It's been a very long week, but it doesn't feel like a whole lot got done. It was mostly getting ready to head up to the Ishinomaki, the area that we'll be working in for the next week or so. Last Monday and Tuesday was just typing up orientation materials for the rest of the team that just arrived here on Saturday.
On Wednesday, I helped a bit with a sort-of daycare at the church nearby. All the children that showed up were little Japanese girls 4th grade and under. We played a kanji game and even though I won, I think they were going easy on me. One of the little girls obviously hadn't learned proper Japanese etiquette and commented on how my nose is big (which is actually the common stereotype of foreigners in Japan, and true in my case). I also think she said something like she thought all foreigners had blue eyes.
Two people also helped at the daycare: Mr. Suzuki and Mrs. Ishi. Neither of them are Christians, but Mr. Suzuki's wife is a member of the church and Mrs. Ishi's mother-in-law was also before she died, so they're both connected to the church. The pastor at the church, Pastor Kano, hopes that them helping will let them hear the gospel.
On Thursday, I went to the elderly English lesson. I learned that Mr. Moriyama, the Buddhist monk I mentioned before, has a deaf daughter. It seems that he's trying to find some kind of answers for why she is deaf.
Please pray for Mr. Moriyama, Mr. Suzuki, and Mrs. Ishi. Ask that God would open their hearts to his Word.
Yesterday (Saturday), two women from Wisconsin and a man from Hawaii arrived. Those three, two others that will come soon, Dr. Mehn, and I will make up the team that will head to Ishinomake tomorrow. I'll be there for eight days, so I won't be updating here for a bit. Expect a picture dump when I arrive!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Many Updates
Wow, has it almost been a week since I arrived here? Each day passes so quickly. Here's what I've been up to:
On Wednesday, another guy named Chase came to stay with the Mehns too. He's my age and from Texas.
On Thursday, I went to a nearby church to help with an English lesson that they have there. I was told I would be working with children, so imagine my surprise when the class turns out to be three elderly Japanese gentlemen! There was a bit of a mix up in what I was told. Apparently, I'll be doing the kid's class on Wednesdays and the elder's class on Thursday. Still, I knew I needed to be flexible on this trip, and the class went well. It's funny how there are things you never notice about the language that you speak. They were very confused about the phrase "come over" as in "come over and visit." Does anyone know where the "over" comes from?
One of the men is actually a Buddhist monk, which surprised me because the lessons are explicitly Christian: they use hymns and Bible verses to practice their English. He actually really enjoys singing the hymns. At least he's being exposed to the Word! Please pray that the Gospel would be able to penetrate into his heart.
On Friday, I got to meet Mr. Mehn in person and Phil, another guy staying here for a while. They were up in the disaster area earlier in the week. Phil took Chase and me to the world famous fish market in Tsukiji. I tried some genuine Japanese sushi, but since I'm allergic to fish, I couldn't sample much. Then we went to the Electric Town, Akihabara, also known as Geek Town. It's a bit...unusual, but we had fun. I got to travel around and get used to the train system.
I took pictures, but I'm still trying to get Alison's camera to work with the computer. I'm just not that good with computers. I'll post more updates soon! Thanks for reading!
On Wednesday, another guy named Chase came to stay with the Mehns too. He's my age and from Texas.
On Thursday, I went to a nearby church to help with an English lesson that they have there. I was told I would be working with children, so imagine my surprise when the class turns out to be three elderly Japanese gentlemen! There was a bit of a mix up in what I was told. Apparently, I'll be doing the kid's class on Wednesdays and the elder's class on Thursday. Still, I knew I needed to be flexible on this trip, and the class went well. It's funny how there are things you never notice about the language that you speak. They were very confused about the phrase "come over" as in "come over and visit." Does anyone know where the "over" comes from?
One of the men is actually a Buddhist monk, which surprised me because the lessons are explicitly Christian: they use hymns and Bible verses to practice their English. He actually really enjoys singing the hymns. At least he's being exposed to the Word! Please pray that the Gospel would be able to penetrate into his heart.
On Friday, I got to meet Mr. Mehn in person and Phil, another guy staying here for a while. They were up in the disaster area earlier in the week. Phil took Chase and me to the world famous fish market in Tsukiji. I tried some genuine Japanese sushi, but since I'm allergic to fish, I couldn't sample much. Then we went to the Electric Town, Akihabara, also known as Geek Town. It's a bit...unusual, but we had fun. I got to travel around and get used to the train system.
I took pictures, but I'm still trying to get Alison's camera to work with the computer. I'm just not that good with computers. I'll post more updates soon! Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Adventure - Day 1
Whew. Well, I'm here in Japan, and I actually made it in one piece. Since this is my first time out of the country (a little while in Canada doesn't count), getting here was quite the adventure.
I got up at the ungodly hour of 4:15 AM to get to DIA by 6. Getting through baggage check-in and security was simple and I got onto the plane to Los Angeles without any trouble. I would have taken pictures of the flight over the mountains, but I was asleep almost immediately after boarding.
The real problems started when I got off in LA. I knew I had to go from the terminal I was in to the international terminal, but I am amazingly talented at getting lost. I spent 45 minutes wandering around before getting directions and walking a long ways to where I needed to be. Thankfully, everything went quickly after that. I got through security and made it to my 11 hour flight to Narita Airport in Tokyo.
The flight was pretty uneventful outside of being really long. At least I got my own choice of in-flight movies. When I got to Narita Airport, I was really surprised at how quickly I got through. They didn't even check my stuff at customs. I didn't have anything to report to them, but I figured that they would at least go through it. How do they catch anyone actually bringing in illegal stuff?
Next, I got my money exchanged, got the cell phone I'm renting, and got the bus ticket to the Machida Station, where Mrs. Mehn would meet me. I was really dehydrated by then, so I decided to get something from the vending machines (and what I learned in class is true: there are vending machines EVERYWHERE here). I had the choice of Coke, water, and cold green tea. I figured that I should be like the locals, so I got the green tea in a bottle.
It smelled like an old sock and tasted even worse. You know how Southern tea is ridiculously sweet? Well, this was like the inverse. This was so bitter that it actually sucked the sugar out of me. I ended up accidentally leaving it on the bus (it seriously was an accident, I was really tired by then), and I don't regret it.
By the time I was on the three-hour bus ride to Machida, the jet-lag caught up to me. I remember waking up a lot, but never actually falling asleep. Finally, though, I got off the bus and met Mrs. Mehn. We took a second bus to their home where I basically went to bed immediately.
And now here I am. I've wanted to come here to Japan for so long that it's kind of surreal to actually be here. Right now, Dr. Mehn and another guest named Phil are up north helping repair a damaged family-run hotel. He'll be back later this week. Until then, I just have to sit tight and wait. I'll give an update a little later this week. Bye!
I got up at the ungodly hour of 4:15 AM to get to DIA by 6. Getting through baggage check-in and security was simple and I got onto the plane to Los Angeles without any trouble. I would have taken pictures of the flight over the mountains, but I was asleep almost immediately after boarding.
The real problems started when I got off in LA. I knew I had to go from the terminal I was in to the international terminal, but I am amazingly talented at getting lost. I spent 45 minutes wandering around before getting directions and walking a long ways to where I needed to be. Thankfully, everything went quickly after that. I got through security and made it to my 11 hour flight to Narita Airport in Tokyo.
The flight was pretty uneventful outside of being really long. At least I got my own choice of in-flight movies. When I got to Narita Airport, I was really surprised at how quickly I got through. They didn't even check my stuff at customs. I didn't have anything to report to them, but I figured that they would at least go through it. How do they catch anyone actually bringing in illegal stuff?
Next, I got my money exchanged, got the cell phone I'm renting, and got the bus ticket to the Machida Station, where Mrs. Mehn would meet me. I was really dehydrated by then, so I decided to get something from the vending machines (and what I learned in class is true: there are vending machines EVERYWHERE here). I had the choice of Coke, water, and cold green tea. I figured that I should be like the locals, so I got the green tea in a bottle.
It smelled like an old sock and tasted even worse. You know how Southern tea is ridiculously sweet? Well, this was like the inverse. This was so bitter that it actually sucked the sugar out of me. I ended up accidentally leaving it on the bus (it seriously was an accident, I was really tired by then), and I don't regret it.
By the time I was on the three-hour bus ride to Machida, the jet-lag caught up to me. I remember waking up a lot, but never actually falling asleep. Finally, though, I got off the bus and met Mrs. Mehn. We took a second bus to their home where I basically went to bed immediately.
And now here I am. I've wanted to come here to Japan for so long that it's kind of surreal to actually be here. Right now, Dr. Mehn and another guest named Phil are up north helping repair a damaged family-run hotel. He'll be back later this week. Until then, I just have to sit tight and wait. I'll give an update a little later this week. Bye!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Don't Waste Your Life
I bet you didn't know John Piper liked rap. ;-)
Welcome to my blog! I'm Ian, and this is where I'll be talking about my missions trip to Japan. If you're here, you probably know me personally, so I won't give a long introduction (at least, not now). The name "Pillar Held Firm" comes from Psalms 75:3: "When the earth and all its people quake, it is I [God] who hold its pillars firm." It's very comforting that even if the earth shakes like in the monstrous 9.0 Touhoku earthquake, that God is the one in control. And if we are rooted in him, he will hold us firm.
So, Japan. Since you have an internet connection, you already know plenty about the earthquake and following tsunami that hit the eastern coast of the country in March 11. For about a month previous to that, I was communicating with the Mehns, the missionaries in Tokyo that my church supports. Things were moving pretty well, and I even got approval from my church's missions team.
Two days later, the earthquake hit.
At first, my plans seemed to hit a dead end. Then, over the course of the next weeks, things actually fell into place better than before. Now I'll be heading to Tokyo in one week to work on relief for the victims of the earthquake. I''m not totally sure what I'll be doing, but I'll make sure to let you know here.
Eventually I'll go into detail on the reasons why I wanted to go to Japan in the first place, but for now the above movie puts it well. I realized a long time ago that only things that are eternal matter. With my current plans, I could easily complete engineering school, find a really nice job, and live a comfortable upper-middle class American life. And there's nothing inherently wrong with that. But if that's all I want for my life, then it's all been a waste. Eventually all the money, houses, cars, politics, video games, etc. will crumble to dust, and all that will be left are things that are eternal: God and people. So I want my focus in life to be those things that will last forever, and I hope that God will use this trip for his glory and to bring people to him. Because if I can do just one thing to impact eternity for him, then my life will not have been wasted.
And I refuse to waste my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)