Friday, April 25, 2014

Hometown Slowdown

Im back in America.  Back to my little hometown of Antelope. 

I just finished spring break only to work a week and im back on vacation!  Well,  its sort of a vacation but strangely enough I don't feel right not being at work.  Things in Japan are hectic in April as it is that time all the contracts renew and the next generation comes into various companies.  Its also right before Golden Week. I got the feeling that taking time off now was considered rude.  But I did it anyway!

One of my best friends since childhood finally decided to tie the knot... which is one of the few things that would ever get me to get up and head home during this time of year. 

There are three things I notice whenever I come home:

-Things move hella slower in Antelope... (no trains, no walking,, just slow traffic in cars coupled with nothing to do.)

-I remember how much I love food here. (In-n-out, mexican food...pizza)
-I have to fight stagnancy off like it was a bear trying to break into my tent.  (spiritual stagnancy and laziness are the biggest problems when you realize you have alot of free time and no productive outlet to use it.)


But with that in mind... i decided to try my best to document all i can from my friends wedding.. maybe learn once again how to use my video editing software just to make a project for fun. V-log in the future.. maybe?


Saturday, April 5, 2014

Walking Hanami Adventure




今日は僕が横浜に引っ越してから最初の花見だった。実は人数が多くて皆はまだお互いのことを知っているわけがなかったので心配していた。本来、一人の友達と遊ぶつもりだったが色んな話があって、あっという間にミックスグループで大きい花見パーテになっちゃった。一時半ごろ、大学の友達、教会の友達、仕事の友達と集合して花見のアドベンチャに出発した。
 


 


 


 

桜木町と黄金町の間の大岡川に沿って花見散歩をした。思った通り、人がいっぱいだった。それなのに、皆で穏やかな態度で遊んだ。

 

 
 

あっという間に2時間が経って野毛山公園に行った。思ったよりいい場所を見つけた。リュックに持っていたTarpをして皆は座る事が出来た。お菓子を食べたり、フリスビーで色んなゲームしたりして楽しかった。
 



 
 

 


夜になってもディナーをたべてコスモーワールドで遊んだ。解散の時はもう九時半ごろだった。うわあ、今日は本当に素晴しい。12人の大きいグループ遊ぶ事が出来た。皆は暖かくていい人だから全然大丈夫だった。色んないい友達に祝福されてラッキー。皆さん、今日はありがとう!




Thursday, April 3, 2014

Vision What?

One big thing I'm asking myself lately is "What is my vision?" What am I here for?

Since being here in this city and in my current job, one thing ive been trying to figure out is what my purpose is.  When I first set foot in this country as a student I was so proud that I wasn't here as a missionary. When I first set foot here as a graduate, I was so proud that I wasn't teaching English. Some people call it Karma, God, life's humor... whatever it was I was humbled. Because today I find myself doing both.

But my "vision" what is that?  Someone said that we find our calling when the Worlds greatest need alignes with our greatest passion.  uhh.. something like that

A month or so ago, my church was doing a live recording in order to test out a new sound system. In order to make sure we knew what we were looking for, we had a sound guy come in from Osaka, Lifehouse.  We were blessed with his staying at our place for the night.

While he was here somehow the conversation got around to what we were doing in Japan and how our calling in life related to our Jobs.  He told me about the schools he works at and teaches English in... and about the dream he had before ever coming to Japan. I don't remember it all, but then it something about his dream or his vision triggered a memory.










Before I ever even set foot in Japan 4 years ago, I had one dream I do remember clearly. Though words cannot describe it, Ill try my best.

Here it is:

It was a bright and sunny morning, not a cloud in the sky. Walking over soft, unpaved ground, I found myself amidst many large tents. Not flimsy camping tents, but the kind of tents that had metal supports and everything was draped in that Red and White stripe pattern. It was just like the morning of any Japanese festival when everyone is setting up to get ready. I had no idea where I was, but i found myself being guided by two small children, one at each hand. I could see bright colors, balloons, and people smiling. In the background I could hear nothing but sounds of laughing, playing and children's songs.

 This is the exact Red n White pattern I saw in my dream before ever setting foot in a Japanese school or festival.


The ground at this school is the same exact ground I walked on. This was before knowing that most school yards or play areas in parks in Japan don't have grass.


I woke up and forgot about that dream up until now.  I never knew it had any meaning until I looked at my current job and all the things ive been learning recently through God's word.  As I said, I was so prideful that I didn't come here as an English teacher and I had no interest in missions. But the very thing im doing now is missions and teaching English.  I had this dream way before I ever went to a Japanese festival, knew what the colors were, spoke Japanese or even realized I liked kids!

So with these pieces to the puzzle I can't clearly say what my calling is or how I will achieve what I want to see, but I can see my vision as its developing.

I work with kids and teach them games in English, but my real purpose isnt to teach them another language.  Im here to see these kids become great adults who will become future leaders.

The thing I desire the most as I see these kids grow is that I want them to grow up in good homes. But the reality is many of them come from broken homes.  Ive developed a sense at being able to spot which kids either don't have a mom or dad to look up to. I can see the things that these kids do for attention, even if its bad attention.

My desire is to see broken families and lives restored. I want to see people healed and children smiling. Much of that will start with the ones in charge of the family.. but  I am asking God to give me a way so I can do something. Although Japanese people are a very polite and amazing people there is a facade most people who dont live here cant see.  There is alot of brokenness here, but at the same time there is a cry for hope. Most people want to be happy and live a fulfilling life. Waking up dragging life, thinking about suicide should not be a normal thing. Looking forward to what each day brings should be.



Gah.. its too late for me to be writing. Oyasumi!










Saturday, March 15, 2014

Growing Up

Time is a funny thing. It moves at different speeds depending on your situation. There are times I find myself in a stagnant sludge just hoping and waiting for some sort of change... hoping to just do something. There are times when things are moving so fast that theres just not enough time for all the fun that needs to be had. Luckily ive found myself experiencing most of this fast stage. But it does have its bittersweet side to it. In the past couple months I felt like ive grown physically and spiritually. Its taken me over a year and a half of hearing about journaling to finally do it.  Ive finally chucked out some bad habits that ive been set free from for almost 4 months now.  Still have much work to do, but my vision for this mission i have in life is slowly coming together.  The picture is still in pieces, but im starting to see those parts come together steadily.  

The past few weeks especially have been fun.  But living in God's plan we can't get too comfortable in one place because he might just move us somewhere we are meant to be for a specific time.  I still wake up amazed at how I live in Japan and share an apartment with some great friends.  Had I been successful in my previous situation I may have never met the friends and family that I have now.

With that said, all seasons most come to an end so new seasons may start.  I'm starting to see how beautiful living this life in God's plan really is.  Ive seen what living a life sold out for God can really do. My good friend Ely is a living example of that. He is currently on the train to Narita Airport. The last couple days with him and the Hama family have been a real blast. Looking back on just his one year here, hes really had an impact on the church and so many lives.  When he just got here a year ago we were doing church in a small funeral hall with 60 people somewhere in Chinatown.. A year later were in a much bigger venue doing 3 services a week and the numbers have tripled.

Words can't describe how blessed ive been to live with these guys striving to give it all to their maker. Ive grown heaps and you are all a part of it.  As I get ready for the rest of this beautiful Sunday, Ill remember all of these thoughts and just be thankful.


Let the next season begin!







Sunday, February 2, 2014

Carbs, more carbs, protein and friends.



Despite having two nights of all-you-can drink parties with co-workers and university friends over the weekend. I can proudly say I had a very productive weekend. Did I study Japanese? No. Did I find my vision for my future career? No. Did I go to the gym before-hand each day and also after church on Sunday? YES.

I have been down that road before. During my internship in Fukuoka I went to a nomikai every week, maybe twice a week. I was also not working out or running.  As a result I got big… not the good beach body big, but the "you look fat around the face" big. Thats what my aunt told me, so I promised to never let myself go like that again.  Its not very uplifting when you see someone you haven't seen in a while and they say "太っているね” which literally means, "you got fat." 

Long story short, that was my motivation to go to the gym and put in the extra effort.  I don't drink much, but when I do….. I go to the gym. (before or after(not at the same time))




That being said, I had a great time at my university reunion on Saturday. I went to Oita University for a year in 2009-2010. I didn't know there were so many people I had met now living out here on the east side.  It was good seeing old friends again. And making new ones.  Some of the people I knew from before I never could really talk to because my Japanese was almost non existent back then.  Now that I could speak, it was like meeting a different person.  I love that experience! I need to get back into intense language study… not just Japanese, but all the other languages I just forgot about halfway through learning them.

Life is good. With some of those new people i met living in Yokohama, I have one goal in mind.  Turn some of them into gym buddies, or Catan players. Yeah.. Catan ministry. Its coming soon.


I haven't seen some of these guys in years! Its good to meet again.





Sunday, January 26, 2014

Climbing over that wall

Today's Sunday was an especially good day.  Big things have been happening in growing God's church in Yokohama.  So big in fact that car trouble couldnt event stop us.


Every Sunday my roommate drives the van to be at whatever location church is that week to get there by the proper set up time. With the senor pastor coming from Tokyo to fill in in the absence of our current one being in Australia the plans for today were big.  But as the key turned in the ignition something didn't quite happen as it should.  The car was completely silent. Our battery had indeed died.  To make a short story much shorter.. after a bit of "omg! what do we do??!" and some phone calls and line messages, 2 more guys with a car from church came to the rescue.  We were ready to just get the families to bring some cars and toss everything essential into the trunks and back seats..  luckily after some heaving pushing and a jump all went well.

For those who don't know how our church operates.. No van= a very acapella and acoustic church.  Not a bad idea and maybe one day well try it. Every week a miracle happens when we load and unload the van.. All the equipment from instruments, sound, media and cafe comes from that van.

But the highlight of my day was the entirety of 2 services and ps. Rod's discipleship meeting.  Well ok, specifically Re-mix was amazing. So much energy and so pumped up that i was moving around with the electric apparently inventing my own movements.. and played hard enough to break the high e-string. My second broken high-e in 3 weeks. T_T  But it was fun.   The teaching.. the messages from both services spoke to me.

Things have been very different for me every since i picked up this quiet time/ journaling practice.  Somehow I managed to stay a christian for years without it.  But because I never did it I would get stagnant, leave church, start believing im the gatekeeper to my own destiny.. only to have that backfire and find myself back in church.

Today's topic was "Vision Sunday"  Ive come alot closer to seeing what my vision is in the scheme of God's church on earth.  I have an idea of the broad vision and its starting to trickle down into specifics.  But I can't have change in the spiritual without it trickling into all the other areas of my life... but more on that another day.

During Ps.Rod's huddle I learned about Big Ministry and Small Ministry.  Both are Ministry but they are a little different from each other. Jesus in his lifetime seemed to always be doing one or the other. As I had been imagining in my mind, my idea about this church was right.

Big Ministry is for everyone.. A message for the Christians and the non-Christians. Like in Luke 6:17, Jesus goes down to a level place, people from all over come.. Jews and non-Jews... from Judea, from Jerusalem.. and then from Tyre and Sidon which were not necessarily Jews. Big Ministry is like our church service. Its a welcoming message for everyone.. Church is always for everyone. Alot of people come to church for the reason that they want God to do something in their lives.. and thats ok. This is a place where they come to hear about Jesus.

Small Ministry on the other hand is like small groups or coaching.  Now this is for people who want to grow. There comes a point when you can only receive and receive so much that you hit a wall. You get to a point where you want more, you start wanting more of what God has for you.. that is the time you go to small ministry, your place where you get coaching.  Unlike big ministry which is always for everyone all the time, coaching is for when you want to grow. Its where the hard questions and challenges will come. Like in Luke 6:20, when Jesus wasn't talking to the big crowds and healing tons of people, he was in a huddle with his disciples.  "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."  When we come to small ministry and submit to our teachers, when we submit to God, we admit that we are in need, and thats when God helps us find the gap in the wall to fill. Thats when he helps us overcome other walls that put limits on us. Small ministry is where we learn to stop being spoonfed by our pastors and we learn, with guidance, how to feed ourselves.  A huge part of that is Journaling daily. Asking God to teach you daily. Asking God to reveal you things that need to be seen. Giving God permission to change you and to change your life.


If I lived today a year ago, I may or may not have been asleep in the pews.  In my university days I went to church but I was never involved past attending, nor was in a small group, team or doing any sort of journaling.  I think its a miracle I never walked away considering the childish attitude I had back then. No wonder I was asleep all the time.   But today, I was alert. Every word spoken by someone, God's presence was there nodding, telling me its time to throw the limits off. My biggest prayer for the start of this year is for the limits to come down and that God would change me to be the man I was meant to. To be someone who no longer needs to be spoon-fed, but someone that can do something in the Kingdom.


Saturday, January 4, 2014

Trusting That Which Is Insane.

2013 came to a nice finish this year in a far different way I would have expected maybe a year or two earlier.  Instead of going to a club or bar for all the fun shenanigans like I used to, I spent it with my Hama-Family. Reserving almost an entire pasta restaurant for all you can eat carbs in a family style setting over good conversation is quite different from the loud deafening noise we try to hear the strangers we find ourselves talking to in maybe slightly more lively, colorful, intoxicating places.  After our dinner we rushed out to see the fireworks only to be a bit too late. We ended up getting a not so spectacular view from afar.  But having already seen them last year, i wasnt so disappointed.  Going to starbucks with 20something people and chillin till 4 wasn't all that bad... a very sober yet not at all depressing new years.

It might not have been as crazy as I hoped... but the snowboarding trip I was about to take the next day was everything I could not have imagined asking for as a great start to the new year.  Leaving Monday night on a bus to Nagano with 10 other friends to arrive at an amazing ski resort for two full days of powder in my face, soar muscles, and feeling like a champ was only possible with the great friends I have. Lodge, Dinner, Breakfast, 2 days lift ticket and ski equipment included was one of the best uses of 16,000 yen I have ever made. 





It wasn't just about the vacation, the magical feeling of going on an adventure with friends, or doing something Ive never done before.. but it was a real faith builder for me. Falling and falling, over and over, each time getting up while looking down the steep slopes probably past my ability was like a leap of faith.  Whoa, am I glad I watched youtube videos on how to fall properly and turn my board correctly.







The pain of the first day was intense.. the next morning I could barely even use my legs. Yet as I got used to it, my body began to get used to the control of the board. I started learning to stop without falling nearly as much. I still fell and got powder in my face, up my jacket and looked like a complete noob so many times, but it was worth it.  It was just me, the board and God out there at times. Im also glad my group pushed me to keep doing more and more. It was awesome and I can't wait to do it again.




With this trip I learned how fulfilling it is to do something new with good friends.  Starting the new year strong and finishing my 28th year on this earth well was a prayer answered. I truly wish my friends I grew up with could experience what I am experiencing now. 

Im so thankful to God for letting me live the life I have. I might not be rich, but I feel wealthy because of who I have in my life. My birthday last year was amazing. My birthday, completely unplanned this year.. can't be described in words about how thankful I am.  Maybe I didn't hit up a club or get drunk this time, but I had friends who spent the day with me.  Roommates and other good friends came over, shared a meal... played Catan.  During my days of trying to live it up .. maybe I was happy sometimes.. but there were definitely some empty moments when I realized I was trying to be someone else, alone in a room full of people in a club or whatnot. But at home.. we might be playing boardgames or watching youtube vids at home.. but theres something in our hearts that make us feel whole.. so full that we are overflowing.  Thats what I want.. thats what I want other people to experience.. thats what I want the next generation and my children to have too.. God willing.

Thank you all for an amazing birthday!




Homemade smores!



Scary Yuri






Mario Kart 64 fun.