Salt

So last week I met a Japanese friend for dinner. My meal included rice which is nothing out of the ordinary here. On the table was a seasoning mixture of salt and sesame seeds that I sparingly sprinkled over my white rice. Fast-forward to about twenty minutes into the train ride home which would have been about an hour and a half after we finished dinner. The distinct taste of salt remained strong on my tongue. I was quite amazed at the long lasting effects of such a small amount of seasoning. And then my thoughts drifted to the words of Jesus, "You are the salt of the earth" (Mt 5:13). LORD, make me like the salt at the restaurant in which the flavor lingers even after being consumed. I am the salt of the earth, but You, O LORD, give me my flavor. When I have opportunities to share Your words with the Japanese, may the words You give me linger in their minds long after we part ways.

Random Salt Story
When my parents were here for the holidays, we did a lot of baking. My dad's amazing fudge used up all of our sugar, so before we could make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies we had to venture off for more sugar. To my dismay, the bags of salt and sugar were not as easy to distinguish as I had hoped. I was expecting katakana or hiragana to be written on the bag, but no such luck. Kanji only. And I can't read kanji. I took a while staring at my choices trying to figure out which was sugar and which was salt. Have you ever tried it? It's not easy to do, I tell you. I picked one hoping I was right, and then my parents and I returned home to start our baking. Once at home I opened the bag (you know where this is going), put a sizable amount on a spoon to taste test and was very disappointed to find that my sugar was not sweet at all and was actually quite salty. Yep, I made the wrong choice. But all was not lost because, praise God, we have the Fujino family upstairs to lend us sugar for the cause!

Happenings in January

So much happened in January that I wanted to share about, but I kept procrastinating and now a detailed report of each event would be quite unnecessary. For this reason, what follows is a recap of life in January.

Tsumagoi Retreat

January 7-10 all of my coworkers in Japan came together for strategy meetings. It was great to meet my coworkers laboring for the kingdom in other parts in Japan and to see the Collins' family, whom I went through orientation with last February through April. I was also blessed to meet Liz, the only Journeygirl in Japan not working in Tokyo. Oh and our team got to go bowling together!

Me and Arata Collins, who I hadn't seen since April

Meet Liz (right) - she's pretty much amazing


Amy, Daniel, me, Ruth - our combined score was pretty good :)

Birthday Bash

January 8th was my first birthday in Japan. My wonderful family left a message of them all singing Happy Birthday on my cell phone, and my family in Christ had brownies and chocolate cake for me between some of our meetings. One of my Japanese friends that owns a cafe hosted a gyoza party in honor of my birthday on the 17th. For those of you who don't know, gyoza is absolutely delicious and has become one of my favorite foods in all the world. It was a special night with good friends, food and fun! Thanks, Kuni! Everything was fabulous!

Snow in Tokyo!

Three times it snowed this January. The first snow was small but exciting, the second actually stuck around for a while and the third was enough to stop the trains. With the trains not running all of our plans for the day were canceled. What do Jmen and the Fujino kids do with a free snow day? Snowball fight, of course!

Obirin University

Liz chasing Rickie during our snowball fight

Ladies' Retreat

January 31 - February 2 all the ladies serving here in Japan were blessed to have a ladies' retreat in Gotemba. The theme was "My Cup." We stayed at a YMCA facility and focused on the importance of filling and pouring out our cup as well as how we are each uniquely designed by our Creator. I really needed this time of refilling and refreshing. Praise God for making it possible! We even had snow the first night we were there! The second day the sky was blue and the sun was bright giving us an AMAZING view of Mt. Fuji.

Me, Liz & Amy in the snow

"Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters"

Enjoying a warm fire.
Honestly, one of the things I missed most about home
this winter was sitting near a fire in the fireplace.
Japanese apartments don't have fireplaces
and none of the homes I've been in have them either.
They're missing out over here!

Miyoko, Amy and Me lying on the floor in front of the cosy fire

Mom & Dad in Japan

December 23 my parents arrived in Japan to spend the holidays with me. After 8 months of not seeing them in person, it was such a blessing to hug them, talk with them and just be with them. During their stay we celebrated Christmas and New Year's Day, toured Yokohama, visited Meiji Shrine, and joined a volunteer team here at the same time in their ministry. I also introduced them to my favorite restaurants and foods here in Japan.

Below is a small gallery from our time together. The above picture is of the three of us on our day in Yokohama. A Japanese friend of mine, who lives in Yokohama and is part of a community group promoting the area's history, offered to be our tour guide.


Day in Yokohama



Our tour guide Naoko and one of her friends took us briefly to China Town. Here we all are posing in front of a temple.



After dinner at Bubba Gumps near Tokyo Dome, we stopped for pictures in front of the nicely lit up trees.







Yes, we all had to get one in the exact same spot.

(aren't my parents adorable!)

Momma's just the right size for me!


The three of us toured Meiji Shrine a few days before the New Year Holiday. The shrine was not too crowded except for the workers running around making preparations for the masses who would be attending New Year's Eve and Day.





Here's Daddy and me inside Meiji Shrine. Behind us are wood blocks people buy for writing prayers or wishes for good luck, health and happiness. How sad that they have to pay for their prayers and that their prayers won't be heard or answered.




Mom and Dad standing in front of the torii gate at the entrance to the shrine.


















New Year's Day we joined a volunteer team in visiting the shrine for evangelism and prayer walking. Here's mom surrounded by those waiting to make it to the front of the shrine.




Here's a look at the masses in front of us as we slowly made our way through the shrine in stop and go traffic.






Pictured here are two volunteers asking a man why he came to the shrine and telling him the message they came to bring to the lost Japanese.




Here's Dad patiently waiting in line.














Momma and me sitting down at one of the train stations waiting for the train to arrive .




This is a picture Dad took of Shibuya lit up at night.



Oh, here's a good picture. Mom and Dad successfully using chopsticks (didn't take them long to get the hang of it) at my favorite gyoza restaurant. I was so excited to find that my parents shared in my enjoyment of gyoza! Notice that the plates are empty!



Mom, Dad and I joined the volunteer team in 5 Minute English in Shibuya. I was so proud of my parents as they jumped right in to something so new for them. What a blessing to minister alongside my parents in this way.
There's Dad holding the sign. Mom was taking the picture (Thanks, Momma!)

And finally, here we are at the Government Towers in Shinjuku.
This is the place where I first heard God calling me to move here
for two years to reach out to the millions of lost Japanese.
Behind us you can see building after building as far as
the horizon. Tokyo at a glance from 45 stories high.

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for taking the vacation time to come spend the holidays here with me in Japan. Thanks for putting up with my occasional break downs and for being willing to come see a small glimpse of the life I am currently living. Thanks for making my new family and friends your family and friends. どもありがとうございます！