Chris and Maiko's J-Blog

Back from the UK!

2009-11-09T16:15:00.003+09:00

Well, we have been back for about 2 weeks now and after a short period adjusting to time difference and reverse, backwards, upside down culture shock things have pretty much retuned to normal. Well perhaps "normal" is not the right word... how about "as they were when we left!" We are still living with Maiko's parents and trying to back into our own house which is kind of a weird situation and one I think I might (try to)explain in the next blog!

We had a brilliant time in the UK. We stayed with my parents and Daniel took to them immediately despite only having seen them a few times before. He loved everyday and was constanly played with, brought to all sorts of parks (The UK has great parks) and given as much attention (and sweets) as it is possible to recieve! He was also really good on the airplane and slept about 13 of the 18 hours on the way! Yay! He also seemed to adapt to the language difference with no problem at all and has done the same since we have come back to Japan. Now he just keeps asking of we can go back again... he asks me almost everyday!

It was good to come back to church after missing a few weeks. The church members ran everything and did it brilliantly and seemed to really gel as a group while we were gone. I think thats really important. It has also given them the confidence to take on more responsibility and feel that a church is always a joint adventure and never about some missionary couple building "their own church."

The kids also continued to come but since we have been in Maiko's parents house numbers been fewer, we think primarily because its further from where they all live. It seems that the same people are coming but that they dont come everyweek now. For that reason we are really hoping to get back to our house ASAP so we will have more freedom and space to hold more events and be a kind of open church where people can come anytime. Please pray for that... thanks!

But the good news is that Maiko has been busy on the phone since coming back, talking with some kids who are asking her questions about the Bible and life in general, and she thinks some of them are really showing signs of being changed by what they are hearing. They are saying that they fight less, make fun of people less and try to remember to help their parents wash dishes and stuff like that... Some have new dreams to work for aid charities and some are offering to prayer for friends in school! Faith is so cool when seen in a child, and it goes to show that God works with us at whatever stage of life we are at, and impacts the very issues that we face on a daily basis. I'll have some of that too please!

(D) aniel

2009-09-24T09:29:00.005+09:00

Daniel reached an important step this month in finally being able to say his own name! It came through as "Aniel" but it was well understood and appluaded by his parents! He is generaly a little slower than many other kids his own age to get speaking, but I suppose that because he is learning two languages at the same time. He does seem to understand everything we say though which is great.

When speaking he seems to use the word that is easiest to say, so, often Japanese people are confused when they try to hug him and he is saying "all done, all done!" I suppose there will be similar confusion when we go to the UK and he is saying "choudai, choudai" (please give me...) to everyone!

That UK trip by the way, is from the 6th of October to the 23rd. Less than two weeks from today... wowowow!

Farewell Satoshi (but see you tomorrow at dinner time)

2009-09-14T14:32:00.005+09:00

From yesterday, Maiko's brother Satoshi moved out of his parents' house (where we are currently living) and into his own place. For a first house I have to say its a great place he found. Its nearby, the price is good and its brand new! After seeing it Maiko and I were planning to move in with him! It is quite small by European standards but a really good size for a one person place here in Japan. It even has a really cool "loft" room that overlooks the main room and is perfect for sleeping or studying or whatever. He really has done well in finding the perfect place for his first home.

Since we are now living with Maiko's parents, it has been pretty difficult for Satoshi because he has had no bedroom of his own (i.e. we took his room :o poor Satoshi!). So since coming back from the UK last May, after 5 years of being there alone, he has had to exercise that very Japanese of qualities, patience, in large quantities while sleeping on the floor in either the living room or in his parent's room (this is undesirable at most times but at 23 years old perhaps more so). So he is rejoicing, and we with him, that he now has a place to call his own. That being said, with no fridge or food yet I fully expect to see him around for dinner tonight, and fairly often after that too! That’s an eternal privilege of being a son :)
Enjoy the new house mate!

p.s. Sorry about the random picture.... But Daniel will definitly miss seeing "Tochi" everyday.

Short Post, Long Story

2009-09-07T16:43:00.007+09:00

The seemingly never ending, super-elongated, extended version of the story of our house is way too... how can I say it... long, to be fully writen down here. In summary we have been in it, out of it, allowed to use it, told to get out, hated and welcomed all at different times over the last 4 years. We are currently out of it (i.e. living with Maiko's parents) and waiting to get back into it.

As you can tell its been a bit of a rollercoaster with the house but recently, on the basis of the ownership issue now being more or less sorted out we believe that God would have us back there again. This is brilliant news for us as it really is the best site for the church. It has everything we need and its really near to where all the kids live. Hosting the church in Maiko's mum's house has been good because it is a beautiful house, but for some of the kids its a bit far to come. The church was started in our house and we really believe that God will bless us when we move back in. So here's to a happy homecoming :)

The house currently needs some reconstruction where a part of the wall was knocked down (I'll maybe tell you that particular part of the story some other time!) but we believe the money will come at the right time. Until then its business as usual at church, and I'm off tomorrow to plan an orienteering event at a local park... Long Live Kid's Ministry!

Britain, baptisms and blessings

2009-08-31T15:36:00.005+09:00

Konnichiwa! Maiko and I have been in Japan for 4 years now (Daniel for two!) and have thoroughly become acculturated and settled to life in the Land of the Rising Sun. But that does not mean we dont want to head back to the UK every now and again. So we are doing just that this coming October! We will be in High Wycombe for a short while visiting my parents. Its a great blessing to be able to do this and we really cant wait to catch up with Dad and Mum and have a bit of a rest. (Smarties and Malteasers will also be enjoyed regularly). Daniel will have a great time too and will hopefully come back fluent in English!

Before that though we have a baptism service in our church! Hooray! 2 girls will take the plunge on the 3rd of October just 3 days before we head off to the UK. It will be the first baptism service in Hope Chapel Sakai since we started it a year and a half ago and we are so looking forward to it! Then while we are away the rest of the church will be looking after things and running the services which is really exciting too. We know they will do a brilliant job with the adult and kids services.

It strange how things turn out sometimes. We started the weekly kids church a year and a half ago with a desire to help some local kids from single parent families, and almost without too much thought we decided to have a 30 minute adult/staff service before the kids came each week. Its still only 30 minutes but it has somehow grown into a mini church with a cell group and various events going on. But most importantly we have a group of great friends who all want to help the local kids in Sakai and also know Jesus more. It really is exciting to be part of a group all seeking the same thing. The Lord is indeed capable of giving us way more than we ever expected.

Well Rested

2009-06-27T11:12:00.006+09:00

Well it has been over a year since i last blogged on here! Haha, i am so well rested from blogging and thought i would give it another go.

But where to start? So many things have changed... I suppose the biggest thing is that we are now running a church in our house. Its called Hope Chapel Sakai and is a church for adults and then after that a church for kids. I am making a website for it (with equal slowness as is typical of me with blogs, websites and emails and stuff like that...sorry) and you can check it out here...

http://www.hopechapelsakai.jimdo.com/

Its currently under construction as you will notice, but if you have any ideas for it i'd like to hear them. Oh, in other news, i was accepted as a licensed minister in an church organisation here called "Japan Foursquare." Its cool and i have lots of new friends in it and they support us with kids church and stuff. We also got to go to Hokkaido (Japan's northern island) for an induction ceremony and all. Great fun and great great great sashimi (raw fish) there! Yum!

Anyway, Maiko and i have not changed much but Daniel is a big lump now so have a look! God bless!

The McKee Family in Japan: Update

2008-04-24T16:42:00.003+09:00

Hello there everyone, we hope you are all well and looking forward to a nice summer. Well, it has been a while since we have posted any updates about what’s going on here in Japan, and as a lot of things have changed for us recently, I thought it was a good time to make this new update. Before that though, thanks so much to all of you for your prayers, support and encouragement over the last year or so. We miss you and think about you all and hope to see as many of you as possible sometime soon. Thanks! Chris, Maiko, Daniel

Daniel
Daniel is now 9 months old and has full control of our house! He is standing, crawling, clapping his hands, biting everything with his new tooth and generally making a mess! Most Japanese says he looks like me while many Europeans have said he looks more like Maiko. What do you think? Seeing his little face light up when he sees me getting home from work is still the best feeling in the world!

Just back from the UK

In March the three of us headed of to the UK for a family visit where we spent two weeks at my parent’s house in High Wycombe. My sister Louise and her family also came down from Scotland, so Daniel got to play with his two cousins for the first time. We all had a great time and even got this rare picture taken with us all together.

It was really just a flying visit and we didn’t get to meet up with everyone we wanted to see but we did manage to fit in a trip to Nantwich to see Maiko’s brother Satoshi, and a few other good friends up that way. We also met lots of really nice friends of my Dad and Mum and saw their church. We relaxed and generally had a really good time. We praise the Lord that He gave us this time just before we start a new work in Japan....

A new thing....
Speaking of which.... things have really developed recently in terms of what we are doing here. Until now we have been mostly working independently doing bits and pieces of evangelism where we could. However, just last month we have been accepted into a great new church and denomination who have asked us to help with their children’s ministry. They have also suggested that I start their training course to eventually become a pastor with them (yikes!). The church is called Hope Chapel (from the denomination Foursquare) and the pastor who will be training me is a really cool guy.

Actually we are still kind of doing the same things, (our kids clubs and English classes will continue), but now that we have so much more encouragement and help we will be able to develop them all. In fact, we have already developed one of our monthly kids clubs into a Sunday morning weekly children’s church which is really exciting for us. There is also a short adult/staff service before this and the plan is that this will develop into a church plant from the main Hope Chapel church somewhere down the line. We also have a new cell group and kids club open too. So it kind of feels like a lot has moved on recently and we really thank God for using us in this way. The kids seem delighted with the change and we are all really excited about the future!

The children we work with have generally never heard of Jesus and have no real concept of a loving God. Furthermore, about 80% of them come from one parent families, and are often glad of something to do on weekends. This country seems rich, but as is often the case, a quick look under the surface reveals hurts and sufferings in abundance. Our aim here is just to create the opportunity for the love of God to enter into people’s lives and to allow Him to do His healing work. Seeing God at work in previously hopeless people is a great privilege.

Visitors
We still run our mission centre so if anyone would like to do a short term mission to Japan (visiting churches, school, hospitals etc) please give us a call... We would love to have you.

Prayer points:
We know many of you have been praying for us and we appreciate it so much. It’s very encouraging to know and it seems to be working too because God is certainly doing something here! Here are some prayer points we would love you to talk to God about for us. Thanks!
1. Children’s church: Started in April, every Sunday morning in our house. Pray for wisdom and leadership skills for us and for many kids to come and be impacted by the good news of Jesus.
2. Pastoral training: Pray that I can learn a lot, especially how to minister in a Japanese context.
3. Language: Pray a lot about this one please! (But it has been going well recently so praise the Lord).
4. Finances: Our ministry is voluntary and time consuming (although very rewarding). Pray for supporters and thank God that He has provided for everything we have ever needed.
5. Other outreach: Please also pray for our church, kid’s clubs, cell group, mission centre and English classes. Thank you!

2007-11-16T23:08:00.001+09:00

IAAF Athletics in Osaka

2007-09-04T19:31:00.000+09:00

From the 25th of Aug to the 2nd of Sept the IAAF World Championships in Athletics was held in Osaka. Did you see it on TV?? Actually, the stadium they used is about 20 minutes from our house so the place was crowded with tourists and athletes all week! I managed to get a ticket for one of the days but when my friend tried the next day and they were all sold out! So I happily went along to see what was going on.

It was a really great event and I saw loads of famous athletes competing and was even sitting really close to a huge German woman who I had seen winning the discus the day before on the TV! The highlights were the long jump final (man those guys can jump!) with a guy winning it in the final jump, and also the 200 metres with Tyson Gay from the USA. Its unbelievable to see people running at the speed they do and after the starter gun sounded there was a collective gasp in the stadium to see a human move that quick!

Maiko, myself, Satoshi (Maiko's brother), some teenagers we know and even Daniel also went along on another day for an outreach. We got talking to lots of people and gave away about 100 Bibles and books. Our cunning ploy was to use sweets to attract people to us and then start up conversations! But it really did go well and we made many friends there.

I didn't know this but apparently the World Championships in Athletics is the third biggest sports event after the Olympics and World Cup. Also, with 212 countries and territories represented i think it was a new record. Cool!

The Stadium starts to fill up

News

2007-09-04T19:30:00.000+09:00

I have just made a kind of newsletter thing so I thought I'd post it here just in case anyone is interested:

August 18th 2007
Hi everyone! Well, we have been here in Japan for two years and are now well and truly settled. We just thought we would write a short newsletter to let people know what we are up to and how things are going.

Daniel
Well, our main news is of course the birth of Daniel Kenshi McKee! He was born on the 29th of June and weighed in at a healthy 3.195 kgs (about 7lbs). Since then he has grown quickly and it’s been really great looking after him and getting to know him! Our neighbours, friends and relatives here all really love him and there was a real buzz about him being born... I suppose there are no so many N. Irish/Japanese babies born so everyone wanted to see what he looked like! It’s funny because all the Japanese say he looks like a European while all our friends and family from home thinks he looks really Japanese! You can judge for yourselves. We just think he looks like himself, as they say.

We really did receive a lot of presents from people all over the world so thanks so much for that everyone. Everything we got was lovely and we really appreciate your kindness. (Check out our blog for more pics).

Work
I am still teaching English in a private after-school class and also at a local church with maiko. It’s been going well and we can easily see how God has provided for us in everything. Recently, I decided to lighten my workload a bit this year and study some Japanese as it had been difficult to work so much and learn at the same time. I joined a morning class which allowed me to continue working in the afternoons and evenings and it went really well. I have finished a 6 month course and I will do another 3 months from October if all goes well. It’s been great to be around other foreigners learning Japanese and I think I have improved a bit... but not enough yet! Maiko is continuing to study at a Bible school in Osaka as well as being a mum!

Ministry
We are continuing to teach Bible during our English classes and are also involved in the children’s and teenagers work at our church. Our monthly kids club in our house is doing really well and we are constantly amazed that so many non-Christian children are coming and hearing about God for the first time and being changed by the story of Jesus. In October we will start another kids club near the city centre so we are praying for that. Our main news in this area however, is that I have joined up with a Pastor who is planting a church in Osaka city centre. I will be helping out in various ways but mainly through children’s work, teaching some English and doing prison visits (an interesting mix I think!). We really thank God that this opportunity has opened for us because this is the sort of thing we have been praying for for a while.

Guests from abroad
We have also continued our vision of hosting groups from abroad who want to come to Japan for short term missions. This ministry is called United Ministries Japan and this year we were again visited by a YWAM team from Switzerland. They were a group of young people from Swiss churches who created a dance concert and we assisted them as they toured Osaka and the surrounding areas. It went really well this year and they really blessed people in old people’s homes, child care centres, churches, city centres and many other places they visited.

Prayer points. Please pray for:
The new kids club which will start in October near Osaka city centre
The new church plant I am assisting
Daniel
Maiko’s studies
My Japanese!
The IAAF World Championships in Athletics was in Osaka this month. Praise the Lord our outreach went so well!

That God will continue to guide us and reveal his heart for Japan to us

Well, that’s all for now. God bless you all and hopefully we can speak to you soon!
Bye, from Chris, Maiko and Daniel

More pictures

2007-09-04T19:00:00.000+09:00

Swiss Mission

2007-07-31T11:28:00.000+09:00

For the last two weeks a group of 26 Swiss missionaries have been here in Japan on a short term mission. Last year the same group came out here and we had a brilliant time so its been great to have them again and to see so many young people really wanting to serve God. They have been to old people's homes, churches, festivals, orphanages and many other places doing song and dance concerts. Everyone loves them and many people have been really blessed by their coming, including us!

Actually Maiko and I have not really done anything to help them this year. Maiko's mum and brother are doing all the work (Satoshi was thier translator which is amazing considering he could not speak a word of English when I met him first... he did great by the way). Maiko and I have been a little busy with a certain little dude who needs lots of attention at the minute!

On that subject check out this video of him dancing... he actually seems to like it too!

Just a final note to remind anyone who might be reading this.... if you or your church wants to come to Japan for short terms missions please dont hesitate to ask us.... we would love it and there is loads of work to do here!

Four Generations

2007-07-07T19:16:00.000+09:00

Maiko got out of hospital this week and we have been really enjoying welcoming Daniel to his new house. He is sooo cute and great and we can't imagine life without him now!

Picture 1: Just before leaving hospital, Daniel was visited by his great-grandmother, allowing me to take this picture with four different generations represented. Actually, he is blessed to have 4 great-grandparents here in Japan which is really cool. Left to right: Maiko's dad, Maiko, Maiko's mum, Daniel and Maiko's grandma

Picture 2: After getting out of hospital we went to Maiko's mum's house... and with grandma to keep an eye on boyo, we all took the opportunity for a nap!

Picture 3: Check out the new clothes!

Our Son!

2007-07-01T00:07:00.000+09:00

Well, baby Daniel's second day has been and gone... its been great because Maiko has finally come round after being on painkillers that made her really sleepy, so its meant that we have been able to really enjoy holding, hugging, praying and playing with the little guy. It's been so much fun and the three of us are all exhausted now! You know, when describing our relationship with God the Bible sometimes says that we are children of God ... then I have to say that we must be loved very very much...

Waaaaaaaaaaaa it's so cool to be a dad!

By the way, here are some details:
Weight: 3195 grams
Length: 49.6cm
Full Name: Daniel Kenshi McKee

Photos:
1. A day and a half after the operation Maiko can now sit up and hold him
2. The Japanese McKees
3. Well chuffed grandparents
4. One of many nap times
5. A happy mum

Baby Daniel Arrived!

2007-06-29T20:56:00.000+09:00

Praise the Lord. Today (29th of June) at 11:31 baby Daniel McKee was born in Osaka. Mum and baby are in great condition and the Japanese McKees have increased their number by one. Yeah!

It was an amazing and totally undescribable feeling to meet the little guy for the first time. I just wanted to show him to everyone and i couldn't stop looking at him! Hahaha, praise God....wowowowowow

He was born by c-section because he didnt ever turn into the correct position for birth. Maiko is doing well but is in some pain at the minute. But she will be a lot better tomorrow we are told. Please pray for her and for all of us... thanks

Waiting for baby

2007-06-27T23:37:00.000+09:00

Hello, sorry for the serious shortage of any blogging lately... with Japanese school, work and some mission work we have been busy recently, but.... we are just about to get a lot busier! Although in a great way.

Today Maiko checked into the hospital and because the little guy does not seem to want to turn round the right way the doctors will perform a c-section operation at around 11:00 AM on Friday morning (29th) . So, as you can imagine we are soooooo excited to meet our little boy and the newest member of the McKee family. I will post pictures as soon as i can, until then be blessed!

One month to go!

2007-06-07T22:00:00.000+09:00

My First Earthquake!

2007-04-19T13:39:00.000+09:00

Ok, it was small and not even mentioned on any news programme I saw but I have experienced my first Japanese earthquake! Last Sunday, just as the pastor was bringing his message to a close, the church roof started to shake, the window blinds went crazy and the floor felt like the deck of a boat for about 1 second. Then there was a pause followed by the whole thing repeating itself again this time slightly stronger and for about 2 seconds. While the people around me instantly knew what was going on, it didn’t occur to me to fully 5 seconds after the event what had actually happened. Even then it was only when I heard the muttered “Jishin” (Japanese for earthquake) coming from the congregation that it really hit me. So that was it, two little shakes, and after almost two years of living here I have finally experienced an earthquake.

You may question my seeming delight at this, and I have to admit I was kind of happy to experience it because I have heard so much about them and always get asked what its like. Even afterwards, people commented how excited I looked, and everyone had a good laugh! However, I did notice that the Japanese reserved their laughter until they knew it was fully over. During the quake (note how I talk of it like it is some major event in my life now!! “The Quake”... haha) there was a hush while the people waited to see how strong this one would be. A few seconds after the second shake the pastor broke the tension with a comment about how the heavens were approving of (or disapproving) of his sermon! After that it was all smiles and chat, but I definitely sensed fear and apprehension in the Japanese during the shaking.

I guess it is only natural as it was only 12 years ago that about 6,500 people were killed in Kobe, which is right beside Osaka. Everyone would remember the much more violent shaking from that earthquake and the scenes and stories of devastation that they faced following that day. The Japanese are a wonderful bunch. They seem to have a ‘way’ of doing everything and find pleasure in perfecting things and seeking ways to be the best. With earthquakes however, there is no predicting them nor anyway to control them. They take you by surprise and often leave you devastated. There is no perfect way to deal with the earth when it decides to move. It makes me glad we have an unmovable, unshakable, never-changing rock that we can base our lives upon.

Baby boom!

2007-03-23T20:45:00.000+09:00

Great news! My sister has given birth to a very cute baby girl. She is called Isla and mother and baby are doing well. Also, from this photo it seems that Joel is enjoying his new role as a big brother and is taking on the responsibility of caring for his wee sister! Maiko and I are absolutely loving being uncles and Aunties for the second time and really can't wait to meet Isla in person. Praise the Lord!

In other baby news, our friends Ben and Esther also had a baby girl... She is called Keziah and as you can see is also very cute!

One of our adult students also had a baby girl this week making it a "Baby boom" (which bizarrely is an English phrase which has made its way into Japanese where it is pronounced "beibi boomu")! Her name is Nagomi but unfortunately she has a problem with her heart and won't be able to come out of hospital until she has had an operation in a months time. I'm not sure of the details but I think that she has only 3 chambers in her heart instead of 4 so it is quite a serious problem. Its really sad but she is doing well and we continue to pray for the whole family who are kind of almost becoming Christians at the minute. We are also really grateful to God that the other babies are really healthy and well. Please pray for Nagomi's health and for her mum and dad.

Finally, check out this video of Maiko singing with the worship group in our church. It was her first time and I think she did a great job! (The video is of the practice before the service).

Sisters are great

2007-03-19T23:19:00.000+09:00

A couple of you (literally 2 people) have asked for a translation to my Japanese blog so I added it to the post below... note how basic the English is! If you look at my comments you will see that my sister, despite being heavily pregnant and expecting a baby anyday, has still managed to find the time to comment on this blog and tell me "duh!!" for forgetting to add a translation! Haha, sisters are great. By the way please pray for her as if her baby does not come before Wednesday morning (March 21st) then the doctors have decided that they will perform a C-section. This is because her first son, Joel, was born this way due to complecations, and the doctors don't want to risk anything. We are praying for you Lou, God bless! Can't wait to see the new member of the Chittick family!

New Feature... blog in Japanese!

2007-03-18T22:24:00.000+09:00

みんなさん、こんにちは！　クリスです。お元気ですか？　今から、僕は日本語でブログをしたいです。　たぶん、たくさんの間違いがあると思うけど、大丈夫かな。そして、いい勉強です！　間違える時に、僕を許してくださいね！
昨日キッズクラブがあって、　すごくたのしかったです！　子供１１人しか来なかったけど、　雰囲気が素晴らしかったです。　ゲームを三つやって、お菓子とジュースを食べて、それからイースターストーリの劇をしました。　昨日のクラブのテーマは「どうしてイエス様は死ななければなりませんでしたか？」です。　メッセージの後でみんなは「僕イエス様が大好き」と言っていました！ある小学校２年生の子供がへやの中で走り回って「僕はイエス様です」と言っていました（しゃしん）！ぼくはびっくりしました！　すごい面白かったです！みんなは喜んでいました。たぶん、子供達はメッセージが分かったと思います。神様は子供達に語ってくれたんだと思います。めっちゃgood newsです！
じゃあ、僕のへんな日本語ブログを終わります！

English: Hello everyone, this is Chris, how are you? From now on I want to blog in Japanese but I think that maybe there will be lots of mistakes so I wonder if its ok?? Anyway its good practice for me! Please forgive the mistakes!
Yesterday we had a kids club and it was really great. Only 11 kids came but there was a really great atmosphere. We played three games, ate some sweets and juice and then did a drama about the Easter story. The theme of the day was "Why did Jesus have to die?" and after the message all the kids were running around shouting "I love Jesus!" There was one little kid, in his second year of primary school, who was running around our living room shouting "I am Jesus!" (see the picture). It was really funny and I surprized to see him do that! Everyone was really happy and I think that they all really understood the message... it seemed like God really spoke to them all. Great news!

A Happy Day

2007-03-15T22:22:00.000+09:00

Maiko and I went on an exciting adventure this week... we got our air conditioner professionally cleaned! Being from N. Ireland you can probably imagine that I have no idea about the maintenance of an air conditioning system, being that they are generally more necessary in warmer climes, but apparently they needs cleaned properly every few years or so. So imagine our delight when some company phoned us and offered to do it for 1000 yen (less than a fiver) when it would normally cost about ten times that. Anyway, I realise that this is all fairly boring, so I’ll get to the point. So a guy came round with all his cleaning equipment got busy cleaning. He was there for a while and we all got chatting, and we got the chance to share about our faith with him. By the end of the day our air conditioner was clean and the guy had said the sinner’s prayer with us! He went home with a new Bible, a book on Christian living and (we hope) a desire to find a local church! It was class and Maiko and I were well pleased! Praise the Lord!

This picture is from a while back when my good friend Taneli and I went to see the mighty Cerezo Osaka, who play in Japan’s top league, the J-League. Despite the fact that it rained all day everyone was wearing pink we had a great time and went home with sore throats after singing the teams songs all the way through the match. The song titles included “We must win” and “The power and the glory” (!) and loads of others of which we had no idea what they meant. The bad news was that they got beat, and a few weeks later got relegated to the second division (J-2)! Ah well, I console myself with the fact that Man Utd are top of the league...wow!

Hisabisa!

2007-03-04T21:03:00.000+09:00

Hello everyone! Well I realise that it has been quite some time since my last post, December in fact, so first of all I will say sorry... especially to those of you who have been asking about Maiko and the latest baby news. I will definitely try to post more often from now and also throw in a few scan photos etc.

Anyway, the latest news is that we are (almost certainly) having a boy! The doctor could not say its 100% sure but he said it was “very clear.” Great! So Maiko and I have been busy thinking of names (nothing definite yet) and looking for blue buggies, car seats, clothes etc. I can honestly say I have no idea about buying stuff like that but it’s all good fun and we really can’t wait to see the little guy... especially his N.Irish/Japanese face! Maiko is doing really well and is enjoying the pregnancy so far. She is looking great and doing a brilliant job of looking after me and the baby at the same time!

I am currently nearing the end of my first three month term in my Japanese class, and it has been great to really put the hours in and focus on the language... I think I have improved and am looking forward to the next (and probably final) term. It’s been good to meet lots of other foreigners who are learning Japanese and I have made some great friends and had some funny moments.

Anyway, gonna go now, but will update again soon... I hope...

By the way, the last photo was taken a while ago and is of us with some good friends of ours with their lovely daughter

Holidays, Happy Families and Handcuffs

2006-12-21T21:10:00.000+09:00

Hello there and I hope you are having an enjoyable Christmas period so far. Maiko and I have been working away at doing a number of children’s Christmas parties, and it’s been great to tell kids for the first time the real Christmas story. What’s even better is the response we have had and their interest. We hope to build on this interest to get more kids along to our various kids clubs which we hope to expand in the New Year. Having just finished my sixth party the other day, we still have three more to look forward to. I am now studying Japanese in a school for two hours a day, and combining that with work, and the extra Christmas work has been tiring but very rewarding. Maiko has also been working hard, not to mention being pregnant, so we are both looking forward to a wee break in the New Year holiday.

Baby News In other news, Maiko went to the hospital again and we got another cool picture of our baby (currently measuring in at 44.8 mm!), thus prompting more detailed analysis from me and a flurry of baby related topics cropping up in my English classes! Maiko also got to see a live picture of the baby moving around inside and she said he/she was kicking, punching, and spinning around all over the place! Surely a sportsman/woman! I can’t wait to meet the little guy/girl!

Police Matters Following my recent run in with the police, I was asked (told) to go to the public prosecutor’s office to hear if I would get any penalty. Upon arriving and being guided to the waiting room, Maiko and I were surprised to see that everyone else in the room was handcuffed and tied up with a rope around their waist! Each person had a guard of some sort holding on to the other end the rope to stop them from making a run for it! Obviously serious offenders I though, but as I sat there the thought crossed my mind that perhaps they just handcuff everyone who comes in because literally everyone else in the room was handcuffed and tied up! A rather uncomfortable hour passed in the waiting room, during which I contemplated making a run for it myself before they tied me up. But happily the time passed uneventfully and it was soon our turn came to face the music. When we entered the room, a stern faced woman asked us to sit and began relaying all my faults. (1) Your driving caused a girl to fall off her bike and (2) you drove with an invalid international driving license. She then proceeded with a mini lecture about safety when driving in Japan (no mention of oil on the windshield this time though), before finally getting to the part about my penalty. Maiko and I sat nervously waiting to hear what, by this time, we were sure would be bad news. But then there was a somewhat strange change in the atmosphere as the woman suddenly seemed to brighten up and tell me (1) you were not really at fault and you did pretty much as much as can be expected and (2) actually the police made a mistake about your license and it was valid after all. Therefore, no penalty, off you go, take care and have a nice day! And just like that Maiko and I were out the door and happily on our way! Great!

So all in all there was no problem and the whole situation took a lot of time for essentially nothing… but hey I learned from it. Also, the thought of wasting my time down at the police station again is certainly an incentive for me to be even more careful when driving! The system seems to work!

More seriously, Maiko and I did feel really sorry for the guys in the handcuffs at the office. They really looked like they were normal, hard working guys who have somehow fallen into hard times. We were reminded that even here, in one of the world’s richest countries, there and many unfortunate people desperately in need of God’s love. So far we have tended to focus our evagelistic effort on families and children, but this incident has shown us that there are many other groups and individuals open to and in fact just waiting to hear the good news. In Japan, where shame and social conformity (it is said “the nail that sticks up is soon hammered down”) play important roles, imprisonment is a disgrace that is virtually impossible to recover from. We thank God that His kingdom does not work like this and pray for the opportunities to share this message with those who need to hear it.

It's been a while

2006-11-30T12:14:00.000+09:00

Hello, it really has been a while since I last posted, about a month I guess. Sorry about that...things have been busy with work, life etc etc. Firstly, Maiko's mum has now closed down her chemist as it was not doing so well. It was sad to close something which so much effort, prayer and money has gone into, but God is pretty expert at making what looks like a defeat turn into a victory for his kingdom. We are all praying about that. Maiko's mum is fine now.

In other news....great news in fact.... Maiko is pregnant!! We have known for a few weeks now but have told just a few people... both sets of parents and ours brothers and sister were delighted. We are really really happy too and are looking forward to being parents (it's so weird to type that sentence!) Baby is about 8 weeks old meaning it's due in early July. Yesterday Maiko went to the hospital and got one of those photo things done, where they take a picture of the baby somehow. Normally when I see these things i think it's really nice and stuff, then usualy forget about it. But when I saw my own child in the photo.... well let me just say I want to show it to everyone and can talk for ages about each tiny and obscure detail in the photo which probably only I can see anyway! Check out the photo and see if you agree with my analysis so far.

My analysis:

1. The baby has a huge head, therefore (1) it clearly takes after me, and (2) I feel sorry for Maiko having to give birth!

2. No discernable legs at the moment which is worrying from a father and child playing football together in the park point of view.

3. Umbilical cord seems to be connected to the head in the photo... must be the camera angle!

4. Arms are in a cute position, making me think that perhaps its a girl (ever seen the way Japanese women carry their handbags?)

5. If you look really closely it looks as if you can see eyes and a nose. Perhaps this is just me being stupid, or a shadow or something.

6. The baby is currently 22.4mm.... so small!

7...

8...

I could go on and on but I won't; but please feel free to add your own comments and analysis. Thanks also for your prayers everyone. We are currently trying to find out all about the Japanese health care system, which is all private, and about what sort of stuff we need to buy etc. Any advice would be welcome because literally we have no idea! Maiko is doing well, she is a bit sick sometimes but can eat most things. She has different cravings each day it seems and today's desires are Tonkatsu (fried pork) and Takoyaki (fried octopus)! Sweet things are also desirable which is good news for me too!
Byeeee

International Criminal

2006-11-01T13:21:00.000+09:00

I spent most of yesterday down at the local police station being grilled by an officer about my driving skills! Hehe, but dont worry its not serious. Let me explain...

Last May as I was coming out of a narrow road, a girl on her bicycle on the pavement did not see me until late and then swerved and fell off her bike. It is a totally blind corner for the driver as there is a building just beside the road. I was edging out very slowly and trying to see when she fell off. I suppose she thought I was coming so she swerved and fell, although I did not hit her nor would I have hit her if she had just lept going. Anyway, she was fine and on her way soon enough and we kind of decided it was no-one's fault. However, as i now understand it from the police officer, even minor incidents like this one tend to involve the police in Japan (thus creating huge delays in dealing with incidents). So the police had me in to hear my side.

It was an interesting experience and I was treated really nicely, and it all worked out in the end with the police concluding that while it was no-one's fault, I take most responsibilty as I was in a car and she was on a bike. But they said there will more than likely be nothing done against me as in reality I didn't do anything wrong. So all was well in the end and I had a bit of a day out with a chance to study some native Japanese along the way.... although there were a few weird moments...

At one stage the police officer said (note: these are not direct quotes, but are roughly accurate!):
Police Officer: "There was nothing you could have done to prevent this i suppose, but i cant write that on the report so we have to find something that you did wrong and write it."
Me: !!!
Police Officer: "OK, let's see.... Did you make an effort to see if anyone was coming from both directions?"
Me: "Yes."
Police Officer: "Do you think you made every effort possible short of getting out of the car to look."
Me: "Yes."
Police Officer: "Did you put your head so far forward so that your head touched the windsheild therefore leaving an oily mark on the window?"
Me: "Errr.... no."
Police Officer: "Why not?"
Me: "Errr...."
Police Officer: "OK, I think we found something we can write on the report."

So our report concluded that i was at fault because I didnt put my head forward enough so that there was oily mark left on the windshield!! It actually said that in the report which I thought was funny and had a good laugh on the way home.

So all is well again, although it could have been much worse... I learned that I was actually driving without a licence at the time as international licences become invalid if the holder returns to his own country for a holiday, as Maiko and I did just prior to this incident. But it seems that in Japan ignorance of the law is a valid excuse as I was let off with this as I was unaware of the rules. Great!

PC Joel

2006-11-01T11:03:00.000+09:00

Loving these picture of my nephew (2 years old)!

Natsukashii!

2006-10-28T19:03:00.000+09:00

The Japanese word Natsukashii is usually translated as "good old" "beloved" or "this gives me a happy nostalgic feeling." This phrase was certainly needed recently when I received a very large bag of Tayto Crisps in the post from some (wonderful, awesome, brilliant) friends of ours, Mark and Merle! To get a "taste of Ulster" here in Osaka was a truly great treat. Thanks guys.

On the same subject, we want to thank all of you who have been SO kind and have sent us cards, letters, presents, pictures (especially of my unbelievably cute nephew), chocolates, sweeties and other treats from home while we have been here. All have been very much appreciated and in the case of the chocolates and sweets have gone down very well (and very quickly!). When we moved to Japan I kind of thought I would have to get used to everything being new, but I have to say that people have been so kind and have phoned, emailed and sent us so much stuff over the last year that I can honestly say I have suffered almost no homesickness at all. Thank you so much to all of you, you are all amazing and praise God for family and friends. I guess one thing we have experienced here, and want to put into practice ourselves, is that small acts of kindness go a remarkably long way towards encouraging people. Thanks!

We have water!

2006-10-24T15:23:00.000+09:00

Running water has been restored to our house at last! Yeah, praise the Lord!The workmen arrived on Friday, worked furiously and managed to get the job done in just a day, despite estimating that it would take two days. It involved digging up a path from our house to the main road and the workmen have done a great job as well as being quick, efficient, tidy and cheap (they charged the least out of all the companies we asked).

Pictures: (1) Digging up the path; (2) Half-way through the job; (3) All finished and the path is back to normal

We were were so happy and its really convenient to be able to shower, bath, wash dishes, drink, flush the toilet etc etc in our own house again! A great big thanks go out to all of you who supported and prayed for us during this time. We really could not have paid for the work without all your generous help, nor kept sane in the face of all Maiko's grandad's actions without all your prayers! Thank you so much! Regarding said grandad, unfortunately he is no happier with us and is starting to complain about the gas supply which our house and his house share... Not again we groaned... But this time he cant cut off our gas as he has already tried that the the company phoned him up and really told him off (which did nothing for his mood as you can imagine)!! But we didn't let his complaints get us down, now is a happy time as God has blessed us so much and we continue to pray for, love and be nice to Grandad no matter what he says or does. If there ever was a man who needed some joy in his life, it is him, so we continue to ask God to change his heart and we would appreciate your prayers too. Thanks!

We are now looking forward to using our house for our work again, and in line with that, on Saturday we hosted our Kid's club which had an extended summer break due to the water issue. 19 kids turned up for what Maiko and I consider the best ones we have had to date. Everything went well from the games, snacks, drama and message, but most of all the atmosphere which was just excellent. It seemed like all the kids left happy and are looking forward to next time. It really feels that God is putting things back together the way the wants them and is really blessing everything at the minute. Praise the Lord!

Kids Club at the park and then back at our house

Once again thanks to everyone for your support. Your concern is vital and we greatly appreciate what everyone has done for us.

We almost have water!

2006-10-20T10:21:00.000+09:00

Today work has begun to restore running water to our house after almost five months without. About an hour ago the workmen arrived and began digging, and seem to be making great progress. They estimate they will finish by tomorrow sometime and Maiko and I can start getting used to having running water again... that will be really nice! praise the Lord for his provision!

...Statement of intent...

2006-10-19T18:20:00.000+09:00

Maiko and I attended an excellent “Leadership and Evangelism” conference a few weeks ago, hosted by a group called the Haggai Institute. They are based in Singapore and train Christian leaders from many countries; mostly church leaders although also, helpfully, leaders of small organisations like ours. I was only able to make one day and Maiko two days due to commitments, but we both managed to pick up some brilliant and really practical advice for our work here. I have been slowly working my through some of the notes I took, and have finally gotten around to penning a mission statement for UMJ (our organisation). This was done on the advice of one of the Haggai teachers (whose name I just cannot remember...oops!) who said it is important that a clear statement is written as it reduces the confusion between members who may all have slightly different hopes and aspirations for the organisation. He advised us all to write a simple statement which touches upon the following questions:

1. Who you are trying to serve?
2. What are their needs?
3. How you will go about it?

Fairly simple stuff I hear you say, as I myself said at the time; but I have always been a fan of the simple, so with these three points in mind I set to work. Here’s what I came up with:

United Ministries Japan (UMJ) exists for the people of Japan, to introduce Jesus Christ into their lives and to help and support their growth in knowledge and awareness of Him so that they can become mature disciples ready to produce other disciples after them. This is primarily done through English teaching, Bible study, youth and children’s clubs, and by supporting and assisting foreign missionaries desiring to visit Japan short or long term.

So that’s it, fairly simple and straightforward I hope, and also with plenty of flexibility to cover the many things we want to do here to reach people.

The conference covered a range of other issues in an intelligent and thoroughly practical way and we were thankful that we could take part. If you have time check out the Haggai Institute website for more info (see links).

Haircut: what do you think?

2006-10-06T14:14:00.000+09:00

OK, i know it looks vain, but i promise you that i did not set up this blog to ask you what you think of my haircut, and i promise this will not be a regular feature. But in this case there is a valid excuse for me asking.... Maiko cut it for me! Its her first time to cut hair (and my first time to let her anywhere near mine), so you see, rather than being an act of vanity, i am actually putting this picture here so you can evaluate Maiko's work and therefore help her to improve her talent (what a good husband i am). Also my parents wanted to see a picture of my haircut so i thought it best to obey them (what a good son i am). So you see, no vanity whatsoever. So.... what do you think???

Festivals, Festivals.

2006-09-30T18:09:00.000+09:00

Festival 1
It seems that about this time of year is festival time in our area of Osaka, and perhaps also in other parts of the country. I remember this time last year, not long after we moved to Japan, that there was a lot going on. This year the preparations seem to be even more noticeable. The streets are lined with paper lanterns and there is sporadic beating of drums coming from somewhere nearby. But what has struck us the most is that everyone is talking about it, from the neighbours to the newspapers. The 300 hundred year old "Futontaiko" festival, as it is called, jointly celebrates the harvest and the full moon, and is basically a day out for most people. There is traditional music, ancient ritual, not-so-ancient stalls selling sweets to kids and a parade where a huge drum, seated on a heavy wooden base, with at least four futons (Japanese style mattresses) on top of it all, is held aloft by about 70 men from the local area. Also, about 10 children and 2 or 3 men sit on the base or on the mattresses and its combined weight is around 3 tonnes (not sure of that’s American "Ton" or UK "Tonne" and to be honest I don’t know the difference, if anyone does please enlighten me!).... needless to say that it’s heavy.

So most people are looking forward to the event held next Saturday and Sunday with the exception of one particular group in society with which Maiko and I are closely involved. As the festival is held in the local Shinto shrine, Christians tend to avoid it en masse. Indeed, the ancient rituals I mentioned are none less than Shinto priests worshipping the gods who provide the food, and perhaps also worshipping the gods of the moon. In Shintoism, everything has a god and most festivals reflect this... hence the absence of Christians. Joining the party however are the local Buddhists, including the monks, which is entirely normal in a country where it is often very hard to separate what is Buddhist and what is Shinto (and also what is just tradition).

So while our area will be hiving next weekend (the shrine is literally just round the corner from our house), it will be a quiet one for Maiko and I. While there may be an argument for us going in and being a good witness and engaging in the community, the Church here (including our church) tends to view separation from all things shrine based as the best way to approach evangelising this nation. With Shintoism’s all embracing attitudes towards gods it is thought that keeping the Church (and therefore Christ) separate and therefore different from all other forms of religion here is the best way to offer people the new life that Jesus offers them, and despite missing out on the sweets, I for one tend to agree.

Saying that though, in typical Japanese pragmatism, the Church (or I should say most churches) have no problem if a member wants to go along to appease other family members who are not Christian, and therefore avoid a family feud. Indeed, in such instances simple advice such as "don’t worship the idols" suffices and all are happy. Indeed, such was the advice that Maiko gave to some of the junior leaders of our kids club when they told us their families would bring them along. They happily agreed not to do any worshipping of wooden things and the issue was settled, although I suspect the sweets, rather than their parents, are the main reason why they feel they "have" to attend!

Festival 2
Well, as the title mentions more than one festival I'll tell you about another that’s in the pipeline. This time however, we are more involved. In fact Maiko's mum, Maiko and I are planning a number of Children’s' Christmas parties for the coming festive season (yes it is that time again, get ready for the supermarkets to start playing the Christmas songs ad nauseam!). Given that Japanese Christians skip the previously mentioned festival, they tend to approach this one with gusto. Children's parties, often well attended by non-Christian children and parents, abound at this time and it seems that most churches host one. However, given that many areas don't have a church it leaves a rather (alarmingly) large niche for small organisations such as ours to plug the gaps.

Therefore we have decided to host three, one each on the three Saturdays before Christmas with the biggest one being on Christmas Eve Eve (23rd). For this one we have hired a local hall and have begun preparations, but there is a long way to go yet. We hope to get as many kids in as possible from two local primary schools although the hall will probably hold 200 at a stretch. We would really appreciate prayers about this and I'll update as we progress. We will also be helping out with our church's party and perhaps that of another church too.

We are really looking forward to these parties and the Christmas period and it will certainly create a good opportunity to spread the Gospel to those who have never heard much of it. Christians here seem pleased that this year I, as a foreigner, will be involved as they believe it will attract more children and parents (note: not because I’m any good or anything, simply because I have a white face a blue eyes!). It gets me wondering though if that will reinforce the idea that Christmas is a foreign festival celebrating a foreign God. I certainly hope that’s not the case and I'll let you know how we get on.

So that’s what we will be planning in the coming months and may I be the first to wish you a merry Christmas! Hehehe, apologies to those who don’t want to hear that just now and who annually complain about shops doing exactly that as early as October! (While I write this is still currently September..... again, really sorry.....hehe......). Bye!

Nephew or Neice no. 2 on the way!

2006-09-22T23:02:00.000+09:00

Our latest news is that my sister Louise is pregnant again, and Joel will soon have a brother or sister!The baby is due on the 16th of March. Mother and baby (and father and brother) are doing well. おめでとう！Congratulations!!

Mission Report: Mark and Jim in Japan

2006-09-18T18:28:00.000+09:00

It's been an excellent and very eventful 8 days since Mark and Jim arrived here and now it is hard to believe that they are already home. So much has happened and we have seen God move in so many special ways and He has changed so many lives. I hope the following report gives you some sense of how this mission trip went...

Church meetings: Mark and Jim were brilliant in the churches. They were so committed to just coming to Japan and blessing people and that is exactly what they have done. They lead four meetings and every one of them was excellent and there was a real sense that God has blessed people. The guys always offered to pray for people and there was always lots of response. One highlight was when a non-Christian man asked for prayer regarding his painful legs and back. Then after the service during lunch time, he was chatting to Jim and was demonstrating his interpretation of Irish dancing! He was jumping around like Micheal Flatley and we were all wondering about the pain in his back! Was a miracle?! Another praise point is that a girl from our English school, who has just recently become a Christian, asked Mark and Jim to pay for her as she wanted to tell her mother that she was a Christian. This is a big issue for converts here in this traditional society. However, the next day she told her mother and her mother was totally fine, and in fact quite happy about it all. The girl realized for the first time that God really is indeed real!! Great!

It seems that God has made a breakthrough in so many other lives as well. Mark and Jim have really been great ambassadors for N. Ireland! They made an impression wherever they went (especially in one church where Jim was mistaken for a movie star, although the pastor who made the mistake could not remember the star’s name!) and became friends with many people. The pastors of each church have asked them to come again, prompting us to beginning thinking about a second trip from Richhill church!

School visits: We visited both a primary and junior high school and the reception we got from them was so different. Maiko and I have a connection with the primary school and we have visited them often before, but the teacher we knew well has recently left and the head teacher does not seem so enthusiastic about us doing any Christian work in the school. In total contrast to that, the junior high school (which we visited for the first time) gave us a great welcome and we actually ended up taking one of the classes! Mark played some Christian songs and we played a game with the kids. After that the head teacher made us green tea and we had a good chat. It went really well and we really feel that this visit has opened the door for us to continue visiting this school. Praise God!

Sightseeing: During free time we hit Osaka for some sightseeing and managed to take in Osaka Castle (built in the 14th century by a samurai leader), Umeda Sky Building (offering great views of the city from the 39th floor called the “floating garden”), and Namba shopping district all in one day. We also visited a Japanese garden and the famous 100Yen shop! At other times Mark and Jim thoroughly explored our area of Osaka on bicycles, often coming home with amusing tales of their adventures!

Others: Mark also did a street concert in a local train station which attracted the attention of a number of people who we got chatting to. A couple of young guys with cool hair especially liked Mark! Meanwhile Jim was busy giving out tracts to passers by. Tracts remain a popular and effective tool in Japan as people will often read and respond to this form of evangelism. Many Christian in Japan say that they first heard about Jesus through a tract. Pray that the Lord will water these seeds. We also gave out some tracts whenever we travelled by train which is the best place because people have nothing else to do but read them!
Finally, we ended the trip with a party at Maiko’s mum’s house in which we invited non-Christian children and adults. It was so great and we sang worship songs together and just had fun and fellowship. We closed the night with Jim praying for people and everyone wanted prayer even the non-Christians. It was a speacil way to finish a great 8 days.

So that is it for another year for us. Mark and Jim were the last group to visit during a busy summer. But it was a great way to finish and has energized us for the work during the winter. Many thanks to Mark and Jim for their hard work; they have inspired many people by their attitude to God and life, myself and Maiko especially. Also a big thanks to the pastors and churches that helped us in everything, especially Kohitsuji Chapel for the accommodation and amazing hospitality. Finally, praise God for all the lives he has changed and for allowing us the privilege of doing His work. Amen!

Photo Update (3)

2006-09-17T01:06:00.000+09:00

Photo Update (2)

2006-09-17T01:02:00.000+09:00

Photo Update

2006-09-17T00:39:00.000+09:00

OK, i know i said there would be more news to follow about Mark and Jim's visit, and i did fully intend to update regularly, but its been a (happily) busy few days i have not had time! Sorry... i am currently making a full report and will post it soon, and as so much great stuff has happened i think it will be quite a long update! Anyway, by way of apology i am posting a few photos. I should also say that the 8 days has been awesome and God has really moved in the ministry of these two guys. They have just been such a great blessing to everyone and especially to us. Their attitude is always one of giving and blessing and their hard work has encouraged many people, given praise and glory to God, and has opened a number of new doors of oportunity for us (I'll comment more about this in the report). They really have been great ambassadors for N.Ireland and Richhill. OK, here are some photos...

Happy Birthday to Joel!

2006-09-10T15:45:00.000+09:00

Our nephew Joel was 2 yesterday. Happy Birthday!

Mark and Jim Arrive in Japan

2006-09-10T14:42:00.000+09:00

On Saturday the 9th Mark Keyes and Jim Laverty from N.Ireland arrived in Japan for a 8 day mission trip. After getting settled in and adjusting to the heat (hot and humid!) and jetlag they were ready to go. This morning (sunday 10th) they lead some worship at a local church and it went brilliantly (pic 1). The church really loved them and we all had a meal together after the service (pic 2). The Japanese curry went down well with all, as did Mark's redition of "The Hills of Tandragee" with the words of a Psalm...great! They are due to speak and worship again tonight, and everyone is looking forward to hearing more from them. They really have been a great blessing to everyone even though they only arrived yesterday.

We have loads of other stuff planned for them for the remainer of the trip, including:

A primary school visit
Sightseeing trip
Midweek meeting at our church
Women's meeting at a church in south Osaka
English class

So things are going great (apart from Jim not being able to use his mobile phone!) and we are looking forward to the rest of the trip. More news later!

p.s. They are currently against the idea of a trip to the hot spring (public bath), but we are still trying to persuade them!

Stefan and Neil in Japan!

2006-09-01T00:21:00.000+09:00

In August Maiko and I were visited by Stefan McNally and his friend Neil Harrison from N.Ireland. We had a class time with them and got to see and do all sorts of things in Japan. We travelled, did some sigthseeing, ate a lot, talked a lot and just generally relaxed and had a good time. Some highlights included:

Playing football on the roof of a 15 floor apartment block (open air)
Visiting friends Taneli, Rie and Riku on Shikoku
Travelling to Hirashima and visiting the Nuclear bomb memorial and museum
Eating a lot at Maiko's mum's house
Watching a Man Utd game in an Irish Bar in Osaka (have not seen United play for ages, and it was weird to be with other Irish people in Osaka!)
Swimming in a few rivers, swimming in the sea, shopping, sightseeing, eating in restaurants etc etc

The boys have since moved on to Thailand where they will stay for 2 weeks before heading home. It was a great time so thanks guys. Looking forward to your next trip!

The water saga nears its end

2006-08-31T23:38:00.000+09:00

For those aware of our water problems lately we have some new news. For those unaware let me give you a quick history.
When Maiko and I moved to Japan in August last year we arrived right in the middle of a somewhat tricky family situation. Maiko's parents are Christian but her grandparents are not. One set of grandparents (Maiko's dad's parents) are not too happy about this and really want their son to renounce his faith and become a Buddhist again. Grandad is a Buddhist and has a small shrine in his house where he sometimes prays and offers food to his ancestors. Despite this he also says he does not really beleive in any god. Maiko's dad on the other hand is a strong Christian and did not want to change his religion, having come from buddhism which he found hopelss and pointless, and this has led to some family fighting. In the end grandad said he would not speak to Maiko's dad and would cut him out of his will. So this has been the case since we arrived and it has been a bit awkward because our house is next door to grandad's! Actually it is Maiko's dad house and we are just renting it from them as they have another house. So we were well and truely in the middle and on good terms with both sides! OK, getting to the water part now... the house orignally shared a water pipe with grandad's house, and this was the case until June this year when Grandad decided to punish his son further by cutting the water off from our house (he took a screwdriver to the pipe if you are wondering). This was all very strange especially since grandad said he was not angry with Maiko and I (who live in the house), but with Maiko's dad (who lives in another house)!! So we had no water for a while, and when we phoned a company to come and lay a new pipe for us, we found out that it was well (well well) beyound our means. That resulted in us sending some fervent prayers and pleas to God over the next few days and weeks. As off today there is still no water, but...now getting to the new news i mentioned... today we phoned the company again and asked them to commence construction work. Its amazing but im happy to tell you that God has provided all the money we need to lay a new water pipe to our house! We got the quote today and it is a massive 700000 Yen (about 3500 pounds), and God has provided every penny!! Praise the Lord! The company have to do some legal stuff re digging up the road around our house so they think it will take about a month to get the water flowing again. Praise the Lord, we are so happy and blessed by this news. We want to send out a big thanks to everyone who has supported, encouraged, provided and prayed for us. We really appreciate all you guys.."arigatou gozaimasu!"

Picture

2006-08-31T23:22:00.000+09:00

First time

2006-08-27T22:56:00.000+09:00

Hello and welcome to our first blog! Here we will keep you up to date with whats going on here in Japan. God Bless you and see you soon!