How to decide just about anything in Japan

Here is a game we played together at our church picnic last week. Q: What in the world is this group of adults doing? A: Playing the rock, paper, scissors game of course! In Japan any child from 3 years on up knows rock, paper, scissors, called "jan-ken-pon" in Japanese. It is the classic way of deciding just about anything. Observe Japan carefully and you will see kids and adults doing this everywhere.

We might think this game is an American invention, but the story goes that jan-ken-pon is based on an ancient game in Japan involving gestures for a snake, frog, and slug. Don't ask me to tell you how one decides the winner of that kind of battle, but perhaps it was an enjoyable picnic game back then, too.

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!