by Whitey | Sep 21, 2007 | Ministry News, Weekly Re-Cap
Well another week has come and gone (yeah I know it’s only mid-day Friday, but it’s pretty much gone), so it’s time for another wrap-up. Here’s some of what I’ve been up to this week, as well as a look at things to come…
- I did a new Podcast episode (see previous post) this week.
- Support totals have gone up a little more (see Support Info page) this week. I need only about $23,000 in Faith Promises (Yes I said only. It’s all relative, really.) — that’s less than 100 people at 20 bucks a week — could you be one of those people?
- I’m getting ready for a trip to Ontario and Quebec next weekend. First I’ll be in Shawville, QC, for the weekend of September 30, and then onto Ottawa, ON, where I’ll hang out for the week, do some meetings, visit some friends and family, and then do at least one service on October 7. I’m still waiting to hear back from one church about a booking, but it should be a full week anyway. I’ve actually never been to Ottawa, so that’ll be cool, both because it’s our nation’s capitol and because I have so many connections there. Never been to Shawville, either, now that I think of it.
- Before going on that trip, though, I’m taking a shorter trip to my own district’s Ministerial. Looking forward to that.
- Still waiting on my TESL course materials. Hopefully they’ll be in next week, though it looks like I’ll be a little busy the next couple of weeks anyway.
- I’ve been enjoying this less-busy time lately, and the opportunity to be home for a change. I am looking forward to getting back on the road, though. Sometimes being at home can make me restless — I’m not used to it anymore! And getting on the road again will mean making new connections and (hopefully) gaining new prayer and financial partners. On the other hand, I’m looking forward to having all the team building done and getting myself to Japan. Hopefully I can wrap it up this fall; it would be great to be in Japan before the snow flies!
Wow, I had more to say than I thought. ‘Nuff said for now then. See you next week.
by Whitey | Sep 19, 2007 | Life in Japan
Following is another old entry from my former website, written during my first, year-long stay in Japan:
Monday, February 24, 2003: Relaxation, Japanese-style…
Last Monday I had a Japanese-style relaxation experience. I was invited for dinner to a student’s house along with a couple of fellow-teachers. We got there at around 11:30 am and didn’t leave until after 4. So if you ever get invited to a Japanese person’s house for a meal, go hungry, and be prepared to be sitting at the table, eating and chatting, for a good long while. I guess this is a sign of the Japanese being a very hospitable people as well as their abilty to relax.
Today I had the ultimate Japanese relaxation experience: the Onsen. Onsens are hot spring bath houses, with natural spring water that is heated by volcanic activity beneath the earth. Aparently the water is full of minerals and things that are very good for you as well. The custom is to bathe in the nude, with men and women in separate rooms of course (though I have heard there are exceptions).
I had heard of these onsens before, but today was my first visit to one. The real question is: Why did I wait so long? It was great. I highly recommend it to anyone who may plan to visit Japan, as long as you don’t mind being naked in front of strangers. It is very relaxing, and many of these onsens also have places where you can eat, sleep or get a massage. I was so relaxed after spending some time at the onsen today that I just wanted to come home and have a nap; so I did.
Like I said, Japanese people know how to work hard, but – wow – they really know how to relax as well!
UPDATE (March 1): It has been brought to my attention that the public bath we went to that day was probably not an actual onsen. Onsens, like I said, are natural hot springs. In the area of Japan I am living in, bath houses of the onsen variety are pretty rare. So it was artificially heated most likely. The Japanese word for “bathroom” is “ofuro”. Perhaps that would be more appropriate in this case.
by Whitey | Sep 14, 2007 | Ministry News, Weekly Re-Cap
I’m hoping to update this blog more consistently, starting now. I won’t be posting daily, at least not yet, but I’m thinking of a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule. Monday will continue to be Photo of the Week day; Wednesday I’ll try to post a story, a cultural note, or some thoughts on missions; and Friday will be a weekly re-cap posting, featuring personal, ministry and/or website news — starting now.
Here’s what’s been going on this week:
- I’ve been accepted into an introductory Teaching English as a Second Language course, which I’ll be doing by distance education. I need to send them a cheque, but whenever they get that and send me my materials, I can get started. I’m looking forward to this, as I have limited experience and no formal training teaching English, and it’ll definitely be an asset to my ministry in Japan.
- My support continues to climb; I’m less than a hundred $20/week commitments away from reaching my goal.
- I’ve been getting into a pretty decent routine with my Japanese studies. I still need to try to spend more time each day on it, but at least it’s actually daily now.
And that’s a wrap for this week’s re-cap.
by Whitey | Sep 13, 2007 | Life in Japan
Continuing my series of reflections from my first time in Japan (2002-2003), here is another entry, re-posted from the web journal I had going at the time:
Saturday, December 2, 2002: Reflections on Kyoto
… The lady who guided us is a student here, and was a great host. In fact, she spoiled us, insisting again and again on paying for parking, admission and meals — and there were five of us, uncluding her! One thing I have learned in my three months here is that when a Japanese person wants to give you something, it is very hard to say no. Maybe I shouldn’t generalize so much, but I have found the Japanese in general are very kind, giving and hospitable. The people I am meeting here are perhaps the best thing about this place, and are what I will remember the most about my time here.
While in Kyoto, we visited three different large, famous shrines or temples. From a cross-cultural, architechtural and historical perspective, this was very interesting. From a Christian perspective, it was kind of sad. At one place, Sarah (a fellow teacher) said she felt uncomfortable, but I said I didn’t — I felt sad. She asked if it was breaking my heart, and I said “maybe a little”; what I should have said is “not enough”. As a Christian, it is sad to see people turning to idols; and that’s what we saw — idolatry in its most literal sense. Very sad indeed.
All in all, it was a good day, though. We were definately experiencing Japan and seeing the Japanese in their cultural particulars. Eye-opening, in a way, and part of a year-long experience that is, I believe, going to be looked back on as a time of great learning; perhaps, even life-changing.
by Whitey | Aug 28, 2007 | Thoughts
Back in June during my missions training week, one of our teachers, Jim Lo, did a session where we talked about the importance and power of prayer. The best part was that, instead of just talking about it, he actually took the time to lead us in an extended time of group prayer. It was an inspiring and impacting time for all of us.
I want to recommend a great little book that Jim told us about, a book on prayer called The Hour That Changes the World, by Dick Eastman. (If you follow that link you’ll see that you can actually pick up a used copy for as little as 1¢! Plus shipping, of course)
In this book, Eastman lays out a challenge: What if you were to spend one hour every day in prayer? How would that impact your personal life, your family, the world? Eastman goes beyond challenging the reader, though, and lays out a very practical plan for getting it done, breaking an hour into 5-minute segments, each focusing on a different aspect of prayer.
This book has really encouraged me to spend more time in prayer, to make it a priority, and to pray specifically. I don’t follow Eastman’s exact method every day (in fact, he recommends coming up with your own version), but I have found it a helpful model to use and learn from.
I would encourage anyone who’s serious about prayer, who wants to go deeper with God, and who wants to be a part of changing the world to read this book. And pray.
by Whitey | Aug 20, 2007 | Life in Japan
This is another post from my old website’s journal. I’m not posting these in any particular order. This one was based on one of my final adventures before leaving Japan: Climbing Mount Fuji. I post it today to go along with the above Photo of the Week of me and the group I climbed with.
Monday, August 19, 2003: Whitey Versus the Volcano
Early in the morning on Saturday, August 16th, Sam, Michelle (two friends and fellow-teachers) and I began our expedition to Mount Fuji. After travelling all day by bus, our tour group arrived there right around supper time. The bus took us to the highest point you can go to by bus, about half way up this tallest mountain in Japan.
After taking some time to eat and get ourselves ready, we began our eight-hour-plus journey to the top of the mountain. We would travel over night in hopes of seeing the sunrise from the top of Mount Fuji early the next morning. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the weather did not allow us to see the sun rise.
The weather also made the climb alot more difficult than it might have been in better conditions. The first hour or so of the hike was pretty easy, really. The trail was steadily uphill but not too steep for the most part. The ground was loose gravel and small rocks; nothing too serious. By the time it was completely dark out, though, it had started to rain and we were coming upon more and more difficult climbing conditions, involving some big steps over large rocks and the need to be careful to get secure footing. It was getting more and more cold and the air more and more thin as we ascended higher and higher. We were also getting wetter and wetter as we went. I in particular was not prepared for the rain as much as I should have been, but even those who were supposedly well-prepared were getting cold and wet.
Climbing Mount Fuji was definitely one of those “only in Japan” experiences, and not only because of the large crowds, tour buses and shrines. Late at night, after about four hours of climbing and hiking with only short, still-wet stops along the way, we stopped for our one long break. This is when things got interesting. Our “sleeping” arrangements were less than ideal, but amusing if nothing else. Picture this: dozens of people lined up as tightly as possible, side-by-side, lying alternatingly with their heads facing one way or the other so as to cram as many people in as possible, sharing blankets, in crawl spaces one on top of the other. Rolling over was not an option, and sleeping didn’t seem to be either, what with the closeness inside and the noise from outside the “bedroom”. I did hear some snoring, though, amazingly. But the good thing was that we got a chance to get ourselves warmed up nicely before once again braving the elements for the final four hours or so of the journey.
And so, after that “sleeping” break, it was back out into the cold in our wet shoes and insufficient rain gear to climb the rest of the way up the mountain. It was at this point that we first realized that our climbing guide had been drinking on the job. Apparently during the long break, he’d had a few too many, and by this point was a little tipsy and a lot more talkative than he’d been before. My friend Samuel was great to have along at this point, because he has no inhibitions about speaking up or anything, and was the one who got our guide moving again several times along the way, encouraging him to shut up and get moving. Our Japanese fellow-climbers never would have spoken up, I’m sure, holding to the Japanese mind-set and culture of politeness and respect.
Somehow, after many hours of climbing and seemingly almost freezing to death, we made it to the top, even with a drunk guide. We got there around sunrise, but as I said, the weather didn’t allow us to see a sunrise; it just got light out. So I didn’t get many good photos either. But we made it. And that seems to be saying alot, considering that of the over 30 people in our group, only about six or seven of us made it all the way. It was definitely a challenge and I’m glad it’s over, but I’m glad I did it too. I’d been dreaming of climbing Mount Fuji for about a year, and it was great and rewarding too see my dream come true.
by Whitey | Aug 12, 2007 | Thoughts
Over the next little while, I thought I’d share some stories and thoughts from my past experiences in Japan. As many readers probably already know, I spent a year in Osaka, teaching English at Grace English School. I was there from August 2002 until August 2003, and maintained a website where I posted photos and writings on what I was experiencing. The following is one of those journal entries…
Sunday, December 1, 2002: Thoughts on Culture and Ministry
Sometimes when teaching English it is hard to explain simple concepts like when to use “a” and when to use “the”, or the difference between “this” and “that”. It is difficult because I don’t know Japanese and the students don’t know enough English.
A similar problem is found, too, when trying to communicate the gospel. The language barrier is always a factor, of course. But even without language barriers, there are always cultural differences to take into account; things that are different between those from the east and those from the west, those that are churched and those that are unchurched, and so on. These differences can lead to misunderstandings and barriers to sharing ideas.
My fellow teacher and missionary, Samuel, is doing his thesis on this very idea – how to contextualize the Gospel, interpreting and theologizing in such a way that a person will understand and relate to, given their particular background. When ministering in a country like Japan, where Christians make up about 1% of the population (if that), Christians need to overcome the misperception that Christianity is a foreign religion. So those of us ministering here (and in other places where the Gospel seems foreign) need to drop our theological jargon, learn who it is we are trying to reach, and speak to them on their level.
So we need to know how the people we are ministering to think. But we also need to know their hearts. In Japan, ministry is very relational; you need to get to know a person before you can share your beliefs with them. Having said that, I believe that that is true in most cultures. Other methods may work to an extent, but the Gospel – which is all about our relationship with God – is best spread through relationships. If you want to share the love of Jesus with someone, you’d better be ready to share your own love too.
So this is the bottom line of I am trying to express: As Christians, wherever we come from, whatever culture we are in, and whatever the background of those we are trying to reach, we need to speak the truth in love and in a way that our hearers can understand and relate to. And we really need God’s help to do so.
by Whitey | Aug 8, 2007 | Ministry News
I’ve arrived safely at home after about 3 weeks of traveling and team building. To my prayer partners: thanks for praying! I had a great time, met some great new friends and caught up with some old friends too. I also gained some financial and prayer supporters, which is great! I now have close to 550 prayer partners, and am getting closer and closer to my financial goal. Check out the support page for more on that, and on how you can help out if you’re not already. To those of you already committed to giving, thank you!
by Whitey | Jul 26, 2007 | Ministry News
I’ve passed the halfway mark in my support raising!
Due to a handful of recent faith promises, as well as some re-calculations of Canadian commitments (what with the changing exchange rate), my total raised is now at $33,543 (US). Amount remaining: $28,457.
If you’d like to help out, please visit the Support page for more info. Of course you’re free to give whatever you wish, but $30 a month is ideal; at $30 a month, it would only take 79 people to reach my goal.
To those of you already praying and giving: THANK YOU! I obviously couldn’t have gotten this far without you.
by Whitey | Jul 15, 2007 | Ministry News
I’m done at Beulah Camp, and have spontaneously taken a trip to Halifax to visit some friends for a few days. Tuesday I’ll be home. Wednesday I’ll be hitting the road for Ontario and then to the US for more team building. As I said to my friend today, I’m away so much that when I am at home I don’t know what to do with myself!
Camp meeting and conference went well. I took in some great preaching and got to catch up with some good old friends as well. I was able to connect with some pastors I needed to talk to, and with some current and potential supporters, too. And I had the opportunity to talk about my ministry to Japan during the Missions Moment of the Wednesday night worship service.
I have made some progress in my support team building. I now have about $33,636 remaining. At $30 a month per person, it would take only about 93 people to get there. I’d appreciate your continued prayers as I raise these faith promises. I’d also appreciate it if you’d consider helping me reach that goal with your giving. Check out the Support page for more.
