さしぶり！（Sashiburi!）

Loosely translated, "long time no see!" Sorry I've failed in the blogging world the past 2 months. So much has happened...so much learned, so much still to process. For now, here are a few things I never would've expected to see in Tokyo...and I absolutely love! 

kaki. (aka, persimmons. I had heard of something called a "persimmon", but had no clue what they were. These guys showed up in grocery stores this month, apparently only available in the fall, and they are fabulous.) 

mountains. As soon as the weather got cooler I took advantage of my day off to take a train to Takao-san, a little over an hour away on the edge of Tokyo. Quiet, greenery, little waterfalls, hardly any people...so refreshing.

What's a hike in the mountains without...the 7 dwarves???

waterfalls...

...pretty views...

...and oo, look! there's teeeny, tiiiiny Tokyo!

Day in the Park

 I just went to check out this museum (full of art/artifacts), but heard music coming from the grassy area right outside, went to check it out, and at first was pretty weirded out that the fairly large group- at least 100- was only men. Then I realized I recognized some of the words - 十字(cross)、えいえん (eternal)...and quickly gathered this was no ordinary concert in the park. These men were worshipping together; a ministry to the homeless; a church. Not at all what I expected to stumble across today!

A couple more snapshots from the park. Between seeing the church, the art in the museum (lots of Shinto/Buddhist roots), and strolling through several nearby shrines, my mind stayed busy meditating on: beauty, contrast, water, purity, high places, worship, light, prayer...

Goodbye Tsugumi

I'm reading a book called "Goodbye Tsugumi" (confession: mainly because the author's name is "Banana Yoshimoto", and that is just fantastic) and I'm really enjoying it. It keeps surprising me with these random paragraphs of thoughts from the main character that just scream "God!". For example:

"...the ocean had always been there, in the good times as well as the bad...all I had to do was turn my head and it would be there, always the same...what on earth did people in the city turn to when they felt the need to reckon with "balance"? Maybe the moon?...but then the moon was so small and far away, and something about it felt sort of lonely, and it didn't seem like it would really help..."

The need for something constant. And not just constant, but bigger - greater than ourselves. And not just greater, but near- close- here with us. I long for the world to see that that something is there. And just as the ocean is more helpful than the moon, our God is infinitely more satisfying than the ocean.

Where do you turn when you feel the "need to reckon with balance"?

Matsuri! (Festival!)

One of the portable shrines (omikoshi)
at the shrine the night before.

Our neighborhood had their big, only-happens-every-few-years festival (Sumiyoshi Shrine Grand Festival). They had to post-pone it last summer because of the 3-11 disaster, so it was a huge deal.

They've been building these huts around the community
all summer, so I've been super curious about what would
go in them! Notice the offerings of sake, symbols of the crane and
the crest with the 3 dots, and (blurry- sorry) dragon heads. 

The dragons started at the shrine, with this big repetitive
 ceremony of mock fighting/dancing, then paraded the town.
While really fun and interesting, it sinks in how much of a
religious festival this is: we saw lots of people displaying framed
pictures of deceased family members (whether to help their spirits
travel back, or get blessings for them from the gods, or something
entirely different? I'm not sure...)

The ones with green lighting were kinda creepy...




All of the portable shrines feature this bird on top.
Our guide at the history museum said the shrine gates
(called torii; tori=bird) were originally made for
the birds to perch on. Birds are definitely an important symbol; I think they're supposed to connect the world/spirit world...

Lots of excited people, lots of mikoshi of all sizes parading
the town, lots of water being splashed on the carriers!



I woke up at 7 Sunday to the sound of drums, and looked out
window to see one of the mikoshi "parading" the river around
our little island neighborhood.



and docking right below us!





Tasty festival food, colors, music, clothes, decorations, meanings behind them, learning more about what my neighbors believe and desire... I'm still processing it all. Such an interesting weekend!   

Reflections on Tea

Single flower in a vase. Single kanji painting to meditate on (waterfall). Tatami mats. Shoji (white paper) doors. Small sweet cake. Green tea. Every turn of the bowl, twist of the hand, placement of the cup...is careful and deliberate.

For weeks I have been processing the tea ceremony experience, trying to figure out how to put my thoughts into words. It is fascinating to look into Japanese history, culture, and values... and to compare with Communion. While it is obviously missing the deep and powerful meaning of the Lord's Supper (I'll just say "grace!" and leave it at that), it shares so many other themes: ceremony, beauty, humility, cleanliness. In the tea room, everyone is equal. The mind is quiet and meditative. The small cake and tea are not meant to fill you up like a meal. The relationships of everything from placement of tea cup to whisk, to the relationships of person to person are central.

Though there is a loneliness, an emptiness, in Japan, sometimes more than others, which some people sense more than others... Japan is so incredibly good. While there are certainly exceptions and I wouldn't make these as universal statements, the values and themes we saw in the tea ceremony can often be seen all around Tokyo: the cleanliness of the subways and streets, the conscientiousness of the people around you, the care for beauty seen everywhere from bento lunches to plants grown on every doorstep, the honor, the drive to excell, things are orderly and prompt, people are helpful and hospitable, my person and my belongings are far safer than they were in, say, Jackson, MS...

 I glimpse the beauty of Communion in the tea ceremony, and in the many good aspects of Japan I see a shadow of the Creator, like His signature on a masterpiece. While I fumble for words to express both the goodness and deep need in Japan, my mind keeps returning to this quote: "The Divine ‘goodness’ differs from ours, but it is not sheerly different: it differs from ours not as white from black but as a perfect circle from a child’s first attempt to draw a wheel. But when the child has learned to draw, it will know that the circle it then makes is what it was trying to make from the very beginning." ~C.S. Lewis (Problem of Pain) 

Radiant Smile; a reflection

As I took a seat in the warm, full-of-200-other-people-waiting immigration office waiting for my little number to be called, I ended up right next to the kids' area. About 2 hours in, just as I was feeling reeeally bored of the textbooks I had brought with me, over comes yet another slightly frazzled looking family of gaijin (from India, I think, but that's irrelevant). Their little girl, probably 2 years old, was the most adorable little girl on the planet. Within seconds this girl had started her rounds: clutching a fuzzy koala bear to her chest, she would walk over to a random person, look up with wide eyes, then break out a huge smile, hold eye contact for a few seconds, and move on to the next person.

Without a single failure, every person she approached, from bored teenager to tired Mom to grumpy businessman, met her eye contact (once they noticed her) and returned a big genuine smile. You just couldn't help it, her joy was so contagious. It didn't mean we were happy about the waiting, and we still very much wanted to get out of there ASAP, and that other kid in the corner was still screaming... but somehow that smile brought our focus out of our little self-centered bubbles of paperwork/boredom, and in the midst of it all there was a splash of beauty, of joy.

In a way, I think God is a little like that (or rather, that is a little like God). He wants to be our focus, to get us to snap out of our little bubble, to wake up to His beauty, to share in His marvelously contagious joy.

And now that I think back, as more of us were charmed by this little girl, the simple fact that we were focusing on her and smiling caught other people's attention, too: they'd look at us, then look where we were looking to see what was so great...

"The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." (Numbers 6)

What do you do for fun?

"So, what do you do for fun?" is a question I've been asked quite a lot lately. I've had some trouble answering it spur the moment because... when I do get free time I often just want rest. But I am thoroughly enjoying all the things I get to do!

~One of my favorite discoveries is this studio, where the owner invited me to come practice clarinet anytime! Besides being a free practice space (where my noise isn't bothering anyone), it's also a really relaxed, welcoming, international atmosphere. (Their mission/vision is providing this atmosphere for high school students, a good place to take lessons, hang out, and jam. Pretty awesome.) I'll be visiting them often on my days off!

~Summer in Japan is omatsuri season! This one was really fun, and there's more to come. Luka and I donned yukata (hand-made by my friend's grandmother when she was in highschool/college!!) and hit the main street to check it out and try some traditional tasty treats. Awesome look into culture- including watching the traditional dance that night, accompanied by singing and lead by a lone taiko drummer.



I'm also really enjoying being part of gospel choir! Here we are after leading the music for worship at church last Sunday. Besides being fun, Gospel music is great for my Japanese study, getting to know people, a great outreach ministry...fantastic on so many levels.



And one of my favorite activities for fun: eating! : ) This particular outing was with a group of Christians who meet about once a month to eat, talk, and have a Bible study together. Just hanging out over a meal is so refreshing (and again, great for my Japanese practice)!



Trip North

Here are some snapshots from my first short trip to Ishinomaki, one of the cities hit hard by 3-11, and the focal area for our relief/restoration ministry. Above, the neighborhood where we stayed (I slept in one of the big yellow tents with about 15 other volunteers).

Set up the portable pipe organ for the concert in Ishinomaki

started off with audience-participation
hula dancing
lead by a short-term team from CA!

There is quite the story behind what remains of
the building on the left.

It now has a memorial at the base. Smell of incense, song of birds who have taken up residence in the beams, bright colors of 1000s of paper cranes contrasted by the dingy greys of lost "hello-kitty" dolls...

The coast-line of Rikuzentakata, a few hours
farther north. It used to be known for its beautiful
pine trees, now broken stumps-

except for this one. One tall miracle tree somehow
 survived, a symbol of hope and strength.









~Sunday we went to a church that started last year after the tsunami. 2 people came for the first time, because of the work Samaritan's Purse (and other groups) had done for their homes. 

~Conversations about music after a concert- how it was the first time someone had heard a live cello... how years ago someone from their neighborhood got into one of the top music schools... why Juilliard musicians would come all this way just to play for them... 

~perspective. dreams. nostalgia. strength. perserverance. looking back, and looking forward.

Hope. Praying for these cities.

The team from Juilliard! Here they are (14 musicians and a dancer) with some new friends after a performance party. They did so many performances, lessons, played for churches...and were just a fabulous bunch. I miss them already!

3 of the musicians are staying a few extra weeks : ) This morning they performed a mini benefit concert at a tower community room, the center of "Tsukuda Loves Tohoku" (disaster relief from this neighborhood to the area hit hardest by 3-11). One of the workers at this tower dropped by, donating a pile of change he had found while cleaning around the building.

I'll be seeing a lot of this great little room as I get involved in "Tsukuda loves Tohoku", and it's also where I go for our neighborhood Gospel Choir rehearsals every Friday : )




Oops!

There has been plenty to learn these first weeks, from Japanese language and culture, to finding my way around, to singing southern Gospel music (in Japanese), to making awesome recipes my allergic-to-everything friends can eat. But I never would have guessed some of the things I have learned this week. There have been a couple times when my mistakes terrified me... but thank you, God, I can look back and laugh! And now, if you have time to read this novella, you can laugh at me, too : )

Like this one time when I was unloading groceries. Lots of big heavy bags of CostCo groceries, going from the basement garage to the 22nd floor. I heard the easiest way is to stand by the elevator, hold the door open, and shove all the bags on- you know, so you don't have to go up and down 30 times. But I learned that when you're almost done loading the elevator, if those last few bags in the hall are just out of your reach and you go to grab them, when you turn around the elevator doors are closed... and you watch your elevator full of groceries go up, up, and away... (not to worry, after pushing the "come baaaaack!" button a zillion times, it came back down several minutes later with 2 extremely confused looking workmen.)

And then there was the time I was "driving" the 3 year old to preschool on the bike...and I learned that when you stop a bike, and your legs are too short to reach the ground, so you have to tip a tiny bit to the side to touch your toe to the ground to balance yourself...that doesn't work so well when the bike has a kid buckled on the back. Gravity however, works beautifully. Time moved in slow motion as I tried to right the bike, and we (bike, kid, and I) tipped completely sideways onto the sidewalk of innocent bystanders trying to walk to work. Not to worry: the passersby lept out of the way in time, miraculously, no one got a scratch, and I'm pretty sure everyone involved got a good laugh out of it once we got our hearts beating at a normal speed. (I wonder how many times this story has been told around Tokyo now...)

Tower, Sweet Tower

As sleepiness hit this afternoon I went for a stroll to stay awake, and took a few snapshots around my new neighborhood!

Things to pray for this week:
-health and energy... gotta love jet-lag.
-the Juilliard team who arrives on Thursday; that God would shine His love and light through all of us during their busy 2 weeks here.
-my first Japanese lesson on Thursday!

33

You know you haven't posted in too long when blogger has completed changed format...a month ago... and you didn't even know...

And no, this is not post #33. This is 33 sakura (cherry blossoms) provided. This is Jeremiah 33:3 (and 6-11). This is a reminder of Our Abba who answers prayer, heals, forgives, restores, supplies, reconciles. Some of my favorite reminders of those attributes of God are little things: seeing "33" on a tough day, or realizing how deliberately God plans even the little details. For instance...

Last week I was reminded of a Church I hadn't contacted yet. I did a week mission trip with them in high school, and still remember what loving, hospitable people they were. So I left just one message, and a few days later they actually called me back! (Which in itself is kind of miraculous). And our short phone conversation was filled with joy- it was a "work" call I honestly did really, really enjoy. (Thank you, God). "Too bad they're so far away," I think, "it would've been fun to meet with them in 'real life' instead of phone and email".

That Sunday I heard from a friend who is going right through that Church's town for a weekend trip soon. What are the chances of that? And moreso, what are the chances she would even remember this random church was on her way, and what made her think to mention it to me? But she did. Too good of a "coincidence" to pass up, I emailed the Church and asked if they would possibly be interested in meeting with me...in 1 week. (Churches, if they agree, usually ask me to come MONTHS later, but it can't hurt to ask: especially since I'd have a traveling buddy). But what are the chances it would actually work out? Besides, I'm working on Friday- I'd feel bad canceling on such short notice.

And you guessed it: they invited me to come meet, not just with their committee, but to present the ministry in Japan to their whole group, and talk with the committee afterwards.

Oh, but back up to Monday afternoon, just hours before the church invited me to come: I hear I have work off on Friday.

I don't know if this church will decide to partner with me. I'm praying they do, but if they don't it will be ok. Because God will supply: He has a plan, better than I could ever orchestrate.

Home

This video is the song "furusato/my hometown", at the 3-11 Memorial Concert in Ishinomaki, a community that has become closely connected with my (future) community in Tokyo.

1 year. It's crazy how much can change. But at the same time...it's gone by so quickly. A year has passed since the 3-11 Great East Japan Earthquake/Tsunami, and the work of rebuilding is just beginning in Tohoku. A year gone by and people are still missing; the thousands lost still missed. People who still need homes, jobs, community, Hope. Need to know that they are not forgotten. My heart aches for them to know the One who never forgets them, who promises never to leave or forsake them, who promises He is a Home for us, forever. How long, O Lord?

And my heart aches to be there. In Japan. A year ago, I was quite confident I would be in Japan by 3-11-12; that it would be beginning to feel just a bit like home. And as much as I've grown and learned and seen the goodness of God's plan of having me right where I am...I can't wait to go. To see and experience what I've talked and prayed about for so long. To get to know people and play just the smallest of roles in this pivotal time in Japan. I have so much to learn, and I'm ready to be there soaking up and pouring out. How long, O Lord?

But spring is on its way, and the sakura will bloom again. There is hope. There is time. People are being comforted, churches are being planted, my heart and mind are being prepared. This season will run its course. "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish" (2 Peter 3:9).

On a lighter note... my Mom pulled out this icey maker she bought in Japan years ago. She intended it for our nieces, but my siblings and I decided we didn't need 3 yr olds to enjoy the simple pleasures of life : ) Over 22 years old, and this little bear is still working beautifully!

Gospel!

A month later...I decided it's high time I gave you a few pictures of life! I had the privilege of helping out in Memphis last week as a dozen Japanese singers came to share Gospel music and see it at its roots. I loved getting to know them a bit and hear some of their stories...can't wait to see them again in Japan!
Other perks of the trip were hearing more about ministries across Japan (like disaster relief up North) and getting to spend more time with the Lowther family (see representative, below :) I'll be working/learning/living with them in Tokyo, so it's a good thing they're awesome! And I think we even successfully kept each other sane through a pretty busy week :)

Belgium (meanwhile in Tokyo...)

I have officially completed my training! Which means I now know, even better than before, that I know very little : ) But seriously, we received a lot of great teaching and experience, but the learning is just beginning (and will, I hope, never end). A lot of our days were spent in the classroom learning about church-planting, language acquisition, evangelism, culture-shock, cultural differences...



...then we put on as many coats as possible and walked/train-ed/bus-ed into the city (even the Belgians said it was really cold last week!)


I had the privilege of worshiping with and getting to know some beautiful and brilliant people at St.Andrew's church...


and a summary of the month, no matter how brief, would not be complete without a shout-out to my little friend, Hannah, and a group shot of the whole crew! They really were a fantastic group of people: love 'em!




Meanwhile, this is a little bit of what's been going on in Japan (article on a 2 day learning experience, "Gospel in the City", of about 30 leaders in Tokyo: super exciting!) I cannot wait to join Grace City Church, and if you follow this link you can even see pictures of the event (aka, some of my future leaders/coworkers/pastors). Could you take just a few minutes to flip through some of the pictures and join me in praying for God's blessing, strength, and wisdom over these men?

Week 1

A week in the life...it's hard to know where to even begin, so I'll just list some happenings and highlights:

-chocolate. waffles. tea. European food. Need I say more?
-as a gross generalization, Belgians are extremely helpful and nice, and their English is fantastic.
-getting to know all the great people I'm living with- they're awesome, funny, and have so many stories.
-after a few days with those absolutely fantastic people I'm surrounded by/learning with, recovering from jet-lag and such, I needed some introvert time. Taking a morning alone to tour the Musical Instrument Museum, followed by leisurely wandering the streets of Brussels, was incredible!
-classes on: Belgium, team development, cultural measures/differences, a pastoral approach to evangelism, culture shock...
-writing my first ethnography (observe, make a hypotheses, analyze/"prove", repeat. This week I observed the Roma/Gypsy beggar women in downtown Brussels.)
-worshiping with St. Andrew's Scottish Church. (Want cross-cultural? Go to a Scottish church, in Brussels, full of everyone from Africa, to Ireland, to US, to Japan! 3 of us even got to spend a few hours eating/socializing with their 20s-30s group afterwards)

That's probably enough random tidbits for now...more pictures and stories to come!


Meanwhile...
Japan is, of course, very much on my heart and mind. Below, a video from my team in Japan. This is Ishinomaki: the city they are focusing on loving and serving, the people they know.

Then and Now from Paul Johannessen on Vimeo.

Zaventem

I'm trying to stay awake a little bit longer before I give up and fall asleep, and the next few weeks will very likely be very busy. So, here's what's up so far! I arrived (travels included: a pigeon strutting right past me in the Newark airport, spending my 6 hour lay-over with an awesome guy named Jose who was about to study abroad in France, and having one flight delayed because United ran out of ink cartridges- haha!) safe and healthy, and am getting settled into our dorm: the OM ZavCenter in Zaventem, an adorable little city/neighborhood outside of Brussels. Oh, and of course getting to know the 15 or so people here, who are an absolutely fabulous bunch (to stay awake, we spent our first day exploring Zaventem, then took the train into Brussels for just a bit before dinner. Which was perfect in the overcast, 48-ish degree weather). Tomorrow our classes begin, I should get a better idea of what I'm doing the next 4 weeks, what church I'll be connected with...and who knows what else! Prayers for my classmates/colleagues and I are very appreciated!

the bedroom view...














sampling the beautiful architecture...




























Special thanks to my roomie Katherine, who definitely gets the photographer of the day award.