That is probably the most foreign thing to me here, even though I knew the facts before I came. I grew up in Oklahoma - the Bible belt. Most people at least have an inkling what the gospel is about because we grew up hearing about it. I have known He existed since I was very young, and now I cannot deny the blessing that was. Here, Christianity is not readily accepted. In fact: Your family might disown you. You might lose favor at your workplace. It's hard to find discipleship and a church where you feel you can grow. You might be confused, alone and rejected...and at the same time, you're probably happier than most of the people bustling by you on the street or in the station.
It's incredibly difficult, but once the decision has been made - like in most places - it completely changes everything. Most would say the church in Japan is a bit stuffy and old-fashioned, but I really believe there is a young generation rising up with a passion and a purity that Japan hasn't experienced before. There is a hunger for truth and a genuine love for God that could change cities for His name. Be praying for an even greater openness to His truth and His love here!
It's been a busy week/weekend. We have met so many people! I ate lunch at Todai last Thursday with Izumi and her friend Yuriko. That afternoon, I met with my friend Yuki from NSU at Waseda University. Robert, Yuki and I spent the day wandering around campus, getting ate alive by mosquitoes and talking about the lack of pandas. That evening, we had coffee and dinner with an awesome new friend, Takeshi - fresh from Long Beach, CA and wanting to speak some English! We spent Friday sight-seeing with a Todai friend, Yuta. He took us to eat chankonabe(the traditional food of sumo fighters!) and to the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku, then we went on to Akihabara(Electric Town). It was so much fun. I'm really thankful for the friends we made last week and some of them are planning on attending Bible study this week, so that's exciting.Saturday was a long day...
Liz(a girl I met at orientation my first week in Japan) and I had this awesome plan to meet and go to Harajuku before Saturday night XHOP. She has her Saturdays free, so she took a 1.5 hr train ride from Chiba to meet me at Shinjuku station. This is when things got interesting. I got there and could not find her! After an hour or so of walking the platform and running up all kinds of stairs, I gave up and went home. (Cell phones are more convenient than I realize...) All's well that ends well though, and God knows the ending to every story. Liz somehow survived the busiest station in the world, found an internet cafe and some addresses and then employed the help of Frenchman who escorted her to the door of the XA Student Center. I got the call, and we all went to dinner together before prayer service. God is good, you know? God just renewed and refreshed us during XHOP -as we were all a little weary from the day's craziness- and Liz and I made Harajuku plans for an upcoming day off! Sunday was church day! Rainy, rainy, rainy - but it is always nice to be at Tokyo Urban Church. Minus the language barrier, it feels like these people have been my church family and have been my friends for much longer than this summer. My cell group is amazing, and it's nice to just have that time with some Christian girls to talk about things and pray together!
Today, the final team came in: Carbondale! They have been coming to Japan for seven years now. This is the biggest team of the summer, 10 people + Robert, Susan and me. Traveling with that big of a group has its ups and downs in Tokyo, but we got to Seikei University just in time for our English class! Carbondale did a drama and gave out Bibles and we got to meet a lot of really great students. Seikei is a beautiful campus and they are so lucky to have Netsu-sensei! He is the professor who invited us to the campus to speak to his class. What an amazing opportunity - helping them with their English AND a introduction to the faith that brought us from mid-America to Japan. It went really well and I can't wait to get in touch with the girls I met during class!
Tomorrow, I'm going back to Seikei University with the Carbondale girls and we have a Bible study party at Todai tomorrow night. Please be praying for our ministry on these campuses and for the friendships we have made!
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