July 17

Last night at my host families place! Let me update you on the events of today.
The day started early, but just with a team time, and preparations. Rebecca and I decided to take the bike I am borrowing to the market to buy some apples for the broccoli salad that Heather was making for the potluck...that will all be mentioned later. Anyways, we did not find the market, had a very interesting experience with the bike parking booth, and learnt that driving with two people on a bike really sucks!!
The afternoon had us participate in two English classes, and I'm pleased to say that for beginners, they spoke English very well. I had a pleasant time talking to all of the Japanese that came. Then a nice nap after the class.
The evening was by far the most exciting part. We had an English Party Potluck. The Japanese that came (20-30 people) were all part of Doris English class, at different time slots. I got to talk with a lot of the people there, and it was really fun trying to understand each other. We played a game, then one of the ladies showed us a traditional Japanese dance. This was quite amazing, as she was wearing a Kimono and everything. Then my team led a worship song. Keep in mind, only about 5 of these people were actually Christian. But once they learnt the words, the sound was incredible. I can feel God doing big things in this city.
I got back to my host family, where they attempted to feed me, and then prayed with me, and shared some bible verses with me before I went to bed. FYI, my host family is entirely Christian. The same cannot be said for other host families, as Alyssa and Rebecca have a Buddhist shrine in their room. I'm very grateful, and I hope God blesses these people in abundance.
I need to hit the hay, all of you have an amazing day. Trust me, it will be amazing, I already finished it =)

July 15

My mind is still unable to fathom the fact that, when I want to go to bed, everyone else is waking up. It's a weird feeling, knowing that your friends and family are on a totally different schedule than you. Thus is the life of a month-long missionary I suppose.
Today was eventful. First we departed our seminary home and embarked on a perilous journey to the ends of the world, which took until lunch to reach. After lunch, we joined in on some English classes, where we had conversations with the Japanese people to further improve their English, or at least give them someone who believes in God to talk to. I met some amazing people, including one man, who is called 'Fish' (I cannot say his name, but it means fish). He talked about going to church every Sunday. He reads the bible and prays everyday. He is 66 years young, and is one heck of a comedian! He is very interested in this....but he can't understand it. He is a Buddist, and he just cannot understand Jesus and God. If you want someone to pray for, pray for 'Fish'...you may not know him, but God does!
After that, there was supper...which involved a sushi bar. HURRAY SUSHI BAR...ok, not for me. I'm not a sushi fan. I did however try eel....didn't like it though. I ate some shrimp, which sat on very vinegarized rice, and some egg things...I really have no idea what anything there really was. But it was a new experience.
I'm now at my host families house. I'm very grateful for everything they have done for me, and I've only been here two hours! They baked me a cake, made a little welcoming board for me, took pictures, found Gretna on Google maps and I had to find my house on there for them (Mom, our front lawn looks horrid in that picture, with the nice pile of woodchips in our front lawn =P ) and fed me til I exploded. I feel horrible that I had really no gift for them. God bless this family!! They are just amazing people. And not to mention, their apartment is big, and beautiful. It's really nice!!
My body is calling me to sleep, so I will answer. Good night!!

July 14

Good evening. The time is 11:40pm here in Japan, and all you good folk are just waking up from a long, restful sleep, a sleep I have not had in quite a long time.
Today was our first free day. But we spent a lot of the day organizing ourself for ministry tomorrow. I'm sure there will be more to talk about as the next few days roll past. But the planning today was very necessary. We all feel a lot more prepared for our ministry.
We found the Death Star, ate a lot of spaghetti, made a 10pm trip to the 100 yen store, failed our drimes, and really just had a great day. I'm excited to begin our ministry tomorrow, being a part of esl classes. God bless.

July 12

Today was our last day in Toyota. We had some more orientation, but I still feel like I could learn more by actually talking to the japanese people, rather than the missionaries. We all got a bit of a scare when we went to take out money, and it wouldn’t work. However, we got some money out at a bigger post office, thus saving us from having to live here for a month with no money. For those of you who want to see japanese money, I’m bringing back a few coins for you to look at. We then hopped onto a subway, which took us from Toyota to Nagoya City. From Nagoya City, we caught a bullet train to Osaka. We were driven through some beautiful hills. Not quite mountains, but they were beautiful none the less. My ears popped every time we went into a tunnel though. As for the bullet train, it was beautiful, spacious, clean, comfy, and just a perfect way to ride. It was really fast, so fast that the corners of the tracks actually had to be angled to keep the train on the track. It was an amazing experience, one that I’ve truthfully always wanted.
My body is still stuck on jet lag, and just won’t let me stay awake. If you want to know what time it is here, just at 14 hours to your time. Basically, for over 12 hours, I’m living in a different day then you are. It’s quite mind blowing, and I’m still trying to fathom what just happened. I miss everyone back home, but I’m really excited to be here.
Just a few stats that I gathered from our devotional this morning, so you to think about. If I come back, and you wonder why, this is the reason. Japan is a beautiful country, and a very advanced country, but with a loan that is 113% the GDP (Gross Domestic Product). 10% of the population is 65 or older, and by the year 2020, that number will be 30%. Japan holds the highest suicide rate of any developed nation, and the highest suicide count in the world. There is one church for every 16000 people, and average attendance for a church in Japan is between 5-30, and that count is decreasing. I used to never think that Japan needed missions of any kind, but looking at those numbers, it seems to say otherwise. This is a beautiful country, and I can see God working here, but the Japanese are really traditional, which makes it really hard to let go of these traditions for something different. Pray for a revival in Japan!

July 11

First full day in Japan is over! Let's review the day!

We started out the day by 1) figuring out how to flush the toilet and 2) going to church. We sat in on a church service that I didn't understand at all, but we had lunch after, where I had a chance to talk to a lot of Japanese people, and it was really good to hear them. I got the chance to learn a couple more words, learnt how to learn chopsticks a little better, and finally had some real japanese food. The people here are incredibly polite, and will spend all the time in the world helping me learn a word, or learn to use chopsticks. They laugh a lot, smile a lot, and love photos.

We also had a chance to spend the evening with the youth of the area, and that was a lot of fun. I sat beside a guy who could speak English quite well, but with a heavy accent. He laughed all the time, and laughed very loud. I had a blast. Two girls sat across from me, who helped me with my chopstick abilities, and asked many questions about me. Thinking back, I wish I had asked a bit more about them, but I was really tired...well, still am...

The jet lag is calling me back to my bed. Good night everyone!!