Family Fun - Japan Style

It's the day after Christmas. The boys are on Christmas break from school, so what do you do to have fun as a family here in Japan? Well, a five minute walk from our apartment is an onsen, a hot spring resort. Usually when we have gone, we just go for the bath, but this time we decided to take our time there and take in some of the other amenities.

When you come in, you put your shoes in a little locker, hand the key to the front desk, and they hand you a little bracelet with a bar code on it. From then on, anything you like you can charge by scanning the bar code. Our first stop was the baths. This onsen has a great selection of baths. After washing, you can enjoy the regular hot baths, the various jet baths, mineral baths, and even a variety of outdoor baths (which are great fun to get to when its cold out). Outside, in addition to the large, natural rock pool, there are individual bowl shaped tubs, and even a large flat stone with a thin film of hot water running down it that you lay on (with a stone pillow for your head). Personally, I like to get in a bath and just sit for a while, but Xavier wants to experience them all, so I spend a lot of time travelling from bath to bath.

Some of the other amenities include a cold bath (I'm not a big fan), a sauna, and even massage services.

After the bath, we donned our "onsen wear," a kind of cross between pajamas and kimono that they provide, and headed down to the restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious Japanese dinner.

Christy, Willem and Terence all needed haircuts, so we headed up to the hair salon next. While we waited for our names to be called, we all relaxed in lounge chairs and either watched the big screen TV or read books. Once we were neatly trimmed, we headed back to the baths for another soak.

When we were done we tossed our onsen wear into the laundry bins at the exit and headed down for a last ice cream cone before we walked back to our apartment, clean, coiffed, and relaxed.

In spite of all that we did, there still are a lot of things available to do at the onsen that we didn't try. For an extra charge you can get a different set of onsen wear that gives you access to some other areas with extra baths and amenities. Also available are various massage options and some traditional medicine.

God's Sense of Humor

Our schedule can get quite busy with our teaching responsibilities at several preschools and our responsibilities at church. On top of the regular activities we have special events that we are invited to by the pre-schools. We try to go when we are invited and our schedule allows to show our support.

We were invited to a sports festival on Sunday. We figured as it was within walking distance of the church we could squeeze it in. On Thursday night I received a call from one of the teachers apologizing that she had forgotten to give my my official invitation with the map. I wasn't worried as it was at the same park it was at before.

So our plan was to stop by the sports festival before church then return after for the rest of the activities. Getting out of the house with three boys, a Sunday school lesson, a sermon and a computer for the children's message took longer than expected so we missed the train we wanted to take. Not a problem, the next train would still get us to the festival just 10 minutes later. So we headed to the park, where the festival was before. “Before” was almost nine years ago. We could not find that park. We walked and walked, dragging the boys along.

Finally we phoned a church member who could give us the name of the park. We asked around and found someone who knew where the park was. They sent us in the wrong direction. Someone else sent us back. After about 45 minutes of walking and searching we were close. We could hear the kids just around the next corner. That is when we heard a thud and Willem turned around to Tai and said “Hey!, what was that.” A bird decided to relieve its self right above us. It got Willem and Terence and Christy in one shot.

We stopped and took some time to clean up and then headed to the sports festival. We arrived in time for Terence and the boys to stay about 5 minutes before they had to leave for Sunday School. Christy and Xavier stayed a bit longer before she had to go and preach the sermon she had prepared, which began with Philippians 4:4. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Oh the irony. Nothing like a fresh sermon illustration.

Typhoon Damage

We were at work yesterday when a typhoon came through. On our way home the upper level walkway at the station was closed because the wind had blown down the railing (as you can see by this picture).

All the trains were stopped when we arrived. Fortunately, we were able to walk to one of the other daycares we work at. There were still a few teachers there who were also stranded. The head of the daycare was kind enough to let us wait there until the trains came. They even got us some food for supper and then the assistant principal offered to drive us and another stranded teacher home. We arrived home a little later than we had planned, but not overly late.

The Christmas Sweater and other Festival Fun

At the beginning of May in Japan there are four national holidays usually in the same week. Many people travel at this time of year, but since the boys are on the American school calendar they had classes that week. Terence, Xavier and I had a chance to spend some time at the local festival, just across the street from our apartment.

We really enjoyed the flea market where we got some great deals on toys and clothes for the boys, some dishes. Late in the day, this Christmas sweater was marked down to 100 yen (about $1.00), and I couldn't resist getting it. I figured with the trend of tacky Christmas parties (especially in Alabama), one of my friends would love to have this wonderful creation. You can't see it in the photo, but the label in the sweater says "I have a dream, in which 50% of the children of the future will wear I.N. Express by Nobuo Ikeda." I guess you don't want to dream too big. I wonder who's mother-in-law bought this sweater.

There were some other fun things at the festival. Terence got to take a quiz about city laws for dog ownership. The man who gave him the quiz made it very obvious which the correct answer was. Terence was awarded a small set of paints.

There was a unique mix of performances at the festival, ranging from choirs and classical Japanese dance to kids doing hip-hop dance. There was also a very good drum group. Willem and Tai were happy that they made it back home from school in time to hear them play.

Earthquake Update and Ministry Opportunity

Ever since the earthquake happened we have wondered about the best way we could help. We were able to send a care package to our friend who pastors a church in the area devastated by the earthquake. Their church has been doing a lot of relief work and reaching out to harder hit areas in the neighborhood. One day Christy was reading through some stories of how children's lives have been affected by the earthquake. She was also thinking about how when we were going through stressful times, like moving and packing, sometimes the boys got pushed to the side. We were so thankful when people helped us by doing something special for the boys.

Christy felt that one way to minister to the parents and children up north would be to provide a special event for the children. We contacted our pastor friend in Sendai and she liked the idea and wants us to come and do a VBS program for the children at their church as well as in two other towns that they are ministering in. Our family is looking at going in the middle of August. We will probably be there for about a week. We plan to stay at their church.

Now we are looking into gathering supplies from the US and working out transportation expenses. Some of you have asked how you can help after the earthquake. If you would like to help with this opportunity, please let us know.

We also appreciate your prayers as we prepare for this chance to minister to those affected by the earthquake.

Perfect Timing

... yet God is good.

Earthquakes, tsunami devastation.

... yet God is good.

A family separated, boys stuck at school.

... yet God is good.

Radiation concerns, empty shelves, should we evacuate?

... yet God is good.

Waiting, waiting for our stuff. We were robbed.

... yet God is good.

When we look back at March, so much has happened. Yet through it all there have been many blessings. One blessing was the perfect timing of our scheduled Asia Pacific missionary retreat in Guam. Shortly after we were commissioned we were told of this retreat. The timing ended up being perfect. It was such a gift from God that we were able to get away from the stress of all that we have listed above.

We had the opportunity to spend some time to worship with and visit with people from the Church of God churches on Guam. They totally spoiled us with leis for the women, and candy leis for the kids. They also provided a delicious spread of food after the service on Sunday.

It was also good to catch up with the other missionaries in the Asia Pacific area. Some we have known for years, and others we quickly became friends with.

In addition to all of the rest and fun times that we had, we also had a time of spiritual renewal through our worship and conferences together. I am sure we are not the only missionaries thankful for the hard work of Don and Carolyn Armstrong, Gary and Gwen Bistritan, and Jim and Mary Ann Hawkins, who made this time such a blessing for us all.

Earthquake Update

This is an article from our newsletter we put out last week. If you did not receive it and would like us put you on our email list, please let us know. (The picture is just a random picture of zoo day at Xavier's preschool)

As we were writing this newsletter we were interrupted by a significant earthquake. It happened around 2:45 pm northeast of Tokyo. Christy, Terence and Xavier were at home at the time. Willem and Tai were still at school. It was the strongest earthquake we have ever felt. Xavier was a little worried. Truthfully, Terence and I were too. As the boys would soon be coming home from school we decided to go to the train station and head to their school to meet them. On our way to the station Willem called to let us know that they were OK. Even though the trains were stopped and cell phone lines were busy causing difficulty getting through, people were very calm and orderly.

Because the trains were still not running that night, the boys (and many other kids) ended up spending the night at their school with teachers. Terence managed to get out to the school the next day and pick them up. Christy and Xavier went to one of the preschool graduations. I was a little surprised it wasn' t canceled but is was a blessings to see all the hopeful faces of the graduates after so many images of destruction.

Sunday it seemed that everything was back to normal with another graduation, then to church and teacher' s after graduation party. Here we were touched by the quiet strength exhibited in the Japanese people in reaction to the earthquake, but also as the teachers tearfully said goodbye to students and some coworkers. On Sunday night we found out that the boys school would be closed for several days and there would be scheduled blackouts and train service disruptions to help conserve energy. By Monday a new crisis was beginning troubles at the nuclear plant getting greater and causing much worry. Also, we began to see shortages of some items in the stores.

It is now Monday night for us. The boys will not go back to school until April 4. Their school has implemented online schooling. We are all safe. We are doing some teaching when the classes are not cancelled. We have not experienced any power outages, although we have prepared for them. We are trying to keep perspective on the situation at the nuclear plants by reading a variety of news sources. We are more than 170 miles from any at risk areas at this point. We know there are a lot of ifs out there, but we also know that we are in God' s hands.

Random from Japan

One reason we don't have a pet in Japan.

This photo was taken on 1/19. We were doing some shopping in a neighboring town. We went into a DIY store that also had a pet section. The boys wanted to see the animals. I knew pets were expensive but I was shocked at the price on this kitten. By today's exchange rate it would be $2976.00.

Kindness

This picture was taken on Jan. 19th the day we went to the City Office to sign up for Christy's alien card. On our way home we were searching for a recycle shop (a store of used goods) and we found this pottery studio in a house. The owner was so kind he invited us in for tea and snacks. We chatted with him and the boys want to go back and make something some day. We have had some frustrations in the last few weeks, including multiple trips to the bank just to open an account, and it taking a while to get our internet all set up. However, those frustrations have been balanced out with numerous times of kindness.

• People have helped us navigate the trains when we had questions.
• The lady at the tea stand in our grocery store always offers tea and sweets to the boys.
• A lady on the train zipped Willems backpack for him when he forgot.
• People offer Xavier a seat on the train, including some high school boys who moved for him so he could hold onto a bar.
• Being offered tea of coffee when we visit one of the schools.
• The English speaking phone rep who was patient and especially helpful when we got our cellphones.
• People moving to a different seat or scooting over so Tai and Willem can sit together on the train.
• Being given homemade treats by the fastfood employee on Valentines day.

It is acts of kindness like these that encourage us in our day to day life in Japan.

Getting Settled

Well, we made it to Japan. We arrived at around 2:30 pm Japan time last Tuesday and have been pretty busy since then. We have found out that we won't have phone or internet at our place for another week or so and have had a hard time finding wifi hotspots we can use, so we are feeling rather cut off from much of the world right now. But we thought you might like to know a bit about our first few days here.

We jumped right in on Wednesday and went down to the city office to get Christy registered. Terence needs to get his visa changed first and then he will do the same later. Near the city office is a restaurant the boys remembered from our last visit called Dohtonbori. They liked that you cooked your meal at the table. Two unique phrases that emerged from our boys during this meal were "Make sure mine has squid in it." and "Pass the fish flakes."

On Thursday we made our way to one of the preschools we will be working at and used their phones and computers to take care of some business. We arranged for internet to be hooked up at our place and contacted the school the boys will be going to to set a time to come in. We also made plans with the head of the preschool to go to the visa office and change Terence's visa status.

On Friday we went to the boys school, Christian Academy in Japan, and met their teachers. It looks like it should be a great school. Tai is excited that he gets two recesses and Bible classes. Willem likes that he has a locker with a lock (He jokes that in Ohio he had an -er, since it didn't have a lock.). We also got train passes for the boys for their commute and visited the library down the hill from our place to get library cards.

Saturday was a day to shop for school supplies and other necessities for our apartment. Later the boys had a chance to play at the community center across the street from our apartment.

On Sunday we went to church. We got there a little early and found a new little shop selling steamed Chinese buns. The owner was very friendly and invited us in to try the food. Afterward, Christy led a children's Sunday school class and spoke in the service as well. It was great to see the people from the church again after two years. After church we went shopping for the last school supplies for the boys and more stuff for our apartment.

That about does it for our first few days.

Packing and Visiting

Just an update on what we have been up to and where we have been. We left Alabama on October 23rd and headed to Ohio. Our time was spent visiting with family and friends, traveling to churches to raise prayer support, packing, sorting, taking care of details and making decisions necessary to leave for Japan. These three months have gone very fast. We were not able to do all that we wanted to do and see everyone that we wanted to see. Now we are on our journey to Japan. Our shipment is on its way and all of our bags are packed. It is so nice not to be a full-time packer anymore. We flew to Vancouver, Canada on Tuesday of this week. We will be here until the 17th when we leave for Japan. With most of the preparations done we are enjoying a somewhat relaxed time visiting with Terence's friends and family.

As a part of preparing to go to Japan we have had a great time visiting churches to tell them about our ministry there. We met a lot of new people but it was also nice to spend time with old friends. Over the years we have made several friends who are pastoral families. Unfortunately often times Pastors are called to different areas and we don't have a chance to see our friends who are pastor's very often. We visited churches and church groups in Laurel, Mississippi; Decatur, Alabama; Fredrick, Maryland; Scott Depot, West Virginia; Arab, Alabama; Cincinnati, Ohio and Middletown, Ohio. It was difficult leaving our church family at Riverchase but we have learned when you are a part of the family of God you have brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world.

In addition to all of these trips we were able to visit some of Christy's family in Florida and squeeze in a visit to Disney World (thanks to the Give-a-Day volunteer appreciation program). We were also able to take Christy's grandmother with us to Maryland and visit Washington, DC with her.