8.30.07 - 2 years later . . .

this week marks the 2 year anniversary of my arrival in japan. amazing how fast time flies! along with many uncertainties, i find myself struggling with having to define 2 lives. but what brings me comfort is knowing that my identity lies in jesus, who has paid the ultimate price for me. and so, despite not being clear on what my life holds in the future, i know that it doesn't affect the fact that i was created to worship.

fri, jarod & chrissy came into town. meet up with them after work, and took them to mo-para for some shabu-shabu goodness. afterwards, we grabbed some ice-cream, walked around shinjuku, and took in some of the night-time sights and sounds.

sat, worship practice in the morning. in the afternoon, the frontlines ministry hosted a bbq for people involved with new hope tokyo's sunday service (worship team, sound, multimedia, dance, program team, etc). busted out my stock of bbq sauces and q'd up a storm! beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, cheese stuffed sausages, garlic, corn, veggies... oh my! thanks to everyone who came. thank you for all the ways you serve god, and use your gifts to help make new hope so wonderful. and a special thanks to all those who helped plan, cook, set-up, and clean. after eating we watched a dvd of louie giglio's indescribable message (sub'ed in japanese!). afterwards, a few of us decided to go relax and chill for a bit at mos-burger. thumbs-up for the matcha-milkshake!

sun, met up w/ jarod & chrissy, and took them to church. jeremiah sang "amazing grace" as a special song before the message, and did an awesome job! it was great to get a chance to have friends see me in my "element" here in tokyo! it was cool cause steve sakanashi was at new hope as well. hanging with those guys really brought back some cool memories. after church jarod, chrissy, garett, yuka, and i ate gyoza in harajuku. then yuka lead us to this taiwanese dessert cafe in aoyama... mango kakigouri... uuuumaiii! as we were talking, i had almost forgot that we were sitting in a foreign country! i love it when we can just sit and chill (and eat yummy food) and just be happy in our conversations. it goes to prove that the company is more important than the location!

mon, met up with jarod & chrissy after work for dinner. took them to this restaurant in shibuya. it was really cool. you go and pick stuff on sticks, then take it back to your table, where you batter/panko it and deep fry it in your own personal fryer! can't go wrong with deep fried pork, chicken, shrimp, veggies, potatoes, gyoza, mochi, cheese, takoyaki, & other goodies... on sticks! word!

anyways, i had a great time hangin out this weekend. god is always amazing me with the ways that he reveals himself to me. i'm blessed and thankful of my wonderful friends all around the world. and as i embark on more adventures in my 3rd year here, i pray that we can all grow stronger and deeper in our relationship with our creator and savior!

kono ninenn osewa ni narimashita, kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

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for who you are
marty sampson (hillsong)

standing here in your presence
thinking of the good things you have done
waiting here patiently
just to hear your still small voice again

holy, righteous, faithful to the end,
saviour, healer, redeemer, and friend

i will worship you for who you are
i will worship you for who you are
i will worship you for who you are
jesus

my soul secure, your promise sure
your love endures always

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talk to me |

8.23.07 - natsu yasumi

last week, i had my natsu yasumi (summer vacation). had wed/thu/fri off, so it made for a nice 5-day weekend. rob was in town, so i stayed busy. wed, rob and i hung out with my friend jeannie, who just moved back to the states after 3 years in japan. after runch, we headed down to shiodome for matcha (green tea) goodies at tsujiri. more on this later. nothing like matcha kakigouri on a hot day (~100deg) in tokyo. next, we headed over to roppongi hills to take in some sights of tokyo @ night.

thurs, spent the day out and about in harajuku & shibuya with rob & jeremiah. in the evening, we met up with some more friends to brave the crowds of the jingu kyujyo fireworks show. it was crazy to say the least. i didn't really get a good look at the hanabi, but being in the crowd was an experience in itself. we left early to grab some grub in aoyama before heading home.

fri, rob and i met up with sunny, bonnie, and jeremiah. it was another hot day in tokyo, so upon rob's request, we went back to tsujiri. can't get enough of this stuff. it was really nice hanging out with sunny & bonnie again here in tokyo. brought back a lot of memories of good times last year.

sat, i spent all day at narimasu. i had worship practice in the morning, and xtreme at night. i was asked to give the message for xtreme, so i spoke on the fruit of the spirit, joy. i was a little anxious all day because i felt like my message changed about 5 times the past week. it was also the first time i gave a message here in japan... so it was my first time with a translator. that was the hardest part of my preparations. i'm used to kinda being spontaneous with my messages, but i didn't wanna leave my translator hung out to dry. so i tried to stick to my outline as much as possible, without going on too many tangents (i guess this is a good thing). anyways, everything went smooth, thanks for translating yuka! let's have joy in knowing our creator and savior!

well, back to the daily grind this week. stay cool everyone!

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none but jesus
brooke fraser (hillsong united)

in the quiet, in the stillness
i know that you are god
in the secret of your presence
i know there i am restored

when you call i won’t refuse
each new day again i ’ll choose

there is no one else for me
none but jesus
crucified to set me free
now i live to bring him praise

in the chaos, in confusion
i know you’re sovereign still
in the moment of my weakness
you give me grace to do your will

when you call i won’t delay
this my song through all my days

all my delight is in you lord
all of my hope, all of my strength
all my delight is in you lord forevermore

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talk to me |

8.13.07 - hanabi

hanabi (fireworks) and summer go hand in hand. the hanabi here are world famous. i missed the hanabi taikai's (fireworks shows) in tokyo last year, so i was determined to not miss them again this time around. this past weekend was the tokyo bay hanabi festival. the sumida river hanabi festival is the largest one, with over 22,000 shells fired, but the tokyo bay show is fired over the water in the bay, allowing for larger and higher hanabi. it featured a little more than half the number of shells fired (12,000), but more than made up for it with the sheer size and impressiveness of each shell fired.

during the week, i got this image in my head of the hanabi. i've never seen the tokyo bay hanabi before, but i had a clear picture of a photo that i wanted to try and capture. nothing really obscure or odd, but a photo incorporating the fireworks, rainbow bridge, tokyo tower, and the bay/water reflection. i pretty much knew i'd have to take it from the aqua city area of odaiba, but i wasn't sure of the exact location. so on sat, i got to odaiba around noon to do some scouting. i had a few spots in mind, but was dissapointed to see that all those spots were blocked off. they were roped off as either vip seating (tix sold out way in advance) or inaccessible to keep traffic congestion a minimum. i basically walked all the way down the coastline looking for "the spot". many people had been there since the morning saving their own "spots". i spent all afternoon wandering around searching. i also have to note that the temperature had hiked up close to 38c/100f! i finally found the spot, and was relieved that it wasn't too crowded yet.

it was 3pm, and the show was scheduled to start at 7pm. so i went back to aqua city to seek refuge in the air conditioning, replenish my fluids, and have a kakigori. once it hit 4pm, i noticed more and more people starting to head towards the various viewing spots. i started to get a little paranoid, since i didn't put a mat/blanket down to save my spot like everyone else was doing. so i hurried back to "my spot" to make sure i was well prepared. to my delight, it wasn't too crowded yet, so i was able to relocate and "claim" my territory. i set up my tripod and decided to wait it out. i wasn't about to risk losing my spot after everything i had done to find it. a got a little nervous, since i really wasn't sure where the hanabi were gonna be fired up, or even if they were gonna be visible from where i was standing. my concerns were eased because i noticed that a lot of "veteran-looking" camera-men had set up their equipment close by too. also, every hour, they fired up a few test shots so everyone would know where to expect to see the hanabi. so nice & thoughtful of the pyrotechnicians, woot! so i basically stood there, listening to my ipod and playing my ds lite for 2.5 hours, in 100 deg heat. note: things to bring on future hanabi taikai excursions... tarp/mat/blanket, folding chair, bug repellent, sun block, water, snacks, & friends wouldn't hurt either.

7pm on the dot... the first shot is fired! by now, the whole odaiba coastline is packed with people. my preperation and patience definitely payed off, as i had a prime viewing angle. it was my first time attempting to capture a photo of fireworks with my digital slr, and also my first time shooting in full manual mode. as each shot came up in the preview screen, i was delighted by what i was seeing. i stood in awe, as the shots kept coming and coming. i had never experienced a fireworks show that compared to this. it was amazing. then it came... the image that i had seem in my head.

the last shot was fired at about 8:20pm. almost 1.5 hours from the first shot, and over 300 photos later, i felt like i had been holding my breath the whole time. all i could do was stand still and reflect on what i had finally been able to experience. i sat down for the first time in over 4 hours, and i thanked god for taking me on this journey/adventure.

this past week was quite a ride. starting with my birthday. thank you to everyone who wished me a happy b'day and helped me celebrate. it meant a lot to me, so much more than you may realize. hontoni arigato! during the week, my thoughts and prayers were with all you at camp. and i know it wasn't a coincidence that god took me on my hanabi adventure on sat afternoon... which is friday evening in cali, the last "crazy" night at camp. god showed me something amazing, in the midst of me wanting to be elsewhere. this year's camp was one of the most memorable ones for me... who'd of thought i could say that after not even being there. <insert smiley/suprised/embarassed/sticking tongue out face here>

well, this week is obon week here in japan. so i have wed/thurs/fri off from work. rob, bonnie, and sunny will be in town, so i'm looking forward to some cool adventures! also, i'll be giving the message at xtreme this sat night, so if you could pray for my preperations, it'd be much appreciated! blessings this week!

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all i need
bethany dillon

when the day is done
and there's no one else around
while i'm lying here in bed
you're in my heart, you're in my head
you're all i need, you're all i need

there are a million voices
calling out my name
but you're the one i want to hear
so make the others disappear
you're all i need, you're all i need

you are all i need when i'm surrounded
you are all i need if i'm by myself
you fill me when i'm empty
there is nothing else
you're all i need

when the morning comes
and your mercy is renewed
there's a fire in my bones
i'm not afraid to go alone
you're all i need, you're all i need

the sun on my face
i hear you whisper loud
you're still the god that opens seas
every flower, even me
you're all i need, you're all i need

i'm drawn to everything that you do
nothing compares with you

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talk to me |

8.02.07 - i'd rather be

know those bumper stickers that say "i'd rather be... <insert whitty anecdote>"? quite a few of those phrases crossed my mind this week. here's a few:

i'd rather be... hanging out with friends
i'd rather be... at xtreme beach camp
i'd rather be... getting ready for pcjc family camp
i'd rather be... playing golf
i'd rather be... bbq'ing
i'd rather be... going for a nice long drive
i'd rather be... sleeping
i'd rather be... shoe shopping
i'd rather be... out shooting photos
i'd rather be... playing with pandas
i'd rather be... playing guitar
i'd rather be... out exploring somewhere i've never been
i'd rather be... watching transformers/ocean's13/simpsons
i'd rather be... building something with legos

but god has placed me where i am, so i have to trust that it's where i need to be. god's been teaching me a lot about this. about being content with where i am, and who he has made me to be. as i'm on the verge of turning 30, i look back at all the goals i had hoped to accomplish in my 20's. although i've yet to reach many of them, i feel like god has placed me on the path i need to be on.

nyika & lauren, praying for you two as you transition into your new surroundings and embark on your next journeys. pcjc peeps, praying for you all as you prepare for camp next week. yikes camp!!! maybe i'll pull an all-nighter on sat night to be with you in spirit!

much love!

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name's sake
shane barnard

i come to seek your face
holy spirit wont you fall on us
speak wisdom to your people your saints
fill us with the knowledge of you
fill us with the knowledge of you

overwhelm my heart
overwhelm this place with a passion for your name
i need your tender mercies
holy spirit wont you make a change
for your name's sake

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talk to me |