The First Week: (my brain doesn't want to think of a better title right now, forgive my lack of creativity)

"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." Ephesians 3:16

Hello dear readers! Greetings from Japan! Things have been pretty crazy since I last wrote, but I'll try to keep it a bit shorter this time. I won't bore you with the details of my flight, because, honestly, compared to Tokyo, what is there to tell? I will tell you that I was two hours late getting in, so it was a bit of a late first night. I was met at the airport and it was off to see my new apartment!

Laura and Morgan had both mentioned the apartment was small. That was an understatement. It's one room, a hallway, a closet, a shower room, and a toilet room. Totally cute though and, since it's just me, it works. I'm all moved in and settled now and I like my apartment. The view from my window is a little bit of sky and lots of buildings very close together. Very strange to a girl from the Midwest.

My first day was madness of the best kind. Tokyo is made up of wards and my apartment is in Shibuya ward. This means that I had to register with the Shibuya office and get a ID card. After that we went off to get a bank account and a cell phone. Paul Hoshizaki from JELA (the Lutheran Association here in Japan) was helping me with all of this and I am so glad I was not on my own. Things that would be so easy for me to do on my own in Omaha would have been incredibly difficult here, and the language barrier was just the start.

The amount of people in Tokyo... I had read all about it of course, and seen pictures, but absolutely nothing could have prepared me for it. The largest city in the States that I've been to is Chicago. It has nothing on Tokyo. You turn the corner and it is just a wall of humanity all moving in different directions. It is incredibly overwhelming, and, perhaps, will be one of the things that will take the longest to get used to. Riding the subway during rush hour is intense, but that is how I get to Japanese class in the morning. Luckily, I am riding close to the end of rush hour.

Speaking of subway stations, they are so confusing! I don't know that I will ever fully figure it out. However, I do know how to get to class. Church is another story because I have to switch from the subway to the train at one of the busiest stations in Tokyo. We got lost the only time I went. Hopefully, I will manage okay the second time. It's the stations that are the worst for me. I have no idea where to turn! The signs help, but there are so many! Plus, the people around you are moving so quickly that it is difficult not to get swept along in the rush.

I have made my first social gaffe as well. I met the Executive Director of JELA, Mr. Morikawa. He handed me his business card and, thanks to Grandpa Keenan, I was well versed in how to handle this situation. I took it with both hands, bowed, read it thoroughly, thanked him, and put it in my card case. Only problem was I was so nervous and so concentrated on not messing up, that I accidentally used the informal thank you, the one that you use with family and friends, and NOT the Executive Director! I was very embarrassed, but I think he understood.

This weekend I went to an English Bible Camp. We took a bus across Tokyo Bay to Chiba. My first trip to the ocean! I had seen the ocean from the air of course, but it is not the same as being there. It was so windy! We were a small group, only about seventeen counting myself, but we had a great time. I can officially state that I have attended a worship service at a squash court! It was pretty funny trying to pray with people playing squash and celebrating squash victories next door. Not to mention the ping pong in the room in front of the squash courts. I am so happy to have met such good, new friends. One of the women I met, Sachie-san, told me as I was getting off the bus at the end of the weekend that we were family now and it made me so happy! Knowing that you have people to turn to makes all the difference in the world. It was a weekend of trying new foods (least favorite: tofu, most favorite: everything at the BBQ from pork to eggplant!), meeting new friends, and taking a new look at familiar Bible verses.

For me, one of the highlights of the weekend was telling the Christmas story to a new friend of mine who was hearing it for the first time. It was harder than you might think because, while she spoke English very, very well, some of the familiar phrases we use, such as Wise Men, or even worse Magi, didn't work well. Sachie was listening and she said, "Are those the three Scholars?" and so the Three Scholars they became. Which totally works and I think I may use from now on! Tauna, another new missionary in Tokyo, had started telling the story and when she saw I was listening she asked if I wanted to jump in. I did starting from the shepherds in the fields. Telling the story in such a place and to someone who had never heard it before reminded me of what a dramatic story it really is; it is a powerful, moving tale. I got choked up (not that I think anyone noticed) when I talked of the angels coming to the shepherds. The retelling gave the story a whole new meaning to me and I, once again, thank God that He put me here. I think, at the end of the day, I am not the missionary. The people I am surrounded by are the true missionaries. They have so much to teach me and I have so much to learn. Being here has given me fresh insight into old tales and verses that I have heard since I was a child. Looking at them again through the lens of another culture is a beautiful experience.

I will end with one last small anecdote of something that happened to me last week. It is something I have thought about every time the language barrier gets me down. Laura, Morgan and I had gone to the Daiso, or the 100 Yen store. It was pretty busy, as you might imagine, and after awhile I got sensory overload and told the girls I would meet them outside. While I was waiting an elderly woman with a walker came out the door. She left her walker at the top of the stairs and started to move down the stairs holding on to the rail with both hands. I figured she must have someone to help coming right behind her, but I kept an eye out just the same. She reached the bottom and just stood there, holding on with both hands, and no one came. I was nervous, not being able to say anything, so I bowed, gestured to her walker, and went up the stairs to get it. I was kind of worried that someone would come out of the store and wonder what this weird foreign girl was doing with their mother/grandmother's walker, but no one did and I carried it down to her. What followed was a lot of bowing by both of us. She thanked me and I said "You're welcome" before remembering that I totally know how to say that in Japanese, which I promptly did. We were both beaming at each other and with one last bow and a big smile she started down the street. Laura and Morgan came out, and, as we were heading home, I noticed a young man helping the woman into a car. We smiled and I bowed and walked on. You don't need to be able to speak the same language to connect with people. You just have to have the courage to open your heart. God takes care of the rest. Till next time!

New friends! At Chiba Bible Camp

The J3's: Morgan, Laura, and I

If you look VERY close you can see Fuji-san! My first glimpse across the sea!

A visit to the sea wall with Mae-san and Min-san

Hanging out the the J3 ladies and Sachie-san

Playing darts. Neither of us really knew how to play so it was an entertaining game! Mae-san totally won.

BBQ time! Look at all that good food!

Squid, pork, chicken, scallops, and soba noodles!

Yay for grilled veggies!

Outside of Shinjuku Station