50-50 Day

Only a mathematician could determine the exact day, but it's pretty close. It's 50-50 day. Having turned 41 last month, my life can probably be divided in half. The first half...God's preparation in my life for ministry in Japan. The second half...well, mostly made up of ministry in Japan.

It was at the "tender" age of 20 1/2 in the summer of 1990 that I first stepped foot in Japan as a short-term missionary. Getting off the plane to Tokyo, I had little idea as to the crossroads in life I stood at. God was about to change the focus of everything for me. His love for the Japanese people was about to become my own (His love for one in particular--Kaori Fukase--was about to become my own, too).

At 41, my life has been more about Japan, than about anything else short of Him and my family. At 41, my heart aches twice as much as it did at 20 1/2 to see the Japanese return to their Creator. My passion for the revival and harvest in this country is twice as strong. 20 1/2 years...20 1/2 more years from now I will be nearing retirement. "Lord, help me to use the time you have given me to reach many, many Japanese with your Gospel of good news. Use me up for Your glory and name's sake. May I make You famous in this country."

"Nice try, Kevin" file

This one goes into the "Nice try, Kevin" file. I just thought it was a nice-looking bunch of flowers in the storefront and, on the spur of the moment, decided Kaori deserved to enjoy them. Chrysanthemums, however, are usually seen at Buddhist altars along with incense sticks and food morsels for the dead. It's sort of like giving your beloved a grave marker for their birthday. This was a point that Kaori reminded me of when I presented my well-intended gift.

If I had stopped to think about it long enough, I might have remembered that this variety is more associated with occasions of death, then times of joy. Navigating the cultural symbols correctly often gets me in trouble. After 12 years in Japan, my nice try, Kevin" file is pretty full.

Christmas Ham

There's a good reason that Jesus chose "birds of the air" over "hamsters" when illustrating quiet dependence in his Sermon on the Mount. Hamsters don't fit the ideal.

Our new pet, our "Christmas ham" is a fun addition to the family. Kaori said, "I need something fuzzy around this house (besides your unshaven face)." Justen said, "I think I need a pet." So, we needed to make this addition to our family. "Chocolat" is fuzzy. Chocolat is cute. But Chocolat is hardly a picture of tranquility.

Chocolat stuffs every possible item in her food bowl into her cheek pouches (until her face is ridiculously huge), then hoards them in her hamster bed.

Chocolat squirms and squeezes through any attempt to gently hold her in the palm of your hand. The safety and comfort of a warm hand is no match for what adventure might be out there.

Chocolat reminds me of myself a bit. Safe in my Lord's hand, yet unable to rest. Foraging instead of trusting. "Chocolat, stop moving about so much. I'll take care of you. Do you think I can't or won't care for your little needs?" Gulp. I hear the whisper of my Father God to me behind my words to my hamster.

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

Christmas rescue

Overheard this past week in the Laverman house:

Kevin: "Kaori, look at this great labelmaker I picked up for free."

Kaori: "Where'd you get it?"

Kevin: "It was just laying out on the garbage pile."

Kaori: "Garbage pile?!"

Kevin: "Someone just threw it away. I cleaned it up, put in fresh batteries, and it works fine! It even has a label cartridge in it. I wanted one like this."

Kaori: "You picked it up? In Japan, that's called STEALING."

Kevin: "From the garbage pile? To me that's called RESCUING!"

It's amazing the things that one finds disposed of in Japan. Japan's ultra-consumerism generates a lot of recyclable "garbage." Is something a little dirty, a little broken? Out to the garbage it goes! Japanese by in large don't have a repair-and-reuse mentality. A little cleaning, a little fix here or there, and a lot of money can be saved by the handy finder (it turns out I may have been "stealing").

I was broken and dirtied by sin. God had every right to throw me out onto the garbage pile. I am so glad that He chose to send his Son into this world to search, find, cleanup and re-use me. That was the ultimate RESCUE! (And I suppose in a way it was stealing...from Satan).

At Christmastime, thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming down into the garbage pile of this world to reclaim me for your own!

Small Thinking

We're back in Japan. Which explains why I keep bumping into things. After 6 weeks of being conditioned to the wide open spaces of life in America, we are back to working with the inches of urban Tokyo. My mind hasn't totally re-calibrated itself to the new spatial realities of this environment. I keep bumping into things...again...and again. Thankfully no damage has been done to people or vehicles. But heads, fingers, toes, and knees have gotten a little sore.

When we first arrived in the States in October, I suffered through the opposite syndrome. What to do with all this extra space! I could sit wide, or with legs outstretched. I could wander around large rooms and hear my echo. I could get out on either side of the car. I could always find parking. I could buy large size versions of things and find places to put them away. I COULD THINK BIG! Now I must relearn to think small. Small spaces. Turn, move, sit, park, walk about in a tight axis of centimeters.This will take a few days yet to get used to.

Perhaps the shortcut to relearning Japan spatial limitations is a trip to "Don Quixote," the big discount seller here in Japan. The store is crammed with stuff (and extremely noisy). Things are stacked precariously from floor to ceiling with only tiny aisles in between. It resembles the scene from a Dr. Seuss story. If it wasn't for my tightwad missionary nature, I wouldn't step foot in this place. As it worked out, my visit to the store today created a little extra work for the cleanup crew. I may be over jet lag, but spatial distance lag will take a few days more. And so, at least in Japan, it seems that thinking small is at least as important as thinking big.

All this, but no octopus ice cream

It hits me every time we return home. This time was not unique. Call it part of required re-entry shock. Coming back for 6 weeks of home assignment travel is landing in the land of a million choices.

The day after we arrived here in New Jersey, we needed to stock the refrigerator with some essentials for living. So, off to the supermarket. What's the big deal? The big deal is that EVERYTHING is BIG. And there are a million of them. You name it, the supermarkets here have a million different ones to choose from. But you knew that already. And I thought I did too.

I knew it was going to be tough going. I grabbed a cart, gripped the handle, and steeled myself to focus on the immediate the task. It was no use. The bakery section emitted a siren's cry to my long pie-deprived stomach. Turning the corner, I nearly wept at the selection of cereals. A whole aisle. Incredible! And the boxes could last for days. Steering hurriedly into the next aisle, I hunted for garbage bags. Again, the variety and selection nearly overwhelmed me. JUST GARBAGE BAGS! It took every bit of jet-lagged resolve I had left to not leave the aisle without something. But the ice cream finally did me in. Just a box of vanilla ice cream. A simple thing, or so I thought. There were 17 coolers of ice cream of every size, shape, variety and flavor known to man.

Aaahh...but Japan has one up on the States in this are. My local supermarket in Japan has octopus ice cream. Yes, it's true. Click the photo as proof. It would take a whole post to explain this.

Still, I am again left speechless by the land of many choices and large sizes: my country. It's just that after being gone for a while it all seems so incredible again.