I haven’t written much here lately, so I thought a personal update was in order. This will be completely random, though, so list-form it is…
1. Studying Japanese is interesting and even fun, but at the same time really, really draining. Some days, four hours of class feels like a full 8-hour work day. But I soldier on.
2. If you’ve been following this blog, this won’t surprise you, but in the last year I’ve really re-discovered my love of comics. I’ve got a couple of solid ideas in development, and hope to launch one soon, but I basically only have time on my one day off each week to work on it. Of course, if I was better at managing my time, I might be more able to squeeze it in, but that’s a topic for another time…
3. My new English class for youth starts this Sunday at my church. We’ve got about 5 or 6 kids planning to join us, which is a good-sized group to start with, I think. Should be fun. But I’m not sure what level their English is at, so the first two or three weeks will be pretty experimental. I found some good curriculum, though, so once I get into the swing of things the prep time should be minimal.
4. Apparently I’m supposed to pay taxes in Japan this year, if I understand the law correctly. But fortunately (again, if I understand things correctly) I don’t have to pay taxes in Canada if I’m paying them abroad. I really have to look into this and get some clarity, though. It’s on my to-do list…
5. Speaking of clarity, since I’m now in the second year of a two-year term in Japan, I’m praying for clarity about what happens next. I have no doubts about continuing on in Japan, but where and in exactly what capacity I’m not sure. I have some crazy ideas, and believe a vision is forming. But how this should play out is not year clear. I have 11 months left, but I’m sure that will fly by quickly, and I’ll need to plan at least a few months ahead. So year, I’m praying…
I hope this email finds you all well; hard to believe we’re a month into 2009 already, isn’t it?
January has been a busy month getting back into the swing of things after the holiday season. As usual it has been my Japanese studies that have kept me most busy. It is always a challenge, but I can definitely see a difference from last year. Of course, I still have a long way to go, so your continuing prayers about my studies are much needed and appreciated.
Next week I am starting a new English class for youth at the church. It will be held on Sunday afternoons. It looks like there will be about 6 students to start with, but we are hoping in time it will grow and multiple, becoming a way for the church to build relationships with people outside the church. Please pray for me as I prepare this week and teach in the weeks to come. Also pray that God will use this ministry.
By the way, the attached photo is from a recent evening I spent, along with my pastors, having dinner with a family from our church, the Yashidas. They are a really nice family, and some of the many people who have helped me feel at home the past year.
This morning I had an almost two-hour conference call on Skype sharing dreams with a couple of fellow-ministry-minded creative-types. It was inspiring and gets me excited about the future when I think about it. I left home immediately after that and met up with my fellow-Canadian, Hooch (whose blog is so out of date I’m not sure why I bother linking to it — hint, hint, Hooch), and went to Gifu Castle (as seen in the photos above and below). Great view. Good times.
I got back from Gifu with about a half hour to spare before our young adults’ prayer and planning meeting. After being out all afternoon sight-seeing, I was feeling rather tired, and honestly kind of wishing I didn’t have a meeting to go to. But I went, and of course I was glad I did. Not only was there some great food to be shared, but some great people to share it with. Have I mentioned how much I love these people? They’re a pretty amazing bunch.
All in all, a refreshing and fun day off. And I’m thankful.
Here in Japan one of the traditions at the beginning of a new year is to do a thorough housecleaning. I guess it’s kind of an “in with the new, out with the old” kind of thing. Seems like a good way to start the year, so this year I decided I should do that.
In addition to my semi-regular vacuuming, dusting and such, I cleaned out my closets, sorted through papers, books and other clutter; sorted, filed and threw a lot of stuff out. It’s amazing how much junk one can accumulate over the course of one year. I still had boxes from when I moved here that hadn’t been thrown out. With only a year till I move again, it almost seems silly to throw them out, but they’ve been sitting out on my balcony in the weather, so they were getting to be in pretty rough shape.
Have you ever noticed (or is it just me?) that when you do a good housecleaning, you’re extra careful to keep things neat and clean? You notice every speck of dust or lint, you don’t let stuff pile up on your desk, and you’re careful not to make a mess when you’re cooking… At least, for the first few days. But it doesn’t take long before you start to slack off (or, again, is it just me?). The dishes and papers pile up, there’s a layer of dust collecting, and before you know there are a tumbleweed-sized dust bunnies rolling through the room.
I think we’re the same with New Year’s resolutions, too, aren’t we? We vow that this year will be different, we make pledges to ourselves to do things differently, and we start off on the right foot… but before long, we lose our footing and fall right back into the same old ruts. We do this not just at New Year’s time, but any time we try to make a fresh start… in our own strength.
I’m feeling pretty good about how this year is starting off. There are definitely some things I’m planning to do differently. I think I’m off on the right foot, too. And I’m praying for grace to follow through.
I’m officially free from language school for the next two weeks. And let me tell you, it’s going to be nice. Studying Japanese full-time is a lot like drinking from a fire hose, and I don’t always get the time to digest everything like I should. Hmm… maybe that’s mixing metaphors; do you really have to digest water? Anyway…
This will quite likely be my last post till after Christmas, unless I take my laptop to Tokyo with me and get bored/inspired. Though it looks like my vacation time will be pretty full and fun. So, one last time, here’s a Christmas greeting by a Japanese person who’s obviously a genius. Merry Christmas, everyone.
I haven’t said much here lately, have I? I guess I just haven’t had much to say. Maybe in the new year after I’ve had a break from classes and enjoyed some ministry events and some time away, I’ll have something to say. Until then, the above is a poster I designed for my church’s youth Christmas thing, which takes place tomorrow afternoon. I made some no-bake cookies for the occasion, which turned out OK considering I didn’t have the ingredients quite right. I’m sure there will be lots of other goodies to enjoy, though, as well as fun people to spend the time with. So I’m looking forward to it.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
