I am not a dump truck...
...so says Melodie. We had just finished our prayer meeting and when I looked over at her she smiled and said with great conviction, "I am not a dump truck." I was so glad that she cleared that up for me.
I returned home today after being gone since last Thursday. We had the discipleship retreat, church at Nagashima, and then I attended a seminar held at another camp. The topic was John Calvin's writings and view on the millennium. Heavy stuff in any language, virtually impossible in Japanese. I learned a new word, "yayakoshi", it means "complicated or confusing". No kidding...
Another week is past...
Well, this week has been a busy one! Starting with Sunday when we went to Nagashima to help out while Pastor Kishimoto was out of town. We left early Sunday morning, arrived in Nagashima around 10:30am, church was at 11am, then lunch, then Susan, Keiko and the kids headed back to Kumamoto while I went to Aira to meet with Ryouji. Ryouji quit his job and so was off on Sunday and in church Sunday morning, we have been praying he would have a chance to go. I spent Sunday evening with him and had plenty of time to talk about spiritual things. He is planning to attend church as long as he is able, which probably means until he gets a job. Keep him in your prayers.
Monday morning was the bi-monthly pastor and missionary prayer time in Aira. 3 pastors and 3 missionaries were there this time, we had a good time of fellowship. After lunch, a 2 hour drive back to Kumamoto to get there in time for our Monday night team prayer time.
Tuesday was an "off" day (that means I was able to catch up on some of the things I would normally have finished on Monday.) Wednesday, Susan and I spent 4.5 hours at the eye doctors office. Fun, fun!
Thursday was another interesting day as I took part in an International Day at a local elementary school. There were 6 foriegners present and about 150 teachers from other schools who came to observe the days activities. We were only allowed a few minutes of unplanned interaction with the kids but it was a fun day. I was able to connect with the other visitors and we ended up having a couple over for supper Friday night. Pray for fruit from this relationship!
Whatever else life might be for a missionary in Japan, it is seldom boring! Next week starts a similar schedule and will end with the discipleship retreat on Friday night and Saturday. Whew!
Whew, what a weekend...
My "weekend" started on Thursday and lasted through Sunday afternoon. In that time I spent about 20 hours with 4 different groups that I am reaching out to. The newest one is the "Real All Stars" an airsoft team in Kumamoto. (Airsoft is like paintball with smaller BB's) There were 17 men from high school up to around 55 years old there for 6 hours of "survival games". They focus on team work and communication with several of the men having past military experience. They were mostly welcoming to me although it always takes 6 months to a year for a group to really warm up to me here in Japan. This is partly due to being a foreigner and partly just the way the society seems to be at the moment. It is hard even for Japanese to make new friends.
Today is a "light" day, I have finally learned that Monday is not a good "off" day for me, so I have changed the pace and stayed home trying to get a few things done. I will be traveling with the family and Keiko to Nagashima to preach on Sunday so I will be working on that throughout the week. I really need to finish by Thursday because I have another "weekend" coming!
