Some news about back home... well sort of. As reported by the New York Times. After reading the article, I am dumbfounded by two things. #1: The bridge toll's $5... how can you be in a financial crisis when you're charging people $5 to cross your bridge one time? Granted, the New York bridges cost more to cross, but that's New York. Everything's expensive in New York.
#2: Why would a poor economy have a huge impact on the traffic across a bridge? I can only think of one reason... fewer jobs in the city meaning fewer people commuting into the city. But such logic would work only under two conditions. The first being that there's a huge drop off in employment rates... I mean, well into the double digit percentages. The second is that a large number of those recently unemployed come from Marin County... or other counties in the northern peninsula.
I don't doubt that there are fewer cars crossing the bridge. I just doubt that there's such a significant drop off in bridge crossing that the private company in charge of the Golden Gate, would be in such dire straits.
The thing is, is that the bridge really isn't all that useful... especially at $5. I can only think of two times in my life when I've crossed that bridge, and I've lived in the area all my life. But of course, I'm biased because I've lived in the East Bay. The bridges I know well are the Bay Bridge into SF, the Carquinez (sp?) Bridge to Sac and the mountains, the Dumbarton Bridge into Stanfurd territory for Big Games, and maybe the San Mateo bridge for my sister church and the Richmond Bridge to Stinson. I think that's all of em except for the Golden Gate. (I just had a Sneakers flashback.) As the article said, the public bridges are all $2. The Golden Gate, however, is $5. In theory, somebody from Marin County going to SF, could take the Richmond bridge and then take the Bay Bridge and "save" $1. But then you think of the extra time and gas wasted... and well, it's not worth it especially working through the MacArthur Maze. A smarter man, however, and probably most people from Marin County, are now carpooling in, splitting the costs of both gas and bridge toll. After all, this is Northern California... a region that prides itself in not being Southern California, through policies like "Spare the Air Day" and carpooling stations.
And lastly, the idea of collecting donations for crossing the bridge by foot or bicycle is an example of horrible policy making. It doesn't take much brain power to figure out that Mr. Blue has ample reason to be skeptical of this plan.

The holidays have now officially begun with Thanksgiving. Actually, the day's over here. Somehow, without friends and family to surround myself with during these times, it just doesn't feel the same. Often, it's the family gatherings and parties with friends that we enjoy so much during these times. I guess the positive way to look at my situation now is that those same "family gatherings and parties with friends" won't distract me from the real meaning behind this season... the birth of Jesus Christ. There's no denying that I'll have yet another "different" Christmas, but that doesn't mean that it'll automatically be any less joyful.
To further lift my spirits, just yesterday I got two packages! One of em was from my home church's womens' missions group. It was of course a big coffee can filled with homemade baked goods. I started getting them for the holidays when I was going to college. But now that I'm in Japan, I'm even more happy that I got it because I can't get some of the ingredients that were used to make the baked goodies! I'm sure every bite will just remind me of home.
The other package was from Lauren in Nagoya. She is awesome. Inside the box was a bunch of Thanksgivingy stuff and just general food stuffs. Corn bread mix, gravy mix, cranberry sauce, barbeque sauce, and even some baked goodies just to name a few! I'm sure some of you guys from back home are just laughing from reading that list because you all can get the stuff for cheap at your local Safeway or Ralphs, depending on where you live. But consider living in a city where the "supermarkets" carry nothing but the strangest foods, 7 different kinds of corn flakes, and every fish known to man. Ok ok... slight exaggeration. But I swear... Cap'n Crunch, Mother's Animal Cookies, and Nutter Butters never tasted so good.
Going back to the story... I remember after tearing the packaging tape away and opening the top of the box saying only two phrases, "Aww yeah," and "Oh shoot!" as I digged through the contents. It was a happy moment.

Tomorrow's my birthday. I'll be turning 23. What happened to 22? There are dog years and cat years. What about Japan years? In a year of time, a dog ages 7 times faster than humans. The past Japan year has been one where I think I've aged faster than had I been in America. As my sister said with a frown after visiting me during the summer, "Hide's turned into an adult." But at the same time, I hardly remember being 22. It felt so incredibly short.

Random thought of the day. Why can't people have those teeth cleaning biscuits that we give to dogs? You know... the biscuits that are bone-shaped. Supposedly cleans the teeth and freshens the breath. It'd be so much easier, not to mention faster than brushing your teeth. As you walk out the door, pop in a biscuit and out goes the morning plaque and breath. It'd be so incredibly awesome.
Is it because dog teeth and human teeth are shaped differently? If so, surely the design or concept could be modified for human usage. Add one more to my list of incredibly stupid sounding invention ideas... along with adult sized one piece baby jumpsuits. The ones that make kids look like mini-teletubbies.

Two different thoughts. As I've been preparing for the message I'm gonna give on the 8th of December, I've been thinking about how Japanese preaching is so very different from American preaching. Ever since my Japanese language learning got up to the point where I could understand most of the sermons preached in Japanese churches, I noticed the difference but couldn't quite figure out what caused the differences. Recently though, I've realized that it's the end goal... the purpose of the message. Sure, generically, all Christian messages are ultimately for the sake of glorifying God. What I'm talking about is the means to reaching that goal. The Japanese method is educating the people. At the end of most every message, I've come away with a "take-away" that starts with the words, "After hearing the message, I should know..." Talk to most pastors here and ask them what the purpose of preaching is and they'll most likely say something to the effect of "To teach the people about God."
Most American churches are different. Of course, teaching happens through a sermon. But that's not what most pastors hope people come away with. Almost always the desired "take-away" starts with the words, "After hearing the message, I should do..." The end goal isn't knowledge. The end goal is action... empowerment. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge, was once a noble cause in America. But now, the way of American thinking is changing. Knowledge is now for the sake of application. Interest, for the most part, varies according to the level of application in one's life. And as a result preaching's probably changed as well.
The second thought. Why aren't more churches in Japan starting youth groups? Whenever I ask the question to Japanese church-goers, I usually get the same response: "Japanese youth are busy... they don't have the free time to come to a youth group." But when I walk around Date after 8PM, I see all these high schoolers and post high schoolers hanging around the strangest places: Train stations, roofed bus stops, supermarket parking lots to name a few. They're still at the train stations and bus stops after trains and buses stop running so obviously they're not waiting for a ride home. Sitting around, talking to one other for hours at a time. So, maybe they're not the cookie-cutter, good, studious kids that the church wants to attract. But isn't that just about the same thing the Pharisees said about the people Jesus hung around with?

A while back, I went to a charity gospel concert at a church in the nearby city of Muroran. A group from the big city of Sapporo came to perform. Before the concert began, I noticed a white guy sitting next to a Japanese guy, all by themselves in the back of the sanctuary. You have to understand that seeing a non-Japanese person around here is a rare occurence indeed. To illustrate, a few months ago, two new ALTs (assistant language teachers... they help teach English in the schools) from America came to Date. A full page bio on the two of them was written on the city's monthly newsletter... the newsletter has about 16 pages. It was quite an event.
Anyway, back to the story. So, I go over to the two guys to talk for a while because the concert didn't look like it was gonna start for a while. I start talking to the American for a while, but then I realize that the Japanese guy who was sitting next to him wasn't saying anything... but looked like he wanted to talk. Realizing that the Japanese guy probably either couldn't speak English very well, or had little confidence in using the English he knew, I switched to Japanese mode and started talking to him.
The Japanese guy was really interesting. He found out about the concert through the church that he's attending. Apparently, there was a flyer that advertised the concert in the church. He's been going to the church for a few months, but he's not a Christian. So then he starts talking about how much he used to smoke, and how once he started going to the church, he had this growing conviction to stop smoking. And that was it. He stopped. Cold turkey. I tell him my disbelief, asking about any kind of withdrawl symptoms. But he just shakes his head, smiles, and says, "Yeah, I don't have any of that. God's just given me the power to stop." I turn to his American friend, and ask him about the Japanese guy's previous smoking habits. The American smiles. "It's hard not to notice that he's stopped smoking. He used to smoke at least a pack or two a day." I turn back to the Japanese guy for a final look-see. He looked completely relaxed. His hands weren't fidgety or shaky. His eyes weren't shifty.
It's a miracle. I can't think of any other explanation. Read the Bible and you'll see that all these miracles and God-led interventions occurred. Sometimes, we look at our lives and wonder... hey, why don't I see miracles like the people of the Bible did? This guy reminded me that the miracles are there. They're all around. We just have to ask people to hear their stories of how God did incredibly amazing things in their lives.

Oh things have been absolutely crazy this passed week. If you look at my website on the missions page, you'll see that I got the newsletter out not too long ago. They're always short... a page long, but honestly, after all the training I've gotten from my Cal education, I think writing long papers are sometimes easier than a short concise little ditties.
That's besides the point. So, a few days ago, I got that out. And if you read the newsletter itself, you'll see that the preschoolers and elementary schoolers that I teach English to, are gonna put on a Christmas play... in English. That's been quite a challenge. We've still got a long long way to go... but not in terms of time. It's on December 14th. Great googely-boogely.
This coming Thursday of course is Thanksgiving. But because I'm in Japan, I have to bring Thanksgiving here. So, on Thursday, during one of my English classes, we'll be having a Thanksgiving dinner. Well, sort of. Without the turkey. It's weird. I can't find turkey anywhere but I can easily find ostrich (there's an ostrich meat farm about 10 minutes from my apartment by car). So, we'll be stuffing a chicken. And of course, I have to make the preparations.
And then, of course, there's the message that I'm preparing. I'm scheduled to preach on December 8th because the pastor's gonna be on vacation to Israel. As usual, I've gone through about 7 potential topics/scriptures. So these three things are on my urgent list right now.
My important list includes the decision to extend my time here in Japan or not, working through my personal mission statement, writing Christmas cards/postcards (I haven't quite decided yet), and doing my part in making that whole church planting thing that I'm supposed to be here for, happen.
Exhausted... and it's not yet December...

Recently, I've been learning a lot about myself. It's strange. I've been me for as long as I can remember (thank God!), and yet, often I don't get myself. In so many ways I'm a walking contradiction.
As most of you know I'm by nature, partial to spontanaity. Every personality test I've ever taken for whatever purpose has shown that I strongly favor being spontaneous over being planned (my Myers-Briggs type is ENFP every time I take it). It shows up in a bunch of ways. I don't see a real purpose in owning movies because for me, the fun and thrill of watching a movie only comes around the first time through. There are exceptions. But those exceptions aren't so much that I like the movies but more that seeing it again serves a separate purpose.
I read. But I'll read a book once. I know that there are great benefits to reading a book twice, three times, or even more. But the idea has no appeal. Again, there are exceptions... but those exceptions are due to some perceived greater purpose (i.e. class textbooks and the Bible).
I hate TV re-runs.
I don't take pleasure in the familiar. I don't like knowing everything that's going to happen. Or so I thought.
A few months ago, on the subject of what I wanted to do when I went home on vacation, I wrote in my blog that I wanted to experience the familiar. The reasoning? I've been doing nothing but the unfamiliar for a year and now I want a change of scenery. Prior to coming here, I figured that I'd thrive in this situation because everything would be new. Things didn't quite turn out as I expected.
Did the unfamiliar become familiar? That is, did being unfamiliar with my surroundings... that feeling, become familiar? Maybe to some extent, but I don't think that's all of it. Searching my heart I came to the realization that my obsession with new things is within the context of the condition that I perceive that some things are certain. For example, I like reading new books because I think that the new books have something I can learn from (my perceived certainty). I like going to new places with friends because I think that I'm going with friends. I've often felt at liberty to try new things in ministry because I've perceived that the people I'm working with or would be working with, are people I can trust.
So I'm thinking about this last night... while sipping on some grape juice, and then, a behemoth of a question smacks me in the head. "Does this mean that I don't perceive God's promise of being with me always to be an absolute certainty?" I've come to the conclusion that up until this point, many of the things that I truly think are absolute certainties are not absolute certainties at all (because God alone is the one true absolute certainty in life). That's not to say that I don't believe that I have a personal relationship with God... because I do through my belief in Jesus Christ.
But a belief and an absolute certainty are two very different things... at least in my understanding of the usage of the word "belief." I may be very wrong in my understanding of the two terms but when I think of "absolute certainty," I think of a thinking and process that pervades in the life we live. That is, the addition (or subtraction) of an "absolute certainty" in our lives, changes the way we live and see our life drastically. The addition or subtraction of a belief, however, at best, changes small little things in our lives to make us "better/moral people."

Surfing the net, I came across this interesting article. It's an article from a person's point of view of the discrepancies between what is written in Biology textbooks about evolution and scientific fact. Granted, the perspective is probably at least a tad biased because the writer of the article is a "creationist" (i.e. someone who believes that life was created by a higher being as in God) and was a creationist before thinking of writing the article. But I believe the paper serves a purpose in getting readers to "look at [selective adaptation and the accepted mechanism of evolution] critically."
I'm a bit shocked after reading the article. I'm very familiar with the evidence (or should I say supposed evidence) Wells examines. I've studied the Miller-Urey experiment, embryo development drawings, the tree, homologies, the peppered moths, and Darwin's finches a number of times. Actually, after reading the article, I wouldn't say that I actually studied these things. It was really more like I read about them over and over again. I'm no evolutionary biologist. I've only studied the stuff to the undergrad biology level. Naturally, I've studied some of the evidences a little more than the others. I've only read about the finches a few times while the peppered moths and the Miller-Urey experiment have been mentioned a number of times starting from junior high school science classes. And I've participated in university level labs where we drew Darwinian trees from observing homologies in vertibrate species. But I'm still familiar with all of the evidence Jonathan Wells attacks in the article.
I can't endorse this article as being true because I haven't seen the refuting evidence for myself. Regardless, it's really got me thinking about things I've been taught that I've never doubted as being anything but true. The article's argument against the Miller-Urey experiment and peppered moths were especially thought provoking/troubling to me. Whaddya guys think?

It's about 10:30 PM. I'm walking back to my apartment from the church. When you get close to my apartment building, there's a digital display showing the current temperature. I decided to take a picture of it tonight. Here's the picture. Even though it's only a four and a half block walk... it's a WALK! Now, granted it's in celcius and not in fahrenheit... if it was in fahrenheit, well, I'd probably still be out there somewhere between the second and third block as an ice statue. But still... to see that minus, it's something else. Scary! It's scary!

Being here so far has been a very humbling experience indeed. For about as long as I can remember, I've been labeled as being smart... or at least competent. Recognized as being someone who could do a few things very well. Always at the top or near the top in school (things changed a bit in college of course). Went to a world-class university. I come here, and suddenly all the rules change.
I start off with a disadvantage. I'm young. In a country where seniority rules to the point where you haven't reached your peak until the age of 60, well, it's a bit difficult sometimes to get my voice heard.
I had little to no connections here prior to moving here. In Japan, it's amazing. Above merit, above ability stand seniority and personal connections in that order. Age and somebody to vouch for you. Coming from the US where ability is paramount, this was very shocking. To complicate things, to try to show your abilities is, in large, considered as showing-off, thus, lowering your personal connections substancially.
I'm Japanese-American... and look it. Actually, if you ask anyone around here, they'll say that I look Japanese. Not that there's a difference in the DNA of a Japanese-American and a Japanese person. Regardless, although looking like practically everyone else has its advantages, it has very noticable disadvantages. The most obvious of which is language related. People meet me for the first time and immediately they try to hold a normal conversation thinking that they are talking to another Japanese person. After a year of being in Japan, my language skills have improved drastically. So, understanding what they're saying for the most part isn't all that big of a problem. It's talking that's a problem. My pronunciation's pretty good, my vocabulary's OK, my basic grammar structures are for the most part functional... so, to get my point across, for other people to understand me isn't the problem. But, well, it just sounds funny. I miss the nuances of the language. I'll use the wrong sentence structure. I'll accidently choose a word that has has a similar meaning to the word I intend, but isn't the same. I look Japanese, so naturally, Japanese people expect me to talk like them, but I'm American and so, Japanese is a second language... of course I'll sound different from a native speaker. The separation between their expectations and what really comes out of my mouth causes confusion and a lot of weird looks. These looks are usually followed by their saying something to the effect of "Hey, something's different about you," or "Is there something wrong with you," or "Are a little slow?"
All academic acheivements go out the window. About half the time, the locals I meet, come away with the impression that I'm mentally handicapped. I, of course, explain to them that I'm an American, that I'm a missionary, and that I'm working at the local church. But somehow, they don't believe it. They'll pretend like they understand, but, everything shows that they figure I'm lying. It isn't until someone from the church vouches for me that I'm really an American, or they hear English come out of my mouth that they finally believe me. I've seen this happen so many times. Somehow, I'll be speaking English to someone. A completely different person, a person I met a while ago overhears the conversation and my English... to which the newly enlightened Japanese native proclaims, "Wow, you really are American!"
Definitely humbling. I'm young in a society that praises seniority. I started with no connections. And half the time I either come across as being a liar or mentally handicapped.

"I see all this potential. And I see it squandered. An entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables... slaves of white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy stuff we donít need. Weíre the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no great warÖ no great depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. Weíve all been raised on television to believe that one day weíd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we wonít. Weíre slowing learning that fact."
I've always liked this monologue from the movie "Fight Club" a lot. I remember it striking me when I first watched the movie as being so true. Yeah, that's pretty much all I have to say about that. Oh, I just recently got it on mp3! So now it's alongside the Martin Luther King "I have a dream," JFK "Man on the moon," and Winston Churchill "Fighting on the beaches" speeches. Still waiting for that great speech to come out of W's mouth. I might have to wait a while for that.

It's now official. Right now, as I type, it is snowing outside. The first snow of the year. The beginning of November. Yeah, I think it's safe to say that Halloween trick or treating wouldn't go over very well here in Hokkaido. But it's definitely snowing. This isn't that snow/rain mush. It's not hail. It's nothing else. It's snow.
Ding ding ding. Round 1 of Hokkaido winter vs. Hideyo the California kid has just started. Let's get it on!