by Whitey | Nov 29, 2008 | Life in Japan
I recently lost a friend.
Eddie was one of the men I prayed together with on a semi-regular basis when I lived in Osaka. I found out about his death last week, and have been putting off blogging about it because I wasn’t sure what to say. I wasn’t super close to Ed, but he was a brother in Christ and a really great guy.
The photo above was taken back in early October when I visited Osaka. Ed was one of us grown-ups who tagged along with our friends’ kindergarten class when they went sweet potato picking. I saw him again that night when we had a concert/dinner at the school. I had no idea that would be the last time.
Ed had been under a lot of stress and concerned about many things. He went missing one day, and it was almost two weeks later that his body was found. This has left everyone with a lot of questions. But more importantly, he leaves behind a wife and son here in Japan who could really use our prayers at this time.
by Whitey | Nov 19, 2008 | Videos
I’m breaking my weekday blogging fast because I took a sick day from school on Monday (nothing too serious, just a nasty cold) and finally got around to watching a DVD that I received a while back. Before I tell you what I thought of it, why don’t you check out this trailer?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgkOxqroGT8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1]
Mujo No Kaze is an award-winning short film that my friend Paul (from the Japan Christians in the Arts Network) was involved in the production of. What’s it about? The official site describes it like this:
After a Japanese exchange student is murdered while studying in the US, his best friend in Tokyo is thrown into a world of depression in which a series of hallucinations lead him to a divine encounter in the countryside. Mujo No Kaze is a short film about finding hope in the midst of depression, suicide, and the futility of life.
I found the film to be really well-produced, culturally relevant, and redemptive but not preachy. I’m looking forward to seeing what Studio Re comes up with in the future, and I’m excited to see them stepping out in faith with this ministry.
If you’re interested, you can view the entire film HERE. It’s pretty short, just over ten minutes, so it’s definitely worth your time.
by Whitey | Nov 16, 2008 | Life in Japan
I’ve been back in Japan for almost a year now. Crazy. I wish I could say I’ve made more progress in my Japanese than I have. But the biggest thing I’ve learned is how to learn. Actually I’m still learning. Hopefully the next year I can apply what I’ve already learned — both the “how to learn” and the actual language skills — and really see some measurable progress.
It’s Sunday afternoon, a rainy day, and with this cold I’ve caught, a great day to say inside. It’s a pretty good time to get sick, though. At school they’re having our annual health checks this week. Yes, my language school gives us health checks; I think it’s a law here. And actually kind of nice that they take responsibility for their students’ well-being like that.
I really don’t have much to say today. I just wanted an excuse to post a couple of photos. I’m thinking I’ll completely can the photoblog and instead just post more photos here. Maybe a re-design would help, though, something that lets me post them at a larger size and really let ’em shine. What do you think?
The above photo, by the way, was taken at a Nagoya Station subway platform. Below, something a little more peaceful and traditional — yet another shot from the Nakamura Festival. These are dancers from the same group as the girl in my most recent Photo of the Week.
by Whitey | Nov 9, 2008 | Life in Japan, Photos
A while back, received a random email from some guy named Tim, who, the email went on to explain, found me through a mutual friend’s Facebook page. Tim’s a fellow-Canadian (woohoo!) and just moved to Japan. He lives about an hour from Nagoya and has been studying Japanese there for about a month now. Yesterday we finally met up in person and did some wandering around Nagoya. It was nice to have a fellow-Canadian to talk to for a change — we understood each other’s jokes. And speaking of jokes… here we are a with a couple of really cute Japanese chicks we met in Sakae:
Awful pun, I know. Couldn’t resist. Hope you all had a great weekend, too.
by Whitey | Nov 1, 2008 | Ministry News
Hi everyone,
Is it November already? It’s hard to believe it’s already been 10 months since I came back to Japan!
October was a busy month: In Gifu, the Gospel was preached (I spoke on the story of the Prodigal Son). In Hamamatsu, a church was encouraged (I did a solo and played a part in a short drama) and our church had a great time of learning and fellowship with the people of the Hamamatsu church. I also started a new (level 2) course at the YWCA Japanese Language School here in Nagoya, which is proving to be a big step UP in workload and difficulty — a good challenge but also a bit of an adjustment.
Please continue to pray for my English/Bible student; we haven’t gotten together in a while but I’m trusting that when he’s less busy we’ll get back to studying the Word again. Pray that God will draw him to Himself. Also, please pray for my church as we come to the nearer to end of the year and into a time of planning for the busy holiday ministry season and the coming year’s goals.
I’m sure my fellow Global Partners missionary to Japan, Andrea Swartout, would appreciate your prayers as well. She is currently in the US on home ministries, and is hoping to be back in Japan by the end of the year. Pray that her support comes in. If you want to keep up with her progress, you can check out her blog (http://swartyinjapan.blogspot.com).
Last, but not least, please keep praying for my language studies; pray that I will use my time wisely, stay focused, rely on God’s wisdom, get better at memorizing, and make some real, noticeable progress in the coming months.
I hope this email finds you all well. Thank you as always for your continued prayers and financial support, which have helped me to get this far. Let’s keep dreaming and believing together for the Lord!
– robin
ロビンホワイト
Robin White, Global Partners Missionary to Japan
