Deeper and Deeper

In the past 4 months, I feel like I have grown in many ways. In this post you can read about my thoughts on becoming closer to God through my experience of moving to Japan.

I suck at swimming in deep waters. I don’t really like going deeper then twelve or thirteen feet because if feels like my ear drums are going to burst, and my sinuses are going to shoot out of my eyeballs. Obviously its possible to go deeper, just look at scuba divers. When I was younger I actually thought that if you were a scuba diver, all of that gear would make you immune to any of that misery. But obviously that’s not true. People that dive into deep waters need to train in order to reach new depths. You can be the most experienced swimmer, swimming on the surface, but you dive down deep, you will still be met by the pain of the water pressure, which won’t allow you to swim any deeper in comfort. I am no swimmer, so what I'm about to say may be complete bogus, but its a logical guess. One of the ways to swim deeper is by practicing swimming deeper, diving down until it gets too uncomfortable. The more you do this, the easier it will get, then you can move onto new depths. I have also heard that you can plug your nose and pop your ears...but for the sake of this story, lets focus on the first one I mentioned.

Living life where you are trying to find a deeper relationship with God is similar to a swimmer trying to reach new depths. While I was going to school at Trinity Western University, I was blessed to be surrounded with a community that all strives to know God better. Every weekday there was chapel at 11am, every Sunday the parking lots would be empty between 9am and noon because most of the students are off at church. There were many opportunities to join Bible studies with your peers, and many clubs that allow you to share Gods love out in the community. I went there for five years and feel that I have learned a lot spiritually from my experiences. I feel that my faith grew from my parents faith, into my own faith. But the part that was challenging was figuring out ways where I could apply my faith.

In the five years, my faith was not challenged just because of the setting I was living in. Of course you are thankful for being there and have faith that God will keep providing money so that I could continue to study there, but the usefulness of the faith that we as Christians have goes much deeper then that.

Soon after Graduation, I was offered a job in Japan. This is some place that I never imagined working, living or even wanting to visit. All that a side, and pushing my own human nature and desires away, I felt that this was a calling from God. Having a Job where I get to meet lots of new people, serve others, and travel were all on my wish list for a job, and guess what? That’s exactly what this job is. I am here teaching English to children, young adults and adults. More importantly, I get to be a light for God and share Gods love with them. None of this could have ever happened if God didn’t have a hand in it. I needed to have absolute faith in God that if there is where He wanted me, that we would get me here. He did just that, plus more. I have arrived in a place where I feel very comfortable and a part of the church family. Of course I miss friends and family back at home, but the love that is shown to me here makes missing loved once much easier.

From the time that I decided to take the job, I felt it necessary to turn 100% of my life over to God. In the past 3 months, I have grown so much closer to God. Many times more then I grew when a Christian community surrounded me. 1% of Japan claim to be Christians, and 99% claim to be Buddhist. I have realized that those five years in university, God was cultivating and fertilizing my field, getting ready to plant seeds that will grow. Being in a country where you are minority in both race and religion, the reliance on God for guidance and protection goes way up. Everyday I live with out the distractions of my close friends, but instead spend that time focusing on God, seeking his guidance and renew my strength in Him. I know that the only way that I will have the strength to plan lessons and chapels is if I rely on God to guide me through each day and week. It would be too over whelming for me to live life by myself, I will burn out if try to take it all upon myself.

Coming here to Japan was definitely outside my comfort zone. But since I am an adventure seeker, it is right up my ally. Through all of this, I have stretched myself, which has allowed everything that I learned in university to find its place in different areas where I'm growing. We as Christians can wake up every morning, read the Bible, and go about our daily routines with out a hitch. But in order to reach the next level in your relationship with God, you need to rely on him, and trust in him. Just like the swimmer that swims at the service, he will never be able to swim deeper if he does not train to swim deeper. As a Christian, you will never be able to grow deeper if you just read the Bible. Sure, you will know a lot, but what does knowledge do to faith when its not put to use? It creates questions and doubts. If we take risks, and allow God to give us opportunities to rely on him, we can see how His power is real, and will deepen our relationship with God.

Blessings,
Kris

Public Service Apology

Hey there friend and family! Before I get started with my “actual” post, Lunch With a Couple of Students, I want go give a small public service announcement in form of an apology. Sorry for not updating ANYTHING on my blog the past two weeks. If you have been wondering how my body has been adjusting to my new 6am wake up schedule, its going great! Next, you may be wondering, “how are those morning work outs going?” I’ll be honest and say that I haven’t done a morning work out since that first one. I changed my thinking on the whole working out thing. The only time that I will go on a run is if I feel tired after the Morning Prayer meeting. There are many opportunities throughout the day where I can do exercise, weather it be playing basketball, soccer, or baseball with students or even just a trip on my bike to the grocery store. Why would I want to put my body though the miseries of a morning work out when it’s not necessary?

The next thing that I wanted to tell you about is that I want to start a series of posts that are focused on the classes that I teach. I haven’t quite figured out if I want to do it class-by-class, or day-by-day. But, before I start posting about my classes, I would like to get some pictures of my classes and students so you can see them. So, keep your eyes pealed for those stories to come in the near future! And I promise, I won’t keep you waiting for another two week. Once again, sorry about that. Now onto the important stuff!

Lunch With a Couple of Students

(Photo L-R: Yumi, Manabu, me, Nobuko)

On Monday, September 13, I got a call from one of my students. Her name is Yumiko, but most people call her Yumi. She is in one of my advanced adult classes. It’s not unusual for her to come to class ready to try out some sort of slang word. Anywho, she called me around 11:15am and asked me if I had plans for the afternoon. She knows that I have Monday off, but on this particular Monday I had plans to meet some friends downtown where we were going to grab some Korean food. I told Yumi that I can go as long as we are back by 5:00. She said, “Great, me and my husband will pick you up in 45 min.”

After she picked me up, we then picked up another student of mine, Nobuko, one of her good friends and her husband. The five of us were on our way. I had no idea where we were going, but I was told that we were going to a suburb south of Sendai. It took about an hr to get there, and it was a very very small town…so not really a suburb by North American standards. We came into this small town and parked, and started walking down the street. They told me that it was a very old town. We walked into this old building that was now a tourist info store. They then shared with me about how this is a traditional old store-front down main street. The family would operate the business, which was also connected to their house and living area. A lady took us on a tour of an empty house that appeared to be on display for tourists such as myself. It was very cool and interesting, but I was getting very hungry. When I first got the call, I had in my mind that we would be eating a little after noon. It was now around 2:00.


From the old main street, we drove a little ways and came to an old mom n’ pop kind of restaurant, this place was run by Yumi’s friend. We walked in, and it was a very friendly atmosphere. We sat down, and after the two friends caught up with each other (oh, I should also add that I think the actual owner was the Grandma, who was also there, and sat at our table), they started to bring out the appy’s. Now, they wasn’t gyoza or egg rolls, or any other typical North American Japanese restaurant appetizer, we were given picked egg plant. That was about the only thing that I recognized. The rest were vegetables, but I did not know what they were. This was one of these situations that is REALLY uncomfortable when you are surrounded by people you don’t know very well; not to mention the owner sitting at your table. I felt like I was one of those judges on “Iron Chef.” Everyone wanted to know what the foreigner thought of this new food. It was especially intimidating to have the Grandma sitting there too. I was in no way in a place were I could say no to the food, or even say, “I don’t like it.” To be honest, none of it tasted bad, just different. So my usual response was, “hmmm, interesting…It’s a new taste, not a bad taste, but it’s different.” That would be a phrase that I got comfortable saying during that meal.

Soon after the egg plants, the grandma came over with a recycled plastic water bottle, filled with something that resembled Kool-aid. I was a little curious when she started pouring them into shot glasses, but I was informed that it was non-alcoholic. I brought it up to my mouth to give it a try, but the strong smell of vinegar made me pause. Apparently this thing that I was about to shoot was some sort of plant drink…but I was still a little suspicious. Well, I gave it a shot, ha pun, and it was interesting, not a bad taste, just different. Next, the grandma came with some other beverage in a recycled water bottle. This drink was the same color and had the same consistency as eggnog, but this was no eggnog. I was about to be served egg wine…yeah, egg wine. I did not want to ask too much about it, because I did not want to find anything out that would gross me out I tired it and it was actually not that bad. It was room temperature, a little thick, and had lots of zip. (Oh by the way, here is a great life lesson: If you are about to eat something, and you are unsure of what it is, or you don’t know the name of it, or the look of it scares you, and you have no food allergies, you are best off not asking too many questions about it)

When the food came, my appetite was not as big because of all the new foods I had been eating. But, I ordered fried chicken and rice, so that should be a sinch right? Well, kind of, it was a definite battle to finish because the size was so big. In Japan, they serve you a number of side dishes with the main entrée. I don’t know what any of my side dishes were other then the miso soup. One was a green slime that I was told tastes best when you add soy sauce. It did not taste bad, nor was it the best thing I’d ever eaten. The texture was….well, slimy, which was the hardest part. The next side dish looked like little chunks of Swiss cheese, but they weren’t. In stead it was some sort of hard, radish maybe? But they didn’t really taste like much, so that was easy. The next side dish was some sort of yellow egg thing that was all right I guess. The final side dish did not touch my lips. Partially because I was stuffed, and partially because whatever it was, was black, slimy, and yeah….next time maybe. One slimy thing per meal is my policy. We left the restaurant, and I was dropped off back at my apartment around 5:00, just in time for me to meet up with my friends for Korean food downtown.

The eight of us got to the Korean restaurant around 6:45, and I was still full. But, I couldn’t miss out on this experience…my first taste of Korea! Manami ordered some appy’s and when they arrived, it looked like pizza, but I was told it was not pizza. I don’t’ really know what it was, but like I mentioned earlier, you’re better off not asking. When I was eating it I couldn’t break down whatever was in my mouth, I just kept chewing this little thing. Then I looked into the bit that I had just taken and realized that there were little octopus tentacles in there. That was maybe the easiest way one could be introduced to octo. Since they were just little pieced, the texture and taste was not bad.

All of these little appetizers, and new foods/tastes do quite a number on ones appetite. Once my actual meal come, I was not hungry. After my first ten bites of my vegetable, raw egg and rice bowl, I asked for a doggy bag. I felt lame for not finishing, and I sure was given a hard time. But boy, that was that an eye opening day for my pallet. Everything about the day was great, and there was nothing that I was terrible. If I was given each of the same foods again I would probably eat them, and its always easer the second time. The mental and physical game about eating was sure overwhelmed by the end of the day fo’ sho’!

My Body Clock is Whack

Every summer I have had a job that has required me to wake up really early. Because of that, I can wake up at sunrise no problem in the summer. When it’s not summer, I don’t need to be at work super early because my classes started anywhere between 9-10am. Being the social butterfly I am, I could be found anywhere except my bed at the wee hours in the morning. I usually went to bed around 2 or 3am.

Since I’ve been here, falling asleep and waking up early has been so easy. I even adjusted to the crazy time change without a hitch. The past couple of weeks I’ve noticed its gotten harder and harder to fall asleep at night, and wake up in the morning. It’s really annoying, especially when things die down around here around 10pm, and I want to go to bed. For the past two weeks, I find myself lying awake early into the morning, not able to fall asleep. I’ve been trying to figure out why, that is. My first though was, “is it possible for jet leg to come 2 months late?” But after further investigation, I realized that its September now…time for the late collage night life to start, right?

Could it be that my body is telling me that it’s fall, and its ready to stay up late and hang out with friend…I mean do homwork? Well, if that’s the case, that’s got to change…cause its freaken annoying! So, today (Saturday), I started a new plan to correct my whack internal clock. I’m going to wake up early and attend the 6:15 bible study with the pastors here. Today was the first time I went, and it was great. It was Hisashi sensei, Hiromitsu sensei, and myself. After the bible studies, I will (and I did) go for a run, followed by some weight free workouts in my apartment. My hope is that by waking up early, getting my body going, I will have more productive mornings, and by the time 10 or 11pm comes around, I’ll be ready to crash.

If you know me well, you know that I have never really done anything like this. If you know me even better, you may remember the times that I have attempted to start some sort of work out plan. My record for keeping it going is 3 weeks. So, in a month, if I have not updated you, send me an email and ask me how my morning schedule is workin out…pun…nice.

Peace out Fri-‘n-fam (Friends and Family)