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 | Aug 15, 2008 | Life in Japan, Ministry News, Thoughts
A couple of months (or so) ago, I was interviewed, via email for GP’s newsletter/magazine GP Worldview. I thought I’d share it here on the blog for those of you who haven’t read it. It was edited for space in the mag, so I’ll include some of the stuff that was cut out.
Tell me about your call to missions, especially to Japan.
I was “finished school” and working full-time as a graphic designer when I first started sensing God call me into ministry. I didn’t know where that would lead me ultimately, but it started with going back to school, where I received my Youth Ministry degree from Bethany Bible College.
After Bible College I still had no plans to go overseas as a missionary. I was a youth major, after all, and had a passion for worship leading. So I pursued various potential opportunities in youth and music ministry. But in all my searching for just the right ministry position, nothing I pursued worked out. For months, it seemed like every door I tried was closed. Then, through the internet, an opportunity came my way completely unexpectedly: a one-year position teaching English and doing ministry in Japan, at a little place in Sayama City, Osaka, called Grace English School.
After a lot of prayer and thinking, I really sensed that God was leading me to accept the offer. So in the summer of 2002 I left Canada for a year in Japan. It will be a great experience — an adventure, I thought, and besides, it’s only for a year, right?
That year changed my life. It was an adventure, yes. But it changed me in ways I didn’t ever realize at the time. It changed the way I looked at the world, the way I looked at missions, the way I looked at life in general, and the way I looked at myself. I fell in love with Japan and, seeing the great spiritual need, have been carrying a burden for the Japanese ever since.
I know this isn’t your first time in Japan. Tell a little bit about your first or past times there.
As I mentioned, my first experience with Japan was the year I spent in Osaka. My day-to-day life consisted mainly of teaching English, but since the English school I worked at was owned and operated by Believers, there was quite a bit of opportunity for ministry as well. We did a weekly event called “International Fellowship”, which was a time of sharing about culture, and a time for people to practice their English, but also a time of worship and Bible study. I played guitar and lead worship almost every week, and had the opportunity to do the Bible study on several occasions as well.
One thing that stood out to me about Japanese society was their ability to embrace modern ideas and technology while at the same time holding on to their distinctive culture and traditions. It’s a fascinating mix of the ancient and ultra-modern. But what I came to love most about Japan was the people.
How is the language learning process coming along? Are you able to communicate in Japanese?
I suppose that depends on how you define “communicate”! For a native speaking, talking to me in Japanese is probably like talking to a two-year old! On the other hand, that’s better than a few months ago. I have certainly made a lot of progress in my first couple of months of formal studies, but language learning is a slow and difficult process.
What cultural practices are the most challenging to adjust to?
In Japan, everything matters. There’s a rule and a right way to do everything. When you’re not from here, that of course means a you face a huge learning curve. Also, communication is often indirect, so you need to learn to read between the lines. And the language barrier just makes all of this learning all the more slow.
I know you have only been in Japan since the end of December, but so far what has been your high point?
It’s been a few years coming, so for me just being back in Japan feels great. But recently I had the opportunity, along with a new Japanese friend, to sing and play a duet during a Sunday afternoon outreach service. We sang a bilingual version of “The Love of God”. I also gave a brief introduction in Japanese. It was an amazing experience to be able to minster in this way in Japanese — even if (to be honest) I didn’t understand every word I said, and had to read the whole thing! One of my dreams is to be able to lead worship completely in Japanese, and this was a small step in that direction.
What will your ministry be?
During this term, my main focus is on learning Japanese. However, I will be involved at Immanuel Nagoya Church by doing some English teaching and helping with their youth ministry. I also recently began giving one-on-one English lessons to a young Japanese guy in exchange for his help with my Japanese. He’s not a Christian, but is open to studying the Bible, so we’re going to be going through the book of Mark together.
Do the Japanese know anything about Jesus? How do you go about sharing the gospel with them?
Japan is basically 99% unreached. That means the average person not only isn’t a Believer, but probably doesn’t even know who Jesus really is. With this being a group-oriented culture, where indirect communication is the norm, aggressive or confrontational forms of evangelism aren’t the way to go. Which is fine by me, since I’m not aggressive or confrontational. I think relationships are the key. That’s one of the reasons English teaching is such a great ministry tool here. As a native English speaker, this is a service I can offer the church as a way to help them to connect with people outside the church. And this is something I can do even while the language barrier keeps me from other areas of service.
What is your vision for the Japanese people?
I think there’s a great openness to the Gospel among today’s youth. I think the opportunity and possibility of reaching Japan may be greater now than ever before. My dream is to see Japanese Believers of this generation seize the opportunity to reach their generation with the love of Christ.
What has God taught you personally on this journey so far?
Patience! Maybe I should say he’s teaching me patience. Learning another language takes a lot of discipline and hard work. And with or without language and cultural barriers, ministry in Japan is a slow process of building relationships, planting seeds and trusting God to bring the harvest.
by Whitey | Jul 10, 2008 | Thoughts
This is the third in a 3-part series. If you haven’t read them yet, you may want to check out Part One and Part Two first. Again, if you’ve experienced — or are experiencing — culture shock yourself, feel free to leave a comment with your two cents. Here are some thoughts on my experiences…
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Everybody goes through culture shock when they move to a foreign place. But not everyone goes through the same kind of culture shock.
My experience with culture shock has been mild compared to what a lot of people might go through. Living among and working with fellow-Believers has helped. But in Osaka, there wasn’t as much adapting to do as there in now in Nagoya. There were moments of stress like catching the wrong train and ending up who-knows-where. There was trouble shopping, and other language-related difficulties. And there were times when I just got tired of being a “novelty” or standing out. But in my day-to-day life I could survive without learning Japanese, because my job was English teaching and my friends and co-workers were mostly fellow-expats.
This time is different. I’m definitely more immersed this time, but now I have the advantage of having lived in Japan previously. The main thing that causes culture shock for me is the language barrier: It’s a bit frustrating, even overwhelming, to be surrounded by Japanese and not able to join the conversation. And it feels like in order for the others to include me I have to suddenly become the center of the conversation, which I don’t want; but often it’s either that or feeling left out. Japan is also a more group-oriented society, a place where there’s a right and wrong way to do everything, and a culture where communication is less direct — all of which add to the learning curve.
But when I do face stresses relating to these cultural differences, it’s always an opportunity to learn. Language barriers give me incentive to study Japanese. Doing things the wrong way helps me remember the right way. Dealing with and working through culture shock helps one to understand and relate to the new culture — to acculturate.
And, little by little, God is helping me to do just that.
by Whitey | Jul 8, 2008 | Thoughts
This is the second in a three-part series of writings that are adapted from stuff I did for the internship program I’m in. Click HERE for part one, where I give an overview of culture shock, at least as I define it.
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Whatever form culture shock takes, it is natural for us to experience it when we are in the process of acculturation. In fact, if we aren’t experiencing any culture shock at all, we’re probably not experience the new culture itself, either. A friend told me about someone he met here in Japan who basically goes home after work and stays there, watching American TV and American movies, in English. Actually I would guess that this person was experiencing culture shock, but instead of facing it and working through it, he was choosing to ignore it by isolating himself from the strange world around him.
While I would agree that “disconnecting” for a while can be healthy, why bother moving to a country on the other side of the world if all you’re going to do is stay in your room and never go out and experience the culture? I myself enjoy reading or watching something English-language and familiar as an “escape” sometimes. One thing about living in a foreign, non-English-speaking culture is that ordinary, every day, easy tasks feel like work; so it’s nice to get away from that from time to time and enjoy doing something that doesn’t require as much thought or that exercises a different part of the brain. But part of the joy of living in another country is what we can learn and experience that people at home only dream about.
Not only is there a lot to enjoy, but if you’re going to live in a foreign country long-term, acculturation is essential. And, like it or not, culture shock is a part of the acculturation process. It’s not just an unfortunate side-effect, though; it can actually aid the process if we let it. As I said, not experiencing any culture shock shows we’re not experiencing the culture, and as such not acculturating. On the other hand, going through culture shock helps us learn the new frames of reference, meanings, and assumptions that are necessary to adopt in order to enjoy living on foreign soil on a long-term basis.
And that — living in a foreign place long-term — is exactly what I’m working towards…
by Whitey | Jul 3, 2008 | Thoughts
This is the first in a 3-part (for now) series on, as you’ve no doubt guessed from the title, culture shock. It’s taken from some assignments I did for HQ a while back as part of the internship program I’m in. Here in part one, I’ll give an overview of what I think culture shock is, in part two delve a little deeper, and in part three talk about my personal experiences. Feel free to comment if you’ve dealt with culture shock yourself before.
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I remember coming to Japan the first time and people asking me if I was experiencing any culture shock. Honestly, I didn’t think I was, but on the other hand, though I’d heard the term thrown around, I never really knew what it meant.
So what exactly is culture shock anyway? I would define culture shock as any stress, discomfort or agitation caused by cultural differences when living or visiting a place that is culturally different from your home. This could happen after moving across the country or around the world, and could range in severity from mild irritation to emotional breakdown. It’s the tension that happens when different cultures come in contact with each other.
Culture shock, then, as broadly defined above, is something that we all experience when moving into another culture. The specific form it takes will differ from person to person. The severity of our culture shock will depend on our individual personalities, weaknesses and strengths. It will also depend on just how different our new host culture is from our home culture and on how immersed we are in the host culture.
Whatever form or severity it takes, culture shock is pretty much inevitable when you make your home on foreign soil.
