this was my first thanksgiving away from home. i'm thankful for my international family here at newhope. we had a thanksgiving potluck luncheon at narimasu, with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, and all the fixin's! so good! i missed playing tackle football, but hey, i'm just happy to be eating turkey in japan! for some reason, turkey isn't readily available in japan. it's expensive, and most japanese either don't like it, or have never tried it. we had a great time eating, playing games, eating, hanging out, eating, and jammin'. the narimasu community center continues to be an awesome place to minister and reach the community there.
afterwards, yuichi, akky, yukka, yuuki, sunny, bonnie, and i went roaming around shinjuku. first we wanted to grab a bite to eat, but then our plans kept changing . . . from eating to bowling to catching a movie to finally going to shinjuku southern terrace to check out the christmas lights. after messing around at franc franc for a little bit, we ended up grabbing a late dinner at wendy's. while eating, we started sharing about different things that god's been teaching us. for me, god's been showing me about being flexible to his plans. as much as i may think i know what i should be doing, or what god has planned for me, i need to be open to the fact that i may be completely wrong.
friday, i was back at work. but afterwards, we all got together again for all-you-can-eat sukiyaki at mo-mo-paradise, then hyper-bowling to work off all that meat! saturday, had worship practice in the afternoon, then we headed over to patricia's for a post-thanksgiving/pre-christmas potluck dinner. ate a lot, and had a great time hanging out & worshipping with the other frontline ministry members. sunday, after church, we had small group with the teen's ministry at mina-san & ryota's house. again, i ate too much . . . hahaha. we went over matthew 25 and spent some time sharing. good times!
i wanted to go and buy cinnabons for the potluck on sat, but when i got to the mall, to my dismay, the cinnabon store had closed down! arrggg! buuuut . . . looky what i found in shinjuku! i can't wait! ahhh . . . it's the simple things that give me pleasure. well, this week, we're going to be doing another accoustic set for worship, as well as begin preparing for the christmas program. i can't believe it's already dec! stay warm (for those of you that aren't fortunate enough to have sunny california weather), and have a great week!
p.s. - kats, hope you're doing good! praying for you bro!
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may the words of my mouth tim hughes
may the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart
bless your name, bless your name, jesus
and the deeds of the day and the truth in my way
speak of you, speak of you, jesus
for this is what i ’m glad to do
it’s time to live a life of love that pleases you
and i will give my all to you
surrender everything i have and follow you
i’ll follow you
lord will you be my vision, lord will you be my guide?
be my hope, be my life, and the way
and i ’ll look not for riches, nor praises on the earth
only you’ll be the first of my heart
i will follow, i will follow you
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talk to me |
11.24.06 - fly the friendly skies
tadaima . . . back from my 9-day trip to taiwan and malaysia. it was my first time to both countries. i had a really hectic schedule, so all the traveling and work left me exhausted. i wish i had more time to relax and explore taipei, since all i really got to see was the hotel and the customer's facilities. malaysia was hot and humid. penang is a beautiful island town in northern malaysia. hot durning the day, rainy w/ thunderstorms & lightening in the evening. food was good, and i had a fun and relaxing day of golf on sat. a nice break from all the busy-ness from work.
sunday evening, during a lay-over in taipei, i couldn't help but think about the united concert going on in tokyo. there was no one else waiting in the terminal with me, so i turned up the volume on my powerbook, and started singing and jumping along with the united tunes. i felt a sense of happiness knowing that god is moving mightily in japan. i heard there were about 2000 people that attended the concert, and somewhere between 70-100 people accepted christ! wow! here's a clip someone posted on youtube from the concert last sunday:
i hope you all had a great thanksgiving! i have so much to give thanks for. i was talking with some friends last night, and we were sharing about how we often take for granted what's important, and what it means to live for god. i shared with them about what happened to koo, jinny, mike, & the gang. really puts into perspective how quickly our plans can change. please continue to keep them in your prayers.
have a blessed rest of the week. i'm really thankful for all of you!
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no mistake koo chung
ever seen this world from out there
in the endless universe
we might look small
but we're the very details
of a very divine design
and it's no mistake you're here
cause i'm not one to believe
in coincidences
yeah, it's no mistake you're here
cause the artist of the universe
drew you right here in this place
and i assure you
he never makes mistakes
hey complainer
well, I'm no different
plain angry in bitter situations
but no matter how confused and shaken
we are sealed in sovereignty
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talk to me |
11.06.06 - sacrifice . . . (con't)
i knew from the start that i would have to make sacrifices. that's one of the lessons i needed to learn coming to japan. some sacrifices i was ready for, others . . . not so much. things like mexican food, round tables, espn, i could deal with. but things like weddings, graduations, and camp were a lot harder to take. last week was just "one of those weeks". after an awesome dcat experience, i thought having to say "goodbye" to josh would be the hardest part of the week. monday morning, i found out i'd be going on a business trip on the 13th-22nd.
normally, i would be happy and excited to have the chance to go to taiwan and malaysia. but lemme give you a bit of background. originally, the plan was for me to go this week. taiwan, mayasia, then back to tokyo by the 18th. i specifically requested that i not be gone on the weekend of the 18th. this was important to me because:
1) the teens and young adult ministry were planning a bbq for the 18th. i was finally gonna get a chance to bust open the e&j super q bbq sauce ryan sent me. i was gonna share with my family here in tokyo what it means to have a good 'ol eastbaybbq.
2) sunday, the 19th is the united concert! i've been looking forward to this all year. i've never been to a united event, but being able to go to one in japan is something very special. to be in a place like this, so shut off towards christianity and expression . . . and to have a chance to be along with thousands of young people worshipping together. the aftermath, and the chain reaction of something like this will be huge. last year, thousands gave their life to the lord at the united event, and the thought of being apart of it this year gives me the chills!
well, last week, we got word from our customer that their facilities aren't prepared adequately yet, and would like us to differ the visit a week. i felt my heart drop. the plan was revised, and i was handed my itinerary to go to taipei, penang, and kaohsiung between the 13th and the 22nd. all before i could even say a word about my plans. doh.
like i said, it was a hard week for me. i felt alone, and had a tough time restling with my desires, questioning why this path was chosen, and holding resentment towards the people who messed up "my plans". but god, in his perfect timing gave me a holiday from work on friday, and cleared my schedule so i could spend the day in solitude.
after a much needed good night's rest, i woke up refreshed and ready to head out on an adventure on friday. i hopped on the train and was on my way to yokohama. yokohama has become like a refuge spot for me. a place to get away from the living entity known as tokyo. my first stop, yokohama bayside marina, for something familiar to me... outlet shopping! all i bought was a beenie from the nike outlet, but going there wasn't so much about the shopping as it was about just experiencing something familiar. then i headed over to sakuragicho to wander around the bayside/minato-miarai district. i love this place cause the bayside area reminds me of the bay area. also, the numerous parks are great places to sit, relax, snap some pics, and spend time just being still.
i spend the rest of my afternoon/evening/night wrestling with my feelings, and asking god to shed some kind of light. of course, he didn't give me all the answers, but he gave me just enough to check my attitude, and go home that night being at peace with what he's given me, and where he's taking me. tha lawd is goot!
a few other thoughts/observations from this past weekend:
- also decided to venture out to the outlets in chiba after worship practice on sat. roundtrip train fare to yokohama, ~$20. roundtrip train fare to chiba, ~20. total spent at the outlets, ~$7. proof that sometimes, the journey outweighs the destination.
- finally snapped some pics of the line at coldstone's. but i think this time it was about half the length it was when i went during the summer. pic1 : pic2
- i can read!!! reading books was never a strength of mine. i never had the attention span to read and retain books at a consistant pace. when i first got to japan, i figured my train commutes would be a good chance to start reading more. i was discouraged because everytime i tried, i would get a headache from the combination of trying to read and the movement of the train. sat, i tried something different though. i tried reading while listening to music. it worked! putting on my new sound isolating earphones, and dialing in my worship tunes on my ipod worked like a charm. somehow the music allowed me to isolate myself from the environment and focus on what i am reading. i finished this book on my train ride to/from chiba. and am now almost done re-reading mike yaconelli's collected writings. i guess it helps that both are very easy reads, but hey, gotta start somewhere right? i'm actually excited about reading . . . <gasp!>
- some of the pics i took in yokohama have already become some of my favorites. it's amazing how art can overflow out of times of stress and turmoil. i guess art is theraputic like that in a cool kind of way.
well, konshu mo gambarimasho! (let's do our best this week!) blessings . . .
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obsessions david crowder band
what can i do with my obsession
with the things i cannot see
is there madness in my being
is it the wind that moves the trees?
sometimes you're further than the moon
sometimes you're closer than my skin
and you surround me like a winter fog
you've come and burned me with a kiss
and my heart burns for you
and my heart burns. . . for you
