Hiking Mt. Moiwa

My senior adult class and I hiked up Mount Moiwa, a small mountain in the outskirts of Sapporo. The grass and trees were green and lush, but it made me sad to see mountain shrines and offerings to the gods left along the forest trail.

Yoshie and Keiko




A wildflower called "kurumabaso," which translates, "car leaf flower" because the leaves are shaped like the spokes of a wheel.


Our fearless leader, Ken, looking up flowers and plants in his guidebook. He loves nature and has a beautiful vegetable garden, besides teaching physics or biology (I forget which) at a local university.


The mountain path we took was dotted with all kinds of Buddhist statues and stone idols. There is a Buddhist monastery nearby, and I met a female "monk" (nun? not sure of the name) when we were almost to the top. She was so surprised (and happy!) to see a foreigner (me) that she let us take a picture together, although I think I heard her telling the other Japanese that she usually doesn't let people take pictures but this time it was okay. She was wearing a long robe. I can't remember her name, but it started with "Ko" - "Koko," "Koro," something. Please pray for her, that she would find God's truth... Romans says that creation speaks of Him, so pray that she would reach out for God and live.


Mr. Horimoto, one of my favorite people in all Japan.

Beautiful days in Okinawa

A walk by the river

Near our apartment there is a beautiful, spacious park called Hiraoka Koen, where cherry trees grow and the path meanders through empty green fields and thin forest. It is still wintery here, and the weather is very cold. Spring is coming, as evidenced by the white and black skunk cabbages we found blooming amidst the brown winter remains of bamboo, plants, and trees in the undergrowth below the bridge.

Cherry blossom season

Cherry blossom season in Japan is one of the most beautiful, magnificent things I've ever experienced in my life. Everything turns into clouds of pink or white (plum blossom) almost overnight, blanketing the ground in petals. People come from miles around to do "hanami," literally translated "flower-seeing." There are picnics in the park with fresh corn and grilled chicken on skewers (yakitori), stir-fried noodles with meat and vegetabes (yakisoba), and hours of sitting under the trees on blankets.

Cherry blossoms (sakura) have a special, poetic significance in Japanese culture - one of fleeting time, of how brief life is. Just as the blossoms appear suddenly, shine for about a week, and then quickly fade, so is life.

The Bible agrees with this idea: "What is your life?" Jesus asks. "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

The book of Isaiah says that all men are like grass - "and all their glory is like the flowers of the field."

Yet that is not the end of the story! For those who believe in Christ, it is just the beginning. Even Isaiah continues this glorious thought: "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. (My people) will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams."

Thoughts

Today was windy and cold, whipping my hair into thick strands around my face so that I could hardly see where I was going. I got on the bus home from the university and tried to comb my fingers through my hair, but to no avail. The bus was crowded (as it always is in the evening), so I stood and watched the big, billowy clouds I love so much blow in over the snow-capped mountains. I saw the sun go down and the clouds turn a stark, deep purple against the pale blue western sky, the horizon layered with thick, dark blue.

I imagine Jesus would return on just such a day, in just such clouds. No blue sky for Him. No, He would thunder through the sky, splitting those blood-purple clouds with razor-sharp spears of white light, like heavy curtains pulling back from the glowing star on stage (as everyone hushes in delight).

But He chose not to come then, so I thought about prayers and answers and Japan instead.

Two situations: One better than I hoped, one not as good as I hoped.

The better: I met with Yuriko yesterday after months of not seeing her (an a little trepidation because of the way she reacted last time), and from the moment we met it was a blast. She came carrying a bag loaded with little presents for me, and we over the street in a nearby coffee shop, drinking coffee, laughing, looking at photos and making jokes. We talked non-stop for FOUR HOURS STRAIGHT, and when she walked me to the subway station, she said, "I want to meet you again! When can I come over!"

How's that for answered prayer?

The not as good: I showed up at the local university for English club, nervous and carrying a bag with photos, Brazilian cookies and my stuffed Veggie Tales "Bob the Tomato." (He speaks English!) To my disappointment (and the director's), only TWO students showed up - one of them being a 55-year-old non-traditional student. A far cry from the rowdy group of teenage girls I met with last year! The 19-year-old student said she might not be coming back if she gets a job during those hours.

Hmmm...

The upside, if there was one, was that the 55-year-old loved the class and said she was going to get all her classmates to come next week. Good idea.

Better idea: I'd love for God to multiply those students like the loaves and the fishes so that, at the end of the year, Mr. Takeuchi can say in puzzlement, "Where did all ESS members come from?"

"Well," I could say, "my friends and I prayed. God does stuff like that."

Nice thought. Maybe God will answer like that. Maybe I'll make all kinds of contacts through the ESS club.

Or maybe He'll surprise me and come in the middle of the day, broad blue sky, not a cloud in sight.

We'll see.

Either way, I'm pleased to know that "(He) can do all things. No plan of (His) can be thwarted." (Thus says Job).

I agree.

Will you pray?


* * * * *


Prayers

I didn't get to finish my list yesterday, so here are some more things to pray for:

* Mrs. Saito - Mrs. Saito is a relatively new Japanese Christian, in her 40s or 50s, who comes over every Thursday morning to study the Bible for an hour. Her husband is not a Christian, and her two grown children are living in the U.S. She experiences intense pressure from her non-Christian family and friends and is often depressed. Please pray that God will overcome our language barrier and show her the joy and strength she has in Him!

* Bible class - each Tuesday morning (starting next week) I will be going to a Christian-founded women's university to help lead discussion groups in English Bible class. Most of the faculty and students are NOT Christians, and one of the best things the discussion group does is provide a starter for building relationships among the girls. Pray for God to build many relationships as Heidi and I meet the new students and share His Word! (I've also been invited to speak in chapel on May 10, so please pray for God to give a message for the few girls who will attend!)

* Our apartment - I haven't had any luck meeting neighbors here until this past week! Two middle school girls, (Alisa and Kanako) both 13, followed me from the lobby up to the apartment and stayed two hours, eating ice cream and practicing their English. Then the next day the high school girl who lives next door chased me (literally!) down the sidewalk as I went to catch a bus. "I want to study English!" she said. "When can I come over?" So Tuesday Kaori came over to eat tacos for dinner, and we decided to practice English every two weeks. Until now we have had NO contact with our neighbors in 207, while the father in 209 has made a decision for Christ and goes to the Cookseys' house church every week. Please pray for God to draw them to us (even if they don't know why) so they can hear and respond to the good news we have! Pray for me to be able to spend more time with these young girls (I LOVE young people!)

* Heidi's parents - Heidi's parents and older brother Don are coming to visit from Montana for two weeks. They are not believers, and I ask you to pray that seeing Heidi's work here will show them the truth about God. Pray that "they eyes of their hearts will be opened" (Ephesians 1) and that they will have a great time together as a family.

* IMB - Matt Jones, photographer for the International Mission Board, is coming to shoot the third part of the journeyman series for The Commission magazine April 29-May 8. He will be taking photos of my work and ministry here for one week to complete the series (see. Please pray for safe travel and good photo ops for Matt as my work here is not very flashy or drawing big crowds. Pray that GOD WILL USE these stories to draw people to Himself, that others will not be afraid to answer His call, and that the non-Christians here will somehow be touched by Matt's presence.

* Possible English class - Last week I met four friends of a missionary for another denomination - all happy, energetic seniors who love to study English. One is a Christian, and all four have been studying English through Barb, my missionary friend, who just returned to the U.S. The four want to continue to study English so much that they are willing to meet in my apartment (a long way by car), on my schedule, and study the Bible (which they have NOT done so far!) Please pray that this English club will unfold according to God's will and that others in our apartment will be interested in joining - answering yet another prayer. Thank God for His mysterious ways of doing things!

* Writing projects - I desperately need your prayers for several writing projects I'm working on, as well as ongoing advocacy for the Heartlanders team (which requires of a lot deadline work that I'm not good at). I'm working on a Heartlanders' newsletter (struggling with layout in Word), putting together photos for a team calendar, preparing for next year's prayer calendar, and trying to start writing a team video script (the hardest for me) as well as tracts for use with young women in Japan. Help! I need your prayers! I need God's words! I need His creativity! I need His timing!

There are more, but I think I've given you enough for now. Oh, one more VERY important one:

* Young people - Part of the reason I came to Japan was because I love Japanese college students and young people, and up to this point I have had surprisingly little contact with them. As I've been talking and praying through this, I got a vision of bringing together my contacts scattered all over the city (different college students, church people, girls in the apartment) for one big young people's get-together on a regular basis where Christians and non-Christians come together with some non-threatening witnessing - Christian movies, testimonies, praise music). Already two young Christians have stepped up to help! The details are far from sorted out, but I NEED YOUR PRAYERS as this project begins to unfold. My dream is to start something that will be in place long after I leave and that can be replicated easily as people become BELIEVERS - starting new churches and fellowship groups. I believe change in Japan WILL come through the young people - so pray that HE WILL DRAW THEM TO HIMSELF through the witness of young believers like themselves!!!! Pray for the normal problems in ideas like this to be eliminated (fighting between denominations, cost) and for PEOPLE TO COME! Pray for us to have patience as we wait for God's spirit to touch the young people of this city!

That should keep you busy for a while! You all are wonderful! Thank you for being a part of the work!

love,
jenny

Candles and ice

Heidi and I took a trip to Otaru, a city in Hokkaido with a beautiful winter candlelight festival every year. Cold and beautiful! Otaru is situated on the sea, so it gets lots of snow. It's also considered to be one of Japan's most beautiful cities, and the Japanese film "Love Letter" (an old popular favorite) was filmed there.

The canal runs right through the center of town and is a site for photographers and visiters. The cold was palpable; the icy wind off the sea made our noses and hands (even through gloves) sting.



Heidi and I walked up a side street to take a photo of the gate to the canal (below), and we passed a beautiful old building with a strange, rustic charm I had never seen before. As I was standing outside in the snow-filled street wondering what kind of building it was, a white man in a funny hat came out and spoke in a language I had never heard. I was so taken aback I just stared, and he smiled and repeated his sentence (showing a gold tooth). At about that moment I realized the building was a pub, and the man was probably one of the Russian sailors that frequent the area. They're known for drunken carousing and have caused foreigners to be banned from certain places (according to the reports). Needless to say, Heidi and I hastened up the street and back to the canal walk full of people!


We walked through the town and found beautiful fresh crabs for sale along the street. Hokkaido is famous for a famous kind of hairy crab (kegani) that has tender, succulent meat and is supposedly not found anywhere else.


This is an old-style street lantern you see on shops advertising ramen (noodle soup)shops, pubs, or other restaurant-like establishments.




At night the canal glitters with hundreds upon hundreds of ice and snow candles! The candles are shaped from water or snow in molds and then left out to freeze. Then the mold is cut away, leaving a perfect cylinder with a hollow for a candle. The candles are placed inside and sparkle on the ice as they burn, shimmering all along the side of the canal and reflecting into the water. The sight of so many candles and water was just breathtaking - and extremely cold! I thought I would freeze right there on the spot. After we had taken all the cold we could, Heidi and I made our way back to the train station and took a train (packed with other Sapporo travelers) back home.

We've had an early blizzard here, dumping more than three feet of snow in some places. I've never seen anything like it! Everything is totally covered. Walking down streets is like a bizarre dream - lumps of strange shapes and sizes rise out of the snow, trees and ditches are glutted with huge globs of white. Roadsides are lined with massive walls of snow taller than my head... what do you think??



Snow, snow, and snow!

It began to fall yesterday evening, and during the night snow accumulated to about five feet. It was piled on top of cars, completely covering everything. I've never seen anything like it!

This morning it was still snowing lightly, so while Heidi was having a women's class in the apartment, I decided to get out a bit. I did the unthinkable: I dressed for snow and went outside, to the local park, for a walk. There was nobody out "walking"... obviously during the end of a blizzard isn't a good time for a stroll, but I needed to have some rest and the solace of nature. So went, carrying nothing but my camera plus some writing paper and a pen.

The park was completely choked with snow - it was so deep that it was even impossible to walk through unless a path had been made first. It stretched across the empty field like a white canvas that someone had elevated - showing only tips of takenoko (bamboo shrubs) and small trees.

I found a spot under a little covered shelter and just sat there, in absolutely solitude - the only soul for what seemed miles. It was great. I listened to the tiny "clink-clink" of snowflakes as they hit my down jacket (they do make a sound), and then noticed how the extreme cold began to leak slowly through the openings - where my sleeves met my gloves, for example, or around the collar of my coat. I sat and wrote, listened, watched the white continue to fall, and then got cold enough to leave.

I was just about to leave when I was greeted by a construction crew, wading through waist-deep snow on their way to their parked cars for lunch. I don't know who was more surprised - them or me! After all, it isn't every day you see a white foreign girl in the park in the middle of a blizzard...

Snowy morning

This is the place for snow! Sapporo gets lots of snow because it's near the ocean, but it actually doesn't get as cold as it does in other places in Hokkaido (like Kushiro on the eastern coast). Snow starts falling in October or November and keeps falling until April or even May, when it finally starts to melt. This is my first winter in Sapporo, so we'll see how it goes! So far I LOVE the snow!




Winter in Sapporo is something to behold. Snow can fall fast and furious for a few minutes or all night, leaving blankets of white that cover everything - trees, plants, sidewalks, roads - leaving them all but indistinguishable.


A modern tool for getting traffic through busy roads is this road-heating system. Metal coils are buried below the asphalt, and when activated, they heat up and melt the ice and snow off the roads. They're remarkable! Everywhere you look the roads are covered with white, but then sometimes you'll see a long black strip of slush and melted snow, doing its job to uncover the road. They're expensive, so they're only used on major roads. But to see this is like a dream come true. You know those things you say, "What if somebody made a..."? Well, this is one of them. And it really works!


It's cold out! Many Japanese ladies use these warm tea-cup shaped hats in the snow and cold. For the younger girls, though, it's not very hip... so you don't see as many of them wearing them. They usually just stand there and let snow fall on them (as I do on occasion, when I don't want my hair messed up).


I'm waiting at the bus stop to go to church on a cold, cold morning. Don't go out with your hair damp - it'll freeze! I know this from experience... The bus stops are generally tiled little buildings like this one. They keep out some of the wind, but not much else, as they have open windows and doors - and they're colder than your freezing brain can imagine inside. Usually we just huddle inside (unless it stinks from trash, which people actually do throw in the bins) or just from old age.


Heidi, being accustomed to Montana snows, is used to the cold.


Can you believe people actually drive in this? The roads are heavily laden with salt, and the main roads use road-heaters. Drivers of buses and cars often use chains, but the undercarriages get VERY dirty, as you can imagine. The funny thing is that the road gets completely covered by snow until it's indistinguishable, and then it sort of hardens into a hard, compacted layer of multiple snowings and icings and meltings. The new snow falls on top of it, and no one stops - or is more worse for the wear.


A street crossing button all laden with snow. When you press it to stop traffic and clear the crossing, you'll hear a distinctly Japanese "chirp-chirp" sound that sounds like a pretty good rendition of an electronic bird call.


Riding a bus! This is something we do every day, but they're usually more crowded than this! Today is Sunday, which is why the bus is nearly empty. The red, lighted characters in the front tell the upcoming stops (which are also announced verbally by a recording in a nice-sounding, high-pitched woman's voice) and the price. To pay, you take a slip of paper with a number on it when you enter the bus. DON'T LOSE IT! When you leave, you hand the driver the ticket and pay according to the time/distance you were on the bus. Your coins go into a machine, and out drops your change. Then you thank the bus driver (who wears a dark blue uniform, cap, and white gloves) politely ("Arigatou gozaimashita") and then go down the steps - carefully! they are slick from melted snow! - and into the cold. Oh, and the buses are heated (notice the steam on the windows).

Notice that the bus driver is on the RIGHT!