10.25.05 - technology

don't you love technology? it's pretty amazing to think that we're able to see and hear each other despite being thousands of miles apart. with the post camp rally taking place this past weekend down in anaheim, i got sad that i wasn't going to be there to see everyone. but thanks to technology (and the cool people @ apple), we were able to use the isight to say "hi" to people via internet chat. hopefully you guys were also able to see the video josh and i put together... if not you can download it here. you have to have lived in a foreign country to know how much it means to be able to see/hear you guys. email and aim are awesome, but there's something about being able to see each other that makes it so much more special. even though the time was short, it meant sooooo much to josh and i to be able to see familiar faces. hopefully we'll be able to see more of you guys soon!

the rest of the weekend was pretty chill. after a week off, josh and i returned to the kaiten sushi place on saturday. saturday night, we had dinner and watched a dvd with mike, justin, stephanie, and soojin. they're all in japan serving as missionaries with ccc. good times! it was also an adventure riding on the back of josh's bike... stayed over @ josh's in preperation for our "chat" session.

sunday, went to church after making an appearance at the post camp rally. met up with jon, who played on CAL's football team last year. he's now in japan, playing for a pro football team out here. he wanted to get together with josh to talk about possible campus ministry opportunities. real cool guy! also went to "blaze"... the monthly youth service at new hope. they've got a pretty cool group there, and i'm excited about getting involved. after service, went and grabbed a bite to eat with josh, toshi, jon, and guy we met @ church... ronald from la. browsed around the guitar shops in ochanomizu, then headed home.

"God is bigger than
the air i breathe
the world we'll leave
God will save the day
and all will say
my glorious"

it was great seeing some of you! miss you guys a lot! have an awesome week! mata ne . . .

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10.17.05 - bowling fun

saturday we had a company bowling day. they were having a bowling tournament at the tokyo dome bowling alley, so a bunch of us went and participated. thursday night, a few of us went and practiced. bowled a total of 6 games between thursday and saturday, and sad to say the highest i was able to bowl was a 117. oh well, had fun though. hung out with co-workers on sat afternoon after the bowl-a-thon, then met up with josh on sat night. we went to our favorite tonkatsu spot in shinjuku.

went to church on sunday. came home, cooked dinner, did laundry, and cleaned my apartment. talk about "domestic night"! oh, i got a haircut on friday night. people were telling me haircuts can cost up to $40... i found a good, cheap place near the station. about $13 for a haircut and shampoo. not bad! anyways, work's keeping me busy, but i'm looking forward to checking this out sometime: 2005 tokyo motor show

jah, matta ne . . .

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10.13.05 - raiisu

dad was in town on business last week, went to kaiten sushi again with josh and my dad on sat. that makes it 3 weeks in a row for me and josh @ the kaiten sushi place! saturday was "funky saturday night", a cool outreach ministry put on my new hope aimed towards teens/young adults. they have a club-like place that they call "petra club", and they have a monthly event where people can invite their friends to go. one of the guys from new hope shared some of his music, then we had an ice-breaker. the drama team put on a skit about how we all wear different "masks" in different situations. ned, who coordinates "funky", shared a message. then we all broke up into small groups for discussion, and we ate dinner together. after eating, i met a few people and sat around singing worship songs. woot for good times!

charlie finally has a rice cooker! boss told me to go buy one, so of course i did. my first meal using my new rice cooker... gyoza on sunday night! sound familiar? monday was another holiday! national sports day! awww jeeah! much props go to whoever came up with these holidays. too bad it was raining out here so we couldn't fully enjoy sports day. at least i got to sleep in. went with josh and toshi to go see a movie. we saw "cinderella man"... awesome, awesome movie! afterwards, we met up with the other campus crusades workers for some ramen. woot for good food!

company bowling tournament this saturday! too bad i'm not good enough to fully represent out here! hopefully i'll be able to snap some pictures of the fun. apparently, some people are going to practice tonight after work, so i'll prolly go along and maybe sandbag a little. it's funny cause they think all americans are good at bowling... like in the movies. woot for stereotypes about to get broken!

so much stuff going on . . .

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10.4.05 - worship

chris lap from venice was out in japan for work, so on sat he came into tokyo to hang out. chris, josh and i went to the kaiten sushi place again (see previous post) for some good/cheap sushi. we spent the afternoon in harajuku and yoyogi park. chris ended up buying some gifts and a samurai outfit for himself. pretty cool halloween costume!

saturday night, josh, his friend toshi, and i went to techikawa station to meet up with some of his friends from campus crusades. they frequently get together and go to the station to worship! outside the station, there were various people performing their own music, like street performers. it was quite interesting to sit and listen. a bunch of college students that are involved with campus crusades set up their intsruments and mics and just started worshipping. it was awesome! it's part of their ministry to go to the station to evangelize to the people there. they brought drums, bass, keyboard, electric guitar, and even 2 wooden crosses! as people walked by, some would stop and listen. other students would go around and pass out tracts, talk to the onlookers, and share with them the reason why they're there. it's such an awesome ministry! it was a joy to worship alongside these brothers and sisters who are on fire for God! i met a few americans who happened to be passing by. they saw the crosses and stopped to chat with us. one brother is stationed here with the navy. he encouraged us with his words and even showed us a few magic tricks. another brother from georgia is out here for work, and is looking for a church to attend. he sounded excited to check out new hope with us. the other cool thing was that one of the guys there that josh introduced me to, i had actually known back in the states! it's been over 10 years since i met him at shuyokai (japanese church camp), but i recognized him as soon as i heard his name. crazy how God places certain people in certain places in our lives!

josh told me these guys are crazy, and they definitely are! but it was refreshing to see such a willingness to serve and worship in order to spread the gospel. i even got to join in a little on the guitar and lead "one way"! josh said that one of the guys there told him that someone accepted Christ for the first time that night! it was awesome, and i look forward to joining them again to worship at the station. one thing is that i got really excited about leading worship again. and the next morning my dad sent me an email asking if i wanted him to bring my guitar with him when he comes. so my baby's coming over here this week.

- edit -
guitar too heavy for papa-san to bring over. oh well, i'll think of something!

exciting stuff . . .

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