What do you think??

So, I have a question for you all. This Friday I'm going to be speaking during the chapel time at the school that Cambria and Trenton (Hiebert) go to. My theme is DOUBT. Yeah, not quite the typical fare. But, it's something I think I needed to hear when I was their age (grades 5 to 9). I remember once in youth Sunday School being asked if we ever had doubts about our faith. . . I was the only one who raised their hand. Is it just me, or are we really "discouraged" from doubting, almost as if it's akin to sin at times? I agree that doubt can be a threat to faith, especially depending on what we do with that doubt. On the other hand, I know that if I didn't have questions and seasons of doubt that I wouldn't have the real faith that, by God's amazing grace, I am daily blessed and encouraged by.
I was looking for the reflections of others on the topic, when I found these:
"Faith which does not doubt is dead faith" - Miguel de Chamuno
"Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith" - Paul Tillich
I'm interested to hear what your thoughts are. . .

So, to continue on the theme of foods I wouldn't normally eat at home in Canada. . . here's a "taste" of our "takoyaki" party at one of my student's houses. (By the way, "tako" means octopus -- it's not Mexican here. . . and "yaki" is fried -- first you dump batter over the grill filled with 18 round indents, throw octopus, green onions, dried shrimp, pickled ginger and deep fried bits of batter randomly on top, wait until the batter has set a bit, and then comes the fun of using shiskabob sticks to cut around each of those indents, trying to get everything into a nicely shaped, browned little ball, to be garnished with brown sauce, mayo, seaweed, and fish shavings that "dance" on top. )
Since this is an "Osaka food", I've had the opportunity to participate and somewhat (and I use that very loosely) hone my art of "takoyaki" making, but most of the students at the party had never tried before -- they were pretty excited (about that, and the fact that the "takoyaki" maker was "dirt cheap". . . who says parties can't be educational?!)
Something else that's neat about this group of women in the picture is that at the beginning of January I had no idea who they were. My first week back teaching and 4 enthusiastic (and talkative) women entered the class. . . things have never been the same, I end up learning more Japanese than they do English sometimes ;-), but it's been great to get to know them!

Making Miso!! So, I've mentioned about my friend Chiaki here who works at a farm, where I've been to visit a few times. This time it was to make "miso" the old-fashioned way. Miso is a popular soup base here in Japan -- many families "drink" miso soup every day (sometimes with breakfast!) When I arrived, they had the soybeans boiling outside, and stuck some potatoes and sweet potatoes in the fire for our lunch later.

Here Chiaki and I are mixing the "ground up" soybeans (yeah, just like hamburger meat) with fermented rice, salt and water. We made balls out of the mixture, and then threw it into a bucket (you have to do this to get the air out, although I have to admit, it was a lot of fun. . . who needs self-help books on stress relief when you have miso?!) It will sit in that bucket, sealed away, for a year. . . when it will be "fermented", ready for use in the kitchen and to be drunk out of someone's soup bowl. It's been really neat to be able to get to know the family at the farm here, and connect with them a few times already. I know Chiaki so much wants to be a witness to those around her, and so it's neat for them to be able to meet another Christian too. :-)

This past Friday, 2 of my students (not including the little girl, but she is studying English and she's pretty good!!) and I went to make pottery!! Since this area is pretty well known for it's articles made from clay (good soil here or something), we drove out to the ceramics museum where they offer little demos on how to make your own creations, and then you just buy the clay, some time in this room. . . and then let your creative energies flow! In our case, it was close to 3 hours by the time we were finished. . . but so neat to see what we were able to "design", and to watch others working nearby (who were definitely not amateurs like the 3 of us!!) Guess we'll see how they turn out when we go back next month to pick them up. . .

What's for dinner??

Any guesses on this one? Well, since I got a Japanese cookbook (written in English) for my birthday, I decided that I should at least try something. . . while getting the ingredients was in a part of the grocery store I had never really explored before, the finished product was pretty good. So, if any of you are interested in this seaweed (black pieces), mushroom, and fried tofu dish, (I forgot the carrots, ironically!!) you know where to go. (But don't worry, Bob, I won't make you eat it!!)


And for dessert, if you "still" have an appetite, you might try out the. . . "Unbelievable" (yes, that was the name of it -- though it's a bit of a stretch to understand the Japanese version of "English" at times). It was a pretty amazing, glorified (even though we went for the 2 litre reduced whip cream version) parfait. Our eyes were a little bigger than our stomachs, though, as our stomachs started to feel it by the time we got past all the "toppings" (and to the real ice cream). Nevertheless, definitely an adventure! (with L-R Chiaki from church, Cambria Hiebert and Grimi - Korean girl that comes to youth)

One year already?!?

Ok, so this is actually a few days late, but my "1 year anniversary" in Toyota was Saturday the 4th. Hard to believe I had no idea who these people were only 369 days ago. I was thinking back about how I had pictured things would be, before I arrived that evening last February. I was excited, but incredibly nervous about living with a family here for a month, not the least of which was having to use Japanese!! (Despite my "best intentions" about studying in Canada. . . I think I did about once!) It's pretty important to use the "right language" especially in a situation where I would basically be "indebted" to the family here for letting me stay with them. But everything changed when, within about 1/2 an hour after getting inside the house, Chiharu started talking to me in very friendly, casual Japanese. . . something I hadn't expected! I learned to quickly get used to listening (since Chiharu likes talking ;-), sharing about myself, being part of a Japanese family and immersed in "kids' talk" (with a 2 and 4 year-old) for the first time.
The other day I went to her place for lunch. We laughed, shared what's been going on, I made a dumb mistake in Japanese (said that Martha was sitting "under" Jesus instead of "down" at his feet, and we laughed about that. . .), prayed together, and couldn't believe how soon she had to go and pick up Hikaru (her son) from kindergarten. So, today I reflect especially on what a blessing Chiharu has been in my life -- God gives us family even "far from home", and she is most definitely a sister at heart.