Ayah! (Oh wait...that's Chinese)

Thursday: After a few mosquito bites, Chieko's amazing Japanese driving got us to the SEND Center early in the morning for orientation.
We ate awesome food, of course, and heard from both Jon Reasoner and Paul Suzuki, the new Director of SEND Japan. For lunch, I ate my 9th katsudon of the trip and got to see Nozomi in his element: speaking Japanese with other people who can actually speak Japanese...unlike me...かわいそう...The Nokendai team left for TEAM Center in Tokyo shortly after. I said goodbye to these people I just saw for the first time in months. The rest of the day included napping, eating more good food, and getting a professional back and head massage from Chieko (yeah, dad, I know you're like, "dude...yo, that's like not right...I want a head massage."...cuz...you totally talk like that...haha jk).

Going to pass out tracts

Friday: Because of everyone's intense jetlag, I was woken up around 6 AM by a happy and chatty Al and Ev cooking in the kitchen and hungry children Tim, B.J., and Andrew. B.J and Tim left early (haha) to go help Paul Suzuki move into a new house or something and the rest of us left at 9...haha. The first task (not Harry Potter) was to stuff handouts that we would put in Tokorozawa mailboxes. Al, Ev, and I were a group and we wandered around for a while...what was cool to see was how Al systematically approached this job; he had a map and crossed out the places we had been...which is actually not as easy as it sounds--especially since neighborhoods are not nice and straight boxes. After people like Ev took a nap, we prepped for our Junior High program for that night. Three junior high boys showed up; one of them I had seen two years ago at VBS. Unfortunately, they had to leave early because of their English tutoring school to follow, but we got to spend time with them playing ping pong, eating pizza, and just simple speech in both of our native tongues.

Saturday: It was hot. We went shopping. We went back out to pass out those Christian tracts again...we hit a lot of apartments...therefore, all the mailboxes in one place...yes! That night we did the high school program. Unlike the day before, quite a few people showed up! A few came in at first, and we tried to not "mob" them all at once cuz that can get a tad overwhelming... After some casual conversation, we began the curry party! I'm talkin like two types of curry over rice with CC Lemon...yes...can't beat that. I attempted to speak Japanese with some of the high schoolers, but they were pretty shy. I found it interesting that bonding usually comes from playing or having fun together, not necessarily eating together...though I enjoy eating a lot...(did that follow...?) And...we played this one game...you know? It's called telephone charades...one person acts out something, like "water skiing while being chased by a shark," and the person watching looks confused and acts it out to the next person...you can imagine how quickly it falls apart...really quickly...and it is SO funny to see how the last person acts it out...one of the prompts was "feeding a giraffe and then it licks you..." So...Al was the first to see someone's interpretation of that...and he taps me on the shoulder to turn me around...haha...so he starts by like...licking up? As if he's liking really tall ice cream cone or something? Then he takes a few steps and turns around, points to his hand, and licks up(?) again? I'm thinking, "man...what is going on here?" It was the most bizarre thing ever...and I've seen a lot of bizarre things in my life of 18 years. It was also one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Next we played the "name game," which means we divide into two groups and line up behind the two sides of a barrier. So...I didn't really memorize their names nor did I necessarily hear them when they told me because they speak really quietly!--and they all kind of look the same (I'm Asian so I can stereotype, I think...sorry, I probably shouldn't say stuff like that..). Anyway, after Tim and I played a few worship songs for the group (well, for God--you know what I mean) and then Andrew gave a very moving testimony. He shared straight from the heart--very deeply moving emotional parts of his life that portrayed to them that God loves and redeems us though we do not deserve it. Yesterday was a great opportunity to connect with these kids; things move slowly here in Japan. Typically, people don't jump at the chance to become a Christian here, so relationship building is absolutely essential.

Sunday: Church at the SEND Center. However, before we left, we prayed as a team for God's blessing on the TMK and Nokendai services. Before TMK began, the church core group prayed together--and God showed up. From worship music to Ev's testimony, God was working and speaking to these people. Unfortunately, Nozomi and I had to leave right as the service was ending, so goodbyes were cut short and we were rushed to the train station. So. Higashi-Tororozawa to Noukendai is not an easy task. Nozomi and I spend a lot of time just looking confused about what to do. We found that trains are really not as easy as we thought...well, I'm not sure I ever that they were easy, but changing trains AND stations is difficult for me. We had to ask for a lot of help, but we finally got to Noukendai Station and began the long treck up the infamous Noukendai hill. And it was hot. I hear Seattle's nice this time of year. Happy for you.

The Eng Kids

Kids

Parents and Parents

We actually got to church early--before the team even arrived! And it was so good to see everyone. I could feel a different energy in the room. Something was different from before. I felt that God had brought very different people from two very different cultures together in one room. God truly blessed the worship time. We sang a few older songs and then How Great Is Our God and Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone). God poured out his spirit on those last two songs. I mean, the feeling reminded me of Lighthouse worship, when everyone feels like God is just moving through everyone and showering us with the blessing of his presence. It was amazing. We thank God for that. During the last two songs, we all thought it was great because they were sung in two different languages, yet we were worshiping the same God--and worshiping the same God together. Blessings.
Tomorrow VBS begins! Kind of nervous, yet excited at the same time...it's interesting that both of those things seems to work in tandem. Please pray for our team's unity and Christ, Nozomi's lingering sickness, and God's will to be done.

Love you all!

Nozomi and Kaoru

Matt

The Nokendai Team--My New Family