Our Sundays are spent in an area of Tokyo called Sengawa. There we attend church, Committed Japan (click for the website), which is held in a cafe called "Kick Back Cafe" . The church started the cafe as a ministry, but they operate independently with the church renting the space on Sunday mornings. Sunday mornings have around 125 adults in attendance, more than the space can hold, resulting in people standing. Sunday morning service starts at 11:00 am and consists of worship (see the below videos, actually they are more for listening), introductions of first time visitors, individual prayer and pair prayer, announcements and Bible teaching. During the Bible teaching, when the Scripture passage of the message is read, everyone stands and reads it together. The service ends, around 2 pm, with an invitation for anyone to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. After church many people stay around for fellowship and lunch at the cafe. The cafe opens at 5 pm for normal operation. Since Yoko has been attending Committed Japan for the past 8 years, whenever she is in Japan, she knows quite a few people. Erik is getting to know people gradually. There are two other English speaking foreign men, who are married to Japanese women, who attend the church, so Erik is getting to know them. The message is translated into English, so Erik is able to listen to it. In spite of the 2 hour trip to get to church, we really enjoy our time at church getting fed on God's word and fellowshiping with other Christians.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday at Committed Japan
Our Sundays are spent in an area of Tokyo called Sengawa. There we attend church, Committed Japan (click for the website), which is held in a cafe called "Kick Back Cafe" . The church started the cafe as a ministry, but they operate independently with the church renting the space on Sunday mornings. Sunday mornings have around 125 adults in attendance, more than the space can hold, resulting in people standing. Sunday morning service starts at 11:00 am and consists of worship (see the below videos, actually they are more for listening), introductions of first time visitors, individual prayer and pair prayer, announcements and Bible teaching. During the Bible teaching, when the Scripture passage of the message is read, everyone stands and reads it together. The service ends, around 2 pm, with an invitation for anyone to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. After church many people stay around for fellowship and lunch at the cafe. The cafe opens at 5 pm for normal operation. Since Yoko has been attending Committed Japan for the past 8 years, whenever she is in Japan, she knows quite a few people. Erik is getting to know people gradually. There are two other English speaking foreign men, who are married to Japanese women, who attend the church, so Erik is getting to know them. The message is translated into English, so Erik is able to listen to it. In spite of the 2 hour trip to get to church, we really enjoy our time at church getting fed on God's word and fellowshiping with other Christians.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
A One Day Job, A Bike Ride, and Misc
Yoko got a job. Well, a least a one day job. She worked on an assembly line making salads for grocery stores. She got to stand in one place for 8 hours, listen to the supervisor yell instructions for 8 hours, and she has to go to another city to get paid. Not the best way to kick off working. On the bright side, she has two interviews coming up, one is as a website manager, and the other is doing graphic design. Either of these would be great, but we know the Lord has the right job for her.
Yesterday was the first day of fall, so we went to Yoko's grandpa's grave to clean it and leave flowers. This is common practice on this day. We did this primarily for Yoko's grandma since she is not able to get out and do this. After clean the grave site in the morning, we spent the rest of the day with Yoko's dad riding bikes. When we started out our goal was Tokyo Bay, and we made it. In the end, we ended up riding 106 kilometers (around 65 miles), and it was all done on a paved bike path. Here is a link to a map of where we are, and you can see where we road. http://www.worldmapfinder.com/Map_OpenStreetMap.php?ID=/En/Asia/Japan/Chiba You want your map to be at the scale of 5km/2 miles to start, then you can zoom in and follow the bike path (1000 meters/5000 feet) to the end at Tokyo Bay. The bike path is designated by blue dots. If you start just to the left of Narita International Airport, at the number 51, that is where we live. We road from there to Shisui (southwest) where we met Yoko's dad, from Shisui to Inba Lake (northwest) where we picked up the bike path. We really enjoyed the ride but are a bit sore today. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed the time with her dad.
Today we signed Erik up for school. He will begin October 6th and will be attending 5 days a week, 9 am to 12:20 pm. He is looking forward to formal instruction.
Yesterday was the first day of fall, so we went to Yoko's grandpa's grave to clean it and leave flowers. This is common practice on this day. We did this primarily for Yoko's grandma since she is not able to get out and do this. After clean the grave site in the morning, we spent the rest of the day with Yoko's dad riding bikes. When we started out our goal was Tokyo Bay, and we made it. In the end, we ended up riding 106 kilometers (around 65 miles), and it was all done on a paved bike path. Here is a link to a map of where we are, and you can see where we road. http://www.worldmapfinder.com/Map_OpenStreetMap.php?ID=/En/Asia/Japan/Chiba You want your map to be at the scale of 5km/2 miles to start, then you can zoom in and follow the bike path (1000 meters/5000 feet) to the end at Tokyo Bay. The bike path is designated by blue dots. If you start just to the left of Narita International Airport, at the number 51, that is where we live. We road from there to Shisui (southwest) where we met Yoko's dad, from Shisui to Inba Lake (northwest) where we picked up the bike path. We really enjoyed the ride but are a bit sore today. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed the time with her dad.
Today we signed Erik up for school. He will begin October 6th and will be attending 5 days a week, 9 am to 12:20 pm. He is looking forward to formal instruction.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
This week we...
had our first earthquake. It was this (Sunday) morning about 7:30 am and measured around 3 on the Richter Scale. We also had our first typhoon (the 13th of the season) come through Japan. Thankfully it went south of where we live. We have been having moments of sunshine but mostly clouds and rain recently. One thing we can count on is humidity. The other day we were out running and Erik's shins were sweating. No need to use lotion to keep our skin from drying out.
Yoko is doesn't have a job yet; she has resumes at several job agencies. We are waiting for something to open up. Erik had his first private English lesson on Thursday. Today (Sunday) he picked up another private lesson. If he gets enough students, Yoko won't have to worry about working.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Where we live
The "mansion" where we live. Large apartment complexes with apartments that have 2+ bedrooms are called mansions.
We live on the 9th floor. We park our bikes in assigned spots. When you have a lot of bikes, you get creative on how to park them.
A few pictures from our floor. Around us there are other apartments, the train station, and a shopping center with a grocery store in the basement. This is a very convenient locaton.
Check out the video for a tour of where we live.
We live on the 9th floor. We park our bikes in assigned spots. When you have a lot of bikes, you get creative on how to park them.
A few pictures from our floor. Around us there are other apartments, the train station, and a shopping center with a grocery store in the basement. This is a very convenient locaton.
Check out the video for a tour of where we live.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Today is Grandparent's Day
Today is a national holiday, it is Grandparent's' Day. Yoko had dinner with her grandmother tonight. Erik did not go because he taught his first English lesson.
The big event of the day was that Yoko had a job interview. It turned out to be a very different job interview from what we are used to. First of all, there were 2 people being interviewed for the job at the same time. Secondly, Yoko had to do a psyche evaluation. Thirdly, this whole process took 2.5 hours. This job is as a reflexologist, and if she gets hired, she has to go through a month of training with no pay. We will know in a few days if she gets it or not. The are positives and negatives that we are weighing.
The big event of the day was that Yoko had a job interview. It turned out to be a very different job interview from what we are used to. First of all, there were 2 people being interviewed for the job at the same time. Secondly, Yoko had to do a psyche evaluation. Thirdly, this whole process took 2.5 hours. This job is as a reflexologist, and if she gets hired, she has to go through a month of training with no pay. We will know in a few days if she gets it or not. The are positives and negatives that we are weighing.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Sightseeing at Narita Temple
Today (Saturday) we did a little sightseeing. We rode our bikes over to Narita Temple which is about 2.75 miles from where we are living. It is considered one of the top 3 temples in Japan. This video gives you a little look at the grounds, and this is just one part of the expansive grounds.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
One Week Update
Welcome to Erik and Yoko's blog. It is in the very early stages of development, so don't be surprised to see it's appearance change regularly.
We have been here in Japan a little over a week now, and we are getting settled in. The days since our arrival have been busy. We haven't necessarily done a lot of things; it's just that things take longer to do. Since Yoko has not lived in Japan for over 8 years, most things are a learning process for her too. What have we done since we arrived? (These are not in order of occurrence.) We have registered Erik with the city of Narita, set up insurance for both of us, bought bikes, found a Japanese school for Erik to attend, gone to church in Tokyo, visited Yoko's grandma, unpacked, exercised, Yoko's gone to a sauna several times with her mom, got cell phones, explored the area, looked for a job for Yoko, set up a private English lesson for Erik, had lunch with friends, and wandered around several malls looking for things for our room.
Yoko's mom has been great. She has opened her home to us, taken us places, let us use her car, and cooked for us. She is currently not working because she is recovering from a fractured pelvis, so we have had time with her. She will be going back to work the end of this month. Since Erik's Japanese and her English abilities are similar, they have short conversations when Yoko is not around to translate.
We are blessed to be here and so honored that the Lord has given us this opportunity. He has had His hand on so many things that it reassures us that we are to be here.
That is all for right now. Check back regularly, as we will be updating and adding to this blog.
We have been here in Japan a little over a week now, and we are getting settled in. The days since our arrival have been busy. We haven't necessarily done a lot of things; it's just that things take longer to do. Since Yoko has not lived in Japan for over 8 years, most things are a learning process for her too. What have we done since we arrived? (These are not in order of occurrence.) We have registered Erik with the city of Narita, set up insurance for both of us, bought bikes, found a Japanese school for Erik to attend, gone to church in Tokyo, visited Yoko's grandma, unpacked, exercised, Yoko's gone to a sauna several times with her mom, got cell phones, explored the area, looked for a job for Yoko, set up a private English lesson for Erik, had lunch with friends, and wandered around several malls looking for things for our room.
Yoko's mom has been great. She has opened her home to us, taken us places, let us use her car, and cooked for us. She is currently not working because she is recovering from a fractured pelvis, so we have had time with her. She will be going back to work the end of this month. Since Erik's Japanese and her English abilities are similar, they have short conversations when Yoko is not around to translate.
We are blessed to be here and so honored that the Lord has given us this opportunity. He has had His hand on so many things that it reassures us that we are to be here.
That is all for right now. Check back regularly, as we will be updating and adding to this blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)