by Whitey | Aug 22, 2009 | Brain Dump
It’s a quiet Saturday night and I’m winding down for the night. After being away and not blogging most of this month, I thought I’d post something quick tonight before winding all the way down. Here are some thoughts.
1. I had a great time at Chukyo Seikai (Chukyo Area Holiness Meetings) and Tonican (youth camp) these past two weeks. I’ll give a more full report when I’m ready for a more “official” update. But in short: both events were fun, I got to spend some quality time with some friends, and it was great to be out doing ministry stuff for days on end instead of going to Japanese class for a change. Also, lots of chance to use the Japanese I’ve been learning, which is kind of important, right?
2. Unfortunately I accidentally deleted half of the photos I shot at youth camp.
3. It’s been good to be away so much this month and have a change of pace. But it’s good to be back in Nagoya now, too. This really does feel like home now.
4. I’m glad to still have about 10 more days before language school’s back in session, and I’m hoping to make good use of the extra time — both catching up and working ahead on studies and work stuff both.
5. The reality hit me today that I’ve only got about 4 months left of my current missionary term here in Japan. Suddenly the end seems very close. And while I look forward to seeing folks back home, I’m not so keen to leave Japan for an as-yet-undetermined amount of time. I feel like I’m just getting started. I’m afraid of taking too long to get back here, and forgetting a lot of what I’ve learned. And, like I said, this really does feel like home now.
6. But… a lot can happen in four months. So instead of worrying too much about what’s next, I’m hoping to make the best of the next few months I am here. I wonder what God has in store…
To be continued…
by Whitey | Aug 11, 2009 | Brain Dump
Random thoughts and recent happenings, unloaded from my brain to your computer monitor for convenient digestion:
1. Yes, there was an earthquake today, but not strong enough to do any serious damage to people or property. So for those of you wondering, I’m OK. Having said that, it was strong enough to wake me up at about 5 AM, lasted a good minute or so, and knocked some stuff off my shelf; so it was kind of scary. But again, no worries; I’m OK.
2. I just got back Sunday night from vacation. I spent most of last week with friends in a small cabin at a camp ground near the ocean, not too far from the city of Sendai. But I was also in Fukushima and Tokyo at other points during the break. It was very relaxing and fun.
3. It was good to get away. But it’s good to be back home in Nagoya now, too. And really cool to feel “at home” even though I’m so far from my home-home.
4. I’m going away again this Thursday, this time for ministry purposes. I’ll be taking part in our area’s holiness meetings. I’ve been asked to do some music and a testimony. I’m going to attempt to do the testimony in Japanese, which means it will be very short. It also means that I’d appreciate any extra prayers you want to pray on my behalf.
5. I don’t go back to school ’till September. It’s nice to be away from the daily grind of language school. But I’m hoping to use the time productively in terms of study, work and ministry stuff. Today was a good start to that. Also looking forward to spending more time with my Church Family at upcoming ministry stuff. Should be a fun rest-of-month.
Bye for now.
by Whitey | Jul 30, 2009 | Videos
Stumbled upon this group playing at Oasis 21 in Sakae the other day. They’re called Gotcha — if I remember correctly (but I can’t find their website to confirm that). And they were great. Unfortunately the video quality is not so great, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.
by Whitey | Jul 27, 2009 | Ministry News, Photos
As those of you on my email list may remember, this month we had a couple of events at the church that I’d asked for prayer about. Let me take a moment to tell you how things went.
The kids’ Ice Cream Party was held on July 5, and was a big success. We had over 47 show up, a large number of whom were first time visitors! And in the weeks following that event, we’ve had a handful of those kids coming back for our regular programs as well. Also, our Jr. High band did some music for the kids’ event. One band member invited some friends, and there were about 15 who showed up! Please pray that these connections to the community will continue to grow.
On July 15, with the help of some church members, hosted a Canada Day party (only 2+ weeks after the real Canada Day). We had a good time of games, English conversation practice, music, prizes and food. Around 36 people attended, a good handful of whom were visitors. Please continue to pray for my weekly English classes, and that God would use me to help this church build bridges with the community around us.
Following are some photos from the Canada Day party, as well as a young adults’ gathering the same evening. Click on any image to see it full-size and un-cropped, and to flip through the whole lot as a slideshow.
(Please let me know if you have trouble viewing these pics. It’s my first time using this gallery feature.)
by Whitey | Jul 23, 2009 | Brain Dump
It’s been a quiet week or so on the blog, so I wanted to write a quick update. This will be pretty random, though, as I’ve got limited time — big test tomorrow that I need to get back to studying for. So, here are some thoughts and stuff in no particular order, but numbered for easy reading.
1. Sunday’s Canada Day Party went really well. We had around 36 people attend, a good handful of whom were new people, first-time visitors and the like. A good time was had by all, and my voice was hoarse from talking over the crowd. I wore a funny hat. If you’re lucky I’ll post photos someday.
2. The recent Ice Cream Party / kids’ festival outreach thing was also really well-attended, with over 40 people, most of whom were visitors. Good things are happening at the Nagoya Church.
3. Next week is the last week of Japanese classes for me for the summer. In August we go on summer break, part of which I’ll be vacationing and part of which I’ll be doing ministry stuff.
4. I think the rainy season came late this year. I thought it was supposed to be in June, but July has been pretty wet. Today’s nice, though.
5. I thought I had more to say but I guess I don’t.
Brain: dumped. Now to re-fill it with Japanese.
