SINGING IN THE RAIN

KON BAN WA FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

All is well here in Japan. I think the tropical depression is finally past and the rain is letting up a bit. We have had a good couple of days. It has been a bit cooler and that is a good thing! I love opening all the windows at night, allowing the breeze to blow through the apartment and falling asleep to the sounds of the street. 

 

I am getting to know more people and loving it. I do my best to reach my word quota on those who do speak English! God knows I do like to talk and not being able to communicate is tough! In the meantime I will smile, hug and love as much as possible! I like to do that too!

 

This past Friday night, Jenny and I were walking to an 8:00 PM meeting. It was dark and raining. There were lots of people walking and riding bikes home from work, when a woman rode past us with her small child in his bike seat. They were both in rain coats with hoods, rain and wind swirling in their faces, and the little boy was singing at the top of his lungs as they rode past.  It was a beautiful thing! Still makes me smile!...and complain less! 

 

It is time to turn out the lights and open the windows...

 

Oyasuminasai!

Rhonda 

WHERE I AM

KON BAN WA FRIENDS AND ADVENTURERS!

I just completed two weeks in Japan, and I have to keep reminding myself of that. It doesn't seem like a long time when I say it but it feels like I have been here much longer than 2 weeks. I am sure it has something to do with the steep learning curve and the drastic changes that have taken place in such a short time. The language barrier makes it hard to figure things out, like-- what exactly am I eating! Hey as long as it tastes good and it is not wiggling, I just eat it! I have been asked twice if I have tried the octopus. I understand that eating it live, is a real sensation!

 

Riding bikes and walking is our main mode of transportation locally. We are learning the train system for inter-city travel, as well. We arrived in the rainy season and now there is a tropical depression that has increased the rain. Not much fun on a bike with the wind blowing your raincoat open and the hood off your head. When I get where I am going, I am frequently soaking wet. I washed a few wash cloths by hand the other day and because of the constant rain, I hung them inside the apartment to dry--It took 5 days (just to give you an idea of the humidity level). Thankfully, there is  a small laundry with dryers two doors down. It makes life much easier.

 

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to travel to Iwaki, Fukushima, where the terrible earthquake and tsunami took place in 2011, to attend a Gospel Choir event in their honor. It was absolutely awesome! One choir was made up entirely of people from Iwaki, one of whom said "You have to just keep singing!" What an inspiration!

 

 

The "Celebrate" choir includes people from our church in Noborito. It was a powerful tribute to the wonderful people of Iwaki!

On the way to Iwaki, our first stop was Shinjuku. This photo is of the Fashion College, in a building called the Cocoon. What I saw of Shinjuku reminded me of a very clean New York City. I definitely want to pay this place another visit!

I am studying Japanese and learning to write Hiragana, one of the Japanese alphabets. It is pretty cool or sugoi as they say in Japan. I get excited when I pick up a word or two from a conversation that I actually recognize and understand. I am praying for Divine intervention! Please agree with me that I can learn the language!

Things are in the works here, and it appears that working with children is in my future. A few things that have been talked about are kindergarten teaching assistant this next school year, teaching  private English lessons to children, starting a new Sunday school for the children, and taking care of the children for one of the ladies cell groups so they can study the Bible and fellowship uninterrupted. I am excited to serve in whatever capacity I am needed and God chooses. Please pray for wisdom in the decision making process.

Blessings on each and every one of you! Thank you for your prayers. You are in mine!

Rhonda





 

 

 

 

JUST AN OBSERVATION

Konnichiwa Friends and Family!

 

I just wanted to share an observation with you and give you full view of the kindness of the Japanese people. Christine, our Mission Director, took us to the Soft Bank store a couple of days ago for a phone. Upon entering, we were greeted quickly and warmly as we walked into the store and ushered to a desk where a young man helped us with our business. That all seemed pretty normal. However, when it was time to leave and all was finished, the young man helping us, took our bags and walked toward the door. We followed, having no idea what he was doing. He opened the door for us and bowed his head with a smile as we stepped out onto the landing. The entrance to the business was on the second floor and there was a stairway on the outside of the building. He started down the stairs with our bags and we followed. Another young man working in the store also stepped out onto the landing behind us as we started down the stairs. When we reached the street, the young man that had worked with us, handed us our bags and with his hands together in front of his face, he bowed to us repeatedly as he thanked us for doing business with Soft Bank. The second young man, still at the top of the stairs, simultaneously bowed and thanked us from the top of the stairs. That was a WOW moment for me! I have been in customer service for years and I have never experienced anything like it! We could learn a few things from these gracious people! 

 

Another gracious moment was today in Japanese class when I told the teachers it was 4:00 o'clock in Japanese, only to have them laugh hysterically and give me the sign for "Do not say that out loud!!"(cross your arms in front of your chest in an "X" and wildly bump them together). Apparently, you have to change the word for "four" when using it to give the time or you say things I had to look up in the Urban Dictionary! Yeah, I definitely don't want to say that out loud!! Live and learn, hopefully! :-)

 

Shukufuku!

Rhonda

OUR NEW HOME

HI FRIENDS AND ADVENTURERS!

We are almost settled in.  Still need to pick up a few things at the store Monday, like a small table and chairs and a couple more storage drawers, but otherwise we are moved in and our new place is almost "Rhonda clean". That means it is as clean and disinfected as I can possibly get it. Here are a few pictures of our little missionary bungalow as promised. 

The kitchen is small but functional. The refrigerator is slightly taller than waist high. No dishwasher, I guess you know what that means! Yep...paper plates!! Not! Guess I will have to revisit the old days when people were forced to wash by hand! ;-)

Yep, we hit the motherload in Japanese experience! A squatty potty! Don't try this at home!

This is a separate shower room. The gas water heater is to the left of the soaking tub. You turn on the gas when you need the water to be heated, otherwise it is off. You fill the tub for a bath, or stand or sit on a stool in the middle of the room and spray yourself with the shower head. Hmmmm, not sure how I feel about that. The tub is a definite no-go!

Bathroom sink and small medicine cabinet just outside the shower room. The shelf under the medicine cabinet was an add-on no doubt. It was built with 2 small curtain rods, a wire shelf, probably from the refrigerator, and duct tape. Gotta love that!

Jenny's room has hanging racks and a dresser. Her bed is a sofa with no legs that opens up to lie flat, topped with a floor mat.

My room has a large storage closet.  You can see it on the right with sliding doors.

This comes in handy. More storage under the bed. And all of this is packed into 400 square feet! :-)

Stay tuned...more to come in the days ahead!

Rhonda