Keith and Celia

Relief Work in Ishinomaki: Some Random Observations

2012-01-21T20:15:00.000+09:00

This is a long one. Do yourself a favour: make a cup of tea (if you want delicious, nutritious Japanese green tea, you can find my brewing instructions here) and curl up on the comfortable chair with a blanket. Ready? Okay, let’s go.

I thought about putting together some sort of exhaustive post or posts about our time in Ishinomaki doing relief work. On further reflection, I decided not to do that. If you’re interested, I've provided links to our team leader’s daily blog entries and our online photo album at the end of this post. (Please do have a look, since I've only put a few pictures here.) Here I’ve picked a few topics of particular interest to me and reflected on them.

To summarize briefly, Keith and I joined a team from Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, Washington to sing Christmas carols (wearing Dickens costumes!) in Ishinomaki, which is a couple of hours away from Sendai. Keith and I got connected with Westminster through TalkTime (informal conversation time for international students and professionals) and Alpha ministries. We spent December 7-18 in Sendai, Ishinomaki, and Chiba singing in a wide variety of contexts, ranging from churches to coffee houses to schools and nursing homes.

Caroling at a yochien (kindergarten), wearing our 変な洋服 (weird Western clothes)

We were excited to join the team, led by Mark Ramquist, who together with his wife, Sylvia (our mentor at Westminster), served with Asian Access in Japan for many years. One of the team members, Mika, is a songwriter and performer living in Sendai, and we have many mutual friends. I discovered when I met Bev that we had had an hour long conversation in the parking lot at Westminster a year before. Rachel, I discovered, is a huge fan of our friend’s novels. Cheri has a great sense of humor—that weird American sort of humor that I had been missing. 5 out of the 7 members had some level of Japanese, which was very helpful. Personally I think it was a great team, and we sounded darn good, too!

The team at Matsushima: Mark, Mika, Bev, Cheri, Rachel, me, Keith

Our goal for the trip was to glorify God, to encourage the people of Ishinomaki, and to allow the long-termers to do their work better. It was encouraging to me to hear at the end of each day about things which went on while we were singing. Andy and Lorna had great conversations and deepened friendships with local people. More cooperation happened between the various organizations in Ishinomaki. Doors were opened for future groups of this kind to go to some of the same places (schools, nursing homes, etc) as we had been.

People seemed to enjoy the songs. Sometimes we invited participation (complete with hats!) during the familiar songs. Invariably when we sang “Silent Night” people would sing along… and they would cry. It’s not at all a sad song, but they would cry, even men. I guess they needed to cry, but usually there is no opportunity. Through our singing, we gave the listeners a culturally-appropriate opportunity to express some of the sorrow which had been bottled up for so long.

Personally, the theme of the trip for me was “church.” What does “church” mean in the areas affected by the March 11 disaster? What does “church” mean in Tohoko? What does it mean to “be the church” in Japan?

We saw a number of models of church functioning alongside each other in Ishinomaki. First, we visited a church—building, worship service, pastor, sermon, etc. We sang 30 minutes of carols as part of the service. I have never seen a Japanese church so packed—and this one was only a few months old. There were people in the 2 main rooms of the house in which the church meets, people filling the storage room, and people looking in the windows. When we finished singing, we had to wait outside for the end of the service, since there was nowhere for us to sit.

This is after church. You might be able to get the general idea, but this doesn't do justice to just how crowded it was. The pastor, Suzuki-sensei, is in the foreground on the right.

I think many people came for our mini-concert. Or maybe they just came because they wanted to come to church. I don’t know. What I do know is that both in Miyako and Ishinomaki, people told us that they were thankful that the Christians were there, helping in ways that the government really couldn’t help.

Another model of church we saw was the community outreach model—events ranging from coffee houses and concerts to visits to nursing homes and schools to “takidashi” (literally “emergency food distribution,” but in this particular community, “takidashi” has become a chance for the neighbourhood to come together for coffee, bingo, and a communal meal). While the “traditional” model of church is helpful for teaching the Bible and worshipping together, smaller gatherings give opportunities for relief workers to develop personal connections with and care for local people. These smaller gatherings also give opportunities for the local people to participate and take ownership as well.

Takidashi: gathering point for the community

At “takidashi,” we met Sumiko and her brother, Tateo. They and a few others came early to help set up tents and tables and chairs. Tateo’s particular role is to make coffee—quite a process with no electricity or running water. Sumiko supervised all us gaijin (foreigners) who were assembling the Soba noodle soup for lunch.

Andy with Tateo making coffee

Lunch prep with Sumiko

So what does church look like in Tohoku? I don’t really have too many answers except to say that I’m expecting to see something completely unexpected, and I don’t think I’ll be the only one to re-evaluate what “church” means in Japan.

This was a very different sort of trip from our last one—to start with, we were part of a short term team with a specific task, and Ishinomaki is not much like Miyako at all—much larger and closer to a major city. In addition, now it is winter and another 4 months of progress has been made following the disaster last March. There are some similarities between the types of ministries and relief work going on in Miyako and Ishinomaki, but each place has a unique flavor. Generally, it’s a bit hard to compare our two experiences.

I think now that the weather has gotten colder (and no one is on school holidays), not as many teams are coming, which is perhaps both a challenge and a blessing. When we were in Miyako over the summer, the long-term workers were constantly trying to figure out what to do with teams, some of which had no one who spoke Japanese. Now it would appear that serious efforts have been made to foster cooperation between the various relief work groups in the area and to form strategies for the next months and years. Although some things are more organized, our host, Lorna, complained that the only constant in her life right now was the fact that the ferry to Hokkaido goes by at the same time every night. ;) The work in Ishinomaki is constantly evolving and changing, as is the work in Miyako, I’m sure. Exciting to be sure, but challenging, heart-wrenching, and disorienting at times.

Let’s close with a few prayer points.

Please pray for our hosts, Andy and Lorna Gilbert, for health, energy, and an extra helping of God’s love to overflow onto everyone they meet. Please pray for them to find suitable housing in Ishinomaki—right now their commute is 1 ½ hours each way.
Please pray for wisdom and good cooperation among all the groups working in Ishinomaki--Mika at Ochakko House (coffee house), Virginia at Hope House (community space and coffee house), Chad and Jennifer who were our contacts for school and nursing home visits, and Suzuki-sensei at Koganehama church. Most of these people are tired and worn out. Pray for encouragement and strength for each of them.
Last night we attended a charity concert and heard a report from someone who has been working in Miyako. She reported that churches in the disaster area are overflowing with non-Christians and new believers. This is a great problem to have… but there are not many people to teach and care for them. Please pray for strength and maturity for all the church members, since caring for one another is what all of us are called to do, not just the pastor or leader.
If you watched Keith’s video in the previous post (Japanese only—sorry), you can see a diagram he draws. This illustrates the pattern of disaster recovery. When people recover from the initial “valley”—that is, their physical needs have been met, they begin to come to terms with all that they have lost—family, friends, homes, possessions, community. This is when they reach a deeper “valley” about 6-8 months after a disaster. We’re a little past that now, but please pray that as people recover and climb out of the “valley,” they would not do so in their own strength, but in the strength that comes from God.
Please continue to pray for unity among the churches in Japan. There’s much to be thankful for as we’ve seen unprecedented cooperation in relief efforts. Please pray that such cooperation continues and spreads outside of the disaster area.

If you want to know more about our trip, our team leader, Mark Ramquist, put together excellent daily posts on his blog. Please follow these links:

12/8 Thursday: Tokyo, Sendai, and Takayama
12/9 Friday: Ishinomaki - First Concert
12/10 Saturday: Koganehama "Takidashi" and Chakko House
12/11 Sunday: Koganehama Church
12/12 Monday: Sendai Day Off
12/13 Tuesday: Koganehama Ladies Tea and Samaritan's Purse work
12/14: Wednesday: Koganehama Coffee House
12/15 Thursday: Ishinomaki Kids and Old Folks
12/16 Friday: Onagawa Kids and Tomei SP
12/17 Saturday: Sendai, then to Tokyo
12/18 Sunday: Chiba and Tokyo

In addition, we’ve put our favourite pictures up on picasa, and if you can understand Japanese, check out Keith’s end-of-beginner-course speech about our trip. If you're interested in the continuation of the relief project we did over the summer and what our organization is doing in Miyako, here is a short video you can watch. (There are pictures of us from last August!)

It's been a long one, but thanks for reading!

スピーチです！

2012-01-08T20:01:00.000+09:00

12月の東北のクリスマス・キャロルの旅

December Christmas caroling trip to Tohoku

This video is all in poorly spoken Japanese and marks the transition in my language study from beginner course to intermediate. I talk about my recent Christmas caroling trip to Tohoku with a team from Seattle, whose goal was to show the love of God and encourage the people there through music and ultimately to help build relationships between locals and local missionaries and pastors. Here`s the text of my speech if you`d like to follow along:

おはようございます。
私はセリアと先月東北のキャロルの旅行きました。それについて、今日、
話したいと思います。
私たちは１２月７日にJLCの１２：２５の授業が終わって、札幌駅１：１７発の電車にぎりぎり間に合いました。函館と青森で乗り換えて8時間後、仙台に着きました。その夜はほかのキャロルを歌う美香さんという教会員のアパートに泊まりました。美香さんはすごく歌が上手でまた英語から日本語に訳してくれました。
次の日にシアトルから来たキャロルを歌う人たちと会いました。皆で私たちのチームは７人でした。歌を練習してから、仙台の近くの七ヶ浜へ行きました。そこでほかの宣教団体の宣教師のギルバートご夫婦に会って、９日間そこのゲストハウスに泊まりました。ギルバートご夫婦は福岡で１２年間開拓伝道のけいけんもあるし、４月から石巻でボランティアもしているし、それで私はギルバートご夫婦からたくさん習いました。毎日ギルバートご夫婦と七ヶ浜から石巻まで２，３時間かけて、通いました。今ギルバートご夫婦は石巻のアパートを探しているところですが、それは難しいようです。つなみで空いているアパートが少ないですから。　
だいたい私達の伝道はクリスマス・キャロルを歌うことでした。私たちが歌う会場は老人ホームやようちえんや炊き出しの所でした。もちろん私達はキャロルで神様の愛を伝えたかったんですが、一番大事な目的は牧師と宣教師と未信者と絆を作ることでした。その目的をちょっと説明したいと思います。
―　
この図を見てください。
この線は生活のレベルです。幸せ度とか満足度とかを示しています。
もし災害があったら、だいたい人たちはこのパターンを通ります。
最初の谷は速く落ちて大きいショックを受けます。人が死んだり、家や大事な物が壊されたり、これからどうしようかと迷ってしまいます。それで、考える時間がありません。６週間後被災者にとって水と食べ物と避難所は十分です。
次の谷の方が長くて深いです。そのときは考える時間があります。悲しみがたくさんあります。亡くなった家族、仕事がない、まえの地域社会との関係を失った、自分は助かって、どうして隣の人は死んだんだろう、等々。その谷の一番下の部分は６ヶ月から８ヶ月までです。
ギルバートご夫婦の希望はできるだけ被災者に早く会って、いっしょに歩むことでした。そしたら本当の「がんばって」というはげましができるからです。やっと大変な所を乗り越えられます。最後の希望は土台を変えることです。災害のまえの土台はぐうぞうだったかもしれません。お金とか、いい仕事とか。
クリスチャンの証しを聞いて、神様の愛をいただければ、被災者の土台は十字架に変わります。
それが今回のキャロルの旅の目的でした。
では、３．１１から月を計算したら、ここは５月ごろ、ここは１１月から今年の
１月ごろまで。
特に今東北の未信者と宣教師と牧師の絆のために祈ってください。
どうか被災者が「たとい、死の陰の谷を歩くことがあっても、私はわざわいを
恐れません。あなたが私とともにおられますから」と言いますように。
アーメン
以上です。

Osechi

2012-01-01T19:04:00.000+09:00

Happy New Year!

I've been meaning to blog about our relief work, and Christmas, and something else that I can't seem to remember right now... but I've been busy with this. By "this" I mean Osechi, the Japanese New Year's feast... as well as a whole bunch of other cooking projects (granola, bbq sauce, etc.) I love vacation! By "vacation" I mean staying at home with nothing in particular that I have to do...

I guess part of my fixation with traditional foods, clothing, and music in Japan is that we don't have much of that in my home country. Everything came from somewhere else. Thus I'm really enjoying learning about traditions here. I also really appreciate the Japanese attentiveness to seasonal foods. Oh, and bento boxes. I love those. Thus making osechi (the mother-of-all-bentos) is a no-brainer for me.

I started working on the contents of our osechi boxes several days in advance. Now we have enough to feed an army. Yesterday (January 31) I completed the contents and arranged everything in the boxes.

Getting started: everything in place to make Osechi! Seasoning ingredients, big pot of dashi, cutting board, utensils, cookbook... and Japanese dictionary!

Updated kitchen picture, about lunch time.

I started with nimono dishes--here are carrot and lotus root flowers. The leftover bits after the decorative cuts became carrot furikake (topping for rice).

Another nimono dish: konnyaku--a glutinous jello-like food made from some kind of yam.

To keep the nimono under the surface of the stewing liquid, I used an otoshibuta (literally "dropped lid").

Datemaki--eggs and fish (tai) blended until smooth (with lots of sugar), then baked and rolled. I thought it failed, but surprisingly it didn't!

Making tea eggs: lightly crack boiled eggs, then stew them with tea and orange peel.

Kinchaku: mochi, ginger, and green onion-stuffed tofu skins, stewed in soy sauce and other good things.

Kitchen update shot, after everything was finished (11 p.m.)

Keith: Can we go to bed yet? (12:18 a.m.)

Almost done arranging everything in the box...

Finished!

Top tier dishes are "festive" and sweet foods: datemaki, kamaboko (the white and pink fish cakes), kuromame (sweet black beans), tatakigobo (burdock root), and kurikinton (mashed sweet potatoes with chestnuts)

Middle tier foods are savory and sour things: salmon, namasu (daikon and carrot pickle salad), and kinchaku

The bottom tier consists of various kinds of nimono.

I'm tired!

The finished box waits in the genkan (entryway) because it's cold there... and because the refrigerator is too full. Next to it is the leftover cooking liquid for nimono. I can reuse it for soups and things like that.

"After" picture: I think I'll deal with the mess in the morning...

On a not-entirely-unrelated note, here is my toshikoshi soba--traditional soba soup for New Year's Eve. We'll get around to ozoni sometime the next few days.

Keith was hungry! (Yet another shot of the messy kitchen with osechi in progress...)

In other food-related news... I got a bunch of new cookbooks! Here's my first meal out of "安い冬のおかず" (Cheap winter dishes):

Kimchi nabe! It fed us for two meals.

There were still leftovers... so we augmented them with a few more vegetables and some egg...

... and made kimchi fried rice! That was our lunch in the middle of all this mess. (Nice wok, eh?)

I also made rolls a couple of days ago. Definitely starting to get used to my oven.

あけましておめでとうございます！ (Happy New Year!)

p.s. We've now been working at the food in the boxes for 2 meals... and it will last for at least one more before we even get to the extras in the fridge... :)

Christmas-time happenings, part 1: Spiegel im Spiegel

2011-12-26T14:29:00.003+09:00

Now that Christmas is "over" here (everyone starts preparing for the New Year holiday after their Christmas Eve dates), I feel like I actually have time to celebrate Christmas. Today is a slow stay-at-home sort of day... and there's also a blizzard outside, so I'm glad I don't need to go out!

Thus I am starting a series of posts about our adventures over the last month--playing music at church, caroling and relief work in Ishinomaki, and our Christmas celebration at church.

The first Sunday of Advent, November 27, was also the last Sunday of the month, so our church had "open church"--usually this means a music performance or testimony as part of the service, and special coffee time afterwards. This time, Keith and I were asked to provide 10 minutes of music. We chose Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt, a piece which particularly fits well in an Advent service. I also had a chance to practice my Japanese public speaking by explaining the meaning of the piece before we played it.

Well then. The text of my introduction is below (go to google translate for a good laugh), and then there's a video of the whole thing. It wasn't a perfect performance, it was recorded on Keith's iPod, the piano was out of tune, and I still sound funny speaking Japanese... but here is a sample of us doing one thing we hope to continue doing after language school.
***

今日の演奏はArvo Pärtが作った「鏡の中の鏡」です。　私とキースの大好きな曲です。　弾く前に、少しこの曲を紹介したいと思います。

今日はアドベントの最初の日曜日です。　イスラエル人は神様を求めて、長い間イエス様がお生まれになる事を待っていました。　神様も愛する人間達を求められて、ご自分の大切なひとり子をこの地球へ送られました。　イエス様は人間と同じように生活されて、人間のように死なれました。　そのイエス様を通して、神様と人間は会えました。　

これがこの曲の意味です。　アルヴォ・ペルトはクリスチャンなので、いつも深い信仰を持って、作曲しています。　作られた曲はアルヴォ・ペルトの深い信仰を表しています。　

この「ラ」の音は鏡の表で、イエス様です。　神様が最初から人間を求めておられるので、私達人間は鏡のように神様の愛を映して、神様を求める事ができます。　チェロのパートは遅いテンポの音階で神様と人間の求め合う事を表現します。　この曲では、いつも鏡の中で神様と人間が会えます。

今日は、その事を考えながら、「鏡の中の鏡」を聞いていただければ、嬉しいです。
***

December Newsletter

2011-12-06T19:44:00.001+09:00

Seasons
Newsletter #15

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from a very messy apartment. We just sent off boxes with Christmas presents and played/sang in our first Christmas concert of the year, as well as had some new friends over for dinner. The result? A lot of great language practice, but very little “studying” (or cleaning).

December is the busiest month for Christians in Japan. Starting tomorrow (Wednesday, December 7), we will be spending 12 days with a team from Westminster Chapel (Bellevue, Washington), singing Christmas carols and doing other sorts of relief work in Ishinomaki, which is near Sendai. We are hoping to be able to express the love of God through music, to encourage people who are still hurting. On a personal note, this trip will offer us many opportunities to practice Japanese and learn about doing music ministry in Japan.

Below are a few pictures from the last month or so.


On a walk in Odori Park, downtown Sapporo

Trying out the harpsichord with Shino

Tea with Mikiko and Yuugo (in the kotatsu!)

Making kimchi at a Korean friend's house

***

Lessons in Weakness

Celia in class with Jomen-Sensei, who is not at all responsible for Celia's frustrating day in class.

We continue with full time language study, likely until sometime around next Christmas (2012). Various people keep telling us that learning a language is a marathon, not a sprint. For that reason, we are trying a more balanced approach—I (Celia) finally got out my knitting stuff, I started learning a cello and piano sonata with my friend, Shino, and I’ve had my first Shamisen lesson. (A Shamisen is a 3-stringed Japanese instrument.) But I digress. The temptation to treat language school like a sprint—all consuming, taking all available time and energy—comes simply enough from frustration at my own lack of skill. (Today’s class was especially frustrating.)

Right now, however, we’re still in the blissful period when people expect us to make mistakes—and are therefore quick to forgive us when we accidentally say something rude. Fortunately or unfortunately, this is a temporary state. Our Japanese will improve over time, and others’ expectations will increase—but we will continue to make mistakes. Already I’ve started to notice (in retrospect) that I am speaking without thinking about what I’m saying. This is good, and yet it is also bad. The more natural I become, the more likely I am to make a very bad mistake that won’t easily be forgiven.

We’re fairly proficient at everyday chatting, so people can get the impression that our Japanese is better than it actually is. We’re still quite limited in our range of conversation topics—I can talk about foods I like, but to talk in depth about a book or a movie I like or to give my testimony is beyond me at present.

All of these things can be very frustrating at times, but I’m thankful for language school and for the opportunity to learn Japanese. I’m thankful for every conversation I have with a Japanese friend, for every tiny step I make in becoming just a little more fluent. And yet I am also thankful for my weakness.

When we arrived in Japan for the first time in July 2009, I felt God’s presence like never before. That being the case, I assumed it was something about being in Japan. Perhaps it was. But it could be that when I acknowledged my own weakness, being in an unfamiliar place where I couldn’t speak the language, God revealed himself to me.

I am once again painfully aware of my own weakness, and yet blissfully aware of God’s strength. With the Apostle Paul, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9b-10). I wouldn’t go so far as to describe our situation as hardship, persecution, or calamity—but weakness? Absolutely. Sometimes I need to be reminded of my helplessness so that I can come again to this place of closeness with God. This is where I should be all the time, but sometimes if I’m feeling a little bit strong, I try to venture out on my own. Paul’s words help bring to mind all the times when I have found strength when there was none to be found in myself.
***

Prayer Points

We will be joining a team from Westminster Chapel in Bellevue to sing Christmas carols in Sendai and Ishinomaki for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami, December 7-18. Please pray for safety in travel and good health. Please also pray for those who will hear us: that they would be encouraged, that many would seek the truth, and that we can help them make connections with Christians who are in these communities long term.
We just got our budget for next year, and because of the dismal exchange rate, our support figure in US dollars has increased by about 15%. This will affect almost everyone in OMF Japan. Please pray with us, trusting that God will provide for all our needs.
We are thankful that our growing skills are enabling us to deepen our relationships with friends here. Please pray for motivation to study, and for us to keep up with our daily assignments.
We are thankful for many wonderful opportunities we've had in the past month. Please pray for balance, as there are many issues vying for our attention: Japanese study, practicing our instruments, cooking and eating and showing hospitality, spending time with friends, communicating with friends and family at home, taking care of day to day things like paying bills and figuring out why there is condensation on all the walls, etc. Above all, we do not want to neglect our relationships with God and each other.
There is lots of outreach going on this month in Japan as people are interested in the meaning of Christmas. Please pray for Kita Hiroshima Church (our church’s) outreach concert on December 24, as well as other such events. Please pray also for those working right now in preparation for Christmas outreach, especially that they would not neglect their own spiritual lives amidst all the busyness.

***

Your participation requested!

Last Christmas we received an electronic photo frame from Keith’s mom. We would like to use it to display pictures of our family and friends, to remind us who is praying for us--and to remind us to pray for you too. Please send us a favorite photo or photos by email, and we’ll put them in the frame. Thanks!
***

Engrish of the month, and a cultural note

This is the outside of a pachinko parlor which we pass on the way to the subway station. Pachinko is a kind of gambling which is popular in Japan. Some people spend hours (and their paychecks) every day playing pachinko. So in a way, the Engrish on the signboard is remarkably fitting:

The text reads, “It is new century arrival to an amusement. RISING reverses common sense. Please spend the pleasant time of a thrill and excitement.”

Please pray for people who struggle with gambling addiction.
***

You will be in our thoughts as we celebrate this month. Thank you once again for your prayers and support.

May our God, who for the sake of the world took on our weak human flesh, bless you this Christmas.

Love in Christ, Keith and Celia

Thanksgiving Speech

2011-11-24T20:00:00.000+09:00

Happy Thanksgiving (again)!

Today is also a happy day for me, since it marks the official end of the "beginner course" in language school. Thus I gave a speech. Since today is Thanksgiving, I decided on a Thanksgiving-themed speech.

Thus I give you the text of my speech, in Japanese. Sorry, English speakers, no translation. As usual, for a good time, please follow this link to use Google Translate to make your own Engrish.

Basically, the speech includes a brief history of Thanksgiving, followed by a description of my family's Thanksgiving celebration, and finally, a list of things I'm thankful for. (I just posted a list of 56 things I'm thankful for--in English--if you want to read that instead.)
***

Here I am, mid-speech. I gave the speech in the student lounge during tea break. As you can see, we have coffee and things. :)

私の国で、今日は特別な日で、私の一番好きな日です。　「Thanksgiving」を少し紹介したいと思います。

「Thanksgiving」は「感謝祭」と言う意味で、アメリカでは１１月の第４木曜日に祝われています。　

あるアメリカ人にとって、「Thanksgiving」は特に愛国的な日です。　1620年、「ピルグリムファーザーズ」がイギリスから来ました。　そのころ、イギリスではみんな英国国教会で礼拝しなければなりませんでしたが、ピルグリムになった人は非国教徒でした。　その人達は自分のやり方で礼拝したかったので、罰金を払わなければならなかったり、刑務所に入れられたりして、イギリスを出たくなりました。　長い間考えて、アメリカへ行こうと決めました。　

旅は長くて、危なかったです。　一番危なかったのはニューイングランドの冬でした。　ピルグリムとメイフラワー号の搭乗員は初めてのニューイングランドの冬だったので、それは北海道のような厳しい冬で半分位の人が死んでしまいました。　

次の年の11月に、作物の刈り取りが終わった時、三日間北米の原住民と収穫の感謝祭を行いました。　そのごちそうは今の「Thanksgiving」のモデルです。　ピルグリムは何回も色々な理由で感謝祭を祝いました。　その目的はいつも神様に感謝する事でした。

私の子供の時、家族は毎年父のいとこのジェーニさんの家で「Thanksgiving」を祝いました。　母はパンプキン・パイを持って行きます。　母とジェーニさんとやすこさんは台所で忙しくしていて、私と女のいとこ達はお婆さんと話します。　父とヴィックさんはアメフトを観ます。　弟は２階で男のいとこ達とテレビゲームをします。　ごちそうができた時、みんなはジェーニさんの大きくてきれいに飾ったテーブルの周りに集まります。　ヴィックさんが祈ったら、みんなは食べ始めます。

アメリカの祝日の中で「Thanksgiving」の時にしか伝統的なアメリカ料理を食べません。　ターキーやかぼちゃやじゃが芋などは元々アメリカ大陸の産物でした。

私の皿にはターキーとスタッフィング、マッシュ・ポテト、クランベリーソース、バターロール、隠元グラタンなどがあります。

食事の後で、母は「さあ、皆さん、どんな事に感謝していますか。」と言います。　それから、みんなは感謝する事を伝えます。　その後で、パンプキン・パイとコーヒーが出ます。

今の「Thanksgiving」の祝いは全然違います。　お婆さんが亡くなりました。　ジェーニさんが家を売りました。　それに、今年、私とキースはピルグリムのように故郷を出て、新しい国へ引越ししました。　ですから、ピルグリムの勇気に感心しています。　日本へ来たので、とても嬉しいですが、毎日新しいチャレンジをしています。　大変な事もありますが、毎日神様に日常の小さい事を感謝しています。

今日は「Thanksgiving」です。「さあ、皆さん、どんな事に感謝しますか。」

私はこたつを感謝します。　たたみと布団を感謝します。　外で乾いた洗濯物のにおいを感謝します。　部屋からのきれいな夕日の景色を感謝します。　いちょうのきれいな黄色いはっぱを感謝します。　いつでもおいしい日本茶が飲める事を感謝します。　すき焼きときのこを感謝します。　お弁当を感謝します。　キースがお弁当をおいしそうに食べているのを見る事を感謝します。
礼拝の後で、教会員とそばを食べながらお喋りする事を感謝します。　毎日、日本人の友達と話して、日本語に慣れていく事を感謝します。　祈り会と持ち寄りの食事を感謝します。　日本語で祈る時、下手ですが、神様が私の祈りも分かる事を感謝します。

私は弱くて、神様に全ての事を信頼しています。　私は父なる神様の大切な子です。　それで、いつも神様に感謝しています。
***

By the way, we did actually manage to have Thanksgiving dinner. We provided rolls, mashed potatoes, and apple crisp. We celebrated a day early, since Wednesday was a holiday in Japan. :) Oh, and today was potluck day after prayer meeting, so 2 days of feasting in a row.

56 things I'm thankful for

2011-11-24T14:06:00.001+09:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Here is a list of 56 random things I'm thankful for, in stream-of-consciousness order. Most of them are related to our daily life in Japan. Enjoy!

This is a kotatsu. It's a table with a blanket over the top and a heater underneath. Ahhh... Also, those are my friends. I'm thankful for them. And I'm thankful for tea and scones and mikan (oranges).

Kotatsu.
Sukiyaki with seasonal mushrooms, eaten while sitting in the kotatsu.
Mushroom season.
Seasonal foods in general. A few that come to mind: melons, kaki, winter fish…
Sunsets over the mountains which we enjoy from our 4th floor apartment.
The lady in the supermarket with the yellow mark-down stickers which she puts on the packages of meat.
Eating soba after church. Also, drinking instant coffee while taking with church members about what we’ve learned in class over the course of the week.
The smell of laundry after it has been hanging to dry outside on a crisp fall day.
The Japanese squeak-birds. That’s my name for them. I think they’re actually called “brown eared bulbul” or something like that.
Ginkgo trees changing color.
The subway: downtown in 10 minutes!
Those donut-like things we get at Jusco. I’m not sure what they’re called—something-yaki, I suppose. Anyway, they’re filled with sweet red beans and soy milk cream. Delicious.
Buying a huge bag of onions at our favourite place.
Buying tea at our favourite place, after sampling several varieties and learning something new about tea from the friendly shopkeeper.
The man in the supermarket who tells me where to find things. I see him walking to work most days as I’m coming home from school. I think he lives near us.
Sample day at the supermarket (Saturday evening).
Floor chairs and floor couch.
Tatami.
Eating Korean food (bi-bim-ba).
Inviting my friend over, sitting in the kotatsu together while listening to music.
Yakiniku in the park with friends.
Watching all the Japanese families enjoying yakiniku in the park.
Onsen.
Talking with old ladies at the onsen.
Karaoke with friends.
Singing in Japanese. At church, karaoke, in class, wherever. Also, learning new songs.
Sleeping on futon.
Electric mattress pad.
Drinking houjicha/sencha/mugicha/genmaicha, etc.
The electric hot water pot that dispenses water at exactly the right temperature.
The rice cooker that makes perfect rice, oatmeal, cheesecake, etc.
Walking along the river at Jozankei, crunching leaves under my feet.
The cool autumn air. Or the cool night air during the summer.
The teapot I found at a second-hand store.
Being in my own apartment with Keith.
Sitting down in the shower.
Talking to Keith while he washes the dishes and I dry them.
Cooking with a gas stove.
Cooking with cast iron on a gas stove.
Prayer meetings.
Potluck after prayer meetings.
Talking to my Japanese teacher about gardening.
Getting mail from home.
Being creative with whatever food is on sale.
Making bento.
Watching Keith eating his bento.
Funny commercials on TV.
Japanese style physical humour.
Figuring out the meaning of a new word and its reading based on the kanji.
The constant reminders of God’s provision.
The fact that God brought Keith and me together… and then gave each of us the same love for Japan and the desire to be here!
Feeling weak and helpless and totally dependent on God. I can’t do this alone. But that’s such a reassurance, since I’m not doing this alone. This is God’s work, not mine.
Cute bento boxes.
Wearing warm clothes when it’s cold.
The reminder, as I gasp out feeble prayers in Japanese, that God is not dependent on my ability to be eloquent to understand what’s in my heart.
Drinking Japanese tea whenever I want it.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." --Colossians 3:15-17

October Newsletter

2011-10-18T22:06:00.000+09:00

Dear Friends and Family,

お久しぶりです！ (It’s been a long time!) Life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately, but our “big news” is that we are actually in Japan, and we’ve finally settled down in our new apartment in Sapporo and started language school.

Our apartment: not quite there yet

Getting here was quite a trip. Rewind 2 ½ months or so to July 31, when we flew back to Japan from Singapore, having completed Orientation Course. We spent the next 5 days in Tokyo preparing for relief work. Celia spent long hours practicing (and having a viola da gamba lesson with an awesome teacher!) while Keith studied Japanese.

Then we continued on to Miyako, Iwate prefecture, where we in OMF are focusing our relief efforts. We stayed for two weeks, working with the local church and other volunteers to put on outdoor mobile cafes for people in temporary housing and others affected by the tsunami. Celia played cello and viola da gamba at the cafes while Keith served snacks and drinks and talked with people. We didn’t want to leave... and yet we became painfully aware of our need for further language study.

After our time in Miyako, we made a detour to Yamagata prefecture, where we spent a delightful weekend with the sending church of the pastor of our Japanese church in Seattle. Celia played a mini-concert as part of the Sunday worship service.

Fun with musical friends in Yamagata

And then, on August 22 (5 trains later), we arrived in Sapporo! Since then we’ve been studying, unpacking, organizing, meeting up with old friends, making new friends, starting to get involved at our new church, and trying to find some semblance of balance in all of this. Please pray for us as we continue to adjust to our new life here.

Celia on the train with many instruments

***

Relief Work Reflections

From August 5-18, Celia and I had the opportunity to work in Miyako to give relief to, pray for, and simply to be with the survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. It was a profound, multi-faceted experience, and instead of attempting to summarize these two weeks, I thought I would give small slices of life as I experienced and recorded them in my daily journal.

8/5 We left in the morning and traveled all day from Tokyo through Sendai to Morioka on the Shinkansen (bullet train). There is no designated place for cello sized luggage, so I stuffed them behind the last row, and attempted to apologize to the people there because I was not only taking their luggage space but the fat cellos made it impossible for them to recline their seats. I probably sounded something like this: "Big cello...pain in the butt...very sorry...can't...impossible...very sorry." After that uncomfortable episode, the rest of the journey went fairly smoothly.

We stayed in a building that was just out of reach of the tsunami. A few blocks down the road, and we saw watermarks seven feet high. A few more blocks down the road, and there was a gas station ripped to pieces. A few more blocks down the road, and there's nothing more than the empty foundations of buildings similar to a graveyard in feeling and appearance.

Our primary work is running a mobile cafe. We make food; pack the cafe van; pray; drive; set up tents, tables, and chairs; pray; wait; serve food and drinks under the atmosphere of Celia’s cello and viola da gamba music; talk and be with Japanese people; repack cafe; and return home.

Weather: hot! Celia mentioned that she experienced for the first time the distinct pleasure of playing the cello with sweat literally dripping from her.

8/8 Today, everything reminded me to pray, and I took every moment to pray. The barren house foundations, the old ladies bent over with age, the neatly groomed gardens next to the sidewalk. Even if I have zero ability to speak in Japanese, I can pray for these people. Always pray.

8/10 Celia played at a school today for about 11 children. Afterwards, she let each one play the small viol. They all had this look of wonder as if they were holding something magical, and I wonder how many of them are asking their parents for violin lessons now.

Hildegard does not like bubbles, and please keep your sticky fingers out of her sound holes...

8/12 We talked with the Meas, our team leaders, until late in the evening about death and counseling in the Japanese context. In their time here, they have heard some incredible survival stories, including a family that jumped out of their car while it was being swept away and were able to hold on to some trees until the wave passed. They talked with another man who climbed up a telephone poll as the wave swept underneath. Often these stories are followed by guilt for surviving or fear where they relive the experience.

8/17 Today was the last cafe. It was raining so hard that we had to use an indoor community center area. Our main problems were getting airflow into the stuffy room and dealing with the muddy shoes. A whole bunch of children came in around lunchtime and grabbed some grub and went off to a tatami room where the boys played card games and the girls did a sort of sticker drawing diary. I didn’t get to talk to them much before they went off, so instead I went to go organize their shoes in Japanese fashion (in Japan, you turn your guests’ shoes so that they are easier to slip on while leaving). While I was turning their muddy little shoes, I felt an overwhelming gratitude to be in this place serving like this. Tears came to my eyes. Serving and showing the love of Jesus to the children of Japan was one of the main ways God confirmed my calling to Japan. When the children came back for second helpings, I hid behind the table pretending to grab some more cakes from the box while I wept. I’m not sure if these were tears of gratitude for being able to serve or tears of sorrow for all that these people have had to endure through this disaster. When the rain had let up a bit, I went outside. From the vantage of the temp housing units there was a stunning scene of clouds rising from the green hills, below which were mounds of garbage and cleared lots. The contrast of beauty and destruction, nature and industry, was very present to me. I want to stay here and continue serving, now more than ever, but I know this is not God’s plan for me at this stage. I need more language skills, and now more than ever, I want to study.

Kasetsujutaku (Temporary housing units)

Note: We have written much more extensively about our experiences previously. Please see this post and this post.
***

Prayer Points

We’re so thankful to be in Japan--and to have come safe and healthy to Sapporo.
We’re thankful for chances to reconnect with old friends! When we were here before, we often wrote about our friend, Mikiko and her family in our prayer letters. We are happy to report that her son, Yuugo, who was born with a serious heart condition, is now healthy, and Mikiko’s mom was baptized! Please continue to pray for this family, especially as Mikiko’s husband, Curtis is still studying abroad in Russia.

Please pray for a more favorable exchange rate between the Japanese yen and currencies of the home countries of the various OMF missionaries. Japan already has a very high cost of living, so adding a poor exchange rate makes raising and maintaining support a challenge. The current situation is also detrimental to the Japanese economy, which relies heavily on exports.
Please pray for our language study: good relationships with our teachers, balance with the rest of our life, opportunities to practice, and protection against burnout.
Please pray for good communication habits with friends and family at home.
Please pray for the ongoing work in Miyako. Some particular needs are housing for workers, energy and protection against burnout and discouragement, and God’s guidance as this very new ministry evolves.

***

Finance update

The quick explanation: we’re fine.
The long explanation: After talking and praying with our supervisors about next year’s budget, we have decided to budget for a car, which will aid Celia’s cello ministry. Fortunately, our old car sold for a good price, and that will offset this added expense to a large extent; however, simply owning a car in Japan can be expensive. We give thanks to God for steady support, and we trust in God’s continuing provision for all of our needs, including this one.
***

Language Corner

Viola da gamba this, viola da gamba that. So what’s a viola da gamba? We received a gigantic dictionary as a gift from friends of ours when we got here, so let’s have a look.

We love the picture. (In case you were wondering, in Japanese, viola da gamba is “biora da ganba.”)
***

Even after two and a half months, we still have moments where it suddenly dawns on us, “Wow, we’re in Japan!” Thank you for helping us get here.

Love in Christ, Keith and Celia

Yes, we are still alive...

2011-10-13T23:30:00.000+09:00

... buried under a pile of homework and clothes which need to be folded and put away. Along with many other things that need doing, like our prayer letter which is long overdue. (Sorry.)

Here's a quick overview of the kinds of stuff we've been doing in the last month and a half since we arrived in Sapporo.

Moving...

Watching the sunset. We have a great vantage point from our 4th floor apartment.

Eating yakiniku (Japanese bbq) at the park with friends

Visiting our old church (on potluck Sunday... and my friend's mom got baptized!)

Eating ramen at our favorite shop

Grocery shopping (right from the source)

Making Brazilian food for my friend's birthday

Buying an oven... and making lasagna!

And last, but certainly not least, STUDYING JAPANESE. Here is a sample of my homework (a short "essay" about karaoke), since I don't have any pictures yet. I recommend Google Translate for a good laugh.

カラオケ

私は小学生の時、数学大会にさんかしました。　さんかする子供のために、ピザ・パーティーが行われました。　その時、初めて「カラオケ」をしました。　しかし、アメリカのカラオケはあまり楽しくなかったです。　知らない人の前でばかみたいにしなければなりませんでした。　私はとても恥ずかしかったです。　もうカラオケをしない方がいい、と思いました。

二十年間位後で、日本へ来てから、　友達が私達をカラオケに誘いました。　最初に行きたくなかったですが、少し日本のカラオケについて習いました。　日本とアメリカのカラオケは全然違います。　日本では、友達が一緒に小さい部屋で歌ったり、お菓子を食べたりします。　壁は厚いですから、知らない人にはあまり聞こえません。

私は大きい声でビートルズの歌やトトロの歌などを歌いました。　とても楽しかったですが、次の日に、のどがいたかったです。

Japan Disaster Relief

2011-09-27T16:59:00.000+09:00

I (Keith) have written several pages of reflection, and each time I go back to summarize, I end up writing another page. I've decided to make a fresh start and see where it gets me. Celia and I were in Miyako to help with relief work Aug. 5-18. After a month of reflecting back, I still say these were some of the most profound experiences I've ever had. The work there was so meaningful, and more received there than anywhere I've ever ministered. I did not want to leave, and even now I want to go back.

We worked with a couple who had a small child, and the majority of what we did was run a mobile cafe. The Japanese government has been quick to supply the basic needs of food and housing but has done very little for emotional and spiritual needs, so this mobile cafe allowed people to gather for some free iced coffee and sweets, and then talk and share fellowship. Each time we did this even I was able to contribute with the limited Japanese that I had. These people have suffered so much, and they were eager to talk. This eagerness was what really surprised me, and they freely accepted prayer, which is something I've never seen in Japan before.

Temporary housing units (kasetsujutaku) where tsunami survivors are now living

Indoor cafe on a rainy day

Celia was able to play during the mobile cafe while I talked with people and served them drinks and food. Playing music in the middle of the temporary housing units was really all the advertising we needed. As soon as she started, people would come to listen to music, have a drink, and talk. Some people would stay for several hours, and would even help us take down the tents and tables after we finished. This sense of reciprocating is very strong even among these people who have lost everything. Perhaps it is especially strong among them. I have found that to be a gracious receiver of Japanese reciprocating is as important as being a gracious giver. One time, a person stayed inside his temporary housing unit during the whole cafe, and only afterwards, came out to give Celia a melon in thanks for the music that she was playing.

The local chiropractor, also a member of Miyako Community Church, provided massage therapy during one cafe.

Celia with her melon, against the backdrop of our Miyako short-termer apartment's baking station

We also visited a couple of elementary school after-school programs, where we did mini-concerts and games.

Day in and day out there was plenty to do. Short term teams were always coming and going, and the apartment we were renting was in need of constant cleaning and upkeep, and supplies for the cafe were in a constant state of chaos. I felt for Iwatsuka-sensei, the pastor of the local church, who was trying to do follow up with every place that we visited. Some times there were three mobile cafes, and this pastor spent the whole day driving between them. His church (Miyako Community Church) of about 15 members and a small Catholic church nearby are the only churches in about a 90 km radius. We had amazing times of fellowship, praise, and prayer with them.


Hanging out after church... and yes, those are the same cafe tables.

Laura-Jane preaching, upstaged by her son

We did not want to leave. There was so much work to do and we were very eager to do this work. At the same time, we were very much aware of the lack of language skills we had. If we really wanted to be effective, we need to be able to answer a question like, "Why do you Christians come here to do this?" For the first time, I also understand how Christian work can take over a person's life, where the work becomes more important than the source or reason of the work. Even Christian service can become an idol because it does feel good to be needed and to contribute. So after our time was over, we left feeling more changed by Miyako than the changes we had hoped to make there. We need to know Japanese better, and now we have motivation behind our year plus of language learning that we still have to do.

We continue to cherish these experiences in Miyako and to pray for what God is doing there now. Please follow this link to read more from Keith journal; Celia's journal is coming soon. (Keith makes no promises as to correct punctuation or coherent thought; much of it is written in shorthand. ;)

Severe Beauty

2011-08-12T10:46:00.000+09:00

We're in the city of Miyako, Iwate prefecture, on the east coast of Japan, doing relief work among the people affected by the March 11 tsunami. Here's a quick update now that we're finished with our first week here.

One thing that especially strikes me about being here is just how incredibly beautiful it is: the rugged, rocky coastline with fjord-like inlets, the tree-covered hills, the clear skies, and the birds. The areas where tsunami came are relatively small, but unfortunately, the tsunami came to the flat areas right on the coast, where most of the people are living--right up the inlets and into the villages.

Jodogahama beach

Yesterday I was sitting under a cherry tree, playing my cello for the outdoor café we set up at one of the temporary housing facilities. I admired the trees on the mountain, and watched a couple of large birds soaring against the backdrop of the clear blue sky. If I turned around, I could see the ocean, calm and sparkling in the sunlight--behind a swath of destroyed houses and a huge mound of trash. In other places we visited, a completely undamaged house could be right next to an empty foundation of another house. Some places sunflowers are growing out of the wrecks of houses.

Yamada

Also Yamada: surviving house next to destroyed houses

Akamae: trash heaps being sorted. The picture just doesn't do justice to the magnitude of the trash pile...

Akamae: destroyed houses, green hills

This place is full of these kinds of contrasts. As I watched the café guests talking happily and sipping their drinks, I feel a deep sense of peace and contentment. Yet we also hear stories of people reliving the day of the tsunami every night in their dreams.

First café location: Taro

Playing for other relief workers after delivering children's tables and chairs to a shelter in Yamada. The chairs are very sturdy. :)

This café location was in Miyako, only a couple of blocks from where we're staying.

Some people listened from inside their apartments. One such person came out at the end and gave us a melon to thank us for the music.

This mother and daughter stayed for the whole afternoon.

At this café, I talked about music with some of the children. They even chose a piece for me to play. :)

The aforementioned location with the cherry tree, Akamae

This place is a gift from God. I pray that the people here see God's face through the beauty of the land and through the acts of service of God's people who have come to be here with them.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good--his steadfast love endures forever.

Eating in Singapore

2011-08-07T22:37:00.000+09:00

We're in Japan now. (YAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!) But before we give a Japan update, let's talk about what we ate in Singapore. One of the things I was most hoping to do while we were there was to eat well. :)

We had many food suggestions before we got to Singapore. One of them was high tea at the Raffles Hotel. We went there for our anniversary. In addition to the delicious spread of sweets and tea sandwiches, there were tropical fruits and Chinese dumplings.

We went out for lunch on three consecutive Sundays with our friends, Mei and Francis, whom we met in Boston through our IVCF group. Mei and I used to play in the band for the student worship events. We ate Chinese dumplings, Malay food, and Turkish food. They also got us hooked on Cendol... so delicious and refreshing!

In Chinatown with Mei and Francis

Some things we ate at the Turkish restaurant.

Classic cendol: shaved ice with palm sugar, condensed milk, green rice noodles... and kidney beans.

A slightly less traditional cendol. This one had corn and bits of jello-like substance.

Mei and Francis made one more suggestion before we said goodbye to them: chili crab, a Singaporean specialty. We got some at a hawker stall in Chinatown. We also got "carrot cake," a savory "cake" made with daikon radish and egg. Both were delicious. The crab was extremely messy.

Keith enjoys food. I enjoy watching him enjoy his food. Here he is eating chili crab.

"Carrot" cake

But there was one delicacy which we preferred not to try...

July Newsletter

2011-07-28T17:04:00.002+09:00

Seasons
Keith and Celia Olson
Newsletter #13
July 27, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from hot and humid Singapore! We hope this letter finds each of you well... and in air conditioning.

We are in a season of transition. We left Seattle on July 1, spent July 2-5 in Tokyo, and since July 5 we’ve been in Singapore at OMF International Headquarters, attending Orientation Course. This seems almost settled compared to the rushing around we did before we left Seattle--packing, sorting, cleaning, last minute speaking engagements and goodbye parties, and visits to Iowa, North Dakota, Boston, and Vancouver to say goodbye to family and friends. This has been a rich and meaningful time, but emotionally draining. To say that we are looking forward to being at home in our own apartment in Sapporo would be a vast understatement.

Our harpsichord is traveling to Japan in a specially built box which will double as a bookshelf!

In Tokyo, our friend, Yoshitaka took us to some of his favourite places (in the photo we’re at Meiji Jingu)… and we enjoyed eating a lot of great food!

The next few weeks hold even more transitions, as we return to Tokyo for a few days of rest and preparation (July 31-August 4), then head north for relief work in the Tohoku region (August 5-18), and then on to Sapporo on August 22. Please keep us in your prayers for the next several weeks--for safety in travel, and for patience and flexibility, and for us to see God at work even in difficult circumstances.
***

Coming Home

As we’ve been in the process of transitioning back into life in Japan, I (Celia) have been thinking a lot about “home.” (This month’s banner celebrates all the places we’ve both called home--except for Seattle, which has been featured in all of our recent newsletters.) I used to think that home is where I have people whom I love and who love me--but as I make friends in all of the places I have lived, and as these friends further spread out to various places around the world, this becomes something of a challenge. How can I be at home anywhere when I am constantly grieving the people left behind? Maybe I need to re-think my definition of “home,” since my deep desire is to put down roots in a specific place and community--the place and community where God wants me to be.

Remember the story I told in the August 2010 newsletter? To summarize: as I rode my bike to the farmer’s market in Sapporo, I saw the bountiful land and the people working it, and I was filled with a sense of thankfulness and peace. I would consider this experience to be the confirmation of my calling as a missionary to Japan. As I have continued to reflect on what happened that day, something struck me as odd. Why were my experiences of God’s love for the people of Japan more “normal”--consistent and everyday--while my experience of God’s love for the land of Japan--for a place--was like getting a bucket of water over my head? I’m not talking about the country or the political structure--I mean the land itself. My experience on my bike that day was remarkably similar to what happened when I discovered Keith was a Christian--it wasn’t exactly “love at first sight,” since I’d seen him before--and yet I didn’t really see him until that moment. I guess that day on my bike was my “love at first sight moment” with Japan. God opened my eyes once again to that which he wants me to love.

But honestly, why the land? In one sense, this is fitting--John 3:16 says in the Greek that God sent his Son for the love of the Cosmos--not only the people, but the whole universe, and everything in it. That’s how big God’s love is. Romans 8 speaks of creation groaning with us as we wait for renewal. Yet I still feel a bit jealous of Keith’s experiences when God showed him his love for the Japanese people. When the tsunami happened, I cried for the tremendous loss of life and the suffering of the people--but I also cried for the pristine beaches littered with trash, the topsoil washed away, and the crops polluted by radiation.

I have yet to discover exactly why God has given me this burning love for the land of Japan, but I have a good guess. I think God wants me to love the land because the Japanese love the land. As someone God called to reach out to the Japanese, I need to love the things that they love, to rejoice with them when they rejoice, and to weep with them when they weep. I long to tell the Japanese people that this land, which they love, is a gift from our creator God. My heart breaks that so many of them don’t know him. God is calling me to point the Japanese to their creator, who loves them, and who loves their land. The whole world is his--including this precious place in which we will have the privilege of living and working for the next four years and beyond. This place is sacred ground.

We cried on the plane home from Japan in April of last year, then I cried as I watched Seattle slip away beneath the plane, and again when the plane dropped through the clouds and I saw the lush green landscape of Japan. I wanted to jump out of my seat and tell everyone on the plane that I was HOME! ただ今 (tadaima)! Home is a place--and for this season of our lives, that place is Japan.
***

A few Singapore experiences...

Celebrating our 6th anniversary with high tea

Francis and Mei, friends from grad school in Boston, brought us to their church and lunch afterwards! We had Chinese dumplings, Malay cuisine from Mei's hometown, and Turkish food!

Francis and Mei got us hooked on Cendol.

Did we mention it's humid here?

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Prayer Points

Praise God for safe travels, a hassle free visa process, and no problems with luggage (specifically cello) so far!
Please pray for Celia for her cello practice in Tokyo (Aug. 1-4) and concerts in Tohoku (Aug. 5-18), which is the area hit by the March 11 tsunami. Please also pray for Laura-Jane and Ho Meas who are coordinating our work schedule, and for us to use this time well--listening to people’s stories and showing them the love of God even through our broken Japanese.
Praise God for sorting out our housing situation. Rijke, a fellow OMF missionary, is graduating from language school at the end of October, and we will move into her place, which is a spacious apartment excellent for hosting friends. It also has thick walls, so hopefully our instruments won’t bother the neighbors. Until she moves out, we will be staying in the same place we lived before (the OMF guest home).
Please pray with us as we work with our supervisors about a church placement. As much as we wanted to attend Satsunae Lighthouse, our previous church, OMF does not want to burden the church with too many new missionaries; also, for the sake of our education, we will be learning from a difference pastor and congregation. We are praying about attending a church outside of Sapporo, but our main concern is whether we will be able to be engaged in a church which is so far away.

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An Opportunity to Serve

OMF Japan is looking for childcare workers to care for the children of missionaries studying at OMF’s Japanese Language Center in Sapporo. This is an urgent and ongoing need, as well as a great opportunity for short-term service that also provides a chance to experience Japan and see what missionary life is like. We had two childcare workers as our housemates when we were short-termers. If you are interested, please contact Christine Lau at ServeJapan@omf.net.
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Finance Update: Stay Tuned!

No, don’t worry; we’re not in the red just yet. Actually, we had a talk with OMF Japan’s financial manager, and as we considered our ministry needs, we were thinking about how we should go about lugging our instruments around Sapporo. Currently, we are considering the possibility of budgeting for a car, and so we trust that if we can more effectively carry out our ministry with a car, then God will supply the funds necessary for purchase and upkeep. (In Japan, the cost to do mandatory service checks on a four year old car is often so expensive that many people just buy a new one, so the cost of upkeep is a big consideration.) Please pray with us about this decision, and we will keep you posted.
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Engrish Corner

Does dog-wiz really make the forest happy? In case you were wondering, “Dog-Wiz” is a shop selling goods for pampered dogs.

For those of you just joining us, “Engrish” is the funny English often found in Japan and in other places too. We love it… and at the same time we realize that we make similar mistakes in Japanese. When we find something good (either Japanese “Engrish” or our own mistakes), we’ll include it in our newsletter.
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Quiz time!

We will mail a package of Japanese green tea to the first person to correctly identify what is happening in this picture.
***

We have been encouraged to meet with so many of you before we left, so now it’s your turn to come visit us in Japan and tell us what you are up to (just give us a year to get settled in first). In the meantime, we’re praying for you too!

Love in Christ,
Keith and Celia

Why Japan

2011-06-22T09:09:00.000+09:00

My friend Melissa has asked an interesting question that perhaps I should address on this blog: why Japan? Celia has explained a bit about her history with Japanese people growing up with Japanese friends, teachers, exchange students. Seattle has Japanese people in it. North Dakota does not. Growing up, my experience with Japanese culture was limited to translated video games and anime cartoons. I was somewhat interested in learning Japanese so that I could play the Final Fantasy games in their original languages, so much so that I even bought a Japanese to English dictionary. I failed. I also tried to take a college course on Japanese history while I was still in high school, which is perhaps my darkest academic secret because I ended up withdrawing from the course. I just didn't have the motivation. I also had no aspirations of being a missionary, and as far as I was concerned, foreign countries had little to nothing to do with me. I didn't even see the ocean until I was over 20 years old, I didn't like flying (still don't), and I had planned on being a doctor so that I could make a lot of money.

So what happened since high school? Well, I have a story that helps explain a bit about my personality, which you might remember, Melissa, because you were there. I was walking through the music building in college, and I looked inside a classroom to see professor Whitney teaching an aural skills class with her students who were sitting in a circle on the floor doing rhythm exercises like in elementary school. Whitney was a fun and great teacher, the class looked interesting, and it was just what I needed in response to the awful experience I had with my dreary calculus 3 class. Thus I joined the study group called Theory Junkyz (I think that's how we spelled it, but only with a backwards z). Lame? Yes, but fun. That started my journey to a music degree.

The point of the story is that I am prone to the snowball effect. Something refreshingly new caught me, and before I knew it, I was hooked. That's how I ended up taking so much Koine Greek at Regent College and learning how to play ultimate frisbee. These are small passions of mine, but ministry with Japanese people is a passion that is still ballooning. My friend Izumi somehow got a commitment out of Celia and me in the 2008-2009 academic year to help lead English conversation with Japanese working-visa holders. I dreaded cramming another obligation into my way to full schedule, but as the weeks went by, I found the Wednesday night broken English conversations to be the most compelling thing of the week. Celia and I found so much solace doing that ministry that we decided to check out Japan. Nine months in Japan was more than enough time for us to determine this was going to be a life long passion. Even in the last year of doing another TalkTime ministry with Japanese, I have found this passion of befriending Japanese people and helping them to understand a loving God who would send his son for us, to be so strong that it can hurt.

So I guess the short answer to why Japan is that it took me by surprise and I can do nothing for it but go. I have felt thankful many times, and I have said as much, that Celia and I have this same passion. It is such a gift from God to be united in like-minded ministry with my wife to reach the Japanese with the love of Christ, and it is as much a confirmation of God calling us together as a couple as it is God calling us to Japan.

There you have it. Thanks for asking the question and leaving us a comment, Melissa. Also, if you happen to have a picture of the Junkyz, could you email that to me?

Cool stuff I found, and reflections on growing up

2011-06-18T02:12:00.001+09:00

I'm in the process of organizing and packing my stuff. Two weeks from today, we will get on a plane with a 1-way ticket to Japan. It's hard to believe, really.

On a whim I started going through boxes of stuff. I meticulously kept every school paper, every drawing, every piece of photocopied music, every certificate or award, every letter and postcard I received. It added up to something like 4 file boxes of stuff. I think I've managed to pare it down to about 1 1/2 boxes, all of which fits safely into our filing cabinet. I still don't know how much stuff we are leaving behind, but now in our closet I have 4 boxes worth of space more than I had 2 days ago.

A doodle my stand partner and I did on the back of our music in middle school orchestra (Jarod the bassist was my best friend)

I don't mean to sound like this process was easy. It wasn't. I put on some moody Rachmaninoff to accompany the process and cranked the volume quite a bit louder than the volume at which I would normally choose to listen music. I played Rachmaninoff's second symphony at summer camp between my junior and senior years of high school. I hated the piece at first--it sounds a bit like lounge music before you get to know it. After an intense week of rehearsals and teenage drama (my boyfriend left for college), Rachmaninoff's second symphony became the beloved piece which symbolized for me the transition to adulthood, as well as the end of a beautiful summer, the loss of my childhood, and the loss of my first love.

I rather like this guy. I call him "green coffee bean man." I'm pretty sure I painted him in the craft room at that same summer camp, because I didn't do much painting anywhere else during high school.

I felt like I was throwing away my childhood--especially my dreams of becoming an orchestral cellist. I don't want to be an orchestral cellist any more, but giving up that dream was still painful.

I love chamber music and Bach's unaccompanied cello suites. I especially love chamber music because of the rehearsal process--a small group of musicians shares ideas with each other and works closely to present a performance which reflects the group's interpretation, while allowing each of the individuals to express their own voice. As an orchestral cellist, my duty was to blend with the other cellists and not to stand out. Still, being part of a good orchestra is an unbelievably powerful experience. Every member contributes their own sound to make something so much bigger. I think I took this experience for granted. Now I don't know if I will ever have another chance to play Brahms or Mahler or Rachmaninoff symphonies. I guess I had always been clinging to the hope that I would play them again, but yesterday as I put my carefully archived orchestral parts in the recycling bin, it felt like I was killing that hope once and for all. I have moved on. I'm a chamber musician, a missionary, a student of Japanese language; I don't have time, or space, or opportunities to be fooling around with orchestra.

I also listened to Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto during the sorting process. I guess there's a Rachmaninoff piece for each of my major life transitions--this one became important to me in the last year while we've been waiting to go back to Japan. I played it (as an orchestral cellist, of course) during college, but it was brought to memory, oddly enough, by a wildly popular Japanese TV show about two pianists, which Keith and I watched last year. The Rachmaninoff 2nd piano concerto is a recurring theme throughout the show, and it is the piece that causes major life changes for both of the lead characters as they rediscover the joy of playing the piano. (We highly recommend this anime for our fellow music dorks--it's called Nodame Cantabile. We both loved it.) I rediscovered the joy of playing the cello while I was in Japan. I am excited to be reunited with my musical friends there, and to work on my Japanese so we can communicate better.

I found a lot of other great stuff while I was rifling around through my old papers. I was amazed to find a little slip of paper among my elementary school stuff with Psalm 37:7 written on it--on one side in English, and on the other side in Japanese. I have no idea where it came from, but it's been the theme verse of my life this last year, so I tucked it inside my planner. I also found evidence of my first efforts at learning Japanese:

We hosted a Japanese exchange student, Ayumi, the summer before I started middle school. She diligently taught me hiragana and a few kanji, which I promptly forgot. I am amazed yet again to see the way God wove Japanese people, language, and culture into my life, even though I was completely unaware of it. Among other things, I was reminded of what a great teacher my Japanese-American 3rd and 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Mise, was. I was a little snot with a big head (there was ample evidence of that among my papers), but she didn't let me get away with shoddy work. She always expected me to do my best work in every subject.

We got to try Japanese brush painting in Mrs. Mise's class. I call this one "Flower painting with faux Japanese." If you don't know what I'm talking about, look at the upper left corner.

I'll close this very long-winded post with a couple more of my favorite things from my childhood papers.

I liked to write little "poems" like this on my dad's new computer when I was about 6. I wonder if I would like something called "pizza rice casserole" (or should I say "caserole"?) now that I am snobby about rice?

There were many little notes like this one. I think my parents were very proud of me. My mom is good at encouraging, even for small things.

May Newsletter

2011-05-27T11:50:00.000+09:00

Seasons
Newsletter #12
April 26, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

We received our clearances; we booked our tickets; WE’RE GOING TO JAPAN! As you can imagine, we are excited, astonished, happy to be going, and sad to be leaving. There are many details to work out… please pray for us in this very busy and emotionally draining time! We have included a number of practical details related to our going in the “nuts and bolts” section of this newsletter.

Since April, we have been like the cliché pastor and pastor’s wife: Keith has been doing a lot of preaching, and Celia has been playing a lot of music. We’ve been everywhere from preschools to retirement homes sharing about our ministry. A lot has happened in the last month; here are photos of some of the highlights.

Keith has preached at many different churches, including Hosanna Church, the Japanese church we attend. Takahashi-sensei translated for him.

One perk about all this travel: sometimes we visit beautiful places! We were in Burlington on a sunny day during tulip season, and in West Seattle during cherry blossom season.

We have a new sister! Celia’s brother, Colin married Jiayun Chen on May 21.

One of Colin and Jiayun's engagement pictures

At the beach after the wedding

We were commissioned on May 22 at Newport Covenant Church.

We shared at our church’s preschool about Children’s Day in Japan.(Celia is an alum.) We made kabuto (samurai hats) and koinobori (fish windsocks). Here are the finished products, after we put them together!

We spent 5 glorious vacation days in Long Beach, WA, where we were joined by our friends, the Janssens (future OMF missionaries in Taiwan). Celia taught the kids how to make sourdough bread.

Celia has been involved in the quilting group at church this year. (The picture shows the group on coffee break.) She is hoping to finish her quilt before we leave!

***

Learning to Trust

For the last several months, we have been walking the difficult road of learning to trust God. We had initially chosen the target date of February to go to Japan, but when it became clear that we wouldn’t make the December deadline, we prayed again for God’s direction. Both of us felt like the July was the right time to go. However, at the time of our last newsletter (April 16), we were still at 55% of our financial support, and we hadn’t yet received medical clearance.

On March 31, we had started “40 days of prayer”—each day, a group of our faithful prayer supporters received a quick email with something we were thankful for as well as a prayer request. We prayed for all kinds of things—family needs, the people of Japan, our financial needs, and for encouragement and strength to get through our daily activities and to trust in God’s provision. I (Celia) think that last item was what I needed most. While I’m fairly certain that God would have provided us with financial and medical clearance even without the “40 days of prayer,” I needed to spend those 40 days learning to lay my burdens daily at the feet of Jesus. God will certainly provide—but it’s my choice what I do with that knowledge. I can spend my days fretting and worrying, or I can go about my daily activities in peace, full of joyful anticipation. I have to say, I spent most days doing the former.

On May 7, two days before the deadline, we were still at 93%. Keith was filled with excitement and anticipation to see what God would do; I was not so excited. Usually I don’t fast (lack of food makes me very cranky), but that day, I felt like I needed an attitude adjustment. With each hunger pang, I prayed a simple prayer, something like this: “God, thank you for providing for my needs. You have faithfully provided food for us to eat every day, so I know I can trust you to provide for us when we’re in Japan.” God provided—we were invited to a delicious meal at our neighbour’s house when it was time for me to break my fast. Then the next day at church, several church members made pledges. Later in the afternoon, we heard about the final pledge which put us over 100%.

When we officially got our financial clearance (the morning of May 9), I just felt tired, worn out by the mixture of emotions, like the adrenaline letdown I sometimes experience after concerts. To some extent, I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to be more like Keith, eagerly waiting to find out how God would provide. Why couldn’t I just let go? Through this process of waiting on God, I learned that his provision does not depend on me. I suspect this will be a life-long learning process.
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Nuts and Bolts

There’s a lot of information in this section, so please talk to us if you’re confused. Feel free to talk to us even if you’re not confused.

Our Schedule
If you’re in North America, we’d love to see you before we go back to Japan! More information about many of these events (and a few more which aren't set in stone just yet) is forthcoming on our blog.
    Until June 3: in Iowa and North Dakota visiting Keith’s family
    May 29: Grace Lutheran Church, Fort Dodge, IA (Children’s message)
    June 6-11: in Boston and Connecticut visiting friends and family
    June 18: OMF Day of Prayer in Vancouver
    June 19: Vancouver First Christian Reformed Church (Keith will preach)
    June 25 and 28: Goodbye parties at our home in Seattle (more details will follow mid-June)

About Pledges and Donations
How do I fulfill my pledge? Thank you to everyone who has made a pledge to support us. We leave for Japan in July, so please start your monthly gifts in July if you have not already done so. If you have made your pledge “officially” through OMF International, you should have received a letter from them explaining how to fulfill your pledge. If you have told us you wanted to pledge, but haven't told OMF International yet, please go to this website to sign up.

Are donations and pledges still welcome? Yes, you can still pledge or donate. Although we have met the minimum financial requirements to go to Japan, we will eventually have “second priority” items to add to our budget, such as a car, which will likely be necessary for Celia’s concert ministry. We might also have children (an expensive prospect). If a missionary receives more than 100% support, OMF keeps the surplus for that missionary until it is needed.

Giving information is also available on our blog.
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Prayer Points

Praise God; we have our financial and medical clearances to go to Japan!
We are in the process of finding a moving company; please pray for us as we pack and as we choose what we need to take, leave, and get rid of.
We thank God for all of our friends and family who are supporting us as we go to Japan. In this last month before we leave, especially during our travels and in saying many goodbyes, please pray that this will be a very rich and fruitful time.
Please pray for the Peter and Janet Dallman and for Alaric Dunsmore-Rouse who will oversee our language studies and will help us in our transition to Japan. Please pray especially that the Dallmans will be able to find an appropriate home for us in which Celia can practice her cello.
Before we arrive at our final destination in Sapporo, Japan, we will go to Singapore for orientation course (OC) and then do some relief work in the tsunami hit area of Japan. Pray that our time in OC will be refreshing as we meet with other missionaries and the OMF staff and as we learn more about the organization.
We are still planning to do relief work. Celia would like to play concerts to encourage people who have been affected by the tsunami, and Keith would like to do manual labour, but we don't know yet where or with whom we will work. Please pray for the details to be worked out.

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Money Jar: We have 100%!

The Lord has provided! Shortly before the May 9 deadline, we made the minimum financial requirement for our first term (5 years). We are so thankful to God and to everyone who is supporting us. We will continue to keep you informed of any changes to our financial situation while we are in Japan.
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We are overcome with God’s faithfulness to us. Thank you for sharing with us in our rejoicing. Please keep praying with us on this next leg of our journey.

Love in Christ, Keith and Celia

Visit to Vancouver

2011-05-27T07:32:00.000+09:00

Just wanted to give you a heads-up... we will be in Vancouver the weekend of June 18-19. On Saturday, June 18, we will be at the OMF Mid Year Day of Prayer. We will be leading worship and sharing about Japan. The schedule is below.

Then on Sunday, June 19 at 10:30 a.m., Keith will be preaching at Vancouver First Christian Reformed Church.

We are also hoping to hold some kind of informal gathering to say hello and goodbye to our friends; more details will be coming in a couple of weeks. We hope to see you soon!

Going to Japan

2011-05-10T02:55:00.000+09:00

God has done it! Celia and I are going to Japan on July 1, 2011, with 4 one-way tickets (one for me, one for Celia, one for Celia's cello, and one for Celia's viola da gamba) for our initial four year term. Today is the day we were supposed to meet all of our deadlines, and we were nervous and excited at the same time to see how God was going to supply for our financial clearance (we were at 90% a week ago and 97% yesterday morning). By yesterday night, we received the final pledges needed to meet the minimum financial requirements to go to Japan, and this morning our OMF boss gave us the green light to go to Japan!

So what do we do from here? We pack, move, travel, say goodbyes, cry (a lot), fill out paperwork, and leave. When we get to Japan, we will deposit some cellos and other luggage, and then head over to Singapore for our month long orientation course (OC). Singapore is where the OMF International headquarters is, and OC is meant to train OMF missionaries about procedures of OMF and allow us to get acquainted with the OMF staff supporting us and the other missionaries entering the field with us. After OC, we hop back to Japan where we will hopefully do some initial relief work for a few weeks (Celia playing cello concerts in the shelters and Keith doing manual labor). By mid-August we should be moving into our new home in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and starting language study.

Right now we feel like this: dancing to the jukebox in the basement of Keith's parents' house with long hair

やった！

The Money Jar

2011-05-04T10:16:00.000+09:00

We have 92% pledged support!

We have a little less than a week left before this whole money jar business is behind us, and as much as I (Keith) enjoy creating these MS Paint™ money jars and filling them with MS Paint™ coins, I will be glad when we're through. As of today, May 3, we have about 92% pledged support. God has done some amazing things to get us this far, so we are hopeful that we will get a full 100% pledged before our May 9th financial deadline. We will definitely keep you posted :)

April Newsletter

2011-04-17T07:38:00.000+09:00

Seasons
Newsletter #11
April 16, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

With the events of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the loss of Celia’s grandmother weighing on our hearts, it’s hard to believe it’s been a month and a half since our last newsletter. In the midst of this grief, we are looking forward to celebrate with Celia’s brother, Colin, at his wedding with his fiancée, Jiayun in May! So much is happening that we feel like we’re running to keep up with the incredible pace of life. Still, we are pressing on to our May 9 deadline for financial and medical clearance with hopes that we’ll be back in Japan in July!

Deep Waters
I (Celia) struggle to find words to respond to the present situation in Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Even a month later, I still can’t get my mind around what has happened or even imagine the implications not only for the Tōhoku region, but the whole of Japan. On that day, all I could do was pace around the house, crying and looking out the window. The only prayer I could put into words was “Lord, have mercy,” but I know that the Holy Spirit was interpreting my tears and my silence.

We are glad to report that all of our friends and colleagues in Japan are safe. Praise God! In Sapporo, where we had been working and where we will return, there was little damage. However, even several hundred miles from the epicentre, the earthquake was the largest in living memory.

We’ve been learning a lot about grief in the last year—first as we left behind our friends, colleagues, and work in Japan, then as God closed the door regarding our return to Vancouver. In November at a conference on interpersonal skills, we were finally able to figure out that we weren’t experiencing reverse culture shock so much as grief. Then, the earthquake and tsunami happened in Japan, and within the next week, my grandmother died. At this point I felt the grief of others even more as I struggled with my own personal grief.

Celia, age 1, with Grandmother

We’ve often talked in our presentations at churches about feelings of helplessness. While we were in Japan, these feelings related primarily to our minimal language skills. Now we feel helpless to do anything to help people in Japan who have lost friends, family, homes, and possessions—not to mention people who were not directly affected, but who face the future with fear. But we have learned to pray, and we have seen how powerful that is in communicating love to grieving people. Our God’s grace is sufficient for us, and his power is made perfect in weakness. Even in the midst of our grief, we have the joy of God’s comfort.

Through all of this, I am filled with thankfulness. Many people have prayed for and cared for my family. Many people are praying for Japan. I am thankful for our grandparents, for their love for Keith and me and for the rest of the family. I am thankful for the 69 years of Grandmother and Granddad’s marriage—what a great example! I am thankful for many other people who continue to be like grandparents to Keith and me. I am thankful for people who pray for us and encourage us. God has graciously provided for us in every way.

May God redeem this tragedy in Japan for his glory! Already many Japanese have found comfort in him. May God redeem our own grief also, so that we may weep with those who weep and offer God’s comfort just as we have already received it.

As a special extra for those of you who are reading on the blog, here are some links related to this article:

Celia's reflections on the earthquake and the loss of her grandmother
Keith's reflections on the earthquake
Our colleague, Bryan Thompson's blog about earthquake and tsunami relief
OMF Japan's page of resources about the earthquake and tsunami (we especially recommend the "Fukushima First Baptist Church – an evacuated pastor’s diary" articles)
If you would like to donate for relief work, we recommend that you do so through OMF International (enter project number L60500 into the "specific project" box) or CRASH Japan.

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Japanese Culture Night

On April 2, we held a Japanese culture night at Newport Covenant Church. Over 20 volunteers helped prepare the food, set up the room, and clean up for the over 100 people who came to hear about Japan and about our ministry. We were especially touched during the prayer time to hear so many of the people we love praying for Japan together. The event raised $2,800 for Covenant World Relief tsunami relief efforts. These numbers astound us, especially since we were initially planning for only 40-50 people. God is good. Thank you to everyone who helped out!

The meal: homemade bentos!

Celia accompanied Keith and Dan on some of her hymn arrangements. Keith sang in Japanese.

If you'd like, you can read more about Japanese Culture night on a previous blog post. Also, you can read the results of the haiku competition... and see the silly picture Keith made to advertise the event.
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Beginnings and Endings
March and April have been a time of transition—many of our ministry commitments are coming to a close as we are shifting our focus to our work of finding partners for our future ministry in Japan. We have finished the Alpha Course at Westminster Chapel—it has been such a blessing to meet the guests at our table and to learn from people who have a lot of experience in facilitating the Alpha Course! We wish it were possible to continue on. Our community group training has come to a close along with our community group. It is our hope that many of the group members will go on to start their own groups. We pray that these experiences will be helpful as we learn to be effective workers in Japan.

Our Community Group

On March 13, we “officially” said goodbye to Vancouver First Christian Reformed Church as we became members at Newport Covenant Church, where Celia was raised. Then on April 9, Celia celebrated her 30th birthday with a tea party!

Celia's childhood friend, Andrea and her daughter, Leila attended the tea party.

We are looking forward with anticipation to our financial and medical clearance deadline on May 9. We have been counting down the days through prayer, sending out daily prayer requests by email; please let us know if you would like to join us, and we will add you to our list. Yesterday we talked with our supervisor; we were encouraged to hear that our medical clearance process is going well. Our current financial support level is 55%; we are eager to see how God will provide the remaining 45%!

Provided we make our clearance deadline, we will head to Singapore for orientation course at the beginning of July, and we will arrive in Japan towards the end of the month. We are considering possibilities to be involved in relief work at some point, whether or not we make our deadline.
***

Prayer Points

May 9, 2011 is our deadline for raising all finances (100% pledged monthly support) and getting clearance to go to Japan in July 2011. Please pray that God will provide prayer partners, pledges towards our monthly support, the diligence to do what we can, and peace as we trust in him.
Please continue to pray for Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, for all the families that lost loved ones and homes, and for many opportunities for Christians to reach out in love to their grieving neighbors. May God's peace be made greater than any disaster in Japan.
We thank God for all our mentors and the ministries in which we’ve been involved, especially the Alpha course and our community group.
Celia’s grandmother passed away on March 16. Please pray for Celia and her family as they grieve her loss.
We are thankful for the 100 people who came to hear about our ministry on April 2 at our Japanese Culture Night, and for the 20+ volunteers who helped out.
During our time of visiting churches and friends, please pray that we take sufficient time to rest and spend time together.
Please pray for Celia’s brother, Colin and his fiancée, Jiayun as they prepare for their May 21 wedding and their marriage.

***

Money Jar: We have 55%!

We need 100% pledged monthly support for our first term (5 years) before returning to Japan—for a July departure, our deadline is May 9. Please keep praying with us that God will provide for our financial needs!

If you would like to support us financially, you can get information here, and follow this link to make a pledge via OMF's website.
***

Thank you for praying with us in this time of many transitions, much grief, and much joy!

Love, Keith and Celia

Japanese Culture Night Recap

2011-04-06T01:42:00.000+09:00

Here's a summary of what we did at our Japanese Culture Night on Saturday...

Preparations

To make Tonjiru, we had to chop a lot of daikon. (Celia helped in the kitchen on Friday, before she was banned because of illness...)

This is Janet, our head chef, preparing tsukemono (pickles).

Sarah prepares edible decorations for the bento while Maya prepares a mochi dessert.

Maiko assembles the bento boxes.

Akemi also helped with assembling bento boxes.

Granddad folded programs.

Mary Lu arranged the flowers and coordinated the decorations. Gorgeous!!

Preparing for Tea Ceremony! (Celia is keeping her germs to herself.)

The Menu
I included links to some of the recipes, since many are on the internet.

Bento boxes: tempura, tea eggs, tamagoyaki, zarusoba, spicy miso-kochujang potatoes, daikon tsukemono (pickles), rice shapes (not pictured), pretty vegetables, kinpira gobou.
Tonjiru: I received the recipe from Ronna Husby, modified it slightly, and wrote it up as a guest post for my friend's food blog.

Dessert: fruit salad with almond jelly, cheesecake, and mochi

The program

Activities for the kids--spinning tops and origami

There was also a chance to try Japanese calligraphy!

Yukino demonstrated Japanese tea ceremony.

She was assisted by several volunteers from the audience.

Celia played several of her hymn arrangements, and Dad and Keith sang with her... Celia had no voice because of her cold!

In addition to having a fun time learning about Japanese culture and our ministry, the guests donated over $2000 for tsunami relief! Praise God!

Thanks to each one of you who helped! We certainly couldn't have done this alone.

Haiku Competition

2011-04-05T05:21:00.001+09:00

As part of our Japanese Culture Night, we had a not-so-Japanese haiku competition--kind of an icebreaker game. We gave each table an envelope full of words and instructions to make 3 lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. We had 13 entries in English and 1 in Japanese. Here's what they came up with:

The winning entry:

Despondent rain goes

Replaced by sun and gladness

Celebrate the spring

   -Janet's table

Honorable mention:
シアトルの祈りよ届け東北へ
(Translation: May Seattle's prayer reach Touhoku)
   -Team Takahashi

So why Seattle
Journey spring beach together
Go vacation with
   -Team Faith

Sunshine spring blossom
Seattle young bird and duck
River through valley.
   -"Loving" table, June and Donna

Wet storm cloud unfold
With sunrise in Seattle
Spring blossoms float through
   -anon.

Sun cloud warm air fade
Dream of blossom without much
Spring green every day
   -Thankful

Springtime days are long
Dance and sun over mountains
So why sleep, green world?
   -anon.

Seattle spring is
A rainbow water journey
A blossom without sun.
   -anon.

Without Sunday I
Cat and water of much tea.
Evil evening now
   -anon.

Seattle spring sun
So come forward special tree
To glory of day
   -anon.

Waves of pink blossoms
Float in the wind like a cloud.
Spring's special love song.
   -"Kindness" table

Spring blossoms shape day
Seattle sun through the clouds
Jesus is glory!
   -Meghan, Ernest, and Jeanie

Spring sunshine blossom
I celebrate and dance dream of vacation
Through fall wind whistle condolence
   -anon.

Humankind evil
How wise is sakura love
At haiku sunrise
   -Evil among us

Japanese Culture Night

2011-03-29T03:52:00.000+09:00

Saturday, April 2, 6:00 pm
Newport Covenant Church
12800 Southeast Coal Creek Parkway Bellevue, WA 98006

Traditional Japanese hairstyle

We are hosting a Japanese Culture Night! Enjoy a Japanese meal and learn more about Japan and our ministry and ministry needs. There will be a cultural presentation, a slideshow, and a mini-concert of Celia’s hymn arrangements that she plans to perform at evangelistic concerts in Japan. We will also pray for the people in Japan who are currently suffering and grieving as a result of the earthquake and tsunami.

Tickets will be available at the door for any donation, but please reserve your tickets in advance by email (celia.olson[at]gmail.com), or phone (425-449-9094) to help us get a head-count for food. All donations for ticket reservations will go to benefit Japan tsunami and earthquake relief through Covenant World Relief.

Childcare will be provided upon request. Please contact Mary Klug: 425-747-0515 ext. 110 or maryk[at]newportcov.com
Please feel free to invite your friends!

Grief upon grief, joy upon joy

2011-03-24T02:00:00.000+09:00

I'm not really sure any more who or what I am grieving. The earthquake and tsunami happened in Japan, so I cried every day... and eventually I had to intentionally stop reading the news more than once a day and to continually commit the people of Japan to God in prayer, acknowledging my own helplessness.

Then last Wednesday (March 16), we got news that Grandmother, my mom's mom, had suddenly died of a stroke or heart attack. She just collapsed, and that was that. The last time I saw her was at Granddad's 90th birthday party in mid-January. I'm glad I kissed her and told her that she looked beautiful that day.

Let me tell you a little about Grandmother. She was adventurous and spunky--she loved traveling and being outdoors. She went to Hawaii every year until just a few years ago... and still swam in the ocean into her 80's.

I remember once in high school getting into an argument with her about housewifery. I think I was implying, young and stupid as I was, that she could have had a better life if she hadn't been "tied down" by staying at home. My goodness, she gave me a talking to. I think that was when I realized how deeply she loved her family--that it was her deepest desire to take care of her husband, her 2 children and their spouses, and her 4 grandchildren. Staying at home to care for the family was for her a privilege and a delight, not an oppressive burden to be borne, and she was thankful to Granddad for working hard to allow her to do so. I only pray that I will love my family, in the present and the future, as much as she did.

Grandmother made sure her house was always open to us. It was always kept perfectly clean, and there were many beautiful things to look at. (We grandkids learned at an early age not to touch Grandmother's "pretties.") Even in a beautiful home full of fragile things, I was never made to feel awkward; Grandmother and Granddad's home was my home, too. Grandmother used her beautiful dishes, teacups, and glassware for special meals, so that we would know that we were special to her. This attitude of generous and extravagant hospitality has greatly inspired me. (Still, Grandmother was not ashamed to offer hospitality with a very simple meal--we often had freezer pizza or canned soup when we came over. I am likewise inspired by the simplicity of her hospitality.)

I received many of Grandmother's "pretties" when she moved to a retirement home several years ago. One of my favorite things I received was the sugar jar. When I stayed overnight, I always had oatmeal for breakfast. At home, I ate oatmeal with milk and only a little brown sugar. (That was probably a wise choice by my mother.) At Grandmother and Granddad's house, I had as much cream as I liked on my oatmeal, and I could help myself to both white sugar and brown sugar, which was stored in a special glass jar with a silver lid.

Those are only a few of the precious memories I have of Grandmother. When I think of her life, I think of generosity, peace, and contentment. I know that she loved me very much.

Me (yes, that's me) with Grandmother and Granddad in the backyard of our old house

That is also me, believe it or not.

Grandmother read me lots of books.

She read to all of us grandkids (from the left: Lindsay, Colin, Grandmother, me, Kelly). Check out that awesome couch.

High school graduation

For the last year, it's been really hard to visit Grandmother. I've been grieving her loss for several years now as she slowly declined from dementia. She never learned Keith's name, even though he's been part of the family for more than 5 years. At the end, I think she forgot my name too. I struggled to visit because I didn't know what to talk about. I could tell her things, but she wouldn't respond. And I was angry at her and Granddad for the way they treated my mom--the best daughter they could ever wish for--in the last couple of years. I feel like I'm just making excuses to assuage my own guilt at being a "bad granddaughter." But I also feel that my "duty" is to be a daughter to my mom even more than a granddaughter to my grandparents. Now is not the time to dwell on past hurts--I need to be present with my mom and also with Granddad, who has just lost his beloved wife of 69 years.

So I don't know what all I'm grieving. Part of it is Japan--and in my own personal grief, I feel the loss of life and livelihood in Japan even more deeply. Part of it is losing my grandmother for the last time. Part of it is grieving for my mom and my uncle and my granddad and for all the people in Japan who are grieving the loss of loved ones. Sometimes I think I grieve more deeply for the living than for the dead. It's a swirling mess of emotion. I don't really like being a swirling mess of anything, but now I've gotten accustomed to being "emotionally incontinent" in public.

At church on Sunday, we sang "Blessed Be Your Name," a song which we sang at our wedding. The theme of our wedding was very much our commitment to each other and to God in both joy and sorrow. As I attempted to sing (largely unsuccessfully), I remembered why we chose that song: "You give and take away; my heart will choose to say, 'Lord, blessed be your name.'" Keith is beside me now, just as he has been in times of great joy, and I cannot express my thankfulness for that fact.

In the midst of deep sorrow (my own and others') I feel the peace and presence of God. This is a joyful thing. God was holding me close before, but I didn't notice.

When through the deep waters I call you to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with you in trouble to bless,
And sanctify to you your deepest distress.

Come, Lord Jesus!

The Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

2011-03-13T05:31:00.000+09:00

Let me first say that we are thankful to know that all of our friends and co-workers in Japan are safe. There are, however, thousands missing and possibly dead, and we do have many friends concerned about family members that they cannot reach. Celia and I have found it hard to sleep the last couple of nights because the disaster in Japan is so pressing on our minds.

A friend's room in Chiba after the earthquake

Perhaps we should consider ourselves fortunate that we are not caught up in all the confusion in Japan at the moment, but I can't help desiring to be a Christian presence in the midst of so much turmoil. But Celia and I are in Seattle, so we pray for Japan. It is hard to put our prayers into words. We see the videos, pictures, death count, and the comments of friends from Japan on Facebook. It is a lot to take in and a lot to bring to the Lord in prayer. Lately, my prayers have been like this:
Dear Lord, Japan needs you. Japan needs to stand on you as the steadfast Rock, who anchors all who call on your name when the waves of turmoil come. Through the pain and suffering and death of this earthquake and tsunami, may your love and peace and grace fall. May Japan call on your name and choose to rely on you who is greater than any disaster. I don't understand why this happened, and I can't fathom the depths of suffering of the people in Fukushima and Miyagi. You alone, God, know these things. You alone, God, can meet those suffering at their deepest need. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

February Newsletter

2011-02-25T14:16:00.001+09:00

Seasons

Newsletter #10

February 24, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s been a while since our last newsletter. We have been very busy, but sometimes it’s hard to explain our current stage in life—living with Celia’s parents and engaged in deputation work and various ministries, but no “real” job. We often have conversations that go something like this:

Well-meaning friend: What exactly are you doing now, anyway?
Keith and Celia: Name a day, and we’ll tell you what we do…

That’s what we’re going to do this month: we will briefly describe each ministry and activity we’re involved in.

What exactly are you doing now, anyway?
Alpha and Talk Time at Westminster Chapel: On Sunday evenings we are table hosts for ESOL Alpha (a basic course on Christianity geared towards people who are learning English), and we are hosts for Talk Time (an opportunity for English learners to practice their conversation skills) on Thursday nights. Both start with informal conversation over a meal. Alpha includes a short talk on some element of the Christian faith, with plenty of time for questions and discussions, while Talk Time allows for conversation on a wide range of topics. We started out as Talk Time hosts, and then Sylvia, our mentor at Westminster, invited us to host at Alpha as well. Alpha in particular has become an uplifting experience, as we seek God together with people who are learning about him for the first time—and we are blessed by the friendships that have been forming. (We love talking to Japanese people… so we are thrilled that the majority of ESOL Alpha and Talk Time guests are Japanese!)

Our Alpha table

Fun outside of Alpha with Maiko-san: Japanese-style Valentine's chocolates!

Community Group and involvement at Newport Covenant Church: We receive training for community group leadership on Monday nights and try to implement what we learn during our community group gatherings on Friday nights. When Celia and I first approached Newport Covenant asking where we could serve, I must admit we had doubts about community groups: would this really be a good use of our skills and time? Now that we are a few weeks into the group that we started with our mentors, Mel and Janet McIntyre, I can see why God has led us in this direction. When we first arrived at Newport in May 2010, we struggled to find our place. The community group has become an important opportunity for us to connect with others on a deeper level and uphold each other in prayer, as well as a place to learn and serve. We have also had the opportunity to preach, occasionally play with the worship band, and join in weekly prayer meetings and social groups at Newport.

Japanese Church and Language Study: In order to retain some of our language skills, we both have conversation partners. Once a week, we subject ourselves to speaking like infants (I'm probably around the level of a 3 year old, and Celia is like a 5 year old). This is a humbling and constant reminder that God is going to be the one who changes a person’s heart, not an eloquent speech by one of us. We continue to enjoy worshiping with Hosanna Church, a Japanese church which conveniently meets at Newport on Sunday afternoons after our English service and before Alpha, and also gives us opportunity to struggle on with our language skills. Religious language is often difficult to understand even for native Japanese speakers, much like “Christianese” is difficult for many English speakers, so we try to practice whenever we can.

Tea and conversation with Okubo-san

Ramen and conversation with Mari-san

OMF Prayer Meeting: On the second Monday night of the month (when we are not going to community group leaders’ training), we go to a local prayer group for OMF missionaries. This group, which consists of a number of retired missionaries and Celia’s brother and his fiancée (did we mention Colin and Jiayun are getting married?!), prayed for us while we were in Japan and they continue to pray for us now. (Anyone is welcome to join in—let us know if you want to come!) Part of the reason we are becoming OMF missionaries rather than going with another organization is that we love our colleagues in OMF, so it’s a privilege to pray with and for them!

Special Events: On January 7, we invited our friends to celebrate Japanese New Year with a Mochitsuki (rice pounding) party. Celia’s brother and dad surprised us for Christmas with the proper equipment (a gigantic wooden mortar and pestle made from a tree in our yard). We therefore invited our friends over for an opportunity to bash rice with a big hammer. The party was a lot of fun, but since we were busy hosting, we didn’t get to sit and talk with anyone! We had a second party with Hosanna Church the following Sunday.

On January 29, we attended Vancouver Missions Fest, where we met up with old friends, made new friends, and represented both OMF and Regent College at the exhibition. Our picture and story were featured in the Missions Fest magazine, since we had met our short term mission mentors (Tony and Pat Schmidt) there in 2008.

Representing Regent at Missions Fest

Finally, since last Fall, we have been on the planning committee for the RJC (Reaching Japanese for Christ) International Conference, which took place last weekend. We helped to present a seminar on using Anime for evangelism, and Celia played a mini-concert. If we only take one insight away from the conference, let it be our excitement at what God is doing among the Japanese—especially as we are reminded that not only do Japanese need Jesus, but many also want Jesus. We are expecting that God will continue to do great things!

The Daily Grind: This is what we do in all the time that’s left over after the previously mentioned activities. We practice our instruments, work on big projects like sorting through boxes of stuff to decide what to keep and what to get rid of, write thank-you notes and prayer letters, post to our blog, pray, read the Bible, meet up with friends and family, cook, eat, and clean up around the house. And Wednesday is our day off. Ahhhhh…
***

Prayer Points

Our #1 prayer request is for opportunities to share our vision, experiences, and needs with churches, small groups, and individuals. Please pray that we would know whom to ask, which opportunities to pursue, and that others would invite us to share.
May 9, 2011 is our deadline for raising all finances (100% pledged monthly support) and getting clearance to go to Japan in July 2011. We have prayed about this date, and we trust God in this waiting time while we work towards this goal. Please pray that God will provide prayer partners, pledges towards our monthly support, diligence to do what we can, and peace as we trust in him.
We are thankful for the chance to host a table for ESOL Alpha, especially for the development of friendships with other table hosts and guests. Please pray that we will learn about effectively using the Alpha course, and for those attending the course (including us!) to grow closer to God. Please especially pray for the Alpha weekend on Feb. 25-27, which we will spend in Bellingham with our guests.
We attended the 10th International RJC (Reaching Japanese for Christ) conference, where we were encouraged to hear many testimonies of God’s work among the Japanese. Please pray that we would have ears which are attentive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and boldness to proclaim the Gospel to those who are waiting to hear.

***

Picture Notes: New Banner
Keith made a new banner this month for our print newsletter! We chose pictures which reflect our current location and activities. So, starting from the left…

…we begin with Mt. Rainier, which is probably the most famous landmark in Washington State. We celebrated our 5th anniversary there last July. Second is Celia’s Christmas Eve concert in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Celia is continuing her project of hymn arrangements for viol and voice; she recently added 3 hymns in Japanese to her repertoire. Third is a picture from a picnic last summer… at which we crashed an outdoor wedding! Last is a picture of takuanzuke (daikon radish pickles) in progress. Celia’s most recent hobby is making Japanese pickles. The first try at this particular pickle turned out a little too salty, but delicious in Okayu (Japanese rice porridge).
***

Money Jar: We have 14.5%!

We need 100% pledged monthly support for our first term (5 years) before returning to Japan—for a July departure, our deadline is May 9. Please keep praying with us that God will provide for our financial needs!
***

Blessings on your “daily grind”—may you see God’s love in the details of everyday life!

Love in Christ, Keith and Celia

RJC Conference (Feb. 17-19)

2011-02-15T15:55:00.000+09:00

So just a quick update: Celia and I will be attending the 10th Annual International RJC Conference (Reaching Japanese for Christ) from February 17-19. I made the advertisement above, and Celia is helping present during the Anime workshop on Saturday. I'm also emceeing for part of the conference and leading morning prayer sessions. We hope to make some good contacts and learn more about ministering to Japanese. If you're interested in coming, then check out http://www.rjcnetwork.org/ and if you have some non-Christians interested in Hula, then check out this portion of the conference.

The Story of our Story (We'll be in Vancouver January 29-30)

2011-01-23T05:54:00.008+09:00

Check us out! We're on page 29 of the Missions Fest Vancouver magazine and the same story is on page 2 of BC Christian News. We were pretty excited when we found out we would be featured in these magazines, and here's the quick story of how our story got there. We happened to run into Dwayne Buhler, the president of Vancouver Missions Fest, while we were attending Seattle Missions Fest. We got to talking, and when he found out that we made our connection with OMF at Vancouver Missions Fest in 2008, he asked us to write our story out and send it to him. We did, sent it in, and heard that they wanted a picture to go with our story because they were going to put us in their magazine! Shortly thereafter, BC Christian News also asked us to use our story. We hope it will stir up interest in our ministry and missions to Japan in general.

We're going to be in Vancouver January 29-30 at Missions Fest Vancouver. Here's our schedule, so come by and see us!

Saturday, January 29

11:00-12:00 We will be at the Regent College booth. You can ask us about our experience at Regent, or Japan, or whatever else you want to talk about.
2:00-4:00 We will be manning the OMF booth. We can "officially" talk to you about Japan at this time. And we'll try our best to answer your questions about other places OMF works, too.
5:00 Join us for dinner! Meet at the coat check, and we can chat over dinner.

Sunday, January 30 (Keith only--Celia will be back in Seattle)

10:30 Keith will be attending church at Vancouver First Christian Reformed Church.
3:00 Keith will be attending the general session (Michael Oh).

We've got some exciting things coming up in the next couple of months. Here's a preview:

Sunday, February 6
We will be at West Side Presbyterian Church in Seattle for the 8:15 and 11:00 services. In addition to sharing a little about our ministry, Celia will be providing special music.

Friday, February 18-Saturday, February 19
We are attending the 10th annual International RJC Conference in Bothell, WA. We have been part of the planning committee for this event--and it looks like it's going to be a great conference! Celia will be providing some music before the Friday evening plenary session, and both of us will be assisting with a workshop about using anime for evangelism. In addition, there will be seminars by some awesome people, including friends of ours!

Mochitsuki: Japanese New Year Party

2011-01-16T13:25:00.000+09:00

It all started on a day last November or so, when Colin and Jiayun came over to our house. We could hear the chainsaw going in the woods behind the house, but all we knew was that Colin was making something in Dad's workshop... out of a tree from our yard...

Fast forward to January 3, which was "Christmas Morning" in the Wilson/Olson household, since all of us traveled over the holidays. We did our usual thing--the "children" run around the corner to see what "Santa" left in their stockings... and there was this gigantic wooden hammer.

Mochitsuki, which is the pounding of "sweet" rice to make mochi (rice cakes), is traditionally done during the New Year's festivities in Japan. No one cooks for 3 days (January 1-3), so the rice is prepared as mochi to be served in a number of different ways. To pound the mochi, you need an usu (hollowed out log) and a kine (pronounced keenay--gigantic wooden hammer). You put rice in the usu and bash it with the kine until it is smooth. Meanwhile, someone (usually the wife) kneads the rice dough and keeps it moist so it doesn't stick. Incidentally, the usu was hidden under the Christmas tree skirt.

Anyway, we went straight out to try the thing out. Mom and Granddad watched from a safe distance.

Later on, Keith levitated the finished mochi balls.

Mochitsuki is a communal event... so we decided to have a party! I prepared a lot of food: ozouni soups, nimono (stewed vegetables), and various toppings for the mochi. We got the waffle iron out to make "moffles" too.

The first batch of mochi was pretty sticky. Or we didn't do it right. Or something.

Then an "expert" showed up! Hooray, Hiromi-san coached us on our mochi technique!

I made daifuku (mochi stuffed with sweet red bean paste) with some of the girls from Talk Time.

Meanwhile, everyone was enjoying the food.

It was so much fun that we decided to do it again on Sunday after church! That's our Japanese church, by the way.

Everyone had a chance with the kine.

Gender roles reversed??

Back to normal...

Many hands make light work.

The parties are over now (including Granddad's 90th birthday party today!) and the usu and kine are hanging out in the sun-room doing a great job as a plant stand.

Christmas with the fam, part 2: Iowa

2011-01-09T10:04:00.001+09:00

Continuing on from the previous installment...

After a few days in North Dakota, we moved on to Keith's parents' house in Iowa. We only had 3 days with everyone together, starting with Christmas Eve. I seem to recall spending most of that day frantically finishing up Christmas presents for the kids. And of course, there was my concert that evening. In between, we opened presents, since Keith's family does that on Christmas Eve. Keith set up the camera in the upstairs balcony to take a picture once every 30 seconds. Here are a couple of the pictures.

Before...

... and after.

Christmas morning was pretty low-key.

Everyone was tired, so we shared the cooking responsibilities. Ilene did the prime rib and the rolls. I made green bean casserole, and there was also salad, mashed potatoes, and a dessert called "glorified rice"--interesting to note that this particular dish used to be the only rice the Olson family would typically eat for an entire year... times change!

Meanwhile, Keith set up the camera again to take pictures during dinner--one every 10 seconds!

Later on, Catherine made batch after batch of sugar cookies for snacks after church. Michael helped.

The day after Christmas...

... Alexander got caught driving while talking on his cell phone.

Then he played piano with Joseph.

I prepared sukiyaki and sushi for the family with help from Nate and Ilene. It seemed appropriate to have it together, since sukiyaki is a meal for family celebrations in Japan. It was a bit funny with only one pot for 14 people, though.

Catherine prepared the dessert: a special teapot cake for Ilene's birthday!

Ali ate more than anyone else, we think.

Thanks for the lovely time, everyone! We miss you!

January Newsletter

2011-01-05T04:15:00.001+09:00

Seasons

January 1, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

新年おめでとうございます! (Happy New Year!) I (Celia) am writing this letter from the inside of our Subaru. We have seen the inside of our car a lot lately—this is the 5th full day in the car since we left Seattle on December 14 (side note: snow covered bison look really funny).

The car's new nickname: dirtball.

We first drove to Grand Forks, North Dakota to visit our church there and to spend time with Keith’s siblings and their families, stopping along the way to visit friends in Bozeman and Bismarck. Then we continued on to Fort Dodge, Iowa, where we spent Christmas with the entire Olson family—10 adults, 4 young children, and 3 dogs!

Keith with his brother, Joseph and our nieces and nephews: Alexander, Alison, Michael, and Elizabeth.

On Christmas Eve, I played my own Christmas carol arrangements for voice and viola da gamba at a mini-concert at Keith’s parents’ church. This was the beginning of a major project of arranging and collecting unaccompanied music for viol and cello, and music in which I can accompany myself. Although I was blessed with excellent accompanists in Japan, there will likely be many occasions when I won’t have that option—some smaller churches do not have a piano or organ. Thus my Christmas Eve concert this year laid the groundwork for future Christmas concerts in Japan!

Shortly after we return to Seattle, we will start work with two new ministries. We have already been attending leaders’ training for community groups at our church; we will start our group in January under the guidance of our mentors, Janet and Mel McIntyre. At Westminster Chapel, where we have been serving as hosts for the International Talk Time ministry, we will be assisting in and learning about the Alpha Course, mentored by Sylvia Ramquist, who served many years as a missionary in Japan, and who has been instrumental in bringing Alpha to Hokkaido. We’re very excited about these new opportunities; please expect an update next month!
***

Our Deputation Ministry

The other important ministry we’re involved with at the moment is deputation. This is a word I only learned after I became a missionary, so you may be wondering what I am talking about. Deputation is the work of a missionary before leaving for the field and after returning for home assignment; basically, in our case, it’s anything we do to spread the word about the needs of the Japanese, the needs of the church in Japan, and our own needs as missionaries.

Deputation can take many forms, planned or unplanned, formal or informal. Sometimes we are invited to speak at a church, either for the sermon, a brief “missions moment,” or for a Sunday school class. Sometimes we intentionally get together with friends for a meal or coffee with the purpose of talking about Japan. Sometimes, these meetings are unplanned and spontaneous; since most of our friends know we are missionaries to Japan, the conversation often goes in that direction.

Sometimes we struggle with this kind of ministry: why are we here in the United States telling people about the needs of Japan when what we really want is to be working in Japan with the Japanese? Why do we have to do deputation work at all? Because there are needs—ours, and Japan’s. This is an important ministry, even if it is often discouraging. We, the worldwide Body of Christ, need to work together to reach the world, which means that churches in “sending” countries like the US and Canada work alongside churches in Japan and other “mission field” countries to mutually encourage and build each other up, and to share resources and expertise. Both now and after our return to Japan, Keith and I are working to bridge the gap between the church in North America and the church in Japan.

The truth is, we can’t get to Japan on our own, nor would we want to. By faithfully doing the work God has called us to for this time, we will gain faithful and well-informed partners for our ministry. On the flipside, our partners, both churches and individuals, will have the opportunity to join in God’s work of saving the Japanese and adding new members to the Body of Christ through partnering with us in our ministry.

Sometimes people wrongly assume that “partnering” means “giving us money.” This leads to all kinds of awkwardness. We know that not everyone has the means to support us financially, and many are already supporting other causes. There are many ways to partner. On our blog, we have an entire page devoted to “getting involved” in our ministry. In our last newsletter, we mentioned some of the people we are thankful for—all of whom have partnered with us in some way.

Our #1 need right now is for people to sign up for our newsletter and to faithfully pray for us. (Update: praise God, we have enough people signed up so that OMF will start sending our letters for us!) Our #2 need is for speaking engagements at churches and introductions to like-minded people. Please help us by spreading the word!

The ultimate goal of our deputation work is, of course, to get us to Japan with a full team of partners backing us. We are currently signed up for the July 2011 orientation course in Singapore, after which we will continue on to Japan. In order to do that, we will need to gain financial clearance (100% pledged monthly support) by May. Please pray with us that we will find many like-minded people to stand beside us.
***

Money Jar: We have 1.5+%!

We have been informed of pledges which are in progress now! We need 100% pledged monthly support for our first term (5 years) before returning to Japan. Please keep praying with us that God will provide for our financial needs!
***

Picture Notes
We wanted to briefly explain the pictures in the banner which is usually at the top of our newsletter (on the front of the print copy).

On the left is Tokyo, near the imperial palace, during cherry blossom season. Next is the ruins of Fukuoka castle. The third picture is one of the shrines at Nikko National Park. In the final picture, the little statues with hats are Jizo along the Maruyama trail in Sapporo. Jizo are guardian deities of children who have died due to stillbirth, miscarriage, and abortion. Parents who have lost a child worship the Jizo by bringing small gifts which they might otherwise give to their own child. This act is a means of grieving and assuaging a guilty conscience.

The banner at the bottom of this month’s print newsletter (and also on the back of our prayer cards) was taken at the Hokkaido Shrine on New Year’s Day 2010.

Japanese typically celebrate the New Year by visiting the shrine and praying to the shrine’s deity for good fortune. We are hoping that these pictures will remind our partners to pray for the spiritual needs of the Japanese.
***

Prayer Points

We are thankful to have safely arrived at home in Seattle--no crashes on the road trip, through some really bad weather.
Our time with family and friends in North Dakota, Iowa, and places along the way has been very encouraging and a wonderful blessing. We thank God for this time, but we also realize this was potentially the last Christmas in many years where all of Keith’s immediate family will gather.
Upcoming ministry: we start Alpha and a community group in January. Please pray for us to learn well from these experiences, and for those to whom we will minister.
Please pray for our deputation work and our upcoming speaking engagements, and for many more opportunities to arise.
Financial clearance by May 2011: we need 100% pledged monthly support 2 months before we return to Japan.

***

Last year, we celebrated お正月 (oshōgatsu—New Year) in Sapporo with games on New Year’s Eve, church in the morning, tea ceremony, mochi pounding, people-watching at the shrine, and homemade おせち(osechi--special Japanese New Year foods) for dinner. This year, we celebrated with contra dancing on New Year’s Eve in Bozeman, Montana with our friend Kathy… followed by another day in the car. Next year? Who knows! We pray that wherever you are, your celebration may be full of joy.

Love in Christ, Keith and Celia

Christmas projects

2011-01-05T03:38:00.000+09:00

The Christmas presents all having arrived at their destinations, it is now safe to blog about the ones we made. So here they are...

Actually, Keith did not knit any Christmas presents. This cozy little scene happened after Keith spent the day cleaning out his old room. He had to prove to me that he still knows how to knit. Moving right along...

Keith did, in fact, hand-make a number of Christmas presents. We'll start with the candles. See the frying pan on the stove? This is not lunch... it's leftover fat from a roast... which Keith rendered to make into a tallow candle. It doesn't really smell when it's lit, but has a mild barbecue smell when you blow it out.

My mother probably ate the peaches out of that can back in the '50s. The can was found in my grandfather's workshop.

This one takes a bit of explanation. One of the kids at our Japanese church draws a cartoon about a character named Mr. Pickle--a pickle with underwear, a cape, and a cyclops eye. Keith provided the underwear for the Mr. Pickle ornament.

The recipients... it's the kid on the left who draws the cartoon. :)

We received this picture of the completed Mr. Pickle. Whichever child finds him on the tree gets an extra present!

On to my knitting projects. This one is not for Christmas. It was Michael's birthday present. His birthday was at the end of November.

This is not a rabbit. It's Totoro. It's for our little friend, Yuugo, in Sapporo!

I've been working on snowflakes. Keith says this is my most useful skill. Need a pretty gift for someone? Give me a couple days of sitting in the car and I can produce a variety of them. Really, it's the finishing process that takes most of the time. They have to be stretched, pinned, glued, glittered, and dried.

Here are an assortment of Christmas ornaments I made this year.

This was for my mommy's birthday...

...and this one was for Keith's mommy's birthday.

My biggest Christmas project was making toy chickens for all 4 of the nieces and nephews! I started working on them in October, and finished the last one on Christmas Eve. I worked on them for most of the drive from Seattle to Iowa.

Here is a nearly completed chicken... and a bag of "chicken parts" which I had to sew onto the chicken to give it a face and cute decorations.

Yay, all done, just in time!

A couple of hours later...

Elizabeth was too smart... she suspected I was up to something!

Just for fun, I decided to use the same pattern, slightly altered, so make a tea cozy for my brother.

It also works as a hat.

Christmas with the fam, part 1: North Dakota

2010-12-26T10:10:00.002+09:00

Merry Christmas! Here's a quick report on our road trip and time with Keith's family.

We made it to North Dakota... and we got stuck behind a sand truck at one point. Gross...

We played with the kids. My how they've grown!

Compare this photo with the smiling child in the previous picture. I think they might be related?

I was sick, so we didn't do much. We did manage to get to church, where Keith preached (recording coming soon), and also to Elizabeth and Michael's first Christmas pageant! There were a bunch of little kids with stars on sticks who were supposed to sit still and look cute while the older kids did their stuff... perhaps needless to say, they started hitting the microphones and each other with the star sticks. One kid fell off the back of the risers and nearly knocked over the backdrop. The production became known in the family as "the trainwreck." We celebrated with pizza afterwards.

The kids were all dressed up, so we did a little photo shoot.

Keith had some time with his friend, Jason. They did Keith and Jason sorts of things.

We're in Iowa now... all 14 Olsons in one house. What a party! More on that later.

Christmas Luncheon

2010-12-11T07:53:00.001+09:00

This year, my family was invited to provide music for the program of the annual women's Christmas luncheon at our church. We sang carols and antiphons and O Holy Night--complete with a verse in Japanese (sung by me, of course). We finished the concert with Jesus Christ the Apple Tree which you can download and listen to if you want.

Photo credit: Pat McGiffert. Thanks a lot!

This was also a special event for me, since not only was it my first time to attend, but it was also my first time to host a table! I love hospitality and pretty things on the table, so I went all out. I dug through all the boxes in my storage closet and pulled out all the beautiful things I received from my grandmothers.

At the luncheon, I sat with Andrea, my childhood friend, my mom, and the ladies from our Japanese church. My dad was one of the waiters.

The food was amazing... everything was made from scratch by a team of cooks from our church. What a talented bunch! Of course, the head chef did win our chili cookoff this year...

On a side note, I'm happy to report that my teacups and other such things finally have a home which is not a box in the closet under the stairs! This beautiful piece of furniture was built by my grandfather. :)

Keith reflecting on Japan grief

2010-12-06T15:26:00.000+09:00

There have been many times in my life when I suffered grief. Most of those times were in high school and were compounded by the problem that I seemed to lack a reason for my grief. I later found out that it was my detachment from God that was the root of my problem. So I know what grief feels like. When it hits me more intensely, it affects me physically. I kneel down and stare at a spot on the ground. Somewhere in my chest cavity there are muscle contractions that force me to double over slightly. I studied some human anatomy, but I can't seem to place what exactly is contracting, maybe my intercostals because I also draw in a slow breath that I never fully exhale until the intensity passes. To an extent, this physical pain reflects the mental pain of my grief.

I write this because I along with my wife have been feeling grief over Japan. I first misinterpreted it as reverse culture shock, which we did have, but the lingering sadness over the months did not abate like the culture shock did. It was only recently at a conference about communication, when we were discussing the various symptoms of grief, that we noticed we had those symptoms of shock (which we attributed to culture shock), sadness, wrestling with pain, and attempting to come to terms with reality. Celia and I have attempted to short-cut the process by claiming God's promises that He will bring us back to Japan and that right now He has called us to Seattle for a reason. I am, however, still at the stage of wrestling with the pain of having a calling to Japan and acknowledging the reality that I do not live in Japan. I am grieving the loss of relationships that we were fostering in Japan, of seeing all the children growing up at Satsunae Lighthouse Church, of explaining the gospel to college students in simple English, and of working with our mentors and co-workers.

My favorite picture of Satsunae Lighthouse Church in Sapporo, Japan

For each of these areas and others I have given myself excuses like, “I can be with people here now,” and “There's no reason why I should miss my Japanese friends more than I missed my family when I lived there.” I have downplayed this grief, and compounded it like I did in high school. The difference is that I do not feel distanced from God, and to some extent, that is part of the reality that I grapple with. The reality that God gives me a passion for Japan, does not (nor do I want Him to) take my passion away, yet settles me here in Seattle which is not Japan. I am aware that there are a number of reasons why God gives me the desire to go to Japan but keeps me in Seattle for this time (plenty of reasons like: I can be a living testimony to American people that Japanese people need Jesus, or the obvious reason is that I need prayer and financial support that I otherwise would not get if I were in Japan or that I would not want to get if I were not passionate to go, or another reason is that I can partner with others who are passionate about helping the Japanese but unable to go themselves), but one thing about grief: it does not listen to reason. When I think about what I did when I missed my family while living in Japan, I realize I did very few of those things upon coming back here. When I went to Japan, I knew I would miss big events, like the births and baptisms of nieces and nephews. I addressed the problems specifically and prayed about it. I dealt with it instead of trying to cheer myself up. I did not say, “God has led me to Japan for this time, so I should make the most of my time while I'm here and stop 'living' back at home.” Maybe there is a time to say that, but it was not when my brother was in a burn care clinic in Minnesota and I was in Japan.

My brother (born with spina bifida, hence the wheelchair) was flown by helicopter to Minneapolis to treat his leg burns, which happened shortly after Celia and I had arrived in Japan in 2009.

So even in the last week or two, I have noticed that I perceive this grief differently. It is no longer negative feelings to be discouraged but acceptable feelings that show the burden of love (pardon the Christianese) that God has placed on me. I love the Japanese there, and I love my family here. Both types of love are God given, and I must deal with the consequences of this love. “To arrive means to have left,” which is something I will have to deal with over and over again especially as a missionary.

Knitting projects (procrastination)

2010-12-04T04:12:00.001+09:00

I'm procrastinating right now. There's a lot to do that I don't feel like doing... so here I am blogging about my knitting projects. Also, I'm working on about 10 projects right now (need to use up the yarn stash before moving to Japan), so there will be a lot more pictures of completed projects after Christmas!

First, hats. These are great for using up yarn. I posted pictures of Alison's baby sweater in my last post. I used up leftover yarn from that sweater for Alison and Alexander's hats, inventing the pattern as I went:

I also made a birthday hat for Elizabeth, which she received about 5 months late. Oh dear. She picked out the pattern herself from my friend, Cosy's pattern book. (She was 2 at the time... ;)

Elizabeth's hat, and Michael's birthday hat, which is still in progress (oh dear... his birthday was last week...) came from leftover yarn from this blanket (pattern available here), which was Carla and Arnaldo's wedding present:

I'm working on a lot of stuff at the moment. One recent fun discovery was this blog, which has many fun snowflake patterns. So I'm making Christmas ornaments.

Incidentally, the green sweater in the picture is the one that's been in progress for several years. It still doesn't have buttons, but I'm wearing it anyway. Hopefully I'll actually finish it soon...

My sermon is online!

2010-12-02T05:01:00.001+09:00

In case you missed our November newsletter (previous post), I preached at Newport Covenant Church (my home church) last Sunday on Psalm 145 for our Thanksgiving service. I never would have thought I'd do that when I left for college 11 years ago... but now I have. Then again, I never thought I would become a missionary.

Well, it's over... I think it went pretty well. (This was my third time preaching, but I got a lot of public speaking experience in Japan, since I gave my testimony a whole bunch of times.) What was really great was the open mic time afterwards. Many people had the opportunity to publicly thank God for his goodness in their lives for the encouragement of the congregation. I was encouraged. :) Oh, I also got to lead communion for the first time in the second service. I remembered the words of institution, but forgot the prayer. Oops.

On Monday I wandered around wondering what to do with all my free time... and quickly filled it with other things I had neglected to do last week while writing the sermon. Oh well. On to the next big thing: on Saturday my parents and Keith and I will be providing music for the Newport Covenant Church Christmas luncheon. I'm also hosting a table. What fun!

The sermon, as the title says, is online--you can download it here or listen from the church's website.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November Newsletter

2010-11-27T03:05:00.001+09:00

Seasons
Newsletter #8, November 25, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

I find it somewhat ironic that I'm writing about our Christmas travel plans in the middle of a winter storm in Seattle. Nevertheless, weather permitting, we hope to drive from Seattle to Grand Forks, ND and stay for a few days around Sunday, Dec. 19 and then down to Fort Dodge, IA for Christmas with Keith's family. Please contact us if you want to meet us or to introduce us to someone while we are in the area.

Autumn leaves in our yard meet first snowfall

Having divulged our Christmas plans, I'm now backtracking to Halloween weekend, when Celia and I spoke at an OMF conference. It was well attended: about 100 people showed up to Youth Night. We were encouraged, and we hope we encouraged others to consider involvement in missions, even if they aren't traveling across the ocean. Just recently, we also attended a “Sharpen Your Interpersonal Skills” (SYIS) workshop, which, among other things, taught us that we are still grieving the fact that we left Japan. When we started speaking about this loss in terms of grief instead of reverse culture shock, we were better able to identify where our “heaviness” for Japan comes from. Fast-forwarding back to the present, here we are at Thanksgiving weekend…
***

Boldly Proclaiming God’s Faithfulness

As I (Celia) am writing this, I’m taking a break from sermon preparations. On Sunday, I will preach about thankfulness at the church where I grew up (Newport Covenant Church), using Psalm 145 as my text. In my sermon, I’m going to encourage the congregation to proclaim God’s faithfulness, because to do so will make God’s glory known in our own lives, among our family and friends, and to the ends of the earth.

I find when I write a sermon, I am often preaching as much to myself as to the congregation. This sermon is exactly what I need to hear right now, because sometimes it isn’t easy to give thanks. There are times when I can hardly stop myself from gushing God’s praise to anyone who will listen, but much of the time, distractions of life get in the way, and I don’t really feel very thankful. Sometimes life sucks. Thanking God starts as a discipline which I must do, which then swells into heartfelt praise. Thus my daily discipline is to spend time in prayer thinking about what I am thankful for, starting with concrete things around me if I can’t think of anything else. The more I look for God’s goodness, the more I see it.

At the risk of embarrassing some people, I would like to proclaim how God has been faithful to us through the people he has put in our lives. We have been very blessed!

Recently, as we mentioned, we went to Abbotsford, BC for the SYIS conference. Our housing was provided by Pete and Sara Heinrichs, who had been complete strangers until we arrived. When we came into their home, we immediately noticed that their refrigerator was covered by pictures of missionaries and exchange students. We learned that over the years, Sara and Pete had traveled extensively to visit and encourage missionaries, and that they had welcomed numerous international students into their home. Sara carefully set the table each morning with a spread worthy of a Bed and Breakfast. As we ate, we prayed together and encouraged each other. I was overwhelmed by their hospitality—“This is our missionary work,” Sara explained. We are thankful for the many people who have hosted us in the last 7 months, especially when we were trying to discern where God was calling us to live.

Breakfast with Pete and Sara

During the last several months, we have had the opportunity to gather in prayer with a number of different people and groups. We have been searching for God’s will for our lives, as we are seeking to serve him in North America while we are waiting to return to Japan, so being supported in prayer has been very important and encouraging to us. In particular, we are thankful for my mom’s MIT prayer group, who have been praying for me since childhood, for Hosanna Christian Church (the Japanese church we have been attending), and for the OMF prayer group in Seattle, which mostly consists of retired missionaries who have encouraged us through faithful prayer and by sharing wisdom from their many years of service. There have been many others; we are greatly encouraged every time we hear that someone is praying for us!

During the month of October, God provided us with several great opportunities to meet people and make connections. We are thankful for the ministry of Phoebe Wong, the OMF regional ministry coordinator in Vancouver, who arranged the conference at which we spoke at the end of October. Earlier in October, we met up with Obo, a fellow student from Regent, who is now a pastor at a Japanese church in Seattle. He introduced us to a number of other Japanese pastors, so hopefully we will be able to speak at other churches.

Finally, we are thankful for the people who have supported us financially, through treating us to meals, giving one-time donations, and making pledges. Many of these people have been long-time supporters—in every sense of that word.

We thank God for allowing us to partner in ministry with so many loving and faithful supporters. We have acknowledged only a few of the people we are thankful for here; we thank God for each and every one of you reading this letter.
***

Prayer Points

Praise God for the turnout at the OMF conference in Vancouver! We are thankful to have been able to speak at that conference and at other churches as well, and we are praying about other speaking engagements as well.
We have decided to participate in community groups at Newport Church. Please pray for Mel and Janet, with whom we plan to start a group in January.
We're driving some 3,683 miles (about 60 hours) in December, so please pray that the weather and our Subaru will cooperate with us for a hassle free drive across the country.
We thank God for everyone who has given us a one time donation; these will help us with plane tickets and initial set-up costs in Japan. However, while OMF does not require that we raise all the money necessary for the first term before we leave for Japan, we need people to pledge to support us when we get there (usually given in monthly amounts). Please pray with us for pledges.
We still experience waves of sadness when we remember and miss Japan and our friends there. Please pray that we can find balance between our passion for the Japanese and living well now, in this current season.
Both of Celia’s grandparents have moved into their third assisted living home. Please pray for their continued adjustment, especially that they will make friends. They are still unhappy, but they are getting good care.

***

Preparing for Japan
Warning: the following is very nerdy… and silly.

Even though we’re in the US, we’re still studying Japanese. We’re specifically focusing on reading and writing, since that is relatively easy to do without a teacher. Japanese has 3 sets of characters which make up its writing system: 2 syllabic sets of 46 characters each (hiragana and katakana) and kanji (the Chinese characters used in the Japanese writing system which provide meaning; there are about 2200 in standard use). Kanji is complicated, since most of the characters can be pronounced in several different ways depending on the context. Some people—both Japanese and foreigners—try to avoid studying kanji, since any kanji character can be written in hiragana as well. However, it is fascinating to learn… and very necessary, given the huge number of homonyms in the Japanese language. Let me explain with a test sentence, written in hiragana:

うらにわにはにわにわにはにわにわとりがいる。
(uraniwaniwaniwaniwaniwaniwaniwatorigairu.)
Translation: ??

Without kanji, this is a meaningless run-on sentence. Adding kanji, the pronunciation stays the same, but we know the meaning of the sentence and where words begin and end:

裏庭には二羽、庭には二羽鶏がいる。
(uraniwa ni wa niwa; niwa ni wa niwa niwatori ga iru.)
Translation: 2 birds are in the backyard; 2 chickens are in the garden.

We are thankful for kanji!
***

Money Jar: We have 1.5%!

We need 100% pledged monthly support for our first term (5 years) before returning to Japan. Please keep praying with us that God will provide for our financial needs!
***

“The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you.”
—Psalm 145:9-10

May your voice join with all of creation in thankfulness to our God, who is worthy of our praise.

Love in Christ, Keith and Celia

October Newsletter

2010-10-10T02:06:00.002+09:00

Seasons
Newsletter #7, October 7, 2010

(Note: Due to sensitive material, we had to leave out one of the articles this month. If you would like to read the newsletter in its entirety, please send us an email to receive an electronic copy, or sign up to receive our newsletters by snailmail on OMF's website. Actually, we still need about 10 more people to sign up before OMF starts sending them for us... so please feel free!)

We have been up and down the Pacific coast from Canadian Vancouver to Californian LA meeting with friends and making connections. When we say “coast,” we do, in fact, mean hundreds of miles on the vomit-inducing Pacific Coast Highway. During this last month, it was particularly encouraging to meet with a number of our fellow OMFers with whom we worked in Japan. At the end of October, we will be speaking at an OMF conference in Vancouver, B.C. on October 29-30--this will be two separate events: Youth Night and Heart for Asia--and at Vancouver First Christian Reformed Church on Sunday, October 31.

At the same time, we are becoming more involved with our church, Newport Covenant, through joining weekly groups, participating in the music side of worship, and attending the sermon prep prayer group. We believe that Newport Covenant is one of the reasons for which God has led us to Seattle; we want to support this church in its time of transition as they are implementing a new vision statement and searching for a new lead pastor. Another reason we are in Seattle is to support Celia’s mom while she cares for her aging parents.
***

Christ-like with a Servant Heart: Re-learning to Love My Grandparents

Living in Seattle, as we mentioned, comes with the blessing of being near my (Celia’s) family. I never thought I would move back in with my parents, but I think God has given us a lot of grace and patience as we’re learning again to live together.

Everyone together at home, preparing for the annual Chili Cookoff

We’re also back in the same place as my mom’s parents. In my childhood, I spent many happy days at Grandmother and Granddad’s house, on their boat, and vacationing together in Hawaii. They constantly found new ways to show affection to each of us grandkids.

Grandparents change when they get old, though. Both of them have dementia now, Grandmother more so than Granddad. In some ways they’re the same: they still love me, and they’re still stubborn and independent. Despite their increased needs, they would prefer to be left alone to live their lives in a sort of “freedom” which means “without help from others.”

Grandmother lives in a state of perpetual confusion. She is nervous in an unfamiliar place, including her own room in the assisted living facility, and she gets flustered when Granddad, the anchor for her memories, leaves the room. Her confusion sometimes leads to agitation. Recently, matters came to a head when she hit one of the staff at her assisted living facility, and was therefore taken to a psych hospital. Although it is hard for me to imagine my sweet Grandmother hitting people, this development was not entirely unwelcome, as Granddad had been interfering when anyone tried to care for her. She was thus allowed to get help for her condition.

Meanwhile, Granddad, who finds the meaning of his life in caring for Grandmother, has come to live with us. This is probably a temporary solution, but it has made for a huge change in our house. Mom works hard at keeping him active and involved by including him in the household chores. Although he was once a gifted Boeing engineer, because of his dementia, now he must relearn simple tasks like grinding coffee and cutting up vegetables.

In this situation, I feel helpless. Granddad is the same person who loved and cared for me as a child; over and over he tells the same story about playing “hide and seek” with me on a boating trip in the San Juan Islands. But now he can’t hear, and he often forgets instructions. How do I show love to him now? If I retreat to my room and try to get work done, I feel guilty for abandoning him, especially if no one else is home. I have a hard time inviting him to help me in the kitchen, since I can do the same tasks faster and better.

Celia on the boat with Granddad

Sometimes it’s even hard to know what to talk about. One evening, when my parents were out, we ate our dinner in silence. No one could think of anything to say—except the same old “hide and seek” story. Last night was a little better. We talked about the time when Grandmother and Granddad went to Japan. He remembered a floating shrine gate, a lake with boats, and a big mountain. (I think they went to Hakone.) He also remembered that the people there were very kind.

As much as I want to honour my family by supporting my grandparents, who are lonely, confused, and probably bored, and by supporting my Mom, who is their tireless—and largely unappreciated—advocate, I can’t help but think at times that this “honour” isn’t getting us any closer to Japan. How do I reconcile my calling as a daughter and a member of this family with my calling to serve and evangelize the Japanese people? I’ve spent a lot of time in prayer wrestling with this subject, and I think I’ve found that the balance point between these two callings is “Christ-like with a servant heart.” This is the motto of one of my mentors, which I have adopted for myself. However, I’m still trying to figure out what that motto means in this situation.

Grandmother was discharged from the hospital a couple of days ago; Granddad will also move into their new place soon. This is the third assisted living facility that they have tried. I’m praying that this one works out for them—and I’m praying that I will find new ways of serving, loving, and appreciating them in these final years.

Here's a couple more grandparent pictures:

Celia and Colin with Grandma and Grandpa (Dad's parents)

Visiting Keith's grandma in Aberdeen, South Dakota

***

Prayer Points

We have decided to attend Newport Covenant Church. Please pray for us as we look for ways to serve there and define our role—and also that we don’t over-extend ourselves. Please also pray for the church in its time of transition.
We are thankful for peace in our home; the living situation with Celia’s family is going well. Please pray that we will be a good support for our families, especially Celia’s mom, Joann.
Celia’s grandparents are moving into their third assisted living home. Please pray that they will adjust well and be content.
Please pray for new and renewed friendships, especially for Keith.
We are looking for partners to faithfully pray for us. Thus we are seeking opportunities to share about our work in Japan with churches, small groups, and individuals. Please pray that we would know who to ask and which opportunities to pursue.
We are preparing to speak at an OMF conference in Vancouver on October 29-30. Please pray that God will give us the right words to encourage the attendees.
We are thankful for our first pledges; we are up to 1.5% of our monthly support! Please pray for God’s continued financial provision for our life and ministry in Japan, and for our return there in God’s timing.

***

Money Jar: We have 1.5%!

We need 100% pledged monthly support for our first term (5 years) before returning to Japan. Please keep praying with us that God will provide for our financial needs!
***

We hope this letter finds each of you well. Blessings as you seek to follow God in your own lives.

Love in Christ, Keith and Celia

Speaking about Japan in Van. Oct. 29-31

2010-10-08T08:25:00.008+09:00

After my wife has posted some 170 blog posts, I have finally decided to try and pull some of my own digital weight (I'm not sure that idiom works here). So dear blogviewers, particularly of the Vancouver variety, let me invite you to mosey on over to

OMF Youth Night
Friday October 29, 7:30-9:30 pm
Basel Hakka Lutheran Church
2575 Nanaimo Street, Vancouver, B.C.

and then hop on by

Heart for Asia
Saturday, October 30, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Westminster Bible Chapel
7540 6th Street, Burnaby, B.C.

on your way to

1st Christian Reformed Church in Vancouver,
Sunday, October 31, 10:30 AM - 12:00 Noon
2670 Victoria Drive, Vancouver, B.C.

We will be speaking about Japan and missions to some extent at all three.

Update Post 1: Time with Keith's family in May (cute pictures of kids)

2010-09-18T06:29:00.001+09:00

June was really busy, so we didn't manage to get many cute pictures of our nieces and nephews up on the blog, but they are really cute, and we're really proud of them, so here's some pictures from our trip to Florida in May.

This is Alexander, who turned 1 in June, with his mom, Sarah. Yes, that is an onigiri that he is eating. I got the whole family hooked on them. :)

Michael and Grandpa: it would be best to take the shirt seriously.

So cute... so messy... so glad I didn't have to clean up after him...

We surreptitiously got this shot of Keith's parents walking to the pool...

Here we are at the Magic Kingdom with Elizabeth, our "fairy god-daughter."

It was hot. We stayed cool with this umbrella... which attracted stares and catcalls. Weird. I guess people in Florida don't know how nice the shade is.

It was a long line... but Michael was having a good time with Daddy.

It's a small world...

...and this is what Japan looked like back in the 1960s when the ride was built.

Needless to say, the kids got tired.

Meanwhile, Keith and Nate got into some trouble.

Back in North Dakota, we hung out over at Joseph and Catherine's house. Ali hung out on the lawn with the dogs.

Food and Fellowship

2010-09-02T11:08:00.000+09:00

Ah, Brazilian food! I love it so. I never met a Brazilian food I didn't like... but I think half of what made it so good was eating it with good company.

I've posted a couple of recipes I learned from Carla previously on the neighborhood chili blog--feijoada, vinaigrette salad, Brazilian rice, farofa, and brigadeiro. Speaking of which, on Sunday, September 12, my neighborhood will be having our 22nd annual chili cookoff! (This is why we have a chili blog, by the way.) Come on over if you want to have some fun and eat a lot of chili. End digression. On to the recipes.

Let's start with the basics. All of these are on the other blog, but since they're really common and foundational for other stuff, I'm posting them again here.

Marinade (also known as Carla’s Special Mixture)
This mixture is the foundation of Brazilian cooking—so Carla tells me.
In a blender or food processor, blend the following until smooth: olive oil, cilantro, parsley, green onions, garlic, and onion. Store extra in the freezer.

Brazilian Rice
Heat olive oil in a pot, and add some of Carla’s Special Mixture; mix and allow to heat. Rinse long grain rice in a sieve. Add rice, fry for a little while and mix to combine with oil. Add water (1 c. rice to 1 ¼ c. water) and cook according to package directions.

Vinaigrette Salad
This is similar to salsa, and is an essential garnish with many dishes.
Finely chop 1 ½ green bell peppers, 2 tomatoes, 1 red onions, 2 green onions, parsley, and cilantro. Mix together with ½ c. water and ½ c. balsamic vinegar.

On to the main course...

Brazilian BBQ
Our first night in Brazil, as previously mentioned, we had homemade Brazilian BBQ! Carla taught us how to marinate the meat a few years ago in Vancouver, and we learned the art of grilling from her dad.

Preparing the meat:
Marinate chicken and pork by adding some of Carla's Special Mixture to white wine and water, then add the meat and allow it to sit for an hour.

To prepare the beef, choose sirloin steaks (or picanha if you can get it) with nice rings of fat around the outside. Tenderize them with the meat hammer, and rub them with coarse salt immediately before grilling.

Grilling basics:
Traditionally all the meat is cooked rotisserie style on big skewers in a barbecue “oven” over a charcoal fire (in this case, actual charred wood), as you see in the pictures. Carla's dad carefully prepared the coals, starting with one bag and a couple of wax fire starters, and gradually adding more until there were about 3 bags, and the coals were evenly glowing. The oven set-up meant that the heat came from all around the meat, so it cooked evenly. And it was juicy and tender and flavorful... best bbq we've ever had. (Sorry, vegetarians.)

A charcoal grill with wood chips (and standard American style charcoal briquettes) will suffice (albeit poorly) in the absence of a Brazilian style bbq "oven."

Caught mid-chew...

We also had restaurant-style Brazilian bbq at Baby Beef, which is one of the best steakhouses in Belo Horizonte. The waiters come around to the table with skewers of meat, and they cut off for you the piece you want--all you can eat! The salad bar was amazing, too.

Keith thought Carla's daddy's bbq was the best, though.

So, what do you do when you have leftover bbq meat? I learned this dish by watching Carla's mom in the kitchen...

This is the leftover meat. Not the dish to which I was referring.

Carreteiro Arroz (Trucker’s Rice/Leftover BBQ and Rice)
Heat olive oil; sauté chopped onion and minced garlic. Add leftover BBQ meat, cut into bite-sized pieces and some long-grain rice and sauté a bit more. Cover with water to the top of the meat and rice mixture; cook until the water disappears. Turn off the heat and allow it to cool a bit. Add more water and cook until the water is gone and the rice is tender but not mushy.

Enjoying our Carreteiro Arroz together

Here's what else was on the table.

A couple more side dishes:

Mixed Vegetable Salad
Chop smoked ham and bell peppers of different colors. Mix with a bag of frozen mixed veggies (that have been cooked) and raisins. Just before serving, add deep fried potato sticks, and toss to coat with mayo.

Kale
Preheat the pot until it’s very hot. Add some oil (which will smoke—that’s okay). Add some minced garlic, then fine-shredded kale (like sauerkraut). Cook until the kale wilts. Don’t cover it, or the kale will lose its color and the flavor will suffer.

Carla's mom prepares the kale using a soapstone pot.

Feijao Tropeiro (Fancy Farofa with Beans)
This is a traditional dish of Minas Gerais, the state where Carla and her family live. I also learned this one by watching Carla's mom and taking notes.

Heat oil, sauté some sliced onion and minced garlic. Scramble an egg or 2 in the pot, until they are cooked. Add sliced sausage, a couple scoops of cooked brown beans, and salt. Mix well. Then add a few cups of toasted cassava flour; mix well. Add more oil if necessary. Mix in some chopped green onion and turn off the heat. Drizzle with olive oil, cover, and let it sit for a bit.

Here we have Brazilian rice, vinaigrette (the stuff that looks like salsa), kale, Feijao Tropeiro, a sausage, and a delicious chicken dish which Carla invented on the spot.

We also had great stuff for breakfast, especially fruit and different kinds of bread and cheese. Keith especially like the oranges.

One last Brazil picture that didn't really fit anywhere else...

It was fun! Thanks so much to all of our hosts in Brazil!

A Day (or 3) with Grasiele

2010-08-28T08:24:00.001+09:00

Visiting Grasi at her university

Our third Compassion International visit was with Grasiele, the college student we sponsor through Compassion's LDP program. I started sponsoring college students because at the time, I was in college. It has been very rewarding to correspond with students who are close to my own age and in a similar stage of life. Granted I'm already 29 and out of college... (The college students are also better at writing letters than the children. ;)

We met Grasi at her university, where she gave us a quick tour, then we went to some of her favorite places in the city.

Watching surfers from the pier. The guy in the middle is Mauricio; he works with the various students in the LDP program. He was also our translator.

We went to lunch at a very impressive buffet restaurant (they weigh your plate, so you can have as much or little as you want), then we went to Grasi's house and met her mom and 2 of her 3 siblings.

Most of the family sleeps in ordinary beds, but Grasi's sister sleeps in this hammock. Well, not right now, she doesn't...

We had coffee again. This time Keith managed to politely refuse. ;) We made plans to come back the next day to attend church with Grasi and her mom. Church is at night in Brazil. Maybe because it's less hot then? I don't know. We went to the "youth service." It was very loud and enthusiastic. The music, had it not been in Portuguese, could have been Seattle grunge. :) We gave a quick "thanks for having us, we love your enthusiasm, we're praying for you, please pray for us too" sort of speech at the end of the service. Then they prayed for us.

Grasi serves on the worship team at her church as a vocalist. She wasn't on duty this week, but she and her friend Debra sang a couple songs for us after the service. Debra helped out with some translation; she learned English by reading novels and listening to Jars of Clay and other English language bands. I wish it were that easy to learn Japanese!

After church, we ate ice cream and talked to the pastor and some of the other students in the LDP program.

Grasi and Debra invited us to meet up and go walking on the beach the next morning.

Everyone becomes a kid again at the beach. We started by looking in tide pools.

We saw some awesome hermit crabs.

Random loose donkey on the sidewalk. He seems friendly, though.

Lunch was locally caught Pargo (red snapper) with a traditional rice and beans dish.

We walked back to our hotel (oh my, it was hot), and had coffee in the cafe there (delicious). We prayed together and then we said goodbye. (I have to say I felt kind of bad for not crying as much as Grasi did.) We headed for the airport, and flew back to Belo Horizonte!

A Day with Kaio

2010-08-27T05:36:00.001+09:00

Now that we're done getting our newsletter sent, I can finally get around to finishing up blogging about our trip to Brazil. Actually, this probably won't be the last. It was an important trip. So, on to day 2 of visiting our Compassion International sponsored children!

The day after we met with Stefanny, we visited with Kaio at his project and in his family's home in Fortaleza. This was my second time to meet Kaio. I met him briefly on my previous trip to Brazil in 2002, when he was 3 years old. Now he's 11.

When we arrived at the project, we met Kaio and his mom, and Kaio gave us a tour of the project. We got to see many of the different classes and services available to the students who attend.

Young children's class

Music class

In the Bible classroom, Kaio explains the Bible study curriculum to Keith.

We saw a demonstration of Capoeira, a dance-like Brazilian martial art which took as its inspiration the movements of escaping slaves. It is accompanied by singing and berimbau. Keith got to try it too!

Keith played soccer with the kids too--here is his team. The game stopped when Keith got blisters on the bottom of his feet... they were playing barefoot!

We visited the kitchen. Good stuff coming from in there...

While we waited for lunch, we had ice cream from Kaio's family's new business.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch with Kaio, his mom, and the project staff.

After lunch, we took a short walk to Kaio's house. Quick digression: after spending the last several days not leaving the tourist areas because to do so would be "dangerous," it was refreshing and a bit of a thrill to go where real people live, in this case, a dangerous slum. We felt honored to be able to walk with our friends and to watch as they greeted their neighbors. Most American tourists in Brazil don't get to do this--out of necessity they stay in the safe places and miss out on real life. The neighborhood was dirty and the houses were small and poorly constructed. The poverty in which these people live is truly dreadful. (Thankfully we didn't see anything dangerous, although we were instructed to be cautious and to hide our cameras.) However, we were blessed to meet some of the wonderful people who live in Kaio's neighborhood, and to enjoy the hospitality of Kaio's family and the project. I'm so glad I get to be a part of the work that Compassion is doing in Brazil... and I'm so glad I get to be a part of the lives of Kaio and his family! Okay, end digression. Enough gushing.

As I was saying, we visited Kaio's house. The project staff explained that Kaio's parents have started their own ice cream business, and thus they were able to improve their living situation--they now have a larger house (by the standards of their neighborhood) and a small car which they use for making deliveries. It's possible that Kaio will not be eligible for sponsorship much longer. This worries his parents--they want to make sure he gets the best education possible, and they want him to stay out of trouble--as I mentioned, their neighborhood is dangerous--gangs, drugs, etc. The project workers have assured them that Kaio will still be welcome in some of the project activities, even if he is no longer officially sponsored.

Kaio and his parents pose with their ice cream freezer!

We had coffee together, looked at pictures, talked, and prayed.

As we showed Kaio our photo book, he frequently recognized pictures which we had sent to him with our letters.

This is the one and only time you will ever see Keith with a coffee cup in his hand.

Keith's gift to Kaio: a frisbee, of course!

It was really hard to go home that night...

Shameless plug: I'm totally sold on Compassion's ministry, having visited my sponsored kids 3 times and talked to kids, staff, parents, pastors, etc. This is a great program on so many levels. I'd be happy to tell you more about our visit, whether you are already a sponsor, or if you're thinking about sponsoring a child. If you are ready to sponsor a child right now, follow this link. :)

August Newsletter

2010-08-24T03:51:00.002+09:00

Seasons
Newsletter #6, August 20, 2010

Dear friends and family,

We got off the plane from Brazil on August 18 and thus have finally come to the end of 4½ months of living out of suitcases and traveling upon traveling. In case you were wondering, these are the places we have stayed since we left Sapporo on April 6: Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Unzen, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Hakone, Inuyama, Tokyo, Vancouver, Seattle, Fort Dodge (Iowa), Orlando, Fort Dodge (and a few places between Fort Dodge and Orlando), Grand Forks (North Dakota), Seattle, Vancouver, 2 places in Colorado, Seattle, Portland, Seattle, Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Fortaleza (Brazil), and finally back to Seattle again. We’re glad to be home. (Keith hates planes.)

Our big news is that we have moved to Seattle and will now live with Celia’s parents until we return to Japan. We praise God for leading us to Seattle and keeping us safe during our move. Keith drove a 24 foot rental truck through the narrow streets of Vancouver, B.C. and then to Seattle. Many things could have gone very wrong, including the time Keith was stuck mid-turn in a busy intersection, but there was no major damage to our stuff, the truck, or our bodies.

Celebrating our 5th anniversary in July near Mt. Rainier

Now we are looking for ministry work; we are following up on one possibility. We hope to find a position that will give us good experience and allow us to develop more contacts with people interested in our ministry in Japan.
***

One More Part of the Body of Christ

Among the many places we traveled in the last four months, one highlight was our trip to Brazil. Our school friend, Carla, invited us to come to her wedding and be witnesses, which is the Brazilian equivalent of being in the wedding party. While we were there, we enjoyed spending time with Carla and her husband, Arnaldo, with Carla’s family, and with Connie and Rebecca, who also went to Regent with us. The wedding was beautiful, and we enjoyed fellowship and food at Carla’s home.

We also decided to visit our Compassion International sponsored children in Brazil, Kaio and Stefanny, and our sponsored college student, Grasiele. The five days of visits taught us how to pray more effectively for the children living in Brazil’s slums. We had the privilege of visiting Kaio and Grasiele at home and receiving the hospitality of their families, and we also had the opportunity to attend church with Grasiele.

Worshiping at El Shaddai Assembly of God in Fortaleza, Brazil with Grasiele (next to Celia) and several of her friends

When we worship together with the people in the various places we have traveled, we are always amazed at the beauty and diversity of the Body of Christ. It is Christ who makes us into one Church, despite barriers of language, race, and social status. We were prayed for and loved by the Body of Christ in Brazil, and we praised God for their passion for the Gospel and their love for one another.

A word about charities and missionary work: while our gifts and acts of service are important, it is perhaps more important that through the experience of giving and traveling and serving, we learn how to pray. We also build relationships with people whom, apart from our mutual love for Christ, we would probably never meet. Our brothers and sisters in Christ in far-off places, from uneducated slum-dwellers to wealthy business people, have important things to teach us which we cannot learn if we simply stay at home and spend time with people who are just like us. We learn to be more like Christ through the witness of those whom we are serving, and simply because we obey God’s call to serve.

(Finally, a shameless plug: come visit us when we go back to Japan, because you will learn how to pray for the needs of the Japanese! You will be blessed by fellowship with the believers there. And you will probably eat some really good food.)

We've posted several times about this trip... so check out the last several posts too! I still have a couple more to do yet, so if you're interested, check back in a week or so.
***

Why Japan?

Since we came back to North America, when meeting with friends, we repeatedly hear the same question: “Why Japan?” The short answer: God gave us love for the Japanese people. There have been many little everyday confirmations of our calling which we received before, during, and after our time in Japan, but here are a couple of stories which we would consider most significant in God’s confirmation of our work in Japan.

Celia’s Story: My confirmation came on a Saturday last September, about a month after we arrived in Japan. Keith was teaching English, so I had the day to myself. I decided to ride my bike to Satorando Park to visit the farmer’s market. My heart was filled with inexplicable joy as I rode past people working in their gardens and admired the fields of onions for which our region is famous. I thanked God for blessing the people of Sapporo with good soil and delicious vegetables; I wept that most of these people don’t know this loving God who has graciously provided for their needs when he made their island. I prayed for each person I saw to know their creator and provider. After shopping at the market, I rode my bike home, thanking God for bringing me to such a good place and for calling me to serve him and make him known among the Japanese people.

Riding Home from the Farmer's Market with 20 kg of potatoes (they cost about $2!!). This was at a different time from the aforementioned story--probably in November.

Keith’s Story: Similar to Celia’s story, my specific confirmation came in everyday life—instances that would otherwise not be special had I not felt God’s overwhelming presence. On several occasions, at the subway station or the park or outside a school, God tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Look around at these people.” I stood motionless. I saw men in business suits, women in tall boots, or children pouring out of school buses, and then I felt an incredible love for them. God was showing me a drop of his love for the Japanese, and it broke me when I coupled it with the knowledge that 99% of these people had no idea how much they are loved or who the Lover is. As much as I wanted to, I knew that running up to those Japanese children and trying to tell them about Jesus would be ineffective, even if I could manage it in Japanese. Showing the love of God to the Japanese will take time, and out of moments like those, God was preparing me to be willing for a lifetime of such service.
***

Prayer Points

We are thankful for a “new” home in Seattle with Celia’s parents and for safety in our move here. Please pray for all of us as we adjust to living together. Please also pray for new and renewed friendships here, especially for Keith.
We are looking for partners to faithfully pray for us. In order to do that, we are seeking opportunities to share about our work in Japan with churches, small groups, and individuals. Please pray that we would know who to ask and which opportunities to pursue.
We have our first pledge, so we have 1% of our monthly support! We’re very thankful. Please pray that God will continue to provide for us financially for our life and ministry in Japan, and for our return there in God’s timing.
We are looking for work: we would like to serve in a church, and by so doing, gain experience which will help us in our missionary work.

***

Nuts and Bolts

Just a few miscellaneous items which fit nowhere else:

We moved, but our mailing address in the US didn’t change, in case you were wondering.
There have been some major updates on the blog, including a “get involved” page and a prayer page. We will be updating these pages frequently.
We need 30 people to sign up for a paper copy of our newsletter before OMF will start sending it out for us. If you are reading this on your computer but would prefer a paper copy of our newsletter, don’t be shy: please follow this link and sign up! You do not need to make a donation to receive our prayer letter. Go to this link then type “Keith and Celia Olson” in the box marked “Name of person/family to whom you are pledging your support,” check the box marked “prayer commitment,” enter your address information, and click “submit.” Send us an email if you are confused.
One more item for the email list crowd: we have prayer cards now! This is a simple, tangible reminder to pray for us. You can put it on your fridge or bulletin board. If you would like one, please send us your mailing address.

***

Money Jar: We have 1%!

We need 100% pledged monthly support for our first term (5 years) before returning to Japan. Please keep praying!
***

That’s it for this month! We’re glad to be settling down. Thanks for your prayers; please let us know how we can be praying for you.

Love in Christ,
Keith and Celia

A Day with Stefanny

2010-08-20T03:54:00.002+09:00

Since we were already going to Brazil for Carla and Arnaldo's wedding, we decided that it would be a good opportunity to visit our Compassion International sponsored children. We have 3 in Brazil. This was Keith's first time to visit a sponsored child, but my third time. You can read about my visit to Sindy in Peru here and here. I also visited Tayrinne and Kaio in Brazil in 2002... long before I had a blog! You'll hear more about Kaio later, but here's a picture of Tayrinne.

We flew to Fortaleza, where Kaio and Grasiele live, the morning after Carla and Arnaldo's wedding. (That was rough--only 2 hours of sleep!) Luckily we had a couple of days to recover before we met Stefanny on Wednesday.

Sunset in Fortaleza

Stefanny lives in Recife, which is relatively close, but far enough so she had to come by plane... the first time for her and her two companions!

After we met Stefanny, her aunt (Marimercia), and her project director (Elisiane) at the airport, we went to the beach. This was a good ice-breaker, since Stefanny is very shy. Swimming and playing on the beach were the things to do.

After lunch, we did some origami together.

Then we asked if she wanted to swim again? No. Play on the beach? No. Bury you in the sand? No. Bury Keith in the sand? She giggled. We took that as a yes.

After that, we buried her in the sand AND went swimming. Everything needs to be in the proper order, I guess.

We went to the mall to sit, enjoy the air conditioning, have coffee and ice cream, and talk. Stefanny fell asleep (having left home at 5:00 a.m.), so we talked to Marimercia and Elisiane about Stefanny's family and the project.

Keith decided to do some origami too.

Then we went to the airport, prayed for Stefanny, and said goodbye. It was a very good, very long day.