In addition to being one of America's wackier holidays, today also marks exactly 6 months since I arrived in Japan! I can't believe my time here is half over. Some days it still feels like I just got here! The past six months have been such a blessing. While my time here has not been without challenges, the Nagoya Youth Center has been such a perfect placement for me. Not only do I love the work that I'm doing and the people I'm working with, but I love being a part of so many different ministries in the Diocese of Chubu. Each day of the week I get to do something different!
Also, somewhat unexpectedly, I LOVE learning Japanese! It's slow going because the grammar is so different from English, but now even I can notice my progress from week to week. My work here has always been fun and important to me, but as I am able to speak more and communicate with the children and the adults who don't speak English, my work has become even more meaningful to me. I knew going into this year that forming relationships and listening to people's stories would be in many ways as just as important as the teaching I'd be doing. I only now feel like I am doing just that- getting to know people in a real and authentic way. Communication has been and will be a big part of that.
 |
| Inuyama |
 |
| Japanese garden in Inuyama |
 |
| It was a cold day to be a monkey |
 |
| Nagoya! |
The next 6 months hold a lot of exciting things for me. Soon after I finish up the second level Japanese class, I will be off to Hong Kong for 4 days to visit Spencer, a friend who is a YASC missionary there this year. Then Rev. David Copley will be coming to Japan to visit the YASC placements in Asia and I'll be meeting up with him for a few days. In June I have a friend visiting and once she leaves it will be time for me to say goodbye to Nagoya and begin the next phase of my journey. On that note, I'm happy to report that all my seminary applications are in! Now I am plugging away at financial aid and scholarship applications. I am anxious to find out what my choices for next year will be and hopefully I'll have some good news to share in the next month or two!
It's been an amazing 6 months so far and I can't wait to see what the next half of this year holds for me!
No comments:
Post a Comment