The joys of creating!

So about two months ago the art bug bit me. Mako, one of the members of Trash Box Jam, the band I listen to, also writes solo songs. He's an amazing song writer too. Once I've translated the songs, and he's explained them to me, I can usually get a really clear visual image of his songs. He just wrote a new song, and the image was so strong and beautiful, that I broke down and bought some art supplies. It's been a really long time since I've been able to draw a picture on this scale. (it's really quite big.) So this is the picture, in pastel, of Mako's new song. The title of the picture is "Shadow of a prayer - the last dream of Hope." Sorry, I don't think I'd be able to explain the song very well. But enjoy the pictures of my latest art project!

The thing I really like about art is when you start with a completely white sheet of paper, and in the end, you have something beautiful. I love the whole process. And the satisfaction I get, kinda gives me a glimpse of what God might have felt when he was creating the world and such. It's a wonderful blessing from God! I'm really happy to be able to share this with God.

Anyway, this weekend I gave the finished picture to Mako. I'll miss it though. Haha

Realizing definitions.

So, one of the most important things I've gained from teaching English as a foreign language is to really understand the definitions of words for myself. So many times, I take words for granted. It's when a student asks me, "What does this word mean?" that I really have to sit down and find the answer for myself. This has been esp helpful when I teach the Bible. I can see a Bible verse in a whole new light, because I can understand the meaning of a word better.

Once a week, I have a Japanese/English Bible study with the deaconess of our church. I teach her the English, and she teaches me the Japanese. It's a good language study for both of us. A few weeks back I had one of my "word" revelations. In Matthew 6 it talks about not worrying about the future, but instead trusting in God to provide. One verse is rather famous. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Mat 6:33) I've heard this verse so many times, I don't even bother to pay attention to it anymore. It's too familiar. I think I know it all ready. This is a problem for me sometimes. I have a student who does the same thing. She used to live in America (she's 6th grade now) and her English is much better than most people around her. But she thinks this means she doesn't have to pay attention in English class. So now, because she knows too much, she misses out on important Grammar things or meanings of words that she would have caught otherwise. I do the same thing with the Bible. I think I understand it, and since I can read it in English, it seems easy enough. But sometimes, I realize I can always listen more.

So, the case in point. We are reading this verse, so Yang Sensei (the deaconess) askes me, "What does 'seek' mean? Does it mean hoshi (the Japanese word for want)?" I immediately told her no, that's not really what it meant, and we eventually managed to find the correct Japanese word to express seek. But during that process, I realized how often we treat the word in that verse as "want" instead of "seek." What is the difference? Want is merely a feeling. Oh yeah, I want God's kingdom and his righteousness. And I want a new bicycle. But, I can want something for a long time, and never DO anything about it. Seek is different. Seek is an action. There's a big difference between only wanting a new bicycle and saving up enough money and going to find a place to buy a new bicycle. I can sit around wanting all day. It does nothing. Seek is something that takes effort.

Now I realize that this might just be an English word choice problem, so we decided to look it up in Japanese and in Greek. All three languages point out an action word. Seek. Exert yourself. Get up off your butt and do something about it. Don't sit around waiting and wanting something to happen. Seek it!

I think this is an important thing to remember. So many people I know think that wanting the kingdom of God is the same thing as seeking it. It's not. If we wait for the Kingdom of God to come to us, it's gonna be too late. You have to seek after it. How's that for a little motivation?

The curse of the Tower

I just finished reading the latest book in my favorite fantasy series, Wheel of Time. It's a very long, complicated story. Usually I read for fun. Well, I used to at least. Lately it seems I can find a life lesson, or something new to think about in anything I read. Well, almost anything.

So I really like this series. It's this long, complicated story about your basic Light vs Dark. But this story is actually very realistic in many ways. I am amazed at the intelligence of the author who made so many and complicated plot twists. The thing that strikes me about this book is the vast number of plotting that happens. Even people who should be on the same side can't be trusted, because everyone has their own agenda. The end of the world is coming, so you think they should be working together to save people. But everyone has a different idea of how to do that. Some just want power for themselves. Some think their way is the only way. Other's are just ignorant. But everyone is moving independently. The actions of "not exactly enemies" are often just as damaging, or even more so than those of the actual enemies. Of course, the good news is that the enemy camp also has the same problem, only bigger. But somehow, by some greater power, things are falling into place anyway. What will eventually happen? I have to wait for the next book. Haha.

But it got me thinking. This is basically the situation the world finds itself in. There is the Light and the Dark. The end of the world is coming closer (because naturally that is the only direction it can go). Naturally you would think that Christians should be working together to save as many people as possible. But we have fallen under what I've decided is the curse of the Tower.

Of course I'm talking about the Tower of Bable. Here was a case when the people of the earth set out to rebel against God. Who needs God when we can make a tower directly to heaven ourselves? Well, it's impossible, but it's the pride that's important. In face of direct rebellion, God was a cunning General. If He attacked the tower directly, people might band together even more, thinking "ah, see, God was mad. Must mean we are on to something!" Instead He spared the lives of the rebels, instead, turning them against each other merely by confusing their languages. With their pride, no one could bend enough to learn the other languages, so work stopped, and the people separated. (now, please understand, these are all my own thoughts. I have no authority on this subject...) This seems to me the root of the problem. The curse we brought upon ourselves by rebellion. Factions.

Now we are divided. We can neither do too much good, or too much evil. We can't work well with others anymore. This is of course because I am right, and everyone else refuses to see that. So why should I change? After all, I'm right.

But this is the curse. The unbending need to be right. The pride that tells us this is the most important thing. Never back down. Never give an inch. Of course it may not be that full blown, but I believe we all carry this curse with us to some extent, about something. (I have a rather large portion of it myself.)

So like fools, children who can't see the bigger picture, we all hang on to our "rightness." I discovered recently that I have this terrible need to be right. And to have other people acknowledge me as right. It doesn't help that I am often right. But that doesn't mean people listen to me. Oh how it burns when I know I am right and tell people that, and they don't listen. Then they are proven I was right. But still no acknowledgment. Yes, it's one of my biggest hang ups. I have a lot of pride centered about being right.

But slowly I am beginning to see. Being right is not always most important. Being righteous is. This means you sometimes take the humiliation, the punishment, whatever, even though you are right. Turn your cheek. Walk the extra mile. Love your enemies. Ah, how I wish Jesus had never said those words sometimes! They are so hard. So painful. So right. Yeah, I have to admit. When it comes to being Right, Jesus wins. He was always Right. But still, He allowed himself to be humiliated, beaten, and crucified like a common criminal. Why? Because He was right! It wasn't fair. Life's not fair. Never was. If life was fair, it would have ended with Adam and Eve.

So here I am, trying to have the courage to give up my "rightness" for the sake of righteousness. Trying to be willing to be humble. And wishing that others could see this too. When we fight among political parties. Among denominations. Among clicks. Among families. Among nations. Why? Because each one thinks they are right. Not seeing the picture past themselves. Not completely informed. Not thinking of the welfare of others. It makes my heart weep to see it.

But I can't change the world. But I can begin to change me. Not be so quick to Judge. I can't know what's in a person's heart. I can't know all of their circumstances. Not so quick to be right. I can't see all the possibilities. I'm not God. I should know my place.

Slowly, I'm am tearing down my own personal tower I had been building. My rebellion against God. My need to be right. Thinking I have a right to be informed about everything. Demanding God's answers right away. My tower had been pretty high. It hurts to fall from there. Good thing it didn't go much higher. God is gracious. He continues to give me second chances. He confuses me enough until I can find the "right" path. His path. Not my rightness. His.

It's a humbling process. But it's better to be humbled than "wrong."

Small joys of teaching

Today was a good day in one of my classes. The class ended with a 6 year old boy crying. Now I'm sure you are confused. How can this be a good thing? But really, it is.

So I know I've mentioned before but I have several classes of kids who used to live in America. This year I was able to split them up into three classes arranged closer to age and ability. So I have a nice class of 6 year olds who used to live in America. Their English is good, but not perfect. I have two who have recently moved back from America. They speak well and have a good vocabulary. They are also very good at doing worksheets etc. One is a bit shy if he has to talk in front of everyone, but as soon as you take the pressure off he will chat away to himself in English. The other girl just talks happily away. The other two don't talk as much. The one boy was younger when he was in America and did not attend school in America. So he has pretty good listening, but he has trouble talking and writing. But usually he's ok with that. I usually find him in his own little world, and have difficulties getting him to do his work. He's usually not interested. Before this year, he was too young for the combined returnee class, but too good for a class his own age. So we had put him in a regular class with older boys. (they had gotten along surprisingly well) but it wasn't the best solution.

So I've been wanting to get him more comfortable in English. In the past few months he has been getting more comfortable in the class, and the kids get along well with each other. Today for the first time, he really really tried to do his worksheet. The first page I was able to help him out and give him the hints he needed to do the work. But the second page was much harder. I was distracted by helping the other little girl do her work (she's new). But I was surprised when I suddenly found him in frustrated tears. Even while crying he kept trying to finish the sheet. Even though he couldn't understand what he was supposed to do. It's the first time I've seen him really WANT to learn, WANT to achieve something. It was wonderful! We worked together to finish the sheet (ignoring the parts he had done wrong...) and then went to see his mom so he could finish crying. I think she was a bit surprised, but also happy because it meant he cared. He quickly recovered and was smiling by the time his brothers class was finished.

I love watching kids grow! (good thing tears don't bother me so much, haha)


On a random note. I bought some workbooks for some of the older kids in America. I have a class with a 3rd grader, a 4th grader and a 6th grader. So I bought level appropriate books in America. (well, I did make a mistake and ordered a 4th grade book and a 5th grade book by accident, but it's ok, because both the 3rd grader and 4th grader are able to do work beyond their grade level) Today while they are doing their workbooks, I keep thinking that the 4th grade book is really hard for this kid. The 5th grade book seems too easy, and the 6th grade book is hard. So I was being asked lots of questions from the one boy, because his words were really hard. Finally (after about half the class) we noticed, two pages in his book were the exact same as the pages in the 6th grade book! Exactly! How strange is that? It must have been a printing error, but still. That's insane! This poor kid was trying to do these super hard words that were giving the 6th grader trouble! When I noticed, I told him he didn't have to finish the page. I instead made copies from the 5th grade book, which he was able to complete with no problems! How messed up is this? Since when are 5th grade books easier than 4th grade ones??? Good thing is, he's a good sport. I hope it starts to even out soon in those silly books...

Ah... I think I've become like a "real" teacher if this is what I come home and write about. Haha. But I really was happy about the crying boy today. It's exciting! I like watching students get into what they are studying. It's wonderful

Mourning the future not taken

So I got a call from my mom this week. After waking up enough to figure out what was going on, I ended up with a bit of a shock. Not really bad, just sad.

So when I was young, my mom gave me a Hope Chest. This was a tradition in her family for girls to help prepare them for marriage (or single life recently). Every year on birthday's or Christmas you get one gift for the Hope Chest. This might be dishes, or pots and pans, etc. Essential things that you buy a little at a time so it's ready for you when you move out. I had accumulated quite a bit. Lots of dishes, pans, silverware, glasses. Now, I am also a bit of a pack-rat. I keep almost everything. It's crazy. So before I came to Japan I boxed up everything I was leaving behind and put it in an unused room in my parents house. Yeah, there's a lot of stuff.

So I got the call from my mom. Turns out my brother and his family are moving back into my parents house and they need that room. As no one is sure when I'm ever going to return to America, the solution was, it's time to get rid of the stuff.

So my mom called me to find out what I had to keep. This is a hard question at 3AM. I finally settled that I needed to keep my books and my art supplies and pictures. I guess everything else I can live without. And it's true, I don't really need any of that stuff. I guess it was just a representation of my past, and of a possible future.

So now I have lost one more thing that tied me to my home in America (as well as a house to move back into) and a future that I grew up assuming I would have. But it's funny how things change. I don't really regret not having that future. But there's still a sense of mourning. I don't know how you really mourn something you never had, but still, it's there.

But on the up side, it feels like I've been freed to continue looking forward to a future in Japan. Recently there is much less uncertainty in my conversations. Before I was always "if I can stay in Japan" and now it's more like "when".

So this week has been a strange mixture of emotions; relief, sorrow, anger, hope. But never fear. I'll forget about the whole thing soon enough. Haha

Presents!

You know, I like presents! Today I ended up with a lot of presents! And it's not even my birthday! It's great! Here are some pictures.

They were all given to me by students. One student went to a famous place in Tokyo and bought some presents for the whole class. the long piece of fabric is from that. It's a beatiful cotton "hand towel" but this is more like art actually. I'll probably hang it up in my house somewhere. She also gave me a small paper umbrella. I think this is supposed to be displayed on a wall. The flowers on both are cherry blossoms. They are beautiful.

Then in my night class one student gave me the Hello Kitty dolls. Actually his co-worker gave them to him and he didn't really want them, so he gave them to me. I was happy to take them off his hands! They are really cute! I really love the wide variety of art and stuff that can be found in Japan. Most are perfect for my tastes!

I was also "given" a nice homemade meal tonight. It was really good! Sorry, didn't take a picture.

Evidence of God working in my life.

Today is yet another day when God has poured his grace and blessings upon me.

Today is the second day in a row of rain and the third week since I have last seen Trash Box Jam. Last week I was doing well, I had plenty of energy and many exciting things were happening to keep me distracted. This week, my energy started draining. I kinda knew it would be coming. Today I was at the lowest point of the week. I couldn't wake up this morning. Barely made it to work before my students. Didn't bother to eat before work. Not only that, looking back on my week, I felt like I hadn't accomplished anything. There were so many things that I "should have done." Once again I was faced with my true character, my habits of sin, and my need for redemption. Once again, God showed me His true character, the forgiveness for my sin and offered His hand of redemption. (He even prompted a student to bring me food as well.)

So this week has been game week. This year I've decided to help reinforce English by playing word games once a month in my Adult and returnee classes. It also helps out with lesson planning. So we played games this week. It was good, and didn't require too much energy from me. Kids are another story. But this is an example of God's grace.

Today I have two classes of returnees, Kids who have lived in America (or other English speaking country) and want to keep their English. One class is now up to 4 six year olds, and one class is a group of 3, 3rd, 4th and 6th grade. In the younger class we played Candyland. It's been a while since I've seen Candyland, and I wondered if it was really going to be entertaining for the kids. Well, turns out it is. Haha. We had a great time. I never knew Candyland could be so exciting. I encouraged them to talk by making them choose from two or three cards in my hand instead of just drawing the next card from the pile. This also added a bit of excitement to game. But in the end, I know that it was a gift of God. God has given me a gift of being able to play with children. I'm always amazed, because I know I don't deserve such a wonderful gift. But he gave it to me anyway, even on days I'd rather be at home hiding under the covers.

Today in Bible Study one woman was saying again how "kawaii sou" (pitable) the Israelites were because they were always being given such strict punishments from God. I tried to point out how it was really their fault, and show how merciful and patience God was really being. It reminded me of some people I've known. I have a friend here. I've known her for two years. In the begining, I always thought that the people around her were a bit too harsh with her. I would try to defend her and support her. Now I have been here longer, (and know a bit more Japanese) and I can see the frustrations of the people around her. She doesn't change. She continues to act like a child, so the people around her will continue to treat her in that fashion. And they really do care about her. But they can't change her heart. They can't make her mature. That's a lot how Israel was. That's a lot how I am. I can see the person I used to be. I can see how much I've changed. And I can see how far I still have to go. I know I am also a stubborn child. I continue to try to do things my way, and complain when they don't go the way I wanted them to. I try to force my will on God, or try to bribe Him to see things my way. How wonderful He doesn't always listen to me! I've seen the results when God finally gives up and says "Fine, have it your way. Remember, you asked for this." I don't want that. I'm so thankful that God continues to work in my life even when I am a faithless, undisciplined, stubborn child.

By all accounts, today should have been a miserable day. But God redeemed it, and allowed me to learn and open my heart just a fraction wider than before. This is good. I want to mature with my God and Father. This is my prayer.

I guess this was a bit of a strange blog entry, but it's how I'm feeling tonight and I felt like I should write it down. But it's encouraging to see how much God continues to interfere in my life. I know He won't stop until I become what He created me to be. That's wonderful.

Bonsai, double-edged swords and ministry

It's been a few days since I have done anything productive on the internet. I've been in a bit of a "communication black-out" for a bit. I've experienced a wide variety of emotions lately, and it has left me feeling drained and lifeless. Usually when I feel like this I shut-down and try to distract and numb myself until I am able to deal with things again. Granted, I did a bit of that lately, but I also decided that I should share some of my thoughts here.

I have been realizing many things from some recent conversations with various friends. One is, it is very difficult for me to share my life here in Japan with people in America. There's this feeling that no one there can understand what it's like here, so it's best if I don't even try. I guess that's a lie from Satan trying to make me isolate myself. It's not fair to the people who care about me, and it deprives me of much needed prayers. I'm sorry. I'll try to do better. But, as I'm sure most people know, communication is not my strong suit. Please feel free to ask me questions. It's hard to know what to tell people, or what they are interested in. And forgive me if I can't answer right away. One, I really am busy most of the time. And two, it takes a lot of emotional energy for me to communicate. I'm trying to get better, I really am.

Another revelation is what it means to do ministry in Japan. I shared this analogy with some people, and I'd like to share it again here.

Last year for my birthday my good friend gave me a bonsai tree. Now, I am terrible with plants. They don't talk, they don't move, they don't let me know when they need something, so they are very easy to forget about and let die. (this is why I prefer dogs, cats and small children. They let you know when they need something, not to mention they are interesting and entertaining. Also explains why I'm not so fond of fish or birds.) So this wouldn't seem like the best gift to give me. (Especially considering that this friend of mine loves bonsai, and she had grown this tree from a seed herself. It's like taking care of one of her children.) But I had shared with her before that I thought I really needed to learn more about perserverence. I am not a patient person at all when it comes to anything long term. So especially in my prayers, when I want to pray for Japan and the people I love here, it's easy to quit when I don't see results right away. So I decided I needed something more to teach me about perservering. The ideal solution seemed to be bonsai. Needs patience, a symbol of Japan, not something I'm good at. So my friend graciously gave me one of her precious tress for this "lesson."

Well my birthday is in October, so this is fall. Most plants don't grow much in fall, and this tiny pine tree was no exception. In fact, it didn't do much of anything for a little while. And then, the needles seemed to get darker, and some died off. I was worried for a while about the little thing, but I kept watering it. All winter I was rather worried about the poor little tree. Nothing seemed to change it's condition, and I was wondering if it was dead. Then my friend wrote about the condition of her tree on her blog. For the first time I knew what kind of tree I had. And it inspired me to look up information on the internet about this tree. I found some very interesting information. It told me things like you shouldn't do anything to the tree other than water it for two years. Then you can start slowly wiring it and changing it's shape. You can also cut and prune it little by little. But you should be careful, because all these things are injuries to the tree. You have to make sure to give it time to heal etc. And all the while, you must continue to give it water.

Suddenly, I had hope once again for my little tree. And sure enough this spring I was rewarded with new growth. This of course made me think about my life here in Japan. For the first two years or so I felt the same. I was "watering" my relationships with people, but not much seemed to be happening. I was wondering if I was doing enough, or even anything productive. Believe me "watering" is not a glamorous job. Many times I doubted if my ministry was even "alive." (it's interesting to note that I also arrived in Japan in fall/winter) After my second year, I began to see "green" in my relationships. Suddenly my Japanese was good enough to take relationships to the next step. I could see the growth and it was encouraging. But of course spring doesn't last forever. There is a time to grow, a time to cut, a time to wait, but through it all, you must water. You have to keep investing in the relationships, being present, praying, etc. and above all keep the faith that spring will come again. This is the part where I get the most discouraged.

I look at what I do, and wonder "Is it enough? Am I really doing anything here?" It's hard to see results here. I can get excited about small things, but they never seem to grow into big ones. I can be please with the growth of my Japanese ability, only to be frustrated by all the things I still can't understand or do. I can rejoice when my students react well in a Bible study but mourn when none of them seem any closer than before to accepting Jesus. Or be happy with a well done event, but wondering if they actually touch anyone. Most of the time I am happy and satisfied with my life here. I love the people here. I have no desire to return to life in America. Or anywhere else for that matter. I love Japan.

But I'm at one of those points again where I can't see any change, any movement. I get frustrated with my life of routine. I become discouraged to realize that I am alone. I'm 28 and single. Usually I'm ok with this, but sometimes I wonder what's wrong with me. I worry about money. I wish I didn't have to worry about money, about the prospect of spending the next 20 years of my life paying school loans. Worrying about my parents worrying about my money. Wondering what's going to happen in my future. Will I have a meaningful job? Will I have a family? Will I find myself single the rest of my life? Will I ever grow up? I both desire change and fear it. You see, I'm a bonsai too. I grow slowly and my roots are fragile. Sometimes I wonder if my heart is even still alive.

This is when God graciously shows me the bigger picture. He shows me His faithfulness. I trust in God. I believe that He is good. So even when I can't see results, I must keep moving forward, keep "watering" because I believe eventually spring will come again. I've come to realize that ministry, and even loving God, is like a double-edged sword. I can change the world around me with God's help, but in the process I am also changed. And because God is gracious, the process is slow.

I remember reading in one of my classes about God talking to the Israelites as they were about to enter the Promised land. He promised them that He would defeat all their enemies, but He was going to do it slowly, so that the land would not become completely desolate in the process. God has the power to change everything at once. But He doesn't do that very often. He understands the needs of growing and changing. Give time to heal, time to be changed, time to rest, time to wait. These are all important things. God loves us. He loves Japan, more than I do. He loves me. And He is way smarter than any of us can imagine. His way is best. So it's times like this that I have to remember this. I have to remember, gather my perserverence, and pick up my watering can again. It's quite possible I'll be watering for the rest of my life. And I may never see the results of my watering. But I trust that God is working. This is the only truth that keeps me through the long times.

I know I'm just a little baby bonsai tree right now. But maybe, after a lifetime of watering, I'll become a beautiful, valuable bonsai that God delights in. I'm glad God's a better gardener than I am. Please pray for me as I water and am watered in this place. I appreciate your prayers and support so much.

Good times!

I was lucky enough to have this whole week off! It was very nice to have some time to relax and just take it easy. I'm very happy so far. Tuesday I got to spend the day with one of my friends. She came out, and we walked around. We never made any of our destinations, but we did manage to go to a small zoo. Then we went to the band. It was a nice day.

Wed. I was able to just take it slow. I did decide on a whim to start practicing the piano again. No, I don't really play piano. I took about two semesters of classes back in Jr. College. I still have the books, so I decided to pull them out and play around. It was fun. I've managed to "play" piano now for the past 3 days! My hands are a little tired. Haha. The sad thing is Yang Sensei heard me playing (I have to play at the church) and is convinced I should play for church. Yeah right. I'm definitely not that good.

Thurs I went to a baseball game. I think I got discount tickets from our director (who got them from somewhere, not sure where...). It was fun. It was pro teams and at the Tokyo Dome. It was my first Major League experience. It was really interesting. There were cheering sections, that closer resembled high school football than baseball. There were cheerleaders too. It was a wonderful experience. I also got free stuff. I got a free towel and a magnet and some stickers. Along with a book of all the names of all the pro players for all the teams in Japan. Nice.

The food was pretty expensive, as to be expected. But what is fun is, you can bring your own food into the stadium! How cool is that? I didn't find that out until I had already entered the stadium though. A little too late. haha. We had pretty decent seats, close to the field. The only downside was we were way out in left field. It was kinda hard to see the infield action.

Unfortunately the home team (the Giants) were really bad. Seriously. The other team (the Carps) shut them out, 6-0. I thought that the Carps was a pretty lame name for a baseball team, but that doesn't seem to effect their playing at all. Haha. They got a double first at bat, and had 6 men on base the first inning! I couldn't tell if they were a good team, or if the Giants were just really bad. But it is a bit hard to get excited when you don't really care about either team so much. Haha. I went with a friend, and it was fun anyway. I made a video to share the experience with you.



Today I went out with some of my students. We went Karaoke. I love Karaoke. It was good, because when I practiced piano today, I also did some vocal exercises on a whim. It really improved my singing! I was happy. After Karaoke, two students and I went to get dessert. It was really good. One student is new (the same girl who went to the live with me) and we were teaching her different things about the school. The conversation quickly turned to church too. So she's going to come to church on Sunday to see what it's like! She seems really excited about it too. She's a fun addition to the class! And in other fun news, since tomorrow is a holiday, the same two students are going to come and see the band tomorrow! How fun is that! Let's pray it doesn't rain in the evening. Haha.

Next few days are going to be pretty full, and then classes will start again all too soon. Anyway, that's the update for now!

The Big 200!

Wow! This is my 200th post! That's a lot of writing! Of course it took me 3 1/2 years to get here, but hey! I made it!

Anyway, today was a great day. I was able to go to the prayer meeting after missing a couple of weeks. That was nice. Then I had lunch with a couple of friends. We laughed so much the shop workers were a bit worried I think. Then I went to Trash Box Jam's live! It was great!

I had one student and three friends come. (it's great, because I have a point card, and if I get 30 points I get a prize. I have 10 now, one for me, and one for each friend. It's great. I think I have the most points so far!)

Among the other bands was this one girl I had met two lives back. Of course it was pretty easy for her to remember me and pick me out of the crowd. I was looking forward to hearing her again, because the first time had impressed me. I bought her CD this time. So she decided that she had to take a picture with me and will put it up on her blog! How embarrassing! Haha. So my student also took a picture of the two of us together and then sent it. So this is Remi and me. She has a really awesome voice!

I also got a "present" from my friend Jenae. She has this thing where she likes to buy me really big, gaudy hearts to put on my cell phone. And because I'm a good sport, I use them. Haha. So here is the latest huge heart for my cell phone. This time it's really red and fuzzy. I've already gotten lot's of compliments for it (and I just got it today.) Haha. It's a great conversation starter! Thanks Jenae!

Anyway, it was a good night. I really like going to lives. They are really exciting and fun. Tomorrow will be a "normal" day. Church, Bible Study and then watch the band. After that I have a whole week off! Enjoy the 200th post pictures!

Shinjuku.

Last Monday I went to Shinjuku (a really busy part of Tokyo. There are business areas and shopping too. Very exciting.) with a friend. We went to eat at one of the few decent Mexican food restaurants in Japan. (she ate Mexican food, I improvised my own meal. Haha) It was a nice time. It's been a while since I'd been in Shinjuku. I like the place. Monday was really nice weather too, and I took some pictures of the buildings and the sky. It's kinda fun. So I decided to share.

Two pictures are of the first Krispy Kreme's in Japan. It's really popular, and it always has huge lines. Can you imagine, standing in line for over 40 minutes for donuts? It's the minimum wait time there I think. Somehow, I just don't think they are worth it. haha. When it first opened, the lines were even longer. Over 2 hours!

Gingerbread House

Last weekend was Gingerbread House. This is one of my Children's Outreach events. They come on a Saturday and play games, have some snacks, and then they hear a Bible story. I want them to get some exposure to the Bible, and have good memories of being at a church. Jenae, one of the missionaries who lives in Tokyo, came and helped out. She's really good with kids. And Fumi took some pictures for me. I do this event at least twice a year now. Here are some pictures!

いい天気だよね！

Wow, today is one of those really nice, beautiful days, that make you happy to be alive. It's wonderful.

Today I went to my student's house. His wife makes crafts from old kimono. She's really good, and today she was having a gallery of sorts at her home. So I went with another student from the class to go see it. It was nice. Afterwards we went to lunch.

On the drive, we saw many beautiful flowers and it was just a beautiful day in general. The temp is just perfect! I saw a beautiful walkway lined with blooming dogwoods that I woud like to go back and walk along sometime. Unfortunately, starting tomorrow it's going to be rainy for a while. Maybe I'll be able to make it next week.

So my first class today is a class of gardeners. We talked about flowers the whole time. We saw some beautiful pictures and heard good stories. One student brought me some bluebonnet plants. I had given seeds last year as souviners from Texas. They are just starting to bloom, so now I have my own bluebonnet plants for in front of my house! Horray!

After class we went out to my house to check out the flowers there. I don't actually garden at all, one of the church members who likes to garden, but lives in an apartment takes care of it for me. It's a happy situation for both of us! We spent about half an hour of our Bible study time looking at flowers. But it was really good. When we went back inside, instead of reading our scheduled text (we are in 2 Samuel, David, war, etc) I decided to change it up. (the change was just too big!) So we read Psalm 19 instead. I really love the description of God's handiwork and the beauty and awe it inspires. It was a good way to share a different aspect of God's character.

Then I walked to get my "lunch". It was such a nice day, I ate cold ramen for the first time this year! Horray! I also bought some little ice cream snacks to eat. Ahhh... such a nice day... I'm happy.

These are pictures of flowers around my house and church.

Pictures!

Well, here are the pictures from my trip to America. I finally finished editing all of them and uploaded them to the web so I can post the slideshow now.



In other news, I just got back today from my second visit to the dentist. The good news is that I haven't had to had anesthesia either time and neither time hurt. This time was even cheaper than last time. I am so far satisfied with my trips to the dentist. I still don't know exactly what my problem is, but the dentist took out my filling (the problem was in a tooth that was already filled) and then somehow applied medication to the tooth. Then put in temporary fillings. He put in more medicine today. It looks like I'll have one more visit next week for medication, and then the week after that should end up with a permanent filling put back in. That's a whole month of dentist visits! wow!

Moving on to more interesting things... Work is going well. I have 23 classes this year (plus 5 Bible studies) and 63 students (plus 8 or so who only come to Sunday Bible class, the number changes every week though.) I'm a little busier than last year, but I don't have to go to meetings in Tokyo anymore, so that helps out a bit. And this week I was able to start studying the Bible again with my pastor. We do it in English and Japanese, so it's a good chance for me to study Japanese a bit more, and learn some of those "Christian words" in Japanese. During the fall it's just too busy to do it, but spring is a little more relaxed.

This weekend I went to a birthday party for two girls I know. It was quite the event. We went to an Arabian themed restaurant. It was really elaborate. I wish I had pictures, but my camera was out of batteries. There were 12 or 13 people in the end. It was fun. I got to walk home with Sensei too. We had a nice conversation. Speaking of Sensei... It's been really exciting lately. One of the members of my church here has become a fan of the band, and she made friends with Sensei. It's been really good. She even brought him to church week before last! As we were walking home he told me he is going to come back to church. (he draws people's faces, and he did that for the Sunday School Kids, and I think he's going to come back and do it again maybe. But then afterwards, he stays for church.) I wasn't sure what he thought of church, but he said it was interesting and not bad. So I'm glad he didn't have a bad experience. And some of the church members recognized him from when he played with the band. This is really super exciting for me! God is good.

It finally feels like spring is here. It's great. Not just weather wise, but in general. I feel like a lot of relationships that had been in "winter mode" are now in "spring mode", growing and opening up again. It's wonderful how God uses seasons of our life.

I'm learning more and more how to deal with tiredness and such in my life. Hopefully soon I'll be able to do more with my time (like keeping my house clean, and e-mailing more people.)

Well, I think this is good for today. Hopefully soon I'll try to put up the pictures I took on my trip to Hakone. Those are some fun pictures too.

Finally done with travel

Wow. It was a bit of a crazy spring break for me. Two trips packed into a small space. But it was good. I am back safely from my trip to America. I meant to post sooner, but as soon as I got back, I was busy again. I was so busy in fact that the jet lag couldn't even kick in until Monday. Haha.

The big news is how much God continues to bless and provide for me. I am now the proud owner of a new laptop. Not only that, it's another VAIO, which I love. My wonderful church in America, who so generously supports me, raised enough money to replace my poor dying laptop with a new one. Buying it was quite the adventure, but now everything seems to be fine again. I am always so blessed by that church and everyone there. I am so thankful for all the support.

So now, I have no excuse for not updating as often. I have to figure out a bit of the fun things you can do with the new Vista, and finish transferring some files, but hopefully I'll be back at 100% in no time. Of course, that's assuming I have time. Haha. My teaching schedule went up again this year. I am now the proud teacher of 23 classes a week, and 63 students.

Hmmm... Anyway, my trip to Hakone, Odawara and Yokohama with Aya went really well. I'll put up some pictures once I get them on this computer. It was a really great time. I think it was the first time I have ever been on a "road trip" with a friend. We were a good match. We both like very similar things (like samurai and ninjas...) and she was very patient with my inability to communicate past the level of an intelligent 5 year old. haha. But she's good with kids, so that probably had a lot to do with it. Haha.

My trip to Texas was also good. By that time I was pretty exhausted from travel and work, but I did manage to get some sleep in there. The biggest shock for me was to go from living alone to sharing a house with six other people! My brother came down with his family to visit while I was there. I had the unique problem of having jet lag, waking up every night, and not being able to move from my bed because I had two sleeping children (very cute sleeping children I might add) in my room, and my brother and his wife were in the living room. Next time it might be better for me to sleep in the living room so I can at least get up and move around during the night. hahaha.
There wasn't nearly enough time though. I just barely missed one of my friends who made it back to Texas the day I left. But I was totally a bum and I didn't contact anyone else. Sorry! I was super tired and there just wasn't a lot of time.

Well, I think that is all for this update. Today I have to go to the dentist again. fun. It seems there is something wrong with one of my teeth. I have no idea what the problem is as the name of the condition was given to me in Japanese and it's not in any dictionary I have access to for now. I think I might be having a root canal, but I'm not sure. I think the root, or nerve or something inside my tooth is dying, and leaking out or something. Anyway, he has to drill and remove it, but I guess it's gonna take three visits to get it done. Not happy about that. Actually, I just really hate the local anesthesia. And I have to teach with that stuff in my mouth! Fun stuff. Ah the joys of medical problems in a foreign language. You learn a lot of trust. haha. At least the insurance is good.

Well, ok, because I need to go to the dentist, I need to stop writing now and get ready to go. I will try to put up some more pictures soon. The first two pictures are on my way to America, sunrise in the plane and a beautiful sunset that God blessed me with once I got home. The last two are from the bus I was riding home in Tokyo.

Keeping up

So, turned out the cold I had was much worse than I thought it was. Last week, I ended up loosing my voice for a whole day, and in danger of loosing it for most of the week. Very sad. Even now, I'm still wating for my voice to get back to normal. I'd like to be able to sing again!

In random news, I found out from a student a theory of why medicine is so weak in Japan. Apparently the government is very strict about what kind of medicications they allow into Japan. If there are even small side effects, it's not likely to be allowed in. So, much of the medicine is weak. That, and difference in physique.

So the good news is that I'm finished with all my classes but one. I still teach this Friday. This means, since today is Monday, I don't have class for three days, and then I come back to teach one day. This left me with a really strange spring vacation. The solution? A short trip with one of my friends. Starting tomorrow, I'm going on a three day trip with a Japanese friend. This will be fun and exciting for me. This might be my first "road trip" with a friend. And it might be my longest time spent only in Japanese. We'll see how long I manage to last! Haha. Please look forward to the awesome pictures I'm sure to take!

This spring break, like most spring breaks, looks like it's going to stay pretty busy. This week is my mini-trip. Then come back, teach for one day, then Easter, one day off (probably spent packing) then it's off to America for a quick trip. There's a lot I need to pack into that trip too. I just hope I get some time to rest in there too. Travel can be fun, but it's certainly not restful for me. But, I'm looking forward to it.

Anyway, here are some random pictures. First is a nice sunset in front of the church. Second is one of my students with his head in his bag. Yeah, I don't know why his head is in his bag. Last picture is of my house on one of the days it snowed this year.

Ok, I guess that's all for now. I'll try to post when I get back from my first trip. If not, it'll be when I get back from America.

Just another update.

Just in case you were wondering about these things, (which I'm sure you are not) this is my 192nd post. This means in 8 more posts, I'll reach 200! How exciting is that?

Anyway, I finally uploaded a bunch of pictures from my cell phone to the computer, AND I figured out how to get Picasa working right again. (my computer has been such a pain lately...) So I have some fun pictures for you today.

First picture, look closely at the fine print. This is a sign of an English school near my house. I wonder how many people notice this?? what do you mean "or children?" You mean I have to choose between having Useful English and having children? What if I want both? haha. Actually, I'm pretty sure the "f" in "for" just faded away. But it's still pretty funny.


This second picture is of a fun drink you can make yourself at the local family resturant. I go there a lot with students. You get this drink by first putting in orange juice, and then adding some sweetener. Then you pour in over the top, hot, freshly brewed rose hip tea. That's what gives it the nice color. But it's better to drink if you actually mix it up first. It's fun to make and look at, but the tea still makes it a little too bitter for me.

In other news, I've officially come down with a cold. Probably because my body is finally relaxing after almost an entire month of stress and tension. I just hope it doesn't get too bad. I really hate colds in Japan. It's super hard to find decent over the counter medicine. Japanese medicine seems weaker than American medicine, and even in America, I often have to take the strongest dosage of the medicine. So, I feel like taking medicine does almost nothing here. A lot of people go to the "hospital" when they have colds. "Hospitals" in Japan are more like clinics than Hospitals. Or rather, a combination of the two. But there's just something in me that rebels against going to the hospital for a silly cold. After all, it'll eventually go away on it's own.

In slightly related news, did you know? I have never once missed a day of work for being sick while working in Japan. (I did miss Japanese class a few times back in orientation though...)

And in other fun news, it looks like I'll be able to visit America again this year at the end of this month. I should be home for only about 10 days this year. My spring break is a bit short this year for various reasons. And my summer is already booked. Hope to see you when I am in America!

Survived the big event!

So this Sunday was the big event, Open House. I had actually been planning this event pretty far in advance. (over a month, this is huge for me!) As I'm not a big fan of the normal layout for Open House, I decided to spice things up, Amber-style.

There was actually two open houses, one for kids (started at 1:00) and one for adults (started at 3). The kids one we made projects of things we studied about in class to show to the parents. And then we performed songs from class. The returnee's also did a dramatic reading of the book "You are Special" by Max Lucado. Yang Sensei gave a message about the book too.

But the big event was the Adult Open House. Usually the adults give speeches. But I'm not a fan of speeches, so I changed it this year. We loosely based the theme on a popular TV game show that airs at the end of every year. Since it sounds very similar to my name translated in Japanese, I decided to make an English version of the game. "Kohaku."

Each of my classes had to think of a short English game, make the rules, and do all the preparations for the game. This way every class participated even if they couldn't come. There were 9 games in all, but we only had time for 7. All the participants (my adult students, plus two families of returnees, plus 4 Trash Box Jam staff members) were divided into two teams, Blue team and Silver team. At the end of every game, the members of Trash Box Jam (who were serving as judges for the event) would vote to see which team got the point for the game. It was a great result that ended in a tie. I was happy. The games were followed by Trash Box Jam playing for them, and then a small party. I think it went off really well.

So now, I'm rather happy to be finished with the planning and stress. And I'm satisfied with the results. It was a good event. And there was also another message in Japanese after the band played so the band members (and around 10 or so fans,) plus students got to hear a Christian message. This was the third time I was able to include the band in my events. So far it seems to be getting positive responses, and it's what I'm passionate about. I really love having a job where I am free to work with my passions. God is good. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. :-D

Here's a slide show from the adult event. (Thanks to Yoshiko for taking all the pictures for me, except the band ones at the end.)

Basking in Blessings

Well, it's exciting, I'm finally figuring out how to operate blogger in English again, AND to get out of the html editing mode. Man, that was crazy.

Anyway. Here's a quick update. Spring Retreat was good. Real good actually. God really provided everything I needed. I was a bit surprised this year, because ususally watching the people return back to America doesn't impact me so much. I get over goodbyes pretty quickly. Probably because I treat it about the same way I treat stagefright, which is that I just don't deal with it. Anyway, this is the first group that I have both watched come and go. I was actually there to pick them up from the air port (and take pictures, which they weren't so appreciative of...). I have watched how they have changed in Japan, and how they have changed Japan. It's amazing. So it's going to be strange to watch 4 out of 5 leave in March.


It had kinda snuck up on me too, that they had changed me as well. That's amazing. And I guess that's what forming a community does. The impact on each other is so much greater.

Anyway. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Every Spring Retreat is always held in Tokyo, because of the special events and such for the returning volunteers. So there are a couple of pictures of Tokyo tower. I think this is still the closest I've come to the actual tower. Someday I'd like to actually visit the tower.

Then there's a picture of us at Karaoke. It was a great time, and thanks to this game thing at the begining, we were able to win 50% off of our time. I really like Karaoke. It was a ton of fun.

Final picture is of me at the band concert last Sat. It was really good. Tomorrow is my last big event of the school year, Open House. It's gonna be a long, long day. Today is practice time with the kids. I realized yesterday, that I had forgotten to ask anyone to help me with the practice, so it's probably going to be me and almost 30 kids. Haha. Fun stuff. Hopefully it will go allright.

Ok, that's all for now. I need to get ready for the kids.