

Camp season is now officially over and today is my third day back in classes, although i had been staying at camp until this morning - just commuted an extra hour to/from school these last couple of days. was nice to  wake up to a quick swim before heading to class. But now we are home [well i am, jess will come back later today] and [i think] here to stay for awhile.

Not sure if summer is actually over yet, but we have noticed some of the trees beginning to turn red, and we are enjoying the drop in temperature these last couple of days. its now down to a nice cool 32ish day with only 60% humidity. it does actually feel ‘cool’, though perhaps not as much as those of you enjoying the snow recently [or not enjoying]. Im just waiting  for it to drop another 20 degrees.

so what has been on these last few weeks… what did i post last? ah, the holiday. well since then, we spent 2 weeks at the WEC JAPAN HQ. We were there in the role of ‘host’ for a couple of short term teams, one from Hong Kong, the other from Korea. We were also equipped with a van to play taxi for the teams. perhaps it should be noted that no-one actually lives in the HQ at the moment, although one of the japanese pastors has a house next door. HQ is in a small town called gokasho [11,000 people], and is basically in the middle of nowhere. mountians on one side, rice fields on the other. but there are a few larger towns nearby that appear to be growing still, with seemingly little in the way of churches. [i am left wondering why, if the HQ has been there for decades, there is no church in the area (yet), but i dont know why.]

at the same time we had the summer camp program running. the junior high-school camp was at HQ, so though not officially involved, it was going on around us, and we sat in on a bit of the program.  then at the campsite there was both the international friendship camp and the family camp.

so we kind of bounced like a pinball between HQ, camp, different churches and the airport these last two weeks, and ended up sending the van back with an extra 1000 or so kms on the clock. It was a bit tiring, but lots of fun. the camps were great, and the two short term teams were excellent. they did some really great minstry in the churches, camps and in public. including a number of dramas, songs and even dances.

not going to say too much about the camps in this blog, that can come in another. i took lots of video and hope to one day get around to putting a bit up here for you to see. [just dont ask when].

then the camps were done. the teams were gone, and it was time to pack up HQ and head home for a day [crazily doing homework] before joining another missionary at the campsite for a couple of nights [around classes].

And now, hopefully back to normalcy once again.

Holiday Ramblings

Why is it that holiday weeks seem to fly past at twice the rate of a normal one? and normal ones move fast enough as it is. oh well such is life i guess.

well we have just returned from our week at the beach. that was of course, a week in an apartment by a very nice little beach on the lake. whilst nothing compared to an australian beach [thats honesty speaking] it was lovely.

so what did we get up to? well for the first few days it seemed that thunderstorms were on the menu, so we spent most of our time inside. this was a great opportunity for us to catch up on some R and R and R - thats rest, relaxation and Reading. I will admit it has been ages since i took the chance to read a book. and this week i read two. So that’s 2 full books for this year. Kinda sad isnt it. oh no, its actually 3 books. i read one back in january… well i was glad for a good old read. should do more of it.

well we did get down to the beach for a little swim on tuesday, and again on wednesday, and it was lovely. a nice sandy [well, very fine pebbly sand] beach, warm water, and a good cool down. The weather is of course still hot and in the mid 30s plus, so any opportunity to cool down is a bonus.

thursday saw us take a drive to the Japanese Sea  at Tsuruga. only about 65kms  [but 1.5 hours drive] north of where we are staying. It was lovely to actually swim in salt water too. that was a good day, and jessica got to see her first monkey in the wild too.

Friday saw another day between the lake and a book [including a book on the beach] and then it was time to pack up to come home. that was today [sat].

tomorrow sees us setting off again on another adventure. this time to Headquarters to play host for a couple of short term teams coming from hong kong and korea over the next two weeks. this is of course around the 3 camps that still remain to go. not sure how we will juggle the mix, but i am sure it will work out somehow.

having said all this, i know i have managed to forget to write the few things i really wanted to blog about… sigh… maybe i will remember later. until then,

see ya.

Sunday… Lovely Sunday.

Sunday was quite a big day for us at church.  The morning saw a pulpit swap between our church [kusatsu] and a neighbouring WEC church in Moriyama. This meant that that Japanese pastor from Moriyama came here to Kusatsu and Jurgen [the Missionary Pastor here], myself and our three German Guests went to Moriyama.

i should fill you in, there are three young women from Jurgen’s homechurch in Germany here for a month, and they have been doing a variety of things around the church.

and so Sunday took us to Moriyama church [this was my first time there]. This is a very small church, that meets in what is really a small house [though it's a traditional style church] with the ‘chapel’ in what would have been the loungeroom [with  a kitchen in the back corner]. There were probably about 7 or 8 in the church, plus the 5 of us, and there wouldnt have been much room for anymore people.

Jurgen preached, i shared a testimony and the German girls sang a song [they are very musical].  Then afterwards there was ‘morning tea’ which gave a great chance to meet and talk to the congregation.

I have to say, that despite being a tiny church [ i think even by japanese standards, both in space and numbers] - or maybe because of - it is an amazing little church. the level of warmth and acceptance there was just palpable. It was relaxed and welcoming and [bar a handful of (to me) ancient and droning hymns] a beautiful church. i got the sense of reflection [in the congregation] of the heart and attitude of the pastor - peace and godliness.

Its a church that in the past has had its share of ups and downs, of troubles, like every church i suppose, but through that has [in my opinion] grown in Godliness. It was also wonderful to see a couple of young [early 20 something] people in the congregation with a heart for Jesus- a rarity in many of the churches here, particualrly the smaller more traditional ones.

when we returned to Kusatsu, Jessica told me that the visiting Pastor had had preached from the psalms [psalm 73] and when i asked her how it was her comment was “i didnt understand much but it must have been good as it made everyone cry”  he spoke [as far as i know] on how despite the hardships and losses of life, God is still there, and in Control. As a man who has had much loss and sorrow in his life [he lost his daughter in a car crash about 16 years ago [i think] and his [adult] son hasnt left the house since] and yet radiates Peace and Godliness, I can only assume that it was truly an amazing message.

Well that was the morning, the afternoon brought us “the German Afternoon”, in which the three German girls put on a cultural afternoon with games, singing and a German cultural presentation. this was lots of fun and saw a handful of local - nonchurch families join in for the afternoon, and although the programme only went for an hour or so, they stayed on until 5:30ish [it started at 2:00]. This gave us great oppotunities to talk to people, and get to know them. This also included one lady from Jessica’s Happy Bear class and her husband as well as a few others that we have had previous contact with, but not seen recently.

heres a pic of one of the games at the german arvo. the object of the game was to be the first to pop a balloon. the catch was, you had to blow it up until it popped, whilst sitting on a chair your team-mates are holding.  was fun, but for some reason, i didnt get to sit in the chair…

balloon blowing race - first to pop wins. one assumes if you fall off/drop the chair you have to start again.

Gion Matsuri

I thought i would do a quick blog on the Gion Matsuri [Gion Festival] in Kyoto. its an annual festival that lasts for about a month, though i think the main things are on from the 14th to 17th.  Last night a local Japanese couple took Jessica and I in to show us the matsuri. We had a great night, and was good Japanese practice for us both.

The Gion Matsuri is a traditional japanese festival that first started in the year 869 - thats right, for more than a thousand years. so it has a long history, and though originally connected to the temple, much of the festival is now about lantern lit floats [full of musicians] and little food and side stalls etc, there are also lots of displays to look at, many of differenet family heirlooms [such as scrolls and folding screens]  and other antiquities. the floats are of course on display and in a couple of days there will be a large parade in which the floats will be featured. There are of course many people dressed in Yukata [summer Kimono] and everyone is suffering from the heat [we were there between 6:30 and 9:30 pm and it was still 30 odd degrees outside]. thankfully there were many people handing out free paper/plastic fans [covered in advertising of course], what a blessing these were, and everyone seemed to have one. we came home with 3 each i think - though one would have been enough. oh we also came home with some pets. Jessica went fishing in a sidestall and caught herself a handful of goldfish.

at the moment the main street in Gion/Shijo are closed to traffic, so its foot traffic only.  definately a good experience for anyone visiting Kyoto in July.

i’ll throw in a few pics for you to look at.

Just a couple of people out for the Matsuri- this is by the way a 4 lane street with wide pavements.

one of the many floats from the Gion Matsuri

Jessie and friends at the matsuri.

Results of Jessica's "fishing" expliots

夏休みだ。

im sure you would prefer English. The above heading reads “Summer Holiday.”

Today’s what… Tuesday? i think so. Everyday feels like a saturday, which is a bit odd [ I must admit I'm not used to a week of Saturdays anymore]  but a refreshing change from going to class everyday.  Still, theres plenty to do so i dont get bored.

so whats the plan for the holidays? well the first two weeks in August are going to be busy with all the WEC camps we have running. The first one is an international day camp on July 21st [monday] and is aimed as a kind of taster camp.  then there is a primary school camp [we arent attending this one] in late july, and then in August there’s a highschool camp [ 5th-7th, at HQ], an international friendship camp [Aug 8-10], and then the the family camp on the 13th and 14th.

Here’s a photo of the campsite.

the WEC campsite on Lake Biwa

At the same time as that Jessica and I will also be situated in the WEC Headquarters building [a beautiful old traditional japanese style building] in Gokashyo. It’s not a holiday, as we are there with a purpose - hosting two short term teams [one from Korea and the other from Hong Kong]. So we will somehow be juggling the hosting [and transporting] of these two teams and helping out with the other camps.  Sounds like a logistical nightmare to me right now to be honest,but that’s because I don’t know whats going on. Something else i need to find out. I’m sure it will work out well in the end, everything usually does.

So yeah, August is going to be a busy month, and after the camps its back into class on monday.
So whats the go between now and August? we are hoping to get a few days away somewhere, we are investingating a possible apartment on the lake to use, which would be a nice getaway, even if it isnt far. So far we havent heard back on that one, but if not we will look at something else.

Jessica still has classes this week, and her “Happy Bear” programme continues to run all holidays [if you dont know, its a class she is doing every week in the local community hall, teaching English to preschoolers and their mums. think Hi-5 teaches English and you cant be too far wrong ;o) ] so we can’t go too far anyway.

Im preaching at the Nagahama English service this sunday, from Malachi, so between that and japanese study [both school set homework and general study] im not going to be lacking for things to do.

I also have a handful of other projects and stuff i want to do - like finish my desk - it was my project in the April hols, but i didnt get the time to make any drawers, so i want to get around to them this time, plus throw on another coat of stain too.  a few other Video editing projects are coming my way, so i want to get some time in on them too, and make a point of getting up with my reading too [it feels like forever since i last read a book], and to think there was a time when all i did was read… seems like a previous life. I’m sure lots of other stuff too.

well i think i am going to end this blog here, as its getting long, and there are a few other things i want to type about, so i am going to put them in as separate ones.

またね。

ethnographic blogs

hi. just a quick note. I’ve had a couple of people say they cant find my ethnographic blogs. i hope with this new style they should be easier to find [up the top], just click on the new page and you will go there. sorry to say that you have to scroll down to find the new ones. This is where i write ‘official’ blogs based on more anthropological bits of japanese culture, rather than about my life. i know im not so good at updating those ones, but i am getting there slowly.

Changing Times

Yes, i thought it was time for a little visual change. what is it they say? “A change is as good as a holidy.” well, consider this my holiday. I quite liked the header pic, I thought it fits the blog name quite well.

Alright, don’t have time to really write much, just taking a little break from my study. but now i guess its time to get back into it.

May your today be blessed [whenever today is for you]

ben

comment on a comment. [and other stuff too]

just a quick post to comment on a comment re my last two blogs. heres the comment:

I see a contrast between the storyline and blog “The Nail that Sticks Up gets hammered down”. Maybe youth are breaking the mould. Or maybe they just dream of being the nail that sticks out

An interesting contrast. and i  think in many ways this comment hits the nail on the head [bad pun intended. sorry]. it is becoming more common to go against the flow amongst young people, and it has for years been accepted that ‘youths’ will resist the flow - they are even allowed to, particularly whilst uni students. but then, once they graduate and become part of the ‘company’ they are expected to fall into their proper place. there are of course many people nowadays who are resisting - often it seems by not becoming a kaishain [company worker] but instead continue to work part time or in other [smaller] employment in which they have more control over their life. i do think [and im really not an expert on japanese society] though that by doing this, they will lose some of their standing in society. icould be wrong, but as i see it, ones company/university/highschool - ie the primary group one belongs to- is where one’s identity and social standing comes from. also had a friend telling me that where one lives is important too - and that if you get a promotion/better job or go up in standing, it is expected that you will move to a ‘better’ neighbourhood.

still there are many who appear not to want this kind of life, so i guess in conclusion life for the Japanese is changing. slowly, but it is changing, more so in the larger cities in Japan.

while im raving on about japanese culture, there is another change someone [actually i think it was Jessica] was telling me about. it seems that although it is generally taught that it is polite when one moves into a new house to go around and greet the neighbours and give them a gift etc [oh yes, the new person gives their neighbours a gift - for allowing them to move in next door or something i think. the whole gift giving "on and giri" [is that how you spell it?] [translates obligation and duty] is complicated at the best of times, and i cant say i yet understand much of it at all, although i do often make the mistake of calling it “onigiri” [which is actually a riceball] oops. anyway back to my point]… giving the neighbours a gift when you move in.

Well it seems the Japanese estate agents are now starting to tell new clients NOT to go and visit, or greet their neighbours. [this is happening in kyoto at least, and probably other parts of City Japan]. it seems the neighbourhood groups and networking is breaking down as well. people are becoming scared of their neighbours, and more and more are admitting to not knowing their neighbours. a far cry from how it used to be. Yes, Japan is getting a lot more dangerous. violent crimes and murders seem to be becoming fairly common [for japan anyway- stil la lot less then in most of the world]. the strange thing i have noticed is that the majority of murders seem to be occuring within families… not sure what that says about the situation of the family here in Japan. still, depsite it being ‘dangerous’ nowadays its good to know that you can leave the keys in your car with the engine running and window open, whilst you go shopping or something, and know your car will be there when you return [as japanese people are often seen to do - though ive not seen any westerners doing it]… alright i need to get back into studying those kanji… next lot of exams tomorrow and friday.

language learning

i was thinking that, although we talk a lot about language learning, our study, homework and difficulties etc, i was thinking earlier whilst studying that to be honest, you probably dont really know what we are doing as far as studying. when i say im off to class, i have no idea what that makes you think of, or homework, or whatever, so i thought i would give you a quick example of some of the stuff going on for me in class. the speaking/listening side isn’t the easiest to show you, but i took a quick pic of one of the pages we read yesterday in class. though slowly i could read and understand it all which is always encouraging.

heres my summary of the whole story [not just this one page], as i thought it gives an interesting insight.

It was quite an interesting story about a boy, who’s mother wanted him to have a ‘good life’ from the japanese point of view. sS from the age of 2 he took up swimming, and awhile later piano and english [as i read it still before primary school]. by grade 3 he had his own in home ’special’ teacher [for extra lessons beyond school - not to catch up] to also study maths, japanese, foreign languages etc. this was everyday. he entered one of the best middleschools [gr 7-9] as well as going to cram school in the evenings.

he was given the choice of which highschool [gr10-12] to aim for [sit the exams for] and chose pretty much the best highschool, from which 70% of the students went onto the top universites in japan. he got in, and continued to spend his life studying.

but then, just before it was time to take his university entrance exams [probably the hardest lot of exams in the japanese system - they set ones path for life - which university = which company = quality of life] something happened. instead of studying he bagan reading philosophy, novels etc, stopped playing hte piano and stuff. then one day he told his mum “i dont want to go to university anymore. i want to move out of home and have freedom.”

mum was very upset. Hadnt she let him choose what schools to go to, what subjects to study, extracurtricular activities and sports to do etc. surely he has his freedom. But he didnt think so.

basically, the standard japanese thought is that, to live a good life, one must have the best job [work for a top company and one assumes get paid more - but actually japanese wages are really low compared to Aust and they don't get paid overtime - but are expected to do lots every day], which means the best university. and this was the story of how someone gets there.

this concept of a good life is changing, and i guess thats what this piece was about. whilst for hte parents, that was the ideal life, the younger generations of japanese are looking at the world and life differently nowadays. They want fun, relaxation, free time and an enjoyable life.

anyhow, i thought that this might be another helpful insight into japanese life.

blessings

ben

the nail that sticks up will be hammered down.

i think its considered common knowledge that the japanese like conformity. [except when it comes to hairstyles and fashion, where everyone is an individual, with the same hairstyle]. sorry, couldnt resist that one. actually i have noticed that there is more than one hairstyle in japan - i have actually noticed about 6 different hairstyles [well, variations] amongst the younger japanese woment. maybe a couple more for the guys. haha. maybe im just jealous cos they’ve all got hair and i havent…

anyhow it sometimes amazes me just how much that is so. i thought i would share a few things [japanese] people have said recently.

i had one japanese friend tell me that the japanese dont like to talk about serious stuff - they dont like to think - he said. they arent taught to think, the education system runs on the theme of’ we tell you something and you accept it as truth’. critical thinking doesnt seem to be on the sylabus.

there are of course many stories and proverbs that compell people to maintain conformity with the group. but there was this article i was reading on the web [a japanese online newspaper in english] and i came across this statement from a japanese technoloy advisor

“When you buy a PC here, it comes with preinstalled applications,” says Oikawa. “Japanese people like standard settings that are the same as everyone else’s. Having to choose places an unnecessary strain on them.”

i admit i have never thought of having to choose as being an unnecessary strain, more of a right to choose, a positive expectation of having to choose, and am appalled at the thought of not being able to choose, change and choose my way again.

As someone who likes to play around with my pc [not that im particularly computer savvy or anything, just a run of the mill user] and am frequently adding new bits of software etc, updating and all the rest i find it hard to think that people want a standard system [...then i guess we do have them, call them mac users... hehe... sorry to all you mac users, i love you really ;o) ].

anyhow i thought it was an interesting point on the Japanese psyche, especially coming from a japanese person.  what does it really mean for the gospel? sometimes i wonder if this is why it seems like the japanese church seems to want a nicely packaged standard ‘program’ and way of doing it, [which is so not the Christianity of the bible as i read it], and perhaps one reason why so many cults [with their nicely prepackaged religions] seem to be everywhere over here. i remember being told there were over 250 cults in japan. that’s a lot in my book.

anyway, as usual with my blogs, lots of food for thought, but no answers. just my ramblings as i seek to adjust and serve the Lord in Japan.  have a great night all, im off to bed.

comment on a comment

someone made a comment on my cultural blog and i thought i would reply to it publicly as i thought it was interesting enough to share my thoughts and understanding [as it is today].

comment was

“”Born Shinto, married Christian, died a Buddhist” - now that’s interesting. Does that mean there is a lot of religious tolerance? So there IS a place for Christianity in this mono ethnic society.”

is there a place for christianity? if i was to be human i would say, yes - the same place as chrsitian weddings - Fashion. that is really what they are for most of the japanese. its fashionable to have a chrsitian wedding ceremony [note that people are already married legally - a wedding in japan is a case of going down to the local city office and signing a piece if paper - and hey presto, you are married. so when a couple has a chrsitian wedding, its only a fashionable ceremony to them, and hence why the person taking the ceremony [like me] doesnt need to be licenced like we do back in Oz.

having said that for many of the japanese, their traditional religions - shinto and buddhism - are actually considered cultural - ie, they take part in these ceremonies and idol worship as part of ‘being japanese’ not being buddhist/shinto. so when, as chrsitians, we say, “stop worshiping idols” we are not saying “stop being shinto/buddhist” we are saying “stop being japanese.” and for a nation who’s group consciousness is so big, thats a terrible thing to say. To us individualistic westerners with little to no sense of the national group, its not much at all, but to the Japanese, asking them to stop belonging to the group is a massive thing to do - and naturally creates a barrier to the gospel.

as for religious tolerance… yes and no. Yes, legally and in many regards there is a freedom for religious tolerance - and there are many religions, including over 200 ‘new religions’ [at home we would call them 'cults'] along with the rest. but the people have little interest in religion, and there is a lot of social/familial persecution against Christianity for the reason stated above.

interesting one isn’t it.

going back to my first comment “is there a place for christianity? if i was to be human i would say, yes…fashion ” I will give another answer - the one i actually believe to be true, even if i dont see it today.
Yes, there is a place for Christianity in Japan. Even if people dont realise it. I have met many people who are disillusioned with the current way of life in japan. they have had enough of the standard ways - of work, money and things. i think that slowly people are starting to realise that there has to be something more to life. i wonder though if people know where to look - and if we, as the church are actually presenting the gospel in a way that shows people that Christ is the something they are looking for. that he actually can make a difference.

so yes i think that there is a place for Christianity in Japan. But i am not sure if either the Japanese or the Church here actually know it. [is that too cynical? maybe. but i do believe that there is a place for Christianity - for the Christ and his Gospel in Japan.]

apology and todays rant.

oops. it seems it has been a long while since i put up much on here. especially those ethnographic blogs - and those that i have put on, i have been told are hard to find. so if you are looking for them take a look in the culture section. its all one page, so just scroll down for the next one. actually the most recent 3 [that i have done] have been sitting in an offline file for awhile now, so i should do something about uploading them.

hopefully i will get around to blogging some more in the not too distant future.

but while i am here, just letting you know, the weather is wonderful [high 20s today] but thankfully the humidity has yet to kick in properly so it was nice. was a public holiday today for something [dont know what] and there was a 祭り [”matsuri" or festival for the non japanese speakers amongst you] on here today. so we took a quick trip down the road to check it out. was nice [got some photos but they are sitting on the camera atm]. There were a few small parades, dancers and singers etc, as well as many food stalls and some craft demonstrations [blacksmithing, potting with a wheel, weaving with a loom etc]. as well as lots of people. it was a nice day, with most of the shaded spots taken up by people. we of course, stuck out like a sore thumb - or at least both myself and our Aussie friend Cole who was with us did- me being the smaller of the two of us. anyway, as usual we were the focus of many stares today as well. and there were a few hellos called out in English. always nice. and a couple of conversations with people who [opf course] thought we were tourists.

on a funny note, as is typical in most countries, there are many kawaii [cute] kids here. as we passed a bunch of such kids today, Jessica overheard one of them saying “kowai” to her friends. though quite similar in sound, whilst kawaii means cute, kowai means “scary”. oops…

okay i am going to see if i can download the pics from the camera - our card reader is playing up ATM often causing the pc to freeze. so if i dont get any pics up, that is why.

got the pics, and am uploading one - well a little collage. a blend of traditional and modern japan in the parade.  enjoy.

Missionaries in Japan, Japanese in Missions

Hey something encouraging [i hope] for the rest of you - well it was for me.

i have always found that when thinking of the state of Christianity in Japan [ie 0.4% christian] it has always been thoughts like “what a need”, “Who’s going to go and tell them?” and so  my image of Japan was always one of the unsaved masses [99%+]. Okay its true that is a lot of unsaved people [126 million or so], but often i would forget about the great things that are going on here in Japan - What God’s kingdom and the Japanese believers are doing for him.

and so [unconsciously] i suppose one of the last things i expected was Japanese people going to other nations as missionaries. Even though i knew of quite a few before coming to japan, i didnt realise just how many there really are.

BTW this is a really wonderful surprise for me. perhaps i expected the same sort of ratio as missionaries from australian christians. No, i expected a lesser ratio as japan is an “unreached missionfield” rather than a “reached”/sending nation [though in many ways Australia is just as big a missionfield]. And yet, here I think that what i am seeing may in fact be a higher ratio than at home [at least it seems that way]. i really am meeting/hearing about many Japanese who are on the field or have been on the field. This is a great encouragement.

well all this i guess is the background of my thoughts, as i get the joy of watching one of the ladies in our church here preparing to head to india as a missionary [she is hoping for may this year i think]. It really is a joy to watch God’s people here in Japan step out to take the gospel to the other [more christian] nations of the world.

its a blessing to be a part of God’s worldwide Kingdom and see every part of his body working for the gospel.

now i really must get back to that study.

Good night.

mood: encouraged and marvelling at our great God.

Tours and tourists

interesting note from class today.

part of our lesson was based around the theme of　団体旅行　[group holidays] vs　個人旅行　[individual holidays]. ie, prepackaged tour groups vs ones own holidays. Part of the way through we were asked by the teacher, which of the two we think is best. all but one of the class chose the individual holiday. Our teacher was very surprised.

I think she had expected the opposite response, [the majority japanese response]. interesting when we think of what comes to mind first when a westerner thinks of Japan [well, second - the first being sushi] - japanese tour groups!

As i am getting to know a bit about the japanese lifestyle and mindset [though i still dont know much] i can see how the group tour fits them. you are all in a group. you get maximum bang for your buck [ie, the tour organisers 'know where all the best places are' and do all the hard work], you dont have to worry about speaking a different language, its comfortable, and relaxing.  and i guess for a people who struggle to get more than a couple of days in a row off work, its probably much better than having a 3 days alone in another country -where you have to try and not only work out where you are going, but get there, find accommodation, and generally work in  a language you dont know [or spend years learning one for that 3 day trip]. oh and at the end of it, you return from your ‘refreshing holiday’ more exhausted than when you went [just like we Aussies do].

I admit, group trips don’t sound overly appealing to me, but then if i’m heading away on holidays, i’m probably wanting to go for a lot longer than 3 or 4 days. especially overseas.

having said that, it seems that there are many younger Japanese who are taking the time to backpack around the world and spend a bit of time seeing things themselves. Maybe its as much a generational difference as cultural.

well thats my rant for today. latest news/prayer letter went out today, if you didn’t get it and want it, drop us an email and let us know.

alright, need to get back to the study. its time for the big tests again [we had another big kanji test last friday, and next week our next large [90minute] written test covering everything to date.] - i’ve only just got over our last lot of tests just before christmas. joy. alright back into the books.

PS: on a positive note - i am finding my study habits are improving [yay - finally after 28 years i am beginning to learn how to study].

snow

oh yeah its deffinately winter. it seems that the snow is starting to make itself known. and not just on the mountains.

Jessica and i enjoyed a very nice little walk in the snow the other day. Even if it was very cold. [the only times I've seen the temp gauges today they showed 4 degrees - on the way to school at 7:30am and on the way home at about 2pm ]. So its a bit chilly.

This was an exciting time for us - particularly jessica and even though the snow would melt on contact with the ground [though it did settle on rooves and cars], we enjoyed the small fluffy flakes falling around us. maybe some other day the snow will settle, but its a rarity here in kusatsu.

Cabbages.

hmm… its a strange sight to my eyes - cabbages along the sides of the roads. - and i am not talking about in fields. these ones are in pots [they appear to have gone to flower] decorating the roads around here.  It’s a strange thing to do with a cabbage. perhaps they are more of a floral type of cabbage than the cabbages i am used to, but they definately look like cabbages, and when one rides ones bike past them there is a deffinate whiff of cabbages in the air.

strange… thats all i will say. perhaps there is something more to it than i realise right now.

a month already?

wow. its been awhile since my last blog [im sure it was only a few days ago - guess that shows how fast time flies]. so what has gone on since my last blog?

well the tests are all over and done with, thankfully and results are well and truly in. was pleased with my results, though they were nowhere near what my kanji one was. although i guess i was aiming for at least a 50% and they all beat that by a way which was nice. scores came in the order i expected -kanji 96%, written 78.5%, speaking 74% and listening 63%. i admit those last two scores were amazing. Those scores were an encouragement as it means something must be going in, if slowly. however i will admit i still cant hold a conversation. but give me enough time to think and i can put together a sentence or two.

but it is coming along slowly.

after exams there was a very quick two and a bit week “冬休み” or winter break over Christmas and new year. and back into class again last week.

well Christmas was strange. very not Christmas to us. but we still had a good day. we went to the campsite on the lake for a barbecue, and took a small hike into the mountains nearby for a couple of hours. a nice day all around.

boxing day saw us joining some a few of our colleagues for a bit of a Christmas party - with christmas dinner, games etc. this had more of a ‘christmas’ feel to it.

holidays were good, we took a trip to Tokyo to catch up with some friends and have a bit of a look around. however going over the new year as we did means that a majority of the tourist places etc are closed. particularly those that are government run. Thus all the things we thought to go to were closed. oh well.

still we had a great time with our friends, and their family hosted us for the 5 days we were there. first class service. it was very nice. i guess for me it was my first time staying in a real japanese house - so i guess it is what a home-stay would be like. we took the local train there and back, so about 9 hours and 7 or so changes of trains each way. This was a long trip - especially the legs when we didnt get seats. but was fun. we got to see a lot more of Japan than if we had taken the 2 hour trip on the shinkansen [bullet train].

both times we passed Mount Fuji it was covered in cloud from about the snowline upwards which was dissapointing - however we did get a good view from Tokyo [they say that there are only a few days a year clear enough to get a good view] just as we were leaving to come home - from the train station, but it was covered in cloud by the time we reached it. heres a pic.

And then we were back at home and into the homework before school started up again. now we have been back at school for about a week. Its not long until we need to decide whether or not we are planning to continue on at the same school next semester - we have until mid feb to re-enroll i think. so we are working out what our options are at the moment.

well thats probably enough for this blog. hope i have caught you all up on the last month.

Godbless you all.

150 kanji down, 2000+ to go…

The time of testing us upon us. tests tests and more tests [well 4 tests to be precise - kanji, listening, writing and speaking]. last week was the Kanji test [for those who dont know what i am talking about Kanji are the chinese characters that are in use here in Japan. They say most japanese know between two and four thousand kanji - some know many many more]. over the last 9 or so weeks of school we have covered over 150 of these characters [so still a very long way to go].

have to say Kanji are not easy things - both the reading and writing of them - and yet i am finding that they are the easiest part of Japanese [so far anyway]. Got the result of that one back today. 96%. cant complain on that one.

Today was also both the speaking test [interview style] and the written test [only 90 minutes]. I’m not expecting to go overly well on those ones though. i could understand what my interviewer was asking [i think] and was able to answer all the questions, though i am not sure how correctly. though my interviewer said she understood me, i don’t think my grammar was really that correct. so we will have to wait and see on that one. to be honest i am not expecting to pass, however i am glad the teacher could understand me. That’s my immediate goal - communication. Precision can come over time [though i am working towards that now].

i was the last one to be tested, so then it was straight into the written test [90 minutes covering everything so far]. Again I’m aiming for a pass. Even this will be a miracle i think. though i did finish it all, and write what i think was the right answers. the only problem is [as is always the way with learning things], though one might think it is all correct - its only as correct as our knowledge. and if there is only one thing i know about Japanese - its that i don’t know it [yet - my last few quizzes have been scoring at about 40% with the grammar]. so i guess we will find out in a day or two how well i went.

But having said that, the hardest is yet to come. - the listening [to a tape] test. Thats tomorrow, so i might post this up so i can try and study for this one.

blessings to you all,

mood: not expecting a pass but happy

Friday afternoon… brain dead… time to blog

Well its friday once again. they come pretty fast fridays do [too fast really] and then they are gone and its suddenly monday again. still i suppose that one seventh of our lives is friday… anyhow, cant quite think enough to do any japanese right now, so i thought i would catch up on my blogging. it has been awhile since i last posted a blog. i think i have some older blogs somewhere on the pc that didnt get around to being uploaded… should probably find them and get into the cultural blogging.

something i have worked out though is the uploading of videos onto the blog. so hopefully in the not too distant future, you will find a handful of little videos of what is going on here. something different to reading text or just seeing photos. i just have to get around to making them [i have started, i promise].

okay, enough ranting for now. time to get into the cultural blog. i guess this means you will have to click on the line to the cultural blog page if you are interested.

hows about a picture…. heres some of the famous japanese momiji leaves [maple leaves in autumn]. They are pretty amazing all arrayed on the mountains, so many colours together. well enjoy the pics.

quite pretty aren’t they?

Pictures.

alright, here are a few pictures.

this first one is just to let all of you know what the International Shipping Dictionary defines fragile as…

I’m glad we werent shipping glassware. Although i must admit that despite every box being 10-20cms shorter than when they left Australia, the only thing that was broken was the glass in the frame of one of our wedding photos. everything else was okay.

alright, the next picture… this is me standing outside my front door. there are no tricks of camer angles or the like on this one. i really am a couple of inches taller than my door [and most doors it seems]. I am learning to duck - the hard way.

well maybe more pics later on.

May God bless you all.

Typhoon?

Hmm… i dont know what happened to the typhoon… i havent seen it yet. but then we had a goodly fall of rain last night so maybe that was all there was to have. i guess thats a better thing that a typhoon.

I hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

Getting the word out

One of Japan’s quirks [at least from this Australian’s point of view] is the way that so many people advertise by driving cars around with loudspeakers blaring to advertise their wares. I suppose that they have been particularly prevalent recently as they seem to be a popular means of advertising for politicians. I have been in a couple of meetings already that have been forced to pause for 30 seconds or so at a time as the vehicles went by [in the one meeting it happened 4 or 5 times], and most people seemed to take it as normal. I suppose it is.

But the one that got me was the other night. We had just finished the prayer meeting at the church when a little later there was this strange [and very noisy] sound warbling down the street. Chanting. And it got louder and louder, and then this van drove past with some monk chanting something over and over again. I don’t know if there was actually a monk in the van chanting or whether it was a recording, but I doubt there was a house in the neighourhood that didn’t get a dose of whatever it was he was chanting…

Anyhow I wondered what implications this could have for the gospel…

hmm… i should put up some pictures…

I’ve been thinking that i should add some pics to my ravings.

well that was my thought… will get around to it later…

Settling into life

Well its been a couple of weeks since we arrived in Japan [ 3 weeks today actually], and I think that we are adjusting fairly well. We have worked out how to do the general things – shop, cook, eat, travel, ride bikes, tell the shop assistant we don’t have a ‘[insert shop name] card’, use the bank etc and life is beginning to flow along as normal.

Well to be honest its probably not normal. Normalcy will start up in another week when we hit the routine of language school [get up, commute, class, commute home, homework, go to sleep…], but things are pretty normal for having nothing major to do.

In some ways these last few weeks have been a good time, having been to a heap of meetings, prayer meetings, bible studies and other church based events. I suppose its been a good eperience [hmm… I seem to have problems with my “x” key… good thing  “”  isnt used very often in english and doesn’t eist in japanese] as I have been able to attend a good number of meetings which, once language school begins, we wont have the time to attend.

We have also had an opportunity to meet the majority of the WEC missionaries on our team as well as a good number of the Japanese pastors we are working with [and some from other churches/denominations].

We are also slowly making friends with Japanese people. Well, we are saying hello to a handful of people in the neighbourhood as we pass in the street. Friendships to establish as we acquire the language. There have also been a couple of friends we have begun to make through the english class that we have attended here at the church and a few others we have met who have a bit of English.

Hmm… there are also a goodly number of people who, though they probably wouldn’t consider us friends, we have spent a bit of time with. Maybe we can get to know them more later – they are the people whom we terrorised at softbank [vodaphone] when we went to try and get our  phones connected.  The poor poor people. We both notice the look of horror on their faces when we walk near. I don’t think we will be forgotten for a long time. I hope that one day we can return and talk to them in Japanese – if they don’t run in terror.

I must say one of the coolest things we have found here [I think] is the ATMs at the post office. Not only do they let us get cash out [of our Japanese post office bank account] but they also let us deposit money back into our account. You select deposit, then stick the notes [up to 100 different notes at once] into one slot and the coins [all at the one time] into another slot, and it counts it and puts it into your account. It’s a great way of getting rid of all that pesky change that accumulates.  We have been saving up our 1 and 5 yen [ think 1 and 5 cent] coins for the last two weeks and decided to try it today. Well that was my fun find for the day.

Alright that will do for now. This next week is going to be busy for us. Tomorrow [sat 6th]  we are supposed to be going to stay with the field leaders until Wednesday to get a bit of an orientation before we start language school net Friday [12th]. There goes that “” key again. So that’s neXt Friday.  However with a missionary fellowship meeting on Friday, world mission day on Monday and something else on Wednesday [I think, but can not remember what] its going to be a busy week.  Then Thursday will be getting everything ready for langauge school and on Friday it begins… I cant wait.

Language school is going to be great [I know it sounds really strange coming from me – Ben wanting to study!!!], I just want to get my teeth into it. I suppose its not the study it’s the inability to communicate with people. I know that we have and are still doing a bit of langauge study already, but a lot of what we are studying isnt really usable. Sure we can say hello, and can even talk about the weather and ask where the train goes [though this one is useful – at least as long as they only answer yes], and a handful of other phrases and words, but I am finding that most of these cant really fit into a conversation, though it helps to understand a bit of what is going on around me. Pick up on random words one knows, read the body language and then join the dots. But that isnt really usable in speech.

So yeah I am hanging out for language school. I’m sure it wont be easy, but I hope my desire to communicate effectively with the people around me will give me the drive to study hard [for the first time in my life I think]… well that’s my aim anyway.

Well I will go now. Not sure when I will get this up on the net but hopefully soon.

It seems we are expecting a bit of a typhoon this weekend too, but no one seems overly concerned about it, so I guess its not a problem. Its also trying to start to cool down a bit now. The first 2 weeks I think we averaged 33 and far too much humidity every day. Even the japanese were complaining about how hot it was.  But then few days ago we had a cold snap [down to about 27] for a couple of days. And just as we began to think the heat was over [it should be by now] it went back up again with another scorcher these last two days… maybe the typhoon will blow away the heat and we’ll finally get to the autumn cool. Bring on winter. That’s all I can say.  :o)

Hmm this is definitely too long a blog… time to end it.

Have a great week, I will try and be more regular with my updating now.

May God’s blessings be upon you all.