The backdrop is a snowy night at a famous Buddhist temple. There are no shepherds, no wise men, no angels. But there are Santas. Many of them. In fact, the temple is crawling with the little red-clad characters, some of them carrying paper umbrellas.
 
This Japanese advent calendar isn’t like any I’ve ever seen in the U.S. The Santa labeled the 25th seems a little more familiar, flying a sleigh across the sky. But the 25th isn’t the final date. The really big date, the date the whole calendar is leading up to, is January 1—the biggest holiday of the Japanese year.
 
Sure, the stores in Japan play up Christmas. (Anything to move more merchandise.) But it’s still a small celebration. When dad gets home from work, there might be a small Christmas cake (white sponge cake, white frosting, and strawberries on top) and a present for each of the kids. Few Japanese have any idea that Christmas is about God being born as a human baby so He could grow up and die for the world.
 
The good news? Japanese want to find out more about this “Western” holiday. This means that friends and neighbors who usually decline an invitation to church are interested in coming to a candlelight service or a Christmas party. So, missionaries put on Christmas events during which they share the Gospel.
 
We’re grateful to be a part of this Gospel presentation. We’re glad we can:

• Invite friends to our church’s candlelight service.
• Decorate our front windows with the manger scene.
• Answer any questions that come our way.
• Support the massive outreach effort by educating missionary kids and by training/coaching missionaries.

And we’re grateful for your prayers, financial support, and friendship.

We're thankful that...

• God's loves us, has saved us, and gives us opportunities to be involved in His work in Japan.
• You're involved in God's work in Japan. We appreciate your friendship, prayers, & financial support.
• Japanese are becoming Christians.
• Kim's students grappled with shalom. 
• The Nov. 3 workshop I led at CAJ resulted in teachers developing Biblical perspective lessons plans (slideshow). Thanks for praying!
• We're safe/healthy and that Caitlin continues to feel good about being at Redeemer University College.

When I think of our neighborhood, I think of certain sounds: the cooing of pigeons, the clanking of bike stands, the clickety-clack of trains.

Here's what a garbage truck sounds like (15 seconds):




And here's what an election ad sounds like at 7:00 a.m. It's not a TV ad—because there are no election ads on TV in Japan. Instead, vans with loudspeakers go around broadcasting ads (26 seconds):

Thanks for praying—God is answering your prayers!

• Praise God that 3 of the 4 Japanese adults baptized on Sept. 27 have already shared during the Sunday service about God's work in their lives. Last Sunday Mr. Y said, "I really need Jesus...I would like to live every day accountable before God and keep remembering that every day is God's day."
• Praise God that Kim's students continue to connect what they study and what the Bible teaches. On a recent test on Cry, the Beloved Country, one student wrote, "God gives hope to those who have none. Because of the hope, some broken things can become new.”

Read More...

What happens when you get a hole-in-one in Japan?

Japan has a population of over 125 million in the land space of California. How crowded is Japan?

Visit a 7-11 to get the feel of what it's like go shopping in a crowded store (16 seconds).

Read More...

I like summer! I'll bet you do, too.

Japanese like summer. Like North Americans, Japanese eat watermelon. But the watermelons are smaller and round (like the watermelon beach ball I'm holding). And Japanese watermelons are sometimes square—that's right, Japanese watermelons are sometimes square.

To see a square watermelon, watch this 27-second video:


Read More...

I was deep in the mundane stuff of everyday life—insurance forms, to be precise—when the doorbell rang.

“Congratulations!”

It was the pastor and his wife from the church where I used to teach an English Bible class.

But what were they congratulating me for? Read More...

Tokyo is on roughly the same latitude as Atlanta. We have 4 seasons, and we rarely get snow. To see the local weather forecast, click here.

Each afternoon, music plays to remind children that it's time to go home. To hear the music, click the link.

TimeToGoHome

Here are some things you can do:

• Read about the prime minister’s resignation.
  
• Get around on foot, by bike, and by train.
  
• Watch Japanese and US baseball on TV.
  
• Visit CAJ.
  
• See Christian churches.

16 inches of rain in 24 hours. That's the weather prediction, assuming Typhoon 9 continues toward Tokyo. In 20 years of being in Tokyo, I can recall 1 typhoon that hit Tokyo, so my guess is we aren't going to get hit. If we do, we won't have school, and we'll stay safe and dry in our home. How's your weather?