It’s a new day and a new week. It’s also a holiday week here in Japan, but despite that I’m not taking any vacation time or going anywhere. I have a big test on Thursday to prepare for — the final exam for the full-time language course I’ve been in these past 6 months — and these three days off are a perfect opportunity to put in some long hours of review. As I start my day, though, my mind is full of distracting thoughts, so I decided to come online and dump them out for all of your enjoyment…
1. Last week was a pretty busy study week, too, being the last week of the full-time course and full of tests. Glad it’s over. Also, did I mention that the part-time course I’m starting kind-of overlaps with the full-time class I’m finishing? Yeah. So after my interview test the other day I attended the first class of the part-time course, and then missed Friday’s part-time class because of a unit review test in the full-time course. And this week, after the final exam on Thursday, there’s no break because of the part-time course… which I’ll be behind on because of the full-time course. I’ll be looking forward to the weekend…
2. Speaking of weekends, this one was a good one. After last week’s busyness, it was nice to have a bit of a break. Friday night I did some drawing and watched a movie at home. Saturday I got to go to a concert in Gifu. It was not my normally preferred style — of a classical/gospel mix — but it was good nonetheless, and I got the ticket for free.
3. Yesterday was a really good day at church. I played guitar on the worship team in the morning, helped out with the youth Sunday school class, and then in the afternoon did my usual English class, which was well-attended and a lot of fun. Then in the evening, our church hosted an interdenominational missions prayer meeting / worship service. It was really great to see people from various churches getting together for a common purpose and vision, praying and worshiping together. Japan needs more of these.
4. One of the presenters last night talked about New Life League’s Manga Bible series. One of the artists who worked on this project was also there, and I got chat with her for a few minutes after the service. I’m pretty sure the first thing I said when I introduced myself (in Japanese) was “My name is Robin. I’m otaku (a geek).” I think she got a kick of that, and thinking back, it may have been an odd way to start a conversation; but it was a good way to get to the point of why I was talking to her. It was cool to meet her, though, to tell her that I think this is an important ministry, and say thanks.
5. Speaking of manga (for the uninitiated, that means comics), I’ve met some friends during this two-year term in Japan who share my vision for that kind of ministry. One particular friend and I have been dreaming together and exchanging ideas for over a year now. I’m pretty excited about where this is heading, and hopefully within a few months we can share something more specific…
6. Getting back to the subject of interdenominational gatherings in Japan, this week is the 5th Japan Conference on Evangelism, up in Hokkaido. If it wasn’t for this final exam, I’d be there for sure. This a rare nation-wide interdenominational event, and a great opportunity for our leaders to learn and grow together, network, and pray. If you are a pray-er, please pray for this important event.
I’d also appreciate your prayers for my studies this week — which, now that I’ve dumped my brain out, I should get started on…