Day 15 - April 9 - A Family Day Out

It was great to be able to spend a day together as a family at Universal Studios Japan, which is about a 50 minute train ride from Ikoma.

This was one thing that we had promised Caia we would do, and feel that she's adapted really well to Japan since our arrival and it was a good motivator for her to get through a challenging and tiring week of school and many new and varied experiences.

It probably wasn't one of the busiest days at USJ, and yet the lines for some of the attractions were 3 or 4 hours at one point during the day!

The highlight of the day for Crystal and Caia was the 'Starlight Parade' at 8pm where various floats and characters from various fairytales paraded through the streets of USJ to music and commentary.

When we got home at night, we sure were glad the next day was Sunday, and Crystal and Caia didn't have to head off to school :)

Day 14 - April 8 - A Drive through tea country to teach English

About a week before we left for Japan, I had the thought that it might be special if I was able to teach some English classes while I was here.

That very day, I received an e-mail from Alex Verwey (my former boss's son) who is in charge of the English teaching programme at Japan Mission, asking me if I would consider going to teach English for a pastor who was very ill in hospital.

Although the circumstances were unfortunate, I was very glad to have the opportunity to teach an English class, something I hadn't done in several years.

I was able to teach 4 classes, 3 kids classes and an adult class. There are currently about 15 students who come on a Friday, and Japan Mission is committed to teaching there for 4 weeks. Pray that these students will be open to the Gospel as a result of coming to the church to learn English, and that Yuki and Stephen would have opportunities to speak to them about the Lord.

The drive to Shigaraki-cho, the little town in Shiga Prefecture, next to Nara where we are staying, was very interesting, with long, windy roads, going through mountain paths and tea plantations, then arriving in Shigaraki, which is also famous for its' pottery.

It was a real thrill to be able to go to a small church, and visit with the pastor's wife, Yuki, who has lived in Scotland and England before, so her English is very good. Her husband, Stephen, is quite ill with various health problems, including diverticulitis. Please pray for him as he recovers and goes for surgery in the next few months. Meanwhile, his wife, Yuki, takes the responsibility of keeping the English classes going and making sure the various meetings at church continue. The church has around 17 in attendance on a Sunday, in an area of Japan that is steeped in Buddhist tradition and quite hard work for the Gospel.

However, Yuki remains bright and cheerful, despite the challenges, and is determined to remain here as long as the Lord would have them stay.

The church, though small in size, is well established here, having been here around 70 years!

Yuki also mentioned the powerful influence of a cult, known as shumeikai (sounds like shoemaker) which teaches 3 things: 1. Renounce all that is not organic; 2. The hand has the power to heal; 3. Everything in nature is god. This cult has it's headquarters in Shigaraki. Yuki mentioned that when she was living in England, she even met some of the cult members there, as the are very interested in culture and like to collect artifacts from various countries. They have even opened several museums, and have had pieces donated to them from museums overseas!

This cult is particularly powerful among the people who seek to make a living from their pottery making business, as the cult has plenty of money, which they distribute freely in order to gain converts, making their teachings hard to resist. Apparently, they have even opened several museums, and have been given exhibits from museums in the USA!

One praise item is that Yuki told me she has two individuals who are adherents of this cult, come to the church to study the Bible. She feels that the plight of those trapped by the cult cannot be ignored, and is trying to do all she can to teach them the right way from God's Word.

Pray for this little church and for Stephen & Yuki Williams who seek to minister to the people of Shigaraki-cho.

The English class takes place at the back of the main church building

A view of the main church meeting room

A view of the church building from the outside

The little creatures, in Japanese called 'tanuki' are made from clay by local potters

This is a large Tanuki, but I discovered even bigger ones on my drive

The roads are super narrow. This is actually a road where traffic travels in both directions!

The drive to the church took me along a river for a large part of the journey

In the distance, you can see the tea plantations. It was amazing to see the tea growing everywhere on the journey

The tea looks like very neatly manicured hedges

Day 13 - April 7 - School, rain, English lesson prep & foot

What an unusual title for today's blog I hear you say!

Well, It's just a snippit of what's going on today.

It's raining quite heavily at the moment, apparently the forecast is calling for 40-50mm of rain today! That's about as much rain as we see all summer in Vernon!

Some of you have been asking how my (Aaron) foot is doing. I'm glad to say that it's at about 75% if that makes any sense.

There is still some swelling, but not anywhere near as much as there was at the start of the trip. I'm still puzzled as to the cause and I'll likely go to the doctor again when I get back to Canada just for a check-up. Unfortunately, the two doctors I saw in Canada before leaving were both at a walk-in clinic so not a whole lot they were able to do other than give me some anti-biotics, which I think must have helped.

We do appreciate your prayers so much, and we have been so aware of people praying for us during this trip.

God has really been at work in preparing all kinds of opportunities for us.

Today, while the girls are at school, I'm preparing for 4 English classes which I'm teaching tomorrow in a place called Shiga, which is about 1.5 hours drive from where we are staying! I'll leave around lunch-time and won't get back to at least 10.30pm. Please pray for me as I drive that I won't get lost (I will have a GPS with me, so that will be crucial). I will meet the pastor's wife at a local 7-11 not far from the church and will follow her back there as the roads are very narrow. It's hard to believe they could be any narrower than some of the roads I've driven on. Yesterday, on my way to Costco from the school (yes, I went to check it out :), the GPS took me on roads that were so narrow I seriously thought the police were going to stop me and say, 'what are you doing driving on that sidewalk?'. That didn't happen thankfully and I made it to  Costco in one piece, and came back on a much wider road!

The pastor from the church where I'll teach English tomorrow is from England and his wife is Japanese. I'll have 3 children's classes and an adult class.

One other exciting development has been that we were planning on buying some Manga (comic book) Bibles for the children in Caia's 1st grade class (there are about 20 kids in the class), and when I mentioned this to David Verwey (the head of Japan Mission here in Japan) he told me about the manga version of the life of the apostle Paul that was available. We had been prepared to pay about $15-$20 each for the Bibles, but he kindly gave us enough of these for each student! What a blessing that is.

Pray for Crystal and Caia as they plan to give those Bibles out at some point. I'll post a photo of the cover of the Bible so you can see it.

As you can see, the foot on the right is still a bit swollen, but not red any more and certainly not painful, for which I'm so thankful. 

The Manga 'Bible' story of the life of the apostle Paul

Day 12 - April 6 - A New School and New Friends

Today has been a huge day in many ways. One of the main reasons for visiting Japan at this time has been to give Caia an experience of Japanese life and what better way than at school! We have been so blessed to have so many good friends at Kyoto International University Academy, where Crystal used to teach.

They have been gracious enough to allow Caia to join the first grade class for their first week of school and Caia and Crystal have both been a part of things from the beginning and will be there until I leave on April 15th.

After that, they will have one more week in Japan to visit friends and enjoy life and culture here before returning to Canada on April 24th.

We're so grateful that Caia seems to be having a great time so far and has even made some new friends, including the daughter of the principal (Michelle) and that's made it even more special.

KIUA is an amazing school with amazing teachers who clearly love teaching and also love the children.

Each teacher knows Jesus personally, so their heart's desire is for the children to come to know Him too, so in many ways, although KIUA is an international bi-lingual school, the main purpose is to reach children and their families with the Gospel.

Please pray for the teachers and for the children and their families as they settle in to a new academic year, that the Lord might bless them and that some would find the Saviour this year.

While I was at the school waiting for Crystal and Caia to finish classes, I was able to spend a bit of time designing a new letterhead for Japan Mission that will be suitable for new envelopes they are hoping to use, which they can source locally for about half the price of the ones they currently use, which are printed and then brought from the USA.

I was also able to create a new template for the bi-monthly bulletin which the mission produces to send to supporters around the world.

I'm hoping that these new layouts will enable the mission to function a little more efficiently and cost effectively and that they will continue to produce good quality materials for supporters to read.

Caia's class as they go on their first walk as grade 1'ers 

The outside of the university building 

Caia's class as they wait to wash their hands before lunch 

The philosophy of KIUA on the wall in the main elementary school entrance 

Classroom Rules 

Day 11 - April 5 - Kansai Christian School & The Magners

Today was a little bit of an 'easier' day in that we didn't have a schedule from the get go, which was really nice.

After leaving the apartment in Ikoma around 11.30am, we headed towards an old haunt of ours called Nara Family, which is just a shopping centre on 8 floors with a restaurant floor towards the top. One of our favourite restaurants in Japan is called Capricossa, and it's Italian and serves the most delicious deep fried rice balls, with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.

Once lunch was done, we headed off to Kansai Christian School, where I (Aaron) was a board member representing Japan Mission for several years. While I was on the board, KCS transitioned from rented property and buildings at a Bible school in Ikoma, to property they purchased and have now fully paid for in Heguri, about 15 minutes drive from Ikoma.

It was really great to see some of the teachers and the students there. The enrollment this year is around 40 students, and a new principal will be joining the staff from September.

This week, the school is having its 'spiritual life week' where a team of 9 people from a church in California have come to teach the children about how to grow in their faith. What a wonderful opportunity for the school and also for the team who have come to minister in this way.

After seeing the school, we went to a local park and then to John, Mikako and Sophia Magners, where we enjoyed some okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and caught up with what's been happening in their lives.

John & Mikako are living in Japan as independent missionaries, seeking to reach Japanese with the Gospel.

Pray for John especially as he has some health issues and has been advised by doctors that he will have to undergo major surgery in the summer.

We love the Magners and trust that the Lord still has plenty for them to do here in Japan.

John, Mikako & Sophia Magner (with Caia)

Day 10 - April 4 - A new school and friends for Caia & a walk/prayer and tract distribution in the neighbourhood

Today was a 'slower' day, but we had a few things to accomplish.

I (Aaron) started off the day walking in the neighbourhood and putting the Yorokobi no Izumi (Fountain of Joy) leaflet into mailboxes of several in the neighbourhood that I used to distribute to monthly when I lived here before.

As I walked, I prayed for each of the leaflets that people would receive, that they might bring the light of the Gospel of Jesus into their hearts and lives.

I was reminded, walking up towards Hozanji (Temple of the Mountain Jewel), of the desperate need and of the spiritual darkness and blindness all around me.

Yet, whether we live in Japan, or in the West, a blind man is a blind man, no matter what the cause of his blindness!

Sometimes we pity those who bow and clap their hands in front of the temple entrance and as they walk before a statue, and yet what difference is there between that and a person who has idols of a different kind?

I was also reminded of the many believers there are in this city of 120,000 people. There are two Bible schools, one evangelical mission, several Bible believing churches and dozens of Christian families seeking to be a light here, and for that I'm so grateful.

Around lunch-time we headed off to KIUA (Kyoto International University Academy) where Crystal taught for several years before we headed back to Canada. Many of the same teachers are still there, faithfully seeking to introduce their students to the one and only Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Crystal is planning to help Naomi Kusaki, the grade 1 teacher, with some of her preparations and for the first week of the new school year (in Japan, the new school year starts in April!).

Caia will also be able to take part in some of the classes, for which we are so thankful to the school for giving us this great opportunity of exposing her to the culture and language of Japan in an environment where she will hopefully feel safe and at ease.

It was great for us both to catch up with many familiar faces, as the school uses some of the same buildings as Kyoto International Chapel, the sister church of the church we used to attend in Ikoma until 2010.

Please pray for all of these plans, that the Lord would be the One who is leading and guiding, and that His will be done. That we would hear His voice and do what He wants us to do. We believe our trip to Japan is not simply a sight-seeing trip or a catching up trip, but really a missions trip where we are seeking to be a blessing to as many as possible while we are here.

We truly are grateful to Japan Mission for their hospitality in providing us with an apartment to stay in, access to internet and all of the amenities we need, plus the use of a car with a GPS, which has proven to be amazing so far!

Caia outside her 'new school' in Kyoto

Some very large rocks that have rope tied around them for some spiritual reason I'm not quite sure why 

A view over Ikoma city this morning on my walk 

One of the shrines at the temple near where we lived

Day 9 - April 3 - Old friends and a new church

We travelled to Nishinomiya again today, this time to attend a church known as Crossroad Church. Our friends from Washington, USA, are very involved there and it was a thrill to hear the pastor preach a very passionate message on 'second chances' from the lives of two disciples, Peter and Thomas. It was an encouragement, not only that God is the God of the second chance, but also that when He gives us that second chance, He expected us to do something with it. You can even listen to the message on-line already!

At the beginning of the service, the pastor also spoke briefly about the issue of the grave and what happens to a person's body when they die. In Japan, the role of Buddhism is very strong and had lots of rules and regulations when it comes to death and the responsibility a family has to perform various rituals to ensure all goes well with a person in the afterlife.

Pastor Fumi has recognised that for Christians, there can be uncertainty about what will happen to them after death (their body of course), and in light of this, he feels it is necessary to address the subject with the church. One of the practical steps the church is considering is the purchase of a gravesite that Christians can use and thus remove some of this uncertainty.

We were able to spend some time connecting with folks after the service and also a little more time with our friends the Rudolph's which is always fun.

Crystal was even able to chat with Bruce, a missionary she met when she lived in Southern Osaka about 20 years ago!

This church is in it's infancy as it was born out of a house church and is now in need of structure and some organization to help it function in it's new environment.

One of the church members who's been involved from the early days was curious to find out what input I could provide from a church administrator's perspective.

I'll certainly have to think about that and see what help I can give in this area.

Some of the folks at the church chatting as they gather 

A slide highlighting the 'Ohaka (grave) cafe' to help Christians think about what happens to them after death! 

Title of the sermon - 'Fresh Start' 

Believe it or not, many of these bicycles have yellow 'parking tickets' on them! 

Caia enjoying her time at the Sunday School