Yesterday, I came back to my apartment thinking about how incredibly strange Japan is. After Sunday service, I went with a group of people to see another gospel choir perform. The concert itself was pretty entertaining. But it was weird. Not a single member of the choir is Christian. And yet, they sang songs that said "[Jesus is] our Lord our Shepherd and king," and "We will praise [Jesus] for the rest of our days." There isn't a language barrier. It's not that they don't understand what they're singing because in the programs they passed out at the door, the lyrics are written in both Japanese and English. It's the strangest thing... to hear a completely non-Christian group of people singing praises to God and testifying of God's goodness to them.
I liked what heard... the group obviously had practiced a lot. It was a good performance. But it was just so... plastic... fake.
It's not just Hokkaido. All throughout Japan, young people are joining gospel choirs. Gospel choirs are springing up everywhere. Some of them led by Christians, some of them not. Regardless, they're popular.
A few weeks ago I heard that Christian weddings are incredibly popular in Japan. About 85% of all Japanese weddings are ceremonially Christian. Because the existing churches aren't well known and few in number, "Christian" wedding chapels are springing up everywhere. Often building these chapels are hotels, hoping to attract more customers to stay in their rooms. Hotels often ask the pastor of a nearby church to perform the weddings at their wedding chapels... but in case that isn't possible, they'll just hire someone else. It doesn't really matter if they're ordained, or a pastor of a church, or Christian for that matter.
I just find all this incredibly amazing. The increasingly popularity of Christian gospel choirs and weddings... especially when compared to the number of Christians in this nation: 1/2%.
I asked a few people how this can happen. The answer I got was that Japan is a country that doesn't feel like it needs God. Instead, they use religion (or God) to serve them. And so, one day, they can go and sing gospel (because it makes them feel good) and then the next day they can remember their deceased relatives by chanting Buddhist chants at the Buddhist temple, and then follow that with praying for success at the Shinto shrine. Basically, Japanese people can live without God. Plus, Japanese people have their basic needs met. So, Japanese people don't strive for God. They strive to become rich or famous.
To quote Ecclesiastes from the Message (a new Bible translation): "What's there to show for a lifetime of work, a lifetime of working your fingers to the bone? One generation goes its way, the next one arrives, but nothing changes -- it's business as usual for old planet earth."
"The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you. And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil."

What a day! Today... err yesterday, anyway, was the day of the English Christmas play. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, a background is in order. I'm teaching a bunch of English classes. One day during the summer, as I was driving my pastor around, he said, "I'd like to do an English Christmas play at the church this year." So, we decided to have the little preschooler English class and the elementary school students' class join forces to form Voltron... I mean to act in the English play. Naturally, a script had to be written, and since the script had to be written in English, I wrote it. Pretty basic script. Pulled from the Christmas story passages from the Bible, and basically simplified the English. Why? So that the parents and other guests would understand what's going on by listening. Oh, and to make memorizing the lines easier for the Japanese children.
Example: In Luke 2:10-11 it's written "Then the angel said to [the shepherds], 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'"
The script has the angels say, "Don't be scared. I have good news. Today a Savior is born in Bethlehem."
Anyway, so I felt today was a great success! Not only did the children (all 21 of em) perform well, but for the first time, I saw the tiny church sanctuary filled to the brim. I don't have an exact count, but I'd probably say that there were somewhere around 60 people there. Maybe more. Keep in mind that for worship services we usually have 18 people come. And of those 60, I'd say about 90% were not only non-Christians, but non-Christians who had never been to our church before.
There's more. Before the play started, we showed the Veggietales Christmas video, and then that was followed up by a quick evangelistic message by Igarashi-sensei. Regina Hsieh, another missionary from LIFE who's working in Okinawa came by to the Date church today on her vacation. She talks to some high school students who stopped by to see the play, and after the whole program was over, the high school students said that for the first time, they understood the real meaning of Christmas. And then, one of the high schoolers said that she realized after the message, that she has sin in her life. Later, the high schoolers will be coming to the Christmas candle service, and hopefully then, they'll understand the freeing power of Jesus Christ from that sin!
PLUS... today was relatively warm! Woo-hoo! A full 4 degrees celcius I think. That's a little below 40. But when you compare that to the fact that it dipped down to the teens in fahrenheit just a couple of days ago, it felt like it was in the 70s... well, maybe I'm getting a little carried away.

What is maturity? It is often described as a good characteristic and often, especially in this country... Japan, age is very closely linked to maturity. But we may not be becoming better people as we age. If so, how does someone become mature in the good sense of the word? I should explain:
Usually, for the English classes I'm teaching, I'll partner with a church member to lead the class. Basically what happens is that I'll teach the English time for about 50 minutes... and the last 10 minutes are a Bible study/introduction to Christianity time led by the church member in Japanese. This passed week, however, due to a series of circumstances, I also had to lead the "chapel times" for a couple of the classes because the "chaplain" couldn't make it to the class. The two classes were the housewives' class on Wednesday and the high schoolers' class on Friday.
For both classes we read Mark 12:30-32. Basically, it's the passage where Jesus describes the first and second most important commandments of God. The first is love God with everything you've got. The second is love others like yourself. Last week, we focused on "love others." I had only one question, "What does it look like to obey this commandment?" In other words, "If you say, 'OK, I'm gonna obey this commandment', what will you do?" My thinking was... brainstorm ideas on how to "love others" for 10 minutes, challenge the people there to then go out and do those ideas for a week, and talk about how it went the following week... that is this week.
Maybe I should start with the high school students on Friday. The three people who attended last week thought of a ton of ideas, practical ideas, loving ideas. At the end, they were excited about the possibility of putting these collective ideas into practice.
The housewives, however, were very different. Instead of starting with the brainstorming, they thought of reasons why they'd fail at "loving others." Instead of thinking about the different ways we can show love to others, the topic of discussion transformed into "Why it's so difficult to love others." Excited at the immediate possibility of sharing the Gospel, I started talking about sin and how the Bible says that it keeps us from doing what God wants us to do... like love others. But it soon became apparent that the discussion of "Why it's so difficult to love others" was merely used as an out... a way to push away the responsibility of obeying the commandment.
"Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." -- Mark 10:15

Well, the message I gave this past Sunday went well... sort of. Because my Japanese isn't good enough yet, I have to script it in English, send it out to my mom for translation, get back the scripted message in Japanese, and read it. Not exactly the best way to give a message, reading a script verbatim that is. But then, when I think about it, for some reason there don't seem to be a whole lot of good orators in this country. So compared to what everybody's used to around here I guess you could say that I was so-so. Regardless, after Sunday service, a number of members came up to me and talked about how they were moved and challenged by what was said. If you'd like to see the message... it's scripted, so I can send it out to ya... in English or Japanese, take your pick!
In a somewhat related occurance... just yesterday, the NHK guy came by. I couldn't believe it. Japanese people have to pay for basic television. I'm not talking about satellite tv or even basic cable tv... I'm talking about your very very basic tv that comes in through the antenna tv. Anyway, it's the first time we meet and so, we go through the formal introductions. Immediately, he picks up that I'm not from around the area. Big deal. I wrote earlier about how I've been called mentally retarded until people realize that I'm American. But this guy was different... or maybe my Japanese was different! Instead, the NHK guy asked me if I'm from around Kyushu. For those of you who don't know Japanese geography, Japan is a set of islands... an archipelago if you will. There's honshu, the main island, the one that looks like a J. There's Hokkaido, the one that dots the top of the J. Shikoku, an island found underneath honshu... it kinda looks like a mini Australia. And then there's Kyushu, the set of islands on the southern tip of the honshu J... that includes Okinawa. Apparently, I sound like a person from Kyushu now. Or maybe, it was the NHK guy's nice way of saying, "There's something weird with you... are you mentally handicapped?" Hope it's the former, because if it's the latter, that tells ya something about how Hokkaido people think about Kyushu people!
Lastly, I know I write a lot about the weather here in Hokkaido... but well, I've never lived in such extreme conditions. Anyway, today, I gave in. The church is only 3 to 4 blocks away from my apartment but the weather was so cold that I decided to drive. How cold? Well, today as I walked by the digital thermometer in downtown Date, it read -9C. Now, if my math serves me right, that's a reading of 12F. To me, that's like Urbana cold. For those who don't understand... lemme put it this way, i got into my car to drive to the church 4 blocks away, when I put my hands on the steering wheel to get ready to go, I did a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle face. You know, the turtles had this look right before they were going into battle, where their eyes would get all squinty, and gritted their teeth in such a way as to close the front part of the lips but leave the sides of the lips open so that you could see some of the teeth. The steering wheel was ice cold. I mean, it hurt to put my hands on the thing. So, after thinking about how hazardous it would be to try to drive without touching the steering wheel with my hands, I ran upstairs, grabbed my gloves and drove off.
For those who might be remotely interested to find out about what I'm experiencing in terms of weather, I've posted a link to a couple of weather sites on my missions page. I really like the English site, not only because it puts things in fahrenheit, but it also gives the "RealFeel temperature" which is really just the temperature after including the wind chill factor.

Local weather news... doo-doo-doo-doo. The good news for today is that there was no difference between today's high and low temperatures in the city of Date. That's right, the temperature in the morning was the same as the temperature in the early afternoon, as is the temperature right now. Very strange phenomenon. Speaking of weird weather, back home in the SF Bay Area I'm very familiar with, what I call, the "Ooh, yikes, morning." I should clarify this Bay Area winter weather phenomenon with the typical situation that lends itself to the "Ooh, yikes, morning." I wake up, pull myself out of bed, and look out the window. It's bright and sunny. Not a cloud in the sky. Excited, I dress myself with a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. I step outside and my eyes get all huge, after which I yell, "Ooh, yikes!" hence the name. Bay Area winters are tricky. They think every day is April Fools' Day. It can look like it's 80 degrees from one side of the window while it's really 45 degrees outside.
Anyway, back to Japan. So, the good news was that the high and low for today were the same. The bad news for today is that the high and low for today was and is -1 C. That's about 29 degrees fahrenheit. Yep, that's right. I had a sweater and a jacket on. A knit cap and scarf. And gloves. The only part of my body that weren't covered were my eyes. I looked like an Al Qaeda member. Actually, gimme a pair of black, thick rimmed glasses and I'd have looked like the main character from the movie "A Christmas Story." I think his name was Ralphy. "You'll shoot yer eye out!" Oh, that was a great movie.

Just tonight as I was taking out my plastic trash in the negative celcius weather, I looked up at the clear sky... just staring at the stars, wondering how anybody can not believe in God. Somehow, when everything's quiet and calm, there's that sense that there is somebody or something beyond ourselves. How else would you explain the generally worldwide religion phenomenon? Atheism is a relatively new concept, no doubt somehow related to the increased busyness of people in developed countries. Only when the distractions of hurry and noise go away do we realize what people for centuries have suspected or known... God is very much real. All this from taking out my plastic trash.

For a while now, I've been wondering what exactly is wrong with the Japanese economy. Actually, as I write this blog, I'm watching a parliamentary debate regarding the state of the Japanese economy and the proposed reforms. After talking to people and reading newspaper articles, all I got was that the big problem lies in the huge bad loans Japanese banks hold. But how were those bad loans created? What were the steps that led to the current situation of perpetual recession?
Searching around the web, I came across this article. It's a bit long, but it's relatively easy to understand. The light bulbs were going off in my head as I read the article. If the article is correct in its analysis of the situation, Japan will be in this recessions for quite a bit longer. The problems are deeply cultural and thus, very hard to change.

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.