Thursday, June 28, 2007

The Three Hour Sermon

Is the name of the book next to me. Sweet, I can read Japanese now! Haha, I jest, of course. However, I can read quite a few Japanese characters now, but I have no clue what they mean. Ok. I cannot put off the small talk for much longer...let me apologize profusely for not updating in quite some time. The internet has been down at the church, and that is the only time I am able to really get on the 'net. SORRY! I hope this post makes it up to you all. Maybe.

Where to begin...hmmm...I cannot remember. Oh well. I think that I will just talk about how things are going. Great is of course the answer. Of course it is because a leg is a leg is a leg. How could it not go great. I am not sure how many strangers wander aimlessly onto my blog, but it cannot be more than zero, so I will refrain from writing about a few things for that reason. If people are curious about what I was going to write, email me. It is nothing bad, but a few people I know read this, so I do not want to offend anybody. Actually, I do not think they even read anymore. Whatever. I do not care. In any case, I am almost ready to come home. More so for the food than anything else. Sorry family.

JOKING!!

I might have already talked about APN Friday night, but it was great. As was karaoke. We have another karaoke party scheduled for July 8th, the day before we leave and after our farewell party. Sad day! Ahh! I am not ready.

Every day Adam and I eat in the ICC cafeteria. Needless to say, we get tired of eating there. We miss having a variety of food to choose from: American, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Japanese...wait...um...yeah, you get the point. The food here is delicious, but all the same taste (for the most part) with Japanese flavor. We were tired of eating there, and we wanted some fatty American food so we decided to go McDonalds in Hitachi. Train ride! We looked at the train schedule and realized that a train was leaving in 12 minutes, so we booked it to the train station. When trains are arriving there is this little bell buzzer thing that goes off letting you know that it is coming. You usually have about 30 seconds to a minute. Not much time. We were rounding the corner and still heading for the station when we heard the train bell buzzer thing. We looked at each other and started running...nay, sprinting! We purchased our tickets and could see the train coming. We still had to cross over! We sprinted up the stairs, ran across, and sprinted down, all in under a minute. Just in time. The second we stepped on, the doors closed. We made it! Barely. Neither one of us had our inhalers, so we were a little wheezy, but it was worth it. I am just surprised that I did not trip while running. That would have been a disaster. 12 minutes was probably a record to leave school, walk to station, purchase tickets, cross over, and enter train. We rock.

We had to take that 11:59 train because the next one was at 12:14 and that would not have given us enough time to eat and get back. Two stops later we made it to Hitachi and chowed down, and rushed back to the train station and took the train. We made it back to the school by 1:14 and had readers at 1:15. Awesome. So much fun! It really was. After all of that running around, we were still hungry. Ice cream! The non-magical ice cream maker provides many flavors, tofu being one. It is actually not bad. Sort of thick and sweet. I would not say delicious, but I could definitely eat it if forced. Or just given a free one. Either one would work.

Dinner at Gusto's. Much slower and relaxing. Oh, and it was like 80 degrees and 100% humidity Monday as well, so that was fun. Very.

Tuesday was Curry Chapel and Sports Party Day. Long name for a day. Great success for both. Mr. and Mrs. Snow are here, so it was great to have them help out.

Wednesday night we cooked a ton of food for cell group. We cooked lemon pepper chicken, roasted corn, mashed potatoes with gravy, and salad. Ok, we did not cook the salad. But everything else we cooked on our own. Well, Mrs. Snow made the gravy and Ayaka, one of my readers, came early and helped out as well. We could not have done it without them. We cooked enough food for 25 people, and there was nothing left. It was a hit. Cell group is great. However, I do think that the Japanese non-Christians are struggling learning about the Bible. Some of the messages are a little over the top for someone who has never opened a Bible in their life. I don't know...maybe that is just me. Actually, Adam thinks so too, so maybe it is just us.

Thursday, today, we had ladies tea and it was great. I had to leave early to take the 11:50 train back to ICC because I had 7 classes today. All in a row. No breaks. Yay me.

It was awesome though, because I had a fantastic conversation with one girl named Ayako. She is such a sweetheart. We talked at length about temptation and how Jesus was tempted for 40 days and never gave in, nor did he eat. She told me that it was pretty unbelievable, but for some reason she believed that story. Already off to a great start! She told me that she thinks Jesus has a powerful spirit and that is why he said no all the times the devil tempted him. She also realizes that Jesus is God's son, and knew that in order to make God proud, Jesus had to say no. No matter how much he really wanted to turn that rock into bread. She is very observant. One lesson we were talking about was baptism, and I told her that the only way to heaven is by being a Christian and being baptized. That scared her. I told her that it is written in the Bible, and there is no other way into heaven. I think that opened her eyes and her heart. Later, she told me that she wishes she could have come more. I love her. Please keep her in your prayers.

Michi and I had a talk one day and we were talking while on the train about when Jesus walked on water. She said that it was a "crazy story" and was very hard to believe. But then she said something that I will never forget. She said "you know, these stories are so crazy and unbelievable that they have to be true. I mean, if they wanted more people to believe they would have made up easier stories to believe. These are too good to be made up." But in not as great of English. Awesome! What powerful words coming from a not-yet Christian! God bless her! Keep her in your prayers also.

Things are just getting good, and now it is time to almost leave. I am getting so depressed. We work Monday-Thursday, and a few days we have only worked three days a week. Adam and I work for 10 hours a day while the other three only 9. Not much difference. Anyway, Adam and I have worked 200 hours of Bible study together and that is fantastic. What great numbers! God is so good, and we still have one more week. I have nine readers on Tuesday! Monday is our only day off. This weekend we do not have off because we have FriendsCamp and I am very, very excited. A lot of my readers are going, so I am stoked.

Well, I think that I have written long enough. Oh my gosh! I totally had quesadillas tonight at Coco's!! Coco's is a family restaurant and they have a variety of food and I had honest to goodness tortillas with hot sauce! Wow! A little taste of heaven right here in Hitachi-Taga Japan! God is truly amazing. Just when I needed a taste, He provides. Thank you! Whooo!

Ok, honestly, I am finished. Plus, Holly and Tyler have been patiently awaiting their turn on the ancient computer. I miss you all and love you all. See you!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

jordan, what an awesome letter! to let you know-i check my computer the first thing in the a.m. to see if any new letters have been posted. you have many readers who enjoy your writings tremendously but we are a little remiss in responding.busy americans!
so very proud of you, sweetie.
i love you and hope to see you soon.
nanna

Anonymous said...

Jordan,

Again, greating reading. Thanks for the update, and the unique flair in which you describe the happening of events. Thanks for that. Looking forward to your return,

Dad(dy)

Anonymous said...

Hey girl, I wrote you the other day and it wouldn't let me send it without having a google account. Sorry it didn't get through. It sounds like you are having the time of your life. So many neat memories. I am glad you made it safely to McDonalds. The stories you tell of the girls and their perspective on Jesus is amazing. What a great opportunity to share Christ. We look forward to seeing you back in the States.
Love,
DeeDee

Anonymous said...

Yes, it went through. Nana told me to send it anonymous. It worked! She is a pretty smart Nana.
Love,
DeeDee