Hello, everybody! Merry (Post) Christmas and Happy 2023! Good gravy, what a busy December and 1/4th January it has been! The YWAM Sendai team and I have been fighting off a COVID infection, but thankfully most of us are now fully recovered and tested negative, including yours truly! Sigh... After nearly three years of avoiding COVID, it took one Boxing Day party to finally break the record. Not the kind of present I was looking forward to. But my coughing has died down and I'm finally allowed to go outside, so it wasn't super bad. Anyways, here are the highlights of December:
I passed my Japanese class! For the final, we had to give an entire speech in Japanese in front of my fellow peers and the school's staff. I decided to dredge up an old traumatic memory and give my diatribe on the immorality of corn on pizza. Surprisingly, by hamming it up and emoting using arm movements, I actually got a few laughs out of the audience. I hopefully was able to convey the evils of certain grains on top of Italian cuisine, but one can hope. Here are some pics and a video clip of the event:
Goodness, did I ever break-in that Santa suit! Appearing as St. Nick, I performed at Operation Blessings Japan (OBJ) in Fukushima, handed out presents at the local Ayashi Church for their children's Christmas program, and welcomed guests and customers at our food truck, much to the joy and terror of the nearby children. That last part, seriously. Some little kids would see me from afar and be too scared to approach, but yet they couldn't stop staring at the big goofy "old" guy in red. A mix of wonderous awe and primal fear. Like a hidden rabbit eyeing a hungry coyote 20 paces away.
Nevertheless, there still were many kids who were overjoyed to meet Santa. I got to hand out little presents of candy and verses in Japanese. Doing my part to share the true message of Christmas to the locals. Here are some pictures of our Christmas ministry. For security reasons, I will not show any pics of children.
After all the ministries ended, we were able to finally catch our breath and enjoy a nice Christmas party together. Miranda's boyfriend, Lanique, from Canada is currently visiting us. Always fun to have guests over for the holidays!
The next day, one of Naoko's friends from the UK hosted a Boxing Day party for some of the international families living in Ayashi, and we too were invited. First time trying an authentic Christmas pudding. Apparently, they're cooked in brandy, so the taste was a tad strong, but quite good. Unfortunately, as fun at the party was, it unintentionally had a rather nasty side effect: nearly everyone there, including yours truly, got COVID. Thankfully, everyone is quickly recovering and most of us have tested negative. But I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Except maybe the inventor of corn pizza... Nah.
Basically, it was a bad case of the flu. The first day was the worst, with heavy coughing, horrible headache, awful nightmares, and overall feeling like a five-month deceased zombie. But over time, it became less and less intense, until just a cough or two. Even though COVID is somewhat dying down, be careful out there, everyone! Not to live in fear, but also not in foolishness!
Not the best start to 2023, but I'm still so thankful to be nearing my 4th year as a missionary in Japan! Still so more to learn, see and do, but I wouldn't take back any of the times and experiences I've had since moving here! Even the corn pizza incident. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support all these years! Let us pray for God's will to be done this year in both Japan, and the rest of the world! Amen!
Romans 5:3-4
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
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