Thanksgiving Plate 2007

Thanksgiving in Japan this year at the Laverman home included this feast (mostly Kaori's handiwork, with a little help from the local KFC). Chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, cole slaw, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.

"Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." Psalm 103

"Post" Evangelism

You may have heard the term "pre-evangelism" before, but have you ever heard of "post" evangelism?

In November, our church hosted an outreach made for Japan. One of our ladies in church is a gifted calligrapher. She taught a class on how to prepare the traditional yearend POSTCARDS using Japanese brush design! This type of Japanese calligraphy is very hard to emulate, much less read, when it is done correctly. But it is a respected and beautiful part of Japanese culture and tradition.

Kaori spoke on the Biblical roots of some of these letters, giving a good gospel message that was well-received by the group. We had a good turnout: 22 people, including 14 unbelievers.

Many of the Japanese letters contain Christian ideas. For example, the Japanese character for "righteousness" pictures the symbol for lamb covering the symbol for myself. The character for "forgiveness" includes the symbol of beating and the symbol for red (blood). The character for "tree" includes a person and a cross. There's a story to be told that dovetails with the gospel message.

Why are these ideas in the language? It is thought that the Apostle Thomas brought the gospel into Asia, including parts of China. Japanese borrows heavily upon the Chinese writing system.

November Picnic

Who would have thought that late November would be a good time for a picnic? But that's exactly what we did as a church this past Sunday in a large park near us in Tokyo. The weather was a balmy 70f. Together with blue skies, lots of sunshine, and gorgeous fall leaves, it was the idyllic setting for a time of church community-building.

We were surrounded by other families enjoying the day outdoors, but our focus was on our own family today...we enjoying being together as a church. After a time of singing, message, and worship, we enjoyed a few simple games together, then a meal, then sports and more games. It was fun to interact with people in different ways (hitting some balls, kicking a soccer ball around, and games like the one shown above) and in a different setting (in the middle of God's great creation). We even had a first-time visitor, a mom with her three kids came and joined us from the worship time!

The Gulliver Complex

I'm a giant again. Well, not really. But it sure feels like it again since returning from the States.

The first sign was bumping my head in the shuttle bus from the airport. By habit, I normally duck my head through any doorway in Japan. Three weeks in the States eased the need for ducking, but now it looks like it is time to restart.

The second doubletake was the size of the streets. I found myself holding my breath as the shuttle bus wove WITHIN INCHES through pedestrians, motorcycles, and oncoming traffic. A few days later I'd no doubt find myself thinking nothing of if -- doing it myself, in fact, down our tiny-street neighborhood -- but right now it still shocks me.

The third reminder was at the hotel. The room was, well, large enough to turn around in. The bathroom shower required me to slouch in order to wash my hair. And the bathroom mirror gave me a great reflection...of my upper chest and neck. Gulliver complex.

But the final bit of convincing came the next morning. At the Denny's near the airport hotel we ordered breakfast. Pancakes served were each the size of a silver dollar, cutely piled on top of each other. The coffee was poured into mugs the size of an expresso cups. And the table came all the way up to just slightly above my knee level. Yes, I'm a giant again. But the great thing about eating in Lilliputan restaurant is that the giants don't need to leave tips -- actually even "average" size people don't need to leave tips in Japan!

So as I walked out of the restaurant smiling to myself about the money saved (spent many times over on the price of food), I forgot where I was, and bumped my head again. Good show, Gulliver!

Reverse Culture Shock?

Some lists during our Stateside stay:

Pleasant surprises:
* Being able to get out of either side when parked
* Understanding 100% of a radio or TV program
* Grass (lots of it, in front of almost every house!)
* Trees (with beautiful colored leaves to boot)
* Banana cream pie
* Clothing sizes that fit
* Parking in front of a store, instead of on top

Oddities:
* Self-checkout at the grocery store (when did that start?)
* Machines are strangely quiet (nearly everything from the gas pump to the escalator talks to you in Japan)
* Drink sizes, serving sizes and people are strangely large (possible correlation here)
* Foods are incredibly sweet, salty or fatty (much more so than I seem to remember)
* No bicycles or motopeds on the streets!
* Television programming increasingly unfit for most human life
* Thousands of choices for just about everything

Caught myself doing:
* Saying sorry to someone I bumped into...in Japanese by mistake (that got me an odd look)
* Standing in front of a store waiting for the door to open (Japan is the land of automatic doors)
* Getting in the front passenger seat and preparing to drive...and wondering why the steering wheel was gone (its on the right in Japan)
* Driving on the wrong side of the road (just briefly, mind you)
* Gaping at the aisles of cereal and snacks
* Wondering why US currency suddenly looks like monopoly money