What to Report?

Since we last updated this blog, we haven't had all that much going on other than the "normal" everyday things: eating, sleeping, studying, reading, praying, cooking, cleaning, shopping, exercising. The biggest thing that has happened didn't even happen to us. A friend of ours from church and who lives is the building behind us, gave birth to her first child Friday. Today we were able to see the beautiful little girl. The clinic (click her for a few pictures) where the birth took place is something else. It reminded us of a resort.
One thing that was supposed to happen was that Andrea Crouch was going to be at our church from the 22nd through the 27th. If you are not familiar with who Andrae Crouch is, he is a major figure in the Gospel music scene. However, much to every one's disappointment, his time here had to be canceled due to him being admitted to the hospital on the 21st with severe pain in his feet. We are all hoping that he can reschedule and still make it in the near future. Andrea has visited our church before and his visit had been eagerly anticipated by everyone at the church.
Here is a video clip from our local park. This duck likes to hang out with people even when there isn't food around.

Sakura in Bloom

We have been having a great Spring so far. The cherry trees or sakura were beautiful and we had a number of opportunities to get out and enjoy them. Last Saturday we spent the day with Yoko's dad, her brother, and his family. We were celebrating Yoko's dad's retirement. We started at Shinjuku Gyoen enjoying the sakura along with half of the people in Tokyo (to see a bigger version of our spring slide show, click here). We ended the evening with a meal of traditional Japanese food, Yoko's dad's favorite.
We also recently took a 23 mile/37 km round trip bike ride to see the Tulip Matsuri. One down side to all of Spring's beauty is that Yoko's allergies are in full swing. She has itchy eyes, uses tissues by the fist full and is very good at sneezing.
Some of you may have heard that Erik has been looking/applying for a teaching job. So far nothing has come about. Since we are returning to Arizona in August, it is hard to find something that is short term. However, he continues to substitute teach for a language school when needed. Erik's Japanese language learning has changed from formal language school to a community program that meets 3 times a week and is free. Also, with Yoko, he is reviewing the book that he studied in language school. This is helping reinforce those things that he learned some time ago.
For Yoko, in addition to putting up with Erik, she continues to teach at a nearby cram school and work on her graphic design/web development.
Sunday we had a wonderful Easter service at church. It was an all day event. We left at 9:00 pm and even at that time it was still going strong. After the "normal" morning service (11:00 -2:00) we had lunch and then there was baptism. This was the first baptism that the church has had since we have been there. In total 58 people were baptised. It was a wonderful time celebrating the new life the comes through a relationship with Jesus because of His Resurrection. After the baptism there was a break for dinner and then from about 7:30 on (we don't know when they finally called it a night) was a time of worship and sharing.

"Grab a Bunch of Food"

The cherry blossoms are officially in full bloom, and people are marking off spots in parks all over Japan to take part in the cherry blossom viewing event called "hanami". We don't know if we will have a hanami this year, but we are enjoying the cherry blossoms.
Both of Yoko's parents retired last week from teaching JR high school after 35+ years of teaching. They both are really looking forward to what they will get to do now. Yoko's dad will be taking gardening classes at a community college, oil painting and working on ballroom dance (his hobbies). Yoko's mom will be helping a friend who is having a baby this month and working on getting her parents house sold.
The last day that Yoko's mom worked, the three of us went out to eat to celebrate. He had the buffet lunch at the California Restaurant at the Radisson Hotel. Now this is a nice hotel and the restaurant uses cloth napkins, the kind of place you wouldn't expect to hear from the waitress "grab a bunch of food". Much to our surprise that is what we heard. The buffet was closing and the waitress said to Erik in English (all three of us were at the table), "The buffet is ending in a few minutes, go ahead and grab a bunch of food." Erik didn't say anything back to her (partly because he was surprised by the choice of words and the fact that she spoke to him only) but looked at her like she had 5 heads. There was a moment of awkward silence then she repeated herself to Yoko and her mom in polite Japanese. Since then, we have enjoyed telling each other to "grab a bunch of food".

We Took a Trip

For the first time since arriving in Japan, we traveled more than 2 hours from where we live. Saturday night we got on a bus in Tokyo and Sunday morning we arrived in Tsuyama. Tsuyama is the city Erik lived in 10 years ago. This was the first time for Yoko to visit this part of Japan, so Erik played tour guide and showed Yoko some of the local sites. This region of Japan is famous for Momotaro aka Peach Boy. Tsuyama in listed as one of the top places to view sakura (cherry blossoms) in Japan. With spring coming early this year, we were hoping to see the sakura in bloom, but we were about a week early. Here is how the sakura looked for us and how they look when in bloom (enlarge these pictures by clicking on them).
Most of our time was spent with friends. We had a great time catching up with them which usually involved a delicious meal. It was a quick trip as we left Tsuyama Tuesday night and arrived back in Tokyo Wednesday morning. We used the night bus for transportation as it is economical and day time is not used for traveling, but it doesn't provide the best night's rest. As a result, we both had to take a nap on Wednesday. We really enjoyed our trip and look forward to the next time we can see Tsuyama and our friends.

Common in Japan

Here are a few images that you might find interesting if you have not been to Japan or are not from Japan.
This picture was taken on the train. The 5 "masked" women were traveling together. This time of year it is very common to see people of all ages wearing masks. The mask wearing say 1 of 3 things: A) "I am sick, so stay away" B) "I don't want to get what other people have" or C) "I am trying to avoid the pollen that is prevalent right now".
While these plants look like cabbages they are not for eating. They are planted in winter as decoration.

Broiled whole fish. Yes, you eat the entire thing. There are a number of fish here where you eat the entire thing. These are about 5 to 6 inches in length. Itadakimasu!!!

Sea World Fun

Last weekend we went to Sea World in Kamogawa (this can be read in English) with Yoko's mom. Is in a great setting as you will see by the map, and has a lot of great things to see. We were able to see the Killer Whale (video below, Sea Lion (video below) and Beluga Whale shows. In addition to the shows, we enjoyed seeing all the marine life that they have on display.


Yesterday, Friday, was Erik's last day at Japanese school, but this is not the end of his studying Japanese. The past 6 months he has learned a lot, but the one thing that was lacking in the class was conversation practice. So we are currently looking for places where Erik can work more on his listening and speaking (good thing we are in Japan : ). This past week, Erik's class took the beginning level Japanese proficiency test. With much relief, Erik can say that he passed the test. Demonstrating his proficiency via a test is not a goal of his, but since everyone else in the class passed, he is sure glad he did too.
We continue to have dinner every Thursday night with Yoko's dad. It has been a real neat time for Yoko as she is really getting to know him again. Since she moved to the U.S. some 9 years ago, her contact with him had been very limited. These regular meetings have enabled her really connect with him on an open and personal level.

Yes, Most of Our Events Involve Food

All is well in here in the Land of the Rising Sun. We are "genki". We had our first real snow of this winter yesterday. It covered the ground, but that was about it.

At our church there is a couple we have become friends with. He is from Germany; she is from Japan. They met in England, and their common language is English. The have an infant daughter who gets cuter every time we see her. Saturday they had us over to their home where we had wonderful fellowship and excellent German food (dinner and breakfast). We spent the night at their home and then went to church with them Sunday. It was the first time we have spent the night away from our apartment since coming here. It was a nice change. (German Dinner: Red Cabbage, Potatoes, Beef with Veggies and Salad -Oishii!)

At church on Sunday we had a special event after the service. A couple that was on the verge of divorce had a recommitment ceremony. About a year ago their marriage was basically over. She hated him because he was not what she had come to want in a man. He came to our pastor for marriage counseling (our pastor is a marriage counselor by profession). During the ceremony, our pastor mentioned how the husband was like "crushed tofu" when he first came to see him, but soon the love of Jesus touched his heart, and he was born again. In the mean time, the wife also came for counseling through the urging of a friend who attends our church. She stated in a session that she had no intention of changing her mind about divorcing her husband no matter what our pastor said to her. Needless to say, she did change her mind, a full 180 degrees. In seeing the change in her husband from his new found life she came to the Lord also. Our pastor said that the husband went from "crushed tofu" to "jelly" to "iron", and the wife now says that he is the best person for her. This change, especially in her life is a testimony to what only the Lord can do. It encouraged us about those we are praying for. It was a wonderful ceremony and celebration about the restoration that is found in our Lord and Savior, Jesus.