May Newsletter

Dear Friends and Family,

The winter is over, and we’ve woken up from hibernation! Actually, our life has been quite busy and exciting for the last several months, with a vacation to Hawaii with family, Keith joining the Sapporo Symphony Chorus, Celia joining Baroque Collegium Sapporo and continuing with her shamisen... and of course we press onward in our language studies. We’re excited to see how these musical opportunities will unfold, especially regarding the new friends we are meeting!
***

Missionaries Need Vacation

In case you were wondering, that's Keith, Celia, our sister-in-law, Jiayun, and Celia's brother, Colin, photographed with an underwater camera. And in a way, this photo represents our feelings about Japanese study before we went on vacation... we feel better now.

We went to Hawaii in March. Trust me (Celia), we would have gone on vacation much closer to home, had Keith’s cousins not lived there, and had my parents not met us there. But in any case, we needed a vacation, having not had an away-from-home vacation since we arrived in Japan.

OMF gives us 4 weeks of vacation each year, and we are required to use it. We’ve realized recently how important rest is to anyone living cross-culturally. Although we are very happy here, everyday life in Japan makes us quite a bit more tired than it does when we’re at home in the US. When we go to the grocery store or the tea shop or go out with friends, conversation, menus, package labels, and signs are all in Japanese. While this is great for language learning, it also makes us tired.

My brain is filled with Japanese. In fact, it is so full of Japanese, that a lot of other things get pushed out. I studied German for 5 years, but now I can’t speak German at all. I often forget things or lose things. In the US, I am very well organized, but in Japan I’m a bit of a mess.

We’ve found that our speaking and listening skills are several weeks behind what we are learning in the classroom. It takes awhile for our brains to digest what we are learning. Sometimes it feels like over-eating.

That’s where vacation comes in. When we came home from Hawaii, having not spoken Japanese or studied at all for a week and a half, we were actually speaking Japanese at a higher level than when we left. Having had time to rest and be with family, we had some time to slowly process what we’ve been learning.

Some of the highlights of the trip were cooking and eating with Keith’s cousin and his family, visiting the Pearl Harbor museum and memorial, worshipping (in English!) at a church where a friend from Regent is associate pastor, a boat trip with my mom on which we were able to see whales and other sea life, playing shamisen with my dad, and the traditional Wilson family frog search.

Cooking with Stacey (Keith's cousin's wife)

Eating with Eric and the kids

After church in Honolulu

Celia went on a boat trip with her mom.

Traditional Wilson family frog search (seriously, we've been doing this since I was 5)

Celia's family

I think our next vacation will be in Japan, and we’re looking forward to resting again and seeing more of this beautiful country!
***

Worshipping with non-Christians

I (Keith) happened to know somebody who knows somebody who is good friends with the conductor of the Sapporo Symphony Chorus. Therefore, after playing the Japanese version of the telephone game for three weeks, I was able to enter this choir despite having already missed half of the rehearsals and nearly bombing my audition (the twice removed relationship helped I think). I started in March, and every Tuesday night since then, I’ve had the privilege to join my voice with a hundred others to sing Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis,” a piece written for worship services in Latin.

I was going to say that it feels surreal to sing praises to God with so many Japanese people, most of whom wouldn’t even understand what they are singing even if it were in Japanese, but actually Tuesday nights feel very real and meaningful, which makes sense considering we are singing truths about the gospel. Whether the people in the room know it or not, they are giving glory to God, and it makes me smile and frown at the same time. I smile because I know the secret, which is that Beethoven has somehow tricked so many choirs through the years including this Sapporo Symphony Chorus into unknowingly worshipping God. It makes me frown that this worship is a secret and unknown to the many people who sound so passionate but are only passionate insofar as the music moves their own feelings. After rehearsals, I’m left feeling these two extremes, but both are spurring me on to the same thing, which is to see worship in Japan done knowingly and for the glory of God alone.
***

Celia’s Cultural Education Journal: Learning about the Japanese View of Art

Last November I started taking shamisen lessons. A shamisen is a 3-stringed traditional Japanese instrument which is played with a large plectrum called a Bachi. I’ve been making good progress, and last month I had my first performance!

With my teacher, Arai-sensei

Once during a lesson, my teacher asked me which “school” of cello playing I belonged to. I responded that I didn’t really belong to one; in fact, my teachers had encouraged me to develop my own style and not to listen to recordings of pieces I’m working on, so as not to be affected by the performer’s interpretation. My teacher looked surprised, and handed me a CD. “This is my teacher’s performance of the pieces we will play in the concert. Listen to them and learn her interpretation. You can also practice along with the CD.”

I realized just how different my concept of performance is from my teacher’s—and from that of many performers and artists in Japan. Their creativity and expression comes within the framework of a long tradition, as they seek to emulate and learn from past masters. Suddenly the way I had been taught to view performance seemed naïve and even oppressive—if my performance is not unique, different from the thousands of other cellists who perform the same piece, then it has no value. Realizing the value of learning from and emulating those who have gone before suddenly became an attractive and freeing proposition.

I’ve started writing a journal of my experiences in learning about Japanese culture. I will be including short updates in our newsletter, but please check our blog for more frequent updates.
***

Prayer Points:

• We are thankful to have so many musical opportunities: Celia with her viola da gamba and shamisen buddies and Keith with the Sapporo Symphony Chorus. Please pray for our preparation for concerts at the end of May and especially that we can have deeper relationships with our new musical friends.

Rehearsing for May 31 concert with new viola da gamba friend, Kumiko

• Our designation process continues; during this month’s field council (May 15-17) our placement after language school will be discussed and potentially decided. Please pray for those attending this council to prayerfully consider the church where we could best serve and learn, and please continue to pray for us to be attentive to God’s guiding for our ministry after language school.
• Every newsletter we mention in some form or another the need to find a good balance between studies, church, friends, and other responsibilities. Particularly, please pray that Keith would find a means of exercising now that it is warmer; pray for us to persevere in our Japanese study as it grows harder and harder while the grammar and vocabulary are becoming less and less applicable to everyday life; pray for us to continue to make time to be with friends.

Jingis Khan (lamb hot pot like dish which is a specialty in Hokkaido) after church!

 ***

Engrish of the Month
To celebrate spring, we’ve chosen this Engrish which we found on a bowl.

***

Next week on May 9 we celebrate the anniversary of receiving the green light to return to Japan! Thanks to all of you who prayed, invited us to your churches and homes, pledged to support us, and generally loved and encouraged us during our year in Seattle. We will never forget the ways the love of God was made tangible and present through each of you.

Love in Christ,
Keith and Celia

Celia's Cultural Education Journal

I have 3 cultural goals for my first four years in Japan… other than the obvious goal to “communicate well in spoken and written Japanese.” I have started a journal about my progress, so from time to time I'll be posting short updates here on our blog. But first, let me introduce my three goals.

My first goal is to play the shamisen and accompany myself singing. I’m now able to play easy songs on the shamisen, and I’ll probably start working on songs I can sing as well. Although the shamisen technique is in some ways quite similar to cello and viola da gamba technique, the style is quite different... and I still struggle with hitting the right string. Singing will be even more of a challenge. I’ve been trained to sing Bach, but Japanese music styles such as Minyo and Enka do not sound anything like Bach.

First time playing my made-by-daddy Shamisen (in Hawaii!)

Modeling my shamisen and yukata (casual summer kimono)

My second goal is to put on a kimono by myself. When I bought a yukata last summer, I did not leave the store until the shop owners were satisfied that I could properly put on the yukata and tie a chou-chou-musubi (butterfly bow) with a hanhaba (half width) obi. The basics of a kimono are similar, but more complicated. Also, the obi is stiffer and wider; a variety of musubi (bows) are possible, but it’s much, much more difficult. Right now I'm learning to tie a taiko musubi, the standard musubi which is always appropriate.

First shot at putting a yukata on someone else. This is a chou-chou-musubi.

Kimono wearing class

First successful taiko-musubi!

My third goal is to prepare matcha and perform the tea ceremony. I’ve had a couple of opportunities to participate as a guest in the tea ceremony, but as for preparing and serving the tea, I’ve not yet started. This goal requires the completion of goal 2—many tea classes require the participants to wear a kimono.

Guests for tea ceremony (2 years ago)

I have a number of reasons for choosing these particular goals. First, they are things that I like. I have loved tea for as long as I can remember. I also love hospitality, with which serving tea is intimately connected. I love kimono—I love seeing other people wear kimono, and I love the way I look in one. I also love that wearing kimono gives me good posture. And I love shamisen. It’s just so cool…

Second, learning Japanese traditional arts is a way to meet people. There are classes that anyone can join. I can meet up with fellow kimono enthusiasts to go out together wearing kimono. And older ladies love that I’m learning the things that their daughters aren’t interested in.

Third, learning Japanese traditional arts will give me opportunities to introduce Japanese culture to our friends and family when we are home in the US... and a great excuse to have tea parties! I envision myself inviting friends for tea, complete with kimono demonstration and shamisen performance. We can also do presentations at churches and prayer meetings and such. I can talk about some of the many things we like about Japan… and also about how to pray for the church and the people of Japan in general.

I'll be working hard to accomplish these goals and to learn more about Japanese culture! 頑張ります! Check back soon, since I'll be posting about my first shamisen performance. :)

Sapporo Winter Highlights

It's finally spring. I know this because I can go outside without a coat, and there are crocuses blooming. I've woken up from hibernation... and realized that it's been a very long time since my last blog post. So before we get to posting pictures of pretty flowers, here are some of the highlights from the winter.

If you're interested in more winter-related pictures, visit our "winter" web album here.

We went cross country skiing in January with two of our colleagues.

Destination: frozen waterfall!

You can't see them in the picture, but Keith is in fact on skis! I was excited...

Keith survived!

The roads on the way home were a little crazy.

There's lots of snow in Sapporo during the winter. Here's a picture from close to school. This is a park; we have lots of little parks in Sapporo because there needs to be a place to dump the snow. The swing set is almost completely buried...

In February, there are two major snow-related events in our area. One is the world famous Sapporo Snow Festival (雪祭り) and the other is the Otaru Snow Light Path (雪あかりの路), about 40 minutes away by train. We went to the Otaru event first... and I can't remember ever being that cold! (Sometime on the way home in the train, I was finally able to feel my feet again...)

There are a couple of main sections of the town decorated by snow candles, although many shops have simple snow candles outside. We first walked along the canal.

My favorite of the snow candles were the owls.

This display was labeled 希望の丘 (hill of hope).

The next day, we went to the Sapporo Snow Festival! These snow sculptures were really impressive--you can get a bit of the scale by the people standing right in front of the castle. Snow Festival takes place in a major downtown park--and the sculptures are taller than the trees. (Once again, it was very cold!)

We stayed until after dark. Last time (2 years ago), we wimped out and went home early. But it's well worth staying, since the sculptures are lit up at night!

Mr. Walrus was my favorite part of Snow Festival. He was part of a sculpture of different sea animals.

Taj Mahal.

Tsugaru Castle

Now for something completely different. In Japan, there is a tradition of giving homemade chocolate to friends and significant others for Valentine's Day. Only women give chocolate; men reciprocate a month later on White Day. Here's my very first attempt at truffles, which I gave to my friends at school, our teachers, and, of course, Keith.

The green ones are tea flavored, and the others are salt caramel flavored.

It's April; is it Spring yet?

February Newsletter

Seasons

Keith and Celia Olson
Newsletter #16
February 26, 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

Apologies for an overdue update; 申し訳ありません。Three months have come and gone quicker than anticipated. We had a very blessed time over Christmas giving musical gifts and receiving a lot of Japanese pickles in return. Our Dickens caroling trip to the victims in Tohoku was perhaps our highlight, and we also managed to make it into the Hokkaido Newspaper via the Christmas Eve Concert at our church.

Celia welcomed the new year by cooking three days worth of Japanese traditional New Year’s food (おせち), making her famous among the teachers at school. We continue to find that food is one of the most useful tools for friendship and evangelism in Japan.

Starting in the new year, Keith has joined the piano rota at church and plays once a month, and Celia has continued her shamisen (Japanese traditional stringed instrument) lessons.

Our studies are progressing; both of us are now in the intermediate course, and we are hoping to graduate in December of this year. We have begun the process of discussing with our directors where we might go after graduation to minister and continue learning about Japanese language and culture.

It wouldn't be February in Sapporo without Yukimatsuri/Snow Festival!

***

Carolling and Community in Ishinomaki

In our last newsletter, I (Celia) wrote about our most recent experiences in learning to trust God in the midst of weakness, specifically through our efforts to learn Japanese. This continues to be a recurring theme in our lives. While weakness is sometimes painful, the constant awareness of God’s presence and our constant need to rely on him can be incredibly sweet.

I originally wrote much of the following in Japanese as part of a presentation to our church about our relief work in Ishinomaki, (a coastal community near Sendai) in December. To briefly explain our trip, we joined a Christmas carolling group from Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, Washington to visit schools, retirement homes, relief workers, and community outreach locations. The trip was fun, difficult, and rewarding all at the same time.

Singing in Dickens costumes at a church in Ishinomaki

When we were in Ishinomaki, due to our improved language skills we were able to communicate with the people we met there much better than last summer in Miyako. We came to admire the tsunami survivors even more deeply than before through many conversations and opportunities to work together. In particular, Sumiko and her brother, Tateo left a strong impression.

Together with Sumiko

We met Sumiko and Tateo at “Takidashi,” which literally means emergency rice distribution, but in this particular neighbourhood in Ishinomaki, it has come to mean a time to socialize and eat together. Tateo prepared the coffee, while Sumiko supervised the gaijin (foreigners) assembling the soba noodle soup for lunch. The two of them frequently participate in neighbourhood events, so we had many opportunities to talk to them.

I was surprised when Sumiko said that she was a little bit thankful for the tsunami, since she was able to meet many interesting people as a result. At the time, I thought she was talking about the people who came from outside to help, but now I wonder if she was also talking about her own neighbours. Through common suffering, people came together. They became strong through suffering, beginning with the realization of their own weakness, thus enabling them to receive help from each other and from outside.

Japanese pop culture might explain this phenomenon in terms of bonds between people—when we work together, anything is possible. 頑張って東北! (Do your best, Tohoku!) Around the world, people saw and admired the quiet patience with which the Japanese dealt with the aftermath of the tsunami—indeed, it was worthy of admiration. I am thankful for people like Sumiko and Tateo, who through their own suffering realized their weakness, received help, and now are reaching out to help others.

And yet human bonds will fail, and human strength does not last. People in the disaster areas are tired of the word 頑張って (ganbatte—do your best). My prayer for the people of Ishinomaki, and my ongoing prayer for myself and for all my loved ones, is that we will find true strength in admitting our weakness and depending on God’s unshakeable strength and provision. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30—this passage is a favourite among my friends in Japan). Already some people in Ishinomaki have believed, and many people have started attending church and having conversations about faith with relief workers and local Christians.

(Through a wonderful, Spirit-filled coincidence, our presentation followed a fantastic sermon on Mark 10:46-52. Well, I thought it was fantastic, anyway.)
***

Designation: What Comes Next?

We have started our designation process, in which the OMF regional and field directors discuss with us possible church placements for the remaining years of our first term after we finish language school. Our designation will be an important step to solidify our language, to give us a closer look at how church works in Japan, and also to prepare us for a more independent ministry for our second term. Therefore, as much as we would like to jump right into a full time ministry position (something that immediately comes to mind is relief work in Tohoku), continued education will be the foremost purpose of our designation.

In preparation for this, we have been and will continue to travel to various centers of OMF work and meeting with veteran OMF missionaries. February 3-8, we visited Aomori in northern Honshu, and in March we are planning a visit to Tokyo.

On our trip to Aomori, we saw a famous dog named Wasao. He was upstaged by a couple of cats.

At this stage we have a number of passions, and we’re not entirely sure where God is leading. Our interest in Japanese food and culture and ministering where there are no churches seem to point us in the direction of rural Japan. A more urban setting, however, would seemingly increase the opportunities for Celia’s evangelistic concerts and for a ministry Keith is interested in among recluses (hikikomori).

The OMF council determining our designation will meet in May, so please pray with us to be attentive to God’s leading in the upcoming months as we attempt to discern his will for our future ministry.
***

Prayer Points

• We give thanks for the time we had carolling with the Westminster team from Seattle in Tohoku. Please pray for the new church that started in Ishinomaki last summer; most of the congregation do not yet believe. Please also pray for our hosts there, Andy and Lorna Gilbert, as they continue to follow up with connections they made during our concerts.
• We are thankful that we’ve been able to solidify our vacation plans, and we are looking forward to going to Hawaii with Celia’s parents in March.  Please pray that we can work well before the vacation so we can truly relax when we get there and not feel guilty.
• We were glad to have had the opportunity to go to Aomori and to meet the Ghents and Elliots, veteran missionaries with more than 20 years of experience. We learned much about their ministry and about the advantages of staying long term in one area, as well as many of the challenges facing rural church planters in Japan. Please pray for Christians in rural areas to be more active in sharing their faith, and for seekers to stand firm against pressure from family and neighbours to abandon their faith.
• Please pray for our designation process.
• Please pray for our musical efforts: Keith is hoping to join a choir, and Celia is looking for excuses to practice her instruments. (Have we mentioned that it is difficult to find balance with all the things we need to do here?)

***

Engrish of the month

This is a delicious chou à la crème. In the US, we would probably call it a cream puff. Translated into Japanese, it becomes シュークリーム. Transliterated back into Romaji (the Latin alphabet), it sounds like “shoe cream.” That in itself is funny, but here’s what is written on the bag: “Recently I’ve become very healthy. My hopes have begun to swell. Dreams have increased one by one.” By hopes I mean hips. And by dreams I mean pounds...
***

Thank you for your prayers and support. Also thanks to everyone who emailed us a picture; it is comforting to see pictures from home as a reminder of everyone who has helped us to Japan.

Love in Christ, Keith and Celia

Christmas... a bit late...

I've been intending for a long time to post about our Christmas festivities. Isn't that just the story of my life. Since it's been almost 2 months now, this will be relatively brief.

We spent much of December occupied with Christmas caroling in Ishinomaki.When we got back to Sapporo, the marathon began... baking, visiting, rehearsing, church all weekend, more visiting...

On Christmas Eve Eve (December 23) we headed over to our church (quite a trek--it takes an hour to get there) for rehearsal. We prepared music for Christmas Eve with 2 other church members--Makiko, who plays flute, and Yoko, who plays piano. Both are fantastic musicians, so it was fun to work with them. After rehearsal, we had temakizushi (a style of sushi which is commonly eaten at home) and went to a nearby onsen!

We had something similar to a Lessons and Carols service at church on Christmas Eve--クリスマス・イブ　キャンドルイブニング (Christmas Eve Candle Evening). We alternated music with passages of scripture. Some of the songs were performed by Makiko, Yoko, Keith and me, and some songs everyone sang together. Yoneya-sensei (senior pastor) preached a short message.

Takahashi-sensei read the Christmas story

Performing a Bach flute sonata

Yoneya sensei preaches the Christmas Eve sermon

Singing Silent Night with penlights

Makiko is on the left, and Yoko is on the right.

(And surprise, our picture was in the Hokkaido newspaper... Keith was glad he didn't find out until afterwards...)

Christmas was a Sunday, so we were back at church for the service and party afterwards. The potluck was amazing. Then various groups from the church provided entertainment for everyone. And there was Bingo. It felt like everyone was tired from all the work to put together the Christmas Eve service (we were), so it was nice to relax and have fun together.

For fun, here are some stats.

Christmas potlucks: 4
Consecutive days spent at church: 3
Cups of coffee consumed: 15, at least
Number of times "Silent Night" was played/sung: 1205945 (that's how it felt, anyway)
KFC roast chickens consumed: 0
Christmas cakes consumed: 0 (maybe next year)
Loaves of cardamom bread given as gifts: 11
Pickles received from recipients of cardamom bread: 4 types
Bottles of tea consumed on the train to and from church: 6
People at our Christmas Eve service: about 70 (we usually have about 45 on Sunday mornings)
Electronic devices belonging to Keith which are now played with by church children every Sunday: 2

Result: the assistant pastor's daughters now love Keith (and his electronic toys).

For example, here is a conversation I had with daughter #2 a few weeks ago:
    Me: みちるちゃん、お早う！ (Good morning, Michiru!)
    Michiru: キースは？ (Where's Keith?)
    Me: おい！　ちゃんとあいさつして！ (Hey, where's my greeting?)

In a nutshell, that was our Christmas. A good time was had by all.