May, June and July! Oh my!

Well, it seems like the time has quickly come and gone and, seeing how these months are long gone, I thought I would just fill in the gap for the spring here.

Since Caitlin and I are now married, this blog will mostly fill space for my ruminations on Japan and the various adventures that we get ourselves into that don't make it to the monthly newsletters posted on Caitlin's blog.

May, June and July went by fast, and the first trimester of my second year of classes was over before I knew it. Between finish grading, continuing to plan new classes and getting ready for our wedding, things were quite busy.

We did have Sports Day again, which was again enjoyable, even though the black team didn't win.

Cheering on the black team!

School proceeded as usual for the most part, although I am teaching new classes and still had to continually plan every week and still keep up with grading.

One of my favorite diversions from the planning was the time spent with Caitlin, mostly by Skype calls, but also with a few lovely visits from her, and occasionally, with her sister in tow. We also managed to plan for our wedding and transport the majority of Caitlin's things down to Kyoto in preparation for her moving down after said wedding.

A wonderful visit and good food too!

That's a quick wrap up of the quickly fleeting spring. We appreciate your prayers and please continue to pray for both the work we do in Japan and our new marriage!

An audacious April

Hello friends and family!

In Japan, school begins in April, so we have started another year already! Things are going smoothly, thanks in part to the fact that I have had a little more time to plan for the new year and I have a year's experience under my belt.

This isn't to say that everything is easy though. I'm teaching a whole new section of classes, along with many of the ones I taught last year. Some of the students in my new class are relatively new learners of English and it's been a little bit of a struggle to find activities that are at the student's levels. One of the best parts of my days though, are when the students finally 'get it' and their eyes (and relieved expressions) show realization that they do know what a concept means in English.

Making pancakes for Easter breakfast!

I ended March and started April in Tokyo with Caitlin and her family. We had a lovely time during Easter and during the break between school years. She was able to come to visit me in Kyoto during the festivities of Golden Week, one of the largest (and longest) holidays of spring in Japan. We had a wonderful time together, getting the apartment ready for her arrival this fall, attending a friend's wedding and getting our engagement photos taken!

One of my co-workers is a very talented photographer and he graciously offered to take some engagement photos for us. We had a great time - laughing and posing, but still trying to act natural in front of the camera. If you're interested in Japan or just like good photos, you should click here to check out his website.







This month, please remember these prayer requests:

• Pray for all the students as the year continues. 
• Pray for Japan and the salvation of the Japanese people. 
• Please continue to pray for the teachers and staff with all the work we have to do.
• Pray for peace and repose as Caitlin and I finalize our wedding plans. 

Thank you for your support of God's work in Japan!
-Thomas

A fleeting February and a maniac March

Hello friends and family,
It has been a while! My apologies for the lull in updates. Between school ending, days of endless grading and my computer becoming a very large paperweight, I regrettably did not send out a newsletter for February.

February, as always, was a short month. Valentine's Day this year was notable, as Caitlin came to visit me. We had a very nice time taking walks, exchanging gifts and eating lots of chocolate. Valentine's Day is a little different in Japan, as women as expected to give chocolate to men. The next month, on March 15th, men are expected to return the favor and give the women a gift in return. White Day, as it is known, was created by candy companies to sell more product. The Japanese mindset of reciprocation is also a big influence on both holidays, as anyone who gets a gift is obligated to return one. For a little more detail, see this blog post.

Exchanging gifts for Valentine's Day.

It was fun to see the students giving each other little gifts and enjoying the holiday. I was also able to share in my classes about St. Valentine and his love for others and appreciation of marriage and love between couples. I also gave all my students a small piece of candy on White Day, although some of them seemed confused as to why I would do that.

March came and left almost as quickly as February, but with lots more to do! KIU follows the Japanese school year, which means the school year ends at the end of March, which means I have finished my first year of teaching! March was full of grading, planning for next year and graduation for the senior class of 2013. Things were very busy, but we got everything accomplished!

Enjoying the cherry blossoms in Tokyo!

This week I'm enjoying a bit of a break and relaxing with the Essenburgs in Tokyo and getting some planning done for next year. Classes start in a little more than a week, so please keep me in your prayers as I start my second year of teaching!

This month, please remember these prayer requests:

• Pray for my planning and lesson making for brand new classes and a new school year. 
• Pray for all people in Japan who suffer from hay fever, myself included. 
• Please continue to pray for the teachers and staff. 
• Pray that school year can start well, both for the students and teachers. 

Thank you for your support of God's work in Japan!
-Thomas

A Jaunty January

The chill in the air is still here in Kyoto.
January has passed and it is cold!

After staying in Tokyo as long as I could, I made my way back to Kyotanabe for teacher workdays. Winter semester has started, and I am almost done with my first full year of teaching at KIUA! School is still a bit of a challenge, but things are going well. The short winter term means that I have to start getting ready for next year already! Between grading and planning for next year, there's not much time for anything else.

Thankfully not much time doesn't mean no time for anything else. This month, I was able to visit a rice pounding ceremony called mochitsuki at the local city hall. Mochitsuki amounts to a New Year's Festival where cooked rice is made into a soft dough, called mochi, by pounding it with a hammer. The dough is eaten with various fillings and toppings and is very delicious. For those who live stateside, there is even one in Portland every year!

I might have gotten a little excited...

Kinako, in front, and anko filled mochi. Tasty!

This month, please remember these prayer requests:

• That I can stay on top of planning and grading this trimester.
• For the students' health and attitudes- that both would be good.
• Please continue to pray for the teachers and staff.
• Pray that the final trimester of the year will be finished strong and planning will go well.

Thank you for your support of God's work in Japan!
-Thomas

A Delightful December

Winter is definitely here, the weather is chilly and my apartment is very cold!

There is no central heating in Japan, and getting used to living without it has been a bit of a challenge for me. I do have a heating unit in my apartment, but it is not the best when it comes to raw heat.

Despite the cold, December went quickly. We had one week of classes and followed by Finals Week. I seem to have gotten some kind of hang of things, and this finals week was a little better than the last one. After I managed to get a large amount of grading done and my scores reported to administration, I zipped off on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo!

Christmas with the Essenburgs

I got to spend a lovely Christmas season with Caitlin and her family. I was inducted into the rather extensive traditions of the Essenburg family, which were all wonderful. We made a gingerbread house, enjoyed Christmas pudding, eggnog and other holiday treats, watched Christmas movies and filled in the advent calendar. Unfortunately, the holiday could not last forever, but I really enjoyed it while it did!

Caitlin and I also worked on our wedding and honeymoon plans. We are happy to report that the honeymoon lodging is booked!

 This month, please remember these prayer requests:

• My personal level of stress and that I can deal with it - preferably with more exercise.
• That I can get acclimatized quickly to being back home in Kyoto.
• Pray for the winter trimester that we can all do our best, teachers, staff and students.
• Pray that the last part of the year will be finished strong.

Thank you for your support of God's work in Japan!
-Thomas

A Noteworthy November

And another month has flown by, leaving me with a newsletter to write!

Especially noteworthy this month was KIU's school festival! School festivals in Japan are a special time of year when students get to show their parents, relatives and community what they are able to do. Here's an interesting and informative article on school festivals in Japan.

All of the classes ran booths for the school festival. The high school classes ran food booths, while the middle school classes had activity booths. The activities included sports, like a basketball shootout and batting cage, as well as nail painting. My sixth grade homeroom students ran two booths! The boys had a air gun shooting range and the girls ran a accessory shop. All the students worked hard on their booths and actually made a profit, which was then donated to charity!

The school festival theme.

All in all, the school festival was very enjoyable; the food was delicious and the students all seemed to enjoy themselves. The school festival theme "One for all, all for one" was proudly displayed as the high school and middle school worked together to help everyone have an enjoyable time.

In between another round of TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) tests and wrapping up the trimester, I was also able to take a group of high school students to help with a community service event for the Osaka Marathon. All of the high students are required to complete a certain amount of community service before graduating. At the marathon, we checked in runners on Saturday and handed out snacks to them on Sunday! It was a difficult two days, with ten hours volunteering each day, but we pulled through and it was good to see that most of the students have caring hearts and are giving with their time and energy.

Runners at the marathon as our students cheer for them!

Also of note:
-Caitlin came and visited during my birthday weekend! We had a wonderful, enjoyable time getting my apartment ready for the cold Japanese winter.

Please keep the following in your prayers:

• Energy to finish grading strong and begin planning for next semester.
• Pray that the students' behavior and that they will see the benefit in living for Christ
• As the weather is cold, please continue to pray for everyone's health.

Thank you for your support of God's work in Japan!
-Thomas

An Outstanding October

October has come to a close and the harvest is over! The days are ever shortening and the nights and mornings are chillier.

Some of the fields near my apartment after the rice harvest.

While school is not over yet, finals are the first week of December and the end of the year is swiftly approaching!

This month Caitlin came and visited and we had the opportunity to go hiking! We went with some of the college and young adult members of our church and another church body, Ikoma chapel. It was a wonderful hike, with the warm sun complimenting the somewhat cooler air.

I'm just about two-thirds done with my first year of teacher and I have to ask myself: Am I finally getting the hang of things? Probably not, but it is getting easier. My fellow teachers at school have been especially helpful and I am learning a lot of new things every week. Plus, Caitlin is especially helpful when she helps me with my grading during her visits.

Please keep the following in your prayers:

• Energy and initiative to finish grading strong.
• Patience and wisdom as I interact with my students, especially as we are all very tired.
• As the weather gets colder, please continue to pray for everyone's health.

Thank you for your support of God's work in Japan!
-Thomas

A Swift September

September is over and gone and harvest time is upon us!

The sunset over the rice fields in my neighborhood.

Classes are moving quickly along and I am starting to feel like I'm finally getting the hang of teaching. While teaching full time is demanding, I am finally able to keep up with weekly schedules and tasks.

On September 30th I went to a teacher's conference in Osaka, about an hour away by train. The conference was encouraging, and provided great resources and teaching ideas. It was unfortunately very rainy as a typhoon passed through the whole day and I got quite wet going to and from the conference.

And now a bit of culinary culture. What kind of candy do you think this is?

If you're like me, you probably thought that this would be some kind of sweet candy. However, due to both my lack of language and of cultural prowess, I chose a candy that was incredibly salty and bitter! The candy is in fact flavored like seaweed.

Sounds strange I know, but in the western world we also have our rather odd flavored jelly beans.


The brand responsible for these seaweed candies, Ninja Meshi Candy, makes chewy snacks for the 'modern ninja.' Earlier this summer I tried the energy drink flavor, which I enjoyed. This prompted me to try out the ninja candy again, with very different results, as the two were not quite the same.

And so ends my small tale of branching out to try foods in a foreign land. I will keep trying them of course, but don't be surprised if you see another lighthearted diatribe on something I just can't wrap my mind around. I also still have the rest of the candy in my desk if you want to try it and find out what ninja cats eat...

Please keep the following in your prayers:

• Physical health as I deal with stress and try to get back into exercising daily.
• Patience and wisdom as I interact with my students.
• Praise God that the weather has cooled down, but please pray as colds come with the cold!

Thank you for your support of God's work in Japan!
-Thomas

An Amazing August

It turns out I ended up in one of the hottest spots in Japan! Even though Kyoto is at about the same latitude as other, cooler, cities, the mountains surrounding it collect the heat that falls into the valley we live in, keeping us sweating from May to October. And compared to the temperate climate of Portland, it's a sauna. So, when classes ended for summer vacation, there was no hesitation on taking the 12 hour bus ride up to Sendai. Caitlin, my fiance, and her family stay at Takayama, a group of cabins owned by missionaries in the north of mainland Japan. I had a wonderful time hiking (see photo), swimming, and partaking in various Japanese summer traditions. 

Taking a break on a mountain hike at a Shinto shrine.

One of my favorite Japanese summer traditions is watermelon flavored treats (see photos). Although actual watermelons in Japan are only about the size of a soccer ball, they are delicious. Summer sees convenience stores across the country carrying everything from watermelon Pepsi to watermelon popsicles--with chocolate seeds, awesome!

Caitlin's mom showing us this summer's limited edition Pepsi flavor: Salty Watermelon

One of the fail-safe ways to cool off in the Japanese heat: ice cream!

I was also able to spend time with my fiance and her family in their home in Tokyo. There I prepared for the coming school term, planned lessons, researched textbooks and classroom exercises, and visited the dentist and optometrist for check-ups.

Last week, it was time to head back down to Kyoto for teacher meetings and lesson planning in preparation for the fall term starting on September 5. Although it's never fun to have vacation end, I'm looking forward to seeing my students again--and teaching classes that I've had a chance to plan for!

This month, please remember these prayer requests:

• Praise God for safe travels and a relaxing vacation! Pray for energy and health in the continued heat.
• Praise God for good preparation for the upcoming term. Pray that I will get everything that needs to be done in the next couple of days (and for the rest of the trimester) so that I can help my students fulfill their academic potential.
• Pray for Luke Nagai and his family, the two-year old boy in my fiance's house church ministry who was diagnosed with Leukemia this month. He is now 1 week into a 6 week session of chemotherapy.

Thank you for your support of God's work in Japan!

-Thomas

A Jammed July

July has come and come and gone and passed us by. Finals have been completed, and students and teachers are enjoying vacation.

Finals went well. This was my first time to create and grade exams -- quite a challenge, but my time at Wheaton prepared me well and I was able to complete everything in time. Between proctoring other exams, and planning and grading my exams, finals week was packed!

The world's largest suspension bridge, which leads to Awaji Island!

After finals, the school summer camp was a welcome relief. The middle and high school students, along with most of the secondary teachers, went to Awaji Island. We stayed at a local youth camp, which had guidelines for everything, down to the folding of the sheets when we left! All in all, everyone seemed to have a great time, enjoying the beach, swimming, smashing a watermelon (a Japanese summer tradition) and relaxing after a long semester of classes.

Catching umi-hotaru (sea fireflies) with the middle school students at night.

Breaking a watermelon at the beach. (Yes, they ate it afterwards!)

What else has been happening?

• A week after we returned from the summer camp, I led a camp to prepare students for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). I learned a lot more about the test as I helped prepare my students with strategies, advanced planning and lots of practice.
• I rode the night bus up to Sendai, in the northern part of Japan to spend some vacation time with Caitlin and her family. We are staying in a cabin on a cliff next to the sea, in Takayama, where missionaries have stayed for over a hundred years!

Please pray for the following, both for myself and Japan:

• Praise God that my first trimester teaching went well! I was able to keep up with new experiences in grading, planning and teaching to help my students progress in their English studies.
• Praise God for protection during KIUA's summer camp as well as traveling to Takayama.
• Please pray for wisdom and knowledge for my summer projects, including planning for classes this fall, researching new textbooks for my classes and writing up a new scope and sequence for my classes from the previous program.
• Please continue to pray for the Japanese affected by the tsunami. While it has been a year since the disaster and much progress has been made, the scars remain. Pray for the people who have been affected and lost family members, pray for the environmental impact and above all, please pray for the healing work of the gospel to be furthered in Japan.

Thank you for your support of God's work in Japan!

A Jumbled June

June in Kyotanabe has brought with it true Japanese summer weather: rain, heat, and bugs. It has also brought other Japanese traditions with it, like Sports Day.

Sports Day (Undoukai) is a major event in the Japanese school year. The students are divided into teams, each led by a teacher, who then complete in various athletic events. At KIUA, our Sports Day included the entirety of the middle and high school. We all took the bus and some vans (one of them broke down) to the local gym where we spent the day competing in events such as tug of war, relays, beach flag and dodgeball. I was the teacher/"supervisor" of the Black team (see photo). It was a great day of connecting with my students, encouraging them to not give up and cheering them on. And to top it all off, we won!

We won!

What else has been happening?

• I took the bullet train up to Tokyo two weeks ago and got to spend the weekend getting to know Caitlin's family (see photo) a little bit better.
• With the help of my gracious Japanese friends, I finally got the internet in my apartment and automatic bill paying set up.
• I administered one part of the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) to my EFL students on June 26th. All of the high school and middle school ESL students at KIUA are required to take this test, unless they have received a high score previously. This is n important test for my students, as the results determine what English class they will be placed in and affect future college entry scores.
• I am now preparing for the end of the semester. My exams are on July 11th. All of them!

Meet my fiance's family (from left to right): Kim, Michael, and Anneke.

Please remember these requests in your prayers:

• Praise God for a good experience connecting with my students during Sports Day! Pray that I will be able to connect with and serve my more challenging students.
• Praise God that I have almost made it through my first semester at KIUA! Pray for energy for me and concentration for my students as we face exams and near summer vacation (July 16-September 5).
• Pray for safe travels for staff and students over the summer vacation, including my trip to northern Japan (in the tsunami-affected region) with Caitlin's family. 

Thank you for your support of God's work in Japan!

The Merry Month of May

KIU Academy is now in full swing! My classes are going well, and I am slowly but surely getting the hang of planning and grading (making the switch from learning the concepts behind teaching to putting them into practice on a full-time basis). Not to mention getting used to lesson planning and grading on a regular basis. KIU Academy is an exciting ministry to be a part of, and I strive to carry our missional vision out in my classroom.

Adjusting to life in Kyotanabe is proving to be both a joy and a challenge. I have moved into my Japanese-style apartment, and have found a grocery store on my way to work where I do most of my shopping. It's very convenient to live so close to work and have easy access to all the necessities! I love Japanese culture, food and the people; all of them have been a blessing in my time here so far. However, some of the differences between the US and Japan are still hard to get used to, especially not being able to read labels.

What else has been going on?

• I have enjoyed getting to know my fellow teachers and my students, and I'm beginning to feel like a part of the community. The students have settled down from the excitement of beginning a new school year, and now the challenge is to keep them motivated. 
• I got engaged on May 17! My fantastic fiance, Caitlin Essenburg (see sidebar), graduated from Redeemer University College this spring with a degree in social work and theology. She will be spending the next year living with her parents in Tokyo while she serves with CRASH Japan, a Christian earthquake relief organization ministering to those affected by the May 11 triple disaster. We plan to get married in the summer of 2013, after which she will join me in Kyotonabe. 
• May has come and gone and preparations are in full swing for Sports Day on June 23rd and the TOEFL Test (Test of English as a Foreign Language) on June 26th. Please keep my students in your prayers as they will be very busy this next month. 

This month, please keep these prayer requests in mind:

• Praise God for the kindness of my fellow teachers a successful first month at KIU Academy! Pray that I will be able to reach my students and be a positive influence in their lives. 
• Pray that I will continue to adjust to life in Japan and to full-time teaching. 
• Praise God for my engagement! Pray that wedding plans will go smoothly and that our long-distance engagement doesn't add complications. 

Starting things off in April

Hello friends and family,

Greetings from Kyotanabe, Japan! It has been really busy here with classes starting up, so I have waited till now to post this. God blessed me with a ticket and a visa so that I was able to make it in time before the school year started!

Things have been going well. I have moved into my new apartment and have started to get acquainted with the city. Teaching is challenging, but I have been enjoying it.

Right when I got here I suffered from hay fever. In Japan, many people have to deal with allergies around this time of year. Another unfortunate health problem I have had to deal with is that of my back deciding to spasm. I had to go to the local clinic to receive electroshock therapy in order for my muscles to relax. I also got stretches that will allow my back to relax after sitting and working on lesson plans for long periods, and am doing much better.

I also had the opportunity to go and listen to Akira Sato, a pastor from Fukushima, the area with the nuclear reactor that was hit by the earthquake and tsunami. His church was within the evacuation zone, meaning none of the members of his church are able to return home. Please remember to keep those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in your prayers, since the disaster still affects many of the Japanese people.

Thank you all for your prayer and support and if you ever want to drop me a line, I would be more than happy to hear from you!

Capture the flag

Sports Fest might have been hard, but capture the flag made up for it big time. Capture the flag in Japan is a little bit different from the old favorite. First off, there are no safe zones; if you're tagged anywhere in bounds, you go to jail. Tagging is a bit different too. You tag someone by hitting them with a sock filled with flour. Interesting eh? The jail is three minutes long and then you're off. The flags are similar, we used plastic bottles with glow sticks inside. One on each side of the field was to be protected by the teams and the third flag was hidden somewhere in between. The fighting was fierce on both sides and after the first victory, the other team requested a rematch. The next game was incredible competition and in the final minute, our team captured three of the flags to bring us to total victory. Victory was very sweet, especially after the crushing defeat at sports fest and also because I helped to bring in one of the final flags.

Sports camp!

I'm going to be honest and say this first: Sports Fest was hard for me. If you know me then you might be wondering "But Thomas, don't you like sports?" Why yes, yes I do, however two days of sports when I'm tired, in a foreign country and barely understand the language and my team loses a whole lot makes me irritable. Don't get me wrong, I did have fun (in retrospect) but it was hard to go through each game while losing terribly each time. We played sports in the morning, ate lunch and then played again in the afternoon. The evenings were meeting times for the students in Japanese, so the summer workers had our own Bible study/meeting.


My team was great though, even if some of them didn't speak that much English, they tried their best and were very helpful and tried hard in the sports. We just weren't as good in some of the sports and the rest of the teams. I suppose that just made our victories all the sweeter, as rare as they were. In the end, we came out second to last and got some kind of prize for being the second losers, an energy drink that had bits of snake in it, or something. Looking back, it was a good time and the food was great, but losing was hard. Fun stuff.

A big ol waterfall.

One thing that I like to do is go hiking. Luckily, we got to do just that. After securing the release of Carl the Cockroach in an emtpy lot near Mochizuki, we were on our way to Ume Gashima, the plum waterfall. We endured a beautiful climb over rickety rope ladders and steep slopes and were treated to a beautiful view of a very large thundering waterfall. This is not the waterfall, but a picture of another gorgeous river flowing over a cliff.

Of all night karaoke and giant bugs.

One thing about the Japanese, I don't know if they ever sleep. Maybe that's why they sleep on trains and buses and wherever they can, because they're too busy staying up all night doing karaoke. Oh yeah, that's right I said karaoke. Pronounced kah-rah-oh-keh, they sing songs of all varieties until day break. We joined them and it was awesome. There was a free drink bar and I think that's the only way I was able to keep going, with a constant stream of sugar flowing through me.

We sang a large collection of the classic Disney songs, classic rock and more modern tunes, but by far my favorite was belting out Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer. The Japanese are amazing singers, obvisously I don't know much about or Japanese, or singing for that matter, but they sounded great. When we finally got done, the sun was just rising and we were exhausted, but spirits were high all around.

A few days later, we were helping Nagai-san (the boss) with some yardwork and a hornet the size of a baseball flew by. He told us not to kill it (like we could) because it would call all it's hive to come and attack us. Dang. Along those lines, all of the bugs over here are huge. The mosquitoes are big and relentless, spiders look like small dogs, the cockroaches are under your bare feet and ants like to find your scraps on the counter. We don't live in a dump by the way, it's a very nice house, it's just full of people and dirty sometimes. Not to mention the fact that we open the windows to let in some breezes. (It's very hot.) Not complaining though, just mentioning.

As promised, here's my post on the undoo kai:
If you want some reasons that some American kids are so overwieght, I'll give you a couple.
For one, the lunches at Japanese school are very healthy, with lots fish and very few calories.
The kids also spend a large portion of their after school hours at a club, where they play sports from whenever school gets done till about seven(!) at night.
Lastly, the most impressive, they have a festival like day devoted entirely to playing sports. I was very fortunate to be invited by a family of friends to come and watch this, and it was very exciting. Granted, it was a Saturday, so there was no class anyway, but the kids seemed very excited regardless. The classes were divided into two teams, one class on each team from each grade, one to six. The red team and the white team each had their own area to sit. (They brought their desks outside.)
They have this game where there are tires and bamboo poles in the yard. At the start, the teams run and try to gather as many of the poles and tires and deposit them on their side of the grounds. The starter gives another call and the kids then do tug of war with a giant rope. The game is amazing, I saw a group of four kids pulling another from the other team on a tire, because he wouldn't let go.

The cheers that they had were also very impressive. The teams each had a drum and two flags. They did the wave, shouted at each other and shook little rythm cans. The kids who led the cheers had these really long headband that trailed behind them when they ran.
I don't think that this game could be pulled off anywhere but Japan. The game starts with the team divided on each side lined up by fours. One side has a long bamboo(what else) pole. When they start, the do a figure eight around some cones on the ground while running toward the other side. They run straight at the other group, lower the pole and the other side jumps over the pole, in a cascading leap. When they reach the end, the team ducks down and the pole comes back over all their heads. The front four then take the pole and the process then repeats to the other side. I was amazed that the kids were able to do this and words barely convey the wonder of this event.
Lastly, the kids did this arcrobatic dance type thingy where they made pyramids and fans and all sorts of cool balancing acts. They did it in rythm to some cool music and, again, I was very impressed. Speaking of music, there was some interesting music pumping through the loudspeakers. There were some Disney tunes, some cartoon themes and I'm positive that I heard the theme from Back to the Future in there. Well that's it for now.

Safe and Sound in Japan.

Our team.

We have arrrived safe in Japan and after spending several days in Tokyo are in our respective areas. Training went well and it was good to meet everyone and be encouraged by our leaders, who have spent more in Japan and know more about the culture and people.

My team is one of the most interesting groups of people I've ever met. We work together well, even if we do get sidetracked sometimes. I'm surprised that we can get along as well as we do with so many different personalities, but I guess we have no choice but to work together. I really like them even though I don't know them super well yet, but they are a great group to work with.

Our area is Shizuoka. It's a small(for Japan) town southwest of Tokyo. Our team is going to be working with the BEST (Bible English Sports and Travel) club from Shizuoka University for the summer and three of us, myself included are going to be working with the ACE (Adventure Club in English) club, which is a junior high group. Unfortunately, this means we will be missing the sports day on Thursdays, which for me is kinda sad. I do get to hang out with the students, both junior high and college though, so it's been fun so far and I'm looking forward to doing more with the students. That's it for know, next time I'll describe the sports festival I went to.

Starting things off...

Well for starters, if you're reading this, thanks for dropping by and looking. This blog is going to be about me, Thomas, and my trip to Japan that I'll be taking this summer with the Navigators. I'll try to keep this updated from now till when I get back from Japan.
So first off, why am I going?
For starters, I've had an interest in Japanese culture for a while now and I've wanted to go and visit for some time now. I also want to go and share with the Japanese my relationship with Christ. I am a Christian and I'd like to tell others why I choose to be one. The Japanese need hope. Suicide is very prevalent over there, and it's sad that they have lost so much hope that they no longer feel like living.
I suppose next would be when am I going?
I will be leaving on May 31st and getting back on August 8th.
Hey, what will you be doing over there?
Mainly working with the Navigators over there and making friends with people. I'll be working with a junior high group and hopefully a college age group as well.
How are you getting over there, aren't you a poor college student?
Well, yes mysterious question asker, I am a poor college student. I'm trying to raise funds for my trip and anyone who is interested in helping me out is more than welcome to give to God's work.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask them and I will do my best to answer them.