spring has come. . . :-)

Well, not that we ever really had "winter" here -- seriously, it's been so warm here. Last year I remember my feet freezing under my desk while I tried to work on the computer. This year not only is it a lot nicer, but I've gotten smarter and moved my computer to the table, and type while sitting on the hot carpet. (Why didn't I think of this last year?!)
I went to this park on Monday afternoon. I heard about it from a friend at church. She said it was tucked into a residential area, but gave me directions, and true to the Japanese love for nature, there were a lot of people there!!
And it was soo beautiful!! I know the cherry blossoms are famous here, and they are really incredible, I really enjoy the plum blossoms as well. For one thing, the fact that they bloom already in February is pretty exciting for a Manitoban. . .
. . . and they smell soo wonderful!! Seriously, I want to wear a necklace of them, or find some way to "bottle" the smell so I can carry it with me. Reminds me of when I was younger and the lilacs out behind my house. Those things are potent!! :-)
There were all different colours and kinds of trees, including the weeping plum trees.
Japanese people often enjoy picnics under the blossoms. I thought it was neat how this playground is completely surrounded by the flowering trees!

Since Japanese people love nature so much, things like stationary, traditional desserts and even ads use themes from nature. This picture reminds me of the way plum blossoms are often drawn in pictures, or on pottery.

Recently I've been trying to read a Psalm in the morning to focus my mind on praising God -- and to remind me just how AMAZING He is. This morning I read,
"Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.

My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song." Ps. 28:6-7

May He be the joy of our hearts and the strength we rely on, as we trust in Him.

it's bus tour time!!

For any of you who enjoyed reading about the previous episodes (ie. cherry blossom viewing and all-you-can-eat-cherry-picking), we are on the road again. Sit back, relax in the comfort of your seat, and join the adventures of (l-r) Kimie, Kazuko and I. . . on a "marathon" to experience the culinary pleasures of Ise (city about 2 hours from here). Japan is famous for having special local foods pretty much anywhere -- they're good at creating (using fresh foods from the area -- mountains, sea, etc.), induldging in and making conversation surrounding these "meibutsu" (special foods).
7:05 -- leave my house 7:40 -- tour leaves from near Toyota station
1st stop 9:10 (ie. breakfast) -- sushi -- the fish, and the other is a salted leaf with sushi rice and sesame inside (the pink stuff is pickled ginger -- I've given up on Japanese pickles, though :-s )
2nd stop 10:10 (ie. morning snack) -- we "boarded" this ship and sat down for. . .
these delectable shells -- couldn't tell you the names, but quite the display, eh?
Spotted these plum blossoms at the 2nd place -- it's lovely to have flowers in February (though it is much earlier than usual this year!!) Everyone is already in "spring mode" here. . . I can live with that! ;-)

3rd stop 11:15 (ie. lunch) top l clockwise -- raw tuna fish on sushi rice / shells, shrimp and vegetables in broth (heated from below) / Ise noodles (homemade -- fat and really good in winter!)
We visited the Ise Shrine -- the "top" shrine in all of Japan, and therefore a huge tourist attraction. At the top of these stairs, there is an area where people can stand before another gate, drop some moeny into a box, clap their hands together, and send up a wish or "prayer" for health, safety or any other personal desire.
This week in class, one of my students said that what most Japanese claim as "religion" isn't the same as a "faith" like mine. . . she said it's almost like feeling they must recognize their "responsibility" to honour their anscestors by carrying on the family traditions and participating in the rituals of Buddhism. Something that's common for the majority of Japanese people, I believe.
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. . . He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. . . . God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though he is not far from each one of us." Acts 17:24,5,7
The God of the Bible doesn' t live in places on this earth that we honour and worship, He lives in human hearts, in us!! Please pray for the freedom of God's truth to break through like a wave over the country of Japan. . . and that the Japanese would know the true purpose and meaning of their lives!
4th stop 2:30 (ie. afternoon snack) "All-you-can-eat-strawberry-picking" (not like we really needed the "all-you-can-eat" part today, but you gotta get your money's worth ;-s) Anyways, we took bets on how many we could eat before leaving the bus -- the other two thought "at least 30", and I was betting on 40-50. The results? (l-r) Kazuko -- 32 (mostly small, so she could make it to 30!), Kimie -- 40, and me -- 42 (I couldn't lose to Kimie ;-), and the 41st wasn't very sweet, so. . . after 20, though, you start feeling your stomach!!)

5th stop 3:15 (ie. supper?!?) BBQ with meat, cabbage, and eggplant Considering that this was a mere 1/2 an hour after I'd eaten my 42nd strawberry, it was basically not so much a "oh, that looks good" as a "well, we've only got 1/2 an hour, so better get on with the grilling" (which you do in the middle of your table) How do you like the "bibs"?!
6th (and thankfully LAST) stop 4:15 Rice topped with small shells and seaweed -- over which you pour a broth, and eat kind of like soup. It was good, I think. . . ;-)
So, I am officially an "expert" on the foods of Ise, I guess. I am definitely full, but it was all really good, actually, and nice to spend time with Kimie and Kazuko. They have both been coming to classes since I started here almost 2 years ago, and I have appreciated each of them a great deal. So, maybe I can organize a tour of Boissevain for Spring 2008?! (Better get working on those "meibutsu". . . ;-)

"Indo kareh"

(that's "code" for Indian curry. . .) One of the families from church spent 4 years in India, and so I asked Keiko if she could lead the cooking class this month and teach us how to make curry. We made chicken curry, yogurt salad, flavoured rice with peas in it, and tandoori chicken. I had no idea how to make Indian curry, since at home we used tomato soup, and in Japan they use a flavour block that already has the thickening "built in".
Guess what it is in Indian curry?? (we didn't use any flour or cornstarch) -- onions!!! Yeah, we cut about 4 big ones into chunks, and fried on high for about 1/2 an hour until they had browned and shrunk down into almost nothing -- and then started adding the spices (pretty, eh?), chicken, yogurt and tomatoes. Fry another 1/2 hour and then add some water and there you have it. I was impressed, and let me tell you, the authentic stuff made from scratch may take a lot of time, but it's worth it!
Keiko, on right, with Kumiko (the pastor's wife)
Everyone at the cooking class this time. It was a really small group since the flu has been going around. . . and almost all of the kids in my kindergarten class are going into grade 1 next year (no, it's not a pass-fail thing, but the kids here usually go for 2 years, sometimes 3, and kindergarten is totally unconnected to "school") So, those mothers all had a meeting at the school that day, which was too bad!! Kaori, the woman in the orange came for the first time, even though Tomoko from church, who invited her, couldn't make it. So that was neat and hopefully she keeps coming!
This afternoon, I had the chance to talk to a group of grade 6 kids about. . . Canada and Canadian "culture". They had come to ask for volunteers at the Japanese class I'm taking. . . and at first I thought they just wanted someone to answer questions for the kids so I agreed. . . it was only after I was "hooked in" that I realized it was a presentation! But, it was a lot of fun, and a good experience -- the kids had done some research on their own, and I even found out a few things I didn't know about our country!! ;-)
I was a little worried about not having anything to talk about (the other two women going were from Korea and Taiwan -- must be nice to have traditional culture, I thought!). But, I tried to introduce the idea to them about Candian culture being a whole bunch of different cultures existing and interacting together (ok, well, I couldn't say things quite as eloquently as that, but you get the idea!) In a country where there aren't many days when I'm not looked at wonderingly, or don't hear comments about English, or "look at the foreigner" "is she ever tall!", these kids have no idea about what a "German Canadian" or "Chinese Canadian" or an "East Indian Canadian" is. Here is pretty clear-cut who's a foreigner, well, at least the white ones, which really make up a small minority of foreigners. Out of the one percent of so of the population that is foreign, the majority are Chinese and Korean.
Makes me realize that even though we may not have the "distinct identity" of the same language and way of life, or may not have specific clothing and arts that have been carefully passed down from generation to generation, we have a richness and uniqueness that we can only fully appreciate by valuing our own culture and that of those around us.
They asked us to teach the kids a game or song in English too, so we did "Shake a Friend's Hand" -- I added in "Give a high 5" and "Link a friend's arm" ;-) and played "Red Rover". The game didn't go quite as well as I hoped (they weren't quite as serious about it as I used to remember being in elementary. . .), but fun, nonetheless!
I think it's neat how they want to introduce the kids to other cultures to try and promote understanding and acceptance. . . something we can all learn!

I love you more than applesauce

I love you more than applesauce,
Than peaches and a plum,
Than chocolate hearts and cherry tarts,
And berry bubblegum.

I love you more than marzipan,
Than marmalade on toast,
Oh I love pies of any size,
But I love you the most!

*Jack Prelutsky*

and my version. . .

I love you more than lazy summer days,
Than pineapple and strawberries in fondue,
Than getting mail and hiking a trail,
And rowing in a canoe.

I love you more than music or dancing,
Than a good-old weiner roast,
Oh I love mochi and azuki beans,
But I love you the most!

(FYI "mochi" is a soft, gooey rice "cake" that is often eaten with azuki beans that have been softened, sweetened, and formed into a paste -- all I can say is "YUM!!")

I used this poem with some of my classes this week and got them to write their own original poems. I was soo impressed with the things they came up with -- like themes on nature, animals, romance, food, Korean TV dramas, sports, alcohol (that was a 45 year old woman). . . It might seem hard at first, but once you get going it's hard to narrow things down. Let me know what you create!
Sending my love to you, my dear friends and family, this Valentine's! We love because we have been loved. Thanks for being you -- I love you.

I'd never thought about that before. . .

So, today in class one of my students asked me "how do you get a signature?" Hmm. . . I remember practicing when I was little, and thinking I needed a "messier signature", but "making" one?!
Guess it makes sense, though, when you come from a country that requires registered "name stamps" which are used in place of a signature on official documents. Less chance of forgery maybe, but can be dangerous if it gets into the wrong hands.
Just thought that was interesting. . . can't take our "John Henry" for granted!

"Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings." Psalm 61:1-4
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." II Corinthians 2:14-15
I just got home from Osaka tonight. We had a missionary get-together over the weekend, and it was an incredibly encouraging time. It's also likely the last time we will be together before Doris (Goertz) -- far right -- leaves to go back to Canada in May. :_-( We spent time sharing how we've been experiencing God in our lives recently, and had a prayer concert together. It was amazing to see and feel God moving in our hearts, and awakening us to the truth of our need to PRAISE and OFFER THANKSGIVING to God. . . and how our hearts just break for those around us to know the TRUTH. I felt God saying to me "If you want them to know me, you need to know me".
My prayer is that we, that I, above any other desire in ministry or life, would desire to know God. I feel that's what He's calling us to -- to be a beautiful, intoxicating aroma to our great God, our reason for living. May that fragrance permeate the heavens, and the skies that are proclaiming His glory around us every moment of every single day. What a wonderful God we serve.
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Psalm 19:1-4

Peace, Hope, Joy

There is a display board in front of the church, and I was responsible for the December display. These words were written across the top, and under the picture of baby Jesus and His parents, the verse " 'She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' -- which means 'God with us' " Mt. 1:23 Whenever I have the chance to write the words of Scripture, with a brush and some paint during my calligraphy lessons, it seems such an honour. My writing is definitely not eloquent, but the words of our God are, and that can make anything beautiful, right?
The "male chorus" on Christmas Eve during the service. They spent the months of November and December gathering around the piano, and trying to "shroud" their activities in secrecy. It was so neat to see them leading us in worship when it came time for the "unveiling".
It seemed like so long since we'd had a potluck, and it was soo good! A bunch of families that don't usually come, and husbands of women in the church also came, which was exciting.
"Talent show" -- Pastor Kurokawa got this brain wave that we should have time on the 24th in the afternoon for those in the church to share their "hidden abilities". The kids did a Christmas song, the newly married young couple in the church sang a duet, another Philipine woman sang "Amazing Grace" and, due to the fact that Chiharu informed the pastor that I had played flute in Spring :-s, I played "O Holy Night". It was a good time.
We were at church all day on the 24th -- this is the evening Candlelight service, and the 6 readers who had the parts of narrators, Mary, the angel, etc. It's a short service that is repeated every year, but it's good to hear the story, and sing the songs, and to know that God speaks to hearts. . . and will keep speaking even after the service is over.
I bought this in Shanghai at one of the markets we walked through. I thought it was cute, and interesting, and something I could wear often for teaching and stuff. . . I still think the first two are true, the last, well, after about 20 minutes working on the buttons (the one right in the armpit almost did me in), I might be reconsidering that! ;-)
This was the little "skit" that we did for the kids on Christmas Day during the "Kizzu Kurisumasu Paatei" (got that?) 4 people from church were stuck in the baptismal tank moving the characters around with disposable chopsticks attached to the back, in time with a voice recording we had made earlier. The story was interspersed with singing. Afterwards, we played games and made Christmas trees out of cake. . . :-)
So in Japan, there's apparently a saying that whatever you did at New Year's reflects on the rest of the year. Well, this is it! I hope it's true that this year will be filled with fun and friendship.

I just had to take this picture of Sara (British), Aya (Japanese Canadian) and I on the train at 3 in the morning. (I met both of them at the Osaka International Church Bible study I used to go to.) The trains usually don't run through the night, only on New Year's Eve, so it was pretty neat to experience that. (I was surprised at how many "old people" there were too -- not meant to be disrespectful -- I think a lot of them were on their way to visit a Shinto shrine -- they have a special custom and word here to designate the first visit to a shrine of the New Year. They go to "pray" or "wish" for the health of family, happiness, safety, etc.)

After I got back to Toyota on New Year's morning, I spent the week doing a lot of relaxing, a little organizing pictures, getting together with friends and students, and cleaning (it's tradition here to do the big cleaning of the year at the very end of the year, so that everything is clean and fresh for the first. I started my cleaning on the first, which is incomprehensible for most Japanese, I think. Just reaffirming my "foreign" status, in case I forgot, I guess! When I was here 4 years ago for New Year's, I was out walking around on the 31st in the evening, and saw a man out cleaning his shop windows -- gotta get it done before midnight!!). It was really great to have some "down time" to relax.
On the second, Chiaki brought me "o-sechi ryouri", special foods that are prepared for and eating during the New Year days (1st to 3rd). Her and her mom made most of these dishes, which are eaten cold to save the women from having to work during the holidays, each of which has a special meaning. For example, in the left box on the right side, the yellow is fish eggs, which are a wish for "good multiplication" in the family, above that, the green is rolled seaweed, a word that sounds like the word for "happiness" and "celebration", the black beans in the middle left on the next box represent the desire to live a hard-working and conscientious life (the word "mame" has both meanings -- bean, and conscientious). She brought this all to me in the little black decorative box, which stacks up to make two layers, along with a traditional drink that "doesn't taste good, but just drink it because it's tradition" and chopsticks wrapped in paper with a special celebratory Chinese character on it (same as the seaweed rolls). I thought it was so sweet of her. I have to admit that there are really only a very few of the New Year's foods I actually enjoy eating, but it was neat to be able to participate in this custom.
Today, as an official end to New Year's, families eat the rice cakes they have used to decorate their homes -- grill them, put them on top of red bean soup, and enjoy! And that part of New Year's is something I definitely have no problems participating in, because I love that soup!! So, anyone wanna hang out with me next year for New Year's to celebrate "Japanese-style"?!

so I promised more pictures. . .

we're back in Shanghai here. . . with the major mode of transporting goods, it seems, as being the bicycle!! I was constantly amazed at how much they seemed to be able to stack onto those things, and get around in the crazy traffic! Junko and I actually took in the Shanghai "circus", a show of Chinese flexibility (women who could bend in completely unnatural positions and form creations out of their bodies), juggling hats, balancing plates on the top of wire sticks, jumping through metal rings, up to 10 women riding on one bike at the same time, and 5 guys on motorbikes in a metal cage on stage, 4 riding horizontally, and one vertically (I almost couldn't watch. . . :-s)
One morning, while Junko was having her pictures taken at a studio where you can put on a China dress, and have your make-up and hair done, I took a walk around the neighbourhood. (briefly considered getting my picture taken too, but figured the hair pieces wouldn't blend too well, and the thought of time by myself to explore was just way too exciting!) After having spent nearly 2 days in mainly "tourist attractions" and eating at famous and/or classy places, I was ready to just see a bit of "normal China" -- the one that the real people live in. It was probably the best part of the trip for me. Just blocks away from the brand name shops and department stores is a different world, where the people live in tiny, dark and dirty dwellings along the alleyways. Felt a little like I was "prying" with my nice warm clothes, and camera in hand. . . it's different to see it in real life and not pictures in a magazine. I caught this shot of a grandpa with his prized little one. Because of the only-child law, you sure don't see many children relative to the whole population.
The Chinese garden we visited was almost too much for words -- spectacular little angled bridges running over the carp-filled ponds, roof-ends twisting up to the sky, the ruddy colours mixed with stone, tile, dragon head statues and unique round doorways and windows to peek into such a fascinating little world.
The first night we had supper in this area -- full of shops housed in buildings created in the traditional Chinese style. It was a beautiful place to be, especially at night, as we enjoyed our steamed Chinese meat buns, butter fried spinach, shrimp and pepper dish, fried rice. . .
At the end of the walk through a small market area, we were met by this pretty surprise!

Christmas over, the New Year yet to come. . .

We had our Kids' Christmas Party at the church on Christmas Day. It was a lot of work, but it was soo neat to see everyone working together. Seriously, it felt like the others from the church who were involved were making it "theirs", and not just "doing what they had to". From creating the "characters" for Mary and the wisemen, recording voices, and putting it all together with music, as well as other preparations on the day of, I felt blessed not only by the event itself, but also the fact that I sense growth in that area in our church. Growth in being a body, one body! I was getting a bit discouraged about how easy it is for divisions and misunderstandings to happen, especially between those who have been in the church a long time, and newer people, as well as between cultures. So, that made me especially excited. . . and realize that I can't help but give thanks to God for that!! Oh yeah, there were also 47 kids there, which is huge!! For the kids' club, we had up to 30 last year, nearer 20 this year, but almost all of my English kids came, and a lot from summer. A lot of them also came with their parents (mostly moms), so it was really great for them all to see the Christmas story unfold before them in words and music, and then play some games and create "Christmas tree cakes" (cut cake in cubes, cement together with whip cream into the tree shape, roughly, and cover with colourful candies -- and it tasted good too. I recommend it!) May the words of Jesus' love speak for themselves (and hopefully that includes using us!) Thanks for being so great God :-)
Today I'm in Osaka. It feels like a really loong time since I've been here. It's really good.
I can't even say how blessed I feel with the friendships that God has given me here, and the fact that after those first 10 months in Osaka, I thought I might never be back, and now here I am, with the chance to enjoy, be encouraged by, and hopefully encourage those very friends. Tonight Fusae (I call her my Japanese mom -- I've known her now for 4 1/2 years, and she truly has been a huge encouragement and support to me -- When I come here, I come "home" to visit!) said that she remembered when I was about to leave Osaka after teaching for a year, and how I cried during that last meeting. I felt like I was going to fall apart when I had to say good-bye to her. I didn't know it at the time, but she said that she had expected I would be much more "put-together" and not so emotional about the parting. When she saw those tears, it made her feel that Japan and the people really had become special to me, and that seemed to impact her deeply. I myself hadn't even realized at the time how much I had grown to love Japan and the people I had met. . . and how much I would miss everything.
I've been thinking a lot about the fact that I have a limited time left here. Well, it is still 6 months, but the way these past (almost) 2 years have gone, I have no doubt it will feel very short. Thinking about leaving is almost too much at times. Though I obviously will and can never feel completely "at home" here, I have felt such a sense of belonging here, and it's hard to think about that fading into a memory. Who knows if or when I will be back, but I pray that I will be able to cherish the memories, look forward to the hope that I know God has planned, and, most of all, to enjoy the moment. (And I have to say, there are definitely a lot of "things" -- mostly people ;-) -- that I'm looking forward to!)
After graduating from high school, I think we all realize that life is much deeper and more "raw" than we could have imagined. I think feeling deeper is harder, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

just a sneak peak!

"Nihau" -- from Shanghai! Yeah, just took a little "weekend-trip" across the Japan Sea to have a look around this city of 17 million (give or take). . . and what a trip it was!! It was absolutely fascinating to see (what little I could in that time) a tiny bit of where the culture resembles, and also how completely different it is from Japanese society. There were other places where it reminded me of home too. . .
This is a picture of the "new Shanghai" a view across the big river that runs through the city. The big tower with the bubbles (Oriental Pearl Tower) is a look-out tower that we also went up, and a very small segment of the rows of skyscrapers lining the horizon. The downtown is packed with them, and new ones being built like crazy. Glass covered concete masses reaching up into infinity, and cranes everywhere you look -- soon the tallest tower in the world will be completed here -- somewhere over the 500 metre tall one in Taipei. Amazing, eh?
A night view -- these pictures were taken from "Old Shanghai" on the opposite side of the river, an area filled with buildings of historical significance from a city with a long and colourful past. Apparently before the war, there were many more foreigners living here, especially British and French, than there are now.
The city definitely spends a lot on lighting for their buildings, driving through downtown was amazing as almost everywhere was lit up, and you could see huge advertisements flashing across the sides of buildings. You can also see the night cruise ship taking in the view. There are so many people who frequent this riverside walk that they are making the most of it, and during the afternoon we saw a ship with a HUGE plasma screen, we're talking 50 meters across, showing the latest cell phone ad. . . the cutting edge technology was amazing!
There are two very different perspectives of this city -- looking up, it is a city of the future, one in which humans almost don't even "belong", and when you look down, you are brought back to the stark reality of daily life. Life of transportation, by bike, motorbike, cars, buses, and all of those weaving their way in what at first seems to be complete chaos, but when you look close enough, you can see how everyone knows their place in the system, plays by the rules and it works, in an uncanny way. Since, according to our guide, Shanghai drivers hate stopping (well, that's probably universal, but exaggerated a bit more here), it is amazing how they will cut in between groups of people crossing the street, and wedge their way past slower cars. Lane markings, and especially turning lanes seem to have no meaning in most cases. Pretty fascinating to watch our driver -- you could tell he was experienced!
A visit to what we hear is one of the most famous sights in Shanghai. This traditional garden was filled with walls, small doorways and buildings in the traditional Chinese style with tiled roof, and spires bending upwards on the corners. The red colour, combined with the shapes, small bridges over the water, and rocks set in the garden brought out the beauty of Chinese architechture. These round doorways are so neat!
Junko and I. Junko is one of my students -- it was her first time overseas, which was really exciting! We had a really great time at this marketplace, checking out the little shops and just taking in the sights all around us. (with more to come. . .)

Emmanuel

God with us. I've been thinking about that a little bit lately. God with us. Beside us, around us, just with us. A pretty cool thought actually. One that I don't think about often enough. How easy it is to get busy, lonely, bored, feel empty and "unfulfilled". . . If I really knew that God was with me, with us, would I -- or could I -- feel that way?
God with us. . . in an encouraging word from a friend, in a smile, in our pain, in the rain, in chaos, in the faces around us, in the gifts that we give to those we love, appreciate, and sometimes even strangers. I have been overwhelmed with God showing Himself to me in the way many of my students and those from the church have given towards shoeboxes to send to those in other Asian countries that are not as materially blessed as Japan. It touches something inside of me to see their excitement, generousity, and the way I imagine it will reach out to a child, with a tangible reminder that Someone cares. . . still cares. . . has always cared.
How often do I have those reminders? How many times a day? How many moments are there when, if I was only looking, I would see God right here with me. . . and how I could share Him with others around me. Because God's not here for just a moment, He's here for all the moments. I want to spend more moments knowing and enjoying Him.
FLN (family life network) has been asking Canadians the question: "If you could ask God one question and knew He would answer, what would it be?" So, I thought I'd ask my students -- "I want to know about all the mysteries of the world" "I want to know why I'm here" "I want to know when the end of the world is" For me? I want to know when I get to meet You.
Guess that day will come, but in the meantime, why not enjoy God with me right here, right now? God with us. . . this Christmas day. . . everyday. . . every moment. Time to get together, I think.

absolutely incredible!!

This was my little trek out to Sanage Shrine near my place on Friday. . . and my view from the parking area -- I could not get over how amazing this tree was. . .


I'm not sure if it's different varieties of Japanese maple trees or what, but the colour variation from one tree to the next is amazing -- yellow, golden, and crimson red. . .
This is a shot I took looking into a small pond beside the shrine -- isn't it neat with the reflection of the pine tree branches and rooftop, maple leaves floating on the water, and if you look closely you can even see red and yellow carp fish below the surface!

a little catching up. . .

Hallowe'en in Japan is a little different than at home -- I mean, you still see some stuff in stores, with the jack-o-lantern, ghost, witch motif, but the truth is that most people here really have no idea what the "holiday" is about. . . well, I guess when you really think about it, do we? It was a lot of fun to enjoy it with my kids, though, and especially to see them trek over to the pastor's house next door, and try to remember what they needed to say to get the candy! ;-)
On November 3rd, a "bus-load" (literally, they rented a micro-bus for the 20 of them) of people came to visit from Hirano church in Osaka. That's the church where the Kurokawas used to pastor. It was really neat to see people again (recognized a lot of faces, at least!) We went to a park nearby for a while in the afternoon (this is a huge "trampoline" play area), and the two jr. high students were my elementary students when I was teaching at that church. It was so cool to see them again! (Shuhei, boy on left, and Shio, girl on right, and Moe, my sister!)
The next day, I took a day trip with some students to Nara, a city pretty close to Osaka, and about 2 1/2 hours from here. It was a really great day! Two of the students planned out the whole day for my 2 Tuesday night classes.
Nara is famous for its deer -- and if you've been here before, you'll know that the deer pretty much rule the city. Kids run away screaming sometimes because they come right up, trying to get attention, but mostly food!

In front of the "Todaiji" -- people can put incense sticks into the ashes here -- I think it is part of a "purification" process before entering the temple.
"Todaiji" is the home of the largest Buddha statue in Japan (which, I found out on this trip, has to be clarified as the largest Buddha made by pouring metal, in this case bronze, into a mould. The eyes alone are 3 1/2 feet wide each!) The building was also amazing -- almost 200 feet wide and 160 tall -- it was made without using any nails, all pieced together by wood. Lunch was at a noodle shop, a famous one apparently -- Japanese people seem to love that sort of stuff! It was really good, though, and interesting to watch how they made everything -- there was a huge pot of boiling noodles, which they took out as people ordered and drained in a big bamboo sieve. (Sorry these pictures aren't rotated. :-s)

On our walk. . . I just love these kinds of traditional sights -- this was looking into the gateway of a temple (?) area.
At another temple in Nara -- once again, famous for housing both the oldest wooden structure in Japan, and the largest, 5-storied, pagoda. This is our whole group -- in the back, L-R, Junko, Kohey, Kazuko and front, Kimie and Kenji.
A view from one of the buildings on the grounds here. . . what a different world!