by Whitey | Oct 10, 2008 | Weekly Re-Cap
I’m going away on Sunday and Monday, to Hamamatsu. Hopefully I’ll have some fun stories or pictures or something to share. In the meantime, here’s a video:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSKzouakm0w&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1]
Ice Sculpting Contest in Nagoya, Japan. Specifically at Oasis 21. I came upon it after leaving Starbucks and shot some video on my cell phone. Probably the video quality doesn’t do it justice, but it was pretty impressive in person.
Thanks to those who commented on the previous post. Feel free to add your two cents if you haven’t already, and maybe I’ll come back to it with a follow-up sometime. For the record, I’m not worried about my future or anything; just curious to see how things will all pan out for us all, economically, and what that means for people like me.
I have been feeling a bit de-motivated, tired and distracted the past couple of days, though. I think I just need to re-adjust to school again and get back into a groove. Sometimes vacations don’t seem worth it. Anyway, prayers are appreciated; it’s going to be a busy next couple of weeks.
See you next week. That’s a wrap for now.
by Whitey | Sep 20, 2008 | Weekly Re-Cap
It’s Saturday evening at about 6:35 PM. I haven’t left my apartment all day. And it’s been great. I did some much-needed house-cleaning, some reading, watched some Lost, and generally just relaxed. I may do some drawing tonight, too. A good day of rest.
It’s much easier to relax now than it was about a week ago. This week was the last of the semester, so I’ve been pre-occupied with trying survive the big final exam. Took the exam Thursday. Found out yesterday that I — and everyone else — passed. Thanks, everyone who’s been praying for me!
So now I’ve got two weeks without any classes. This time I’m staying in Nagoya and getting some work done, as well as studying so I’ll be prepared for the next level when it starts after the break. I’m planning a long weekend trip to Osaka for the first weekend in October, but other than that, this is not vacation time, just a really nice change of pace and a chance to catch my breath a little.
October’s just around the corner. I think it’ll be a busy month. Not only do I start J-2 in Japanese school, but I’ve got a preaching opportunity in Gifu and a ministry trip to Hamamatsu (I think that’s the name) with a bunch of people from my church.
Should be fun times. Thanks for sharing the journey with me here on the blog.
by Whitey | Sep 10, 2008 | Ministry News, Weekly Re-Cap
Other than my latest Newsletter, I’ve been pretty quiet on here since coming back from my August Adventures. So I thought I’d take a few minutes and tell you what’s going on and what’s on my mind. So here, in point form, it is:
1. I don’t know if it’s my connection, my computer, my browser or the files themselves — or myself for that matter — but there seems to be something wrong with my Newsletters. Someone told me there were having trouble viewing it, so I checked it out, and I can’t seem to view or download it either. Anyone else having this problem? Let me know if you are. Maybe I need to re-think how I post them.
2. It’s the end of the semester for me, meaning this week and next are heavy on studies and tests. My interview / speaking test is on Friday, and “the big one” (the final exam) is next Thursday, the 18th. If you’re a pray-er, please pray.
3. I’m still planning to post some photos and stuff from the summer. So do check back soon.
4. I have a huge new desk in my room (actually it’s not new, I just swapped my small wooden desks — yes 2 — for this one big one that was being stored elsewhere in the church). It’s one of those big metal kind that are so common here in Japan. I read somewhere that these things first came to Japan with the Allied forces at the end of the World War Two. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I could certainly believe they are of military origin. This thing’s built like tank!
5. Because of the new desk, there’s been lots of re-arranging going on. I moved the desk in on the weekend, and my apartment’s still a mess now. Actually my room looks quite a bit different now, between this and several other little changes over the past several months. I’ll have to post a new video sometime.
6. I’m pretty excited about a few potential opportunities coming my way: First, there are a couple of possible short-term missions teams coming here next year. I’m really hoping at least one of them works out. And, I may have a new cartooning gig coming my way. But that’s about all I can say about either of these things right now. Still, pretty cool. Trust me.
7. I’m planning a dinner party. Hmmm… “Dinner party” makes it sound fancier than it will be, so let’s call it “having some guys over to eat and hang out.” I want to introduce my non-Christian English/Bible student to some of my Japanese Christian friends. It should be a fun time of making connections and planting spiritual seeds.
8. I’m reading the Biography of Hudson Taylor… Wow. I’m pretty early into it but I’m sure I’ll get a lot out of it. He was a man of prayer and a man of action, and I could stand to be a lot more of a man of both.
Eight is enough.
Good night.
by Whitey | Jul 4, 2008 | Weekly Re-Cap
I almost forgot to do this this week. Not sure it would be much of a loss. Most weeks I spend a lot of time studying, and these days even more. So… it’s hard to think of stuff to write.
This coming Monday’s another fairly big test. Please pray…
In other news, I’m off to Tokyo next weekend for a meeting on Saturday. I’m planning on leaving Friday after class and staying through till Sunday evening. Should be a fun gettaway, and a good chance to connect with some fellow M’s.
I may not post a re-cap next week, or if I’m going to keep doing them. And with studies getting heavier I may not post as much other stuff either. But I do have some stuff lined up to automatically post, so do keep coming back. Hopefully I’ll find the time to post some fresh stuff soon enough.
That’s a wrap.
by Whitey | Jun 27, 2008 | Weekly Re-Cap
I had a good time in Gifu last weekend. Did a testimony and played/sang some tunes. Thanks to everyone who prayed. There were a bunch of unchurched folks at the service, and everyone made me feel really welcome and like the guest of honour.
Meanwhile, back here in Nagoya, my own church’s outreach service was going down Sunday afternoon. Apparently there were a good bunch of visitors here too.
I got back to Nagoya later in the afternoon, and the outreach was over, but lots of people were still lingering. Some of the kids ran to greet me as I approached the building, and I stuck around to chat with a few people before going to my room. It really felt like “coming home”, which is a good feeling, considering I’m so far from my “home-home”.
Studies continue to get more difficult, and I’ve really got to buckle down over the next few weeks. Still got some catching up to do. It’s been a tiring week, and I’m looking forward to getting some rest over the weekend — as well doing housecleaning and stuff that’s piled up from being away (woohoo).
That’s a wrap.
by Whitey | Jun 20, 2008 | Weekly Re-Cap
But first: Hey, check out the podcast survey below!
And… I just sent out an email to my prayer partners and got about 22 failure notices. This is after I deleted a bunch of dead email addresses from the list a few months ago. So if you signed up for the list but haven’t gotten anything lately, and you’d still like to, please CLICK HERE to sign up again. Then make sure your spam blockers are set to receive stuff from my address (japancanada [at] gmail.com). Thanks.
Now, on with the re-cap…
This week was a busy week of mostly studies. As I said last week, I needed to back up and work on developing some good study habits. Well, I’m definitely improving in this area, though I’m sure I have a ways to go too. I’ve been getting up early (around 6 most days) so that I can spend about an hour before class studying; this helps. In the afternoon or evening I spend about 2 hours doing homework and reviewing/previewing stuff. The new stuff is sinking in a little better, I think. On the other hand, I had a Kanji reading test yesterday that didn’t go so well. Still some catching up to do in that area.
Monday’s big grammer/reading/listening test (yes, yet another one already) will be a good… well, “test” of how far I’ve come and how far I have to go.
This weekend I’m off to nearby Gifu, where I’ll be doing ministry Sunday morning. I’m doing a short testimony and a couple of songs in an evangelistic service. Meanwhile, back here in Nagoya, my own church is having a musical outreach event of their own. If you think of it, please pray for these meetings.
That’s it for this week here at JapanLog. Next week I’ll try to bring an update from the weekend doin’s, along with some other fun stuff. In the meantime, I hope you all have a great weekend, wherever you are.
