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Just wanted to share a little with you guys about my trip. I won’t make it long, I know we all have stuff to do. But part of the going is the sharing and so I thought I would.

I traveled through Tucson to Sells, AZ to work on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation. We did most of our ministry in small villages, playing with kids and teaching them about Jesus. And playing some mad kickball too!

Most people haven’t heard of the TO people. I had not. But going there, you definitely feel for them. There’s very little industry, very few fathers… lots of alcoholism, violence, gangs, hopelessness, and sadness. The teachings of Christ, that he will not let us down, and that his promises are good, were a direct contrast to the way the TO relate to us and to each other. Everyone has let them down, including themselves..

I got to experience the way Christians are supposed to live with each other. In harmony, together. Sharing meals. Concentrating on things that are important, instead of all the stuff that distracts us and sidetracks us in our lives here. I think it was a very small slice of what heaven will be like.

It’s so easy for us to look at the TO people, and feel sorry for them, and in some way I do. And to think it’s really nice for a bunch of people to go and help them.

But the truth is that’s way too easy to do that without looking in the mirror, and without looking at eternal things that should matter to us. We get one life. Our culture today is far too good at assisting us in wasting it on empty pursuits. I kinda felt more sorry for myself than for the TO…

There’s a story in the gospels where there’s a man who fills his silos with grain. When he has filled them up, he then decides the only thing that will make him happy is to tear down the silos and build bigger silos. We live in this culture of ‘just a little more’. And that very night, in the parable, God demanded his life. And what becomes of his grain, and what becomes of all our stuff and pursuits?

So I would ask you to pray with me for the TO people. I have a lot of new friends and letters to write, and that’s exciting! But also share with me in looking in the mirror to what’s truly important in our lives!!

Thanks guys for listening. I attached a picture of me and my new friend Marley. He lives about half a mile from the Mexican border. He’s 6 and he told he his dad is a drunk. Everything points toward him following that same path. But God is the healer and I pray he will work through me to show my friend things can be different!!

- From my quiet time this morning… If you don’t believe God can do anything extraordinary through you, it says more about your belief in God than anything about yourself…

Wow that stung.. But yet so true. We read the Bible, we see how God used ordinary people to accomplish amazing God sized things, because of His strength and power. But we don’t believe we are capable of doing anything like that. Or anything outside of ourselves.

We disguise it as a lack of confidence, just like Moses did. But the authors are right. We don’t need to have confidence in ourselves anyway. Only in God.. All that confidence in ourselves is good for is for us to say that we did something, in the name of this God we have read about. God doesn’t want or care for us to go out by ourselves and do something in His name. He is present to do it through us…

The example of Moses is God working through a humble heart in real time. Yeah it was easier for Moses to see, the sea parting as he is walking toward it and the Israelites walking through on dry ground. But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to see just as well the things God accomplishes through you.

Where are you not believing in what God is capable of in and through you?

My longest blogging absence in quite a while! But God has been speaking to me the last few days about making some changes in my life, and one of them was to start sharing it again with my friends. So here I am. It’s a hot summer day in Alabama, I’m threatening to run late for work, and I have lots to share and will only scratch the surface this morning. So where have I been?

- Well I have been in Tokyo for 8 days
- I have been in Arizona for 7 doing ministry on an Indian Reservation.
- I have a girlfriend whom I have hardly mentioned here, in what has been an interesting set of circumstances that I will dive into slowly to show you how God is working in my life, despite me even..
- I have decided to train for marathon #11 but right now I’m about 10-12 pounds heavy so I am counting on summer to sweat it out of me.
- I have a new niece, Jennifer Lynn, and she is awesome!
- Right now is a time I need to write and process things. God is starting to stir in my heart and tell me things, and I feel like the path I felt like I was on a couple of years ago might be coming back into play.

I’m doing a study called Experiencing God. And the memory verse for this week is John 15:5

I am the vine, you are the branches. If you abide in me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.

Abiding is remaining. Remaining is staying in… And practically for me that is fleshed out when God becomes the object of constant thought, and prayer, like He truly is IN me. And when I reach that place, He bears fruit through me, and I will bear much fruit, and I won’t have to worry about doing anything apart from Him.

It’s been easy my whole life to give God lip service because there are very few things I have actually HAD to trust Him for. I talk a lot but most things I’m perfectly fine doing on my own, without His involvement. But faith is doing something that can only be done with His intervention, and trusting Him that He will do it.

So I am asking God to give me a picture of what He wants me to do, and to go for it, even if and especially if it can’t be done without God working through it. For anyone who lacks faith, or wants a reason to believe, perhaps this has been true in your life as well. Maybe you have never been at the end of yourself, and seen God come through. It’s a form of disbelief I think, and I hate that in me!

I’ll leave it there for now. Just know, God is always at work around you, and He wants you to be a part of that with Him. Abide in Him, Remain in Him, and you will see it. I’m excited about seeing it over the next few months!

I’m just sitting here, with a little bit of return culture shock. I woke up this morning to the sound of Christian radio. Surrounded by Bibles. And surrounded by people that have heard the truth, but don’t live it. Myself included many times.

We’re so saturated here with God. I wish we could all travel and see the perspective, that if Jesus is indeed the way, the truth, and the life, and that nobody comes to the Father except through Him, how blessed we are and how great our burden is to make that known to a world that doesn’t know..

But we mostly take it for granted, ignore it, or work it out where we have a little bit of God, but never have to sacrifice our idols. They’re not sticks or rocks here, but we have them.

I’m praying for the kid that came to Christ at the park Thursday, and that he will attend a Bible study, and that maybe one day I will see him as a church leader, starting house churches or leading other guys.

And I’m praying that as we focus on whatever it is that we focus on, that we don’t lose the message that was given to us, simply because of saturation. If this is the truth, there could come a day when we don’t have it either, when it’s hard to find the Word, when it’s hard to find someone really following Christ. We’re already in the process of doing that in our society. We’re trading in the truth for a lie, thought up in our own wisdom. We need to hear and be convicted of it as much or more than Japan..

There are zero eyewitnesses to macroevolution. There were over 500 eyewitnesses to the resurrection. We don’t believe because our hearts are proud and haughty and we want our own way. It’s never been about science. It’s always been about sinners with their eyes closed and with ears that don’t want to hear, because they know deep down that a risen Christ means they have to change their evil ways. I know, I have been there. I’m still there in many respects!

But if this is the truth, hiding from it will not change it. That’s true for Tokyo and it’s true in the Birmingham suburbs, where it’s so easy to have a Bible covered with dust and locked away in a closet, relegated to the 12th or 13th authority in our lives, when the text works for our plans and what we want.

So that’s what I was thinking about this morning, as we go along in our churched culture, that usually doesn’t really need the Spirit to sustain itself, and I wonder how many times I’ve gone right along with that culture and Christ was somewhere else, healing the hurting and raising the dead to life while I am giving empty lip service, along with so many others. I hope that will no longer be the case.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of salvation, first for the Jews and then for the Greeks. And then for those in Tokyo. And for those in the suburbs of Birmingham who have heard of the gospel all their lives but have never even sniffed of its power.

Praying for them today, as I head back to work, and re-immerse myself into this life that I lead 49 or so weeks out of the year. And I pray for a new movement of the Spirit in my life. And a willingness to bring my experiences there home into my life here, and not go back to the same person I was.

Thank You God, now show me where my Shibuya is here at home…

It’s going to be really tough to leave.

This was one of those days that was a test. I had plans at 3, to do some evangelism in Shibuya, like Times Square. But I didn’t have any other plans. And what plans I had went wrong. :)

I couldn’t find anything, I got lost twice. I was tired. Homesick. Ready to pack up and head out.

I made my way back to my hostel, and had lunch and some ice cream. Then I got a headache. :) ARGH!

So I was a little stressed as I headed to the train for Shibuya. But I moved on nonetheless.

When I got there, it was crazy! This is the busiest intersection likely in the world. It’s like a huge Times Square type of area. And it’s mostly hip kids shopping. It’s a must see for anyone coming here, and it was totally great!

So I was there early, and I walked around looking at the shops, and trying to find a Japanese-English Bible. Then 3pm rolled around, and I headed back to the entrance. I sat down and waited for my crew.

After a couple of minutes I was approached by a guy in an orange jacket. He is a member of a cult here called Happy Science. They believe something about a Japanese guy that is god, in the 9th level of enlightenment, with Jesus and Buddha under him. I read him John 1, about how nothing was made outside of Christ. He was kind of a brick wall. I gave him a tract, and went to meet my friends, as they had arrived.

Brian and Sonya were there, and we had signs that said ‘Free Bibles’ and ‘Would you like to read the Bible with us?’ And we called for people to come over. Every traffic light hundreds of people would walk by and have an opportunity to get one.

Let me explain how big a deal this actually is. I went looking for a Japanese Bible. I couldn’t find one. To see the word of God here is a big deal. You can probably go and get one if you wish at a bookstore, but they likely have one copy, or none, and they just don’t sell. Less than 1% of this population is Christian, but they are all looking for answers. The cool thing about the Japanese people is that they are open to hearing and open to really contemplating life and its ultimate meaning.

So people started to come up. We were there between 3 and 6pm, and we gave out probably 25 Bibles and tracts… and then… one kid came to Christ right there in the park! Brian talked to him for like 30 minutes. The cool thing about all those is they specifically came to get them. A few walked by, thought about it for a few minutes, then came back! That’s very encouraging. God is drawing the Japanese people to Himself, I could see it so clearly yesterday! You could literally see the Spirit working. SO COOL!!!!

So we got to 6, and Brian agreed to help me find some Bibles. So we went to a couple of bookstores and I found a parallel English/Japanese New Testament and a Japanese only, but written with the alphabet character. I’m hoping I can learn to read Japanese and then use the Bible for practice. :) Funny I will be able to preach the gospel but not be able to order food! LOL we will see…

So then Brian helped me overcome my earlier frustrations, he dropped me by a rotating sushi bar! Yeah! I ate about 830 yen worth, 8 plates. They had this one, it was fried tofu pockets with rice inside. Man it was so yummy! And another that was raw fish, but not sure what kind, with a sweet sauce. It was maybe my favorite meal since I have been here! Might try to sneak another one in for lunch Friday!

So Brian lives here with IMB, and he didn’t have anything going on, so he asked if I wanted to go back to the park. I came here for Jesus, and He’s blessed me so greatly with life changing experiences… no way I was saying no!

So we went back and stood in the square for another 2 hours. If you would have told me a long time ago that one day I would stand in the busiest foot traffic area in the world and preach the good news of Christ, and see one kid come to faith in Christ, and hand out about 45 Bibles, I would have called you crazy. But it happened.

Something I learned about it was not to stress about the reaction. To trust God. Because He is drawing people out of the crowds. I don’t have to have amazing words or be anything more than faithful. He is so faithful with the rest. I think this will help me at home for sure. I never felt nervous or self conscious or worried about what anyone would think. I just prayed and held the sign, and waited for God to draw people out. And time after time He did. It was the best and climactic experience of my trip, and I will never forget it, and pray I will stand in that square again one day with that sign, and a little bit of Japanese language mastery as well. :)

So it’s Friday morning now. I leave today. I am about 29 hours away from home. I want to do some more shopping, hoping to eat rotating sushi again, and getting packed up and ready to make the long journey home. Maybe a Tylenol PM for the plane. :) And masks for Dallas for the swine flu. And changing my money to coins to give to people at home. And stocking up on some Pocari Sweat. :)

I’m coming back here. Japan is my country. Decided. I miss it and I am still here. The people are so wonderful and nice and loving and caring. I don’t want them to run from Buddhism and Shinto into American materialism. I want them to see the truth. It’s a war here and I am praying for all the saints, many of whom I got to meet this week, and their work here, and that God would continue to carve out a people for Himself here. AMEN!! AMEN!!!

I probably won’t blog again before heading home, but I thank you all for reading, and I love you. A’ishiteru!

First of all, I’m stocking up on masks while I am here. The Japanese people use them often, for most every sniffle. So polite. I’m definitely wearing one through Dallas. I don’t want to be the guy who spreads the swine flu to Birmingham. Figures, my first overseas trip, and the pandemic breaks out. Grrrr

So it’s Thursday morning and I am worn out! The short rundown of Wednesday..

I got up, and had nothing in particular to do until 11:30. So I went to Shinjuku and walked around there. There’s a sweet store called Tokyu Hands.. think a 7 floor Sears when Sears was awesome. So I shopped there until it was time to meet with the group for the orphanage. I jumped on the subway and got off at the Shin-Koenji station and headed over to McDonalds.

I thought I was running low on time so I ate there. I think what I had was a shrimp patty burger. Ha Ha… I just picked the weirdest looking thing on the menu and went with it.. so slowly the people started showing up, about 20 in all..

We headed out, like herding cats, and walked to the orphanage. The group was such a sweet mix of people.. some older Japanese, some American kids, some kids from the Netherlands, Japan, Canada, all over, working on missions teams. And my new friend David from the UK. He’s been here 8 years, and I met up with him at McDonalds.

So the time at the orphanage was so sweet. There were about 10 kids, some had gone on a field trip to Tokyo Disneyland.. but that was great because we got to play with the kids one on one. My favorite was Aoi. Think Ah-wee… she was 5. We met by the basketball goal, she was trying to shoot, and couldn’t make it up, so I started to help her. She was so excited when we made a basket. Then I found her a lighter ball and she hit two on her own. She was so excited she was trying to show everyone else. :)

Then we played on the slide and she would slide down and I’d pick her up and carry her back to the slide. Then we were racing, one of the other missionaries would slide down after her and chase her, and I’d grab her and run her back to the slide. It was hard. :) I got my workout in.

Then she got up on my shoulders. Yeah I spoil little girls, what can I say? I’m used to it. We just walked around and walked around and she would direct me, with someone translating. :) It was great!

Then we presented the gospel. It was so awesome. 4 of the kids raised their hands to accept Christ. Pray that they understood well, and that as they grow, they will receive teaching in the orphanage and that they will have a community of Christ followers that will come around them.

So David had to leave, and I was going to walk with him to the subway. Turns out he is a journalist, a photographer, and was going to do a photo shoot. Turns out he was going to a little bar in Iddebukuro named Polka Dots… to photograph… yes the Japanese Bob Dylan.

There was no question in my mind that this was a divine appointment :)

So along the way we got to talk a lot, and David is an awesome guy, walking with the Lord, doing work here, married to a Japanese woman whom he met at church. Our stories are similar and yet so different. It was one of the best times I have had on the trip, just exploring the subway with a new friend in Christ.

So we get there, and have a beer and a sandwich, and right at 7… the Japanese Bob Dylan arrives. You laugh. I did a little… He is awesome And his band. They were rocking the faces off this place. It was so good. I loved every minute of it.

Just one point I had to thank God, just for giving me the ability to explore, and to make new friends, and to somehow find myself in a Bob Dylan bar in Japan, with an editor from the Japan Times, his wife, a writer for the Japan Times, his girlfriend, and my friend David sitting around a table watching the Japanese Bob Dylan. The editor has bought every record since 1966, and was just flipping out the whole time. You don’t just accidentally get to experience stuff like this. Perhaps it’s something to file away for future thought and processing.

Running a little late getting out of here today, quicker breakfast and shower, then one more full day of fun. Not sure what I’m doing yet, but it will be fun. And then meeting some of the interns for free Bible study in the park at Shimbuya at 3. Praise the Lord!

God Bless everyone, talk to you soon!

I keep thinking I am not going to be able to top each experience here with another. And it keeps happening.

I roamed around the Shinjuku section of the city after lunch, not particularly going anywhere, just me and my map and my backpack. I had a meeting set with my contact from the International Missions Board at 3. So for the first time on the trip I did my very favorite thing to do in a large city, board the subway!

Now, one big thing is different about Tokyo. Not a whole lot of English on the subway ticket screen. And the stations are huge, like whole city blocks. I finally got some help buying my ticket, from an employee who was awesome, he even walked me to the entrance to the subway. Sweet!

The other problem was I bought too little fare, so when I got to the other side, I couldn’t get out! And I couldn’t find a way to pay the difference. I finally got that figured out after about 10 minutes and we were well on our way.

Next, to either find Starbucks or a pay phone. I could find neither. Blessing for me, Buddy was looking out for lost Americans and spotted me from 2 miles away :) So we hooked up and headed to Starbucks.

I was so excited to meet him and learn his story and his family’s story and about what God is doing in Japan. We shared our testimonies and talked about Japan and what I might like to do. I asked him a thousand questions. I have a brand new insight on what that life is like, the positives, the negatives, the blessings, and the frustrations, and I’m going to keep asking God to show me if that might be something in my future.

I do know this.. Japan needs Christ. And while streams of missionaries go to countries all around it, Japan is very overlooked by Christians overall. Prosperity enhances the need for Christ, and just because the water’s clean doesn’t mean the gospel is not needed.

I know I have alluded to it, for those reading these updates regularly.. the shrines are pretty to look at. But these gods are not alive. There is one God. Christ says ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life’ and that nobody comes to the Father except through Him. Not Buddah, not Mohammed, not your ancestors. They are all dead. Dead people can’t save you. Christ, the living God who rose from the dead, can save you. The true temple now is Christ, and by extension, each believer.

This place is so lost spiritually. No less than the churches of Europe with architecture to end all architecture, but with no worshippers left to give it any meaning. The Japanese people are beautiful and wonderful. And Americans could learn a lot from them on many things. But there is a need for Christ here in a big, big way.

I got to spend the evening worshiping with Buddy’s family and some of the interns that are here helping him in Tokyo. Melanie and Lindsey cooked dinner, and Trent, Audrey and Sonya were there, as well as Ashley, Adam and Avery, Buddy’s children. What an amazing group, and what an experience to be able to worship with them in the heart of West Tokyo. I won’t ever forget this night.

I won’t ever look at missions the same, or my Bible, or God. I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to spend this extra time in Tokyo to meet with them.

Then the subway back with 2 of my new friends, and then back into the room just in time for the lights to go out. Another day in Tokyo done. Two and a half days left on my trip. Tomorrow I will explore the subway in the morning, meet up with some missionaries to go to an orphanage at lunch time, then more exploring in the afternoon. Perhaps sunset at Shinbuya, which is the Times Square of Tokyo. I’ll probably go find Tokyo Baptist Church also and see if there’s any other Bible studies going on. Then Thursday I am meeting Sonya and a couple others for ‘Free Bible Study’ in Tokyo, where we will do Bible study, and give out Bibles and tracts to whoever we can talk to. I’m obviously limited in my Japanese speaking abilities, but maybe I’ll catch a couple of English speakers or be able to have one of my partners translate a few things.

Off to bed for now. What a super day! If tomorrow is any sweeter I might explode with excitement, seriously. Good night everyone from my awesome bunk bed at the Tokyo International Hostel. Sayonara!!

It’s around lunchtime, and I am sitting in a burger cafe adjacent to the Big Egg, otherwise known as the Tokyo Dome. It’s been quite a day already!

I awoke, and figured out the daily routine at the hostel. So there is a shared shower/bath. It’s really not too bad, it has personal stalls, and a shared changing area. It’s a lot like the gym actually, so that felt completely normal. If that’s the trade off for 3860 yen per night then bring it!

I got changed and got all my stuff locked up, after going downstairs to post pictures and the blog I wrote last night. Then it was on to my first stop of the day, the Yasukuni Shrine.

So there’s this huge gate, the biggest gate in Japan. Check the pictures. This shrine is dedicated mainly to World War 2 veterans… then it is adjacent to a temple, Nippon Budokan. This is a rather large temple area with a beautiful park and garden around it. I have some amazing pictures of the waterfall and garden area.

I brought my Bible, and I prayed all around the temple area. I found a special quiet place in the garden and just prayed psalms over the temple and the Japanese people. It’s an amazing place, and an amazing people, and I know that God loves them and has special plans for revival here. I prayed for the teams coming this summer. It was a very sweet experience, and I hope to return to this temple and garden with others, hopefully in the midst of a great harvet in Japan.

So then I got lost. :-) Yeah but the signs are great here, so I got back on track within a few minutes, and headed back to the hotel area. I stopped for a quick map check and a little emailing off the only free wifi in Japan, LOL, and then headed to Tokyo Dome.

So Tokyo Dome is like its own little city. There’s a roller coaster, right in downtown, and the Japanese Baseball Hall Of Fame, and then the stadium. I am a sucker for foreign sports jerseys, so I went in the gift shop and got me a Yomiuri Giants replica jersey. I’ll put it right next to my Honduras National Soccer Jersey. My baseball jersey was a touch more expensive though! And then I stopped at this burger joint, which by the way, perhaps just served me the best burger I have ever had. The bun was so awesome, I need to figure out how to ask what they made that with! It was a Teriyaki Burger. Mmmmmmm! I’ll be back to sushi probably tomorrow, LOL.

And just a funny note, the Beatles are playing in here. They are still very huge here. So the other night at karaoke, Yamada, one of our hosts, hadn’t said 5 words to me in English the entire time we had been here. So I queued up Yesterday by the Beatles, and dude grabs a microphone and sings every word. I was laughing so stinkin hard. I miss Yamada and Dario and my friends!!! But I feel like an explorer now for sure, carrying my goofy little phrase book, navigating as best I can.

The weather is beautiful, perfect temperature, bright sunshine!

So I will probably go exploring for a few more minutes, and then get ready for the train ride to meet my missionary friend in West Tokyo. Hoping to talk about what the progress is like in Tokyo, how I can help over the next 72 hours, and how I can potentially continue to help, whether it means prayer, support for the missionaries, or building a team to come next year. I hadn’t thought much of that, but having the experience of learning some Japanese culture first hand, and the experience of the traveling and the navigating of the city, probably helps me in terms of my ability to do that. I’m sure Buddy also has a lot to pour into me and tell me about that will help immensely with that, so I’m really excited about tonight.

Ok, more updates later. Sayonara!

Wow, where do I even begin with today? In general, the day started in the care of my friends from Maebashi, with amenities, some luxury, and definitely hand holding. It ended here in a bunk bed in a hostel squeezed on the 18th floor of a building in the largest city in the world, along with a backpacker from Oregon, a guy from the States who has a thing for closed Middle East countries, and a half Iranian/half Japanese guy with a huge job interview tomorrow. My blanket feels like a burlap sack, I stole internet from a coffee shop, and I am definitely in culture shock. I love it!

So first.. we got to meet the mayor of Maebashi this morning. What a great experience! He loaded us all down with gifts, and we got to sit and talk and exchange presents. We checked out of the hotel, got all of our stuff together, and headed for Tokyo.

First stop was the Tokyo Government Building, and an elevator trip to the 45th floor, where much of the city was visible. You could even see most of the mountain ranges off in the distance. It was a great learning experience about Tokyo. We ate lunch there and then moved on.

Next was a temple in Tokyo. It was very beautiful. For a nonreligious people, it’s amazing how religious Japanese people are. Or at the very least superstitious! I think these trips to the temples have given me some perspective on the Japanese mindset and culture and hopefully that will help me in the days to come!

So once we were finished there, we began to separate the group. I thought I was going to be last, but it turned out I was first! Doh! So I thought I had a little more time, and then the next thing you know, they’re getting ready to drop me off. And suddenly, after being hand held for 4 days, I’m alone on the streets of Tokyo dragging all my bags with me, looking for the hostel.

First, I got a little lost. Not bad lost. Just a little. I was within a block the whole time but just couldn’t locate the right place. So once I finally found a police officer who knew where the hostel was, I made my way over and checked in.

The place I am staying is a hostel. Up to 10 can sleep in the same room, on bunk beds. It’s my first experience like this. There are a lot of rules. There’s a curfew. There’s mandatory breakfast this week because of holidays. It’s a little smelly and creepy. I love it. Very cool so far. Already made a friend to talk to about the trip. And it’s 3860 yen per night, which rocks. And I found a cool Japanese phrase book in the lobby that I’m going to study before I go to sleep.

Next was internet. I needed to plan out the train for tomorrow’s journeys and the maps weren’t helping me very much. But no wifi to be found. Like anywhere. I checked every place I could think of, nothing open, nothing open with a pay portal. Grrrrr!! The hostel has 3 crappy Win2K kiosks with 100 yen per 15 minute access. Terrible. So I did use that to plan my train for tomorrow afternoon to meet Buddy from the IMB, but I needed wireless… so I searched, and pretty much gave up, until I was about to come back upstairs, and I sat down at a table and cranked up the laptop. And what do you know, the little restaurant right across the square had an open access point! I bought a (crappy) latte and went to work, emailing and talking to Heather.

So here I am. Lights go off in 20 minutes. I am in Tokyo. I have 3 more full days. I don’t really know what God is going to bring for me. But I am excited to be here. I have a phrase book, I have a Bible. I have a map of the trains. What else could a boy ask for?

And I have lots of stuff I’d like to do. My hostel is less than a mile from Tokyo Dome so I am hoping to catch a game. There are many great sights within walking distance. And I know already there are plenty of places to pray over in this city, that the teams of kids that come this summer will have a great harvest, and that I might make some friends and lay the groundwork for bringing more people with me next time I come to Tokyo.

Until then!

geoff

The sun rises here at like 4:30 am. The land of the rising sun. :) So I’m typically wide awake by 5:30. I’m thinking this could seriously help with my morning Bible study at home, so I think I’m going to petition to get this sun at home! Seriously, it was a good opportunity this morning to write a little, because I’ve been so busy having fun that I haven’t really had the chance.

First, I ran a half marathon in Japan yesterday. Sweet! Many things were very much the same about the experiences, but I will highlight some of the high points. First of all, we are guests of honor of the City of Maebashi. This means that we had the reception on Saturday night, which was quite an experience! I got to speak to many people there, and give some gifts from the BTC, and eat perhaps the yummiest rice balls ever! Oh yeah! And then I played the Japanese drums which was very awesome! I thought I kept the beat very well.. :) We only completely lost it maybe once or twice, we had very good teachers.

Sunday morning I awoke, and Dario and Yamada, our guides, picked us up and carried us to the race. First time I’ve ever had a personal bus carry me straight to the race. I liked it. :) Built in place to keep your race bag. Then there was an opening ceremony and we were introduced on stage as special guests of honor. Then at the start line, we were put right at the front, which was hilarious. :) The elite runners were looking at us with what I can only describe as a mix of curiosity, disdain, and respect. Great mix!

Then the mayor, in his awesome yellow suit, fired the gun and we were off. Ok, so starting with the elites meant I ran entirely too fast for entirely too long at the beginning of the race. I haven’t taken the time to look at my splits, but I was probably on a 1:40 pace at the halfway point, which would have been outstanding for not training. 1:49 is outstanding I think considering what I know to be my physical condition right now compared to years past. But the race was more than that for sure. The Tone river, I think it was Tone, and the cherry blossoms coming from the trees and falling along the road as we ran. There was a traditional Japanese group singing with drums and the big umbrellas, with the ancient attire. And the mountain always in view, and so beautiful!

It rained all day Saturday, and then Sunday morning when we awoke, it was still raining. But almost on cue, at about 9am, the sun broke through the clouds, the rain stopped, and the run was beautiful, if not a touch on the warm side. It also felt uphill in all directions. But I think this is a function of training. When you train well, the race feels all downhill. When you don’t, all uphill :)

Ok some really sweet things. First, when you finish, you walk right over to a tent and show them your number, and they give you a full results sheet. I mean I hadn’t gotten my heart rate down yet and I had my results. Now, perhaps I should come here and study the way they do race management, because I’ve never seen anything close to that in the States. We pay people a lot of money to have results by maybe Tuesday. No offense to our local races and the companies that do this stuff, but you might need to go visit Japan for some tips. And I’m a race timer myself. :) We’ll see if I can do my race in two weeks anywhere close to that!

And pork soup! Yes, first time with pork soup after a race. It was really tasty! Pork, vegetables, some I’m familiar with, some I have only become familiar with since arriving, like devil’s tounge.. think consistency of tofu maybe, taste somewhere between potato and … potato, maybe. :) And when served hot, tastes very very good.. dumplings, and some really random pieces of squid.

No medals. So medal whores who will be upset with that need not apply. But between the awesome tech shirt, the sweet jacket, and the results sheet along with numbers made of bonded enough paper to not get wrinkled and folded up, I have a framing job to do when I get home. I’ll never miss having a medal for the race. No gatorade either during, so if that bothers you learn to take some gu. They do have sponges, which not many races in the US have. I squeezed it over my head a few times and it was very enjoyable!

I already know that we are having some Japanese athletes here for Vulcan this year, and I’m very excited about that. I’d encourage the running community to get involved in this as best they can, as hosts, or receiving party, or volunteers. I know I plan to be there that weekend, and hope to host them as well as they have hosted us..

After the race, we came back to the hotel, and ate what I guess was a 5 course meal, though it felt more like 7 or 8. It was my second half marathon of the day. An eating marathon! Then back to the hotel to sleep a bit and catch up with family.

Then unfortunately I started to feel a little sick in the head and tummy. I made it out to the place for dinner, but the smell of the food made it worse, so I walked back to the hotel and laid down for about an hour and a half. I had begun lobbying Dario, our host from the city, to take us out for karaoke early on Saturday, and quickly won him over. Not everyone in the party was completely enthusiastic at first, but once we got there, they were won over quickly as well!

I was feeling well enough to join everyone and we walked to the karaoke bar. Ok, so karaoke in Japan.. where it started. You rent a room. The room has couches and a table and a TV with the sound system. You have a couple of remote controls to pick the songs and queue them up. You can rent this room by the hour, and you can also do an all-you-can-drink thing during that time as well.. which we did. :) I think this way of doing it is so much cooler than having karaoke at a bar in the United States. I wish we had more of these places. It’s a great thing for a big group to get together and do, and you don’t have to wait an hour to sing the next song. Even the most skeptical among us had a blast! I was so glad I came back to the hotel and recovered a little. We also got to see Yamada open up a lot, as he had been quiet most of the trip. And Dario is just a wonderful host and trip leader and for him to come out with us, along with Timo, one of the great friends we have made this weekend, meant a lot. A girl who came with him sang the most beautiful Japanese song, I had no idea what it was saying. Then we sang a song with Dario and then Yamada broke out his (flamenco) dancing shoes, which was AWESOME!

Man it’s been a wonderful time. Of course my trip is only half over. Now, on to Tokyo, to experience the largest city in the world, to stay in a bunk bed room with 9 strangers, to walk the streets of Tokyo in prayer for their knowledge of Christ, to talk to missionaries about their experiences and life in Japan, and to eat some potentially sketchy stuff. :) I hope God will use me to scout a potential larger trip to Tokyo or Maebashi in the future, and to seed the ground for the college students that are coming this summer to bring the gospel to Tokyo.

Before leaving however, we will be meeting the mayor today, and spending some more time getting the sights and sounds with our guides. It starts in about an hour, so I’m out. Thanks everyone for reading and commenting on my statuses and updates, it means a lot to know that people are following my trip. I love you all!!