Greetings and salutations to one and all! It has been one heck of a busy month, I'll tell you what! So busy, in fact, I'm gonna split my updates into two separate sections! The first recap, which will be hosted here on my blog, will be about our team trip to Chiba from 7/8 to 7/10, while the other post, our outreach to Fukushima, is gonna be on our official YWAM Sendai blog, written by yours truly! Stay tuned for that future update sometime this week, and enjoy the following stories:
So our trip to the prefecture to Chiba has quite a bit of backstory to go over, but I'll be brief. One of our team members, Janet, has lived and served in Japan for over ten years, and during that time had actually bought a house in the prefecture of Chiba, which is next to Tokyo! For six years, she hosted missionaries, bible studies, worship time and much more in her house. Unfortunately, there were a few problems: her home was on a rather unstable hill in the countryside, which means it's susceptible to landslides and other disasters. Made for a cheap buy, but not for a good sale. Add to her being called to YWAM Tokyo, and she had an unsellable house on her hand that she wasn't even using. And for a long time, she was stuck with it...
However, just a little over a month ago, the Lord provided Janet with a Tokyo buyer, who wanted to escape COVID and live out in the countryside in retirement, which was the best chance Janet had to finally sell the house. She still needed to sort out some various things left behind, so she recruited us to come with her and help pack a few things to take back. Thus led us to a five hour drive to a tiny town of Tako (yes, that's its real name) in the Chiba prefecture. Here are a few pics of Janet's house and the town itself:
Unfortunately, when we arrived into Janet's isolated, yet charming house, we quickly discovered we weren't alone... And I didn't even think to take a video of the bloody battle. I could kick myself. Instead, I shall recant the terrible incident in poetic form:
"The Ballad of the Eight-Legged Freak: Ol' Diamond Eyes and His Swatting by the Heroic Janet".
Twas' the setting sun when we all drove in,
To Janet's old dwelling, how long it's been.
Opening the door, to ancients past,
Insects on the floor, bodies passed.
In the upper room, our foe lay waiting,
Behind curtains, his fangs salivating.
As I drew them back, inviting fresh air,
Who else emerged to give us all a scare?
But the Eight-Legged Freak: Ol' Diamond Eyes!
Brown color, and size gargantuous,
This foul thing was truly horrendous!
We all cried out, in fear of his bite,
He scurried about, too quick to sight.
Finding shelter under cover of rug,
Hairy legs peeking out, failing to dug.
He glanced up, eight orbs on me,
Light reflecting, my soul he see,
Did the Eight-Legged Freak: Ol' Diamond Eyes!
When all hope lost, and all doomed to slaughter,
A hero arrived, armed with a swatter!
Janet charged in, with me as supporter,
Attacked the fiend, giving him no quarter.
Twas a fierce battle, of the cat and mouse,
Missing a few times, he fled to a route.
But our heroine sung with all her might,
Smashing him flat, and destroying that blight!
Thus ends our morbid tale, the foul creature dies...
So long, the Eight Legged Freak: Ol' Diamond Eyes!
I don't know what kind of spider he was, but this is the closet pic I could find. Either way, he truly was a freak of nature:
So after our furious fight with the unmentionable monstrosity, Janet was able to meet up with many of her local friends in Tako, praying and singing for the last time in her household! Even though I didn't know anyone, it was heartwarming and sad to see how many people missed Janet and how her ministry in Chiba had long lasting effects! I'm happy that she was able to properly say goodbye to her friends and to her old house as she enters this new season of being settled here in Sendai. Not to say she'll never visit Tako again, but still a satisfying end to this chapter on her life.
On a lighter note, here's a pic of the best darn pizza I've had in Japan yet. And, I cannot believe I'm writing this, it had corn on it. Yeah. I admit defeat: a pizza with corn was absolutely tasty!!!
Okay, three reasons:
1. It was homemade in a local Tako brick-oven pizzeria run by chefs who've actually had a slice of real pizza in their lifetime.
2. It came with fresh toppings, such as bell pepper and salami, besides the corn, balancing the flavor.
3. It had real tomato sauce. Not crappy mayo which belongs on a sub, not a pizza!
The cauliflower and carrot toppings still sucked, though. Can't win 'em all!
Suffice to say, that place had some killer food for this crazy American. Funny how just a week from then, we embarked on another road trip to Fukushima, which, like I mentioned above, I'll be posting the full entire story, including pictures, on our official YWAM Sendai blog this coming week. Please stay tuned: it's a heavy entry!
Another quick mention: thanks to you all, I was able to pay all my taxes before July 15th! Praise God! Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support for my ministry here in Japan, and have a most wonderful day!
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