“This, then, is how you should pray:" -Matthew 6:9

I've been taking Japanese classes for the past 5 months now and in addition to my homework I've been trying to study more on my own.  I've begun memorizing simple Kanji and and am now trying to memorize parts of the Sunday service.  While I can read the text for the service, I can't read fast enough yet to read out loud with everyone.  My current project is the Lord's Prayer in Japanese.  Hopefully I'll know it by this Sunday!

Here is the Lord's Prayer in Hiragana:
てんにおられるわたしたちのちちよ、
みながせいとされますように。
みくにがきますように。
みこころがてんにおこなわれるとおりちにもおこなわれますように。
わたしたちのひごとのかてをきようもおあたえください。
わたしたちのつみをおゆるしください。　わたしたちもひとをゆるします。
わたしたちをゆうわくにおちいらせず、
あくからおすくいください。

くにとちから　とえいこうは　えいえんにあなたのものです。　アーメン。

Happy Groundhog Day!!

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!

Snow Day!

With all the snow that Boston is getting now, I thought I'd post some pictures of my own snow day in Nagoya!  We got a little less than 5 inches...but it was PERFECT snow man snow!  By noon the next day it had all melted, but I did get some good pictures during Mitsuba.  The kids were at first afraid of the snow but after a while they started to enjoy themselves!



View from my room




View from my building












View from the Nagoya Daigaku Library





 


Road at Nagoya University (Daigaku)



No one wanted to go in the fort!




This snowman was me because it had a big nose.



Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Yesterday while I was walking to work I saw a snow flake and thought I was seeing things because it was too warm to snow.  However it started flurrying right as I turned into the driveway of the church!  I love snow and it was so magical to be able to watch it with all the kids from the door to St. Luke's.  I didn't think I'd see snow this year. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a picture because it had stopped by the time we went out for P.E.


"It's a marshmallow world in the winter,
When the snow comes to cover the ground,
It's the time for play, it's a whipped cream day,
I wait for it all year round.


Those are marshmallow clouds being friendly,
In the arms of the evergreen trees,
And the sun is red like a pumpkin head,
It's shining so your nose won't freeze.


The world is your snowball, see how it grows,
That's how it goes, whenever it snows,
The world is your snowball just for a song,
Get out and roll it along.

It's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts,
Take a walk with your favourite girl,
It's a sugar date, what if spring is late,
In winter, it's a marshmallow world."

"former things have passed away" Revelation 21:4 WELCOME 2011!!



Happy New Year!



Last week after Christmas was over, I packed a bag and boarded a Shinkansen train for Tokyo to celebrate New Years! I met up with Andy, Steven and Spencer, fellow YASCers who are also serving the church in this part of Asia. Steven's friend Sophia also joined us for the weekend. It was so wonderful to be there with them. We talked for hours about our experiences, joys and challenges. We went sightseeing and saw much of the amazing city of Tokyo. We celebrated midnight on New Years Day with a few thousands of our closest friends in Shibuya square. We waited in line for 51 minutes to visit a Shinto shrine for the New Year. We cooked together and ate nabe together. We met interesting backpackers in our hostel and (almost) beat them at card games. We planned (boy did we plan!) exciting adventures around Tokyo. Most importantly, we relaxed and mentally prepared for the next part of our years of service. New Years, while not chronologically half way, has always in my mind been the turning point of my year. I have now been here 5 months and soon my time in Nagoya will be half over. I am so blessed to have had this time to celebrate with my friends all we've accomplished so far and look forward to the months ahead!



Enjoy these pictures of Tokyo!  And yes, I am aware that the time stamp is wrong on my camera.  I've fixed the problem but these pictures are past repair.

Happy New Year!!

I took the 10:10 Nozomi 6 train



The Imperial Palace Garden and Moat

Harajyuku



Window Shopping in Shinjuku!



Just before midnight in Shibuya Square



New Years Day at Meji Shrine




YASCers at Meji Shrine



at Tokyo Station

Pretty lanterns at Senso-ji Temple

Crowded market place

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" Luke 2:14

Merry Christmas from Nagoya!

I had a wonderful Christmas this year.  Before I left for Japan I had no idea what to expect during the upcoming holiday season.  Here are some of my observations from Christmas in Nagoya.

-In Japan less than 1% of the population is Christian.  However, Christmas decorations, presents, trees, lights, advertisements, and holiday sales are visible everywhere you turn in Japan.  It's not as over the top as in America, but Christmas is a very popular commercial holiday in Japan.
-Christmas is not a big family holiday like it is in America.  People don't get time of from work on Christmas so from what I've observed, Christians often celebrate Christmas with their churches.  We had two Christmas services and parties all night on Christmas Eve and went caroling on Christmas Day night.  I've heard that Christmas is a big "date-night" in Japan and that New Years Eve and Day is the holiday where families come together and celebrate.
-We really did have fried chicken and cake on Christmas Eve!

I loved the Christmas Eve celebrations at St. Stephan's on the 24th and I really enjoyed having a quiet Christmas morning to relax and skype with my family.  My favorite part of the holiday, however, was Christmas Caroling on the night of the 25th.  The priest at St. Stephan's is also the chaplain at the local prison so there are about 6-10 members of our parish who were baptized while serving life sentences or while on death row.  On Christmas day at 9pm we went Christmas caroling outside around the prison.  We would yell "Merry Christmas!" up at the windows after every song in hopes that everyone inside would hear us.  It was a unique way to spend my Christmas night.  Prison ministry has always been something I've thought about and in the spring I think I'll be able to go visit the members of St. Stephan's who are in prison. 

St. Stephan's Church

I hope and pray that my friends and family in America and around the world had great holidays.  I missed everyone last week but I felt so supported by the cards, gifts and emails that I received.  Thank you all so much!

"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!: -2 Corinthians 9.15

I was reading about Nagoya this morning and I found this wonderful description of the early history of this city.  It's from a booklet called Welcome to CBD COP10, 2010 that was created by the city of Nagoya and the organizers of the COP 10 conference. 

"The name of "Aichi" derives from "Ayuchigata" in Man'yoshu (Anthology of Myriad Leaves), which was compiled in the 8th century.  "Cranes flying toward Sakurada crying and spring-fed tide lands at low tide, cranes flying, crying".  "Ayuchigata" is thought to be a cover near present day Atsuta-ward, Nagoya City.  "Ayu" means "spring" and "spring wind", which allows for such interpretations as a land with rich springs and a land for which wind brings happiness from the sea.  It also reminds us that this area was a rich natural environment."

"The Kasanagi-no-mitsurugi Sword was considered to be held by Yamato-takeru-nomikoto, who appears in Japanese mythology.  In the 16th century, Oda Nobunaga of Owari appeared from among many warring lords who defended their own territories throughout Japan with the aim of unifying Japan.  Toyotomi Hideyoshi succeeded Nobunaga and Tokygawa Ieyasu of Mikawa finally unified Japan and opened up Edo Bakufu.  These three warriors are called the "Three Heroes" and are deeply intertwined with Aichi."

"Along with the activities of the "Three Heroes", many vassal warriors from Aichi began to govern every corner of Japan.  This is why Aichi is called the "hometown of warriors".  In the Edo Period, Owari was governed by the Owari Tokugawa Clan as an important area connecting Edo and Kyo.  Nagoya Castle was built by large scale construction works, mobilizing lords from all over Japan which was called "Tenka Fushin"(Whole Country Construction).  Many craftsmen gathered around Nagoya for the construction of large-scale projects.  Thus, an industry and manufacturing culture flourished and a castle town was build in this way."

Thanks for letting me give you all a history lesson!  More about Christmas in Nagoya during my next post!

Peace,
Christen