Lets Jets Basketball

Today I went to a circle (basically a club) for basketball and was able to play ball and meet some new people.  I had a lot of fun and am excited to continue playing with the group.  Class for me has been pretty boring.  My English speaking classes are hardly that as the Japanese teachers understand English but have trouble speaking it.  Its going to be a long term.  My Japanese classes on the other hand are going well and I am excited to see my language grow.  By the end of the term I think I will know about 500 kanji characters which will be awesome, and helpful in everyday life.  I haven't taken any pictures recently, I will try to get on that so you all have a visual of what I am doing as well as text.

McDonalds!

Today I had the best McDonalds burger I have ever eaten.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say going to Mickey D's was a good decision, or that I felt good after.  In fact, I felt kinda gross afterwards, and I went alone on my way home, and there is nothing more shameful than eating in a McDonalds by yourself.  Anyways, it did end up being a good decision as I was able to have the Tsukimi Burger.  The translation is literally "looking at the moon burger" ... or else my dictionary sucks.  Anyways, not only was it Japanese McDonalds, which makes it taste far better than an American "burger", but the patty was pretty large and the burger consisted of the patty, cheese, fried egg, bacon, special almost chipotle like sauce.  Best Mac burger.  Ever.

Other than that, I had one class today and afterwards hung out with some friends.  My classes in English really aren't in English, they are in a hybrid Japanese-Accented-English that is hard to understand and very dry and boring sounding.  Its going to be a long term.  My classes aren't very hard however and most of them only require an 80% to get an A.  Except for my history class who's teacher goes by a study of how grades were distributed and will give only the top 40% of the class an A and so on.  I don't really like his style but I'm going to try and make sure I'm in the top 40.  I got word from a basketball club today as well so on Thursday I'm going to play some ball for the first time in about two months; I'm quite excited for that!

Otherwise things are well here!  How are you?

First Day of School

Today was my first day of school and it was quite tiring... and long.

My schedule this term is as follows:

Monday: Japanese from 9-12:10, International Economics 2:45-4:15, International Trade Management 4:30-6:00  a very long day.
Tuesday: Japanese History 1-2:30
Wednesday: Japanese from 9:12:10, Kanji 2:45-4:15
Thursday: International Economics 9-10:30, History 1-2:30
Friday is no school!!!!
Saturday: Japanese from 10:40-12:10

Weekly Meditations: Taking Joy Amidst Suffering

Last week we looked at the first eleven verses of Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi and how Christians can take joy in one another because of the special bonds we share thanks to Christ’s death and resurrection.  This week we will look at the rest of chapter 1 (verses 12-30) and see how Paul explains how to take joy amidst suffering.

 12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. 15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.  Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me. 27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Last week, we saw three ways Christians can take joy in each other.  This week we will also look at three sections of the text, this time looking at how we can take joy in suffering.  First we will look at verses 12-19.

In this first section, Paul explains to the Philippians how his suffering is spreading the gospel.  In verse 12 he writes: everything that has happened to me here has helped spread the gospel.  He continues in verse 13 by saying everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ.  As Paul endured beatings and imprisonment, outsiders couldn’t help but notice his attitude of piety and love towards Christ and this showed the hope in which he had placed his life.  Paul encourages us that when we take an attitude of trust in Christ during times of hardship, people see this and likewise see Christ.  Other believers also see our attitudes and can take encouragement in how we are handling a situation.  In verse 14 Paul writes: And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.  Times of suffering are hard but when we put our trust in Christ during these trials, we can take great joy in knowing that we are a witness to those who do not believe and an encouragement to those who do.  If our hope is in Christ and thus our lives are not of this earth, then our attitude toward suffering and trials should be different then someone who’s life is solely based on this earth or who’s faith is in another means of salvation.  Islamic extremists are so sure of the blessings of martyrdom that they are willing to give their lives to receive it.  If we proclaim to follow Christ and are so sure of his saving grace, then why are we not giving our lives to advance the gospel?  So often we look at missionaries who have moved to a foreign country, a desolate location or have even lost their life in the field and we hold them on a pedestal like they are better or different then us.  “I could never do something like that” is a common expression towards men and women like Jim Elliot, Amy Carmichael or Hudson Taylor.  But that just shows our lack of trust in Christ!  I am guilty of this same lack of faith as I so often find it hard to share the gospel with others.  So let us as Christians trust in Christ in our daily lives and especially in our times of hardship when all eyes are upon how we will react.

In verses 20-26, Paul continues to show how his hope is not on the earth but rather in his future with Christ in heaven.  However, he tells the Philippians that while he is on earth, he will continue to encourage them.  Our lives should be an encouragement to others, not just in how we live but also in how we pray and how we interact.  How we live, like I spoke of earlier specifically in negative situations, can be an indirect encouragement to other believers in many ways.  When we see someone living for Christ hopefully we can take encouragement and joy, like we talked about last week, in them.  We also should be praying for our Christian friends and being an encouragement to them in that way as well.  The pastor of the church I attended today spoke on Matthew 18:15-20 and related it to Ezekiel 33:7-9 where Ezekiel is made a watchman over the people of Israel and is to love them and speak the word of God to them.  The pastor encouraged us to be watchmen over one another, especially in prayer.  Lastly, as we directly interact with one another we should encourage them in their walks with Christ.  We cannot walk this road alone so be sure to be present in the lives of one another.

In the final four verses Paul gives us his finale how through suffering we can take joy.  As I spoke of before, our hope is not in this world but in Christ, and because of this, we can take joy in suffering because we know we can never lose Christ.  James writes in chapter 1 verses 2 and 3 of his letter: consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverence.  So let us live with our eyes on Jesus, no matter what may come our way, and put our hope fully in our salvation in Jesus Christ.

When our hope is in this life alone, suffering sucks.  Pain and sorrow are never fun nor are they enjoyable.  But as Christians, those who have placed their hope in Jesus Christ dying in their place for the sins they have committed, we can take “pure joy in sufferings of many kinds”.  We can take joy in suffering because we know our attitudes in our times of trial share the gospel, encourage others and show that our hope is not placed in this world.  So when good times are here, enjoy them together and when trials come, endure them together, encourage one another, and trust in Christ.

My New Church...

Today I attended church at Hongo Lutheran Church.  It is the closest church to where I am living so I thought I would check it out and I honestly enjoyed it and think I will continue attending during my year in Japan.  It is a small church, there are no more than 20 people, but it is all in Japanese which is what I wanted.  Thankfully someone translates the sermon onto a printed sheet so I was able to read what was said as well.  Most of the people speak English and there is a guy from Wisconson who has lived in Japan for about 7 years now.  They were very accommodating and friendly and I think it will end up being a good place to grow and learn.  The church has an English service at night so I will probably check that out sometime and there is also a student center so on another day I will probably stop by and try to meet some younger guys as I was the youngest in attendance, other than the pastor's kids.  Thanks for your prayers, I start school tomorrow!

To The Beach!!!

Today may have been my favorite day so far on my trip.  I truly had a lot of fun today although I walked way to much and really want to crawl into bed and sleep.  However, I will fight the urge to sleep (I actually slept a bunch on the train today so I'm basically Japanese now.) and share with you all what I did today.

Today my group took a trip to one of the nation's Big Buddhas with 20-30 Waseda students.  After looking at the Buddha and taking some pictures we headed to the beach for lunch.  At this point I had walked a lot and stood for about an hour straight on the train ride.  At the beach, myself and my friends from Oregon, Bryce and Ryan, went for a refreshing swim in the ocean.  The water was actually pretty warm (although to the Japanese kids it is apparently freezing) so swimming was super fun.  While eating and walking on the beach a hawk swooped down to try and take my sandwich so that was pretty crazy!  After the beach we went to Enoshima, an island that is connected to the mainland by a bridge.  Here I seriously walked up like five 30 step staircases to reach a shrine, but I achieved enlightenment along the way so it was chill. Just kidding.  Enoshima was very beautiful and was a fun time, but very tiring.  After standing most of the way home and walking more I was pretty tired, but it was well worth it.

me and the locals

 big Buddha + me and Tomoyuki

 Myself and Kavon, an oregon group member

 enoshima

 the first of many staircases

 the view from above

sun setting at enoshima (Bondon Kawamoto, master photographer)

While I didn't do too much of interest today, I thought I would nonetheless write something down.  However, as classes draw nearer I doubt I will post every day, but I will try to keep up on it.  I'll also try to take more pictures but as I am not a female, I don't have a camera trigger finger and thus often forget to pull out my cell phone/ 12.2 mega pixel camera.

Today I opened a bank account, napped, went to a welcome party and thats about it.  Tomorrow I go to the Big Buddha and then the beach!

Typhoon

Luke 8:24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"  He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.

I had always thought typhoons were no big deal.  Hurricanes, those were bad, but typhoons were just rain storms.  I mean come on, I live in Portland, Oregon, rain is not a big deal.  However, apparently typhoons are basically hurricanes, just ones that occur in the Pacific Ocean.  All day today rain has been pouring and this evening the strong winds hit Tokyo, knocking down some trees and halting train use across the city.  The worst part of the storm however, was in the Kansai region (where Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe are located) where lots of flooding has occurred.  So far it doesn't look like the damage will be as severe as say Katrina, or the recent cyclone in the midwest, but nonetheless keep Japan in your prayers as the nation recovers from the storm.

Today, the only thing on my agenda, other than getting home before the storm hit Tokyo, was getting my train pass.  The coolest part about my pass is I simply flash my wallet over a scanner and it reads my pass through all the contents of my wallet.  Another fun fact, when I renew the pass next month, all the current ink is erased and everything is rewritten for next month.

I also feel like the comfort level between my family and I is really growing.  They are beginning to teach me a lot about Japanese culture and aren't afraid to correct me if I make a mistake or am eating something wrong etc.

P.S. All my pictures are up on Facebook, including some that aren't on this blog.

Psalms 138:8a  The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever...

Today was fairly uneventful.  I had a short orientation session followed by a small lunch with some Japanese students that studied throughout Oregon last year.  Afterwards a friend from my Oregon group and I went exploring around town and ended up finding a billiards locale where we played a few games.  In the same department store, there is also a bowling alley so we will likely get a group to go there sometime.

It's rainy here now as a typhoon is hitting Japan so the cool down in temperature has been very nice compared to the hot, humid temperature that met me my first week here.  I feel like I've been gone much longer than just about a week, but it is encouraging to know I have lots more time to learn the language and meet new friends.

If you could be praying that I get over the cold I currently have that would be much appreciated.

Tokyo Tour

Today my group went on a tour of Tokyo where we were able to drive through most of the city, see the imperial palace, the Meiji Shrine, the shrines and shops at Asakusa, the Sky-Tree and much more.  I had trouble loading pictures so when they are up, they will be on Facebook.  Today was pretty fun although I am a little sick so hopefully I will feel better tomorrow!

Weekly Meditations

Over the course of my studies in Japan I hope to give a short message on scripture week to week.  For the next six weeks I will be looking at the book of Philippians and how we can find joy.  This week I will look at chapter 1 verses 1-11 of Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi and speak on how we can take joy in one another.

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Paul addresses the church at Philippi and tells them three ways that the members of the church can take joy in one another.  First, Christians take joy in one another because we share the same gospel.  Second, Christians take joy in one another because we share the same grace and third, Christians take joy in one another because we share the same goal.  Let us begin by looking at the first of this list.

In the first six verses of chapter one, Paul tells us that we find joy in one another because of our shared gospel.  We first see this in verse 1 when Paul takes careful note to include everyone from the church at Philippi because this letter is for everyone (at Philippi) who has believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul then in verse 4-5 notes that he takes joy when he prays for them because of your partnership in the gospel.  He continues on in verse 6 to say he is excited to see them carry it on to completion; that is, the work of the gospel.  Therefore, Paul notes that he especially takes joy in knowing that the Philippians are working to advance the gospel.  Does it excite you when missionaries present what they have been doing?  Do you take joy in hearing about the progress of the gospel overseas or even within your local church?  I encourage you to read the newsletters missionaries send out, usually on a monthly basis.  We can take joy in others because we share the same gospel, that is that a holy and just God created man who became sinful by his own work.  Because of this, God who is just must punish the sin; we are separated from him by our sin.  However, God in his love and mercy sent his son Jesus Christ to earth where Christ lived a perfect life then died on a cross as a substitute for our sins.  His death brought us atonement and after resurrecting from the dead after three days, his life brings us a spring of grace.  The gospel of Christ then, is putting your faith in this atonement and gaining forgiveness of sins which brings us into relationship with God.  

Because Christians share this gospel, we are encouraged and joyful when we know others are coming to believe in it.  We take joy in hearing how others are preaching Christ and when others come to believe in him.  This joy we have in our shared gospel is multiplied mainly because we share the same grace.

Since we share the same gospel that gives us salvation through Jesus Christ, we also know that it gives us a countless amount of grace.  As Christians, we share in this grace and this is another way we take joy in each other.  Paul notes in verses 7-8 that the joy he first receives in knowing that he and the Philippians share the same gospel is multiplied because they share in the same grace.  The grace received from Jesus Christ means that we know longer are separated from God, but can come into relationship with him.  This is a beautiful thing!  When our friends come to know the gospel and receive the grace we have, we should be extremely joyful, as we know that someone we love will be with us for eternity in heaven. 

This knowledge then leads us to the final stage of our taking joy in others.  First, we share the same gospel, which means we share in the same grace, which finally means that we share in the same glorious goal.  Heaven.

In the final three verses Paul shares his prayer with the Philippians that they would grow in the gospel until the day of Christ.  We can take immense joy in the fact that our brothers and sisters in Christ are not only saved from sin, but will join us in an eternity with God.  Because we have the same goal, we are able to help each other get to the finish line.  We have a purpose together, to stick with Christ on this earth until the day that he returns or, we are called home.  So take joy in the knowledge that someday your brothers and sisters will be together in heaven, praising God for eternity and take joy on this earth in one another as we grow and strive toward this goal, toward this finish line.

In today’s world it is so easy to be sad.  There are large-scale events like tragedies, suffering and natural disasters.  There are small-scale things like a bad-day, a sports team losing or lost pet.  But Paul encourages us that amidst these things we can take joy in our fellow Christians because we have the same gospel, the same belief that Christ died for our sins to bring us salvation.  We take joy in sharing the gospel, as Jesus commanded, and seeing others share the gospel too.  We take joy in sharing in the same grace and knowing that our brothers and sisters in Christ are saved and lastly, we take joy in knowing where we are headed; heaven where we will be united with God and our dear brothers and sisters for eternity.  So take joy in one another and understand that churches are not just a building where one goes to hear a message, sing songs or even check it off of the “spiritual to-do list” but rather, churches are a body of believers in Jesus Christ who take joy in one another as they grow in godliness until the day that Christ returns.

If you have any questions on what I wrote today, on God or, on how to become a follower of Jesus Christ, please don’t hesitate to email me at bkk@pdx.edu

Today was fairly uneventful for me.  I went on a walk, which ended up being really nice, especially when I found some peach water.  It is very good stuff.  I also had some eel for dinner.  It is not as good as peach water but wasn't bad.  I've been trying to eat everything that is put in front of me and so far have succeeded with great results.  It has forced me to try foods I probably wouldn't have ordered off of a menu.  The eel was the first thing I didn't love but so far I haven't hated anything, even the octopus yesterday was alright.  I may have found a church, its Lutheran so the theology is a little different, but it would also be in Japanese so I think I will go check it out and hopefully it will be a good fit.  

 Vending machines are everywhere in Japan

 Peach water!

Me and Teruki

It's because I have full certainty that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life, that I want to move to Japan someday to spread that news to the Japanese people.  After attending a "matsuri" or festival today, I realized how hard that goal could prove to be.  Myself and two of my Oregon friends were able to participate in the festival by being a part of a large group that carried a shrine (think Ark of the Covenant) around the neighborhood, dancing and singing all the way.  As I aided in the process, I saw fully how much tradition and Buddhism are parts of the Japanese culture.  However, I also realized that while I was carrying the shrine-thing I didn't suddenly convert to Buddhism and likewise (to some extent) Japanese-Christians can still participate in their culture without being Buddhist.  I was carrying the shrine around for the experience, not because I believe it brings good luck or scares demons.  That realization was very encouraging to me today.  Pray for me as I continue to look for a good church and begin to figure out what Japanese Christianity could look like.

Today I played with Teruki a lot.  He is really warming up to me and didn't want to stop playing when bed-time rolled around.  I will try to get a picture of him up, he's super cute but I keep forgetting.  My evening consisted off checking out a part of the festival (pictures below), eating takoyaki, essentially octopus inside a rice egg coating (fried), and attending the festival.  Afterwards we retreated to my house with my friends for the best curry I've ever eaten.  Tomorrow will be interesting as I have nothing at all planned.  I think I may go for a walk around the district to check it out.

Love you all and miss you.

My New Smartphone

First off an update of my host family.  Setsuko is actually the sister of one of my host parents.  I read the sheet wrong.  Secondly, Teruki has warmed up to me and asked me to play with him twice today.  I also think he may have thought I was leaving for good this morning when I left the house but I couldn't understand what he was saying.  He ran out the door after me though.

On today's agenda was purchasing cell phones to use during our stay in Japan.  I went in thinking I would find the cheapest phone, so as not to spend lots of money.  After a few hours of searching, waiting, and not understanding how much plans cost, I finally figured out that a smartphone isn't much more than a normal phone but can do much more and looks super cool.  I also figure since I would like to move here permanently some day, I could use the phone then.  I've got to say, I feel pretty cool with my new phone, and its camera is almost 13 megapixels so I now have a camera too rather than just my iPod.

I'm really enjoying my trip so far and feel like my language skills are growing already.  I'm starting to think and talk to myself in Japanese rather than english and my host mother is not afraid to correct me if I say something wrong.  An army of Waseda students has been helping us out so I've been able to talk to people often.  I'm very thankful for them as they have worked harder to help us than I could ever have imagined.  I'm very thankful for the help we received today buying phones.  One girl spoke excellent English and was able to be a huge help for us in understanding what was going on.

Pray for me as I begin searching for a church to attend this Sunday.

The Akutsu Family

Matthew 10:11 When you enter a city or village, search for a worthy person and stay in his home until you leave town.

My new life in Tokyo is almost set up.  Other than getting my alien registration card, a cell phone and a train pass, moving into my new home marked the next step in my journey.  As I entered the dining room I was greeted by my host mother's three year old grandson who welcomed me with a couple "ray gun blasts" with his Buzz Lightyear action figure.  My host mother welcomed me quite differently with a delicious pear-jello-cream-bowl which was quite good.

My host family is wonderful.  Toyohito, my otosan (father) is a business owner (not sure what yet) who honestly looks like an old samurai who looks like he's past his prime but if challenged, could defeat any foe.  Hiromi, my okasan (mother) is super nice, my program coordinator even said she aspires to be like Hiromi.  Their daughter Kae lives with them (in a quite large house, even by the U.S.'s standards) along with her husband Masaki who looks super chill and likes baseball.  I'm hoping to go to some games with him.  Their son Teruki is adorable, (I will try to get some pictures of him soon) and apparently is comfortable with me as he waltzed right in to the dining room after his bath stark naked and started playing with his toys.  His hobbies include shooting me with Buzz Lightyear and giving Buzz Lightyear nun chucks to shoot me with as well.  Setsuko is the mother of one of my host-parents, although I'm not sure which one.  She too is very sweet as most older Japanese ladies are.  So if you were counting, I have four generations under one roof!

I'm very excited for time with the Akutsu family and will try to get some pictures of my house and the family asap.  For now, here are some scenic pictures and my room!

 Some Japanese Yen

 This is for my dad who I know will appreciate this picture of a concrete pour going on.

Riding on the bus... on the left side of the street.  Madness.

I woke up bright and early today in order to the the J-CAT (Japanese placement) test, which I scored lower than I expected on.  Apparently my knowledge of such useful verbs as funneling, stacking and praying was not up par.  Afterwards I had a short orientation session before meeting with Waseda students before dinner.  I found out that a snowboard club takes two trips a year and I'm very excited to go show them what American riding is all about.

For dinner we ate as a group at a Japanese Italian restaurant.  I ordered two entrees and about halfway through it began to look like a bad idea.  However, I was able to power through and downed the both of them.  My favorite part of the restaurant was an all you can drink soda machine with such flavors as a creamy melon soda, white grape, C.C. Lemon and Pepsi.  If only they had these in America.

After dinner I got my host family sheet and am very excited to meet them tomorrow.  I was told I was lucky to have gotten placed with them.

Thanks for all the prayers, I love you all!

Orientation Day 1

Today started off with a scare when I couldn't find my C.O.E. (certificate of eligibility).  I figured it had been taken by customs but didn't know for sure.  Turns out it was taken by customs so no big deal.  From there my day got a lot better and I became very excited for the rest of my trip as well as meeting my host family.  I had orientation sessions all day with my group which were long but very fruitful.  In between sessions my group hung out with some Waseda students and I had some Zaru soba for lunch, my favorite Japanese meal (see picture).  For dinner I went round two on the soba along with some tempura.

So far I have really enjoyed conversing with the Japanese students, whose English by the way is amazing although they will never admit it, eating the food, and I'm starting to get an idea of the layout of the Takadanobaba (its a mouthful I know) district where I will spend most of my time.

I'm really bad at taking pictures and will try to get more up as time goes by.

Arriving in Japan

Genesis 12:1  The Lord said to Abram, "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you".

As I sat on the airplane I realized that leaving for Japan was the hardest thing I've ever done.  Leaving family, friends, comfort etc is and for a long time will be the hardest thing I've ever done.  But between the thoughts of excitement and questioning myself "what have you gotten yourself into?" I realized that God's hand is in this process and the creator of the universe, the same God that sent Abram to a new land, is now sending me to a new land as well.  I don't expect to be the patriarch of a bloodline not physical but spiritual like Abram's but I do hope to be a blessing to the Japanese people, classmates and new friends during my time here.