It has been about 6 weeks since my last posting. A lot is going on here and Jenny and I are loving Japan! The weather is cooling off and the humidity is lowering, thank goodness! It was so beautiful yesterday. We took a trip to Mount Fuji. Around every corner, there is a surprise! The landscape reminded me of home in Colorado...so beautiful!
These ships were docked at the lake in the Hakone area. Wow! So beautiful! I think you can book a harbor cruise.
We started out at 6:30 AM. It is about a 90 minute drive from where we live to the Hakone area. The lakes and the forest areas are absolutely breathtaking! And of course, Mount Fuji was not a disappointment! These photos do not do it justice.
Since our visas were granted six weeks ago, we have been busy with cell groups, discipleships, Bible studies, Kindergarten, much prayer and the Encounter with God Retreat. Here are a few pictures of cell group this past week. Joe led worship and Vaguinho from one of our affiliate churches in Brazil led the group discussion regarding the Love of God. Check it out...
People from all over coming together! China, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Brazil, New Zealand and America all in one room! All worshiping the same God! The Living God! It is a beautiful thing!
Please continue to pray for us as we share the Love of God with the wonderful people of Japan. Pray for our words to be His Words and that they open their hearts to the drawing of the Spirit of God. I know without doubt that He is drawing them!
Two weeks ago several members of our church as well as many seekers joined together in the mountains of Uenohara for an Encounter with God. It was an incredible time of the Word of God with many powerful skits. A team from Brazil as well as many people from our local church led the Encounter. Months of prayer and fasting went into the preparation. Everything was set up before we arrived. Those of us who had never attended the Encounter before, did nothing but soak it all in. All I can say is WOW! what a powerful and intimate time with God! I would love to say more but there are two of these Encounters each year and I must hide the details for the sake of the future attendees! Not knowing what was coming next made this Encounter all the more powerful.
There were opportunities to be alone with God. It was cool and quiet. There were beautiful forests, mountain views, and running creeks. Sorry I didn't get more photos!
Many lives were changed! I know mine was!
Let me think...What else is going on here...
Our Kindergarten had a field trip to the Ueno Zoo a week and a half ago. It was quite a packed train ride there. We left early so we had the pleasure of riding the train during rush hour! All the mom's were present as well as the main teacher and Jenny and I. Awesome zoo! Here are a few pics...
This was just inside the entrance and was quite beautiful!
I know you have seen a kangaroo before, but this one would wave at the people looking through the fence.
The Okapi is bizarre and beautiful! It has a striped back side and legs. Wish we could have gotten a better pic of this one.
And my very favorite of all! The giant panda. So cute sleeping!
The children were able to hold and pet rats, guinea pigs and rabbits. Yuck! on the rats, but they seemed to enjoy it. Sorry, no pics of the children, but they were adorable as well and had a great time!
After a day at the zoo we all went for a stroll through the "America Crossing" in Ueno. As far as the eye could see, street markets. Looking right and left at each intersection, more markets as far as the eye could see. Apparently this is Japan's image of America?? I don't know... there were some American products. At the entrances of many of the shops, men would stand on boxes and shout prices. It sounded like a bidding war. Actually, there were some really good prices. However, in most places it was so crowded you could hardly move. I will have to go back when I am not with children. Trying to hang on to them in that crowd was a little scary.
The following are photos of the residences of the former Marquis Maeda in the Shibuya area. The Marquis were Samurai that became Government Officials. In addition to his castle, he built two homes side by side, one traditional Japanese style home and a Western style home.
The front yard and entrance of the traditional Japanese Style Home.
This photo is a bit hazy but you can see the openness of the living areas in the traditional home.
The floors are tatami. The home is very open and sparsely furnished. It has a very calming effect.
The backyard is shady and calm. Very beautiful!
The front hallway leading to the living areas. Love the large open areas! The man taking photos is our friend Masayuki.
These photos are in random order because I have no idea what I am doing apparently! Anyway this is the stairway in the western style home of the Marquis Maeda.
And, of course, this is the front entrance to the Western style home.
And one of the living areas. It was nice but I have to say that I prefer the simplicity of the Japanese traditional style.
However, this is a coffee shop that is now in the Western style home and I did enjoy a great cup of coffee with my new Brazilian friend Monica and Emmy, the daughter of a fellow missionary. Emmy had ice cream instead of coffee!
After touring the Marquis residences, we took the train to the downtown Shibuya shopping district. The photo above is with Monica in the Shibuya train station. The painting on the wall behind us was painted by a very famous Japanese painter and was lost for many years and rediscovered recently. It depicts the devastation of the A-bomb.
This is the view from the station.
Here are a few more street views of the Shibuya shopping district. By the way, great shopping area! Lots of brands I recognized.
And for my finale, here are some pics of Akihabara. We stopped here on our way back from Funabashi this past month after helping in the Coffee House ministry there. This place is called "Electric City".
You can see Sega on the huge red building in the distance. This city is all about electronics and computer anything! If you need it, you can find it here.
At the top of the building in red you see the word "Karaoke" written in katakana. And yes I can read it! Karaoke is huge here in Japan! I have been to one of the karaoke places here locally for a party. You pay 500 Yen per person (about 5 dollars) to sing your heart out for 2 hours in a private room with all the ice cream, coffee and soft drinks you can consume! It is really quite a deal and everyone gets a big kick out of it!
This is the ultimate "man" city! The streets are lined with tiny cramped shops and narrow aisled, crowded malls full of every part needed to quite literally build anything and everything electronic from scratch. It is absolutely amazing!
That is all for now! I hope you enjoyed the trip through Japan! I certainly do enjoy taking you along with me!
We have a Family Camp coming up in November near Mount Fuji. There should be snow on the top by then, so more photos following! We will be going to a leadership training seminar in Yokohama in two weeks and working in Funabashi this coming Saturday.
Our Brazilian friends will be leaving us this next week and we will be very sad to see them go! It has been a real pleasure and a great blessing to have them here with us!
Thank you for your prayers! Japan is coming to Jesus!
Much Love and Gratitude!
Rhonda
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