It has been a good first week. Sunday Worship was really encouraging! The sermon was given by Takuma Tsuneki, who currently lives in Abilene, Texas, where he is doing graduate work in prep for ministry. He spent part of his childhood at Tachikawa and many here still remember him fondly. It was wonderful to see him come full circle and return to deliver the message during worship. The pictures above are from the portion of the morning where the kids receive a mini-sermon tailored just for them before heading upstairs for Children’s Worship during the main sermon. We also got to reconnect with Sue Ling and meet her husband. He often has to work on Sundays, so it was nice to be able to meet him in person. After lunch, we hosted registration meetings for Friends Speak English readers and Family Music Class attendees. The photo above is of a few of the children trying out some of the class materials. They are excited to get started! We have a number of returning families and some new ones, too. Two new English readers also came to meet us and reserve their spots. We are prayerful about these connections and remain hopeful that a few more trickle in soon.
Last week, Noriko took us by car to a neighboring town in order to do some shopping at Costco. Stocking up on grocery items this way helps keep costs down over the six-week trip, and we are grateful for the access. I didn’t take any photos inside because it was a little busy (by American standards). To be honest, it looks pretty much like the Costco stores in the US. Something that does stand out is the giant sloping people-mover. The store occupies the first floor of the building and the upper floors are parking garage. So, there are long moving sidewalks that slope up/down between floors so that you can bring your shopping cart back upstairs to your car. It is about 100 yards long and when the cart detects that you’ve entered the ramp, it automatically locks the wheels so that it doesn’t roll down into the person ahead of you. Pretty cool, I think! We also took the opportunity to eat one of their famous Costco Hot Dogs. After all, if you didn’t get a hot dog, did you really go to Costco?
This week, we took a little time to work on one of our secondary goals this Summer. In anticipation of potentially moving here full-time in the Fall of next year, we wanted to look at some apartments to get a feel for how they are in real life. I’ve been researching apartments online for a while now and most all of the listings come with photos and floor plans. However, it can be hard to get a good feel for the actual size of a typical apartment when it comes to actually standing in the rooms and moving in the space. So, Noriko helped us find a couple of places open for viewing and drove us around for the morning so that we could take a look. This particular apartment is part of a UR housing complex. It is a quasi-government organization that offers low-cost housing without many of the fees associated with private rental companies. We looked at a 3DK (D=dining, K=kitchen, 3=other rooms, in addition to bath & toilet) and came away encouraged at the layout and quality of everything. Two of the rooms had tatami floors (traditional Japanese woven straw mats), which were quite nice. The rent for an apartment like this would be around $600 per month, so quite affordable! After viewing the apartments, we cut through a beautiful park on the way back to the car. The rainy season has begun in many parts of Japan (particularly in the South), but that also means it stays nice and cool.
As a way to say thank you for toting us around all morning, Emily and I treated Noriko to some lunch. I asked her to take us somewhere “yummy” and Marugame Udon did not disappoint! This place is fairly new to this part of town, and they have a unique way of ordering and preparing your food. When you first come in, you are presented with a menu board and a view of one of the staff making udon noodles from scratch right there in the store. Then, as you come around the counter, you give your order to a staff member who makes your bowl right there on the spot. Once you have your main dish, you then pass by a counter full of a la carte toppings, tempura, and onigiri which you can add to make the perfect meal. At the end of the counter, simply check out at the register and you are ready to eat! It was super-quick and extra-tasty. It is always nice to sit down and chat with friends over good food.
Overall, our first week has been one primarily spent in preparation for the weeks to come. We have settled in nicely and had some good time to ourselves getting organized, but we’ve also had several opportunities to connect with people both old and new. Personally, I sometimes feel like it is Week 7 of last year’s trip, but at other times this trip feels a little different, too. I have a better idea of what to expect this time around, and that helps give perspective. We have some great stuff coming up soon! Tomorrow morning is our first Family Music Class and then our first English reader comes in the afternoon. I’ll be preaching this Sunday and we will also host our first Casual Party. As always, thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Thank you also to those who have given financially making it possible for us to be here this Summer. May God receive all of the glory!
For my parting shot this week, I give you McDelivery! There are all sorts of delivery scooters whizzing by here and there, but you can’t mistake where this one comes from!
~ Clay
Fowlers in Japan 