Day Nineteen

May 19th

Today is Ben's graduation - the main reason we came to Singapore. I started off the day taking Abel to his soccer practice and game. Ben and Han Jing were not able to take him, so I volunteered to take him, by taxi, to his school for his practice and game. Miriam came along with me. We weren't sure quite what to expect since it wasn't clear if this was a practice or a game, but it sounded like it would be both...which it was. Abel attends the International Community School which is truly international, but also Christian. We were told that many missionary children attend this school.

I was given the task of taking videos of Abel since Ben and Han Jing couldn't be there. While I took videos of Abel's every move, Miriam struck up conversations with parents, grandparents and visitors that were there. There was one Chinese man named Frank which she spent quite a bit of time talking with. I could tell that something special was happening here so I prayed that God would direct the conversation. She talked with Frank long after practice. Frank was at the soccer practice/game to talk to Ben, but since Ben wasn't there (a God-thing, I believe) Miriam was able to meet him and talk with him.

The multi-cultural aspect of Singapore came through in Abel's teammates on the soccer field. His main coach (a volunteer) is from India, married to someone from Singapore. The coach took the players through various drills, and then, finally, they had a scrimmage in a small section of the soccer field. Unfortunately for Abel, he got kicked in the eye by the ball and sat out the last half of the scrimmage. He was not a happy boy after the scrimmage after not being hit in the eye and not being able to score a goal. I tried to encourage him as best I could. We walked a couple of blocks from the school to catch a taxi back to Ben and Han Jing's where we got ready for Ben's graduation.

We drove to Ben's graduation in a van owned by a sweet, godly couple named "L.T." and Ellen. They have been so kind to Ben and Han Jing while they have been in Singapore. Graduation was held in a large university with a huge auditorium. I was taken back at first by how many people were there. I would guess several thousand people were there to witness the 121 graduates of Singapore Bible College. This is the 54th graduating class for the college. God has blessed this institution which has strong Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) ties.

The graduation was done in both English and Chinese. How thrilling to hear the auditorium filled with songs like "Onward Christian Soldiers" "Faith is the Victory" and "Be Thou My Vision." I felt like this was a foretaste in heaven. And even though I couldn't understand the Chinese, there was a close oneness in spirit as we sang praises to our God.

After the two-hour graduation ceremony, there was a reception in the main lobby area which was wall-to-wall people. Somehow, we found ourselves herded into a special roped-off VIP area where the dignitaries, speakers, and leaders of the college were sitting and eating refreshments. Soon we were sitting at the table with the chairman of the board and the speaker for the graduation ceremony! Wow! We found the chairman of the board to be a very gracious man who was at one time an international student in California and was influenced by fellow workers of ours with International Students, Inc. (ISI). What a small world!

Leaving the graduation ceremony, we went back to Ben and Han Jing's apartment to relax a bit before a gathering of friends in the clubhouse area of the apartment complex in the evening. What a great time we had at this gathering. At this gathering were a lot of Ben's friends from his time in Singapore. Many are involved in work with MSI Professional Services in China which endeavors to share Christ in China through various means. It is a wonderful organization which I am finding more about while here in Singapore. I spoke with the president of the organization at Ben's graduation who came from Hong Kong just to see Ben graduate. He sat with us during the ceremony. What a humble, gracious, sincere man. I can see why he and Ben have developed a good relationship.

What a great time of fellowship and meeting so many great people at this gathering in the "clubhouse" of Ben and Han Jing's apartment. God's faithfulness was evident in Ben's life in bringing people like this into both he and Han Jing's life while here in Singapore. I believe mom's presence was a great testimony and encouragement to many there at the gathering. Ben gave testimony to the seed that both mom and dad planted in Ben's life 27 years ago. Many were fascinated with mom's book on China and enjoyed seeing pictures of Ben when mom and dad first knew him.

What a privilege is is to me to witness and rejoice in what God has done in Ben's life and to see some fruit from mom and dad's work in the one year they were in China. It was less than a year, but the impact of their time there has had a lifetime change. Ben is an example of that.
Praise God!

Day Eighteen

May 18th

Today we got a tour of Singapore. Moses volunteered to drive us around Singapore. We headed south initially to the south part of the island. From there we went to China Town. There we took a little tour in a building that took us back to what life was like for the Chinese who immigrated here to Singapore a hundred years ago or so. I noticed lots of tourists in China Town and vendors who would try to lure us into their shops to buy things from them. I had a good excuse since I don't have any Singapore money.

After China Town we headed to the Esplanades-Theatres on the Bay. This is a huge performing arts center along the Singapore River. They are expanding the center to also have a floating stage in the river. From the Esplanades we saw a statue of a tiger statue (the tiger is a symbol here in Singapore) across the river.

While driving around Singapore I was again struck by the multi-cultural nature of the country. I noticed the British influence here. Singapore got independence from Britain in 1957 and joined with Malasia, but then formed their own country in 1962. I also noticed the interesting trees throughout the city. One tree is known as the "rain" tree. Another one I saw today we called a "banyan" tree in India. I'm not sure what they call it here, but it has roots that stretch to the ground from its branches.

Leaving the Esplanades, we headed to the north part of the island. Here we would get a view of Malaysia. We decided to have lunch here in a converted British officers building. It was quite nice. Hey, I even got to eat squid again! And it was so good, I had a couple of them. This time it wasn't raw, though, as it was in Japan. I definitely enjoyed the cooked squid better!

We had a great time at lunch with mom and Ben sharing about their experiences in China when they first met as teacher and student. I learned a lot more about how the short one year in China for mom and dad changed so many peoples lives forever.

We got back to Ben and Han Jing's in the afternoon and just relaxed until supper which both Ben and Han Jing prepared for us. Earlier in the afternoon we sampled some fruit that is only grown in this area. One fruit looks like a prickly fish on the outside, but tastes like what we used to call "leechies" in India. The other fruit is a bright purple fruit that tastes like the kiwi fruit. This fruit comes in either white color or this bright purple color. Han Jing told us to not get it on our clothes, because you can't get the color out of your clothes. I noticed I had a hard time getting my hands clean of purple stains after finishing eating the fruit. Another new and interesting experience today.

After supper Ben and Han Jing along with their youngest son Aaron took me on a walk to the Singapore Bible College. It is very close to their apartment. It was another warm evening and I was sweating by the time I got to the college. Right away I met the principal of the college. I found out he is a graduate of Talbot Seminary and his wife from Biola where Carol and I graduated from. He also was influenced by the pastor of the Chinese Baptist Church in Los Angeles which is the church my folks know people from. What a small world.

After touring the college, we relaxed in the apartment and slept some knowing that we would be picking up my sister Miriam at 1:00 am. Ben and I went to pick her up. We walked awhile before finding a bus which took us to the downtown business section. We waited there for quite awhile for another bus to take us to the airport, but apparently we missed the last bus of the night so we took a taxi to the airport instead.

It was so good to see Miriam. She's such a spark plug and encourager. She's had a long day, though with another long day ahead of us what with Ben's graduation and everything. He will be at a prayer meeting at the college at 7:30 am. I'll be taking their son Abel to his soccer practice at 8:30 since Han Jing will need to stay home with their youngest son Aaron who is still not feeling too well. Abel and I will take a taxi to and from soccer practice.

I'm looking forward to what God has in store for tomorrow. Before heading to bed, I prayed for Ben and Han Jing and the day tomorrow. After graduation at 3:00 pm they will have about 50 people over to their apartment to meet in a conference room here. It should be a great day of celebration of God's faithfulness in their lives.

Day Seventeen

May 17th

Since we went to bed so late (3:00 or so in the morning), we slept in till 8:30 or so this morning. After some breakfast, Ben and his wife Han Jing and I left the apartment for some errands while mom stayed back to check on her emails. Ben and Han Jing do not have a vehicle, so rely on walking, bus or taxi to get around. But it really is quite easy to get around in this 647 square kilometers island city/country of Singapore. That translates into around 400 square miles for us Americans. I also found out that the population of Singapore is around 4 million people.

Han Jing joined us since their youngest son Aaron was feeling ill at his day care. After finding a taxi, we dropped her off at the school where she would walk home from. Ben and I were on a mission to do some shopping. Imagine! Here we are two men doing some grocery shopping. It looked like it was a pretty common practice from all the men I saw on our outing.

We stopped off at "Little India" first. Wow! I felt like I was back in India here. It was great! It smelled like India, looked like India, etc. but was definitely a lot cleaner than India. We stopped off at the butcher first where Ben picked out some meat. Ben informed me that he used to go to the super market for meat, until he found out that they were always cheating him there.

After passing by an Indian shop with Indian sweets like jalebies and gulab jamins (yummm!) we found ourselves in the midst of all kinds of produce, meats (some live meat like fish, frogs, shrimp and who knows what all else) and other kinds of grocery products. I tried to push the little cart and keep up with Ben as fast as I could, but I enjoyed it. We got in and out of there in very little time. I wondered how we would get all these groceries home, but that was answered when Ben hailed down a cab and we loaded all the groceries in the trunk of the cab. Then I wondered what we would do with the grocery cart, and just like that, there was a man from the grocery store to take the cart back to the store. One thing I forgot to mention is that to use a cart you must put a coin in the cart to release the cart and use it.

When we got home, I met Aaron for the first time. I played "Connect Four" with him. He's only 3 years old, but very smart and can carry on a good conversation (in English) with you. He had quite a fever, so Han Jing called Ben who had gone out to have lunch with a friend. They took him to the hospital where they got some medication to get the fever down. I still don't know what's wrong with him, but before they left for the hospital I prayed over him that God would heal him and bring his fever down. When they got back, he looked like a new boy.

Did I mention that it's rather warm here? It's quite humid and "sticky." The air conditioning is turned on in both my bedroom and mom's bedroom, but the other part of the house is just left open. The front door is open all the time and the windows opened wide all the time as well. We got somewhat of a reprieve from the hot weather this afternoon when a rainstorm (complete with thunder and lightning) rolled through here. That was a relief, but it is still quite humid and warm.

Ben's friend Moses, who also is a student at Singapore Bible College, took Ben and Han Jing and Aaron to the hospital. Moses' wife is a medical doctor specializing in elder care. He and his wife are from Malaysia originally. Moses is part of a church with around 3,000 members. He will be doing an internship there this summer. They are involved in the service for Chinese speaking people that has an attendance of around 170 people. The name of his church is Covenant Evangelical Free Church. They are trying to encourage other churches to join them in becoming an Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC). Both Ben and Moses told me that while there are some mega churches in Singapore, there is little true kingdom growth here. Much of the growth comes from people changing churches or immigrating here.

Ben showed Moses mom's book on China since there are pictures in there of how Ben looked 27 years ago. When Moses saw pictures of dad he thought he looked like Billy Graham. Then in another picture he said he looked like Chuck Swindoll. A little bit later we were looking at some pictures of my family and I asked him who he thought I looked like. "You look like Pastor Rick Warren," was his answer. I'm not sure why he thought that unless it's because Rick Warren, like me, is also sporting a goatee these days. I'm just glad to be me!

For supper, Ben, his oldest son Abel (7 years old) and mom and I went to "Holland Town." I was expecting some sort of European theme, but what I found was a shopping center and a restaurant/cafe lined street. We decided on Indian food, although we were the only customers to start with. I gathered that more customers come later in the evening. Anyway, the food was good, but we sure didn't feel very welcomed by the staff serving us. Abel had not had Indian food before and let us know what foods he didn't particularly care for.

We spent the evening relaxing. I listened to Abel practice his piano. He's using the same Thompson series I used to learn the piano, but his book is in Chinese. I also listened to Abel read to me from a book. He is a very good reader and loves to laugh and have a good time.

I heard more of Han Jing's testimony later in the evening. It was good to hear more of her story and encourage her as she faces an uncertain future. Ben and Han Jing are leaving Singapore after Ben's graduation to go back to Chengdu, China where they are from and used to live. They are not sure what they will be doing, but are trusting the Lord that He will guide them. And I believe He will.

Day Sixteen

May 16th

Today's the day we have to leave Japan. It's hard to believe our time in Japan is coming to a close. Such happy memories we've shared and new experiences we've enjoyed these past two weeks. But now a new chapter opens up as we think about the trip to Singapore.

Miko and Madoka took us to the Narita Airport. Narita is the main airport in Japan, about an hour or so outside of Tokyo. Before we went to the airport, we took a brief tour of Yokohama and the Yokohama Bay. I like Yokohama! We stopped off at a rose garden where we also had a view overlooking Yokohama Bay. After that we stopped to grab some sandwiches which we would eat in the car on the way to the airport.

When we got to the airport, I did some more shopping for souvenirs and gifts for those back home. I found some good things which I'm anxious to share with those I love. All too soon we had to say good bye to Miko and Madoka. This was hard, but I hope to be back in Japan someday soon with Carol.

Before boarding the plane mom and I relaxed in the Northwest Airlines lounge which was nice. I noticed some Americans (loud and obnoxious ones, it seemed to me). They were speaking quite loudly about the Yankees. I thought to myself, "Wow, what a difference in these loud Americans compared to the quietness and grace shown by most Japanese."

Mom and I were the first ones on the plane (again!) It was nice to get settled in before the plane filled in. The plane ride went well and seemed to go pretty fast for me. Before too long we were landing in Singapore at 1:15 am, but I wasn't tired at all. It was good to see Ben's smiling face when we got past immigration and customs.

We took a taxi to Ben's apartment. I notice that there are lots of taxis here. And this was early in the morning. We actually gained an hour coming to Singapore since they are an hour behind Japan in their time zone. I also noticed right away how hot and humid it is here. It's like stepping immediately into a sauna. Ben's wife Han Jing met us at the door of their apartment. We got settled in and starting talking. Their two boys Abel (7 years old) and Aaron (3 years old) were already asleep, so we'll have to wait to see them tomorrow. Han Jing shared how she first met Ben and how she became a Christian. It's a fascinating story which I don't have time to talk about, but God showed her specifically through a specific sign which she prayed for, that Ben was the man she should marry.

Ben and Han Jing shared some snacks with us (eating again, right?) and I had the most delicious mango I've had in years! It was SO good! Mangoes are my favorite fruit, so this was such a treat for me. Before we knew it, it was already 3:00 o'clock! We headed for bed, but I wasn't tired. I was so excited to be here and to experience more of God's blessings in the days ahead.

Day Fifteen

May 15th

Today was a very restful day as we prepared to leave Japan tomorrow. After a late breakfast Madoka and Miko took mom and me on a shopping spree to look for some gifts for family back in the States. We were successful on some accounts as I was able to find some "yukatas" (the Japanese word for a kind of house coat) for Anna and Wyatt.

For lunch we ate at an Indian restaurant called "Moti." Moti means "pearl" in Hindi. Wow, they served some big "naan." Non is a word used to describe a type of bread in Hindi. Actually, I remember it more as "naan roti." "Roti" is the Hindi word for bread. It was good to have some Indian food again. But I was so full! Madoka took all of her naan and most all of her chicken curry home in a take out bag.

When leaving the shopping center, I just had to stop to take a picture of a Tully's Coffee shop. Across the street from that was a shopping area with Baskin Robbins, Starbucks, Sports Authority, and Toys-R-Us in it. That was weird to see that!

When we got back to the Horikawas we just rested and relaxed. It seems like we are more tired on days that we don't have anything planned. Maybe we are running so much on adrenaline that we don't realize it until we don't have a lot to do in a day. Anyway, it was a restful afternoon. I napped and listened to music.

For supper we ate at a bakery restaurant. They had really good bread. I ordered just the salad bar and bread, but I was so full by the time we were done. The waiters and waitresses kept coming around with piping hot bread fresh out of the oven. How can you resist that?

When we got back to the Horikawas we had fun playing with Madoka's dog Maple. Poor Maple had a trying day. She was at the Horikawas when we were shopping. By the time Ken got home from his kidney dialysis, Maple was crying at the top of the stairs. Apparently she can go up the stairs, but can't come down, so she was stuck upstairs the whole time we were shopping.

Day Fourteen

May 14th

This morning we left Tetsuya & Hiroko's in the Gunma Prefecture (a Prefecture is kind of like a county) to head back to the Tokyo area. But before we left in the morning we were treated to a wonderful breakfast, a harpsichord performance by Hiroko, and the beauty of their home inside and out. We also enjoyed some time in the Word as we read from Our Daily Bread. We were challenged by Christ's words in Matthew 23:1-12 to make sure that we are people of inner substance and not just outward appearance. We were also challenged to have an attitude of humility and to serve others as Christ did.

We took the Shinkansen ("bullet train") into Tokyo. Hiroko joined us since she wanted to meet Keiko along with us. Both Hiroko and mom knew Keiko from the same church in Shizuoka. Keiko is a dear lady in her mid-80's and is very active and rides her bicycle yet. In fact, she was recently bitten on her leg by a dog, but that didn't deter her from continuing to ride her bike.

From the bullet train we took a "local" train to Shinjuku Shinjuku is an area of Tokyo that is the busiest section of Tokyo. The train station there is the busiest in Japan, and probably the world. From the Shinjuku station we walked a few blocks to the Keio (pronounced "kayo") Plaza Hotel where we met up with Ken & Miko as well as Jordan Nogaki. Before we would enjoy a huge lunch buffet, we checked our bags at the "Cloak Room." I was relieved to unload my heavy computer bag along with the two other small bags we had taken with us this weekend.

What a great time we had at lunch, just enjoying the great food and fellowship with each other. But soon we had to say goodbye to Hiroko, Keiko, and Jordan. Since Jordan is heading back to Seattle for his brother Dan's wedding later this month, mom sent a small bag of things with him so she wouldn't have as much stuff to take to Singapore and China.

Next we spent some time shopping at the Keio Department Store. I was glad to find some gifts for family and friends back home. Following the shopping we went to the 8th floor of the store for some coffee, tea and dessert (eating again!). Here we met Lan and her mother Fumiko Mochizuki. The Mochizuki's were mom and dad's landlords in Shizuoka. Mr. Mochizuki is the great hunter. Lan is in her last year at the International Christian University here in Japan. She is an accomplished musician like her mom, but she plays the violin rather than the piano like her mom.

After saying goodbye to Lan and Fumiko, we headed "home" to Ken & Miko's. On the way home, I took some pictures of some things that have caught my eye about life here in Japan which I haven't mentioned. One of those things are these hotels they call "love hotels" here in Japan. They are hotels where couples can rent rooms by the hour or day to spend some time together. I think you can tell what might go on in these rooms. These hotels have unusual signs and names. Names like "Hotel Sweet" or "Hotel Seeds" or "Hotel Liberty" are common names for these hotels. One hotel had a replica of the Statue of Liberty on it.

Another picture I got was of a mechanical machine that looks like a guard, directing traffic or warning motorists of construction. It's quite an unusual thing. Another unusual thing I noticed is what looks like sound barriers on the tollways (they aren't "freeways"). These sound barrier things are curved inward toward the tollway. I'm assuming that is to act like a sound barrier, but I'm not sure why they are shaped like that.

After finally getting home, we took it easy and enjoyed a nice light supper. After supper we dug out a classic movie "Joan of Arc" starring Ingrid Bergman, made in 1948.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is our last full day in Japan. The days have been very full. We've packed a lot into our days here, but it has been such a rewarding experience for me. The people here have been so kind, hospitable, and incredibly generous to us. It will be sad to say goodbye to Japan!

Day Thirteen

May 13th

Today is Mother's Day. I'm missing Carol and the kids today. They are all together in Washington for Mother's Day and our youngest grandson, Ace, will be dedicated today. Well, at least I can spend Mother's Day with my mom, right?

Before going to church at 10:30 am, Seiya dropped me off at Jin's soft tennis match at 9:00 am. It was quite an educational experience watching this match. In traditional Japanese tradition, the two teams bowed before the match. The teams also spent time going to the opposing coach and hearing some instruction and encouragement. I sat at center court, visiting with Jin's coach. Remember him? He's the guy who thought I was a scout checking him out yesterday. He must have got word that I wasn't a scout after all. He asked me where I was from. I told him the United States and Idaho. Immediately he said, "Oh, Idaho...BIG potatoes in Idaho!" It seems everywhere I go here, people associate Idaho with potatoes.

Back to the soft tennis match... All matches are doubles in soft tennis. The scoring is the same except they only play one set, first team to win four games wins the set. After each set, each doubles team goes to each coach and listens to some instruction and encouragement. After one of these times, Jin's coach made the comment that this was probably quite different from America where competition is so emphasized. I agreed and told him I really liked the Japanese style in this regard.

Soon, way too soon it seemed to me, Seiya was back to pick me up to take us back to his home so we could go to church. Jin and Kan would not be at church since they both had sporting events to go to. Kan had a rugby match, even though he wouldn't be able to play, and Jin would still be playing soft tennis. Schools here in Japan think nothing of scheduling events on the weekend. When I told Seiya and Yoriko that this would never happen in America, they were pleasantly surprised to hear this.

The church service was more of a traditional service than last week. Everything was in Japanese. They had a little organ on one side of the platform and a piano on the other side. Around 50 people (actually on the large side for a Japanese church) squeezed into the sanctuary. The building is a two story building with the 2nd floor being a residence for the pastor. This church is now being served by an interim pastor from Germany. He and his wife are with the Liebenzell Mission, which founded this church around 20 years ago. This church is part of a larger association of about 200 churches in Japan called the Japanese Association of Evangelical Churches. The pastor and family will be leaving next month for a year of furlough back in Germany.

This Sunday no mention was made at all of Mother's Day. A woman doctor shared her testimony and how she is planning to be a missionary in Bangladesh. After singing a few hymns, the missionary pastor preached a message in Japanese. He speaks perfect Japanese, Seiya tells me, since he has been here for close to 16 years now.

After the message, various announcements were shared and the tables were set up for lunch in honor of the missionary doctor and also mom and I. The microphone was passed around to everyone who shared their thoughts about the morning.

Following lunch, we headed back to the Kagatanis where we would be picked up by Tetsuya Watanabe who would take us to his home where we would spend the night with he and his wife Hiroko. Tetsuya and Hiroko were also in mom and dad's church in Shizuoka. Hiroko is Junko's sister, who we spent the day with last week (was that just last week?) in Atami. Tetsuya and Hiroko both studied in Fresno. Hiroko went to Fresno Pacific and Tetsuya went to Fresno State. When I told Tetsuya that Fresno State is a rival to Boise State, he soon went to get his red Fresno State Bulldog jacket and red Fresno State tie.

The Watanabes have a wonderful new, Western-style home. They designed and had it built just a year ago. No tatami room at this house! Yea! No sleeping on the floor tonight! Hiroko served a fabulous meal (remember how we eat all the time here?) We even had meat loaf! I've never been so glad to see meat loaf in my life.

After supper, we watched a DVD of a made-for-TV movie called "The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn." What a great movie starring Sidney Poitier. I felt like I was back in the States after being in a Western-style home, eating food I was used to, and watching a movie in English.

Tomorrow we head back to Tokyo and then back to the Horikawas where we will be until we fly to Singapore on Wednesday. I'm enjoying this experience tremendously. New and wonderful experiences are coming my way daily and I feel like God is giving me strength and the right words of encouragement to share with those we meet. This was no more evident to me than my time at the Kagatanis over the weekend. I'm truly humbled to see God at work in and through me to bring encouragement and help to others, especially a special family like the Kagatanis.

Day Twelve

May 12th

Today we travelled to Seitama to visit Seiya & Yoriko Kagatani and their family. They were part of the same church Mom and dad went to in Shizuoka. Seiya and Yoriko visited us one time in Washington while visiting my folks. Miko and Madoka drove us the two hours to Seitama to meet Seiya. We took a different route through Tokyo this time, going over the bay. It was a beautiful drive through Tokyo en route to the Seitama area. We stopped at a Denny's for a snack and decided to meet Seiya there. Denny's was having some sort of special on mangoes, so we all ordered a mango dish of some kind. It was good. Mangoes are my favorite fruit and remind me of India.

Seiya soon arrived and we said our good byes to Miko and Madoka until Monday. Before arriving at the Kagatani home, Seiya stopped to see his 3rd son, 9th grader Jin (pronounced "Gene") who was playing "soft tennis." I had never heard of "soft tennis" so I was interested to see how it was played. When meeting Jin, I was struck by his pleasant smile and radiant face. I found out he is the number one player on the junior high team. His coach was exchanging volleys with his players and I was struck how animated he was in his playing. Jin told me later that he thought I was some sort of scout checking him out to see how good a coach he was!

Practice was soon over so we headed to the Kagatani home in the city of Hasuda. I was impressed with the neighborhood. There are several nice parks in the neighborhood and struck me as a good place to raise a family. We were met at the door by Seiya's wife Yoriko and their daughter Manna (pronounced "mah-nah") who is named for the manna of the Bible. What a cute 7 year old girl! Yoriko is a beautiful, slender Japanese woman.

Shortly after entering their home, I was asked to have a prayer of blessing for the Kagatani home. I would have several prayers for the family while I was with them. What a privilege to come before the throne of grace for this precious family!

After supper, around 7:30, their 2nd oldest son, Kan, came home from rugby practice. He is a handsome young man who reminds me of Matt Damon. He is recovering from a cerebral concussion a week ago, which would keep him out of the game tomorrow. I could tell this did not make him too happy and reminded me of the days that our son Levi would have to sit out games due to injuries.

When it came time for a bath for Manna, Seiya told me that she wanted to have a bath with Seiya and me. I guess it is their custom for Seiya and Manna to take baths together. I kept telling her that I couldn't, that I was shy, etc. but she was persistent. Finally, she got the idea that I just couldn't do that, and she and Seiya headed for their bath. Seiya told me that she was just expressing her appreciation to me and that she liked me.

After supper Jin taught me some Japanese words and I helped him with some conversation in English. He is an exceptional young man. He is very smart, number one in his class. He played a difficult classical piece for us on the piano with such proficiency. He said that he hadn't played in about a year.

The oldest son, Zen, got home some time after 10:00 pm. Even though he has graduated from high school, he was studying for an entrance exam for college all day. He was gone since 8:00 in the morning. Zen and also Kan have spent some time (at different times) in an American home in Washington which mom arranged for them. Jin's turn is coming up soon. I sure hope that it might work out for him to stay with us.

I had another time of prayer with Seiya and Yoriko before heading to bed. Mom and I were both in the tatami room on the floor. I'm getting to be a pro at this sleeping on the floor thing. Not sure I could do it permanently though!

Day Eleven

May 11th

We had to leave Hakone today. It was a beautiful day, other than the wind was blowing. It had blown all night, so hopefully it meant for clear skies to see Mt. Fuji.

We drove around the lake, stopping at various spots for rest stops and to get different glimpses of Mt. Fuji. I got some pictures of Mt. Fuji along with other sights of Hakone. I noticed two "pirate ships" on Lake Ashi which I remember hearing about when Liz was here in Japan. We decided to not take the tour on the pirate ships and instead lazily headed around the lake and eventually back toward Tokyo and Kawasaki.

Ken and Miko took us to a shopping mall in Tokyo where we had lunch. This is an upscale kind of mall on several floors. This is the kind of place where it's best to "window shop," which is what we did before heading home to Kawasaki. We found a musk melon on sale for 10,000 yen which is almost $100! Can you believe it? We also saw about a dozen "American cherries" on sale for around 1,500 yen which is about $12. Let's see...that's about $1 for one cherry. Wow! Such a deal! We also saw cherries being sold individually, with each one individually wrapped. Incredible!

We relaxed the rest of the day at Ken and Miko's. Ken and I watched the New York Philharmonic perform on some of Ken's DVDs. Tomorrow we will be going to Tokyo to spend the weekend with some of mom and dad's other friends here. We won't be back at Ken and Miko's until Monday night.

Day Ten

May 10th

We traveled up to Hakone today, where we will spend the night in the guest house of TEL, where Ken used to work. Hakone is a resort area surrounding Lake Ashi with spectacular views of Mt. Fuji. I've heard so much about Hakone over the years, that I was excited to visit. Mom and dad would go there often with Ken and Miko during their years in Japan. Mom and dad also took some of their grandchildren there. Grandpa and Grandma Redding (my dad's folks) even made it to Hakone when they were 85 years old!

Our first stop at Hakone was the Hakone Hotel where we enjoyed a lavish buffet lunch. Seems like we're eating all the time here! It was a rainy, blistery kind of day, so we were glad to finally get settled in to our rooms at the guest house. We were in Room #10, but there were not ten rooms in the guest house. There was no Room #4 or Room #9. This numbers are bad luck to the Japanese, so they just skipped over these numbers in numbering the rooms. We got the only two rooms with Western style beds. The other rooms all were in traditional Japanese style with tatamis. I was glad I had a bed to sleep in again.

We enjoyed another Japanese feast for dinner. We had some traditional Japanese food. Can you believe I actually ate octopus? I can't, but I did. I can't believe some of the things I've eaten while in Japan. Let's see...raw fish, raw squid, sea weed, cherry leaves, twigs of trees for tempura, and now octopus! What's come over me? I decided early on that I would venture into the unknown and try to experience as much of Japan as I could, including eating some things that I had never thought I could. And I'm glad I did!

Before heading to bed we had some fun with karaoke after supper. Look out everyone, a sleeping karaoke lover has been unleashed in me now! I'd never done this karaoke thing before, but I had a blast! We all did. We had the room to ourselves, so we picked out whatever songs we wanted. The system was hooked up by satellite to pick up just about any song we wanted. Of course, the video portion of the karaoke had Japanese models which almost never fit what the song was about. We even found "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" which I found quite moving to sing along with Miko. Ken said that that is the first time he has ever seen Miko sing karaoke.

Following the fun of karaoke, Ken and I headed to the Japanese bath where we had the place to ourselves. I got to where a "yukata" which is a traditional Japanese robe. They were provided for us in the room. I wore my yukata to the Japanese bath down the hall from our room. I am becoming a pro at this Japanese bath thing, so I acted like I knew what I was doing and enjoyed another relaxing bath. I think this is something that Cleo and Barb could begin back home in Idaho! Not sure how we'd segregate the men from the women, though...

Day Nine

May 9th

Today we took a tour of Tokyo. Ken and Miko's daughter Madoka arranged a sightseeing tour in a bus for us. We went on the "Dynamic Tokyo" tour. She also arranged for us to have the front row seats on the bus, which made it easier for mom to get in and out of the bus on our many stops. Our tour guide was a Japanese girl named "Mai." Our bus driver was Mr. Kubo (no, not Bert, my brother-in-law!)

Our first stop was the Tokyo Tower which is about 1,000 feet high. It looks kinda like the Eiffel Tower in Paris. I was reminded of the Space Needle as I walked around the observatory deck of the tower. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very clear day, but at least we got an idea of what Tokyo looks like from 1,000 feet up. Mai told us that Tokyo's population is around 12 million! 10% of the population of Japan lives within it's 700 square miles. That amounts to around 17,000 people per square mile! The people and the buildings are quite overwhelming to say the least.

Following the Tokyo Tower, we headed to the "Happoen" Garden where we experienced a tea ceremony. It was a condensed version, and definitely designed for tourists. But it was still good to get a sense of what a Japanese tea ceremony is like. We were told to expect the tea to be very bitter, but I didn't find it to be so. Maybe because I've been having quite a lot of green tea since being in Japan.

From the tea ceremony we headed to the the Chinsanzo Garden on the north side of Tokyo for our "barbecue" lunch. When I think of barbecue, I think of something we do outside over a grill, but this was done inside, with the food cooked dry on hot lava rock from Mt. Fuji. We were told that this is the only place they do this in Tokyo. We sat at a table with several others from our tour. We sat at a table with some college students from New York and their teacher. There were 15 of them all together in Japan for a couple weeks to learn more about Japan.

After lunch we headed to the Imperial Palace where the emperor of Japan and his wife live. The emperor is more of a figure head more than anything. We learned some about the "royal family" on our tour. The oldest son of the emperor and his wife have a daughter, but no son. It is rumored that the oldest son's wife is feeling so much pressure to have a son, that she is sick over it. The second oldest son and his wife did have a son recently, however, so at least there is a male heir now.

Since we were not able to go in to the Imperial Palace grounds (allowed only two times a year), mom and I hung around the bus and just relaxed before our next tour stop which was a cruise of the Sumidagawa River which goes through Tokyo.

The cruise was nice and relaxing. I was again overwhelmed with the density of the people and buildings. We saw some signs of homeless people along the river (visible by the blue tarp). Our tour guide told us that there are approximately 6,000 homeless people in Tokyo. We first saw them on the lawn not far from the Imperial Palace. They are allowed to be there during the day, but must leave at night. I wondered where they go to.

Our cruise up the river took us to our last stop of the day, the Sensoji Temple. To get to the temple, we passed through the Kaminarimon Gate. From the Kaminarimon Gate to the Sensoji Temple, we were faced with a myriad of tourists and shoppers perusing the many different kinds of shops on both sides of the narrow street. In front of the temple I noticed these small locker-like boxes which people put requests for good luck into (for a price, of course). I also noticed an area where incense was burning in front of the temple. People would come by the incense and "wave" the incense over their bodies. There was also a small fountain beside the incense which people drank from with ladles. It made me think of Jesus who said that He is the Living Water and the person that drinks of Him will never be thirsty again.

Our tour ended back at the bus terminal around 5:00 pm where Miko and Madoka picked us up. We spent the evening at Madoka's for a wonderful meal she prepared for us. She lives in a nice condominium not far from Ken and Miko. I was fascinated by her parking situation. She drives her car into a spot which is in between two other spots kind of like in an elevator. Another ingenious device the Japanese have come up with to be efficient with the space they have.

Day Eight

May 8th

What a surprise to see the Seattle Mariners on TV again this morning! I'm not sure why they were playing a four game series unless they were making up a game during their horrendous road trip earlier in the year. Regardless, I was so glad to see them playing again.

I didn't get to see much of the game, however, since we would head out on our trip to Kofu today. We got on the road around 9:30 am for our 2 hour trip to Kofu. Kofu is in a valley and close to Mt. Fuji. Grapes and other fruit is grown in Kofu.

We headed straight to TEL (short for Tokyo Electron, Ltd.) where Ken worked for many years. We toured several of their facilities. TEL makes the machines that make the liquid in LCD and plasma screens. They also manufacture the machines that make computer chips. When I mentioned that we live close to Micron in Boise, Ken said that he had sold many machines to Micron when he worked at TEL. I'm sure that many of the machines used at Micron today come from TEL. Small world, huh?

From TEL we went to visit Yatsuko Ogawa. Yatsuko fixed us a tasty lunch that was almost more Western style than Japanese. The best part of the meal came with dessert when she served an upside down apple pie. Yummmm! It was soaked in caramel sauce and tasted SO good. Mom and dad knew Yatsuko and her husband Kuni when they were here. Kuni has since passed away. Kuni taught English in the University in Kofu and also was on television (NHK). Dad helped him with his English and they struck up a friendship. I would find out later while we were visiting with Yatsuko that they lived for some time in Utah and also in La Jolla, California. One of Yatsuko's daughters is in the Los Angeles area and the other one (Emily) had lunch with us. Emily is trained in massage and does some work out of their home. She is planning to visit California this year for a year or more to study English. Emily was born in the United States while her parents were living there. We hope she will make contact with my sister Miriam who lives in San Diego while she is in California. She gave me a short massage as I was putting on my shoes to leave. She's good!

From the Ogawas, we went to Ken and Miko's old house there in Kofu. They still own it and, unfortunately, haven't found a buyer yet for it. It is a beautiful house overlooking the city. On a clearer day, we could have seen Mt. Fuji. Mom and dad had many happy memories at their house, so I was glad to see it.

We had some coffee and cookies at their neighbors. The neighbor gave us some items used by her mother (now deceased) when she taught tea ceremony. It was good to visit with her and experience more of what a "typical" Japanese home is like.

We left Kofu around 4:00 pm and headed back to Kawasaki. We took a more scenic route home, closer to Mt. Fuji, and I FINALLY saw this beautiful mountain called Mt. Fuji. I reminds me a bit of Mt. Rainier in Seattle, yet different. I was so glad to finally see it and get some pictures of it. They tell me we should have an even better view of it when we head to Hakone on Thursday.

By the time we got back to Kawasaki, we decided to eat at "Royal Host." I'd heard so much about Royal Host when mom and dad lived in Japan. They serve more American style food. It is a step up from Denny's which is quite prominent here. I also noticed Coco's Restaurants here and actually saw a Bob's Big Boy. I hadn't seen a Bob's Big Boy in years. Anyway, we had a light supper (salad bar) before heading home. We've been eating so much here, it felt good to have a lighter meal for once.

Tomorrow will be a busy day for us. Madoka bought us a sightseeing tour of Tokyo. She will be here at 6:30 in the morning to get us to Tokyo in time for the tour. Every day provides a new adventure and a new experience. I'm trying to soak it all in and treasure every moment.

Day Seven

May 7th

Today was a very relaxing day. I think jet lag finally caught up with me today. I was pretty tired most of the day. This was the first day we didn't have much planned, so maybe I felt like I could just relax.

After breakfast, I watched some news from NHK, a Japanese network. I was pleasantly surprised to see ABC News (in English). The news here in Japan is much more global than the news back in the United States. There is little local news shown here, and the weather shows not only the weather for Japan, but for the whole world!

Guess what came on after the news? The Seattle Mariners! I couldn't believe it! Here I was on Monday morning in Japan watching the Seattle Mariners live against the New York Yankees in a game played on Sunday. It was weird to watch the game from the Japanese perspective. Occasionally, we would get the feed from the New York Yankee broadcasters, but the camera work was all done by Japanese. You could tell by the fact that they zeroed in on all the Japanese players from Ichiro to Hidecki Matsui to Kenji Jojima. And they would follow them to the dugout, out of the dugout, out to the field, etc. It was kinda funny actually. They also replayed every pitch to the Japanese players after the inning. And then replayed (in slow motion) how the player did at his at bat.

I couldn't see all the game since we would go to meet Akiko Arai at the train station. We got to know Akiko while she was a student at Bellevue Community College when we were in Washington. She accepted the Lord during her time in Washington and has grown by leaps and bounds since moving back to Japan. She spent a year at a Bible college in Singapore about 5 years ago. While there, she met an Indonesian man also studying there who would eventually become her fiance. They are planning to get married next month in Indonesia. He is a youth pastor in the same church his father serves as the senior pastor. There is so much more to this story, but I don't have time to write it all. The main thing I took from our visit with Akiko is that God is at work and He will accomplish His purposes in our lives as we follow Him.

In the evening Ken and Madoka helped us get some of our pictures on cds for us. We've already filled up a 2 gigabyte memory card in just a week! It took 3 cds to do it, but they finally got it done. This will free up a memory card for the camera for mom's trip into China.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Kofu, where mom and dad first met Ken and Miko, and where mom and dad lived for around 5 years. I'm looking forward to seeing the city. I'm also hoping I'll see Mt. Fuji. I've been here a week and still haven't seen it yet. Maybe tomorrow...

Day Six

May 6th

What a great day today! I will guess that today will be the highlight of my trip. This is the day I had been looking forward to before I even got to Japan. Today we would enjoy worshipping at Hiro & Chris Unno's church - Living Way Church. I will be preaching with Hiro interpreting for me. We weren't sure how many people would be at church since the pastor and most of the church were away at church camp.

We got to church around 10:00 am before the 10:30 am official start time. The first thing I noticed is that, in traditional Japanese style, we took our shoes off at the door and wore these slippers. Mom quickly changed with me when we realized mine were way too small and hers were a bit big for her. People started wandering in and soon we realized that there were quite a few people there - most of them friends of mom's that she knew before. I'd guess there were around 60-70 people there which is large for a Japanese church.

We weren't sure if we would have a worship leader, pianist, or any musicians, but at just the right moment, a pianist and bass player showed up. I could see the relief on Hiro's face. Hiro was the worship leader for the morning service. He did such a great job.

I thoroughly enjoyed the worship and found it especially meaningful. Here I was halfway around the world worshipping the same Lord! We would first sing the songs in Japanese then in English. The worship and praise songs were on an overhead since no power point was available today. After about 40 minutes (yes, 40 minutes!) of singing, we had some announcements and took a short break before the message.

I preached from Romans 8:29-31 "God's Purpose For Your Life." This was a message I had preached last year at Lakeview while going through Romans, but I revised it some to fit a new audience and a different culture and country. I thoroughly enjoyed preaching with Hiro as my interpreter. I could feel the presence of God in the room and preaching through us. I'm not sure how long it went, but at one point I looked down at the iPod doing the recording of the message and it was at 1 hour, 10 minutes! Yikes, I better wrap this up! But the people didn't seem to mind at all and I gathered it was not unusual to go so long. The main reason it was so long is that it takes twice as long with an interpreter.

Following the service, we shared a meal together which a couple of the ladies in the church prepared. It was so good. But the fellowship was even greater. Several people asked me to have a special prayer for them, which I was glad to do. One couple asked for prayer for them. Another man asked for prayer for a situation he was going through. Another woman asked for prayer as we were getting ready to board the train to leave. What a blessing and privilege to be used of God in this way!

Leaving Shizuoka was very hard. I really didn't want to leave, but it was time. We had about 10 people see us off. I believe someday I will return to Shizuoka, however, next time with Carol.

The train was quite crowded since this was the end of Golden Week. We had sent our luggage ahead to Ken and Miko Horikawa, where we will be staying the rest of the time in Japan. They live in Kawasaki. I wondered if Kawasaki motorcycles were made in Kawasaki, but I found out that Kawasaki motorcycles were named after the owner and founder whose name was Kawasaki.

Even though we had sent our luggage ahead of us, we had several handbags which made it difficult to maneuver when we got off. Fortunately, we had a kind man who was traveling with his son, help clear the way for us and make sure we got safely off the train. I had offered earlier to take a picture of he and his son when I saw him taking a picture of his son. He seemed to spark up, and his son, especially was glad to meet us. I noticed the son had a Seattle Mariners cap, so maybe when he realized mom lived in Seattle, he was quite interested. He even wanted a picture taken with me!

Miko and her daughter Madoka met us at the train station for the short drive to Ken and Miko's home. Ken and Miko have been friends of mom and dad's for 25 years. They met while dad and mom were teaching at the school Madoka was going to in Kofu.

When we got to Ken and Miko's we met with Jordan Nogaki, who we knew from Westminster Chapel, our church in Washington. Jordan has been living in Japan for the past two years and has settled in very well, from what we observed. We also met "Maple," Madoka's dachsund. Maple is an amazing dog. She eats things like fruits and vegetables, and appears to be a vegetarian. Madoka has trained her to do her "business" in a cage which is kept in a certain part of the house. Maple also waits to eat when she is told it's ok by either Miko or Madoka.

Ken and Miko have a house filled with modern amenities. It has an elevator which mom uses to get to the 2nd floor. It has the standard Japanese toilets, but one on the main floor flushes automatically. The home also has state of the art sensors all over the place, partly for security, and partly for comfort. One light toward the door goes on automatically when you enter the area and then shuts off automatically after a period of time. Ken also has lights that light up the narrow driveway when he backs in. By the way, Japanese generally back into a parking stall, and are quite efficient at it, too. Their bathing area is right off the bathroom, but the toilet is all by itself in a separate room right next to it. The bathing area consists of a rather large open area right next to the tub. I wasn't quite sure how it was to work, but found out you can just shower in this room and the water neatly drains out this hidden drain on the floor!

After a great Chinese dinner prepared by Miko, we visited some and then headed for bed. I am sleeping on a futon in the "tatami" room. A tatami room is made up of small straw mats on the floor. No furniture is in a tatami room. And you measure how big a tatami room is by how many mats fit in the room. The mats are 3 feet by 6 feet. The tatami room I am sleeping in is a 6 tatami room. All I know is, I was ready to sleep by the time my body hit the futon!

Day Five

May 5th

God continues to amaze me at showing to me more and more of His faithfulness and goodness. Today was a day of reunion for mom with some of her friends. Hiro had arranged for many of mom and dad's friends from Shizuoka to meet us at our hotel for lunch. Most of the people that came had been in the same church with mom and dad in Shizuoka when they were here. Mom and dad had most of these friends in a Bible study. One woman, Junko, brought with her some of the notes from dad's Bible study. Guess what book it was on? Galatians! The very book I'm preaching through now in Idaho. Junko gave me dad's notes on Galatians which I was very glad to have.

Each person shared something about where they are now and some significant memories they had of either mom or dad. I was brought to tears many times as each one shared something about how they had either come to faith in Christ or how they had grown in their walk with Christ. To hear how God used mom and dad in the process was so fulfilling and rewarding. I was, again, overwhelmed with God's presence with us and His faithfulness to us.

After lunch, Hiro took me to his house where he changed and we hung out for a bit. We soon headed to a Japanese restaurant for supper where I had some raw fish and raw squid. Yes, I really did eat it. It sure slides down easily. Can't say that I especially enjoyed it, but at least I ate it, which I never thought I would or could do.

Day Four

May 4th

Today was the day to head to the mountains. We would spend the day at a cabin owned by the Saito's. Toshie (Mrs. Saito) has visited mom a few times with Yuki, one of her daughters. It has been exciting to see the change in Toshie since she became a Christian. Yuki is also a Christian and has been studying this last year in Canada at Victoria, British Columbia in a Christian high school. She and Sarah will be starting college together this fall at Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington where my sister Mary Ellen's children (Micah and Danya) attend.

It took about an hour and a half to wind ourselves up the road to the the Saito's cabin. Talk about narrow and winding! It reminded me of the roads in northern India where we used to live. I was impressed to see large convex mirror strategically placed at places in the road that were so windy you couldn't see properly without them. I was also impressed to see the greenery and beauty of nature. Some of that green was green tea farms which are scattered throughout the area.

Once we got to the cabin we soon started to do what we would do all day: EAT!!!
Toshie is such a good host and cook. She served us all day. And her husband (a prominent lawyer) worked hard all day providing us with an experience none of us will forget.

When I say "cabin," please don't think this was some run-down small shack. It was a wonderful 2-story log-type cabin that smelled like you stepped into the middle of a cedar forest. I kept thinking that this would be a great place for a retreat.

Mr. Saito is a prominent lawyer with many demands of his time, so he enjoys coming up to the cabin to relax during the weekends. In fact, his first name in Japanese means "to relax." He has his own garden and also loves to do pottery. I feel so burdened for him to know Christ and pray that would happen through the influence of his wife and youngest daughter.

Toshie was busy in the kitchen most of the day, preparing all kinds of dishes for us. They seemed to keep coming, and coming, and coming, and coming. I'll just mention a few of the interesting dishes we had. We made our own "mochie" which is a rice paste used somewhat like dough to make these sort of dumpling things. We actually made the paste. We pounded the steamed rice to a pulp (not a real easy job!) and then spread the paste on a sheet which we then used to make our own mochie. It was a lot of fun.

Another dish we had was tempura, which is a deep fried dish of either vegetables or meat. We provided the vegetables for the tempura. We picked off these sprigs from a tree close to the cabin which were then used for the tempura. I was wondering how in the world these things would taste, but they were actually pretty good - kinda like green beans. One other interesting food was a dessert which was cinnamon and bananas deep fried in a wonton skin. It was delicious!

We also experienced a kind of picnic outside at a sort of barbecue pit Mr. Saito made. We cooked food out there over coals and ate all kinds of dishes including several fruit and vegetable dishes. Toshie is very conscious of serving "healthy" foods and I would agree that most of the food was healthy, other than some of the deep fried dishes.

Oh, I also inaugurated the little bath house they had there to experience my 2nd Japanese bath. This one was much smaller, so I went in by myself. I'm getting braver and braver with this Japanese bath thing.

We had so much fun all day, but needed to head down the mountain back to the city of Shizuoka. We were all so full but we were also full of joy having experienced a wonderful time together.

Day Three

May 3rd

Had some new experiences today. The first new experience was riding in one of those "bullet trains" I've heard about. We took the bullet train to Atami, a resort town where Junko lives. Junko used to own a coffee shop in Shizuoka for many years, known for making fabulous cakes and pastries. Mom would often stop by her place for lunch or just to drop in or meet friends there.

Another reason we took the bullet train is that this week is "Golden Week," a holiday in Japan. This day is traditional a busy day of travel for many Japanese. Hiro was concerned that if we tried to drive to Atami (about an hour away), that we would be stuck in traffic. We met a sea of people as we maneuvered through the train station to catch our bullet train. What fun to zip through the countryside and city, not having to worry about traffic. We would later find out that some of those people stuck in traffic was Junko's sister Hiroko and her husband Tetsuya. It took them 8 hours to get to Atami! Normally, it would only take them about an hour.

Atami is known as the "Monaco of Japan." It reminded me of Hawaii in its beauty. The resort town is attracting a lot of retirees for its cost of living, slower pace, and gorgeous scenery. This is one reason Junko moved here.

Getting to Junko's condo in a taxi was sure fun. I felt like we were on some roller coaster, winding this way then that, zipping up a steep road to her place. When we got to Junko's the taxi driver open the rear left passenger door through some lever. It was pretty cool!

The views from Junko's condo were breathtaking. She had decorated her place quite elegantly with either real or artificial flowers in each room. Since selling her coffee shop business she makes various decorations of various artificial flowers and also teaches the craft to others. Junko treated us to one of her famous cakes, this one was a chocolate cake with layers of bananas. That was a great "appetizer" for lunch. I was in for several new experiences at lunch. We had about a 10 course meal at a restaurant overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I ate all kinds of things I thought I never could or would eat. Seaweed soup, cooked cherry leaves, some more raw fish were just some of the delicacies I experienced.

Following the meal I experienced a traditional Japanese bath. Hiro helped walk me through what I would experience in the naturally hot springs bath. Stripping down to nothing in a little room, I gingerly stepped out to where the bath was. Clinging to my little washcloth trying to inconspicuously cover certain parts of my body, I found out that we actually bathed before getting into the hot springs bath. We sat on a little stool which I found difficult to even get down to. Then you have a basin which you fill occasionally with water and rinse of your body. I didn't really see much "bathing" taking place in terms of soap. I got the impression it was more a traditional thing to do before actually stepping into the bath. Finally, after rinsing off several times and after trying to give the impression that I was now "clean," I stepped into the bath. It was hot! But I didn't dare say anything and certainly didn't stand up in the 3 feet of water any longer than I had to. It felt weird to hear women just on the other side of the bath, separated from us only by a wooden fence. Sarah and Elisa (Hiro and Chris' daughters) were on the other side of the fence. Mom and the other ladies headed back to Junko's to visit while we bathed. I did enjoy soaking for about 30-45 minutes, until Hiro told me I needed to get out and prepare to leave.

Hiro called a taxi for us and we headed back down to the train station to meet up with the ladies. We were soon on our way back to Shizuoka on the bullet train. When we got back to Shizuoka we drove to the church where mom and dad used to attend when they lived here. The 3-story structure was locked on the main floor, but the 2nd floor was unlocked for some reason, so we took a look around. The pastor lives on the 3rd floor, but he was not around. This church is typical of most churches in Japan in its size (around 30-50). It looked like maybe 50 chairs set out in the worship area. Sunday School is held in the lower level.

As we left the church, I kept wondering "What is keeping most churches so small here?" Then, I remembered that the church in the U.S. is in trouble, too. When I read over and over again that 85-90% of the churches in America are either plateaued or declining, I realize that there is a serious problem in the U.S. too. What can we do to turn the tide? What will it take?

Sorry...I started to get on a soap box there. Must have been that bath I had earlier in the day.

The Unno's took us to eat some Chinese food in a shopping area for supper. Following supper, we did some window shopping in the shopping center, including taking a gander at some kimonos. I was amazed to see the cost of some of those kimonos! Some of the kimonos I saw there would bring over $3000! When a Japanese girl turns 20, it's a pretty big deal and buying an expensive kimono can be part of that big deal. Sarah told me that she'd probably wear her grandmother's kimono instead. Good idea, Sarah!

Day Two

May 2

I was awoken in the middle of the night with a man's voice speaking Japanese coming from a speaker in the bathroom. He repeated himself. I thought it was a problem with the speakers in the bathroom and that somehow it was playing what was on TV. Why I thought that, I don't know because the TV wasn't even on! Anyway, it WAS the middle of the night. Then I realize that Mom is in the bathroom. She finally speaks some words in Japanese (amazing how they just came to her) informing the Japanese man "in the speaker" that everything was ok.

To explain what was going on I have to tell you something about the toilets here in Japan. They are amazing! The toilet seats are warm! Yes, warm! Then they've got these buttons on the side of the toilet which allow you to spray some water which cleans you up. I hope you get the drift of what the water does, because I'm not going to spell it out for you.

Anyway, Mom apparently thought she was pushing the button that sprayed water to clean herself, when instead, she had pushed the "HELP" button which rang the front desk in case of emergency and help was needed. Wow, what a way to be woken up!

This jet lag thing is interesting. I haven't had a problem staying awake. I've had the problem of waking up in the middle of the night or early morning and not being able to fall asleep too easily.

We enjoyed a lavish breakfast bar at the hotel which our friends and hosts Hiro and Chris Unno have provided for us. They have been so kind and generous to us! Hiro has made all the arrangements for us here down to every detail of where we go, who we see next, etc.

After breakfast, Hiro and Chris picked us up and we headed to Shizuoka Eiwa Gakuin University, where dad used to teach. We were ushered into the conference room at the university where a steady stream of professors and administrators greeted us, including the president of the university. We were shown pictures of dad from yearbooks of the university the years dad taught here. It was obvious that they all thought a lot of dad.

From the conference room we headed to chapel where we heard a report from an alumnus who is now working with handicapped children (all of the chapel was in Japanese, but interpreted for us by Hiro and Chris in whispered voice). Toward the end of chapel, mom and I were introduced. I was disappointed in what I saw at chapel. I saw the students disinterested and showing lack of respect to what was going on at the chapel service. I thought of the potential in that room if each one would truly come to Christ and experience what it would be like to serve Him in changing the world.

From the university, we travelled next for lunch to the Nihondaira Hotel, a hotel on the top of a hill overlooking the city of Shizuoka. Since we were early in meeting our friends Tadatoshi and Fumiko Mochizuki (mom and dad's former landlords and also students), we stopped off for a view from a view point which just happened to have some ice cream for sale. We each had some green tea ice cream. It was pretty good. Green tea is grown in the area and you see a lot of green tea products here.

The cuisine at the hotel is a French - Japanese mixture. Food was elegantly prepared. Seems like the presentation of the food is just as, if not more important than how the food actually tastes.

Following lunch we headed to Shizuoka Eiwa Jogaquin where mom used to teach. This is an all girls "Christian" junior high/high school. Here we got the same royal treatment as we had earlier in the day. A steady stream of former colleagues came into the conference room to greet mom and meet me. Here again, it was obvious to me that these people thought a lot of mom. We toured the facility including a remodeled chapel complete with the preserved podium/lectern/pulpit which mom had used to address the girls at various chapel services when she taught here. One colleague mentioned how she remembered to this day mom's challenge one chapel with the acrostic J-O-Y as a help in prioritizing one's relationships: Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last.

Our next stop was the Sunpu Castle in the middle of the city. Yes, a castle complete with moat and everything! This castle was built and inhabited by the Samurais several hundred years ago. There is a beautiful traditional Japanese garden within the castle walls now. We were too late in the day to tour the Japanese garden, but we were able to get a glimpse and take some pictures of some of the garden.

From the castle we went to the Mochizuki's home and visit the house where mom and dad lived for most of their stay here in Shizuoka. It's a cute two story white house which mom and dad called their "doll house." The Mochizuki's have a very nice traditional style Japanese house. Tadatoshi is a hunter. I had met him before when he came to Washington after one of his hunting expeditions. He has one room of the house devoted to stuffed animals which he has been successful in hunting. He has been to Siberia, Canada, Wyoming for some of his hunting trips. Fumiko is a trained pianist and very talented.

From the Mochizuki's we went to visit Ricky and Sarah Gordon. Ricky is the pastor of Living Way, where Hiro and Chris attend and where I will be preaching on Sunday. I was very impressed with their ministry in getting children adopted through an agency they work with. They themselves have adopted 5 of their 10 children. They have placed closed to 200 babies in the last 10 years or so.

Following the visit to the Gordon's we went to a restaurant with the Unno's where we shared a traditional Japanese meal. I ate raw fish for the first time, can you believe it? It really wasn't bad. It sure slid down easily! We also shared together a traditional "shabu shabu" which is basically thinly sliced meat along with vegetables stirred in boiling water served at the table. Shabu shabu refers to the stirring action. Literally, "shabu shabu" means "stir, stir."

What a fun and stretching experience. Another full day experiencing some reminiscing as well as brand new experiences.

Flying to Japan - Day One

April 30th - May 1st

Woke up at 7:00 am to begin a very long day. Leah met me at Mom’s at 8:30 and we left shortly for our appointment at Surrey North Automotive at 9:00 am. After leaving the car, we went to Starbucks for coffee and to just hang out and talk. It is so beautiful today! Everything is so green! The sun is out. Things feel so “fresh” and “alive.” Leah shared about her ministry and some things going on at church. She is interested in going to Uganda in October with others from Westminster Chapel. I hope it works out.

Bert (Mary Ellen’s husband) drove Mom and me to the airport. We got there in plenty of time. We where wheeled through security pretty well. We left right on time – around 2:30 pm, ready for our adventure. Mom and I were the first ones on the plane!

The time went pretty fast on the plane. I didn’t sleep a wink. Mom and I talked, played pinochle, and I listened to music, did crossword and Sudoku. We arrived in Narita almost an hour early! We got through customs and immigration pretty quickly since Mom was in a wheelchair. Hiro and Chris were there to meet us so warmly and graciously! Hiro quickly bought us some cold bottled water. We went to the restroom which I found an interesting adventure. To enter the bathroom, I pushed a green button which opened the door. To close the door behind me, I pushed a red button. I noticed no towels to dry my hands after washing.

Once we got to the car, the first thing I noticed was that the steering wheel was on the right side for driving on the left side. It wasn’t as big an adjustment as I thought it might be. Hiro is a very good driver and maneuvers himself very well through traffic. There are many toll highways. He gets through with a device in his glove box which the gate reads automatically. Generally, the speed limit is 80 kilometers. Hiro has a radar detector. He shared that he got a speeding ticket recently while in their other car. He was going through the tunnel at 9:30 at night with not much traffic. I think he said the policeman clocked him at 160 kilometers per hour which would translate into 100 mph! Hiro was thankful he didn’t get a “red card” for the ticket which is a more severe ticket.

From my conversation with Hiro I learned that the church in Japan is having a hard time keeping the youth, especially once they become teenagers, and especially boys. Sports and other activities consume times on Sunday.

Education is very important in Japan. It's not unusual for students to be at school or at "clubs" at school to further their education until quite late in the evening. “Juku” is a costly private school and business which many parents pay for to help provide further education for their children.

The church is made up primarily of older people, and mostly women. I am burdened for the men of Japan! What can we do to reach them? I also learned that once a Japanese man retires, he finds it difficult to adjust to life. Japan is doing more to help retirees find a more satisfactory living after retirement. I also learned that many wives wait for their husbands to retire before divorcing them, so that they can live on half their retirement.

We stopped at a couple “P” stops (as dad used to call them). One was in the middle of Tokyo Bay where we had something to eat. I ordered noodles, a custard kind of thing (not sweet), miso soup, clams (very little ones) over sticky rice. It was all very good. Not how I envisioned Japanese food to taste. For dessert, we had “sesame” ice cream with mochi (a tasteless rice paste in balls). After one last “P” stop we finally arrived at Shizuoka. We are staying at the Century Hotel, the newest and finest hotel in the city. I'm overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of our hosts Hiro and Chris Unno. I’m hoping that it might clear up enough so we can see Mt. Fuji. I've been told we should be able to see Mt. Fuji from our hotel room.

Well, we settled into our room. Two twin beds, lower to the floor than usual, each with a feather down comforter. Our pillows are made up of buckwheat, like Dad used to like. I like them as well. My head hit one of those pillows at precisely 11:00 pm, exactly 24 hours after waking up in Seattle. It hit me that I had been up for 24 hours straight!