The New Year's Flight

As the year draws to a close, Japanese people are preparing for the year’s most important holiday by cleaning their houses and decorating their front portals with pine and bamboo. On New Year’s eve, millions will prepare buckwheat noodles, signifying longevity and prosperity, and millions more will visit their local shrine or temple.

In another time-honored tradition, a minority will celebrate the year’s end in quite a different fashion; they will vanish into thin air. New Year’s eve, when people generally clear their debts, has become the most popular night for yonige, (the midnight flight). People who have fallen into debt, simply disappear in the night to start a fresh life in an anonymous city or country.

So common is the practice that it has spurned an industry of removal companies specializing in midnight dashes, even avoiding burly men with baseball bats, called variously benriyasan, (‘Mr. Convenient for Anything’) or yonigeya (‘Midnight Flight Shop’). These companies are good at disappearing acts. Once a family has dashed, the yonigeya will clear out the contents of the house in 15-30 minutes, storing them in a secret warehouse until they can be reunited with their fleeing clients. Full-service companies offer leased property and untraceable phone lines in a new city and can, for a hefty fee, provide a new identity, which is no mean feat in tightly documented Japan.

Source: Tokyo Financial Times (2006/01/03) & missionary Neil Verwey

For believers we usually advise, not to flee but to face the music. Jesus says to us, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28) Don't run away from Jesus, run to Him! He will shoulder your burdens and give you rest!

Could Bach bring Revival to Japan?

Christian History & Biography reports that tens of thousands of Japanese are coming to Christ through the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. This is primarily thanks to organist and conductor Masaaki Suzuki. When he performs the St. Matthew Passion during Holy Week, the concerts are sold out, and afterwards the stage is crowded with people asking about the messages in Bach’s music. The messages are thoroughly biblical, so much so that Bach’s work was once called “the fifth Gospel.” In the words of one Japanese musician who converted to Christianity: “When I play a fugue, I can feel Bach talking to God.” Bach, a devout believer, would no doubt rejoice to know that centuries later his music is still spreading the good news of the gospel.

On the night of Jesus’ birth, an angel appeared to shepherds. Why shepherds? Perhaps they fit with the humble circumstances of His birth; perhaps God wanted to point back to King David, who began as a shepherd; or perhaps He wanted to point forward, to the arrival of the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God. In any case, the shepherds responded to the angel as others had, with both awe and terror. “Do not be afraid,” the angel told them, then he proclaimed “good news of great joy”—the gospel—“that will be for all the people”—universal in scope. “Today in the town of David”—prophecy fulfillment alert!— “a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord”—the Messiah, the Anointed One (vv. 10—12).

Then the skies exploded in praise! The watching hosts of heaven could hold back no longer, appearing suddenly in a blaze of light and belting out, “Gloria in excelsis deo” (Latin), or “Glory to God in the highest”

--from Today in the Word (Moody Bible Institute)

Snowfall or Dollar Fall?

No snowfall in Kawasaki, but we do have a dollar fall. It's hard to believe, but since writing this post "Putting a Dollar to Good Use" the dollar has continued it's steady decline. Today it hit 88yen to the dollar. This means the dollar has lost about 25% of its value in Japan since this past summer. Ouch! For missionaries who "eat" by the dollar, this presents some faith challenges! We're not sure how this will play out, but we keep trusting the One who has called us here to supply our every need.

Missionary Christmas

“Don’t forget it’s Missionary Christmas today!” my mother reminded our church. “We want our missionaries to know that First Baptist remembers them.” My mother has always loved missionaries. For as long as I could remember she was involved with the missions committee. For much of that time, she served as chairman, working tirelessly to build awareness of God’s global cause.

I remember the many times we had missionary guests for Sunday dinner! (They had a foreign aftertaste). And of course, I remember needing to sleep on the sofa many Saturday nights because the Sunday missionary guest needed my bedroom. In some ways, I think I sacrificed for missions long before I ever became a missionary. Looking back, I realize now through my mother’s work, that God was really planting seeds in my heart for a future in Japan.

My mother continued “Don’t forget to sign the Christmas cards, everyone. We’ll be sending those with a small gift to all our missionaries.” Missionary Christmas...as a child in the pew, I often wondered why we did this in September. I knew that missionaries were an odd sort, and I supposed that perhaps they didn’t even know the world celebrates on December 25. Some time later I learned that the postal system in those countries could take a few months. “Missionary Christmas” slowly made sense.

These days, I am the recipient of those cards and gifts from supporting churches. But “Missionary Christmas” has taken on a very different meaning. There’s no greater job than being involved in a spiritual work in human lives. As a missionary, I’ve come to see God in new and more meaningful ways through the eyes of Japanese people. “Missionary Christmas” is the feeling that overwhelms me when I see one make a spiritual decision: to place their faith in Christ, to be baptized, to worship Him fervently, to serve Him joyfully.

I feel like a parent watching a child opening an incredible present as I see a Japanese understanding God’s love, worshipping him, or taking communion for the first time. Although I wasn’t the one receiving, I am a part of the joy of the person who has. And it’s Christmas all over again, any time of year.

Missionary service is hard work. Church planting is harder. But among the challenges, I know that God has great things He is waiting to surprise me with. I can’t wait to unwrap these gifts and find out what they might be. Serving the people I love, this is my wonderful gift from God, my “Missionary Christmas.” My next Christmas may be tomorrow. How about yours?!

Family Issues in Japan

It's hard to believe, but family issues are really taking center stage in Japan these days. Japanese men have are finally owning up to the problems they face. Here is a sample from a recent news article:

In the corner of a small Japanese restaurant, a dozen dark-suited businessmen gathered at a large table. Smoke hovered over the dinner and beer disappeared as quickly as it was poured. At first glance, it looked like a typical Friday night post-work scene played out all over Tokyo’s taverns. But then your eye stops on a poster-sized sign propped up next to one of the middle-aged men. It reads:

Three Golden Rules of Love:
* Thank you (say it without hesitation)
* I am sorry (say it without fear)
* I love you (say it without embarrassment)

All the men at the table stood up. Equally spaced out and still wearing their stiff black suits, they chanted in unison: "I can’t win! I won’t win! I don’t want to win!" The chant was followed by a deep bow, a straightening of the backs, big smiles and a burst of applause. The meeting of the "National Chauvinistic Husbands Association" was under way.

If you're confused at this point, don't fret. The group is called the National Chauvinistic Husbands Association because it's a club for bossy husbands who need help (a little lost in translation effect here.)

So the title is appropriate for this group of men. In an abrupt about face from traditional Japanese relationships, the men are learning how to give their wives more respect.

More poster signs surrounded the men at this meeting:

Three Golden Rules of Renewing Family:
* Let's Listen
* Let's Write
* Let's Talk

And there's even a system of ranking your husbandry in the club:

Rank 1: Love your wife after three years of marriage
Rank 2: Help with the household work
Rank 3: No extramarital affairs or at least she doesn't know about it
Rank 4: Ladies first
Rank 5: Hold hands with your wife in public
Rank 6: Listen to what your wife has to say carefully and seriously
Rank 7: Solve issues between your wife and your mother
Rank 8: Say thank you without hesitation
Rank 9: Say I'm sorry without fear
Rank 10: Say I love you without embarrassment

After the meeting, we followed a young man named Yohei Takayama home. He'd just been promoted to "Rank 4." He admitted that "Rank 5," holding hands with his wife in public, was not going to be natural or easy. He and his wife have been married for two years. His wife said he’s been a member of the club for a year and a half and it has changed their relationship dramatically.

Namely, she said, he helps more around the house, listens to her more, and understands she also has a career that exhausts her. What they’re growing into, she said, is a partnership. They went grocery shopping, and I noticed he carried the bags and helped her decide what to buy. As they left the store to go home, he took her hand in his. It didn't look like the most natural thing in the world for him, but he was trying. His wife smiled as they walked home.

Lost Japanese Parrot Knew His Address

When Yosuke, a parrot, flew out of his cage and got lost, the little guy did exactly what he had been taught -- recites his name and address to a stranger willing to help. Police rescued the African Gray parrot from a neighbor's roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo.

After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary clinic, while police searched for clues. “I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me,” policeman Mr. Uemura said. The parrot kept mum with the cops, but began chatting with the veterinarian. “I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura,” the bird told the vet. He also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the clinic staff by singing songs. “We checked the address, and what do you know, the Nakamura family really lived there. When we told them we had found Yosuke, they were elated,” Mr. Uemura said.

The Nakamura family had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years, and they were very happy that it finally paid off!
Source: Internet News, 2008-05-26

Just like that parrot, and just like sheep we have all gone our own way and completely went off course! All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way. (Isaiah 53:6). To us who are more intelligent than parrots and sheep, God has explained how we can find our way back to Him! You will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deut. 4:29).