August 3

Once again, I have managed to skip a couple days of blogging. I will touch on the month of August, then get to my adventures of today, because they were very emotional.

August 1 - We had a church service at Sojiji. The pastor did his preaching thing, and we read a translation. I wish I could have understood him however, because what was written was very good, and maybe would have been more powerful coming out of his mouth. Gary read his testimony, we preformed a drime, and led a worship song. Well, we thought we were leading. It turned out that we were actually performing. Not what we expected, but still a lot of fun. We had lunch together with the church, and then led an English class with about 8 adults. Only 2 were Christian, and it was a bible English study. It was great to be able to share the bible with these people. Some of them even had some amazing thoughts on the bible. I wish I could break down this language barrier, these people are smart, and full of ideas.

August 2 - This was our relaxing day. I mean, we've had other days off, but this was actually a true relaxing day. Why, you ask? Because we went to the bathhouse. And while I never got the chance to try the naked tubs, I did get to wear some really small trunks, and sit in hot tubs, saunas, and massage pools. Then I went for a nice swim. And after lunch I fell asleep for 3 hours on an incredibly comfy couch. It was something I really needed, because it energized me for my last week of ministry here in Japan.

August 3 - Today was an amazing day. However, it was full of emotions. We headed out to Hiroshima. The day started off with a bang...we went to the Peace Gardens. There we saw the last standing structure of the A-bomb blast. I almost lost it...I was literally standing 600 feet below the exact spot the bomb exploded...the building was completely torn apart. 3000 lives were lost in the 9/11 attacks....350,000 were lost in Hiroshima. After we headed to the Peace Museum...and even more images were flooded into my mind. Some images were not pleasent...and one that sticks in my mind is a watch. The watch is shattered, but still readable. The strap is burnt, and the hands are stopped at 8:15....when the A-bomb exploded...and it's horrible...please, talk to me in person about this. I'll advocate peace all day, and after seeing this, even more so.

5 days until I head home. Thanks for all the prayers and support. Since coming to Japan, the rest of the money I needed has been given to me, and I'm so thankful. I look forward to sharing my experiences when I return. If this blog has been any indication, I've loved my time here