Vending Machines in Japan

Estimates suggest there are 5.6 million vending machines, which works out to be one for every 20 people in Japan! If you are hungry, for a few coins in a slot, you have a choice of quite a range of hot food like hamburgers, french fries, hot dogs and dumplings.

Are you in a rush to get to work or school? How about having some soup from a Cup-a-Noodle machine on the way? In less than three minutes you get piping hot soup. What about a bag of fresh hot popcorn from a machine using a microwave oven to pop the corn in seconds? If you like rice like the Japanese do, you might visit the rice dispensing machines. You can purchase ten kilo bags of rice in eight different varieties! An egg machine features farm fresh eggs. The umbrella vending machines are popular when it rains.

We often use automated waitresses in Japan. Just make your meal selection from the machine at the restaurant. Feed your money into the machine then you'll get a ticket which you hand to the cook behind the counter inside.

In some places the entire building is a parking machine. Just drive your car into the bay. Each bay rotates through the building to maximize usage of space. Your parking ticket will retrieve your car back to the bottom bay. You back out your car onto the rotating circle. It will also turn your car so you can drive out straight!

God is the source of everything we need...and you won't need a coin. Just ask!

THEREFORE I SAY TO YOU, WHATEVER THINGS YOU ASK WHEN YOU PRAY, BELIEVE THAT YOU RECEIVE THEM, AND YOU WILL HAVE THEM (Mark 11:24).

Go to God for absolutely everything – small or large!

Bowling Japan Style

Once in a while it's important to come together as church family for something fun. Seeing each other outside of the church context can be a healthy change. Today ten of us got together for a bowling and dinner party. Our home is a stone's throw from one of the largest bowling alley's in Kanagawa, so the place was a easy choice.

We discovered that none of us has much of a latent talent in this sport. Breaking 100 was a big deal. But it is refreshing when Japanese get together like this and clap and cheer each other on even when the person has thrown a dozen straight gutters. There is something that Japanese do better in the area of togetherness and community that I have learned much from. The competitiveness is still a part of things, but the emphasis on teamwork is so much greater in just about any Japanese sport.

When asked what fun sport we can do as a church next, someone in our group suggested a marathon run. Hmmm. Not quite sure on that, but I am sure it would be done in a group-oriented Japanese way.

Tiny Spaces

We are thankful for the house in Kawasaki our mission has purchased for us to live in. But there is one tiny problem: it's TINY. As with all Japanese urban living, it offers VERY compact living space. Some might say a little too snug for comfort. But as the picture on our wall says, "With love, even the smallest house can become a mansion."

But sometimes because of the tiny space, one wonders what to do with all one's stuff. The tiny closets certainly don't fit very much. One solution: make a hole in the ceiling and create some tiny attic space. So, hammer and saw in hand, last week Kevin did just that in our home. We created enough new tiny space above our 3rd floor (yes, we have 3 floors, but don't get me started in telling you how tiny each level is) to accommodate about a dozen boxes including Christmas trees and things irregular size for Japan. What a relief to our closets to reclaim this space! (PHOTO: It's just big enough for Justen to squat down in and move around. How will we get stuff down as he grows up?)

Of course, another solution might be throw out and get rid of unneeded things. Our neighbor has been aggressively discarding things to move to smaller housing (PHOTO: the bags of trash she recently placed out on the street). Watching our neighbor getting rid of all these things (everything including, yes, a kitchen sink!), has sobered us to the life cycle of possessions. We really accumulate a lot more than is practical, needful, or healthy for a Kingdom-focused lifestyle. The admonition of Christ rings true:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

Thanks from Navotas to Denen

Although the church in Japan is a fraction of the size of those in neighboring Asian countries, Japanese Christians are blessed with economic resources. We been trying to encourage our church to look at the needs of their fellow brothers and sisters in Asia. This Christmas we were able to send eight large boxes of clothing, toys, and gifts to a church in the Philippines that ministers to a squatter community in Navotas, many of whom live among the dumps. The church and people were very grateful for Denen Grace Chapel's generosity. Kaori and I were proud to see our baby church begin to develop its own missional muscles. Here are some more pictures. Take a look!