This week has really flown by!
Tuesday, Rebekah and I talked with Marie, Ayana, and Haruka at lunch at Chuo University. I met Marie the week before, but had been talking to the other two the whole summer. Unfortunately, we weren't able to really say much spiritually, although Rebekah gave Marie a Hope tract. I think that that will be the last time we see them.
The Hachioji team came with us to do five minute English. It's always fun to have a lot of people with you for that; it's usually a three hour job. As the weather is getting hotter, it's getting crazier. I'm kind of the unofficial translator for our group. I remember getting asked to go over and talk to a guy. I love being able ot practice my Japanese, although he said he wasn't really interested. Katie finally found her a backpack during our break together.
There was a reunion dinner- Sumiyo's sister, niece, and the two girls who stayed in their house the first half of the summer came over. I could only stay until 7, but got to talk with them a little. Rebekah and I met on the road- she kind of replaced me for dinner. I met with Caleb and Takahito for Bible study. He had actually written out his statements about how far he wanted to go with Christianity, and then tried to translate that into English. Michael, another intern, also came, and we all tried to answer any questions that Takahito had.
When I returned home, there was leftover dinner for me- very good! Then R and I got to talk with Sumiyo a long time. Rebekah brought down her computer, and we looked at her pictures, spending a long time on her Ghana pictures. Sumiyo is so funny and laughs really easily.
Wednesday, Rebekah and I got rid of our distribution materials really quickly. We had our now customary Wednesday Starbucks. I think I'm becoming a real Matcha Frappucino addict- I must admit to having the venti. Good discussion. Finally got up the courage to talked to the guy sitting beside us writing in a small notebook while Rebekah was gone for a second. Asked him what he was studying- nothing, just writing his experiences. Eventually R and I got to get through the whole gospel with him. And he said that Jesus being alive is a fact, buut that all religions are fact. We were going to meet with him on Sunday, but he backed out. I think I'll call him sometime soon and see if he'll meet another time.
In five minute English, I talked to a guy(mostly in Japanese) about us. He thought we were 'Morumans, ' which I quickly explained we weren't. Talked to a Zen Buddhist girl who didn't believe in a god. Tried to point to creation- how do Buddhists think the world came to be, anyway? At 4:30, Harumi from a while back came and talked to me. We talked about mundane things, and then Rebekah came back and asked me if we were going to talk about spiritual things, so I started right there, asking about what she had gotten from us the last time and about the Bible. Harumi-Christina said that she had been reading the Bible to practice English. Eventually, I just took out the steps to peace. We went through it all, and she said she agreed, and not only that, but that she had already become a Christian that day, sometime around three. I asked her where Jesus was- and she said in her heart. And that she knew God. Praise God! He does an amazing work!
After this, we decided to go boost the Kunitachi team's ranks for the last hour. I've never actually been to the Kunitachi station before. It's so nice- has a lot of trees around it.
Talked to one American guy who starts our conversation with "But you're a Mormon." No!!!! I calmly explained that we are not Mormons, and that Mormons are not Christians, but that we are Christians. He was relieved at this and called Mormons satanists. At this I asked him if he was a Christian himself, and he said no, but that he had a Catholic background, but doesn't believe in anything now. I asked him how he could say that Mormons were satanists, but not actually believe in Christ himself. He said something about how God is love and knows we've all (messed) up and will have mercy. "It's only logical," he said. Logical? Anyway, he was on his way to something, so we couldn't talk longer, but I warned him about how much knowledge he has and hasn't chosen to follow Christ- how he will be judged for this. At the same time, we parted in peace. This is how it's supposed to happen. I hope this man comes to know God!
Walked around Kunitachi after 5ME- ate curry bread!
Saw the sunset(the first time I can remember seeing it in Tokyo)! Ran for the second time in one day.
Thursday, was supposedly the last campus day(I think Caleb might have been wrong about this). It was quiet and bittersweet. Didn't even get to meet any of my friends, because they were busy with exams. Saw some graduation wear for girls; in Japan they wear pleated pants and kimono. So pretty!
We went over to Hachioji for 5ME. It was so hot, even in the shade(come to find out, it was 89 degrees when I checked- but maybe it was hotter earlier). Talked to an English major who goes to a Christian university. She's not really interested in the gospel, but I hope she'll remember what we talked about when she studies the Bible at college. I hope that she comes to know God.
During my drink/rest break, I went with Katie and Caleb to the meat market in the basement. It was really cool. Wish I had gotten something.
Had to go to Shibuya for girl's night, and everyone was doing their own thing, so I walked around, planning to get some onigiri for dinner(paying tops 110 yen for each), but then I was soo easily persuaded into an Indian curry place. 990 yen for a meal. It was so good, though- I had mutton curry. The naans they have here are enormous.
Friday, we got confused in distribution, but we got out a lot of gospels of John wherever we went. After all five of us eating together for lunch, we split up to do whatever- at three is when we are supposed to start 5ME. I got an expresso at D & Coffee- whoa, it through me for a loop! I just wanted to buy the cheapest thing so I could grab a seat.
Read through Galatians. A lot of good stuff in there. Most of it is an argument for why we don't need to worry about old covenant laws. And that's always a good reminder for me. I think this summer, I've been able to see somewhat what is just cultural or necessary for a time and what is the essential for a Christian walk. Because the law was just a guide until Christ came, and then, like you don't need training wheels anymore after you've been riding a bike for a while, you don't need the law, you can just ride freely.
Had some real characters yesterday. The first was a nominally Catholic woman who thought Maria was the awesome one, but I tried to show her how Christ was much more important than this great woman. She asked all about us, and I tried to explain as best as possible what we did. She found it very interesting that we meet on Sundays at a karaoke joint. She also found my last name quite hilarious, but in a way I hadn't heard before. She later came back and gave us drinks- black coffee and vegetable juice.
We talked to a couple of girls getting ready for summer vacation and a couple of guys, one who was egging on his friend earlier to come talk to me. Takahito came a couple of times and hung out with us. An African American said he'd seen one of our people last summer in Shibuya. Said he used to be a Christian, but got turned off by organized religion- is a Daiost now, which according to him, is just the scientific method covered by religion. I said Christianity is also about "test[ing] everything to see what is true." (Kelsey's version of 1 Thesselonians 5:21) Encouraged him to seek out the truth. A Nigerian English teacher wanted me to read to him, so I read something out of the Bible(it was a failed passage, though- should have chose another one for him, but what is done is done).
At 5:25, I went down to Starbucks to meet Celia for the second time. i only got a S size matcha- even smaller than tall. I had planned to meet another woman an hour later, but she never showed up, so we talked until Starbucks closed at ten. I used the passage in Luke 9 about the feeding of the five thousand for our lesson, but she had actually read the gospel of John I gave her and had questions about it, not to mention questions about 100 different random things. She couldn't understand how John, who was only a little older than Jesus, could baptise Jesus- she had only heard of infant baptism. Then I explained it's significance. Then she asked about someone changing their beliefs after being a Christian. And about Christians marrying nonChristians. What about love at first sight? I just explained about the strife that goes with that.
The conversation was so good- not everything about spiritual things, some other subjects, like how many phrases in different languages we knew. We went through I love you in like ten. It took a minute for me to remember nakupenda, but it was there in my brain.
Then around 50 minutes before Starbucks closed, Rebekah joined us, and it was fun. Celia is going with us to a party we're having for all of the teams' friends tonight.
Only big bad new of this week: my computer's power cord up and died, so my computer is now without power; I'm using Rebekah's computer to write this blog post. Hopefully, I'll be able to find one here. I'm not exactly sure what to do.
Anyway, maybe I'll take a siesta now, just a small one.
Tuesday, Rebekah and I talked with Marie, Ayana, and Haruka at lunch at Chuo University. I met Marie the week before, but had been talking to the other two the whole summer. Unfortunately, we weren't able to really say much spiritually, although Rebekah gave Marie a Hope tract. I think that that will be the last time we see them.
The Hachioji team came with us to do five minute English. It's always fun to have a lot of people with you for that; it's usually a three hour job. As the weather is getting hotter, it's getting crazier. I'm kind of the unofficial translator for our group. I remember getting asked to go over and talk to a guy. I love being able ot practice my Japanese, although he said he wasn't really interested. Katie finally found her a backpack during our break together.
There was a reunion dinner- Sumiyo's sister, niece, and the two girls who stayed in their house the first half of the summer came over. I could only stay until 7, but got to talk with them a little. Rebekah and I met on the road- she kind of replaced me for dinner. I met with Caleb and Takahito for Bible study. He had actually written out his statements about how far he wanted to go with Christianity, and then tried to translate that into English. Michael, another intern, also came, and we all tried to answer any questions that Takahito had.
When I returned home, there was leftover dinner for me- very good! Then R and I got to talk with Sumiyo a long time. Rebekah brought down her computer, and we looked at her pictures, spending a long time on her Ghana pictures. Sumiyo is so funny and laughs really easily.
Wednesday, Rebekah and I got rid of our distribution materials really quickly. We had our now customary Wednesday Starbucks. I think I'm becoming a real Matcha Frappucino addict- I must admit to having the venti. Good discussion. Finally got up the courage to talked to the guy sitting beside us writing in a small notebook while Rebekah was gone for a second. Asked him what he was studying- nothing, just writing his experiences. Eventually R and I got to get through the whole gospel with him. And he said that Jesus being alive is a fact, buut that all religions are fact. We were going to meet with him on Sunday, but he backed out. I think I'll call him sometime soon and see if he'll meet another time.
In five minute English, I talked to a guy(mostly in Japanese) about us. He thought we were 'Morumans, ' which I quickly explained we weren't. Talked to a Zen Buddhist girl who didn't believe in a god. Tried to point to creation- how do Buddhists think the world came to be, anyway? At 4:30, Harumi from a while back came and talked to me. We talked about mundane things, and then Rebekah came back and asked me if we were going to talk about spiritual things, so I started right there, asking about what she had gotten from us the last time and about the Bible. Harumi-Christina said that she had been reading the Bible to practice English. Eventually, I just took out the steps to peace. We went through it all, and she said she agreed, and not only that, but that she had already become a Christian that day, sometime around three. I asked her where Jesus was- and she said in her heart. And that she knew God. Praise God! He does an amazing work!
After this, we decided to go boost the Kunitachi team's ranks for the last hour. I've never actually been to the Kunitachi station before. It's so nice- has a lot of trees around it.
Talked to one American guy who starts our conversation with "But you're a Mormon." No!!!! I calmly explained that we are not Mormons, and that Mormons are not Christians, but that we are Christians. He was relieved at this and called Mormons satanists. At this I asked him if he was a Christian himself, and he said no, but that he had a Catholic background, but doesn't believe in anything now. I asked him how he could say that Mormons were satanists, but not actually believe in Christ himself. He said something about how God is love and knows we've all (messed) up and will have mercy. "It's only logical," he said. Logical? Anyway, he was on his way to something, so we couldn't talk longer, but I warned him about how much knowledge he has and hasn't chosen to follow Christ- how he will be judged for this. At the same time, we parted in peace. This is how it's supposed to happen. I hope this man comes to know God!Walked around Kunitachi after 5ME- ate curry bread!
Saw the sunset(the first time I can remember seeing it in Tokyo)! Ran for the second time in one day.
Thursday, was supposedly the last campus day(I think Caleb might have been wrong about this). It was quiet and bittersweet. Didn't even get to meet any of my friends, because they were busy with exams. Saw some graduation wear for girls; in Japan they wear pleated pants and kimono. So pretty!
We went over to Hachioji for 5ME. It was so hot, even in the shade(come to find out, it was 89 degrees when I checked- but maybe it was hotter earlier). Talked to an English major who goes to a Christian university. She's not really interested in the gospel, but I hope she'll remember what we talked about when she studies the Bible at college. I hope that she comes to know God.
During my drink/rest break, I went with Katie and Caleb to the meat market in the basement. It was really cool. Wish I had gotten something.
Had to go to Shibuya for girl's night, and everyone was doing their own thing, so I walked around, planning to get some onigiri for dinner(paying tops 110 yen for each), but then I was soo easily persuaded into an Indian curry place. 990 yen for a meal. It was so good, though- I had mutton curry. The naans they have here are enormous.
Friday, we got confused in distribution, but we got out a lot of gospels of John wherever we went. After all five of us eating together for lunch, we split up to do whatever- at three is when we are supposed to start 5ME. I got an expresso at D & Coffee- whoa, it through me for a loop! I just wanted to buy the cheapest thing so I could grab a seat.
Read through Galatians. A lot of good stuff in there. Most of it is an argument for why we don't need to worry about old covenant laws. And that's always a good reminder for me. I think this summer, I've been able to see somewhat what is just cultural or necessary for a time and what is the essential for a Christian walk. Because the law was just a guide until Christ came, and then, like you don't need training wheels anymore after you've been riding a bike for a while, you don't need the law, you can just ride freely.
Had some real characters yesterday. The first was a nominally Catholic woman who thought Maria was the awesome one, but I tried to show her how Christ was much more important than this great woman. She asked all about us, and I tried to explain as best as possible what we did. She found it very interesting that we meet on Sundays at a karaoke joint. She also found my last name quite hilarious, but in a way I hadn't heard before. She later came back and gave us drinks- black coffee and vegetable juice.
We talked to a couple of girls getting ready for summer vacation and a couple of guys, one who was egging on his friend earlier to come talk to me. Takahito came a couple of times and hung out with us. An African American said he'd seen one of our people last summer in Shibuya. Said he used to be a Christian, but got turned off by organized religion- is a Daiost now, which according to him, is just the scientific method covered by religion. I said Christianity is also about "test[ing] everything to see what is true." (Kelsey's version of 1 Thesselonians 5:21) Encouraged him to seek out the truth. A Nigerian English teacher wanted me to read to him, so I read something out of the Bible(it was a failed passage, though- should have chose another one for him, but what is done is done).
At 5:25, I went down to Starbucks to meet Celia for the second time. i only got a S size matcha- even smaller than tall. I had planned to meet another woman an hour later, but she never showed up, so we talked until Starbucks closed at ten. I used the passage in Luke 9 about the feeding of the five thousand for our lesson, but she had actually read the gospel of John I gave her and had questions about it, not to mention questions about 100 different random things. She couldn't understand how John, who was only a little older than Jesus, could baptise Jesus- she had only heard of infant baptism. Then I explained it's significance. Then she asked about someone changing their beliefs after being a Christian. And about Christians marrying nonChristians. What about love at first sight? I just explained about the strife that goes with that.
The conversation was so good- not everything about spiritual things, some other subjects, like how many phrases in different languages we knew. We went through I love you in like ten. It took a minute for me to remember nakupenda, but it was there in my brain.
Then around 50 minutes before Starbucks closed, Rebekah joined us, and it was fun. Celia is going with us to a party we're having for all of the teams' friends tonight.
Only big bad new of this week: my computer's power cord up and died, so my computer is now without power; I'm using Rebekah's computer to write this blog post. Hopefully, I'll be able to find one here. I'm not exactly sure what to do.
Anyway, maybe I'll take a siesta now, just a small one.
How did she find our last name funny?
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